KABUL -Staff Sgt. Jamal Williams keeps his family's best interest in mind not only at home but also on the battlefield. But, when deployed to a combat zone, it's Williams' extended family of Personal Security Detachment drivers who are his primary concern.

Since March, 2008, Williams has served as the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force's PSD team. With such great responsibility, comes an even greater sacrifice - one that he chose willingly when he enlisted into the Army 16 years ago.

"We're in an environment where we are away from our families back at home," said Williams. "I treat these guys like they are my extended family," with out-stretched arms pointing to the two specialists sitting beside him at a table located in ISAF Headquarters' garden area.

Having to leave it all behind to accomplish the mission set-forth for the Fredericksburg, Va., native hasn't been an easy task, yet still necessary in his eyes.

"You have your good days and your bad days," he said with his head propped above his folded and war-torn hands. "Just like with my kids, sometimes they don't get along with one another and I have to come in and be that mediator," in reference to his Soldiers.

For this husband and father of three, he finds it crucial to overcome obstacles that would cause division amongst his team. His solution is found in the training of his Soldiers.

"When we come together and train as a team, there really are no words that can explain it," boasted Williams as his dark-brown eyes opened wide like a child opening gifts on Christmas morning. "My Soldiers are like my brothers. My main mission is to get the job done and bring these guys home safely to their own families."

As an NCOIC and a military policeman by trade, it is up to Williams and his NCO's to ensure that his Soldiers are maintaining their technical and tactical skills, as well as maintaining good communication.

"Each one of my guys is different - they each have their own personality," he explains. "It's up to me as a leader to know when one of them is down. Most of the time all they want to do is talk and get something off of their chest."

"They understand that I am there for them and I understand that they are there for me," he said with a deep sincerity. "We pick each other up whenever we sense that someone is down."

Having that foundation of communication established within his team has allowed Williams' Soldiers to emulate his leadership and push themselves to achieve their own personal success.

"With the leadership that I've had and the knowledge that I've gained on this tour, I feel more than confident to take on the duties of a leader," said a prideful Spc. Eric Clark, one of Williams' drivers on the team. "If he hangs up his boots and left the service, one of us will step in. That's all there is to it."

The junior-enlisted Soldiers who make up most of Williams' PSD team are proud of the mentor that has molded them into the Warriors they have become over the duration of their 15-month tour. For Soldiers like Clark and many others, that guidance was much needed because for most of them, this was their first combat tour.

"I want to make sure that these guys get the same knowledge and information, if not, more than what I have now," Williams exclaimed. "I would not feel comfortable leaving the service knowing that I didn't do everything within my power to pass on that knowledge because I would be setting up the Soldiers for failure."

Passing on that knowledge was a challenge at times, especially when Williams and his leaders had to train incoming personnel from different military branches.

"One of the hardest things for us NCOs was breaking down the training that people came here with and getting them up to par with the standards we already had in place," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Stanley, one of Williams' NCOs on the PSD team. "But, with time and patience, we were successful in the training."

Patience is a quality that Williams swears by and declares is the key to being a successful leader in today's Army.

"Over time, you learn how to deal with Soldiers and their different personalities," said a humbled Williams. "Just like children, you can't blow up on them. Instead, you have to show them how to do things the right way."

During his off time, Williams can be found in the gym with his Soldiers training and lifting weights. For this die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, it is one of the many sports that he has in common with his team and enjoys doing on a regular basis.

But when the days are rough and he needs to unwind, Williams finds comfort in the some of the simpler things in life such as lying in bed with headphones on, listening to his favorite music on his iPod.

"Music is my calm, you know. That brings me down to where I need to be," he said. "I listen to just about every kind of music. I don't discriminate....well....except for elevator music. It doesn't move me," as he and his Soldiers laugh out loud.

There is a bond that he has with his Soldiers - a connection that has taken time to develop during his tour in Afghanistan. But, this brotherhood is something he doesn't take lightly and is something he knows that didn't come without a price.

"My philosophy is that every leader should train their Soldiers in a way that would push them to do better than they did," he said, nodding his head as if he were pleased with the progress of his team. "Seeing my guys move on up is what success means to me."