Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Northrup | Staff Sgt. Jason Diaz, a Bradley commander with Company B, 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor...... read more read more
RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, South Korea – Ever since he was a boy, Staff Sgt. Jason Diaz dreamed about being a Soldier. He remembers playing “Soldiers” with his brother and even dressing up as an Army Soldier for Halloween.
“I always had a passion to be in the military as a little kid and all the way up to high school,” said Diaz, a Bradley commander with Company B, 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “My father was a police officer and I wanted to make him proud by joining the military and serving my country.”
What he wanted was not only a chance to serve his nation, but also a chance to experience the camaraderie associated with Army life, Diaz said. So when the recruiter told him about joining the infantry, he knew it was the path he wanted to take.
“Camaraderie is an amazing part of the job,” said Diaz.
“Camaraderie with your brothers is something you cannot take away. Soldiers do everything together such as training, eating, sleeping and during that time you are talking about everything in your military and personal life.”
Diaz said field problems such as the Gunnery held Feb. 21-24 at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex is a great example of how Soldiers come together. The first few days were rough due to the cold, but everyone held together and made sure they kept each other motivated, dedicated and still committed to the mission.
He is not only an noncommissioned officer who expects a lot from his Soldiers, but he also expects a lot from himself, said Sgt. 1st Class Tambouzi Green, a platoon sergeant with Company B, 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment. He is the kind of noncommissioned officer who does not want to let down his Soldiers, nor let down his leadership. He is always the one who wants to ride to the front and make things happen.
“I try to work toward trying to learn something I don’t know,” said Diaz, a native of Staten Island, New York. “I came from Fort Drum, [N.Y.] and knew a lot about light infantry, but I didn’t know too much about the Bradleys at first. I was asked if I wanted to become a Bradley commander, and I definitely wanted go after it in order to be more versatile in my field.”
He is constantly researching and finding out new things and if he doesn’t know something is not afraid to ask, Green said. He will admit if he doesn’t know much about something and will ask anyone for help.
“Staff Sgt. Diaz is a very passionate noncommissioned officer who takes his job and his life seriously,” said Green. “He loves his Soldiers, and he loves what he does. He is an NCO who leads from the front and he pushes his Soldiers to the best Soldiers they can be.”
“The best thing about being a Bradley commander … is being able to be there and work hand in hand with my gunner,” Diaz said.
“We have trained with Bradley Advance Training System for hours in a virtual simulated Bradley to make sure we have our coordination down. Again, it’s about the camaraderie you build with your team; we have been working in that turret for hours, so my gunner and I have a very good professional relationship.”
Watching his Soldiers excel and grow is one of the things he loves, Diaz said. For him, it is great to get Soldiers fresh from an initial training environment so he can develop them into the kind of leadership he wants to see them grow into.
“A lot of them are don’t know what is going on, so I need to sit down with them tell them what they need to do to be successful in the Army and hopefully they understand what I am talking about,” said Diaz. “If they do listen, then I get to watch them go to the board and get promoted.”
Green said he does not promote personnel off of potential. He promotes people based off performance.
“I am all about performance, as in what are you doing now and what are you doing to make your self better,” said Green. “Staff Sgt. Diaz is the kind of NCO who I can see becoming the next sergeant major of the Army. He sees a task in front of him and he is going to do whatever it takes, no matter how late he stays up and no matter what is going on, he will stay focused to ensure his shot group is tight and make sure all of his tasks are accomplished.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2015 06:47 |
| Story ID: | 155878 |
| Location: | RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, KR |
| Hometown: | STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 457 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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