Unit News
Command Sgt. Maj. Pamela Williams, left, and Lt. Col. Leon Plummer, right, surround Sgt. Deanna Mena after finishing as one of the 214 Soldiers who successfully completed the Fort Bliss Air Assault Course and the only one to receive the distinguished honor graduate title. Courtesy Photo.
above her peers
Sgt. John D. Ortiz
3rd IBCT, 1st Armored Div.
When the rotors stopped, the teaching finished and the ceremony concluded, one “Bulldog” Soldier stood above the others with a newly pinned Air Assault Badge on her chest and the title as the distinguished honor graduate for the latest Air Assault Course here.
“It was an amazing honor to graduate as the class distinguished honor graduate,” said Sgt. Deanna Mena, the 125th Brigade Support Battalion intelligence noncommissioned officer in charge. “It was an amazing honor, but it was not easy to accomplish.”
At the beginning, Mena was one of 290 Soldiers who for two weeks were mentally and physically pushed to their limits, enduring an obstacle course and several 16-hour instruction days. At the end, Mena was chosen from 214 Soldiers to receive the top award.
“To overcome and accomplish what is asked from you is something that should come natural to any leader in the military,” said Mena. I enjoyed my days in the school, though some days were long, the information and experience I gained was well worth it.”
Like everything else in the Army, the first phase was classroom-based instruction.
“The first day of every phase is a classroom day where you are given so much information that needed to be retained and memorized before being tested,” she said. “The stress to pass and not get sent back to your unit was there for everyone.
“Even though it was tough, it was still a lot of fun,” she said. “But to pick one event, it would have to be rappelling from the helicopter from 75 feet above the ground.”
Having the class distinguished honor graduate in your unit will usually give the leadership something to brag about.
“Having a Soldier selected as the class distinguished honor graduate from my company was a pleasant surprise,” said 1st Sgt. Bobby Pierce, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 125th BSB, and Mena’s first sergeant. “She is an NCO who is worthy of emulation because she is not only technically proficient in her daily duties but tactically proficient as a Soldier.”