Honoring Master Sergeant Brent P. Schol

by Timothy James Walz

Mr. Speaker, as a former Command Sergeant Major, I would like to take this time to recognize a fellow Non-Commissioned Officer who has dedicated his life to the United States Army and to this country. Master Sergeant Brent P. Schol will retire from the United States Army after a lifetime of service to this nation. Brent has been the epitome of a particular line in the Non-Commissioned Officer Creed, which continues to inspire me to this day: "No one is more professional than I." As part of a long, strong line of Non- Commissioned Officers dating back 243 years, Brent has done his part to be the backbone of our great Army by consistently doing the two things that we always ask of our NCOs: accomplishing the mission and taking care of America's sons and daughters.

You can say that Master Sergeant Schol has "earned his spurs." Throughout his career, he has served in every aspect on an M1A1/M1A2 Tank from Loader to Tank Commander. Other assignments have included Troop/Squadron Master Gunner, Squadron and Regimental Operations Non-Commissioned Officer, and Company/Troop First Sergeant. He currently serves on the Cobra Team at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California as a Cavalry Troop Trainer and will retire from the Army on October 1, 2018.

Brent is a native of Granada Hills, California and was born Sept 14, 1979. He entered the Army on Sept 8, 1998 and attended unit training for armor crewmembers at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The units Brent served with are many. He has served with B Company and HHC, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor; HHC, 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor; A Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; H Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; HHT, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; D Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment; D Co and C Co, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment; HHBN, 4th Infantry Division; 7-10 and 2-1 CAV; and Operations Group National Training Center. His deployments have included a deployment to Kuwait in 2001 and to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2005.

His military education includes the Basic Leader's Course, Advanced Leader's Course, Senior Leader's Course, Air Assault School, Battle Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Course, and the M1A1 Master Gunner Course.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star medal, three Meritorious Service medals, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, six Army Commendation Medals, eight Army Achievement medals, National Defense Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Force Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign medal with 2 bronze stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officer professional development ribbon with numeral three, five Good Conduct Medals, three Overseas Service Ribbons, and two Meritorious Unit Citations.

Brent is finishing his Master of Science in Military History from American Military University and will be returning to Santa Clarita, CA upon retirement. Brent is married to the former Julie Anna Curtis and has one daughter named Madison.

On this Army birthday, it seems fitting to say thank you to Master Sergeant Schol and his family and wish them good luck as they open a new chapter in their lives. Centurions!