103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
Public Affairs Office
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq— Spc. Josue Montalvo and a group of other 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Soldiers convened Sept. 2 at the Joint Base Balad, Iraq to celebrate the promotion of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Melvin Vega Velez, officer-in-charge of distribution operations for support operations with 3rd Sust. Bde.
Montalvo was surprised to be called to the front of the group to receive his own promotion to sergeant, becoming the first battlefield promote under the 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Sust. Bde.
“We kept this from him for about two months,” said Lt. Col. Randy Page, deputy commander of the brigade’s support operations, and a Gate City, Va., native. “We found out there were a few slots available to nominate a Soldier for a battlefield promotion, and we felt that Montalvo fit the description.”
Montalvo, a Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, native, handles the central receiving and shipping point reports in the brigade’s support operations transportation section.
"I always give 100 percent,” he said. “I’ve been doing the job of three [staff sergeants] and sometimes it’s hard for me, but I always try and work hard to prove myself.”
His leadership agreed.
“He’s one of the guys who give 100 percent all the time,” said Velez, a Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, native “He takes it upon himself to come in early to make sure that all the little things are done before we start the work day. He keeps the place clean, he’s willing to help anybody, he takes jobs on that are way above his pay grade and he succeeds, and he is a well-rounded Soldier.”
The enlisted battlefield promotion policy provides commanders with an opportunity to accelerate and expeditiously promote courageous and extraordinary Soldiers, across all Army components, who willingly accept and perform at levels of increased responsibility on the battlefield.
“I have been doing the best I can do and I have been proving myself,” said Montalvo. “I have been showing what I can do and what I can handle. That is why I think I received this promotion.”
His leadership couldn’t agree more, Page said.
“We didn’t give him anything. He earned every bit of it,” he said. “He can’t walk past something without fixing it. He is just that kind of guy. I think he will do well and I would like to see him as a sergeant major one day.” |
