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The 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment held an induction ceremony to induct 45 new Soldiers from various units from throughout the regiment into the noncommissioned officer corps during a ceremony held Nov. 30 on Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern. The NCO induction ceremony is a welcoming of all the newly promoted sergeants into the proud NCO Corps and also a reminder and honoring of those who have served with pride and excellence in the ranks.
Induction ceremonies are important because they provide unit cohesion and develop a bond among NCOs.
“Those inducted Soldiers will become the first sergeants, they’ll become platoon sergeants, and they’ll become sergeants major for our forces in the future and they will continue to uphold the tradition for our great Army that has so much been instilled in our minds for over 230 something years”, said Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas R. Capel, the U.S. Army Europe Command sergeant major.
The NCO induction ceremony dates back to December 1988 when Command Sgt. Maj. Horvath observed a German army NCO induction ceremony and suggested the U.S. Army adopt a similar program, which they did in April 1989 when the first ceremony was held. Now, more than 22 years later, the NCO induction ceremonies continue to be a part of the Army worldwide, celebrating new additions to the elite corps of NCOs.
The 5th Bn.’s ceremony started with an invocation followed by the national anthem. A Soldiers request was next along with the NCO creed and the guest speaker Master Sgt. Alan C. Jonason, who provided the inductees the definition of a leader.
“Leaders are not born they are developed. Leaders are guided by others but for the most part they lead essentially by themselves,” said Jonason, the intelligence NCO in charge with 5-7 ADA and a native of Mendota, Ill. “We cannot expect our Soldiers to live by the Army values when their leaders and mentors are not upholding the standard. Values plus the warrior ethos guide the way we conduct ourselves as an Army and as a profession of arms. We must be an uncompromising standard bearer for our Soldiers.” Once the inductees received their plaque and marched through the NCO arch, they followed the lead of Command Sgt. Maj.
Norriel Fahie, the CSM for 5-7 ADA, in the reciting of the charge of the NCO.The ceremony concluded with everyone in attendance singing the Army song. “It means a lot. I know I’m a leader so it’s easy for me. I look forward to getting ready to lead Soldiers that I have been working with so far,” said Sgt. Shoyan C. France, a native of New York who is the Command Stamis Operator for Headquarters Battery 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command and an inductee in the ceremony.
“Being a military spouse it’s nice to see recognition for his hard work and just being able to see him recognized in front of his peers meant a lot. I’m just so proud of him and I’m glad for his hard work and I’m glad that we are here to support him,” said Jackie Tran, wife of Sgt. Thiet Tran, who was an NCO Corp inductee.
Every month specialists are promoted to NCOs, leaders and mentors. Our Army continues to move forward and Soldiers do the same. “I look at our future and looking at you right now, our future looks good,” Capel said, when speaking to the inductees.
