Photo By Sgt. Nicole Smart | Sgt. Danny Gregory, former Army Ranger, who is keeping tradition alive by passing...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – In 1989, Danny Gregory was led into a field of rocks in Georgia.
“There was a rock out there that was about 80 pounds and 12 inches in diameter or so; just a big rock,” he said.
That rock became Gregory’s ST-1, and he carried it in his rucksack the first 75 miles he marched with the 3rd Ranger Battalion.
After serving with the regiment for four years during Desert Storm, Gregory had a 17-year break in service. He came back in the Army as a citizen soldier with the 230th Signal Company of the Tennessee National Guard, where he now serves as a network switching systems operator and maintainer in Kabul, Afghanistan.
It’s been more than 20 years since Gregory picked his ST-1, and now he’s passing on the tradition in true non-commissioned officer fashion.
“Having an ST-1 is a big responsibility,” said Spc. Bobby Sherrod, a cable installer and maintainer with the 230th and a soldier who served in Gregory’s platoon.
It may seem like just a rock to those on the outside looking in, but the select few who receive an ST-1 from the former Ranger know they are really keeping a tradition alive. Of all the stones on the ground and in the area, not just any stone can become an ST-1; Gregory picks each one individually for a specific soldier.
“I picked them out,” Gregory said. “If you have an ST-1 in this company, it was given to you by me. Only people who deserve them get an ST-1. It’s a resemblance of your character, your integrity, your values; being part of my platoon, you automatically get one,” he said.
“3rd Platoon feels like a family – ST-1’s unite everyone,” said Sgt. Melisa Foster, a former member of the platoon. “Sgt. Gregory gives them out; he assigns you an ST-1 you have to decorate and keep with you at all times when wearing ACUs. Mine is in the works right now; it is going to be leopard print,” she said.
Painting the ST-1 is just one of the requirements. Before soldiers get to that step, they have to give Gregory five uses for their ST-1.
“I tell them jokingly to give me 100 ways to use it, and I’ve gotten some crazy answers,” said Gregory with a chuckle.
He said he knows of about 26 uses for the ST-1.
“It’s handy if you run out of bullets as your last resort,” he said. “Throw it at them; that way you let your enemy know, ‘Hey, guess what, you’ve just been hit with an ST-1.’”
The third caveat to owning an ST-1 – carrying it at all times – comes with a severe punishment if it’s forgotten.
“You have to do pushups – diamonds and elevated,” Sherrod shuddered as he explained. “If you don’t have your ST-1, you’ll get strong real quick.”
On the flip side, carrying the ST-1 makes the soldiers strong in a different way.
“Sgt. Gregory, he’s a really good leader; he cares about all of us,” said Foster. “He’s a little strict sometimes, and people don’t get him, but Sgt. Gregory looks out for everybody.”
Gregory is passing on the characteristics of leadership that make effective non-commissioned officers.
“He looks out for the soldiers a lot – cares about what they need,” said Sherrod. “You can always count on him to lead you in the right direction, no matter the situation. He knows there is a time to play, and there is a time to be serious; that’s the kind of leader the Army needs.”
Gregory’s ST-1s are also giving the soldiers a sense of pride that helps build them up.
“One of the best things about having the ST-1 is that I have a special tool that I carry in my pocket, undisclosed,” said Foster, lowering her voice as if to tell a secret. “And I know that only a select few in the whole Army have one.”
Gregory likens the ST-1 to a challenge coin.
“You get coins from the general, and from Sgt. Gregory you get an ST-1,” he said.
But it’s more than that to the soldiers.
“You can go and buy a coin at a store,” Sherrod said. “This was given to us; we’ve decorated it, and there’s no other one like it.”
While challenge coins often find themselves on display cases or in dusty boxes, Gregory has found a different resting place for his ST-1. The black rock with the now faded red and white letters proudly displaying his Ranger heritage forms a centerpiece in his mother’s North Carolina garden. Though Gregory doesn’t lug the 80-pound rock around with him anymore, its significance will never leave his memory.
“I took it from something meaningful that was given to me,” Gregory said.
It’s not likely to leave his soldiers’ memories anytime soon either.
“Hopefully the recipients will keep the tradition alive and pass it along to their soldiers when it’s their turn to lead some day,” Foster said.
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2011 02:19 |
| Story ID: | 79483 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 687 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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