FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers from across the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), gathered at Fort Hood's Community Events Center, March 11, to celebrate women's history month.
The celebration opened by highlighting numerous achievements by women throughout history, and continued with a poem written by Command Sgt. Major Kevin Stuart, senior non-commissioned officer for the command's 1st Medical Brigade.
Stuart explained that he wrote the poem several years ago with many of the most influential women of his life in mind.
"The power of a woman's story isn't only about adversity," Stuart said.
The event's guest speaker was retired Command Sgt. Maj. Annette Joseph, a 30-year Army veteran, minister, teacher, volunteer chaplain, and the former commandant of the Fort Hood NCO Academy.
Joseph told the Soldiers she enjoys coming to events like this because she always learns something, and many times it allows Soldiers to find out they had more in common than they thought.
While it is important to remember the women that made a difference in everyone's lives, it is just as important to remember all of the heroes, Joseph said.
"There are heroes among us," she said, defining a hero as someone whom is willing to make a personal sacrifice to help someone else.
Joseph wanted the Soldiers present to take away three points from the day's celebration – remember, recycle and resolve.
"Remember your history," Joseph said.
A lot of people don't know where they came from, she explained.
"We can't appreciate where we are unless we remember where came from," she added.
The next point she highlighted was to recycle ideas that have worked before.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel in everything we do," Joseph said.
Much like modern musicians take old music and add their own beat, Soldiers need to "add your own taste to it," she said.
The last point was to resolve.
"Be strong in who you are," Joseph said, adding that all Soldiers need to do to be a hero for somebody else is to be themselves.
"Don't let your living be in vain," she said.
The event finished with a number of musical selections, including a piano solo written and performed by Spc. Frederique Wilkins.