Staff Sergeant Promotion Day

My date of rank to Staff Sergeant is April 1st, but I did not get to have the promotion ceremony or wear the rank on my chest until today... the 6th. I had to wait for Fort Campbell to send my orders over to Egypt, and surprise, that wasn't top priority! It's all good though, I've been on the payroll as a Staff Sergeant since the 1st.

 

So today I got pinned. My Commander said some really great things about me at the ceremony. He said I am one of the most dependable NCOs he's ever worked with and that I am passionate about taking care of my Soldiers-- he said he was confident I could run the whole company if he asked me to. He said my ceiling for potential in the Army is limitless. I don't think anyone has ever said such wonderful things about me, ever. Let alone in a public forum. It's really touching to know I am held in high regard.

 

I had my battle buddy, Tracy, do the honors of ripping off my Sergeant rank and placing Staff Sergeant on my chest.

 

 

 

I'm really proud I made it to the rank of Staff Sergeant. It may have taken a few set backs, a break in service and a total of 8 years in service to the US Army, but I made it. Better late than never. And I intend to keep doing what I think is best for me and the Army-- it seems to be working out lately.

Area Beautification

My Soldiers and I were doing a little area beautification today. You'd think that kind of thing would stop after basic training, and that it definitely would stop after I was promoted to Sergeant (2 years ago). But there I was, pulling weeds in a garden full of weeds along side of my Soldiers.

Who ever landscaped my company building was out of their damn minds because they planted decorative glass and black eyed Susans in a ditch and then dumped a bunch of mulch around it and called it a day. Well that was over 2 years ago and we aren't given a landscaping fund to keep the mulch nice. So the ditches became 99% weeds. We pulled about 80% of those weeds. By hand. It was awesome. And by awesome, I mean, it was terrible.

While I was down there digging around I turned over a rock with my ungloved hand and came face to face with this fat lady black widow. She and I were equally unhappy about her discovery. I didn't kill her, instead I just kept my eye on her. The she disappeared while I was preoccupied and it made me wary. I stopped pulling weeds in that particular area. Just another joy of working in the South.

SGT(P) DeGraf

Today was my Staff Sergeant promotion board.

Today was a terrible day. And today was a great day. The whole part where I was at the board was stressful and made me feel like a worthless idiot. The whole rest of the day after the board was great-- because the board was over. Forever. I'll never have to sit before a panel of 5 First Sergeants and 1 Command Sergeant Major and have them scrutinize and judge me based on every syllable that comes out of my mouth, every move my body makes, and every stitch of my uniform ever again.

Thank you, Jesus. Now I can finally breathe for a second!

The only way my (P) promotable status can be taken away from me now, is if I screw up and somehow end up in trouble with the Army. Never ever have I been more inclined to do the right thing so I'll never have to go to the board again.

Staff Sergeant DeGraf will sound really good once I make points. Let the mad dash to earn more points begin! 

SGT Williams

SGT Williams... oh that sounds so sexy. And it happened! Finally!

I got promoted outside the clinic at 1400 this afternoon. I had a special guest come up from brigade to do the honors of stripping my Corporal rank and affixing my new Sergeant rank: Command Sergeant Major Huggins. It was a super big honor to have the highest ranking enlisted person in the entire brigade (that's like 2,000 people) to promote me. I used to work directly for him while I worked at brigade and we kind of bonded. I always jokingly refer to him as my dad because he's overprotective, he pushes me to be the best I can, he's a teacher and my mentor.

Also, he is absolutely terrifying and the definition evil. He can strike fear in my very soul like no other person can. But that comes with the role he has to play as the Brigade Command Sergeant Major. But today he was all smiles, and very proud of me.

It's Army tradition to punch a newly promoted person right in the rank-- which is located right in the middle of my chest. I took a few blows to the sternum today that made me fall back. I wasn't expecting some of the blows to be so hard! I'm a chick! Don't hit me in the boobs! That hurts! Damn all that 'equality' and 'fairness' the Army tries to enforce between the sexes.

I'm really happy I finally got promoted. I'm always proud to wear this uniform, but this makes me beam.