Photo By Sgt. David Hodge | Spc. Joshua McCoy, a multi-channel transmission systems operator assigned to Company...... read more read more
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By Spc. David Hodge
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – A pair of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers raised their right hands to signify their commitment to their country during a ceremony, May 26, on Memorial Day.
The reciting of the Oath of Enlistment is not the first instance these Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, have made a life-changing pledge standing next to each other.
Upon completion of their Advanced Individual Training, Spc. Joshua McCoy, a multi-channel transmission systems operator assigned to Company B, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st BCT, and Pfc. Sarah Beth McCoy, an information systems operator assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Support Battalion, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B, left for different home stations to begin their U.S. Army careers.
After a couple of months apart, the separated couple decided to get married and started the paperwork to reassign Sarah Beth to Fort Hood, Texas.
Sarah Beth became a "Raider" Brigade Soldier like her husband only weeks before the unit deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"We made sure with this reenlistment we were able to be stationed together," Sarah Beth said, who hails from Lewisville, Texas, "because that is really important to us."
"We went to our separate battalion career counselors on the same day," said Joshua, who maintains line-of-sight communication antennas for the 1st "Raider" Brigade. "We didn't realize it would happen on Memorial Day. It just worked out like that."
After attending a reenlistment briefing by Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Bobb, the senior enlisted leader for 1st BCT, in May, the McCoy's decided the Army is the best place for their futures.
"Command Sgt. Maj. Bobb made a lot of good points during his briefing," said Joshua, a native of Charleston, S.C. "We didn't want to go home and not be able to find a job, so we decided our best bet to have a successful future was to reenlist."
The Raider Brigade couple received a tax-free bonus, a four-day pass to Qatar, and an education option offered by the 4th Inf. Div., thanks to the hard-working retention non-commissioned officers within the two battalions.
It takes a special Soldier to raise his or her hand while serving in a combat zone, said Sgt. Raymond Escoto, battalion retention officer, 1st "Phoenix" STB, 1st BCT.
"The McCoys are a perfect example of the commitment and dedication it takes to be an Army Strong Family," Escoto added. "These are Soldiers that new entrants into the Army can learn from and give them the correct types of training and guidance they might not get anywhere else."
With their reenlistment, the couple reaffirmed their commitment to serve their country in a time of war, he added.
"The unique thing about their reenlistment is they will be able to say to their grandchildren 'we reenlisted together in Iraq' as they swing from their front porch swing," Escoto explained. "That is something they will treasure forever."
Civilian education is as important to the McCoys as serving their country, and the couple is currently enrolled in online college courses. Joshua is studying criminal justice, and Sarah Beth is studying psychology.
"Serving my country means giving someone, from the elderly to the children, the chance to have the freedoms many take for granted every day," Joshua explained.
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2008 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 20102 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 60 |
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