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The Security Assistance Training Company’s own Master Sgt. Nekoesha Taylor, SATCO Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear (CBRN) operations noncommissioned officer, was one of just a handful of NCOs across Fort Liberty to be inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club (SAMC) this iteration.
The club’s namesake, Audie Murphy--a U.S. Army infantryman who rose to the rank of staff sergeant before commissioning as a second lieutenant--is recognized as the most decorated U.S. combat Soldier of World War II. Among his 33 awards and decorations earned, he holds the distinction of being a Medal of Honor recipient, the U.S. Armed Forces’ highest military decoration.
In 1986, members of the 3rd Corps at Fort Cavazos, Texas, (formerly Fort Hood) established the club in Texas-native Murphy’s honor to recognize NCOs who have significantly contributed to the development of a professional NCO corps and a combat-ready Army.
“Being in the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club means to me being a leader of character, leading by example, and being able to impact change,” said Taylor. “The grit and grind of being an NCO makes us the backbone of the Army and those that make up Audie Murphy are the 1%.”
Taylor said her journey to become part of the 1% of NCOs began when she achieved the rank of sergeant all the way back in 2006, but service and duty came first, and she had to put the SAMC goal on the backburner for deployments and rotations at the National Training Center and Joint Readiness Training Center.
“I pushed forward to deploy and do my rotations and try again as a staff sergeant, and still deployments and all kind of things kept coming up in my way,” said Taylor. “But when I got to Fort Leonard Wood, I just started studying.”
At Fort Leonard wood, Missouri, Taylor was the sitting first sergeant of a division headquarters company, a demanding role to fulfill while also preparing for the rigorous standards required to be inducted into the SAMC.
“The requirements meant countless, countless hours of preparation and volunteer work which included feeding and providing clothing for the less fortunate and trash pickup on the highway,” said Taylor. “I also had to go through four boards at the company, battalion, brigade and division levels.”
To study for these boards required time management and balance, so Taylor set aside her lunch break most days to study and prepare with the help of NCOs already in the club.
In addition to the boards, Taylor was required to take the Army Combat Fitness Test and score over a 90 in all six events, meet height and weight requirements, shoot expert on her assigned weapons, and write a 750-word essay on Enhancing Propensity to Serve with the Army.
The point of the high standards is to ensure that the NCOs inducted into the club are those who can lead by example by doing the things and meeting the standards that they ask of their subordinates, explained Taylor.
Nearly 18 years after she set her sights on the distinction, Taylor finally donned the Sergeant Audie Murphy medallion during an induction ceremony hosted by the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty SAMC at the Fort Liberty NCOA-Clark Auditorium Aug. 22, 2024.
While she credits her own fortitude, grit, and never-quit mentality for enduring the process and achieving induction, it was not a one-person journey.
“The Fort Leonard Wood leadership, from the command sergeants major to the master sergeants, my peers, my battle buddies, and those already in Audie Murphy, all assisted me,” said Taylor.
Now that she has been inducted, Taylor can focus on the community-oriented nature of the SAMC. On base and off, the club leads from the front by giving back through food and toy drives, reading to elementary school children, running an annual scholarship program, hosting base events to promote morale and unity and more.
Taylor enlisted in the Army in 2004 as a Nuclear Biological Chemical specialist and said from the start she had high expectations of herself, stating her ultimate is goal to become a command sergeant major.
“My biggest goals have always been to excel in anything I do within the Army,” she said.
While she has only been at SATCO since February, Master Sgt. Christopher Zamudio, SATCO first sergeant, said that in the short time working with her, Taylor has proven herself a formidable leader who is dedicated to duty and willing to affect change.
“The accomplishment of being inducted into one of the most prestigious clubs in the Army is a testament to Master Sgt. Taylor’s dedication not only to herself but to her service as well,” said Zamudio. “To prepare oneself for the rigors of the selection process and execution of all the required tasks, not to mention the fact that she did this while maintaining a highly demanding leadership position, to be inducted is an accomplishment that speaks volumes to her character and leadership capabilities.”
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2024 15:49 |
| Story ID: | 482255 |
| Location: | FORT LIBERTY, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SATCO Soldier earns Sergeant Audie Murphy Club induction, by Kristen Pittman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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