AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq— Three soldiers with the 240th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), won Non-Commissioned Officer of the Quarter or Soldier of the Quarter at the boards, Feb. 1, at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.
Spc. Ivan Calderon, a mechanic with the 240th CSSB Joint Distribution Center, and a Bronx, N.Y., native, competed and won the Soldier of the Quarter board competition.
Calderon was motivated to go to the board to earn his promotable status.
“I was told that if I wanted to be promotable, I would have to go to a Soldier of the Month board, and I got hooked,” Calderon said. “It feels great that all the studying and all the practicing paid off, and to know you earned the respect of those appointed over you when they tell you you’ve done a great job.”
Calderon also added that he prepared for the board by making a study guide and by studying with his friend and battle buddy.
Sgt. Ronald Conley, a deployments/redeployments operations NCO with the 240th CSSB, and an Eighty Four, Pa., native, competed and tied for NCO of the Quarter.
Conley said the he was motivated to participate in the board by his family and by his desire to improve himself.
“I studied every moment I had,” Conley said. “Now that the battalion board is finished, I’m studying again for the brigade board, and I’m doing physical training twice a day to prepare for the Army Physical Readiness Test.”
Conley explained the significance of going to the boards.
“It’s important to go to boards as part of the military tradition, and overall, you better yourself, and it’s an opportunity to show your senior leaders what you are made of when it comes to your level of study and discipline,” Conley said.
“The most satisfying moment during the deployment was when my Soldier, (then specialist) Sgt. Barry Collins, won the Soldier of the Month board, then went to the promotion board and picked up E-5,” Conley said.
Sgt. Barry Collins, deployments/redeployments operations NCO with the 240th CSSB, and a Blairsville, Ga., native, also competed and tied for NCO of the Quarter.
Like Conley, Collins studied every free moment he had.
“The hardest part of the board was answering multiple questions while putting together the weapons,” Collins said. “I think I did equally well in the weapons section and the question section of the board and I enjoyed each part the same. Soldier of the Month and Quarter Boards are important because its gets soldiers ready for promotion boards.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Romeo Montez, command sergeant major of the 240th CSSB, and a Dallas, Texas, native, said that Conley was an underdog at the start of the competition.
“Sgt. Conley really impressed the board members at the NCO of the Quarter board,” said Montez, who served as the board president. “I’m proud of all he has overcome. He has truly risen to the occasion, and we look forward to seeing him move on to more boards. He is truly a superstar.”
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2011 06:31 |
| Story ID: | 66201 |
| Location: | AL ASAD AIR BASE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 312 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Soldiers win NCO, Soldier of the Quarter Boards, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT