Photo By Spc. Adrianne Lopez | The Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army's coin rests on a patrol cap on Friday, Jul. 16,...... read more read more
This past Monday, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston, sergeant major of the U.S. Army, came to Speedway Armory to talk with Soldiers and Airmen about the “This Is My Squad” (TIMS) initiative.
“It’s great to hear people like him talk about this topic,” said Staff Sgt. Edna Wright, Nevada Air National Guard. “I think he can really make a difference with the position he is in. He may have more of a connection to TIMS than everyone thinks because of the way he was presenting. You can really feel the presentation. He reassured me about what I was already doing in my career.”
At the end of Grinston’s presentation, he gave out his coin to select soldiers and one airman, Wright, for his appreciation of their efforts on the COVID-19 mission so far. Wright was especially honored, being that she is in the Air Force and received a coin from the highest enlisted Soldier in the Army. She doesn’t think that the coin is just for her though.
“The coin isn’t just for me,” Wright said. “It represents all the Air Force members who helped out in this mission. I just happened to be the only Airman there at that time.”
The Nevada Army Guard and Nevada Air Guard have worked with each other before, but not at this scale. In all, about 1,400 Nevada Guard Soldiers and Airmen activated in support of the state’s COVID-19 response. It was the largest and lengthiest state activation in Nevada Guard history. About 160 Guardsmen remain on orders, primarily assisting with vaccinations.
For Wright, it’s been great to work with her Army counterparts like this. She served as the Nevada Guard’s non-commissioned officer in charge of travel the entire mission. It’s an important position that gets Soldiers and Airmen processed for missions that are outside of city limits. Back in April of this year, a mobile vaccination unit stood up to help bring vaccines to rural communities around the state. With very little time, she was able to process Soldiers and prepare them for travel to rural towns without members worrying about transportation, food and lodging.
She would love to participate in more missions that involve working jointly with the Army.
“I loved working on this mission with the Army,” she said. “It’s been great doing my part and I look forward to anything that comes up in the future.”
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2021 16:45 |
| Story ID: | 401326 |
| Location: | LAS VEGAS, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Nevada Airman receives Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army coin, by SPC Adrianne Lopez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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