Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Katzenberger | Spc. Sophia M. Roberts, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., and a motor transport operator...... read more read more
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FORT STEWART, Ga. – Spc. Sophia M. Roberts was bit by the maintenance bug when she was a child.
The Warner Robins, Ga., native said she grew up helping her father, Jackie Francis, perform maintenance on family vehicles. Later, Roberts said she worked at an oil change garage through college while pursuing a bachelor degree in criminal justice.
Roberts said when she decided to enlist in the Army after graduating from Westwood College in Atlanta, a career field involving vehicles was her top choice.
Roberts currently serves as a motor transport operator with Company F, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
With less than a year of active duty service under her belt, Roberts said she has adapted well to Army life and is always looking for opportunities to obtain knowledge and overcome new challenges.
The motor transport operator took time out of a busy week of transporting ammunition and performing operator-level maintenance to talk about her past, present and future career aspirations, and how she honors black soldiers who have served before her through her service today.
Roberts said her first introduction to the military came through participating in her high school’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program. The motor transport operator said her father told her she needed discipline, and that the JROTC program was where she was going to get it.
Roberts said the principles she learned in the program got her interested in leadership and served as the impetus for her setting the goal of becoming an Army officer.
Before taking that step, however, Roberts said she wanted to earn her bachelor degree and then join the Army as an enlisted soldier to gain knowledge about the service from the ground up.
“I wanted to work my way up and get the hands on [experience],” Roberts said. “I know [serving as an] enlisted [soldier is] where you get most of the knowledge.”
The motor transport operator said she enlisted on May 31, 2011, and headed to basic training. Roberts said the environment initially shocked her, but that it was easy to fall in line.
“My dad is pretty tough, so when I got there and the drill sergeants were yelling at me I [realized I could] handle it,” Roberts said. “The way I was raised had a lot to do with getting through it.”
The motor transport operator said Advanced Individual Training was a lot more relaxed and that she enjoyed jumping up into the driver’s seat to learn how to operate the Army’s basic fleet of wheeled vehicles.
While the soldier said she put in requests to be stationed at locations throughout the world, she said she was assigned to her native state at Fort Stewart, Ga.
Sgt. William V. Folks, Roberts’ former team leader, said since Roberts has been assigned to the unit she has proven herself to be very mature for her age and has shown she wants more out of what’s going on at work than the average soldier.
“When it comes to being at work, she separates herself from her peers,” Folks said. “She’s always studying [and] she wants to improve all the time.”
Roberts said she attributes her early successes in the Army to her upbringing and to the way the Army values have positively influenced her life. The motor transport operator said she doesn’t let challenges stop her from excelling.
“[Challenges teach] me to push harder … [and not to] let anything [get] in [my] way,” Roberts said. “Once I [overcome them] I feel like it’s time to move on to the next task.”
Roberts said she is proud of being a motor transport operator and that her service honors the black soldiers who have paved the way for her.
“In the early stages … when they were letting … black people into the Army, [they came into] logistics,” Roberts said. “That’s what I’m doing now. And they did a really great job evidently, so I’m just trying to uphold and make sure I succeed at what I do.”
The motor transport operator said she feels positive about the direction of her future Army career.
“I’m a pretty strong person … and I know if I say I’m going to do it I’m going to do it,” Roberts said. “Nothing’s going to stop me.”
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.16.2012 17:03 |
| Story ID: | 83960 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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