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Tropic Lightning -- 19 April 2001
 Photo(s) by Sgt. Lauren Reader The winners of the USARPAC NCO, Soldier of the Year Competition are from left to right: Spc. Nainoa K. Hoe, 9th RSC, Sgt. Reynaldo A. Singson, Alaska Army National Guard, Spc. Sherry L. Singleton, U.S. Army Alaska and Staff Sgt. Christopher R. Norris, 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. | USARPAC announces NCO, Soldier of the Year By Sgt. Lauren Reader The 15 Soldiers sat perfectly straight with their hands on their thighs, much like they did a week before, only this time they weren’t being drilled with questions, they were waiting to hear if their name would be called out as a winner of the U.S. Army Pacific Active and Reserve Component Soldier and NCO of the Year Awards Ceremony Friday at the Fort Shafter Flats. The USARPAC command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Jackie L. Cunningham, president of the board, called out the winner’s names. First he gave the names of the reserve component winners - Sgt. Reynaldo A. Singson, Alaska Army National Guard and Spc. Nainoa K. Hoe, 9th Regional Support Command. Then, the active-duty winners were announced - Staff Sgt. Christopher R. Norris, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, reconnaissance platoon squad leader and Spc. Sherry L. Singleton, U.S. Army Alaska, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Special Troops Battalion personnel administration specialist. The Soldiers kept their military bearing as they marched to the front of the room to be presented with numerous awards including savings bonds, hotel stays, travel packages and gift certificates. "This is a little overwhelming. It took a lot of hours of studying but it definitely paid off. I’ve received more than $6,000 in awards since I began going to these boards a few months ago," Norris said. It may have been more than just studying material that made Norris the NCO of the Year. "This was not a board that had questions like ‘What is the effective range of an M-16A2?’ It’s about three graduate levels above that. So there were very few canned answers, and a lot of mental answers that had to be thought about and pondered," Cunningham said. Out of all the questions asked on the board, both Norris and Singleton agreed that one was the most difficult. "I was asked what I’d change if I was the Sergeant Major of the Army for a day. My answer was to reward Soldiers for what they do and not because they’re a certain rank," said Singleton. Norris answered by saying, "I would attempt to establish a new pay budget and close the gap in pay between the senior NCOs and officers." Command Sgt. Maj. Michael T. Etheridge, 25th Infantry Division (Light) division command sergeant major was at the ceremony to show his support for the two division Soldiers competing. "I’m proud of Staff Sgt. Norris, he’s the best the 25th has to offer. At each level the competition is stiffer. It takes a lot of self sacrifice to get to this level and you have to want it real bad. Winning doesn’t happen by accident," Etheridge said. |
