Photo By Cpl. Daniel Eddy | Command Sgt. Maj. William Johnson (left), command sergeant major of 1st Armored...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD - Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston visited Camp Liberty, Iraq, Sept. 27 to speak with United States Division – Center soldiers and personally greet a few who have excelled in their jobs.
Preston has been sergeant major of the Army since early 2004 and will be retiring in March of 2011, concluding more than 35 years of service in the U.S. Army. There have only been 13 sergeants major of the Army, and Preston’s seven-year period is the longest span any has ever served.
In the morning, the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club grew by one when Preston inducted Staff Sgt. Derick Polk, platoon sergeant with headquarters platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, USD-C, and a Camden, N.J., native, into the prestigious group.
Preston said he likes having groups like SAMC because it shows soldiers who are in it taking initiative to improve themselves in different aspects of their lives.
“With the Audie Murphy (Club) and Sgt. Morales Club, it’s not an easy task to pass the boards and be recommended and be inducted into those clubs,” Preston said. “It goes well beyond that, because what those programs really do is promote self-development, self-study, the three pillars of learning and how we learn as soldiers over time and in our careers.”
The first “pillar of learning” Preston said is the institutions and college courses that can help soldiers prepare themselves for life and perform better in their careers. Preston said the second “pillar of learning” comes from life experience.
“About 70 percent of what we learn is being in the job, doing the job everyday,” he said. “It’s those experiences, the positions that we hold, it’s the counseling, and the coaching, and mentoring that we get from our raters and our senior raters. Our supervisors help us grow in those positions and to perform better.”
Preston said the third “pillar of learning,” which is usually forgotten, is self-development and self-study. These areas of a soldier’s life are very important as they continue to grow in their profession and the SAMC promotes these attributes.
“The beauty of self-development and self-study is the command can really promote it and have a sergeant learn everything they need to do to be a successful leader,” Preston said.
After Preston presented coins to soldiers who have performed exceptionally well in the jobs, he spoke to senior enlisted soldiers and listened to their concerns and questions.
Preston said it is his responsibility to take the good attributes of a soldier and pass them on to soldiers underneath him.
“I think as a senior NCO it is an obligation and for all those senior NCOs out there, we are trainers’” Preston said. “It’s our obligation to take the experience we have learned and pass that down to the next generation.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Sal Katz Jr., command sergeant major of Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armd. Div., and a Los Angeles native, said these types of visits are important to soldiers to show that the sergeant major of the Army is still a Soldier like them. Katz has seen Preston several times before and always enjoys each visit.
“For me, just listening to him is very motivating and gives me a lot of direction for the (1st Armored Division).” Katz said.
Katz said, as a command sergeant major, Preston has provided a lot of purpose and direction in his career.
In the afternoon, junior enlisted heard Preston speak and were also given a chance to to ask questions.
Soldiers were grateful for the opportunity to talk to a Soldier in such a high position.
“I think someone that high up taking the time to come and say hello to the soldiers is great,” said Spc. Jessica George, a human resources specialist with Company A, DSTB, 1st Armd. Div., and a Hope Mills, N.C., native.
George said having the sergeant major of the Army take time out of his schedule to check on soldiers and see how they are doing motivates her to excel personally.
| Date Taken: | 09.27.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2010 03:06 |
| Story ID: | 57281 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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