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By Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger
BAGHDAD – Spc. Jeffrey Santiago sits at the position of attention. Like a machine gun in operation, questions fire from the table in front of the Soldier in rapid succession. Santiago answers each question with confidence—he is sure in his knowledge.
Santiago, a mechanic with Company F, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, is participating in a mock promotion board sponsored by Co. F, 3rd Bn.
Santiago, a mechanic with Company F, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, is participating in a mock promotion board sponsored by Co. F, 3rd Bn.
Each week, five senior leaders in the company— including 1st Sgt. Derrick Gibson, first sergeant of Co. F—gather in the company’s recovery maintenance bay at Camp Taji, Iraq, to drill soldiers on military knowledge and board protocol.
Company F has been hosting the weekly boards for the past eight months of the deployment in an effort to set soldiers up for success at promotion boards.
“I wanted to make sure the soldiers from (Company F), or anybody that wants to come to the board, can go in there and get the maximum amount of points that they can receive,” Gibson said.
Gibson said earning the maximum amount of points in the board results from knowing the Soldier’s Creed and the Creed of the Non-Commissioned Officer verbatim, being aware of a variety of current events, entering the board with a purpose and ultimately giving the board members a 100-percent effort.
Spc. Raymond Cooks, with Company E, 3rd Bat., 69th Armor Regt., and a Rockford, Ill., native, has appeared before several mock boards hosted by Company F.
Cooks said participation in the mock boards has helped him learn how to keep his composure.
“They try to do things that will rattle you,” Cooks said. “It helps you block out the distractions when you go to the actual board.”
Gibson and board members Sgt. 1st Class Ricky Nyothoun, Sgt. 1st Class William Sparks, Sgt. 1st Class Shameka Reese and Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Scott, all with Company F, 3rd Bn., 69th Armor Regt., have seen the fruits of their labor as soldiers they have trained have gone on to win Soldier of the quarter boards or to earn 149-150 points during promotion boards.
“Mock boards are good for the soldiers,” Sparks said. “The scores that our soldiers have acquired in all of the boards over here attest to that fact.”
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2010 09:23 |
| Story ID: | 56998 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
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