The U.S. Army Security Assistance Command has announced two employees, Adriane Elliot and Brian Driggers, will share the title of Employee of the Quarter for the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
Elliot is a public affairs specialist at USASAC's headquarters at Redstone Arsenal, while Driggers is a foreign assistance specialist with USASAC's Security Assistance Training Management Organization at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Both have been with the command less than two years, but have managed to make their mark in their respective areas.
Elliot was nominated for numerous accomplishments during third quarter. In addition to her normal duties, she coordinated USASAC's participation in Team Redstone's JROTC Day and Team Redstone in the Park.
"USASAC's representation at JROTC Day was important in conveying the AMC (Army Materiel Command) strategic message of sustaining a ready workforce, and the interactive display she created for Team Redstone in the Park was family-friendly and a unique way of promoting the Army, and particularly Redstone Arsenal, as cutting edge organizations," Kim Gillespie, USASAC's public affairs officer and Elliot's supervisor, said in her nomination package for Elliot.
Elliot was also cited for her support and coverage of USASAC's Best Warrior Competition where its competitor was selected for the AMC-level event. She conducted mock-media interviews and provided news coverage at the competition site at Fort Bragg.
"Working for USASAC really feels like you're making a difference," Elliot said. "Now when I see events unfolding all over the world, I realize how the Army is shaping the security environment. I just returned from the Ukraine, and the ways we are helping them with medical and other training makes me proud to be a part of the Army and USASAC missions."
Elliot also coordinated two media interviews during third quarter that were crucial to sharing the importance of USASAC's mission, according to Gillespie.
"I don't take for granted that every USASAC team member is contributing to the safety and security of our nation and to a more stable world," Elliot said.
She credits the Army's public affairs career program with giving her the experience and training that have led to her success.
"I've always said the public affairs career field is one of the best jobs you can have in the military or civilian sector," Elliot said. "This field provides endless opportunity to learn and grow. In my early 20s as a young private, I interviewed the Secretary of the Army Togo West and I was recognized by Gen. Tommy Franks. That didn't happen because I was an amazing Soldier -- it happened because I was a 46Q Army journalist and that was my job."
Driggers, who shared the honor of Employee of the Quarter, successfully managed the training deployment, sustainment and redeployment of more than 100 key security assistance personnel in support of training/modernization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ministries of Defense, National Guard and Interior.
"His efforts directly contributed to the success of $393 million of FMS (Foreign Military Sales) training across aviation, infantry, armor, logistics and medical specialties," Lou DiCarlo, regional operations chief for SATMO's CENTCOM Branch, said.
"Ever since my first assignment in security cooperation/security assistance seven and one-half years ago, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the impact that training and equipping activities have on the capabilities of our allies and partner nations -- some built over decades and some in quite a short time," Driggers said. "In my current role, I have enjoyed getting back to my training roots and being able to have a more hands-on role in building and preparing teams as they deploy on security assistance missions."
Driggers' last assignments were at U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command headquarters. While his duties were focused more on the strategic and operational aspects of security cooperation and security assistance, he credits that experience with helping to make the transition to SATMO's mission quickly.
"Although my day-to-day activities are more tactically focused these days, I can still see the strategy to task linkages of what we do in support of our theater and national strategic end states, and with that comes a sense of accomplishment and job satisfaction," he said.
Both Driggers and Elliot expressed surprise at both the nomination and the win.
"I'm grateful for the honor, but there are so many hard working employees at USASAC that I look up to. It definitely makes me want to strive harder and ensure I'm giving 110," Elliot said.
Similarly, Driggers noted his respect for the USASAC workforce. "It's humbling just to be nominated given the great team of quiet professionals we have at USASATMO and USASAC who are doing great work every day," he said.
Related Links:
U.S. Army Security Assistance Command
U.S. Army Security Assistance Training Management Organization
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