United States Transportation Command

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (USTCNS) --- After standing before tough and demanding boards, soldiers from the 599th Transportation Group made history recently by winning the Military Traffic Management Command non-commissioned officer and soldier of the year competition for the sixth year in a row. The competition was held at Fort Eustis, Va., earlier this month.

Sgt. Kory Buckhout, of the 835th Transportation Battalion in Okinawa, Japan, was selected as the top MTMC NCO and Pfc. Demetrius Baker, of the 837th Transportation Battalion in Pusan, Korea, was picked as the top junior enlisted soldier.

I have seen many NCO and soldier of the year competitions in my military career and without a doubt the Military Traffic Management Command has the toughest program I have ever seen.

Most commands only require soldiers to appear before a panel of Sergeants Major for a question and answer board on general military subjects.

MTMC not only puts soldiers before a demanding board of MTMC Sergeants Major, it also requires them to perform an impromptu briefing on a topic given to them only minutes before they actually brief.

Participants are also required to score well on the Army Physical Fitness Test, a Performance Oriented Soldier Common Task Test and a difficult written examination on Battle Focused Training, Army Leadership, Counseling and MTMC History.

Sgt. Buckhout and Pfc. Baker had to do these things at every level of command prior to appearing before the Major Army Command Board.

After they competed and won at the Battalion level, they went on to compete at the Major Sub-Command level, at a board convened at the 835th Trans Battalion in Okinawa, Japan.

By the time they hit Fort Eustis, the 599th candidates were highly motivated, committed and ready. Their teamwork and high state of readiness ensured their success.

"I was sure that Pfc. Baker would win because he is such a mature Pfc.," said Sgt. Maj. Thelma Riddick, Sergeant Major of the 837th.

Nevertheless, since all the candidates were highly qualified and motivated, this was a difficult process and choice.

Every one of these soldiers was a winner and could have represented MTMC very well. I was truly impressed with each and every candidate.

And although I feel that the 599th victory was well earned, the results were extremely close. It was not until all the points were totaled that we finally knew who the winners were.

I want to assure our soldiers that although winning top honors is certainly great, the camaraderie, esprit de corps, teamwork and readiness leading to their success are even more important.

The time and effort they spent preparing for the major command board and everything else they learned will stay with them for the rest of their careers.

Fellow unit members all pitched in to help prepare these soldiers for the big board. This definitely built unit morale, esprit de corps and has developed great camaraderie among unit members and the whole 599th.

"I think the victory reflects highly on the leadership of our NCO chain of command, but we can't forget that, in the final analysis, it takes individual dedication and intense desire to win," said Lt. Col. Floyd Driver, commander of the 837th. "Pfc. Baker has both of those in abundance."

According to Lt. Col. Joyce DiMarco, commander of the 835th, "When you consider the number of consecutive winners that have come from the group, it is especially impressive. Naturally, it reflects well on the individual winners, but, as importantly, it reflects the quality of the leadership in the units that mentored them."

I personally feel that these programs are a vital part of the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Program.

The competition has also brought the soldiers of our outlying units and me closer together. I have seen how our sense of trust and loyalty for one another has grown.

This is indeed a great program. Though it is routinely referred to as "NCO Business," without the support of our senior leaders and commanders we could not make it happen.

Therefore, I extend tremendous gratitude and appreciation to our commanding general, his command sergeant major, our group commander, and our battalion commanders for supporting and providing resources to the NCO and soldier of the year program.

They allowed us to use it as another method of training, developing and recognizing the top junior soldiers and NCOs in our command. (FROM 599th TRANSPORTATION GROUP PUBLIC AFFAIRS).

599th Transportation Group Soldiers Take Top MTMC Honors

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