Photo By Sgt. Uriah Walker | U.S. Navy Commander Donald Leingang (Retired), introduces Soldier of the Year Staff...... read more read more
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BELLEVUE, Wash. – The USO Northwest Charter celebrated 50 years of support to service members stationed in the Pacific Northwest with a five-star gala Oct. 22, 2016. Six enlisted service members, one from each branch, were recognized for their dedicated service to their country and honored as the 2016 Military Members of the Year.
Each of the six was nominated for demonstrating exemplary commitment and selfless service to country.
“It was a great feeling knowing that I was nominated and selected,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Urtz, Headquarters Support Company, 7th Infantry Division.
I Corps Senior Enlisted Advisor Command Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Grinston said he nominated Urtz because “He’s the best Soldier in the Corps.” He’s a great person, family man, Soldier and represents the Army well.
“He’s done a phenomenal job winning the I Corps Soldier of the Year,” continued Grinston. “He performed so well at FORSCOM, every panel member in there said, ‘what a great NCO.’ Who better could you think of to represent your service than the I Corps NCO of the year?”
“[Command Sgt. Maj. Grinston] went out of his way to nominate me, and it’s a great feeling that it happened,” Urtz said. “It will help me show Soldiers in the future that you can accomplish anything and as long you’re doing the right thing and putting in the hard work, someone will notice and great things can happen in your career.”
Grinston also spoke about why it is important to recognize our service members. “This is their Army; this is their service. You have to be connected to those that you serve. We serve the Constitution of the United States, but we also serve the people of the United States and keep all of them free.”
Chairman, USONW Board of Directors, Ed Odom shared similar thoughts about the importance of recognizing some of our finest Service Members.
“Our enlisted persons are the backbone of our services and the enlisted persons of the year really epitomize the best of the best of that group,” he said. “Typically, it’s not unusual for an enlisted person of the year to have put themselves last, placing others first in terms of service and keeping our nation and others safe. We greatly appreciate their service, and we want the community to know their efforts and support them as well.”
The Service members recognized include:
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Urtz
USMC Sgt. Jeffery D. Howard
U.S. Navy Sonar Technician (surface) Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Lee
U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. Daniel Cain
U.S. Coast Guard Yeoman 1st Class Jaimee Baker
U.S. National Guard Senior Airman Jonathan Tinsley
| Date Taken: | 10.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2016 17:16 |
| Story ID: | 212787 |
| Location: | BELLEVUE, WA, US |
| Hometown: | VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 280 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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