Just two students were dropped from the class since it began three weeks ago. “This was probably our highest percentage ever,” said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Chapman, the course’s senior instructor. Sgt. Maj. Gerald Burkhart, operations sergeant major for the 93rd Troop Command, was the guest speaker. He urged graduates to be engaged within their spans of control as well as their larger units. “Take time to give back to your organization,” Burkhart said. Spc. Scott Gordon, 720th Transportation Company, and Spc. Patrick Torres, 111th Sustainment Brigade, were named to the Commandant’s List. Specialists Jordan Abrams, Dante Angelini, Jacob Deer, Saul Diaz, Levi Jungling, Jacob Knicely, William Mathis, Rachel Moore, Samantha Morris, Brenton Setzer, Alee Vang, and Sgt. Steven McCaig rounded out the Commandant’s List. Angelini also took home the Ironman Award for scoring 290 points on the Army Physical Fitness Test. Spc. Almarie Soto-Ortiz won the Ironwoman Awards with a score of 294. Spc. Alexandrea Balkissoon was the Distinguished Honor Graduate and won the SHARP Essay Award. Spc. Jenersy Gomez-Garcia won the Distinguished Leadership Award. Spc. Jacob Golightly served as the Student First Sergeant for the duration of the course and led his classmates in reciting the NCO Creed during graduation. Master Sgt. Daniel Garcia, BLC branch chief, selected Staff Sgt. Antonio Bieniek, 1st Battalion, 515th Regiment (RTI), as the Instructor of the Cycle. The graduates represented Regular Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard units from around the country.
