Photo By Capt. Penny M. Bloedel | Sergeant Jose Hernandez, Forward Support Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 555th...... read more read more
Sergeant Jose Hernandez, Forward Support Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, recently earned the distinction of Non-Commissioned Officer of the Quarter for the 10th Mountain Division. He competed against eight other NCOs throughout the Multi-National Division-Center battle space.
The journey to the 10th Mountain Division NCO of the Quarter board has taken several months. Sergeant Hernandez won the company and battalion NCO of the Month boards in late-2008. After these boards, he competed for and won the NCO of the Quarter board for the 54th Engineer Battalion, which qualified him to compete at the division level.
Sergeant Hernandez described the board – consisting of a panel of command sergeants major and master sergeants – as "a little intimidating," adding that he kept up his confidence by thinking about how all those senior NCOs on the panel had to go through the same sort of boards at one time or another.
Sergeant Hernandez credits his success on the board to several reasons: studying, mock boards, constant quizzing, and the mentorship he received from the senior NCOs in his company, particularly his first sergeant, platoon sergeant, and supervisor.
Sergeant Hernandez also cited his duties in the recovery section for much of his success, "Being someone who goes out on patrols helped with situational questions. That experience made answering questions easy and gave me the upper hand." He stated that the situational questions included ones on what to do when a convoy gets hit by explosives, radio procedures, and calling in medical evacuation requests. The board also gave him several scenarios and had him talk through what he would do during those situations.
Sergeant Hernandez hopes to compete for entry into the prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, where he will most likely go through another rigorous set of boards, and continue his career to become a drill sergeant. As to his success, he offered these words of wisdom to any prospective NCOs and Soldiers of the quarter, "Apply yourself, stay motivated, and stay confident."
Sergeant Hernandez is a vehicle recovery specialist assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion's Forward Support Company out of Bamberg, Germany. He is originally from Orlando, Fla., and is currently serving his second deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
| Date Taken: | 03.19.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 03.19.2009 05:08 |
| Story ID: | 31320 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 460 |
| Downloads: | 326 |
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