My Coins - 4ID Leadership

Here we have a "two-for-one special." I decided to do both of these coins at the same time because they were presented to me on the same day. These two coins are the first coins I got in the 4th Infantry Division and came from the top level of the Division.

First, a bit of background. When I arrived on Fort Carson in April, 2009, the 4th Infantry Division was in the process of relocating to Carson from Fort Hood, Texas. The Division's Division Special Troops Battalion had no S-6 (Communications Shop). Well, since I had a 25-series MOS (Signal Corps Military Occupational Specialty), the Battalion promptly made me "the S-6." Now, something to keep in mind: I was ONLY a Specialist--not even a NCO. There were a number of Soldiers in the Battalion who were in my boat. They were lower-enlisted, but had to step up and fill positions that were normally filled by people of greater rank. I went to work standing up telephone lines, computers, and printers. I even took charge of a number of government cell phones and issued them out, as appropriate. Because of my work, the Battalion's leadership was able to function, once they got on the ground. There were a lot of moving pieces. The Division had just returned from a tour in Iraq and a lot of equipment was going through the "reset" process. Leadership throughout the Division was changing. These changes were also taking place in the DSTB. Not only did the Division have a new Commanding General, new Deputy Commanding Generals, a new Chief of Staff, and a new Division Command Sergeant Major; but, the DSTB had a new Commander and a new Command Sergeant Major. The Battalion's companies had new leadership. Each of the staff sections within the Division and Battalion Headquarters had new leadership. All of these changes occurred during a period when the Division and the Battalion were moving from Texas to Colorado. What the Division and its Division Special Troops Battalion needed was a group of competent individuals on the ground in Colorado to help stand up the various infrastructure and support that these organizations would need, once their people got on the ground. I was a part of that group of competent individuals.

Now, I had a lot of fun doing what I did. Don't get me wrong, when I was told what needed to be done, it scared me. I was only an E-4 and I was the only one in the S-6. I essentially had nobody who could order people to render assistance to me, if I met resistance. I had to make coordinations and do the leg work. So, I immediately made friends with people in the Division's G-6 Section. They had people with rank and they had bodies. I also made friends with people at Fort Carson's Department of Information Management (DOIM). I then put up trouble tickets as needed, met individuals at various locations, issued out cell phones and computers, plugged things in and turned them on, and participated in staff meetings. It was a real challenge because I had to do a lot of running around and I had to make a lot of phone calls. What's more, because the Battalion was in the process of this move, I got an additional duty. As Soldiers came in, they would arrive on Fort Carson at different times. I had to issue out temporary rooms in the barracks, as needed. Because Soldiers might arrive at any given time, this duty meant that I might have to leave something I was doing during the duty day, I might have to leave an activity I was doing during my off-duty hours, or I might even have to get up in the middle of the night. I did all of this while working with my then fiance to plan our wedding. That was a long-distance deal because Regina was in Iowa, at the time. So, I had a lot going on. Remember one of my earlier posts in which I said that my first deployment had taught me that I could push myself further than I knew possible. Well, during this time, I was really leaning on that resillience that I had learned about during that first tour. It paid off. I'm not saying that I didn't make any mistakes during this time. This was by no means a flawlessly executed operation. I had to learn a lot on the fly because I was a radio guy who was now being forced to deal with automations equipment. But, somehow I got the job done and I was given quite a bit of recognition for it.

Once Division and Battalion finally got everyone changed out and almost everything moved to Carson, they had formal ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the Division and Battalion headquarters buildings. On the day they did the ceremony for the DSTB's headquarters, several Soldiers were recognized for their work in getting the Battalion stood up. I was one of the Soldiers who got recognized. On that day, the Division Chief of Staff presented a coin to me on behalf of the Division Commanding General. The Division Command Sergeant Major also gave me a coin. The "dog tag" shaped coin is from Major General David Perkins and was presented to me by Colonel Patrick Fetterman. On one side, the coin has the 4th ID patch, two red stars denoting the rank insignia of a Major General, "Ironhorse Six"-- the General's call sign, "Steadfast & Loyal"--the Division motto, and the "Warrior Ethos." The other side of this coin also bears two red stars denoting the rank of Major General, a scroll bearing the words of the "Oath of Enlistment," and the words "PRESENTED FOR EXCELLENCE" and "4TH ID COMMANDING GENERAL." The other coin, which is shaped sort of like a rounded pentagon, was presented to me by Command Sergeant Major Daniel Dailey. One side of this coin features the rank insignia of a Command Sergeant Major--three chevrons with the tip pointing up and three "rockers" with the crest going down under the chevrons. In the space between the chevrons and rockers is a wreath with a star in the middle. This side of the coin has the seven Army Values, three stars, and "IRONHORSE 7" which is the Command Sergeant Major's call sign. The other side of the coin has the 4th ID patch, two American flags, the Warrior Ethos, three stars, the Division's Motto: "STEADFAST AND LOYAL," and the words "PRESENTED FOR EXCELLENCE." An interesting note about the coin I recieved from DCSM Dailey: I had my coins displayed on my desk. Someone stole the coin from DCSM Dailey. In a conversation with my Battalion Commander, LTC Matthew Tedesco, I told him about someone stealing my coin. LTC Tedesco got a little upset about that. He told me that when he was a "young Lieutenant," that some Soldier on extra duty had gone into his office and stolen several of his coins. So, he knew how I felt about having a coin stolen. He went to DCSM Dailey and got me another coin. He then called me into his office, along with our Battalion S-3 (Operations Officer) and in sort of an informal ceremony, presented the new coin to me. LTC Tedesco then told me that he was proud of me and that he appreciated all of my hard work. After that, he admonished me to do a better job of securing my coins. I have followed his admonition ever since. From that day forward, I kept my coins displayed in a coin rack that was placed in a cabinet above my desk. When I was there in the office, I would open the door on the cabinet so that the coins could be seen. Whenever I left, I closed and locked the door. When I got ready to deploy and I cleaned out my office area, I took the coins home and I keep them displayed there. As I just returned from a deployment, I haven't decided whether or not I will again display my coins in my office. I actually need to get a bigger coin rack to display my collection, regardless of whether I display it at home or at the office.

These two coins will always be special to me. They probably will never hold the significance that the coin from LTC Cox holds, but they are right under that coin. These coins were given to me as a "thank you" for about three months of very hard work. These coins told me that my work will be recognized by the people who need to recognize it. I felt appreciated and I needed to feel appreciated, at that time. These coins also marked my first encounter with 4th ID leadership and it was a positive experience for me. I knew then that I was in a good unit. The experience set the tone for the rest of my tenure in the 4th Infantry Division.