Sergeant sees need, becomes retention NCO

Photo By Spc. Mary Ferguson | Sgt. Melissa N. Robinson, 55th Personnel Support Battalion stands with Capt. Teressa Pearson, the 55th PSB Commander, after her reenlistment ceremony aboard an Army vessel in Ash Shuaiba Port, Kuwait Feb. 8.  

ASH SHUAIBA PORT, KUWAIT

06.10.2006

Courtesy Story

3rd Corps Support Command

ASH SHUAIBA PORT, Kuwait - Every day a Soldier somewhere faces the life-altering decision of whether they should continue to serve their country, in uniform, or use their military experiences to transition into the civilian workforce.

Enlistments constantly tick away, and the clock doesn't stop during a deployment. Before Soldiers realize it, they find themselves pulling up a chair next to their unit's retention NCO, listing the pros and cons that fuel their reenlistment decision. In order to use the knowledge and guidance afforded by a retention NCO, there must actually be one.

Sgt. Melissa Robinson, a 3rd Corps Support Command Soldier with the Multi-National Corps " Kuwait, recognized that when the approximately 90 3rd COSCOM Soldiers serving alongside her in Kuwait made that important decision, there was nobody there to guide them, so she stepped up to the plate.

While the 3rd COSCOM boasts impressive reenlistment statistics overall, the hub of retention knowledge thrives at the unit's headquarters on Logistical Support Area Anaconda.

"I first noticed the need for a retention NCO in Kuwait when I was trying to reenlist myself earlier this year," Robinson explained. "I had plenty of support from up north [Iraq], but the distance just made it difficult sometimes during the process."

Robinson joined a group of MNC-K Soldiers in a February reenlistment ceremony, revealing that the lack of a local retention NCO didn't prevent the continued patriotism among the Soldiers.

"I decided after experiencing facing the decision to reenlist and watching the Soldiers around me go through it too, that a retention NCO in Kuwait would only help other Soldiers in the future," Robinson said.

Sgt. 1st Class Brad Burgess, the 3rd COSCOM Special Troops Battalion career counselor steered Robinson's motivation, suggesting she attend the week-long Mobile Retention Training course hosted in March by the 3rd COSCOM on LSA Anaconda.

"I traveled up to Balad for the course, and there were Soldiers from all over Iraq," Robinson said. "We learned tons of information about reenlisting, career counseling and how to properly guide Soldiers in making decisions."

Upon her return to Kuwait, Robinson welcomed her fellow Soldiers to bring any concerns or questions regarding their military futures and reenlistment to her.

"I created a retention bulletin board with pages and pages of useful information," she explained. "I think the most important part is that our Soldiers now have an actual person they can talk face to face with about their futures."

One of the many things covered in the MRT course Robinson experienced was the skill of recognizing the individual and unique concerns and factors involved in every Soldier's decision to reenlist.

"I know the Soldiers here in Kuwait. I work with them on a daily basis and know them as people and as Soldiers," she said. "I can sit down with one of these Soldiers, and feel confident that we have already established a relationship, and now we can focus on their future in the military."

Though the recent reenlistment leaves few COSCOM Soldiers in Kuwait in an immediate need for career counseling, Robinson remains motivated by the proactive approach the MRT training and her new position as the unit's retention NCO provide for the Soldiers who are even just beginning to consider their military futures.

"A Soldier should start thinking about reenlistment about 18 to 24 months out from their ETS [end time in service] date," Robinson said. "Knowing and applying what I have learned, I can begin advising and helping Soldiers who may have as much as 2 years until they must make a decision."

Robinson will continue to serve as a retention NCO after 3rd COSCOM redeploys to its home base in Wiesbaden, Germany.

• Date Taken: 06.10.2006
• Date Posted: 06.10.2006 11:17
• Story ID: 6777
• Location: ASH SHUAIBA PORT, KW