7/31/2019 July Profile: Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Bush

1/1 NCO JOURNAL 4

BY EXAMPLE

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Bush, an 11B infantryman,was in the Sinai peninsula for a mission with the Multi-national Force and Observers on Sept. 11, 2001. Sincethen, he has deployed to Iraq and twice to Afghani-stan. He currently serves as an operations sergeant for 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson, Colo.

Why did you join the Army?From my youngest days o painting my ace and

wearing camou age and playing Army in the back-yard, I knew I wanted to serve. We talk a lot o timeshow a minister or pastor has a calling. I just elt I hada calling, and this is what I was supposed to do.How do NCOs make an impact on Soldiers?

Were always training or combat. So our interac-tion with our Soldiers is Go do this, because i youdont and we do it or real, you could get killed. Thatlevel o mentorship and the reward o knowing thatIve never personally lost a Soldier in combat, that issomething I have more pride in than anything else.What is good leadership?

I was a scout squad leader rom Fort Campbell,Ky., and we went out in fve-man teams. We took a ewimprovised explosive devices dismounted. I thought,as an in antry leader, Im supposed to go out in ront.I something happens, its going to happen to me; itsnot going to happen to my guys. I set that standard andhad some close calls mysel , but to me, it saved myguys. Two years later, Sta Sgt. Shaun Whitehead, oneo my previous Soldiers, was an in antry squad leaderdoing the exact same thing, and he got killed by an IED.I beat mysel up over that one, because I taught himthat. But then I thought about it, and that one guy gavehis li e to protect his Soldiers. Thats what I taught him.

What advice do you have for other NCOs?Id like to see more NCOs lead rom the ront, set

the standard and en orce the standard, not pick andchoose. I think we need to get back to some o the ba-sics. Weve been an Army at war or the past 11 years,weve gone away rom the things I had to do when Iinitially came in.What challenges does the Army have that NCOscan help solve?

Being able to communicate with this new gen-

eration is important. And a good way to do that is tomaintain our Army culture. Im not saying we need tobe antiquated, but we cant orget the traditions wehave in the Army. Its just a generation gap. When Icame into the Army, I was scared to death o E-7s, andI would walk the other way. Now, youll walk into thepost exchange, and an E-4 will look at you and say,Whats up, man? Ill say, Hey, Johnny, see this? Iman E-7; I worked hard or it. We just need to get backto the basics o discipline, and its going to take thewhole NCO Corps time to accomplish it.What advice do you have for junior NCOs?

The best thing or junior NCOs to do is to immersethemselves in learning everything and anything they

can not only about their job, but the Army as awhole. I think placing an emphasis on civilian educa-tion is important to the development o all NCOs. TheArmy is a short part o your li e. I you live to be 80, itsonly 25 percent o your li e.

INTERVIEW BY JENNIFER MATTSON

The basics of disciplineSgt. 1st Class Daniel Bush explains the importanceand tough challenges o leading rom the ront

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Bush demonstrates how toconduct preventive maintenance checks and serviceson a humvee May 2 at Fort Carson, Colo. PHOTO BY JENNIFER MATTSON