Standing at the top

Photo By Sgt. Jesse Smith | A Soldier from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade hikes to the top April 11 on Pinnacle 4, a small mountain near Camp Humphreys in South Korea. The Soldier was participating in a leader professional development session centered around planning.  

PYEONGTAEK, 41, SOUTH KOREA

04.16.2015

Story by Sgt. Jesse Smith 

2nd Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – The air was brisk and the sun was just above the horizon. All you could hear were footsteps and heavy breathing. All you could see was the steep climb to the top. There were boulders to get over and narrow walkways to get through above high drop-offs. The task was daunting, but with each individual who reached the peak the more smiles and triumph you could see and feel.

Soldiers from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade held a Leader Professional Development session April 14 at Pinnacle 4, a small mountain near Camp Humphreys, in South Korea.

The Soldiers first completed a six-mile ruck march to the base of the mountain which was followed by a 1.6 km hike to the top of Pinnacle 4.

Sgt. Maj. Franklin Rodriguez, the 2nd CAB operations sergeant major, was the key leader in charge of the LPD.

“Why do you call something a challenge?” Rodriguez said. “Because it is hard.”

This was the first thing Rodriquez said to the group of Soldiers once they had reached the peak of Pinnacle 4. He said the Soldiers were probably thinking on the way up that they couldn’t do it, but once they made it to the top, it was something they could feel good about.

“Junior enlisted Soldiers need to challenge themselves,” Rodriguez said. “As a Soldier, you can say I’m going to do as little as possible, or you can say I’m going to do as much as possible.”

The Soldiers then began to discuss what some of the newer Soldier’s plans for the future were. The non-commissioned officers gave advice and talked about some of the programs that are out there for Soldiers to take advantage of.

Spc. Dylan Wood, an AH-64 Apache crew chief from the Co. A, 4th Aerial Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd CAB, was one of the Soldiers who completed the LPD.

“We talked about some of the different options we have in our Army careers,” Wood said. “I was glad to hear about the green to gold program because it sounds like something I would want to do, but I hadn’t heard of it before.”

Wood said the LPD was great overall and thinks events like these keep Soldier’s Army values fresh in their minds.

If one Soldier can get what they are trying to say, then the LPD has been successful, Rodriguez said. He said he wants the Soldiers to know their importance.

“It doesn’t matter if they signed up for four, five or six years,” Rodriguez said. “I want them to know their commitment is great.”

Once the LPD was over, the Soldiers got a chance to fly in a CH-47 Chinook back to Camp Humphreys. Overall, the task may have been a challenge, but these Soldiers rose to meet it, and at the end of the day stood at the top.

• Date Taken: 04.16.2015
• Date Posted: 04.16.2015 04:57
• Story ID: 160137
• Location: PYEONGTAEK, 41, KR