Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Tyler Christ, a South St. Paul, Minn., native and operations noncommissioned...... read more read more
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JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Sgt. Tyler Christ, an operations noncommissioned officer with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, II Marine Expeditionary Force, exudes confidence. Not only is he physically fit, Christ also has a mind conditioned to being ready at a moment’s notice.
“I’m always doing my best to stay in a constant readiness every day,” said Christ, a native of South St. Paul, Minnesota. “Physical training, uniform inspections, knowledge: all of that is constant. It’s hard to forget the knowledge that gets drilled into your head at boot camp.”
His efforts have not gone unnoticed either. In October, Christ’s leadership nominated him to compete against other noncommissioned officers within the unit. The decision came as a surprise to Christ, who was unaware he had been nominated to stand before a board of senior Marines to represent his shop.
He said he happily accepted the challenge.
“Winning boards like these help give Marines self-confidence and unit pride,” said Sgt. Maj. Octaviano Gallegos, the sergeant major of 2nd MEB. “[The shops] picked their best Marines and submitted them to the board to find out who is the top dog.”
On Oct. 21, he squared off against a handpicked group of NCOs for the 2nd MEB NCO of the Quarter board at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
“We ran the Marines through a series of events to include a [physical training] event, drill, question and answer and a uniform inspection,” said Gallegos, who personally helped the Marines prepare for the competition.
Even with his confidence and experience in the Marine Corps, Christ was aware he could always improve his leadership abilities.
“It helped me identify any shortfalls within myself and assists with my readiness,” said Christ. “As I improve my appearance and performance, I’m able to look at the Marines under my charge and identify where they are and where they can or need to improve readiness-wise.”
Christ found his work leading Marines during drill to be particularly helpful.
“Drill is not an everyday occurrence,” he said. “Preparing for drill and being able to lead Marines through drill is definitely something I need to improve on.”
Despite facing difficulties, Christ was able to pull out on top as the 2nd MEB NCO of the Quarter.
“By having these traits, the Marines use it to help make their unit better which ties into unit readiness,” said Gallegos.
Christ plans to bring what he learned back with him to his unit and may even participate in a meritorious staff sergeant board with the knowledge he gained.
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2014 10:07 |
| Story ID: | 149257 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | ST. PAUL, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 426 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Leading from the Front: 2nd MEB selects NCO of the Quarter, by James Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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