4 FEBRUARY 2012

IN AC

TION BY EXAMPLE

Sgt. 1st Class Roy Hibbetts is an infantryman and platoon sergeant with 2nd Platoon, C Troop, 473rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, N.C. In 1998, Hibbets, then a musician in Tuscon, Ariz., put away his drum-sticks to pick up an M16. He has deployed five times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Why did you join the Army?I decided to serve in the Army because I was a mu-

sician, and I found that eating ramen noodles was not the way of life I wanted for my children and for myself. I wanted to better their lives and mine. The reason I stayed in the Army is totally different than why I joined. As soon as I started training and integrating to Army life, it was a lot of fun. I decided to stay in because it best suited my lifestyle.

What role have NCOs played in your professional development?

NCOs have played a significant part in my career. The role of the noncommissioned officers has definite-ly changed the way I’ve looked at life. It’s impacted the professional demeanor I have toward younger Soldiers. How has Army training affected your career?

Army training helped me be a good NCO by building my personal patience, and learning my limitations and how to judge young Soldiers’ limitations — basically, how to transform their weaknesses into a strength, and how to turn that strength into a product that all the Soldiers in the team can learn from and sustain. What impact have you seen NCOs make?

I learned from Staff Sgt. Walter Gray that you must take in those young Soldiers under your wing and treat them with respect. Because a young recruit does not know how to do his job entirely, you have to show them before you get upset. NCOs are the backbone, and without the NCOs’ backing, without holding the stan-dards and enforcing the standards, you will not have a well-functioning unit. What is good leadership?

Good leadership means never giving up on your Soldiers. The junior NCOs cannot quit — they can’t pull out of runs, can’t pull out of training events. They have to be at work on time and not drunk. You just can’t quit on these Soldiers. You have to set the right example. How do you lead Soldiers?

There’s a time to be abrupt, but there has to be a method to the madness. When my Soldiers understand the method to my madness, then everything comes together, and all our training and our combat patrols can run smooth. How does your current role affect the Army?

I’m a young sergeant first class, so I’m still impact-ing just my corner of the pie. Every day we’re learning something new and trying out new tactics. What advice do you have for other NCOs?

Follow the Army Values, and you can’t go wrong. It’s been a system that hasn’t failed and won’t fail as long as you use them correctly. I used to tell my students when I was an instructor at the [NCO] Academy, “If it feels wrong, then it is wrong.”

— INTERVIEW BY JENNIFER MATTSON

‘Follow the Army Values’As a platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Roy Hibbetts uses lessons learned as an NCO Academy instructor

Sgt. 1st Class Roy Hibbetts briefs his portion of the Operation Order for an upcoming patrol in Shewan Afghanistan, Farah District June 18, 2010. PHOTO COUR-TESY OF SGT. 1ST CLASS ROY HIBBETTS