JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Sgt. Maj. William “Dave” Poist Jr. assumed responsibility as the senior enlisted advisor of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston recently after a tour as the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, U.S. Army Health Readiness Center of Excellence, Operations, Plans, and Training, chief operations noncommissioned officer.
“I am extremely blessed and excited to have been chosen to work at the USAISR where our Soldiers and civilians contribute tremendously to our mission of optimizing combat casualty care,” Poist said.
Poist has been in the Army for almost 27 years and said that joining the military was inevitable for him.
“My grandfather and father served in World War II and Vietnam,” he said. “I was a very patriotic kid who had a calling to serve my country.”
His leadership philosophy is pretty simple. He said that he wants to take his experience and knowledge and share it with his Soldiers to help shape them into the leaders who will move up the ranks in the future.
“I just want to be a positive mentor and leader to these great Americans who work, support and contribute to this organization and our country,” Poist added.
Poist gives a lot of the credit to his family for his success in the Army. He and his wife have five children ranging from ages seven to 24 years of age.
He added that he’ll continue to thrive with “continued support and compassion” from his family. Poist acknowledges that he still has a few good years to contribute to the ISR and the Army’s mission, but knows that he’ll eventually have to retire.
“My goal is to retire standing up,” Poist said. “When I retire I would like to purchase 100 acres of land to build a custom house on a lake or river and to travel cross country in an RV. I would also like to become a high school Junior ROTC instructor or teacher; and coach varsity baseball.”
Poist enlisted in the Army in 1990 as a mechanized infantryman and reenlisted in 1994 as a radiology specialist. He has served in multiple leadership positions from rifle team leader, squad leader, platoon sergeant, first sergeant, chief radiology instructor writer, chief radiology noncommissioned officer, and chief medical sergeant major.