FORT CARSON, Colo. - Army Sgt. Sergio Valdez is the noncommissioned officer in charge of his unit’s detail at Waller Fitness Center on post. Valdez carries the readiness he maintains as a 19D Cavalry Scout into his leadership of the detail.
Valdez, with the Battle Troop, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, joined the Army in Oct. 2016. He is from San Antonio.
“I always looked up to Soldiers. It was something I always wanted to do,” said Valdez.
Valdez chose to become a Scout because he wanted to shoot weapons and see combat. “I just wanted to get myself out there, do high speed stuff,” he said.
Valdez has achieved a great deal as a Scout, including being “on every vehicle that a Scout could be on,” he said. “I’ve been deployed, almost got blown up, I’ve done all that. I felt like it’s time to move on within my life, start thinking about future stuff,” said Valdez. He expects to begin training to become a 25B Information Technology Specialist in January.
In seven years Valdez has his share of details, which have exposed him to a cross-section of the Army. “You open your eyes and get little experiences here and there,” he said.
The detail at Waller is responsible primarily for cleaning the fitness center, such as by sanitizing workout equipment, and re-racking weights. Sometimes, the detail helps assemble new equipment.
Valdez stays ready physically even as he prepares to shift to a mentally challenging military occupation, taking advantage of the hour out of each shift detail Soldiers are given to work out.
“Fixing problems, that’s what I do,” said Valdez. “I do a lot of construction and stuff, so when something’s broken, I like figuring out how to fix it, so that’s why I’m putting my foot into that door.”
Alejandra Corona, the manager of Waller Fitness Center, supervises Valdez. “He is very good,” said Corona. “He’s always on time and completes whatever things need to get done.”
Corona thought Valdez will be successful in his new career field. “He likes helping with computer problems, so I think he’ll be really good at that.”
Valdez will have served 10 years at the end of his current contract, at which point he has a big decision to make, over whether to get out of the Army, allowing him to stay closer to his family, or to stay in.
“I’m going to see how this job treats me,” he said. “If I like it in the military, I’ll stay, but if not I’ll probably get out and go do it on the civilian side.”
For now, Valdez wants to get the word out that there are a variety of fitness classes offered at Waller, open to civilians and free for active duty Soldiers.
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