FORT SILL, Okla. (Jan. 31, 2019) -- The new commandant of the Fort Sill Noncommissioned Officers Academy, Command Sgt. Maj. Aaron White, said it's great to be back home.
He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training at Fort Sill, and has had numerous assignments over the years as a field artilleryman here.
White was welcomed during a change of command ceremony Jan. 29, at the Graham Resiliency Training Center in front of hundreds of fellow Soldiers, family, friends, veterans, and civilian co-workers. He was most recently the 25th Division Artillery command sergeant major at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Although the normal tour for the commandant of the NCOA is three years, outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. John Condliffe's tour was cut short by 21 months. That's because he was was selected for a nominative assignment at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., to work at Army Central Headquarters as an Operations sergeant major.
In his remarks, Brig. Gen. Brian Gibson, Air Defense Artillery School commandant and chief of ADA, said, "As this academy celebrates its 60th year, as Fort Sill celebrates 150 years, we celebrate two phenomenal leaders."
The general welcomed White, and thanked Condliffe for the training that took place under his abbreviated watch.
"Over 2,500 students, over 140 courses, a 94 percent or higher graduation rate, over 1,400 (artillery) rounds fired," Gibson said. "But those are just numbers.
"What they don't represent are the families, the NCOs, and the faces behind each of those numbers," he said. "And you've touched every single one of them."
Gibson revealed to the crowd that White is a grandfather. "We all know that it's because of others than ourselves that make us who we are. His family is here with him today. He couldn't be or do what he does without you," he said to them.
Condliffe thanked numerous command sergeants major by name for all the guidance he received. He described his assignment at the Academy as a broadening experience.
"You not only are a command sergeant major, you're a commandant, and a commander all balled into one," he said.
White, a former drill sergeant here, said he was honored and that it was a privilege to be selected to lead the academy. He named numerous mentors that he had over the years here, and many were in attendance.
He described his leadership style as Mission First, Standards, and Fair Across the Board. White said one of his goals is to incorporate joint fires by bringing students attending the NCOA into field exercises done by other classes here, such as the Basic Officer Leader Course.
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