Sanford, Serkedakis Named 2006 NCO, Soldier of the Year

Story by Staff Sgt. Roy Henry
Georgia National Guard
Public Affairs Office

March 2006 -- A Smyrna Soldier and another from Calhoun were named the Georgia Army National Guard's Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the year, respectively, for 2006. They were among six Guardsmen to compete for these honored titles at the Guard's Regional Training Institute (RTI) in Macon.

Both now go on to represent the Georgia Army Guard in the 1st Army -- South Soldier and NCO of the Year competitions scheduled for April in Puerto Rico. There they will compete against other Guard, Reserve and active duty Soldiers for those titles. Should they win there, the pair will move to the competition's national level.

This year's top enlisted Soldier is Spc. Nickolas W. Serkedakis, a military policeman with Kennesaw's 190th Military Police Company. He was the unit's Soldier of the Year for 2005.

Serkedakis, a 2005 graduate of Osborne High School in Marietta, has been a Guardsman and an MP for two years. He works full-time as an administrative assistant with the Army Guard's Recruit Sustainment Program at Marietta's Dobbins Air Reserve Base.

"While I was confident in my abilities to handle the tasks we were given, and deal with appearing before the board, I was quite surprised when my name was announced as this year's winner," he said. "The competition was stiff, and my fellow Soldiers were just as confident."

"Have no doubt that had someone else been named Soldier of the Year they would have greatly deserved the honor," Serkedakis said.

Named the 2006 NCO of the Year is Staff Sgt. Todd A. Sandford, a fire support instructor for RTI. In his civilian job, Sandford is a corrections officer at Rome's Bob Richards Regional Youth Development facility.

"It's a great honor, and yet a humbling experience all at the same time," he said. "I, too, feel that all of us who competed were worthy of the title, whether it be Soldier of the Year or NCO of the Year.

During the evening's awards banquet, Col. Maria Britt, Georgia Army Guard chief of staff, presented the Georgia Meritorious Service Medal to Serkedakis and Sandford. Both also received congratulations and a plaque from Sgt. Maj. Randy Smith, vice president of the Guard's E-9 Council."

Competing against Serkedakis for the title of Soldier of the Year were Spc. Tammi A. Charles of Warner Robbins and Spc. Thomas J. Madeline of Marrietta. Charles, an administrative specialist for RTI, was its 2005 Soldier of the year. As a civilian she is cook and cashier for a Warner Robbins golf course, and she works also as storage manager for a local climate control warehouse. Madeline, who was the 2005 Soldier of the Year for the Guard's Joint Forces Headquarters in Ellenwood, is a full-time information technology specialist for the Guard.

About Serkedakis and Sandford, Georgia's state command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Russell said, "To be selected for those titles is indeed an indication that they are the best among their fellow Soldiers. They are the best among the best." To those who competed but were not chosen, he added, "Continue to challenge your selves, and continue to prepare and be ready for the next competition. You are the "upper qualified" among your peers, and you should be proud that you were chosen to represent your units."

For others who may want to compete Russell offered this advice, "Pick up the gauntlet, step out and make your intentions known. Every Soldier has the potential of being recognized as these have today for their courage, their tenacity and their wiliness to go that extra mile."

Though there can only be one Soldier of the Year and on Noncommissioned officer of the Year, every Soldier in Georgia Army National Guard has already taken the first step toward that goal, he said, simply because they proudly choose to serve.