Fort Leonard Wood’s 43rd Adjutant General Battalion (Reception) hosted an NCO induction ceremony Friday in Abrams Theater, where 21 NCOs from across the installation were welcomed into the NCO Corps.
The NCO induction ceremony, which is the culminating event of a two-day NCO Foundation Course each inductee attended, is an opportunity to recognize the passing of Soldiers into the “time-honored” NCO Corps, said Sgt. 1st Class Angel Waters, the ceremony narrator. The ceremony also provides the chance to review the history of the NCO Corps — which dates to the Revolutionary War — and the expanded counseling, mentoring and leadership roles Soldiers play in a unit when they become NCOs.
The 21 inducted NCOs at the ceremony included 1st Sgt. Nekoesha Taylor, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence; Sgt. 1st Class Blake Stratton, HHC, MSCoE; Staff Sgt. Van Tierra Brown, 554th Engineer Battalion; Staff Sgt. Anthony Hunt, 43rd AG Bn.; Staff Sgt. Chaz Reed, 43rd AG Bn.; Sgt. Abdel Alamo, 701st Military Police Battalion; Sgt. Cheyenne Corin, 399th Army Band; Sgt. Daniel Deutsch, 399th Army Band; Sgt. Carlos Diaz, 399th Army Band; Sgt. Stone Huntley, 701st MP Bn.; Sgt. Nicholas Johnson, 399th Army Band; Sgt. Carlos Lopez, 399th Army Band; Sgt. Cynthia Moreno, 701st MP Bn.; Sgt. Trinity Morris, 43rd AG Bn.; Sgt. Bridget Olenik, 399th Army Band; Sgt. Kendra Phillips, 43rd AG Bn.; Sgt. Derrell Warren, 14th MP Brigade; Sgt. Danielle Wambo, 3rd Chemical Brigade; Sgt. Joshua Wright, 554th En. Bn.; Cpl. James Lizotte, HHC, MSCoE; and Cpl. Samantha Taylor, 787th MP Bn.
Providing remarks at the ceremony was MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Arzabala, who called NCOs, “the backbone of the Army.”
“Do not take your new responsibility lightly,” he said. “Allow the creed of the noncommissioned officer to guide you. You will face tough situations; you will wrestle with the burden of leadership; you will find yourself in situations you’re not prepared for, and you will have to make life-altering decisions. Be the example and lead from the front. Do what’s right, and do not sacrifice character. Show your courage in the face of adversity.”
Arzabala, the senior NCO on the installation, told the newly inducted NCOs they are “being entrusted with the greatest resource at our disposal, America’s sons and daughters.”
“Our readiness is rooted in our people — drive change and allow problem solving and ingenuity at the lowest levels,” Arzabala advised.
After each inductee passed through a ceremonial archway, the group recited the NCO Creed to conclude the ceremony.
The most junior NCO inducted Friday was Lizotte, who works as a paralegal specialist with the MSCoE Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.
Three years into his Army career, Lizotte said “it feels great to be part of a really old tradition in the Army.”
“Traditions bring us all together,” he said. “Crossing that bridge from Soldier to NCO, it changes your life. You have more responsibilities, more duties and you are required to be 100% dedicated to what you do and to your Soldiers — it feels great.”
Taylor, the only other corporal being inducted Friday, is a combat medic at her MP training unit. She said becoming an NCO means she is “now officially a leader” in the Army.
“I am going to continue to work on bettering myself as a leader,” she said.
More photos from the ceremony are available to view and download on the Fort Leonard Wood Flickr page.
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2023 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 458349 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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