{"id":90017,"date":"2024-01-15T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=90017"},"modified":"2024-01-16T22:41:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T22:41:24","slug":"asc-soldier-embodies-be-all-you-can-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=90017","title":{"rendered":"ASC Soldier embodies Be All You Can Be"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"editor-image single\">\n<figure class=\"photo cur-photo\">\n          <span class=\"centered-image\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"img-container\"><br \/>\n              <a class=\"rich-text-img-link\" href=\"https:\/\/api.army.mil\/e2\/c\/images\/2024\/01\/16\/ee7ee90f\/original.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>              <\/a><br \/>\n                          <\/span><br \/>\n          <\/span><figcaption>\n                        <span class=\"image-caption\"><br \/>\n              <span class=\"caption-text\"><br \/>\n                Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deangello Wiggins enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2007. Today, he embodies the Army\u2019s motto of \u201cBe All You Can Be\u201d by his dedication to being the best Soldier, husband, and father he can be and by exploring his creativity through writing and publishing his first book.<br \/>\n                <span class=\"caption-author\"> (Photo Credit: Sarah Ridenour)<\/span><br \/>\n              <\/span><br \/>\n              <a href=\"https:\/\/api.army.mil\/e2\/c\/images\/2024\/01\/16\/ee7ee90f\/original.jpg\" title=\"View original\" target=\"_blank\">VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a><br \/>\n            <\/span><br \/>\n          <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. \u2013 When Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deangello Wiggins was growing up in Virginia, he knew he wanted more from life. In high school, he had the opportunity to talk to an Army recruiter who told him about the benefits the Army offered. Wiggins was excited for the opportunity to leave his hometown and serve his country, and the next thing he knew, he was off to Basic Combat Training, a ten-week introduction to the U.S. Army required of all new enlisted Soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>BCT builds a robust foundation for Soldiers beginning their Army journey by pushing them to exceed their perceived limits. By graduation, Soldiers will have built their confidence, broken barriers, and developed both mentally and physically.<\/p>\n<p>Wiggins arrived at BCT at Fort Jackson, S.C. in 2007, during the height of the Iraq and Afghan Wars. Although he was motivated and believed he was ready for the structure and discipline of BCT, Wiggins struggled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I first came into basic training, it was a very hard transition for me. A great deal of it was the fear of the unknown and obviously leaving my family during a time of war,\u201d he said. \u201cDuring that transition a lot of things went wrong; I would mess my uniform up, I would wake up late, but worse of all, I left my weapon on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After five weeks of BCT and numerous counselings, Wiggins\u2019 drill sergeant made the decision to send him back to week one, known as recycling. A drill sergeant\u2019s goal during BCT is to get the best out of everyone by creating a foundation for Soldiers to reach their full potential, and Wiggins\u2019 drill sergeant believed that restarting BCT would help Wiggins ultimately achieve this.<\/p>\n<p>Drill sergeants are dedicated to helping Soldiers succeed in basic training, even if they are recycled, and about 90% of candidates successfully complete basic training.<\/p>\n<p>Wiggins embraced this setback as an opportunity for improvement, determined not to let it hinder his progress. \u201cNo matter how difficult it was to see my other friends in the other class when they would walk pass me, I held my head high,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was truly tough going through every event again, but I managed and stayed motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead of letting this trial tear him down, Wiggins used it as motivation. He was determined to complete BCT and serve his country.\u00a0\u201cIn a lot of ways this would inspire me to embody the \u2018Can Do\u2019 attitude, along with \u2018Be All You Can Be\u2019 because it showed myself that I can do anything\u2026no matter how difficult the odds were,\u201d he proudly expressed. \u201cOne should never let one roadblock hold them back from what they are trying to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ten weeks later, Wiggins graduated BCT and went on to his first duty location at Fort Carson, Colorado. \u201cFrom then on, I&#8217;ve been extremely focused on being a Soldier, being a good leader, and doing the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, Wiggins has maintained his \u201cBe All You Can Be\u201d attitude through his service at U.S. Army Sustainment Command, his role as a husband and father, and through his own creative endeavors.<\/p>\n<p>The Army\u2019s motto of \u201cBe All You Can Be\u201d signifies limitless potential for Soldiers. The Army encourages Soldiers to be ambitious, curious, bold, prepared, adventurous, inspired, and empowered. To Wiggins, the motto means \u201cgiving 100% of everything you have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I hear those words, I immediately think of standing tall, standing in front of the American flag, being a solid Soldier, always doing the right thing, always being honest, and just standing for something,\u201d he said of the Army\u2019s motto.<\/p>\n<p>Dispelling the misconception of losing one\u2019s identity or family time in the Army, Wiggins has thrived in the Army and at ASC, finding a balance between work and family life. This balance has allowed him to spend more time with his wife and three sons as well as pursue his creative endeavors, leading to the publication of his first book. \u201cASC has provided me with the time to enjoy my family and work on learning the job. My past jobs have always been more of a sprint, this job is more of a marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wiggins\u2019 first duty station, Fort Carson, helped spark his creativity to write a romantic thriller novel. \u201cI wanted to capture the ambience of that area, the enamoring views of the mountains, the wild west sort of sensation really made me feel like I should work to put a book together. I always wanted to write, so why not start on it with an area that felt inviting and majestic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Serving in the Army has influenced his writing in other ways too. \u201cI have used some situations dealing with relationships that I have seen in the Army, as well as some of the tribulations of the day to day have provided some inspiration for writing the book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wiggins was inspired by the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, and further explored the value of loyalty in his book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to incorporate that aspect within the relationships in my book to have conversations about them after people read the book. It also can make others look at their relationship and see what they may think is the foundation of theirs,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I have learned about loyalty from my time in the Army is that you must commit to something. In the Army\u2019s case, it\u2019s about committing to being a Soldier, to being a leader, and a mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At ASC, Wiggins serves as a mobility officer in the Transportation Readiness Directorate where he oversees two non commissioned officers and interprets Army regulation governing transportation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy job consists of interpretation of the Installations Logistics Baseline Services, Arrival Departure Air Control Group Functional Area, Presidential Drawdown Assistance, and Container Management,\u201d he explained of his role at ASC.<\/p>\n<p>Wiggins is grateful for his time at ASC because it has given him the opportunity to grow as a Soldier. \u201cBeing here has opened my eyes to the sustainment enterprise and a very different perspective of how we support the warfighter,\u201d he said. \u201cI am dealing with aspects of my job that I haven\u2019t dealt with before: Funding, doctrine updates, and articulation of policy. These are tasks that I would touch on in previous units, but not truly expand on at the lower level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on his Army journey and BCT struggles 16 years ago, Wiggins recognizes the positive impact the Army has had on his life. \u201cEverything good that has happened in my life, its because of the Army,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn&#8217;t have my wife. I wouldn\u2019t have my family. I wouldn\u2019t have had the opportunity to go to college, wouldn\u2019t have had opportunity to serve overseas. A lot of my identity is from the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He encourages others who want more from life to consider joining the Army. \u201cWith the Army you have job security, they put a uniform on your back, they give you a place to stay, they give you food. I mean, there&#8217;s a lot of benefits to the Army,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Learn how you too can Be All You Can Be at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goarmy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.goarmy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deangello Wiggins enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2007. Today, he embodies the Army\u2019s motto of \u201cBe All You Can Be\u201d by his dedication to being the best Soldier, husband, and father he can be and by exploring his creativity through writing and publishing his first book. (Photo Credit: Sarah Ridenour) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90019,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90017"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90020,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90017\/revisions\/90020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}