FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Army North hosted a team of career counselors from the U.S.
Army Recruiting Command for a weeklong retention and reenlistment class at Fort
Sam Houston in August.
The 50 students, from installations across Texas, were all
NCOs in companies and battalions who have been appointed the additional duty of
helping fellow unit members with career decision. Known as retention NCOs, they
are usually the first person a Soldier talks to when considering whether to
reenlist or make other career choices.
“My greatest take away was the vast information that they
(the mobile training team) gave us,” said Sgt. Elias Zavala, an Army North
retention NCO. “Now I have a broader scope of how it helps career counselors in
helping Soldiers with what the Army has to offer.”
The 40-hour course reaffirmed the students’ knowledge of the
Army retention program and also provided them with leadership skills and the
latest information on Army careers.
“We give them an overview so that when they’re talking to a
Soldier they’re giving them the correct information,” said USAREC instructor
Sgt. 1st Class Yelixa Mawhorr. “If they’re talking to Soldiers about retention
that’s good, but only if they are giving correct information.”
The program is designed for sergeants and staff sergeants
with at least six months remaining in their unit. Ideal retention NCOs are
outspoken with a strong ability to talk to Soldiers and leadership. They are
the first “eyes and ears of the program,” according to Sgt. 1st Class Beatrice
Robertson, Fort Sam Houston’s Installation Career Counselor.
“The most important thing I want the students to take away
from the course is to let everybody know they have opportunities,” she said.
“That is what retention is about. It’s about setting a course of action for the
entire time they are serving so we can have the best Soldiers in the Army.”
Soldiers that are interested in becoming retention NCOs
should talk to their chain of command and NCO support channel.