Courtesy Photo | Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th ADA Brigade pose...... read more read more
FORT BLISS, Texas – Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment “Defenders” volunteered at the Fort Bliss Noncommissioned Officer Heritage and Education Museum Sept. 24.
Soldiers from the unit, which is assigned to 69th ADA Brigade on Fort Hood, Texas, took the time to offer their services in the midst of executing their primary mission in support of Bold Quest 15.2.
Sgt. 1st Class Joey Salas, standardization noncommissioned officer in charge for 1st Bn., 44th ADA Regt., said volunteering at the museum was a way to give back to the Corps of the Noncommissioned Officer.
“Some people see it as a job to be a noncommissioned officer, but I always try to instill to my young subordinate leaders that it is much more than that,” he explained. “It's being a role model for our nation’s sons and daughters.”
Soldiers of the battalion executed the tasks provided to them by the curator, to include building new displays, re-arranging the existing layout of displays, assembling new walls in between displays and conducting a thorough sweep of the outlying surroundings of the facility.
Not content to stop with the primary facility, the Defenders quickly moved onto the building located behind the main structure.
While cleaning out this building, numerous relics of NCO history were rediscovered, cleaned, and returned to their rightful positions in the museum’s primary display area.
The inclusion of these additional items helped to greatly enrich the already detailed displays and provided a more comprehensive picture of the history of the NCO Corps.
“It is definitely a heartfelt experience to know that the very corps that I am a part of has accomplished so much throughout the years,” Salas explained. “We should all take the experience and learn the important aspects of what it is to be a noncommissioned officer and apply it to our everyday lifestyle.”
Junior-enlisted Soldiers of the group, such as Spc. Eddie Marquez, a Soldier with Btry. A, 1st Bn., 44th ADA Bn., expressed notes of approval for the trip.
“I think that it’s important for Soldiers and NCOs alike to know how their Army has developed throughout history,” Marquez said. “It’s mostly important that junior NCOs go to reflect on what it has meant to be a trainer and mentor for Soldiers as well as the concept of leading from the front.”
Volunteering at the museum was rewarding, said Salas.
Though the group received thanks from the curator of the museum, Salas said the gesture is returned.
“We should be thanking him for maintaining a facility that honors the NCO Corps, a corps with a rich history and many milestones to dedicate to leaders both past and present,” Salas explained.
During the day’s activities, Command Sgt. Maj. Tedd J. Pritchard, the deputy commandant of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, conducted an unscheduled visit to the museum and thanked the Soldiers for their hard work.
Accompanying Pritchard was a Croatian graduate of USASMA, class 52, now serving with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, who awarded coins to some of the NCOs.
The service provided the NCOs an opportunity to contribute to the lasting legacy of the museum while also yielding a close up look at the history and culture of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers.
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2015 09:22 |
| Story ID: | 180024 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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