NCO shares his love of the Army with school children

As a group of students from Blackmon Road Middle School mingle around him, Staff Sgt. Terry Jones, a platoon sergeant in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, holds the group’s guidon at Essenbager Field, on Kelley Hill at Fort Benning, Ga., May 12. The seventh graders spent the day with Soldiers of the 3rd BSTB, learning about what life as a Soldier is about.

As seventh graders from Blackmon Road Middle School filed off their school buses and made their way down to Essenbager Field, Staff Sgt. Terry Jones, a platoon sergeant in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stood perfectly still. The red guidon in his right hand was held firmly and he stared stoically forward as the children in his platoon flowed around him. Many made jokes and giggled at his military bearing, not knowing what to make of it.

“I wanted to show the pride I held for the organization,” he said. “For that day, red platoon was my organization. It was their organization. They needed to see that as long as that guidon was standing tall, they would be to.”

For many of those students, their field trip to Kelley Hill, May 12, was a day away from school. For Jones, it was a chance to represent the organization he has made his life.

“The news shows positive images of what we do,” he said. “These kids see us serving our country, saving lives and fighting for freedom on the news. I just wanted to maintain that and give them a live example of that.”

For one day, Jones was allowed to let the students into his world. It was an opportunity, he enjoyed.

“I know there were a lot of future Soldiers in that group,” he said. “The Army has taken me all over the world, taken care of my family and helped give my life discipline. I just hope the example I set that day helped give one of those children the same opportunity I was given.”

Jones was given the opportunity to give his platoon a mock physical training session, show them the equipment he and his fellow Soldiers use to accomplish their missions and let the students try on his gear.

“We take that stuff for granted and don’t realize how special it is,” he said. “As Soldiers we can get side-tracked by taskings and extra-duties. It can be frustrating. Days like that allow us to get back to having the same pride we had when we first joined.”

Jones believes that being around civilians can help Soldiers rediscover why they became Soldiers.

“I saw some of my lesser motivated Soldiers take pride in what they do during that event,” he said. “Everyone was very professional and took pride in what they did. We don’t see how important what we do is, sometimes. Events like that remind us.”

Jones is quick to point out that in five years, many of those students will be making the decision to join the Army.

“It’s not a long time,” he said. “You just hope you made the right impression and helped bring a quality person to the organization.”

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Infantry Museum Offers Pavers as Unique Holiday Gifts

(ARA) - The holiday season brings with it one of the toughest decisions of the year: What to buy loved ones for Christmas. But this year, consider precious stones -- though not the ones you think.

The new National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, scheduled to open March 2009 in Columbus, Ga., will honor the contributions of infantrymen and those who fight alongside them. Among the many magnificent attractions of this facility will be Heritage Walk, paved with stones honoring those living and dead who have made the ultimate sacrifice: infantrymen and their loved ones.

In the Footsteps of Heroes is a program developed by the National Infantry Foundation to give permanent recognition to heroes from all walks of life. The commemorative pavers, engraved with personal messages of gratitude, will line a 1,000-foot long, 20-foot wide walkway connecting the new museum and the parade field in Patriot Park. A kiosk will allow visitors to look up the exact location of their paver.

The National Infantry Foundation is selling the 4 inch by 8 inch granite pavers to support the mission of the National Infantry Museum and the Foundation. Each paver holds three lines of text; each line has room for 20 characters. The $250 cost is tax deductible and includes one free 2 inch by 4 inch replica paver that purchasers or honorees can keep on a desktop. Orders can be placed online or with a downloadable order form at www.nationalinfantrymuseum.com and brochures are available for mailing. Proceeds will be used to complete construction of the museum.

Pavers that have been purchased by Dec. 18, 2008, will be placed along Heritage Walk in time for the National Infantry Museum's grand opening on March 20, 2009.

"In the Footsteps of Heroes will honor everyone --active duty soldiers and retired veterans; Infantry, Armor, Airborne, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard -- everyone who has fought for and protected our beloved nation," says Major General Jerry A. White of the National Infantry Museum. "This project will also pay tribute to the wives, parents and children who have supported, loved and sometimes lost their loved ones in the fight for democracy; they, too, have made brave sacrifices for the freedoms we hold dear."

The 200-acre new National Infantry Museum site is adjacent to historic Fort Benning, known as the "Home of the Infantry." The famed United States Army Infantry School was established at Fort Benning and, through the years, this institution emerged as the most influential infantry center in the modern world. The museum's galleries will be chock full of engaging exhibits with themes highlighting infantry experiences in military training, Medal of Honor recipients, the Officer Candidate School training experience, the contributions of Rangers and more. In addition, the museum's 300-seat IMAX Theater will bring giant screen movies to the Columbus region for the first time.

Supporters of the National Infantry Museum include corporations such as Chrysler, AT&T, Synovus, Aflac, Burger King, Coca-Cola, Colt and Samsung as well as foundations, government grants and over 900 individuals who have made donations or contributed to the commemorative paver program. More information about the National Infantry Museum and In the Footsteps of Heroes is available at www.nationalinfantrymuseum.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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