Thursday, December 21, 2017

Face of Defense: Youth ChalleNGe Academy Leads to Airman’s Service



By Air Force Airman 1st Class Mercedee Schwartz, 124th Fighter Wing

BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 21, 2017 — The road that leads someone to serve in the Idaho Air National Guard isn’t always the most traditional route.

Airman 1st Class Cody Gilbert, an aircraft armament systems specialist with the 124th Maintenance Group at Gowen Field here, decided to join after attending the Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy.

The academy is part of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, which helps at-risk youth earn their high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED). The program emphasizes self-discipline, personal responsibility and positive motivation to help Idaho teens with a tough, disciplined education, all within a caring and respectful environment.

The Idaho National Guard, along with the state of Idaho, funds the IDYCA, which is located in Pierce, Idaho.

“It’s a quasi-military school, so you have military trainers that do things to help you figure out what you’re doing with your life,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert described IDYCA as a place that helps kids to grow and become better people.

Turning Point

Attending and graduating from the academy, he said, was a turning point in his life.

“I just wanted to be able to move ahead in life,” Gilbert said.

The program is five-and-a-half months long and has eight core components: academic excellence, leadership and followership, life coping skills, job skills, service to the community, responsible citizenship, health and hygiene, and physical fitness.

Gilbert said he had always been interested in joining the military, but after attending the National Guard-funded IDYCA, and doing additional research he decided to stay close to home and joined the Idaho Air National Guard.

Although he said his experience was worth it, he admitted that IDYCA was tougher for him than going through basic military training for the Air Force, but it has benefitted him as an airman because it’s something that most people don’t have.

Changed Perspective

“It has changed my perspective on a lot of things,” Gilbert said. “I used to be way different, but after going through the academy, basic, and tech school it changes the way you see the world.”
Gilbert said the academy changes people and it’s not worth it to give up; a person just has to keep pushing. Gilbert didn’t give up and the challenges that he faced while attending IDYCA have led him to successfully serve in the IDANG.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Face of Defense: Embarkation Marine Lives in the Details



By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonah Baase 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit

CAMP HANSEN, Japan, Dec. 13, 2017 — Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Vivianlee Aguero thrives in a high operational tempo. “I love putting all of my effort into my job, because I can see it in the product,” she said. “Staying motivated and pushing through the busiest work times is the most satisfying feeling once it’s done.”

Aguero is an embarkation specialist with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. She was born in Guam and lived there until her family moved to the United States when she was 2 years old. She completed high school at 17, moved back to Guam and enlisted in the Marine Corps.

“I joined because I wanted to see the world,” Aguero said. “Okinawa is my first duty station, and there are so many places you can travel to from here.”

Aguero’s first deployment was aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard with the 31st MEU during Fall Patrol 2017. During the deployment, the 31st MEU participated in Talisman Saber 17, a bilateral U.S.-Australian exercise held every two years.

“There was always something that needed to get done,” Aguero said. “You really get to understand how high the operational tempo is and gain a lot of experience on the job.”

Extra Shifts

During the deployment, she volunteered for extra duty shifts to fill free time, which she called ‘empty space,’ said Marine Corps Cpl. Edward Moskos, an embarkation specialist with VMM-265 and a coworker of Aguero’s.

“She always gets the job done and looks for more to do,” he said. “She’s always busy and hates having downtime.”

During her time here, Aguero consistently reviews her completed work and seeks guidance to improve. “She has a sharp mind,” Moskos said. “She can look at every fine detail in scheduling and ensure there are no complications during mission execution.”

Aguero said she hopes to travel back to Guam and visit the loved ones who cultivated her meticulous nature. In the meantime, she added, she plans on enjoying the island of Okinawa and influencing the Marines around her with a positive attitude.

“I put my heart into everything I do,” she said. “I love helping others. When I see their success, it motivates me.”

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Chairman’s Senior Enlisted Advisor Leads by Example



By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2017 — The U.S. military’s top noncommissioned officer, Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Wayne Troxell, said he strives to lead by example and cites good leaders for his success.

Troxell is the senior enlisted advisor to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force and joint development for enlisted personnel.

“I'm truly blessed and humbled that I've been afforded the opportunity to be in this position,” Troxell said in a Sept. 14 interview at the Pentagon. “I'm extremely grateful to General Dunford, who just about 22 months ago had the faith and confidence in selecting me over some other very capable, very dynamic senior enlisted leaders.”

As the senior enlisted advisor, Troxell accompanies Dunford on troop visits, or travels on his own to meet troops and partner forces in U.S. and around the world.

“I'm truly blessed to be in this position, but it comes with great responsibility, and that's not lost on me that every day I have to come with my A-game to work,” he said.

U.S. forces are working hard to build partner capacity as part of the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Troxell said. It is a tough fight against a brutal enemy, he pointed out.

“This is going to be is a generational fight, and we're going to have to continue to get after this to make sure that we're protecting our homeland,” he explained. “I am extremely proud of all our troops around the globe, whether they are fighting ISIS or other violent extremists, assuring allies, deterring aggression or participating in an exercise.”

The men and women of the U.S. military are motivated, Troxell said, adding they understand why they fight.

“They are doing well at mitigating risk and accomplishing the mission -- and a lot of that is led by noncommissioned officers who are out there getting after business and getting after their commanders’ intent to accomplish their mission,” he said.

Leading By Example

Troxell was sworn in as the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Dec. 11, 2015. He is the third person to hold the job.

In 35 years in the Army, he has had five combat tours and has served in a number of joint environments, to include as the command sergeant major of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan, and the command senior enlisted leader of the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea.

“But I can tell you the main reason I got into this position is I'm a product of good leadership,” he said. “Since I was a young trooper I've had role models and mentors along the way who helped me to strive for excellence.”
Army Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Troxell, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint

Troxell lists among his greatest mentors Army Command Sgt. Maj. Joe Gainey, the first senior enlisted advisor to the chairman, who was Troxell’s platoon sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division.

“All the way up the line I've had these people who have put me in good positions and shown me what right looks like,” he said, adding he has been afforded opportunities for training and education, to include earning his master’s degree.

For Troxell, a leader is someone who is charismatic and leads through their actions, and manages a good balance between trying to bring discipline to the organization while being a compassionate leader as well.

“I do a lot of listening when I go out and visit the troops because I want to know what's going on out there,” he said. “An important component of being a leader is being as good of an example you can be. The best that you can provide is through your actions and by listening.”

Training Hard to Be Resilient, Strong

Troxell continually underscores the need to train hard to prepare for battle through grueling physical training sessions here and with troops around the world, a philosophy that he describes as physically, mentally and emotionally hard, or “PME Hard.”

“This is all about the preparation for what we do,” he said.

The concept is built on preparing service members to have the resilience to deal with the worst day of their life, the sergeant major explained. “For most of us the worst day of our life is locked in combat,” Troxell added.

The training is necessary, as troops are up against a brutal and ever-evolving enemy, he said. Troops need repetitive training to prepare and set conditions to deal with adversity while in garrison or peacetime in order to be prepared for a time when they face the enemy, Troxell said.

“In the end though, combat, as we all know, is brutal and unforgiving and it's a test of wills between humans, and we just have to understand that,” he said. “The more preparation we do to deal with that adversity and to deal with the conditions of the worst day of our life, the better we'll be able to deal with it.”

He warns against complacency.

“The enemy is out there and they're always watching us and they're looking for a soft target, so every day you have to be prepared physically, mentally, emotionally, technically and tactically to execute combat operations,” he said.

“Even though you may be out there for weeks at a time and not have enemy contact, [adversity] can sneak up on you if you let it, so you have to be focused at all times,” the sergeant major said.

Staying Strong, Focused During Adversity

Troxell said he has relied on his training to stay focused, resilient, ready and strong for himself and his troops, even when facing the most adverse, brutal and unforgiving situations.

Those difficult situations include a deployment as the command sergeant major of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. The brigade lost 54 members during its 15-month deployment to Iraq.

“Although it was one of the most tragic times in my career, in 2007-2008, it was also one of the most gratifying times, because I was surrounded by some of the best leaders, some of the best men and women that the United States of America can offer to our United States military,” Troxell said.

He said he had to be an example of resilience.

“Combat is a will between two forces of humans and if we're here to defeat these insidious enemies -- at the time al-Qaida -- then we have to be stronger physically, mentally and emotionally,” he said.

“I just made it a point to be the example of what we expected out of everybody,” he explained. “In the end, it was so gratifying that I was given the opportunity to serve as the brigade command sergeant major of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division during the surge in Iraq.”

Strive to be the Best

Troxell said being a soldier was a natural fit for him. He enlisted in September 1982 as an armored reconnaissance specialist and graduated One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He soon met and married Sandra Jimenez; they have been together for 34 years.

“Shortly after we got married we were expecting our first child, so I had this strive and drive to be the best,” he explained. “But I also knew I had this responsibility as a husband and a father that I needed to be the best I could be to best take care of my family.”

He said he continually sought out challenges, set goals and went after them. In 1996 -- after being in the military for 14 years -- he had the opportunity to go to and graduate from Ranger School. He lists that among his proudest accomplishments.

“That's driven me my whole life and then whenever somebody said I couldn't do something that even fueled me more to say, ‘I'm going to go out and do it,’” he said.

His advice to young troops is a page out of his personal playbook: be the best you can be, train hard, prepare for battle, seek to continually move forward and always strive for excellence and professionalism in all your endeavors.