North Chicago, Ill –
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Roger Rendon accepted responsibility as the senior enlisted advisor of Western Sector, USMEPCOM, succeeding Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Jackson, who will next serve at the G-1 sergeant major, 18th Airborne Corps, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Marine Corps Col. Jesse Sjoberg, Western Sector commander, officiated the ceremony and explained Jackson led from the front, setting a tremendous example for others to follow. Sjoberg said, “He placed senior enlisted advisors where they would learn and perform well, and then gave them the most precious resource any of us has to give … his time and energy to ensure they would succeed.”
“His interaction with all of those he took under his wing … as coach, mentor, father figure at times, resulted in an incredible amount of growth and development and tremendous success,” Sjoberg said. “Success for a leader is defined by our lasting impact upon on those we develop, and believe me, for Sergeant Major Jackson, it’s a long list. There is no doubt he left an indelible mark on the Western Sector, on the lives of the leaders he developed, and on the service members those leaders will go on to develop.”
Jackson, who served as the senior enlisted advisor since November 2019 and throughout the command’s COVID-19 operations at Military Entrance Processing Stations across the nation, thanked USMEPCOM leaders past and present, saying, “I truly enjoyed my time here in Western Sector. It has been awesome to see our joint community up close in action and it has been an honor to serve as the senior enlisted advisor alongside the great members of this sector.”
In his remarks, Rendon reflected on the military processing mission, saying “Right now a young applicant, somewhere in the United States … is walking through one of those MEPS getting ready to process and they’re a little apprehensive, a little nervous, wondering if they made the right decision. They come from different cultures, different backgrounds, different upbringings … And the first people they see aside from the recruiters is us.”
Speaking about the applicants, he continued, “They have one thing in common – they want to serve their nation. So, that is the tip of the spear that I am really looking forward to be a part of!”
USMEPCOM has 65 MEPS and two Remote Processing Stations located through the nation, within 12 battalions, roughly half in Western Sector and half in Eastern Sector. Rendon, the new Western Sector senior enlisted advisor will provide support to and oversight of 31 MEPS and the two RPS that fall within Western Sector’s six battalions.