Maintenance window scheduled to begin at February 14th 2200 est. until 0400 est. February 15th

(e.g. yourname@email.com)

Forgot Password?

    Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Logo

    Four East Baghdad Soldiers inducted into Sgt. Audie Murphy Club

    Four East Baghdad Soldiers inducted into Sgt. Audie Murphy Club

    Courtesy Photo | Four Soldiers assigned or attached to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd...... read more read more

    BAGHDAD, IRAQ

    09.26.2007

    Courtesy Story

    2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

    By Staff Sgt. W. Wayne Marlow
    2nd Brigade Combat Team
    2nd Infantry Division Public Affairs

    FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – To prepare to go before a board he needed to pass to be inducted into the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club, Staff Sgt. Michael Donnelly poured over an exhaustive book of more than 6,000 questions.

    "That didn't help," he said. Instead of grilling him on regulations or Army history, board members asked Donnelly how he would handle various situations he might encounter as a scout platoon sergeant with 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment.

    In the end, though, it all worked out for Donnelly, a native of Newnan, Ga. Along with three other Soldiers assigned or attached to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 2nd Infantry Division, Donnelly was selected for induction into the club.

    Joining him were: Sgt. Adolphus Cline of Salisbury, N.C., 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment; Staff Sgt. Brock Eckstein of Elgin Ore., 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment; and Sgt. Daniel Smith of Bartlesville, Okla., 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery.

    Named after the most decorated U.S. Soldier of World War II, the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club has exacting standards for membership. First, a non-commissioned officer's (NCO) performance must be exemplary enough for him or her to be recommended to appear before the board. Then they must demonstrate applied knowledge before a group of sergeants major.

    They also must recite Murphy's biography word-for-word. Command Sgt. Maj. William Johnson, the top non-commissioned officer for the 2nd BCT and the board president, impressed the importance of this.

    "I cannot waiver on this," Johnson told those appearing before the board. "You have to nail it. If you don't get past that...you've got to come back another day."

    Once Soldiers leaped that hurdle, it was onto the questions. Donnelly said the structure was similar to promotion and Soldier of the month boards, but the answers were much more involved.

    "The questions were all situational and required very detailed answers," he said.

    Donnelly had failed to win membership in a previous board appearance, making his success all the sweeter.

    "I've been trying for it for three years," he said. "It feels great and it's a lot of relief. I had a lot of anxiety going into this board."

    That anxiety was something Cline could relate to.

    "It's a tough board," he said. "Your career's not on the line, but it's a pride thing. If you're an NCO, you strive to be like Audie Murphy."

    When he learned he would be going before the board, Cline did the usual preparation, such as making sure his leader's book was in order. But since the questions for this board require more in-depth answers, he sought out subject-matter experts. He talked with those who ran unit programs and made sure he knew how to work through any processes that would help a Soldier.

    "You have to know the process," he said. "It's not a book answer. When it's situational, there's not a right or a wrong answer. You just have to know what you're talking about."

    Cline had spoke with other club members to get an idea what he was in for.

    "It was pretty much what I expected," he said. "It was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I was pretty much able to answer all the questions. We had to know how a commander's investigation worked, or a statement of charges, and there were a lot of leadership questions. It was a lot of me talking and them listening. They want to know how you are as a person and as a leader."

    As he got up to leave the board, Cline, who is attached to the 2nd BCT, sounded off with his unit's motto, rather than the brigade's. Cline said, "Sgt. Maj. Johnson asked me, 'Whose board is this?' I thought I was going to get booted for that...but I ended up getting in."

    Eckstein also reported, "It was a little rough every now and then," but he, likewise, made it through.

    "It's not like any board I've been to before," Eckstein said. "It's got in-depth questions about specific situations. I had a pretty good idea it would be like that."

    For instance, board members asked Eckstein what he would do if a Soldier's room was broken into and the TA-50 (field gear) stolen. Eckstein walked them through the process, from how to get a new door installed, to getting replacement gear, to filing a Provost Marshal report.

    When he redeploys, Eckstein is looking at NCO schooling and possibly Ranger School. For now, he has the thrill of accomplishment.

    "I feel pretty stoked," he said. "I did a lot of preparing and non-stop studying, going over and over the bio."

    Smith got ready for the board the same way.

    "We had battalion study groups," he said. "It was a lot more difficult that I thought it would be, a lot more in-depth than other boards I had been to. It was definitely a lot more challenging."

    Other boards may quiz Soldiers on what regulation pertains to a certain subject. But here, Smith said, "It's more about your character and your ability as a leader. How would you handle this, what you have you done to exemplify the character of Audie Murphy?"

    Smith came in prepared, but still felt some jitters.

    "I had a general idea what it would be like, but I had no idea exactly what they were going to ask," he said. "I was nervous, I wanted to be in the club. And having sergeants major there doesn't make it any easier."

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.26.2007
    Date Posted: 09.26.2007 08:06
    Story ID: 12556
    Location: BAGHDAD, IQ

    Web Views: 465
    Downloads: 306

    PUBLIC DOMAIN