A Fort Huachuca Soldier became part of history as she received one of the first-ever awarded Army Instructor Badges during a recognition ceremony in Alexandria, Virginia, July 17.
Sgt. 1st Class Jacqueline Sauve, chief instructor for the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, stood next to six other Army instructors as they all were recognized by the Army chief of staff and sergeant major of the Army for their participation in U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's Instructor Development and Recognition Program.
The Army began awarding Army Instructor Badges this summer to bolster the standing of the NCO instructors who teach the courses in the Noncommissioned Officer Education System, according to Liston Bailey, chief of the Institute for Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Learning Innovations and Initiatives Division, in the May 6 edition of the NCO Journal.
Having served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for nine years, Sauve explained that it was time to find something new in the Army. Immediately after she received her orders to Fort Huachuca, she began searching for her perfect fit.
"I wanted to find a challenging job but also a job that would be satisfying as well," Sauve said. "So I decided to interview here at the NCO Academy. I wasn't sure where I was slotted to go but it was one of those things where I wanted to choose my own destiny. I always wanted to work here."
For Sauve, who currently has 11 years of service with one and a half years as an instructor here, being a teacher is both challenging and rewarding at the same time.
"In the beginning, I was a little nervous because here you are as a sergeant first class instructing other sergeants first class," Sauve explained. "But I think the most rewarding aspect of that is that I am able to coach, mentor and inspire others, along with motivating them while they are in the course."
The NCO Academy deputy commandant, Sgt. Maj. Robyn Collier, was the one to deliver the news that Sauve had been selected to receive the badge.
"I was excited," Sauve said. "And I was even more excited to know that I was competing against a lot of other motivated and seasoned instructors. I was just really happy that I was selected among the pool of instructors."
"The most important thing to me is not so much teaching, but being a facilitator for other senior leaders and knowing that we are making them better," Sauve added. "What I like to tell the students is that [Small Group Leaders] are not there to make them better leaders, but we are there to provide them with the tools to later apply in their lifetime. That's the whole intent. We're also obviously there to certify, they still go through evaluations, but the most important thing that I get out of it is making sure that they leave here having learned something to then later apply and also provide that legacy to the rest of their Soldiers."
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