Assignment: Basic training company first sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry, Fort Jackson, S.C.
Personal: He is from Lakewood, Calif., and joined the Army in 1992.
Fort Jackson, S.C. — To watch 1st Sgt. Peter Lara make the rounds of privates in his basic training company at 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry, is to see how he brings soldiers into his trust.
As a gaggle of sweaty young trainees gathers in the shade around a private too overwhelmed by the heat to continue the exercise, Lara asks questions about the pale soldier, then tells the trainees about surviving in combat. He speaks quietly. He doesn’t boast.
Read his full
story.
