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Master Sgt. Angel Alemanmondragon, Security Assistance Training Management Organization Foreign Affairs Counter Threat course instructor and military advisor, successfully completed the Sergeant Audie Murphy Award requirements at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, March 12, and will soon be inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.
The award recognizes noncommissioned officers whose leadership, achievements, and performance have contributed significantly to the development of the NCO corps and a combat ready Army.
The award and club’s namesake are an homage to the most decorated American combat Soldier of World War II. Audie Murphy enlisted in 1942 and was assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division where he fought campaigns in France, Italy, and North Africa. His actions of bravery and leadership earned him a battlefield commission to lieutenant as well as the Medal of Honor, every medal for valor the Army offered, and many other awards and distinctions.
Alemanmondragon admitted that before he met Master Sgt. Nekoesha Taylor, a fellow SATMO member who was inducted into the Fort Bragg SAM-C in August 2024 , he only had vague knowledge of Murphy and the club.
“I’m going to go be a first sergeant in a few months, and I was trying to identify things I could do to become a better first sergeant and to better influence the younger Soldiers,” said Alemanmondragon. “When she told me about the club, I took it as a challenge, but as I learned more about it, I realized this was exactly what I’ve been looking for as far as developing myself.”
Earning the right to don the esteemed Audie Murphy medallion requires the best of an NCO. Those who work toward it must prove themselves physically by scoring over a 90 on each event of the Army Combat Fitness Test; professionally by participating in several boards at different levels and completing an essay on an assigned topic; and technically by shooting expert on assigned weapons.
In addition to those measurable tasks, a Soldier’s achievements and contributions in his or her units and communities over the course of their career are also considered.
Alemanmondragon said his participation in the 2024 Best Warrior Best Squad competitions at the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command and Army Materiel Command levels prepared him for the physical and technical tasks, but he still had to spend a lot of time studying and memorizing Murphy’s biography and preparing for boards with Taylor.
“She gave me an outline of what to expect during the week of events, but after that initial overview, our time was spent having discussions,” said Alemanmondragon. “For a lot of boards now, the questions are situation-based and require critical thinking skills, so she wasn’t just asking, ‘What’s the definition of this Army term?’ The discussions were more around current events and leadership topics with doctrinal definitions guiding the conversation.”
The physical and technical abilities sharpened by Best Warrior Best Squad and the time spent studying on his own and with Taylor paid off.
Once Alemanmondragon is officially inducted into the SAM-C April 24, he said he looks forward to the community aspect as well as the impact he can have on his NCOs and Soldiers by working to strengthen the profession.
“There have been all these great new programs and new concepts developed because of the (Army) Chief of Staff’s ‘Strengthening the Profession’ priority,” he said. “But we’ve already had this pre-existing community of outstanding NCOs that’s been around since the ‘80s, who have been doing that, and I want to help shed some light on the SAM-C and SAMA because I feel like it doesn’t receive recognition in many units.”
The Fort Bragg SAM-C is not just about military service, as a large component of the club’s work is public service. The organization follows Murphy’s mantra of ‘You lead from the front’ by committing to the betterment of the base and the communities surrounding it through volunteer work.
For any NCO, from corporal to master sergeant, who might be asking the question, ‘Why try for this award?’, Alemanmondragon asks, ‘Why not?’
“Just the process of preparing for it is developmental in nature,” he said. “Even if for some reason you aren’t rewarded or not inducted, you’re still going to come out better than before you went into it.”
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2025 10:47 |
| Story ID: | 493879 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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