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    Engineer battalion welcomes new top enlisted man

    Engineer battalion welcomes new top enlisted man

    Photo By Sgt. Brian Johnson | This is Sgt. Maj. Steven Shepherd, Ohio National Guard’s Woodlawn-based 216th...... read more read more

    WOODLAWN, OH, UNITED STATES

    03.03.2009

    Story by Sgt. Brian Johnson 

    216th Engineer Battalion

    WOODLAWN, Ohio - The Ohio National Guard’s Woodlawn-based 216th Engineer Battalion recently welcomed a new top enlisted man, Sgt. Maj. Steven Shepherd.

    Shepherd, from Gahanna, has served in the Army for over 21 years. In his military career, he has spent seven years in the active duty Army and the remainder of his time with the Ohio National Guard. Shepherd has been stationed primarily within the 2nd Battalion, 107th Cavalry. Shepherd has also spent time with the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Columbus, Ohio, as the Reconnaissance Operations sergeant major before coming to the 216th Engineer Battalion.

    Shepherd joined the military right out of high school. He graduated from Lebanon High School in Warren County in 1983. Being away from the home with the military has not prevented Shepherd from pursuing additional education. He has not only gone through numerous military schools, but he has also been pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business management.

    During Shepherd’s time with the military, he has traveled all over the world including being stationed in Alaska, Germany and Kentucky. He has also been deployed to Kosovo, to the Gulf Coast in support of Hurricane relief efforts, as well as in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Noble Eagle.

    Shepherd is unique in the fact that he is not a full-time soldier. As a civilian, he works for the Limited Brands as a loss prevention security manager. He and his wife are also franchise owners of Smoothie King in Gahanna.

    Shepherd is extremely decorated soldier. In the course of his military career, he has been awarded a Bronze Star, numerous Army Commendation and Achievement Medals. He has also been awarded an Air Assault Badge, a combat patch, the Order of Saint George, and the Order of the Combat Spurs to name a few of the many awards that he has received.

    “I want this battalion to be the number one battalion in the state,” said Shepherd. “To achieve this, I believe that I and my follow senior enlisted soldiers need to help foster a command climate that makes soldiers want to stay in the National Guard.”

    Shepherd said to accomplish this, two things need to happen. “I believe that we need to have our families behind us and be able to communicate our missions to them. Our family is our biggest supporter, if they are not behind us, the mission may not be as successful.”

    “The other thing is that I want to train soldiers,” said Shepherd. “I believe that it is better to train soldiers and to keep training them. I think it is better to over train than to under train. This way, in a very stressful situation, the soldier is able to rely on their training. This will give them a better chance of getting through the situation intact and be able to get home to their loved ones.”

    Shepherd has been married for 10 years and has a daughter who graduated from the University of Cincinnati. In his free time, Shepherd enjoys spending time with his family and working on old cars.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.03.2009
    Date Posted: 03.31.2015 01:02
    Story ID: 158612
    Location: WOODLAWN, OH, US
    Hometown: GAHANNA, OH, US

    Web Views: 101
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN