Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Hernandez | Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 4 Terrance L. Coleman Jr., the command chief...... read more read more
[Tampa, Fla.] The Army Reserve Medical Command’s senior warrant officer advisor to the commanding general swore in a new Army Reserve recruit March 22 in recognition of his role as a recruitment ambassador for the new Soldier.
“I want to bring light to those things that we tend to overlook,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Terrance L. Coleman Jr., who was selected by Maj. Gen. Michael L. Yost in March for this role.
The new Soldier, Jaiveon Council-Griffin, whose hometown is Brandon, Florida, said he graduated from high school two years ago, and now works at a local golf driving range and restaurant.
Council-Griffin said Coleman is a friend of the family.
“I’ve known Chief Coleman for a long time,” he said.
The high schooler said the Army offers competitive pay and benefits compared to other careers.
“The benefits are definitely a huge plus,” he said. “Being able just to have the option to travel and get deployed basically just felt easier, and since most of my family's military just felt like the right thing you do,” he said.
Coleman said he loved being a recruitment ambassador and was going to champion the program as part of his role on the AR-MEDCOM Command Team.
“I'm just kind of like that guy--bridging the gap and making these young kids more comfortable with joining the military,” the chief warrant officer said.
Coleman said the recruit he enlisted with a slot reserved for him after basic combat training at the course for a cyber operations specialist, or 17 Charlie.
“You talk about things like this, being able to go out, be an advocate for the Army even though I'm not a recruiter but I can assist a Soldier who's questioning whether or not they want to join the military and make them comfortable by being there and walking them through the process,” he said.
“I can talk to you about the military,” he said. “I'll take time out of my day to talk to people about the military and let them know about a plethora of jobs that we offer, because believe it or not, young kids believe that their only job that they have is to fight to be 11 bang-bangs, to be infantry men or special ops.”
The term “11 bang-bang” is Army shorthand for the military occupation specialty code 11 Bravo, an infantryman.
The ceremony was held at the Tampa Recruiting Battalion headquarters, taking advantage of a new remote enlistment program. In the past, enlistees would be sworn in at their local Military Entrance Processing Station, but typically, MEPS would only allow one guest.
Through the remote enlistment program, new Soldiers are allowed to bring friends and family for a more open and atmosphere, so that the occasion is more of a celebration.
Coleman said the recruit was originally considering the Air Force.
Council-Griffin said when the Air Force path became difficult, he heard out Coleman’s pitch for him to consider the Army.
“He kept pushing, pushing and pushing Army since and the Air Force kept taking longer and longer--. I decided to give him a chance and three, four weeks later I'm here,” he said.
Coleman said he was thrilled to make the sale.
“The Air Force didn't take him for whatever reason. He waited for two years and gave up on the military altogether,” he said.
“His parents reached out to me and said: ‘Hey, can you assist us?’ So, I met with him, and I've been with him all the way through every step of the recruitment process, which you got us here today,” he said.
“They don't even know what that is because we're not out there,” he said.
“They don't see us every day, so whenever they stop me and they ask questions about the military, even though about a recruit, I just take time to be an advocate for the Army,” he said.
“It's a win for him. It's a win for us.”
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2025 14:19 |
| Story ID: | 494948 |
| Location: | TAMPA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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