WEBVTT

00:01.350 --> 00:02.809
- [Narrator] The US
Army Research Laboratory

00:02.809 --> 00:06.020
recently welcomed it's new
senior enlisted advisor,

00:06.020 --> 00:08.188
Sergeant Major David Snipes.

00:08.188 --> 00:10.227
- I think being a Sergeant Major means

00:10.227 --> 00:11.689
different things to different folks.

00:11.689 --> 00:13.584
For myself, I think it
means influencing change,

00:13.584 --> 00:15.827
having the opportunity
to make a difference

00:15.827 --> 00:18.424
and being at the level
to where you come in

00:18.424 --> 00:20.064
with an instant credibility, but

00:20.064 --> 00:21.541
you have to maintain that credibility,

00:21.541 --> 00:23.571
you have to let the
workforce know that you are

00:23.571 --> 00:25.152
a part of their family.

00:25.152 --> 00:27.270
- [Narrator] As the lab's Sergeant Major,

00:27.270 --> 00:29.774
Snipes will provide advice and council

00:29.774 --> 00:32.273
to the civilian leadership of ARL,

00:32.273 --> 00:35.419
as well as it's scientists and engineers.

00:35.419 --> 00:37.904
- I believe our way ahead
truly is, for myself

00:37.904 --> 00:40.500
and the Mil. Dept., to actually get out,

00:40.500 --> 00:42.375
to, you know, the War
College, the Sergeant Major

00:42.375 --> 00:46.059
Academy, and be able to
brief a time block about

00:46.059 --> 00:47.817
what the Army Research Lab is,

00:47.817 --> 00:49.631
and what we do, so when
they go back to their

00:49.631 --> 00:52.675
organizations as new
Commanders and Sergeant Majors,

00:52.675 --> 00:55.733
they can put the word out
and get folks in here.

00:55.733 --> 00:57.832
- [Narrator] The Sergeant
Major has extensive experience

00:57.832 --> 01:01.130
in special operations and
satellite communications.

01:01.130 --> 01:03.305
Snipes visited with
researchers at the Weapons

01:03.305 --> 01:05.291
and Materials Research Laboratory,

01:05.291 --> 01:07.961
and the Vehicle Technology Laboratory at

01:07.961 --> 01:12.128
Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Maryland, September 12th.

01:12.517 --> 01:14.830
Snipes said he looks
forward to meeting with all

01:14.830 --> 01:15.997
ARL employees.

01:17.043 --> 01:19.135
- Most soldiers that you talk to about the

01:19.135 --> 01:21.121
Army Research Lab have never heard of it.

01:21.121 --> 01:22.911
I have been in just over 26 years

01:22.911 --> 01:24.177
and I'd never heard of
the Army Research Lab

01:24.177 --> 01:25.367
until I got here.

01:25.367 --> 01:28.850
Recently in a forum, we
had a service member panel,

01:28.850 --> 01:30.486
and it was kind of the same consensus,

01:30.486 --> 01:32.451
that most soldiers that are here had never

01:32.451 --> 01:34.220
heard of it until they came on assignment.

01:34.220 --> 01:36.133
- [Narrator] He comes to
the laboratory from a joint

01:36.133 --> 01:39.913
assignment at MacDill Air
Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

01:39.913 --> 01:42.388
- I would like to say thank
you for having the faith in me

01:42.388 --> 01:43.788
and the confidence that I will

01:43.788 --> 01:45.450
be the right person for the job

01:45.450 --> 01:48.367
and thank Dr. Perconti and the team

01:48.644 --> 01:50.877
that actually hired me onboard,

01:50.877 --> 01:52.921
to see that that confidence does resonate

01:52.921 --> 01:56.853
and that I will be here and
move our organization forward.

01:56.853 --> 01:58.693
- [Narrator] A South Carolina native,

01:58.693 --> 02:01.276
Snipes joined the Army in 1992.

02:02.035 --> 02:04.534
He holds a bachelors
degree in liberal arts,

02:04.534 --> 02:06.620
with a concentration in psychology.

02:06.620 --> 02:09.787
- How does, does this machine actually

02:10.422 --> 02:12.922
fix a problem? On an aircraft?

02:13.373 --> 02:15.975
- Soldiers are assigned
to the Army Research Lab

02:15.975 --> 02:18.813
to ensure that we are
producing a relevant product

02:18.813 --> 02:20.396
to the war fighter.

02:20.502 --> 02:22.937
We like to get soldiers
straight out of operational

02:22.937 --> 02:25.593
units into the Army Research Lab,

02:25.593 --> 02:27.454
as quickly as possible so the information

02:27.454 --> 02:29.729
and the experience that
they have is still relevant.

02:29.729 --> 02:31.353
- [Narrator] The Sergeant
Major has completed

02:31.353 --> 02:34.476
multiple real world
operations across the globe,

02:34.476 --> 02:37.976
to include Bosnia, Qatar, the Philippines,

02:38.608 --> 02:42.969
Iraq, Afghanistan, and several
locations on the continent

02:42.969 --> 02:45.469
of Africa and the Middle East.

02:46.119 --> 02:49.745
- I'm looking most forward
to learning new things,

02:49.745 --> 02:51.774
meeting the personal, the workforce.

02:51.774 --> 02:54.912
For me, being a communicator,
there's so many other

02:54.912 --> 02:58.387
aspects and areas here,
that I've never dealt with.

02:58.387 --> 03:01.713
I've never dealt with the
basic research type stuff

03:01.713 --> 03:04.076
and, you know, the other
products we produce here,

03:04.076 --> 03:07.659
so actually learning
what the true focus is

03:07.938 --> 03:09.397
and the true mission of the scientists,

03:09.397 --> 03:11.335
and all they're doing
to ensure that we are

03:11.335 --> 03:13.455
getting a better product to the soldier.

03:13.455 --> 03:15.171
- [Narrator] Snipes
replaces Sergeant Major

03:15.171 --> 03:17.793
Keith Taylor, who will
retire from the Army

03:17.793 --> 03:19.126
later this year.

03:19.498 --> 03:24.498
(upbeat music plays)