Issue Nr. 1 March 2006 - NATO School

NATO School NCO selected as 2005
ACT Military Member of the Year
By PO Second Class Tyce Velde
ACT Public Information Office
NORFOLK, Va. – During a ceremony at the Supreme
Allied Commander Transformation Headquarters,
senior enlisted members from throughout ACT
announced their selection for the Military Member of the
Year for 2005. US Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher
Upeslacis from the NATO School in Oberammergau,
Germany edged out his competitors in an extremely
tight competition, said U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer
Douglas Halay, from the office of SACT Representative
to Europe, one of the board members judging the
competition. He also received at Joint Service
Commendation Medal. “It was really hard to choose a
candidate,” said Halay. “It was really close, but when it
came down to it, he just kept his poise all week long.
His presentation and his answers were very
professional. He’s an ideal representative for ACT.”
Seven candidates took part in a weeklong competition,
during which they were judged on their professionalism,
military bearing and character and social skills by ACT
senior enlisted leaders. The candidates gave
presentations, attended social events and were
interviewed by the board members. This is the first time
the competition has been held at the Supreme Allied
Commander Transformation headquarters in Norfolk,
Va. The candidates were Danish Navy Cpl. Søren
Boeriis, from STRE in Brussels, Belgium; German Army
Staff Sgt. Martin Bonczek, from the Joint Warfare
Centre in Stavanger, Norway; U.S. Navy Petty Officer
First Class Terry Cerami, from Staff Element Europe in
Brussels, Belgium; Belgian Army Master Sgt. August
DeCraecker, from the Joint Forces Training Centre in
Bydgoszcz, Poland; Canadian Army Sgt. Todd Grant,
from SACT HQ; Sr. Cpl. David Peixoto, from the Joint
Analysis Lessons Learned Centre in Lisbon, Portugal
and Upeslacis.
“The people here before you are what I call the best of
the best,” said Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
Transformation British Royal Navy Adm. Sir Mark
Stanhope. “Not only that, but when I got here four
years ago, it was predominately Navy. Now we have
representatives from all branches and nations. It’s truly
a combined and joint atmosphere.”
Holding the competition at the headquarters gives the
candidates a unique opportunity to meet, in person,
members from the different commands, said U.S. Navy
Master Chief Steven Wacker, ACT Command Master
Chief. “This is the first time they’ve come here,” he
added. “It allows people who have never come here a
chance to visit and see how the headquarters actually
works. They get a first-hand view of this command and
an opportunity to interact with our staff.” Though many
of the personnel from different ACT commands in
Portugal, Norway, Germany, Poland and Belgium work
together via email and telephone, this is a unique
opportunity to meet some of them in person, said
NATO School
Community Bulletin March 2006 Edition
Cerami. “It’s nice to put a face to the names we see in
email and the people I talk to on the phone,” said
Cerami. “I work with people in the headquarters often,
but it’s different to physically be here, and say hello and
shake their hand.” SSgt Upeslacis was stunned by his
selection. The competition was so close, he said, that
no one knew going into the ceremony who would
receive the award. “It feels very different,” he said. “The
competition was extremely high. It really could have
been any one of us. I didn’t expect to win it. It’s a good
thing, for the NATO School, too, because we haven’t
been a member of ACT very long, and this puts us on
the map.” Admiral Stanhope congratulated not only
Upeslacis, but the other six candidates, and the
candidates for the individual commands’ competitions.
The non-commissioned officers throughout NATO are
such high calibre, anyone selected for the MMOY
competition deserves congratulations, he said. “We
haven’t had to work hard across ACT to pull out talent,”
he added. “There’s a sea of it out there. It makes me
enormously proud to be the deputy commander of this
organisation.”
Admiral Stanhope congratulates SSgt Upeslacis
StFw Jochen Zimmermann (member of the Senior
Elisted NCO Board), Staff Sergeant Chris Upeslacis
with his wife Sabine Neuner and Cpt Scott Anderson.