Once a Yellowjacket, Always a Yellowjacket!
Congratulations to Spc. Daniel Blake for being featured as this month's Soldier in Focus in the U.S. Army Europe.
Soldier in Focus
Often times when Soldiers need to go to finance, they come back with horror stories of long wait times and evasive staff that dodge their questions. However, this Soldier is changing the finance office’s reputation one customer at a time.
Spc. Daniel Blake, a finance management clerk assigned to 7th Army Training Command (7 ATC) from Cincinnati, Ohio, takes pride in the service he provides to every customer he sees. His attention to detail and understanding of every customer’s unique situation proves that he believes that empathy is the key to being successful in his career.
“I understand where they’re coming from,” says Blake. “Everyone has their own situations and you need to keep that in mind when you’re working with people.”
One customer who was very satisfied with his work was Staff Sgt. Edwin Barrientos, the Combined Arms Training Center (CATC) supply non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC).
“I asked him several finance questions about family separation and other information I didn’t have,” said Barrientos. “He really helped me to understand an area where I didn’t have a lot of information. With the way he speaks about his job, he sounds very intelligent, which shows the confidence he has in his abilities to talk to customers.”
Blake credits his confidence to his ability to empathize with every customer’s individual situation. His desire to help others with their financial inquiries is what makes him so personable to his customers. “They are here for us, and we’re going to help them,” said Blake.
His positivity and ambition to help assist his customers has grabbed the attention of coworkers.
“He is very knowledgeable,” said Staff Sgt. Lelea Mamleeva, a finance management clerk, and Blake’s supervisor. “You can’t know everything out of the school house; it takes time and practice to get better at it. He has learned and improved a lot over the time he has been here.”
Blake utilizes a friendly smile as his weapon of choice in the workplace.
“He has a positive attitude and is respectful and understanding toward everyone he helps,” said Mamleeva.
His abilities in the office aren’t the only things gaining notice. People he work with, as well as the customers he helps have noted his desire to be successful in the Army.
“He is a great Soldier,” said Mamleeva. “He has a great future ahead of him.”
With a desire to help, his empathetic nature and his positive attitude in the workplace, Blake has a promising future in the Army. He is a budding junior Soldier with potential for greatness, making him this month’s Soldier in Focus.
“He has a very good head on his shoulders,” said Barrientos. “He really knows where he wants to be in his career.”