Photo By Mark Schauer | Soldiers from U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground's BOSS program visit with residents of the...... read more read more
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Roughly 10% of the total personnel at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) are active duty soldiers.
For a young soldier or non-commissioned officer, the remote and isolated post in the Desert Southwest can be a very different environment than they are accustomed to.
YPG’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program aims to uphold morale and help develop life skills, and under the leadership of the program’s president, Sgt. Jason Yang, and vice president, Pfc. Hardi Patel, is expanding its presence on post.
From visiting with residents at the Arizona State Veterans Home Yuma during Christmas to taking weekend excursions off post, the chapter has already made a mark on post and off.
“I had been pretty active under the previous BOSS president,” said Yang. “I really enjoyed doing these events and wanted to do more.”
Patel, currently the post’s youngest soldier, was eager to become involved in the group.
“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone because I’m going to be here for a while, so I tried for vice president or secretary,” said Patel. “I became the vice president and I’ve been trying to help out in any way possible.”
For single soldiers on post, monthly life skills classes are about to begin. The first will teach basic cooking techniques and tips, and the next one will teach basic skills for auto care and maintenance. Off post, the group hopes to take trips to Sequoia and Yosemite National Park after a well-received excursion to SeaWorld in San Diego. Further out, the group hopes to hold a scuba certification class in San Diego.
“The goal is to get soldiers out of YPG,” said Yang. “We’re in the desert, and we want soldiers to see some things that are unique and exciting.”
The group meets monthly with at least one representative from each of the active duty Army units on YPG. Plans are underway to stand up a social media presence and a group WhatsApp or Discord Channel. The larger Army BOSS program encourages local chapters to seek sponsors for their events, and the YPG chapter hopes their group’s successes will facilitate interest in lending a hand.
“Our goal is to make our program more visible in the community,” said Yang. “Once we have these small wins, sponsors will be able to see that and hopefully will want to support us.”
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2024 09:01 |
| Story ID: | 475579 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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