Selfless Service And Silent Heroes
(February 18, 2011) |
|
|
| CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq (Feb. 13, 2011) --
For seven California Army National Guardsmen, selfless
service goes beyond their Army service into their civilian
jobs. |
|
Staff Sgt. Gregory Crowe, battle non-commissioned officer with the 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Long Beach, Calif., native, works as a correctional sergeant High Desert State Prison uniform in Susanville, Calif.
Courtesy Photo
|
|
Seven soldiers with Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 749th Combat Sustainment
Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade,
103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), are
civil servants serving overseas in Operation New
Dawn at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Gregory Crowe, a battle
non-commissioned officer with the 749th CSSB,
and a Long Beach, Calif., native, is also a
correctional sergeant for the California
Department of Corrections. Crowe has a multitude
of responsibilities ranging from assigning and
supervising correctional officers, arbitrating
disputes, commanding instant response teams at
his facility, to inspecting and ensuring
facilities are fully operational. Crowe is a
10-year Army veteran and a nine-year veteran of
the Susanville High Desert State Prison.
“Working for the California Department of
Corrections is very challenging,” Crowe said.
“The key is to remain firm, fair and consistent
when dealing with the inmate population. I enjoy
working for the department as it allows me to do
my part for the community.”
Another one
of California's silent heroes is Sgt. 1st Class
Jose Perez, an ammunition logistics
non-commissioned officer with the support
operations section of the 749th CSSB, and a
Soledad, Calif., resident. Perez, a 14-year Army
veteran, is a naturalized citizen originally
from Guanajuato, Mexico, who now serves as a
Monterey County juvenile institutions officer.
Perez is also a 14-year veteran of the
California Department of Corrections. Perez
holds many duty positions including state
certified drug and alcohol counselor, truancy
officer, and a juvenile hall high-security,
incarcerated youth supervisor. He developed,
implemented, and managed a mentoring program
designed to instill team building skills among
rival gang members. His mentoring program has
been successful because the system brings rivals
together to work toward common goals. Perez was
recognized shortly after taking on a supervisory
position as the Monterey County Probation
Department Officer of the Year for his
achievements in 2006.
In addition to his
correctional service, Perez is a 15-year
volunteer fire fighter with the Salinas Fire
Department.
“I wanted to set a good
example for all of the children,” Perez said.
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Sean Birtcil, a battle
captain with the 749th CSSB, and a Walnut Creek,
Calif., native, is a Contra Costa County deputy.
“One of the most fulfilling aspects of
being a deputy sheriff is knowing that no two
days are alike,” Birtcil said. “The sheriff's
office offers unique and multiple ways to serve
my community and also allows me to serve my
country in the National Guard. Moreover, I feel
like I provide a service to the community
serving in both uniforms. I know that what I
bring from logistics to the sheriff's office is
training that I would have never received in the
sheriff's office.”
In Birtcil's current
battle captain position, he is responsible for
situational awareness of all incidents within
the battalion and reporting them appropriately.
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Chad Garton, a
military intelligence officer with the 749th
CSSB, and a Sunnyvale, Calif., native, is a
deputy sheriff with the Santa Clara County
sheriff's office. He said his three years of
service has taught him how to be a better
soldier and to be a better peace officer.
“I am able to apply aspects from both jobs
together like critical thinking, discipline,
military bearing, command presence and attention
to detail,” Garton said. “These are all useful
skills that can be used in the civilian world of
law enforcement.”
As a sheriff's deputy
his primary duties include conducting patrols
and coordinating law enforcement efforts with
the San Jose Police Department.
“I
decided not to be a military policeman because
military intelligence interested me more and I
thought MI would be a lot more interesting than
being an MP, which was my second choice, and I
got MI, so that's the route I went,” Garton
said. |
|
Sgt. 1st Class Jose Perez, an ammunition logistics non-commissioned officer with the 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Guanajuato, Mexico, native, as a civilian,works as a correctional officer in Salinas, Calif.
Courtesy Photo
|
Sgt. 1st Class Donald Jenkins, a supply non-commissioned officer working in the property book office non-commissioned officer with the 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Washington, D.C., native, works as a field training officer with the Hayward Police Department, in California.
Courtesy Photo |
|
Sgt. 1st Class Donald Jenkins, a supply non-commissioned
officer working in the property book office with the 749th
CSSB, and a Washington, D.C., native, has served for the
last 14-years as a field training officer with the Hayward
Police Department. He trains new and lateral incoming
officers to conduct investigations, write reports, and
conduct patrols, court testimony procedures and case law.
“Once I completed my college education, I sought a
job opportunity that would bring similar comradery as my
active duty military experience, and the police department
provided the structure of a paramilitary organization I had
become accustomed to,” Jenkins said.
After 20-years
of military service, Jenkins said he looks forward to
retirement and the satisfaction of knowing that he has
helped to shape and develop young leaders to fill his boots.
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Eaddy, a heavy wheeled vehicle
operator with the 749th CSSB, and a Sacramento, Calif.,
native, serves as the highway movement NCO in Iraq and is a
parking enforcement officer, and an eight-year veteran with
the West Sacramento Police Department in the U.S.
Eaddy wanted to be a police officer since he was a little
boy.
“Since childhood I always wanted to be a police
officer, and when an opportunity came available, I jumped at
the chance to fill a childhood dream,” Eaddy said. “I have
thoroughly enjoyed coaching, teaching and mentoring Soldiers
as an NCO. It is one of the highlights of my career.”
Capt. Bertrand Barton, a logistics officer serving as a
safety officer with the 749th CSSB, and a Los Angeles
native, is a Shasta Dam Sergeant of the Guard and
supervisor, where he has served for the past nine years. He
said he leads a crew who protect four major dams and a
series of smaller dams and reservoirs, diversion tunnels,
power plants and associated infrastructure inside a 100-mile
radius in California.
“I love my job for several
reasons,” Barton said. “For one, Chenega Security &
Protection Services at one point held most of the Army
security contracts in the eastern U.S., and Chenega has
modeled itself after the Army in many respects. I love the
beauty of northern California and the impressive
infrastructure of the Bureau of Reclamation that is so vital
to all of California. I never get tired of it.”
For
all of these California Army National Guardsmen, selfless
service is a way of life. Whether they have been practicing
this for three or 34 years, they are fulfilled with the
paths they have chosen. At the end of the day, these men all
wear two or more hats serving the citizens of California and
their country. They all carry and understand the risk and
responsibility for their selfless service, duty, loyalty and
honor. |
By Army 2nd Lt. Sheila Babot
224th Sustainment Brigade
Copyright 2011 | |
Provided
through DVIDS
Comment on this article |
|
