FORT SILL, Okla. -- With the U.S. Army currently drawing down on Soldiers across the force the ability to retain proficient Soldiers is more important now than ever. The job of U.S. Army Career Counselors is to ensure that the Soldiers who are currently serving in our ranks are retained and are satisfied with their current military occupation skill and duty stations.
31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade Career Counselor, Sgt 1st Class Rudregus Davis, a native of Meridian, Mississippi recently won the annual Fires Center of Excellence Tenant Unit Career Counselor of the Year competition here. The competition consisted of a physical fitness test, a written exam and a military board appearance.
"Sgt. 1st Class Davis had a strong showing at the fiscal year 2014 FCoE and Fort Sill Career Counselor of the Year Competition, of the five NCO's who competed, Sgt. 1st Class Davis had the second highest overall score," said Command Career Counselor for Fort Sill, Sgt. Maj. Russell Paradis.
Paradis said that "Career Counselors, like most service members are competitive by nature and want to perform well at any competition. Noncommissioned officers who volunteer to appear are taking initiative and advantage of opportunities to stand out from their peers. Events such as this are one of the tools used to develop an NCO as they progress through the ranks, as well as preparing them for their respective major commands annual competition."
Davis originally enlisted in the U.S. Army as a 42A or Human Resources Specialist, where he served in that position for 10 years. He later worked in recruiting command where he saw the bigger picture of the Army in regards to recruiting Soldiers to fill the force.
"When I was working in recruiting command my eyes were opened as to how we were recruiting Soldiers to fill the work force of the Army and how we were responsible for a very crucial piece of the Army 'pie' ", said Davis. "Helping people has always been important to me and retention helped me see that on a whole new level"
"Helping families and Soldiers with problems and issues they face is my passion, to make a difference in someone's life whether it is with their assignment or career field is what is most important to me," said Davis.
Being a career counselor doesn't come without challenges though, "One of the biggest challenges I face is the current operational tempo in regards to ADA Soldiers and their mission. ADA Soldiers constantly being deployed across multiple theaters of operations to execute a vital mission for the U.S. Army, so retaining Soldiers who are ultimately faced with deployments is challenging," said Davis.
Davis will go on to compete for the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command Career Counselor of the Year Competition to be held at Fort Bliss, Texas this November.
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