Metamorphosis of a Soldier

The 39th Transportation Battalion honored 36 noncommissioned officers during a recent induction ceremony on Ramstein, recognizing a junior Soldier’s accomplishments and evolution as a leader.

The rite of passage for newly promoted NCOs is not an easy one, said the 16th Sustainment Brigade’s command sergeant major.

“The transition that you are about to make and the journey you are about to embark on is what I consider the most difficult in the Army. This will be an ever evolving process that you will diligently work at,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Ismael Rodriguez. “This metamorphose that you are undertaking, that of a Soldier to an NCO, a follower to a leader, is the very core of what makes us the back bone of the Army.”

Command Sgt. Maj. Walton Jones, the command sergeant major of the 39th Trans. Bn., commenced the ceremony by demanding all the doors in the room be shut in order to prevent the symbolic ceremony from being disturbed.

The custom has remained a tradition historically for the NCO Corps. Jones led the final charge of inducting the Soldiers into the NCO corps.

“A military ceremony is not ours. It’s not yours even if you are the sole reason for the ceremony,” Rodriguez said. “The ceremony belongs to all Soldiers. This is a simple tradition of our Army, packed with a power stimulus of Soldiers and future leaders.”