Early morning Feb. 12, despite the chilling temperature and the 1.5-mile steep incline in front of them, 27 NCOs bounded together to conquer the slopes of Stone Mountain.
With this being the Year of the NCO, NCOs of the Headquarters Command, U.S. Army Garrison, at Fort McPherson decided it was time to get together and build esprit de corps in the unit and among the NCO ranks.
"We don't do enough events as NCOs together," said Master Sgt. Christian Carr, acting Headquarters Command sergeant major. "We wanted to start 2009 with an NCO team building event combined with some robust physical training."
The run up the mountain was chosen because it was different, away from post and provided a unique challenge, all while conveying lessons spelled out in both the Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer and the Soldier's Creed, Carr said.
"The main lessons are, even though something is difficult, you can accomplish it, and you have to try new things to build a team," Carr said.
In a show of teamwork, before the run the group sounded off and recited the Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer. When the Soldiers reached the top of the mountain, the group gathered again to recite the Soldier's Creed.
"It shows the unity of the NCO corps," said 1st Sgt. Anthony Daniel, Company A first sergeant. "You start together and finish together."
After coming back down the mountain, the Soldiers finished the day with a 1-mile cohesion run.
"It signifies togetherness," Daniel said of all the events. "It's important because, just like the A,ANCO creed says, we are the backbone of the Army."
The group will continue to build this togetherness to better support their unit and the Army by conducting similar events each month, with each event focusing on that month's Year of the NCO theme.
This month's theme was "What do NCOs do'" which is why Carr had the group recite the Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer and the Soldier's Creed at the event.
"All the Soldiers were extremely motivated out here this early in morning," Carr said after the runs.
Next month the group plans to gather again to conquer Kennesaw Mountain.
"Even though this is a small installation with a lot of top-heavy rank, we can still go out and do things as NCOs," Carr said.
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