FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.- Walls usually separate people, but in this case, it was a wall that brought Fort Novosel Soldier volunteers and the local community together. The US Army Warrant Officer Career College (USAWOCC) Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS), Class 23-23 and Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) came together on a hot Ozark morning to help the city of Ozark, Alabama build a retaining wall at the historic Holman House on August 26th to help with accessibility and modernization of the grounds.
The Holman House is owned by the city of Ozark and home of the Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce. According to Rosmarie Williamson, director of the Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce, the old retaining wall in the backyard was falling down in some areas and nonexistent in other areas, and definitely in need of replacing. Also, there were no stairs to get from the lower area to the access road.
The city of Ozark was able to secure a state grant from the general fund budget with the help of state Representative Steve Clouse to buy the blocks. However, labor costs were not included in the grant. That’s where the Fort Novosel Soldier volunteers came in.
Mayor Mark Blankenship reached out to Fort Novosel to ask for some help in building the retaining wall. WOCS brought out about 30 Warrant Officer Candidate volunteers from class 23-23, the Golden Grizzlies, to assist in city partnership and area beatification. The BOSS program also answered the call to service, bringing 11 Soldier volunteers out to help.
USAWOCC Commandant Col. Kevin McHugh enthusiastically supported this effort, saying that it made sense to offer assistance to the city, because Ozark is soon to house a warrant officer museum in the Holman House. McHugh said, “We’d been looking for a place to establish a museum, focused on the warrant officer.” He mentioned that the parallels between the modernization taking place in Ozark and within the USAWOCC curriculum made this, “a natural fit and opportunity.”
“Ozark is putting a lot of time and effort to bring back the heritage of this house. I think its fitting that we brought out Class 23-23 which represents the culmination of the modernization of the warrant officer educational curriculum focused at the candidate level, which is the foundation piece for all the rest of the work we are trying to do for the warrant officer cohort,” said McHugh.
McHugh also commented that this effort between USAWOCC and Ozark, “highlights the heritage, the partnership, and it certainly highlights and emphasizes the necessary modernization that Ozark is doing in support of the community and the College is doing in support of the Army in large scale combat operations.”
Williamson said that they “are just thrilled. [The retaining wall is] going to make a world of difference.” She said the completion of the retaining wall will open up the space in the yard for community events such as concerts and storytelling events. They have plans for a 30x60 foot concrete pad out back and an overhead structure similar to the one at the farmer’s market.
The BOSS Soldiers, which also included Soldiers from B Company, 1-223rd Aviation Regiment, who helped build the retaining wall make community service and volunteerism a priority in their lives. Sgt. Angelina Altman, president of the BOSS program at Fort Novosel said that BOSS, “provides recreation, leisure, community service, life skills, and quality of life” for single Soldiers on post, who may not have much money or resources to do things on their off-duty time.
The volunteers were able to complete the 150-foot retaining wall, and then shared in a cook-out provided by Ozark Fire and Rescue.
Spc. Francisco Guerra, a BOSS member, and Human Resources Specialist at Fort Novosel said that he came out to help to get out of the barracks and have some camaraderie with the team. “I just really like to help out people and I think that the team around me likes to do the same thing. We spend time helping the community and making an impact in the community.”
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