Soldiers participate in Career Counselor/Retention NCO of the Year Competition at Fort Drum

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Sept. 13, 2024) – After a week-long competition to find the Career Counselor/Retention Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, three Fort Drum Soldiers will represent the 10th Mountain Division (LI) in the active and reserve components at the XVIII Airborne Corps-level event.

Staff Sgt. David Ganter, a career counselor, and Staff Sgt. Anthony La Rocco, a retention NCO, both assigned to the 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade, will represent the 10th Mountain Division in the active-duty portion of the competition.

Sgt. 1st Class Donald Santamoor, a reserve component career counselor from Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 10th Mountain Division (LI), will participate in the reserve component of the competition.

Seven Soldiers competed in four events to determine the Career Counselor/Retention NCO of the Year, consisting of an Army Combat Fitness Test, a written exam, a mystery event, and a board testing the candidate’s knowledge and professionalism.

“The Career Counselor of the Year competition was very humbling,” Ganter said. “It was a lot of hard work, a lot of studying to prepare for this, but overall it was very rewarding leading up to this point.”

Ganter will not be going to the XVIII Airborne Corps alone; he will be accompanied by La Rocco, who was his study mate leading up to the competition.

“It was fun. I gained a lot of knowledge throughout this competition from speaking with my peers and senior leadership,” La Rocco said. “I learned that I need to have confidence no matter the case.”

The friendly competition between Soldiers boosted esprit spirit de corps and showed the camaraderie of the event. The competition also allowed individuals who do not typically work together to share knowledge and techniques to deepen the connection with the next generation of Soldiers.

“It’s an honor to go and represent the 10th Mountain Division at the XVIII Airborne Corps-level competition,” Santamoor said. “I’m really looking forward to getting prepared for the next level of this competition. We got two months to get this on the road.”

The three Soldiers all hope to win at the XVIII Airborne Corps and continue representing the 10th Mountain Division to the highest level.