NCO of the Year

Christine June
415th Base Support Battalion


***image1***He studied one to three hours a day for two months. His section sergeant and command sergeant major conducted two “mock” boards. Then, he studied some more.
It paid off.
Staff Sgt. Gabriel Disbrow, military police investigator, 415th Base Support Battalion Provost Marshal’s Office, was recently named NCO of the Year for the 26th Area Support Group, Heidelberg.
“I’m excited about it; it’s a good accomplishment for me,” said Sergeant Disbrow, 24, a native of Ishpeming, Mich. “I’m looking forward to going on to the next level and competing.”
He knew a bit about studying for the board. Sergeant Disbrow was the 2001 Soldier of the Year for 26th ASG. When he went up for this honor, Sergeant Disbrow had just been assigned to the 415th BSB PMO in September of that year.
As a military police investigator, he investigates crimes that fall in between the work of patrolmen and the purview of the Criminal Investigation Division and Office of Special Investigations.
“We do anything from larcenies, assaults, hit-and-runs, major traffic accidents, credit-card fraud and some narcotics work,” said Sergeant Disbrow, who enlisted in the Army in August 1999. “We do a lot of joint operations with the German police, and health and wellness inspections with the canine during drug sweeps.”
To accomplish that, Sergeant Disbrow and his fellow investigators must find witnesses; get familiar with the crime scene; deal with units; and, “get to the bottom of whatever happened.”
Sergeant Disbrow is currently working on an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice and wants to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He would then like to attend Officer Candidate School and become a commissioned officer.