Next generation inducted into NCO Corps

Photo By Master Sgt. Matthew Keeler | Command Sgt. Maj. Debbie Schroder (right), command sergeant major for the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and a Bloomington, Ill., native, leads the ‘gauntlet,’ a line of command sergeants major, first sergeants, and senior noncommissioned officers as they congratulate the newest inductees into the NCO Corps during an NCO induction ceremony Aug. 4 in the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation center, on Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Sgt. Felicya Adams (left), a public affairs specialist with the 310th ESC, and a Seattle native, is the first in line to shake Schroder’s hand at the end of the ceremony.  

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

08.09.2011

Story by Spc. Matthew Keeler 

310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – With the bright colors of several units and hundreds of senior and junior noncommissioned officers in attendance to bear witness, more than 45 soldiers were inducted into the NCO corps. The ceremony marked the transition of these soldiers from junior-enlisted to junior NCOs.

“[The NCO induction Ceremony] is very important, it marks the Soldiers’ transition to the next level,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Annette Andrew, command sergeant major for the 352nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a Merrill, Wis., native, and the event coordinator. “They are going from followers to teachers, leaders and mentors. So it is extremely important. And, it is important for them to hear the words and accept The Charge of an NCO.”

Many of these new NCOs, like Sgt. Shawn Jenkinson, a Command Post of the Future NCO for the 310th ESC, and an Indianapolis native, began their journey to the NCO corps at the bottom of the totem pole, as a private.

When Jenkinson enlisted, his NCO encouraged him to create a list of long-term goals, he said. At the top of that list was an important goal to him, make sergeant in five years.

“I was pretty excited to get promoted,” he said. “I think I’ve been set up pretty well. There are a lot of senior NCOs in the 310th [ESC] that are good mentors.”

Unlike the ranks of private through specialist, you have to work to get promoted to sergeant, he said. Warrior Leader Course is part of that work, as it is one of the classes that soldiers take to train to become good NCOs.

As Andrew stated, part of the NCO induction ceremony is for the soldiers to hear The Charge of the NCO. Command Sgt. Maj. Nagee Lunde, command sergeant major for the 77th Sust. Bde. and a Glenville, N.Y., native, demanded this charge.

“I will discharge carefully and diligently the duties of the grade to which I have been promoted and uphold the traditions and standards of the Army,” he said to the soldiers, who repeated after him.

The difficulty with becoming an NCO is that they have to be able to take charge, even if it means ordering around their friends, Lunde said. By pinning on those stripes, these new NCOs will have soldiers of their own to lead and develop.

The guest of honor and planner for the NCO induction ceremony was Command Sgt. Maj. Debbie Schroder, command sergeant major for the 310th ESC, and a Bloomington, Ill., native who imparted her own wisdom to the newly inducted NCOs.

“The classical representation of the role of NCOs has for years identified them as ‘the backbone of the Army, an accolade that brings to mind a vision of stalwarts who guarantee the honor, integrity, fortitude and esprit de corps of the force,” she said to the soldiers.

“After being an E-4 for 10 years, I was looking forward to the added responsibilities, the prestige [of] being a noncommissioned officer,” said Master Sgt. Pamela Johnson, Equal Opportunity advisor and Deployment Sexual Assault Coordinator for the 310th ESC, and an Indianapolis native. “Initially that’s what I looked at: the perks, the benefits. However, I didn’t realize the level of responsibility that comes later as being a noncommissioned officer.”

It took the mentorship of 1st Sgt. William Rodriquez, first sergeant for the 327th Military Police Battalion in Rosemont, Ill., early in Johnson’s NCO career to help her learn to develop both her soldiers and herself, she said.

During her career as an NCO, Johnson has learned that it’s important to teach these new NCOs is to continue their own education and self-development, she said. As a young NCO with soldiers under her command, it was through working and learning with her soldiers that best helped her grow as an NCO.

With the NCO Creed recited, the Army Song sung, and the colors removed by the color guard, the gathered command sergeants major, first sergeants, and other senior NCOs gather in two lines with smiles and welcoming handshakes to congratulate the new NCOs.

The day will be remembered not only by those new NCOs, but by the senior NCOs as well who will continue to provide mentorship to the new inductees.

“To be able to put on a function like this is a great honor, being able to promote a soldier to the next grade is very touching … because it is honor,” Andrew said.

• Date Taken: 08.09.2011
• Date Posted: 08.14.2011 07:53
• Story ID: 75324
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ