From food drives and roadway cleanups to fundraisers and holiday gift donations, members of the installation’s Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, or SAMC, lead by example within their formations and across the community.
SAMC is a nonprofit organization originally founded in 1986 at Fort Hood, Texas, and to join members must meet prerequisites based on leadership, professionalism and general military knowledge. Fort Campbell is looking to bolster its own chapter now that COVID-19 meeting restrictions have been lifted
“We’re trying to create a group of NCOs that care for their Soldiers, that are loyal and follow the values of a noncommissioned officer,” said Sgt. 1st Class Isaak Moser, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the installation’s SAMC vice president. “We try to build ourselves and everyone we work with so we can impact more than just our units and chains of command, and we’re always communicating with each other to get that done.”
Moser said the organization is focused on making a difference within the community, and its members can often be found volunteering their time for charitable causes.
“We’ve done highway cleanups, bagged groceries at the commissary and created fun rucks and runs to raise money for local scholarships,” Moser said. “Other events we do often include volunteering at the Manna Café and working alongside the USO on post … there’s always something you can be doing, and to be a part of this group is amazing since you’re working alongside other noncommissioned officers who have proven themselves to have knowledge and leadership skills.”
Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Lindsey, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Abn. Div., decided to join SAMC in 2019 after seeing other members working on community service projects.
“I actually got inducted into the club at Fort Benning, Georgia, and when you showed up to in-process there they made sure to have a SAMC representative there so you could meet that person right off the bat,” Lindsey said. “I think it’s also helped me create a great network here at Campbell. As soon as you link up with one member, you immediately have a network of highly motivated people who get things done and are seeking out the professionalism that is the NCO corps.”
Lindsey said the most rewarding part of his experience with SAMC has been helping other NCOs through the application process. Joining SAMC can be a challenge, but its members are ready and willing to help dedicated Soldiers succeed.
To be selected as a candidate, your chain of command has to believe that you not only have the potential to be a member of SAMC, and you’re already an amazing leader,” Moser said. “But it most definitely has to start with the Soldier being interested, and that’s why battalions and brigades host quarterly boards to provide recommendations.”
After being recommended for SAMC, Soldiers have to complete battalion, brigade and division-level boards, a written examination, weapons qualification and the Army Combat Fitness Test.
“Initially, I took on the application process as a challenge to myself because it’s not an easy task to be selected for SAMC,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ashley McCurdy, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, who joined in 2018 and currently serves as the club’s secretary. “Then I began to understand more about what they do, and it’s not just about challenging NCOs to memorize and learn regulations. We’re collaborating, not only with the units on the installation, but with the local community, to do what we can to bring people support.”
McCurdy said she enjoys the opportunity for regular service projects like highway cleanups and toy drives. However, she found it especially impactful to help Kentuckians recover from a series of severe tornadoes that leveled multiple communities in 2022.
“Last year when the tornado went through just north of us and people were struggling with simple things like water, food, feminine products and contact solutions, the club was able to get supplies together within 48 hours,” she said. “I had a car packed full of resources that I could get up to Kentucky and donate.”
Sgt 1st Class Braxton Pernice, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd BCT, said the club is effective at taking on service projects because of the qualities necessary for membership.
“You’re in there with a group of competitive people who don’t take a backseat, and they always want to be the best they can actually be,” he said. “It’s a group of professional NCOs who know they can do more and they live by that – through community service and hosting study groups to prepare other NCOs to become members.”
Pernice joined SAMC in 2022 and currently serves as the club’s treasurer, which means he often takes the lead on fundraising activities.
“The most rewarding thing that I’ve been a part of since being in the club is that we were able to provide a scholarship to a Fort Campbell High School student in order for them to be able to buy books and a new laptop,” he said. “We were able to raise $1,000 for that student through a run, walk and ruck event, and we got sponsored with a $100 gift card from Academy Sports. We also sponsored it ourselves, so we had shirts, coins and other gifts to make sure first, second and third place finishers all received prizes.”
Participants donated $10 each to compete in the run, and Moser said First Command matched the final total with another $1,000.
SAMC plans to host additional donation-based runs and scholarship presentations in the future, along with a catered meal for 2nd Brigade Combat Team when they return from their deployment to Europe.
“We have a lot of events that go on, but we try not to do too many at once because we want to create quality, not quantity,” Pernice said. “Whenever an idea comes up for something we can be a part of, whether that’s a blood drive or bagging groceries at the commissary, we’ll identify the scenario and a couple of NCOICs to do the footwork. It’s very similar to how a company would work in the Army.”
Noncommissioned officers interested in joining SAMC are encouraged to reach out to a club member within their formation. They can also attend one of the club’s regular meetings, which are hosted at noon on the second Tuesday of each month at USO Fort Campbell, 6145 Desert Storm Ave.
“Being a part of SAMC has definitely opened up my eyes,” Moser said. “I always felt like I could do more, but being a part of SAMC you realize that your potential is really what you make of it. You can always do more, whether that’s being out in the community or helping another Soldier study for the SAMC board, and it helps you find and develop different techniques to help your Soldiers.”
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