Photo By Staff Sgt. Koan Nissen | Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, the Nebraska adjutant general, passes a ceremonial sword to...... read more read more
LINCOLN, Neb. - The Nebraska Army National Guard held its change of responsibility ceremony for state command sergeant major in the Joint Force Headquarters Building here Aug. 8.
Soldiers and Airmen, senior Guard command staff, family and friends assembled to say goodbye to outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Eli Valenzuela and to welcome Command Sgt. Maj. Marty Baker, the newly-appointed state command sergeant major.
“He’s been my battle buddy in leading the Soldiers in the Nebraska Army National Guard,” said Maj. Gen. Daryl L. Bohac, the Nebraska adjutant general. “You have served with distinction, honor and integrity. So while not retiring today, it will be a distinct privilege to say, ‘I served with you, sergeant major’ - I’m a better officer, a better leader and a better person.”
Valenzuela enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard and attended Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1979. During his military career, Valenzuela served as an artilleryman, signalman, noncommissioned officer education system (NCOES) instructor, drill sergeant and military policeman. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in organizational management from Concordia University.
Valenzuela’s military career includes a deployment to Bosnia and Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Forge in 2002 and a deployment to Iraq in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Among his several awards and decorations, Valenzuela has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal and four Meritorious Service Medals.
“It has been an honor to serve as your state command sergeant major over the last five and a half years,” said Valenzuela. “You’re a National Guard that is ready to serve.”
In 2010, Valenzuela was appointed to the position of state command sergeant major by then Brig. Gen. Judd Lyons, former adjutant general for the Nebraska National Guard. Prior to serving as the state’s top enlisted Soldier, he spent 25 years with the Nebraska State Patrol. There, Valenzuela worked in the traffic division of the Nebraska State Patrol Training Academy and on the executive protection detail. From here, he will assume another senior noncommissioned officer position at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
The incoming state command sergeant major, Baker, is a Nebraska native with more than 34 years of military service. His recent positions include serving as command sergeant major for the 92nd Troop Command and 67th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade.
“First and foremost, I would like to thank [Maj. Gen.] Bohac for the opportunity to serve as the eighth state command sergeant major of the Nebraska Army National Guard,” said Baker. “Soldiers of the Army National Guard, we are a part of an organization with remarkable history. The future holds new challenges, but the opportunities that lay there are even greater.”
Baker earned a Bachelor of Science in marketing and management from Wayne State College. He has been awarded several awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal, and he is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia. He is a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2015 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 172572 |
| Location: | LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 432 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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