June 28, 2007 – Weather outside the hangar of Army Flight Facility No. 2 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base may have gloomy, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of the moment inside as 22 Soldiers of Marietta-based 171st Aviation Regiment became the newest members of the Georgia Army National Guard Noncommissioned Officer’s Corps.

In a short ceremony that saw them leave behind the moniker of "lower enlisted" and take up the challenge of leadership, these new NCOs join a time-honored corps that can trace its roots back to the America Revolutionary War, said Command Sgt. Maj. Meinrad Kuettel, the 171st’s command sergeant major.

Kuettel told the inductees that they should ask themselves what it is they believe makes them able to wear the rank, to be noncommissioned officers.

"Whatever it may be, I ask that you remember this…all eyes are on you. Subordinates and superiors alike are watching what you do, listening to what you say,"" he said. "Your words and your actions from this point on will determine whether you lead or you’re just followed because of the rank you hold."

Kuettel also told the new NCOs he hoped they would build on their leadership abilities by looking at what others not only do right, but what they do wrong. It’s through such observations, he added, that they as leaders will continue to grow, even as Soldiers.

"At the same time, pass on what you learn to those who follow you. Don’t keep it to yourself," Kuettel said waving a hand across the front the seated inductees. "It’s from you that they learn the right and the wrong way to lead."

Sergeant Jessica Lyn Ashmore, the youngest among the inductees at age 27 and retention NCO with the regiment’s Headquarters Company, said she sees her induction into the NCO Corps as acceptance by her peers. It’s been a long-time coming, but this first step into the role of an Army enlisted leader is just the beginning for her, she said.

There’s much more to learn, "and I plan on learning as much as possible to become the kind of leader Soldiers expect and deserve," Ashmore said. "It’s my job to make sure they get that."

For Sgt. Morris Roberts, the oldest inductee at age 50 and a human resource specialist with Headquarters Company, it’s that and much more.

Moving into the noncommissioned officer ranks, being recognized as an up and coming leader instills in him, he said, a greater sense of pride about who he is and what he does.

"As a Soldier, and as a patriot, I hope that I as I become more experienced I can instill that pride in others," he said.

Aviation Regiment welcomes 22 new NCOs