By Rodney Jackson, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Public Affairs
FORT CAVAZOS, Texas –Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center welcomed a new Troop Battalion senior enlisted advisor during a ceremony July 19 in the hospital atrium.
Command Sgt. Major Antonio Davis assumed command, as outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Stephine Sweat will move on to become the command sergeant major of the U. S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease.
Troop Battalion, “Black Knights”, is comprised of Soldiers and civilians responsible for supporting CRDAMC Soldiers, staff and families.
Sweat led many accomplishments for Troop Battalion especially through its COVID-19 operations. Under Sweat, the organization’s Soldiers stood up a respiratory drive through to streamline testing while simultaneously providing COVID-19 vaccines in the hospital and at Abrams Fitness Center. Each endeavor provided thousands of COVID-19 tests and vaccines, and the team was instrumental in operating the Abrams Fitness Center COVID-19 Operations Center through 2022. The unit also produced the Army’s best medic, Maj. Joseph Ahlborn, in the 2022 Army Best Medic Competition along with its many more accomplishments.
Davis arrives to the organization of talented Soldiers from the U.S. Army Center of Medical Excellence.
Lt. Col. Jody Shipley, commander, Troop Battalion, CRDAMC, urged Davis to, “make the battalion your own”, in his address to the audience.
“The challenges we face as a troop battalion are many, some shared among other battalions and some unique to our location and the greater organizational structure,” Shipley said. “Based on your reputation and what I have seen thus far, you will succeed. Soldiers and staff of the battalion will be better for your being a part (of it).”
Davis thanked family, friends, and staff for attending the ceremony and relayed to leaders and Soldiers that he was honored to serve as the organization’s command sergeant major and eager to experience the successes and challenges during the journey.
Davis touched on the noncommissioned officer’s creed and stated that he is a believer that all Soldiers, officers and enlisted, are entitled to outstanding leadership, and to the best of his ability as the command sergeant major will provide that leadership. He explained that it does not only apply to the enlisted corps, but from the lowest private to the highest colonel.
“Every Soldier has a sergeant, and the goal is to go beyond the inherent respect of the rank that is pinned on my chest, but to the earned respect and confidence that comes with time and demonstration,” he said.
