Jon

I am the Sergeant. A Noncommissioned Officer of the United States Army. For two centuries, I have led our Nation's soldiers, purchasing freedom with out blood. To tyrants, we are the day of reckoning; to the oppressed, we are the hope for a brighter future. Where the fighting is thick, I lead the way. No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers, the backbone of the Army.I was there from the beginning with Baron Von Steuben in 1775. My bleeding feet stained the snow at Valley Forge as I learned and later taught drill to a young American Army.At Fort McHenry, I fought through the night to protect our National colors to show Great Britain and the rest of the world that this is, and will always be, the land of the free, and the home of the brave.From Bull Run to Appomattox, I fought and lead the way. Both Blue and Gray were my colors then -- two masters I served and united them with strength, proving that this Nation could right a wrong and long endure.I was there when Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders landed at Santiago to free Cuba from Spain. I fought into the night to take both Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill. In the course of this short war, we won Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands.At Chateau Thierry, I led the way over the top -- then I stood like a rock on the Marne. It was my soldiers who cracked the Hindenberg Line. In the Argonne, my soldiers broke the Kaiser's spine and we didn't come back until it was over -- over there.A generation later, I led the assault on the African shore. I marched my soldiers into Rome with determination and resolve. We devastated the enemy during the Battle of the Bulge.In the Pacific, we hopped from island to island. We set the Rising Sun of the Japanese Empire. In Korea, I gathered my soldiers around Pusan, swept across the frozen Han, outflanked the enemy at Inchon and marched to the Yalu.After Vietnam, we were rejected at home, but still we answered our Nation's call. We bravely fought and led our soldiers -- both on a covered jungle floor and through the burning hot rice paddies in Vietnam.Again I was called upon to lead my soldiers into combat -- this time to the island of Grenada. We began the day with an Airborne assault, suffering minor casualties and preserving America's dream of freedom to all in the cause of justice.Again, I stood for freedom's call in the burning sands of the Middle East so that others may live in free of oppression and injustice.My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind – the accomplishment of my mission, and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain tactically and technically proficient. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve – seniors, peers and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate actions in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget, that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders of soldiers. "I am the Sergeant."