Soldier joins senior NCO ranks, shares her story

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st Class Marie Lavilette, a Class I subsistence non-commissioned officer in charge with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), does push-ups while being drenched with water after being promoted and indoctrinated into the senior non-commissioned officer ranks Sept. 20 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Leticia Mitchell)  

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IRAQ

09.20.2010

Courtesy Story

224th Sustainment Brigade

By Sgt. Blake Pittman
224th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq— A soldier with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), was promoted and inducted into the senior noncommissioned officer ranks Sept. 20 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

Sgt. 1st Class Marie Lavilette, a Class I subsistence noncommissioned officer in charge with HHC, 110th CSSB, and a Port-au-Prince, Haiti, native, was promoted to the rank of sergeant first class in a ceremony at the 224th Sust. Bde. “Saber” compound.

“It was great,” said Lavilette. “It’s a big step in my career, and to see everyone there supporting me was also great.” She added that the promotion ceremony put things into perspective for her as a senior NCO, showing her that there is more room to learn and grow. “It’s something I’ll always remember, even if I were to get out of the Army tomorrow.”

Lavilette was born and raised in Haiti, where she immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005. Later, she enlisted in the U.S. Army, where she spent four years on active duty. She was an automated logistics specialist stationed at Fort Lee, Va., and U.S. Army garrison at Darmstadt, Germany. She left active duty as a specialist after four years of service, settling in North Carolina. There she enlisted in the Army National Guard. Later, she moved to Lawrenceville, Ga., where she currently resides. There, she attended DeVry University, earning a bachelor of science in electronic engineering. When she’s not in uniform, Lavilette works as a field technician for AT&T.

She said she is looking forward to a career change when she redeploys back home from Iraq. She has already earned a certification in massage therapy from the Georgia Medical Institute, and when she’s home she plans to pursue a four-year degree in physical therapy.

Many junior-enlisted soldiers in the 110th CSSB already look up to Lavilette, including one soldier who said, “She [Lavilette] is a high-speed NCO who takes care of her soldiers and really knows her soldiers well.”

• Date Taken: 09.20.2010
• Date Posted: 10.25.2010 09:40
• Story ID: 58745
• Location: CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ