{"id":1413,"date":"2022-09-24T10:51:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T10:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vdf.virginia.gov\/?p=1413"},"modified":"2022-10-09T13:31:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T13:31:31","slug":"vdf-officer-candidate-school-commissions-four-new-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vdf.virginia.gov\/?p=1413","title":{"rendered":"VDF Officer Candidate School commissions four new officers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Virginia Defense Force commissioned four new officers during a graduation ceremony Sept. 17, 2022, at the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. More photos on Flickr at https:\/\/ngpa.us\/21655<\/a>.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FORT BELVOIR, Va. \u2014 The Virginia Defense Force commissioned four new officers during a graduation ceremony Sept. 17, 2022, at the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Candidates Ray Baez, Chris Connor, and Shoaib Yahya were promoted to second lieutenant and Billie Ray Jeffries was promoted to warrant officer one after completing the eight-month VDF Officer Candidate School program.<\/p>\n

\u201cLead, lead, lead,\u201d was the primary advice from Brig. Gen. (Va.) Justin P. Carlitti Sr., commanding general of the Virginia Defense Force. \u201cWe are extremely proud of you, and you should enjoy the leadership challenges. This is why we wear the uniform, and you do it because of the end result. It is about both leadership and mentorship for those men and women you lead, and they will look to you for guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also stressed the importance of collaboration with the noncommissioned officer corps in order to achieve the mission.<\/p>\n

Carlitti also thanked the families for their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all about you,\u201d he told the families. \u201cThank you for supporting these new officers and helping them get to this point. We can\u2019t do what we do without your support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lt. Col. (Va.) Richard L. Diddams, the VDF G3 operations officer, congratulated the new officers and said he was looking forward to working along side them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a privilege to serve,\u201d he said. \u201cRemember you will never accomplish your mission unless you are taking care of providing for the welfare of those you are responsible to lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four new officers made up the OCS \u201cAlpha Class.\u201d Their seven counterparts in the \u201cBravo Class\u201d will graduate in December 2022.<\/p>\n

Second Lt. (Va.) Ray Baez has been serving in Bravo Company, 11th Signal Battalion, as a platoon sergeant and noncommissioned officer in charge of training. He now becomes the administrative action officer in the VDF Force Headquarters G1 Personnel Office.<\/p>\n

Second Lt. (Va.) Chris Connor has been serving in Delta Company as acting executive officer, and now becomes the company\u2019s regular executive officer.<\/p>\n

Second Lt. (Va.) Shoaib Yahya has been serving as a noncommissioned officer in Bravo Company, 11th Signal Battalion. He now becomes the platoon leader for the company\u2019s 2nd Platoon.<\/p>\n

Warrant Officer 1 (Va.) Billie Ray Jeffries has been serving as the noncommissioned officer for the VDF Inspector General\u2019s Office. His next assignment will be as temporary assistant inspector general.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese officer candidates are the first class to complete OCS in eight months, as opposed to the previous 12 months,\u201d explained 1st Lt. (Va.) Michael Perini, the VDF\u2019s officer-in-charge of training. \u201cThere was no contraction of training. In fact, we added on more professional military education. The troops had to negotiate the same training in a shorter amount of time, and that meant many more weeknights of virtual meetings with VDF leaders lecturing on a variety of pertinent topics like leadership, ethics, and so on. I have been very pleased to see their progression from January 2022 until now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perini said that Warrant Officer 1 (Va.) Vincent Poto and Warrant Officer 1 (Va.) J. Losee served as the \u201cTraining, Advise, and Council\u201d or TAC officers who directly mentored Alpha Class through their training program. Poto is planning\/training\/TAC officer for the VDF Operations and Training staff as well as state deputy director for the military emergency management specialist training program available through the State Guard Association of the United States.<\/p>\n

The National Museum of the United States Army, which honors the accomplishments, sacrifices, and commitment of American Soldiers, provided an appropriate setting for the graduation ceremony. The new VDF officers, as part of the uniformed civilian reserve for the Virginia National Guard, seek to reflect the Army\u2019s seven core values: \u201cLoyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since opening its doors in November 2020, the Museum has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors, including VDF members doing their professional military education. Read about the VDF\u2019s visit to the museum at https:\/\/ngpa.us\/21954. The museum is owned and operated by the U.S. Army and managed by the nonprofit Army Historical Foundation. Learn more at https:\/\/www.thenmusa.org\/<\/p>\n

Lt. Col. (Va.), Michael Center, who served as commandant of OCS for most of the Alpha Class\u2019 time in training, recently retired from the VDF and was not able to attend the graduation. However, in a prepared message to the graduates he encouraged them to consider the \u201cThe Three M\u2019s\u201d of leadership: \u201cThe Mission, the Men, and Me,\u201d which he drew from retired Army Lt. Col. Pete Blaber\u2019s book about leadership lessons from the U.S. Army\u2019s Delta Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou as graduating second lieutenants should be very proud of what you have accomplished,\u201d Center wrote. \u201cYou now have to work your personal life, your work commitment, and your VDF career into a pattern so that each of these helps the others. Make it count. Make it the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet the Force\u2019s newest officers<\/p>\n

A career Navy enlisted man, Baez joined the VDF\u2019s Fairfax Unit as a sergeant first class in October 2019 \u201cto make a difference in my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

He quickly took on a leadership role in the VDF as a platoon sergeant and noncommissioned officer in charge of training, drawing on his experiences supporting the Navy\u2019s personnel development programs. \u201cI actively sought to work with the senior NCO community to improve how we care for our soldiers,\u201d he said. \u201cI drafted several VDF Regulation changes and worked with my company commander and first sergeant to get everyone eligible for promotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

This attitude of service runs deep. Baez\u2019s father served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and Baez grew up as a \u201cNavy brat.\u201d He spent four years in Naval Junior ROTC during high school before enlisting in the Navy, serving first as a submarine nuclear technician and then as a career counselor.<\/p>\n

Baez said that his OCS experience was very enlightening, especially from his perspective as a Navy man. His best advice to anyone considering applying to OCS is to get the academic prerequisites completed early. The Federal Emergency Management Agency courses that comprise much of VDF basic training are just the beginning of the academic experience, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most challenging part of the OCS course was trying to meet in person enough to meet and build quality relationships with other officers and noncommissioned officers to create a strong base for us, the new officers,\u201d the new second lieutenant said. \u201cThe OCS candidates would meet, chat, email, or just call each other several times a week to make sure we were prepared for upcoming class events. We shared the class leader position to allow each other to experience interacting with the OCS cadre and build professional relationships. These relationships will help us in our future efforts to support the VDF. All in all, it was a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connor is also a former Navy man, who has held various leadership roles in support of aircraft carrier flight operations, including flight-deck supervisor and flight-deck petty officer. He deployed twice in support of combat operations in Afghanistan, in 2010 with the carrier USS Harry S. Truman in 2010 and in 2014 with the carrier USS George H. W. Bush.<\/p>\n

Since retirement from the Navy, Connor has been a police officer with the Port of Virginia. He joined the VDF in November 2020 to do more to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In his time with the VDF, he has been on state active duty in support of the Portsmouth Health Department\u2019s vaccination mission. \u201cMy highlight so far has been working with Delta Company,\u201d he said. \u201cThe soldiers in Delta Company are the backbone of why I stay and work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connor said that the best advice he can give to a prospective OCS candidate is to consider it as challenging as any other VDF assignment, and to prepare as much as possible beforehand. He said that he linked \u201cmental prep\u201d and \u201clogistical prep\u201d together by completing all the FEMA and MEMS classes ahead of time. \u201cBecause I completed all FEMA and MEMS requirements, my hours spent weekly on OCS were between 10 and 20,\u201d he said. Connor added that he wants to see all VDF personnel complete the MEMS training and as many FEMA courses as possible. (There are currently 208 available.)<\/p>\n

Jeffries said that he joined the VDF as a way \u201cgive back\u201d to the nation, and noted that family with a long tradition of military service, stretching back to World War I. \u201cMy great-grandfathers served during WWI and WWII, my grandfather served during WWII, my Uncle James Jeffries served during Vietnam and Korea, my cousin Jerry Jeffries served during Desert Storm, my cousin Jonathon Jeffries served during Afghanistan and Iraq, and I have a nephew that is deployed in the Army now as we speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeffries said that he hoped to join the U.S. Air Force in a medical specialty because he is a nationally certified pharmacy technician and has certifications in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and automated external defibrillator use. However, he was unable to obtain an age waiver. Looking for alternatives, he came across the VDF website while looking to see how he could join a military service despite being past the age of full enlistment. \u201cI joined the VDF Delta Company Unit in Virginia Beach at my very first multiple unit training assembly at Ft. Pickett on July 13, 2018,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cI joined the VDF because I feel it\u2019s a part of me, like my family, that we want to serve and give back to our nation that we want to see prosper and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that my new status as an officer will help others see that they should never give up,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cKeep looking forward. Do your best. And in time all things happen when they are meant to be.\u201d He noted that he had previously applied for OCS but did not get in. He applied again, on the recommendation of his commanding officer, Maj. (Va.) Rosalie Yarborough, the VDF Inspector General, and was successful. Jeffries notes that he is now the first officer in his family name all the way back to World War I.<\/p>\n

Yahya said \u201cI got to know about this very well-kept secret of Virginia Defense Force by courtesy of Lt. Rana. He encouraged me to volunteer time and effort to serve the citizens of the great Commonwealth of Virginia. So, in 2016, I decided to join VDF and began to drill out of the Fairfax Armory.\u201d During his six years with the VDF, he has had the opportunity serve at the Apple Blossom Festival, the governor\u2019s inauguration, and the mobilization of Virginia National Guard. The new second lieutenant said that he has enjoyed his time as an NCO but \u201cI wanted to do more, and Capt. Pearson suggested that I would be a good fit to join the OCS program.\u201d He now will be able to serve his fellow troops as platoon leader for Bravo Company.<\/p>\n

To learn more about joining the Virginia Defense Force and the requirements for attending OCS, please visit the VDF Recruiting page or email the recruiters at joinvdf@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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