FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz.-The Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command (Army) held their annual Retention Training Seminar in Phoenix where one noncommissioned officer was chosen to represent the unit in the Department of the Army Career Counselor board in Washington, D.C., Jan. 2010.
For the second straight year, Sgt. 1st Class Lisa Cowboy, retention office operations noncommissioned officer, lassoed a win and was named NETCOM's Career Counselor of the Year for 2009.
Cowboy, who joined the Army as an information systems analyst in March 1997, was awarded the title after defeating several of her career counselor and retention NCO peers stationed throughout NETCOM.
"She competed in an oral presentation board to select the most proficient career counselor within the command," said Master Sgt. Patrick Street, retention senior operations NCO, NETCOM/9th SC (A). The five-member board panel consisted of Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Manley, the top enlisted Soldier of the unit and his designated representatives.
Not surprised by Cowboy's win again this year, Street said she "has outstanding organizational and communication skills, and at the end of the day, she cares about Soldiers and the Army."
It was these skills Cowboy learned to hone while deployed with Company A, 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion in 2005 as the senior system administrator to Camp Adder, Iraq, when she began serving as the unit's retention NCO. There, she discovered just how much she enjoyed guiding Soldiers' careers and taking care of their families, which ultimately led her to the job she has today as a career counselor.
"The Soldiers are the inspiration for what I do," said Cowboy. "In May 2007, I was selected to reclassify as a career counselor. I attended the Basic Career Counselor Course and graduated in July 2007."
After serving for two years within the 11th Signal Brigade, Cowboy was moved across the street to Greely Hall where she now works in the NETCOM/9th SC (A) Retention Office and has, so far, no regrets about her decision to switch jobs in the Army.
"My favorite part about being a career counselor is being able to assist and guide each Soldier's request in what they ask for-whether it is a bonus, an assignment, or assistance in the career path they want to pursue," she said. "Being a career counselor has introduced me to the various personalities and characters of each Soldier who has wanted to re-enlist."
As a two-time winner of the NETCOM Career Counselor of the Year award, Cowboy attests some of her success to the Soldiers she meets on the job and to her Family and the support they provide her.
Asked if she has advice to give to anyone considering becoming a career counselor, Cowboy said, "continue to stay embedded within your units because career counselors and retention NCOs are the ambassadors to every unit, telling the Army story and stressing the value of the service to the nation."
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