Staff Sgt. Amanda Kokkonen, representing Fort Huachuca, Ariz., was selected as the 2010 Advanced Individual Training Platoon Sergeant of the Year in competition that ended with an awards ceremony Aug. 27 at Fort Monroe, Va.

The selection came on her 25^th birthday. 

“It was like a birthday present to myself,” she said, noting that she had enlisted in the Army on her 18^th birthday. “This is my seventh anniversary in the Army.”

The competition began Aug. 24 for the 11 noncommissioned officers selected to participate in the second year of the event.

Before Jan. 1, 2008, they were classified as drill sergeants and participated in that competition. 

They were judged on warrior tasks and battle drills, written exams, physical exercises, combatives and a board interview by senior noncommissioned officers.

During the competition, the competitors were unaware of how their progress after the events and which events were to follow.

"A lot of times, when you go through competitions, you find out how you did after each task so by the end, but not knowing how you did kept it fair and even," Kokkonen, who is assigned to Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas,  said.

Adding, "You can train for it so much, but a lot of it comes from experience and learning from your fellow battle buddies as to what is right and wrong."

Not knowing what event was coming next kept “the competition on a level playing field.”

“There were a lot of good competitors and it was great to know that I was competing against AIT platoon sergeants who strive for excellence every day, she said"

Kokkonen will soon make a permanent change of station move to Fort Monroe, and over the next year will ”be an active voice of a standard and what should change and what should improve about our AIT environment."

She also was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her achievements. 

At the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commanding general for initial military training, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, compared the AIT platoon sergeants to “closers” in baseball. 

He said, “They come in strong and finish with some heat” in preparing soldiers to head to their first unit with the necessary skills in one of the Army’s 219 military specialties.

The platoon sergeants “shape excellence,” Command Sgt. Maj. John Calpena, command sergeant major for initial military training, said.

‘It’s an honor to be here.’

Sgt. 1^st Class Michael Houston said, “I always wanted to be a drill sergeant” -- but when that route wasn’t opened, he opted to become an Advanced Individual Training platoon sergeant. “They had a slot for aviation, and I grabbed it.”

The story Sgt. 1^st Class Jason Lamb had was similar. 

“I was told ‘chances are no way can we get you there;’” but when the chance came to move to being a platoon sergeant, he took it.

The two noncommissioned officers were among 11participating in the second AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year Competition that ended Aug. 27 at Fort Monroe, Va.

“We’re competitive people,” Houston, representing Fort Rucker, Ala., said.  “Being around my peers was great,” Lamb, representing Fort Eustis, Va., added.

Staff Sgt. Vernon Maybin, representing Fort Lee, Va., said the competition “helped develop my leadership skills,” and he will take that back to his home station. 

Adding, “You have [have leadership skills] to deal with soldier issues.”

Being a platoon sergeant in AIT is very different from being one in an operational unit. “You can have 150 to 200 soldiers in the AIT platoon. You take small steps every day” with them as they continue transitioning from being a civilian into being a soldier.

“This job is challenging in so many ways,” Sgt. 1^st Class Derrick Dodds, representing Redstone Arsenal, Ala., said.  “But I’m still having fun.  As you move up in rank you have to make adjustments.  At times, you’re flying solo.”

Being an AIT platoon sergeant is usually a two-year assignment, and there is a two-week preparation course they attend before moving to his or her assignment.

The job “can be very rewarding, especially when you see a soldier trying to do something the right way, to impress you. They all want to impress you” by showing what they can do, Sgt. 1^st Class Alexia Moore, representing Fort Bragg, N.C., said.

The soldiers in AIT “want to know how they will fit into the unit, what they will be doing,” Sgt. 1^st Class Christian Gordon, representing Fort Sill, Okla., said.

He added serving as an AIT platoon sergeant is a bonus for an NCO’s career. “You always need to be asking for more responsibility.”

“Every NCO here is very professional. They brought a lot of knowledge that they wanted to share,” Sgt. 1^st Class Jose Garcia, representing Fort Jackson, S.C., said.  “It’s an honor to be here.”