Army Reservists Train Active Component on Enhanced Battle Rifle

Story by Timothy Hale

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, based here, gathered on the bleachers and listened intently to the instructor.

“Were you able to see, through the scope mounted on your rifle, why we were telling you what to do?” asked Master Sgt. Norman Anderson, a member of the Army Reserve Marksmanship team.

“Hooah!” came the response from the soldiers.

“When you did the practice yourself, you were able to implement and have success. Yes or no?” he asked.

“Yes!” was the unanimous response from the group.

The question and answer session was a small part of the training for soldiers from the 2nd/504th PIR on the Enhanced Battle Rifle – an individual weapon system that will be used by the unit’s squad designated marksmen during their deployment to Afghanistan.

The Army Reserve Marksmanship team was contacted by 2nd/504th PIR leadership to conduct squad designated marksmanship training on the EBR, according to Master Sgt. Richard R. Kalina II, who was in charge of the training event.

“Any time we have a chance to enhance the skill of the warfighter directly … that’s a privilege,” Kalina said. “You can’t place a value on that type of experience.”

Kalina said that many of the trainers have been with the team for many years and have valuable experience to share.

“Being able to impart the knowledge that we have to our next generation, that is going to firmly implant on their minds,” he said. “In turn, when they make the option to either stay with the Army or go to the Army Reserve or National Guard, they’re going to think back to the training they have received right now and they’re going to do the same for the next generation.”

The EBR itself is not completely new but a modification of the M14 service rifle, said Staff Sgt. John Arcularius, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Army Reserve Service Pistol Team.

“The best thing we can give them is confidence in their weapon’s ability to hit at those extended ranges we expect it to hit,” he said.

“What it means is, you’re more relevant than ever”

Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, Chief of the Army Reserve, spoke to reservists with the 7th Civil Support Command in Kaiserslautern during a visit Feb. 10 to Germany. Stultz allayed fears about budget cuts, assuring soldiers that the Army Reserve was “more relevant than ever,” and that the Army would be depending on the Reserve to fill gaps in capabilities, including in Europe and elsewhere overseas.

Read the rest of this story, “Army Reserve could help fill void in Europe and elsewhere, commander says by Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes.

Movin’ Up in the Ranks

After the promotion ceremony the five Soldiers are given the NCO Change by Cmd. Sgt. Major Commenia.

Here at the Command Group, Soldiers are definitely doing what it takes to “move up in the ranks”.

Family, close friends and staff members recently joined in the celebrating the promotion of five Army Reserve Career Division Soldiers (ARCD).  Two, promoted to the rank Sgt. 1^st Class, now, Sgts. 1^st Class Chakeyma Allen and Russell Carter. Three promoted to Master Sgt., now, Master Sgts. Jeremy Kasten, Keather Mitchell, and Jacqueline Zent. 

The Soldiers chose family members or close colleagues to assist in the promotion, removing their old rank and replacing it with their rank.  After their penning, each Soldier expressed their gratitude to those who influenced their careers and assisted in their accomplishments.

After the Soldiers were pinned with their new rank, they raised their right hands as Command Sgt. Major Connie Commenia, ARCD, issued the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) Charge.  “Don’t just say it”, she began, “Know it, and live by it!”

To complete the ceremony the Soldiers proudly recited verses from the NCO’s Creed.

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Happy New Years and Remember – Be Safe!

Wildcat sax player inducted into the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club

“At several points during his board evaluation, the board members attempted to throw him off by interrupting him in the middle of recitations by asking random questions and even having Myers assume the front leaning rest position while reciting the NCO creed and again during the recitation of Murphy’s biography.”

In the photo, Staff Sgt (then Sgt.) Tyler Myers warms up on his saxophone during a rehearsal. Myers was recently inducted into the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club at the 81st Regional Support Command dining out on November 5, 2011.

Read the rest of Staff Sgt. Tyler Myers’ story at “Wildcat sax player inducted into the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club.”

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: THE FIRST CHAPTER

One of the best examples of a Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) is the legacy of Sergeant Audie-Leon Murphy with an organization named in his honor. The Army Reserve Careers Division (ARCD) made its impression in history this year with its own chapter of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.

The NCOs from the ARCD exhibited leadership qualities learned through their counseling, mentorship and training. The nine chosen and will be first inducted into the first chapter of the Army Reserve Careers Division Chapter and into the newest chapter of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.

Command Sergeant Major Connie Commenia is the president of the ARCD first chapter. On numerous occasions, she has expressed her excitement with having the club as a part of the Army Reserve Careers Division.

Picture left are the ARCD Chapters first inductees from left to right, front center SFC Anna Ash, 4th Battalion, SFC Kelli Harr, 9th Battalion, and SFC Sabrina Derhammer, 8th Battalion. From L to R: (Back Row) SFC Shane Larson, 2nd Battalion, SFC Danielle Font, 7th Battalion, SFC Leslie Beltran, 2nd Battalion, SFC Keather Mitchell, ARCD Headquarters, SFC Donna Schwan, 11th Battalion, and SFC Francisco Bermudez, 5th Battalion.

Congratulations to the newest members of the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club members and the Army Reserve Careers Division. 

Be sure to leave your comments congratulating each of them.

Written by SPC. C. Williamson
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THE MOTTO: “You lead from the front.” … Audie Murphy

Soldiers from the Army Reserve Careers Division on the land navigation portion of the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club competition.

 

Leadership is a journey of discovery. As a leader, your team will look to you for direction as you work to move them towards a common goal. NCOs show the way by example and enlist the aid and support of others. They strive to set the example in everything that they do. Junior enlisted soldiers see these leaders and mock their actions, which help to shape them into future leaders.

The motto of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club: “You lead from the front”, describes the mentality that its member take with them every day.

By ‘leading from the front’, NCOs develop the skills that will follow them and propel those to come after towards reaching professional success.

 

THE CREST

Sgt. Audie Murphy Club Crest

The Sgt. Audie Murphy Club crest was designed by one of the original organizers of the club, Mr. Don Moore, a professional illustrator from Killeen, Texas. The primary elements of the crest are…

• The letters S A M C: are an abbreviation for the “Sergeant Audie Murphy Club”.
• The three stars: separate the letters and represent the “Be”, “Know” and “Do” which is at the core of an Army NCO’s professional spirit.
• The laurel: represents the individual achievement of the NCO in the club.
• The lightning bolt: represents swift and decisive action taken by the NCO.
• The sword: is a historical reference and is the symbolic tool of the NCO to cut to the heart of the matter and to lead the charge.
• The U.S. Army staff sergeant stripes: represent the highest enlisted rank attained by Audie Murphy.
• The powder-blue streamers: the color of the infantry, indicate the words of the NCO philosophy: Loyalty, Caring, Discipline, and Professionalism.
• The majestic American Bald Eagle: the national bird and our country’s symbol for freedom. The eagle also represents the intent of the SAMC to be nationwide.

This information is from the S.A.M.C. Website

The Sgt. Audie Murphy Club

Sgt. Audie Murphy Club Crest

The Sgt. Audie Murphy Club was created to develop, inspire, and motivate the best leaders possible in the U.S. Army.

The Sergeant Audie Murphy Club is a private U.S. Army organization for enlisted non-commissioned officers (NCO) only. Those NCO’s whose leadership achievements and performance merit special recognition may possibly earn the reward of membership. Members must… “…exemplify leadership characterized by personal concern for the needs, training, development, and welfare of Soldiers and concern for families of Soldiers (FORSCOM Reg. 600-8, paragraph 1).”

An NCO meeting these pre-requisites may then be recommended by his non-commissioned officer chain-of-command to participate in the rigorous board examination process.

The club, originally started at Fort Hood, Texas in early1986. There were several key people at Fort Hood – officer, enlisted, civil service, and a Killeen civilian – who were instrumental in getting this club up and running.

Leading the effort was Lieutenant General Crosbie Saint, then the III Corps commander; his Command Sergeant Major George L. Horvath; III Corps Awards Clerk Jean Crisp, and Don Moore, a Killeen artist who assisted with designing the logo and club awards.

In 1991, then III Corps Commander Lieutenant General Pete Taylor and Command Sergeant Major Richard B. Cayton expanded the Fort Hood installation club to include all of III Corps. This included Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Carson, Colorado.

In 1993, CSM Cayton was voted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club by the membership and then became the Forces Command Sergeant Major. Soon thereafter, the club became Forces-Command (FORSCOM) wide, including the Reserves and National Guard.

In 1994 at a Sergeant Major of the Army conference, the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club spread Army-wide, to all commands with installations retaining the selection process for their own NCOs. In 1998, it was estimated that the club membership was over 3000 soldiers and was steadilly increasing.

This information is from the S.A.M.C. Website

The Soldier: Sgt. Audie Murphy

Sgt. Audie Leon Murphy, served 3 years as a combat soldier in World War II, becoming one of the best fighting combat soldiers of this or any other century. What Audie accomplished during this period is most significant and probably will never be repeated by another soldier, given today’s high-tech type of warfare. The U.S. Army has always declared that there will never be another Audie Murphy.

Sgt. Murphy became known as the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II. Among his 33 awards and decorations were the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States of America, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

He also received every decoration for valor that his country had to offer, some of them more than once, including 5 decorations by France and Belgium. Credited with either killing over 240 of the enemy while wounding and capturing many others, he became a legend within the 3rd Infantry Division.

Beginning his service as an Army Private, Audie quickly rose to the enlisted rank of Staff Sergeant, was given a “battle field” commission as 2nd Lieutenant, was wounded three times, fought in 9 major campaigns across the European Theater, and survived the war.

For more information on Murphy life go to the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Website.