Colorado Springs. Colo. -- Few have the honor of being inducted into the heralded club named after the most decorated Army Soldier in World War II, Sergeant Audie Murphy.
Known for his leadership and bravery, young Army Soldiers look to what Audie Murphy stood for as an example of the way a Solder should serve and live. The club started was established in 1986 in at Fort Hood, Texas, and members have to go before several boards comprised of Sergeants Majors who grill the Soldiers on l a myriad of subject areas to test the Soldier's knowledge. To qualify to go before the Sergeants Major, Soldiers are recommended by their unit's non-commissioned officers based on their exemplary leadership characterized by personal concern for the needs, training, development, and welfare of Soldiers and as well as concern for the families of Soldiers.
As for Staff Sgt. Patricia Young of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade (Ground Based Mid-Course Defense), her first thought about competing for this prestigious club came during in a meeting with a Sergeant Major while she was on active duty.
"The first time I thought about the Audie Murphy Club was when I was on active duty," said Young, "At that time I was with SMDC (Space and Missile Defense Command) and Sgt. Maj. Ross had an NCO meeting where they discussed Audie Murphy. "
Young knew she would be a good candidate for the club but she had a permanent profile where she couldn't compete in the two mile run and thought that would keep her from being eligible. It wasn't until she joined the 100th MDB that she found out she could compete with the limitations of her profile. She was then recommended to go to the board.
Even though it took almost twelve years to find out if she was eligible to compete she began a course of supervised self-study for the first of three boards in January of this year.
'It was super crazy, said Young. "My husband was going to College at the same time, so when he was taking breaks from studying for his tests, I'd have him help me review for my board which is a very long process. In the end though, it's worth it."
Now that she has been inducted into the club, she wants to use it has a way to show other Soldiers the right way to lead others and care for Soldiers.
"I want to become an active participant and become more involved with the local chapter," said Young. " I look forward to seeing if I can improve it if it needs improvement and to definitely improve myself."
The club does a lot of community service events in the local area and members are also involved in participating with the selection process of their members by serving on the board selection committees.
The advice she has for any Soldiers considering taking on this challenge to join the club-
"It's a lot of hard work and self-study. One has to have a lot of self-discipline but if they are interested, they need to talk to their senior NCOS and look into it to see if it's really something they want to do. It is well worth the effort."
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