Stuttgart NCOs inducted into backbone of military

By Greg Jones, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Public AffairsMay 1, 2015

NCO Arches
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 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... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
NCO Candles Lit
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Air Force Staff Sgt. Jasmine McKinney, with Defense Information Systems Agency-Europe, lights the last of four candles representing each service's NCOs, during the first ever Stuttgart Joint Services Noncommissioned Officer Induction Ceremony April 3... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
NCO Candles Blown Out
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
NCO Charge
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Guest Speaker
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 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, Stut... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

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 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.

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.

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.

"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 following service members were inducted in this ceremony:

For the 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.

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. Air Force:

Staff Sgt. Jessica Brandt, EUCOM

Staff Sgt. Taylor Hill, EUCOM

U.S. Navy:

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