FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Maneuver Support Center of Excellence senior leaders hosted the fiscal year 2023 Commanding General’s MSCoE Retention Recognition Ceremony April 1 in the Command Briefing Room.
The host of the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, said he appreciates the opportunity to be “part of a team that cares about taking care of our folks, our people, as much as you all do.”
“Everything we do is a team sport, but nothing is more of a team sport than this,” Beck said. “You all have heard the challenges that our Army is having right now with enlistments. We haven’t heard the same level of challenge for retention. That’s because of efforts from people like you, and leader engagement, like you all are doing.”
According to Master Sgt. Claire Wood, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood command career counselor, the awards are a small token of appreciation for a job well done.
“In general, these are recognitions for the diligent and unwavering hard work done by, not only the career counselors, but the command teams, reenlistment NCOs and support from the civilians, who ensure the success of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence command team’s retention program,” Wood said.
There are three distinct retention awards — Excellence in Retention, Early Bird and Top Production — for units and individuals, Wood said.
As the title of the award suggests, the unit Excellence in Retention Award is given to the brigades and direct reporting units that completed the assigned retention mission in all categories and demonstrated excellence in their retention program.
This year’s award was presented to representatives from the 14th Military Police Brigade, the 3rd Chemical Brigade, the 43rd Adjutant General Battalion (Reception) and the MSCoE NCO Academy.
The Early Bird Retention Award is given to the brigade and battalion that first completed the retention mission in all categories.
This year’s award was presented to representatives from the 1st Engineer Brigade and 84th Chemical Battalion.
The Top Production Retention Award is given to the brigade and battalion with the highest aggregate on retention mission accomplishments in all categories.
This year’s award was presented to representatives from the 1st En. Bde. and 43rd AG Bn.
Additionally, the Heavy Hitter Award is presented to the career counselor with the highest number of retention actions during the fiscal year.
This year’s award was presented to Staff Sgt. Daniel Parker, with 1st En. Bde., who also received an Army Commendation Medal from Beck for his work.
The Brigade Excellence in Retention NCO Award is presented to retention NCOs who demonstrated excellence in retention by completing the assigned retention mission.
This year’s award was presented to Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Pretty, 1st En. Bde.; Staff Sgt. Taylor Sexton, with the 14th MP Bde.; and Staff Sgt. Trequan Speller, with the 3rd Chem. Bde.
In addition to recognizing the work of career counselors and retention NCOs, two individuals, who were called integral to the success of the retention program, were presented with the Excellence in Retention Support Recognition Award.
This year’s award was presented to Jeffrey Johnson, a MSCoE military pay technician, and Gina Rutherford, the Marine Corps Detachment’s finance chief.
The overall MSCoE Career Counselor of the Year Award was presented to Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Rojas, with 3rd Chemical Brigade, who also received an Army Commendation Medal from Beck for her work.
Lastly, the seven-member MSCoE Career Counselor team was highlighted for its FY2023 success at both U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and Sergeant Major of the Army retention competitions — the team was named first place in category two for TRADOC, and first place for category three of the SMA competition.
In addition to Wood, Rojas and Parker, the team included Master Sgt. David Shono and Lynn Johnson, Reserve Component career counselors; Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Henderson, senior Retention Operations NCO; and Staff Sgt. Vonnita Gaines, a career counselor for the 14th MP Bde., 43rd AG Bn., and the MSCoE NCO Academy.
Wood, who has been a career counselor for more than 12 years, said working to meet the Army’s needs while also getting Soldiers what they want is a rewarding job.
“I love every aspect of being a career counselor in the Army — I get paid to talk with Soldiers and their families to ensure they are offered pertinent information in making an informed decision to continue to serve,” Wood said, noting the effective camaraderie of the MSCoE retention team and the support from Fort Leonard Wood’s command teams and resource programs. “We are all working toward the same goal, and it is beautiful when we are all on the same page.”
Photos from the ceremony are available to view and download on the Fort Leonard Wood Flickr page.
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