FORT GORDON, Ga. – The message was loud, clear, and evident to all those gathered for Company E, 551st Signal Battalion’s physical training March 9: “Once a Patriot, always a Patriot.”
Proving those words are more than merely a battalion’s slogan, hundreds of Soldiers honored a fallen Soldier they never met but to whom they were connected.
Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, was one of six American Soldiers killed when an unmanned aircraft struck a tactical command center at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on March 1.
Coady enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 2023, completed basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, then went on to graduate from the Information Technology Specialist (25B) course at Fort Gordon on July 31, 2024. Upon graduation, Coady returned to his home state where he served with the 103rd Sustainment Command, a Reserve unit in Des Moines. He was deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Epic Fury.
As news of the casualties spread, Signal Corps leadership discovered that one of the fallen Soldiers belonged to them for about five months – the duration of the 25B course. Despite nearly two years having passed since they had seen him, both 1st Sgt. Dustin Wenzel and Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Murray, of Company E, 551st Sig. Bn., immediately recognized Coady’s name and face. Wenzel was a noncommissioned officer-in-charge at the Signal School, and Murray a drill sergeant during Coady’s time at Fort Gordon. Although neither NCO had gotten to know Coady on a personal level, the loss is deeply personal – and they wanted to honor him – so they organized a special “Elite Hero Workout of the Day” and executed it the following Monday morning. The intent was for Company E – mostly comprised of 25B Soldier-trainees – to come together and work as teams to complete a series of physical challenges in Coady’s honor. The result was an outpour of support from not only Company E but also Headquarters and Alpha Company (non-initial entry training personnel), the Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and leadership from across 551st Sig. Bn., to include Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Stadler.
Standing in front of a photo display of Coady, Stadler set the tone for the morning’s Elite Hero Workout of the Day.
“I don’t claim to know or understand why the universe does what it does, but I do understand that you have two choices that you can make,” Stadler said to the Soldiers. “You could choose to be sad, you could choose to sulk, and you could choose to be scared and intimidated. That’s a choice. Or you could choose to honor this warrior, train as hard as you possibly can … to be the most lethal … Signaleers on the planet!” Stadler then asked, “Which one is it going to be?” to which Soldiers responded with a loud resounding, “Lethal!”
Following Stadler, Wenzel spoke about Coady, his connection to the Signal Corps, and the reasons for honoring Coady. He also echoed Stadler’s sentiments about not understanding the “why” in what the universe does sometimes, then shared some reflections he had over the weekend.
“We are American Soldiers, we are warriors and members of a team,” Wenzel said. “The grit that we have and everything we put forward – this is what makes us the most lethal force the world has ever seen.”
Murray read Coady’s biography then went over rules for the workout and thanked everyone for “showing up” for a Soldier they did not know but whose life mattered.
“We honor him by putting in some blood, sweat and tears into this workout, and by giving it everything that we can,” Murray said.
For the workout, Soldiers had 30 minutes to complete a total of 500 air squats, 400 push-ups, 300 sit-ups, 200 flutter kicks, 100 burpees, two multiple laps around the barracks. As one Soldier executed an exercise, teammates either planked, held a kettlebell/plate over their head, or remained in a front-leaning rest position. Once the 30 minutes were up, Stadler called for the troops to gather around him and offered some parting words.
“You matter. You are a part of something,” Stadler said. “When you leave here leave here and you go to your duty station, this is how we do it. This is what you do when things like this happen. You come together … and you sweat, you bleed, and you honor them. Once a Patriot, always a Patriot!”
For the family
Present leadership at Fort Gordon may not have known Coady on a personal level, but his life mattered to them. Murray said he wants to assure Coady’s family that Coady wasn’t “just another trainee.”
“He was a part of our family, he was a member of our team, and we will always honor those that were a part of our team,” Murray explained. “He will always hold a special place in 551’s heart, in 551’s history; his sacrifice means everything, and we are just so appreciative of him and his family … and we send them all the love, prayers and support.”
“I know it will never replace [Coady] and it will never account for the memories they could have had, but I hope [his family] can see the passion behind what we did this morning and what he did for his country,” Wenzel added. “We will always remember our fallen Soldiers because we are a team – we are a family.”