By Sgt. Lorraine Sian
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - Several junior non-commissioned officers with the 2nd Detachment, 8th Ordnance Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), were inducted into the Corps of Non-Commissioned Officers Jan. 4, at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.
The NCO induction ceremony was a celebration for the newly promoted sergeants joining the ranks of a professional non-commissioned officer corps; it emphasizes and builds on the pride NCOs all share as members of such an elite corps. The ceremony also served to honor the memory of those men and women of the NCO Corps who have served with pride and distinction.
“The NCO induction ceremonies symbolic nature stimulates a majestic atmosphere for all non-commissioned officers, as well as the NCOs who have been a part of the NCO Corps,” said Sgt. Holly Gilbert, of 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, and a Hanford, Calif., native. “It inspires the lower ranks to one day become a part of the Corps.”
The 2nd Det., 8th Ord. Company, had four newly promoted sergeants inducted at Memorial Hall. The ceremony began with “A Soldier’s Request,” during which junior enlisted soldiers declared out loud in the packed hall what they needed of their newly inducted non-commissioned officers. Then, the newly-inducted NCOs recited a declaration intended to remind them of their mission to mentor and prepare their soldiers: a “Boots of the NCO” poem that reflected on the NCO Corps’ rich history. As a rite of passage, each NCO walked through the “Arch of Responsibility” that symbolizes the passing of a soldier to a sergeant into the Corps of Non-Commissioned Officers.
“I felt honored to be inducted into the NCO corps.Although I had been an NCO for some time now, it felt great to be acknowledged,” said Sgt. Kimberly Sullivan, a supply sergeant with the 2nd Det., 8th Ord. Company, and a Youngstown, Ohio, native.
The ceremony closed out with past and present inductees reciting both the NCO creed and the oath of the NCO to publicly declare their commitment and pledge to the NCO corps. The NCO induction ceremony serves as a tribute to the history of the NCO corps and the recently inducted NCOs.