Page 2 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior 2-5-16

2 High Desert Warrior
February 5, 2016
Your Community
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. by sharing his message
Story and photos by Gustavo Bahena
Public Affairs Office
Soldiers, leadership and members of the Fort Irwin
community attended a ceremony celebrating Martin
Luther King Jr. Day at Sandy Basin Community Center
here, Jan. 6.
This year’s theme for the commemoration was “Re-
member! Celebrate! Act! A Day On, Not a Day Off!” The
federal holiday, Jan. 18, marks the birthday of the civil
rights leader, which is Jan. 15. The holiday is held on the
third Monday of January.
The ceremony was sponsored by United States Army
Medical Department Activity and the Equal Opportunity/
Equal Employment Office. The MEDDAC commander,
Col. Jason Wieman, stated that Dr. King is part of a
group of individuals who have truly made a lasting and
monumental contribution to the United States of America.
“He stood up in a time of our history that was purely Sgt. 1st Class Romone Hollins, of United States Army Medical Department
tumultuous,” Wieman said. “It could be said that racism Activity here, speaks at the 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration
was tearing apart our society and it was chipping away at here, Jan. 6.
the foundation of who we were. And he looked that evil
of racism square in the eye and shouldered the responsibility of
standing up to it and doing something about it to the extent that
he lost his life.”
Wieman explained that Soldiers and the military community
share an understanding and recognize the contributions of people,
such as Dr. King, who have given their lives for a just cause. He stated
that Dr. King had values and integrity, and his character was unfail-
ing in terms of respect and loyalty for his fellow man. He believed
in volunteerism and tolerance of differences in society.
During the ceremony, several servicemembers and Department
of the Army civilians shared their writings and experiences related
to the work and teachings of Dr. King and how that has made an
impact on their lives.
Sgt. 1st Class Romone Hollins, medical laboratory non-com-
missioned officer-in-charge with MEDDAC, spoke about growing
up in Mobile, Ala., and learning of Dr. King from his father and
grandfather.
Hollins recounted that his family was one of the first African-
American families in a neighborhood they moved
to in 1979. His family was greeted by a neighbor
shouting racial slurs as they moved in. He was 7 years
old and the only African-American student riding the
school bus. He was beaten by other kids, some who
were even encouraged by their parents.
That summer, Hollins stayed with his grandfather
and explained to him about the troubles he was
experiencing.
“He truly understood what I was going through
because he had experienced such similar things grow-
ing up as a young man in Alabama himself,” Hollins
said. “He introduced me to the civil rights move-
ment, what it meant and the teachings of Dr. King.
He read me his speeches, took the time to explain to
me what it all meant. He shared his life experience
with me – the good, the bad and the ugly and how
Dr. King influenced his life. My grandfather was a
hard-working, very peace-loving man. He taught me
to turn the other cheek and he always told me you Leadership and their families attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Day
have to rise above the petty things that people do in commemoration.
For more information go to www.irwin.army.mil
www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin
WHO WE ARE
order to be a better man. Those long summer days filled with the
lessons of the past, shaped who I would become.”
Hollins explained that joining the Army helped expose him to
different cultures from around the world and this country, and ad-
vanced his development as a better man and person.
“Those strong emotional feelings of the South were slowly fad-
ing away,” Hollins shared. “I learned to be more accepting of others
and their beliefs. Those experiences helped me grow even further.”
As Hollins contemplates life after retiring from the Army he
would like to serve where he can share how Dr. King inspired him.
He believes in what a first sergeant once told him: “Knowledge not
shared is useless.”
“I know that I need a job (after the Army), but I feel a true call-
ing to work within the community and to help develop the youth
by passing along to them the teachings of Dr. King and keeping
his dream alive – to help reduce the violence that so many of our
communities have faced today,” Hollins said. “I picture myself as
the man that would be the voice of reason in places like Ferguson
and Baltimore as they have rioted.”
Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin
Commanding General
Command Sgt. Maj. Edison Rebuck
Post CSM
Col. Scott Taylor
Garrison Commander
Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel O’Brien
Garrison CSM
Kenneth Drylie
Public Affairs Director
High Desert Warrior Staff
Gustavo Bahena, Editor
(760) 380-2452
Leslie Ozawa, Staff Writer/Photographer
(760) 380-3450
Jason Miller, Staff Writer/Photographer
(760) 380-3073
Agustin Rodriguez, Editorial Assistant
agustin.rodriguez1@us.army.mil
Aerotech News
Emma Uribe, Graphic Designer
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NEWSPAPER AWARDS
2nd Place, 2009 U.S. Army IMCOM-West
Newspaper Competition — Tabloid Category
Honorable Mention, 2008 Dept. of the Army
Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware
Newspaper Competition — Tabloid category
3rd Place, 2007 U.S. Army IMCOM-West
Newspaper Competition — Tabloid Category
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