By G. A. Volb
Camp Alamo Public Affairs
CAMP ALAMO, Afghanistan – At first glance he looks like he was shot out of a womb in full battle rattle -- an Army Ranger before the doc slapped his pink backside.
In truth, Sgt. Major John Baptiste Spisso joined the Army at 18 to pay for college. Then learned the Rangers did things “others only dreamt of,” an excitement he felt worth investing 10 years of his life in. It was that decade with the 75th Ranger Regiment out of Ft. Benning, Ga., that molded him into the high-energy soldier and mentor he is today.
Now 42, the square-jawed, athletically built Sergeant Major doesn’t as much wear the uniform as he lives what it represents -- Army core values including loyalty, honor, integrity and selfless service. “It’s about personal challenge and honor,” he said, now serving as the Training Advisory Group’s advanced combat training brigade sergeant major here.
They’re values he’d like to think he’s instilled in other soldiers during his 24-year career as a drill instructor at Ft. Benning, an instructor at West Point, with New York Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School and now as a mentor to Afghan National Army soldiers at Kabul Military Training Center.
“I liked them all for various reasons,” he noted of his assignments. “I could run and gun with the best of them in my early years as a drill instructor and member of the Rangers. And in the last part of my career I’ve been able to train, coach and mentor some great people at West Point and OCS.”
His latest challenge, however, has him mentoring senior ANA leadership, specifically five command sergeant majors for their advanced combat training team.
“It’s enjoyable to help a cause I believe makes our own country safer,” said Spisso, on his current deployment to Afghanistan. “I don’t want our children serving here, so I’m focused on ensuring the ANA is ready to take the lead.”
In Spisso’s case, that means mentoring a brigade, combat arms, combat support, combat service and support, and basic officer training course sergeant majors.
“My goal is to instill the fire, courage and discipline in their senior non-commissioned officers so they can train, coach and mentor their own soldiers,” said Spisso. “They have to fight this fight on their own. They have to face the enemy in battle with the technical and tactical skills necessary to win.
“I challenge them everyday to forge the foundation for their own success just as the early colonial leaders did in our Army,” he continued. “I consistently tell them they need to take this challenge seriously so their children can live in peace.”
It’s a challenge he prepares for early in the morning with some physical training. It also helps with the nearly 40 pounds of extras he tends to carry with him on missions. A quirk of his not lost on his wife, 1st Lt. Lona Spisso, who describes him as a “gear junky.”
“He’s very knowledgeable when it comes to both military and sports equipment and, of course, when he sees something new and improved he’s got to have it,” said the lieutenant. “We’re avid scuba divers as well, which he’s also made a gear-intensive hobby of ours. And we have enough paintball gear to outfit a small army… our entire basement of the house is dedicated to gear only.”
The Greensburgh, Pa., native said he tries to prepare for each day with some type of workout. No doubt at 5’ 8” 174 pounds and 13 percent body fat, Spisso would be considered a gym rat by many.
“Typically, I work out five days a week in garrison, but in this environment I’ve been going six or seven days a week,” he said. “I do strength training five days a week and cardio at least four. My goal has always been to be an athlete … a warrior-athlete.”
His lifestyle meshes well in his role as operations sergeant major for the New York Army National Guard’s 106th Regional Training Institute at Camp Smith.
And if hard-work and dedication isn’t enough to ensure success, the superstitious noncommissioned officer never goes on a mission minus the rosary his wife made him out of parachute cord.
“It’s commonly given to Rangers and special forces soldiers,” said Lieutenant Spisso, herself serving a deployment to Afghanistan not far from her husband. “I wanted to give him something to keep with when he’s out on combat patrols. He hasn’t taken it off since we left Ft. Bragg.” But it’s not all about “luck” for the sergeant major.
“He’s always in the right place at the right time,” said Army Capt. William Hart, who worked with Spisso at OCS for five years. “He’s always looking for new ways and better equipment to accomplish the mission … training, developing and mentoring young officer candidates and lieutenants.
“JB is in constant contact with former comrades and new officers in the field to find out how the enemy is fighting, what gear works, what doesn’t and which leadership styles are effective,” the captain continued. “He incorporates all of this into scenarios for the students so they’ll have an idea of what they will face in combat. The training he develops is not in any Army manual, it comes from more than 20 years of service and dedication to being a complete war fighter. He’s a soldiers’ soldier – no one comes close to the dedication he demonstrates in leading and training soldiers.”
It’s a dedication Sergeant Major Spisso hopes will help “newborn” soldiers and seasoned warriors alike become better professionals for several more years to come.
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