"She is 5 foot tall, and she stands above all the rest of the NCOs," says MSG David Carr about the soldier Fort Hood selected for KCEN's Soldier of the Month.
SGT Sarai Alvarez is a human resources specialist for the 85th Civil Affairs Brigade.
"In my field, we take care of our soldiers," she says.
It's a job she has taken great pride in for the past eight years.
She keeps morale up, handles promotions, maintains the unit's strength, and even helps keep troops' finances in order.
"That way we know that the soldier is being taken care of, and they don't have to worry about anything, once their downrange," says Sarai.
She also says she looks up to her leaders, and they say they hope others will look up to her.
MSG Carr said, "She shows up to work for PT everyday, leads soldiers, will stay late if you need her, weekends, at night, it doesn't matter. She's always there."
He says it's that commitment to duty that really sets her apart from the rest.
"I never have to follow up with a task that I give her, when I get back from meetings or training, the task is on my desk complete."
Sarai plans to stay in the Army for a full 20 years, and she says it's the soldiers and leaders who keep her going.
"They're the ones that actually drive me and let me know that I can go on," she said.
And in the coming years, she'll continue to make sure they have everything they need, so that they can go on too.
Sarai has been chosen to represent her brigade in the area of HR at the Army's Non-Commisioned Officer of the Year Competition in the coming months.
She is also set to attend recruiter school in the summer, so that she can continue to keep our troops Army strong.
Reporter: Sophia Stamas sstamas@kcentv.com
Photographer: Chris Buford cbuford@kcentv.com
