Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kelvin Ringold | Pvt. Kyler Frongner, CBRN specialist, HHC, 11th Sig. Bde., enjoys a recent potluck in...... read more read more
FORT HOOD- In today’s uptempo Army, a lot is asked and expected of Soldiers. To meet the mission, Soldiers are expected to do many different tasks that range in degree of difficulty. Through hard work, Soldiers are able to do great things. Everyday, certain Soldiers stick out and are recognized for their accomplishments.
Every month, the 11th Signal Brigade highlights a Soldier as its Thunderbird of the Month. For the month of December, Pvt. Kyler Frongner, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Sig. Bde., receives that recognition.
The 22-year-old Frongner is a Syracuse, Utah, native, and entered the Army in March 2015 as a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense specialist.
“The reason I joined the Army was to gain some discipline and to become a better person,” Frongner explained. “I also want to get a degree and I knew the Army could help me through that process.”
After completing his Advanced Individual Training in July 2015, he arrived to the unit in August, and was immediately thrown into his new military occupational specialty when the company was planning a training exercise in the CBRN chamber just as he arrived.
“I didn’t do gas chamber training in school,” Frongner explained. “We had some Power Point training on what would happen, but never actually went through.”
With little experience, he was able to provide one of the best training events HHC has seen, and that was the first impression people had of him.
“Frongner was instrumental in conducting the CS chamber training for HHC,” said Cpl. Emily Hoagland, section sergeant, HHC, 11th Sig. Bde.
After getting over that hurdle, Frongner continued to show he was capable of increased responsibilities.
“He has also began to build our CBRN room from scratch,” Hoagland said. “Which is a large and arduous tasking for someone coming straight out of AIT, but he has stayed motivated and shown an eagerness to learn.”
Once he showed he could excel at his job, he began to branch out to help in other areas to assist his fellow Soldiers.
“Frongner has continually gone beyond the limitations of his MOS and helped Spc. Santiago in the arms room and myself with supply operations,” Hoagland explained.
Aside from being proficient at his job and always being there to assist where needed, Frongner also excels at physical readiness training.
“His excellence in PT and his motivation during PT hours has shown me that he is on his way to becoming a great leader,” Hoagland said.
Physical readiness is something he has been good at, but worked hard to get even better.
“My biggest challenge was getting a 328 on a PT test,” Frongner admitted. “One of my main goals when I joined was to get over a 300 on a PT test and I kept getting 297. But on my fourth test I was finally able to achieve a 328.”
An avid sports fan, Frongner likes adventure, and being in the Army has given him some action-packed times thus far.
“The most exciting thing I have done so far in the military is when I was able to fire over 500 rounds at the 249 range,” Frongner said. “That was pretty exciting.”
Even though he is a young Soldier, Frongner is already thinking ahead into his career.
“I would like to become a warrant officer,” Frongner said. “Because I would like to be the expert in my craft/MOS and I try to always strive to be the best. In five years, I see myself as a warrant officer with a degree and hopefully working on a master’s.”
With his drive and work ethic, a promotion will be on the horizon for Frongner and Hoagland said that future looks pretty bright.
“The most any NCO could hope for in a Soldier is motivation and dedication,” Hoagland said, “and PV2 Frongner has shown both of those attributes since the day I met him.”
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2016 12:28 |
| Story ID: | 186282 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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