Stuttgart NCOs inducted into backbone of armed forces

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Noncommissioned officers recite the NCO charge at the first ever Stuttgart Joint Services Noncommissioned Officer Induction Ceremony April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.
Noncommissioned officers recite the NCO charge at the first ever Stuttgart joint services NCO induction ceremony April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.

Photos and story by Greg Jones
USAG Stuttgart Public Affairs Office

Thirty-eight Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors were inducted into the Noncommissioned Officer Corps April 30 at Patch Chapel during the first-ever Stuttgart joint services NCO induction ceremony.

All four services consider the NCO Corps (the Navy uses the term Petty Officer Corps) to be the backbone of the military, and the NCO induction ceremony is a time-honored tradition dating back to the Revolutionary War.

Representatives from all four services simultaneously blow out the NCO candles during the first ever Stuttgart Joint Services NCO Induction Ceremony April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.
Representatives from all four services simultaneously blow out the NCO candles during the first ever Stuttgart joint services NCO induction ceremony April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.

This joint induction ceremony incorporated military traditions from each service. An NCO from each service recited their service’s NCO creed, and lit one of four candles.

In the Army tradition, the inductees walked through a wooden arch inscribed with the NCO ranks. To satisfy the Marine and Air Force traditions, they then walked through two sets of arched sabers held by NCOs from those respective services. Each inductee was then presented a certificate while a bell was rung by a petty officer, in the Navy tradition.

: Incorporating the traditions of the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, inductees at the first ever Stuttgart Joint Services Noncommissioned Officer Induction Ceremony, walk through a wooden archway of army NCO ranks followed by the arched sabers of the Air Force and Marine corps. Not visible in the photo, a petty officer rang a bell for each inductee, in accordance with Navy tradition. The ceremony was held April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.
Incorporating the traditions of the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, inductees at the first ever Stuttgart joint services NCO induction ceremony, walk through a wooden archway of army NCO ranks followed by the arched sabers of the Air Force and Marine corps. Not visible in the photo, a petty officer rang a bell for each inductee, in accordance with Navy tradition. The ceremony was held April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.

After receiving their certificates, the inductees recited the NCO charge, which outlines the core responsibilities they now have as NCOs.

Honoring the longstanding traditions of the four services served to underline the message of guest speaker Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. James McCook, the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa senior listed advisor.

In addition to emphasizing the importance of the inductees’ new role as leaders and the responsibility with which they are now charged, McCook also made it clear the legacy they had inherited and dispelled any notion that a “new breed” of NCOs is anything less than those NCOs who came before them.

Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. James McCook, Sergeant Major, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa was the guest speaker at the first ever Stuttgart Joint Services Noncommissioned Officer Induction Ceremony April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.
Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. James McCook, the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa senior enlisted advisor, was the guest speaker at the first ever Stuttgart joint services NCO induction ceremony April 30 at Patch Chapel, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart.

“The noncommissioned officers of today are as good as, if not better than, they have ever been. You’ll never hear me say things like ’They don’t make them like they used to,’” said McCook, who followed by borrowing heavily from the words of famed Marine Chesty Puller. “Old breed, new breed, doesn’t make a … bit of difference, as long as it’s the noncommissioned officer breed!”

The ceremony was hosted by U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart.

 

 

 

 

The following service members were inducted in this ceremony:

U.S. Navy:

Petty Officer 1st Class Keyonna Moore, Naval Special Warfare Unit

U.S. Air Force:

Staff Sgt. Jessica Brandt, EUCOM
Staff Sgt. Taylor Hill, EUCOM

U.S. Marine Corps:

Sgt. Zackary Bennington, MARFOR Europe and Africa
Cpl. Tucker Brinkman, MARFOR Europe and Africa
Cpl. James Green III, MARFOR Europe and Africa
Sgt. Jacob Malmberg, MARFOR Europe and Africa
Sgt. Miguel Ramirez Jr. , MARFOR Europe and Africa
Sgt. Angel Joel Sanchez, MARFOR Europe and Africa
Sgt. Andres Villacis-Florencia, MARFOR Europe and Africa

U.S. Army:

Sgt. Rogelio Ruiz, USEUCOM
Sgt. Christopher Webb, USEUCOM
Sgt. Danyelle Mason, SOCEUR
Sgt. Landon Woody, SOCEUR
Sgt. Matthew Lawson, USAG Stuttgart
Sgt. Amanda Tasnadi, USAG Stuttgart
Sgt. Jason Terry, USAG Stuttgart
Sgt. Nelson Venable, USAG Stuttgart
Sgt. Andrew Vanhulten, USAG Stuttgart
Staff. Sgt. Eric Winski, USAG Stuttgart
Sgt. Natascha Glotzbach, DENTAC
Sgt. Amber Brown, 554th MP Co.
Sgt. Eduardo Colon, 554th MP Co.
Sgt. Roger Edwards, 554th MP Co.
Sgt. Kalief McMillian, 554th MP Co.
Sgt. Daniel Olvera Jr., 554th MP Co.
Sgt. John Scott, 554th MP Co.
Sgt. Craig Steven Curtis, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Javik Grach, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Travis Grippin, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Andrew Johnson, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Kenneth Lowe Jr., 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Gustavo Morales, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Brian Penaflor, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Evin Richards, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Thomas Williams, 52 Sig. Bn.
Sgt. Soraya Young, 52 Sig. Bn.