SGT Devin and SPC Alisha Potts took their oath of re-enlistment Jan. 13 at the 11th Engineer Battalion headquarters. The Potts family is the first married couple to re-enlist together since the battalion stood up three years ago.
"I liked the fact that they let us do it together," said Alisha, a mechanic with Forward Support Company. "It was cool. I got to do it with my husband - side by side, at the same time."
"We've done a lot of things together," said Devin, an engineer with 63rd Engineer Company. "We both went to the promotion board the exact same day. We both became promotable the exact same day. We deployed together twice. It's like (we're) one."
The couple officially became "one" in October of 2007, but they were best friends by the time they deployed in 2005.
"I was a first sergeant's driver, and he was a platoon sergeant's driver, and we were always on the line together. That's pretty much how it started. We just started talking," said Alisha, who first met Devin in 2004.
For Alisha, it's the second time her decision to re-enlist was influenced by her marriage. The first time, the Potts were newlyweds and Devin was facing an upcoming deployment.
"We had just got married, and I didn't want us to be separated yet," she said. "So, I re-enlisted my last time, so I could come back to his unit (and) we could go together. There was no way I was going to let him just leave."
Now, the couple is re-enlisting so they can relocate to Fort Polk, La., to be closer to Devin's family. They plan to move in April.
Both said it would be difficult to leave Fort Benning and the battalion.
"We've been here a long time," said Devin, who arrived on post six years ago. "I've made a lot of friends, and that's the hardest thing about the Army: you make friends and they become really, really close friends. Then you have to leave them, and it's hard to stay in touch. I can call them, but it's not the same as coming to work every day and joking around with my buddies.
"It's our home away from home here, so hopefully we can make Fort Polk the same way."
1LTs Jarrell Horsley and Davis Jacobs, who re-enlisted Devin and Alisha, respectively, said both Soldiers will be missed at the battalion, but their commitment is appreciated.
"Especially now, as Soldiers know that we're in a time of war and deployments are imminent, I feel like it really shows a selfless service to their country that they're willing to continue to put themselves in harm's way," Horsley said. "They have the Army values instilled in them, and they also instill (them) in others. I've seen both of their leadership styles; they have a great impact on Soldiers who are under them, and their peers look up to them."
Good things are in store for both as long as they continue their path of excellence, Horsley said.
SSG Michael Ward, the battalion re-enlistment NCO, said he needs to re-enlist about two Soldiers a week to stay on "glide path."
The battalion is on track for mid term Soldiers like the Potts but slightly under for early-term and career Soldiers, Ward said.
"Our numbers are high; we have a large mission," he said. "We have to get (about 100) re-enlisted this fiscal year."
Retention is vital to the Army, Ward said, because it helps the Army "keep up end strength."
"Those with the knowledge, we need to keep in," he said.
Re-enlistments on post:
335 Soldiers re-enlisted this fiscal year
39 Initial-term Soldiers re-enlisted
155 Mid-term Soldiers re-enlisted
141 Career Soldiers re-enlisted
10 Percent ahead for scheduled completion in June
671 Soldiers needed for this fiscal year
40 Percent of Soldiers in re-enlistment window is post goal
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