US Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz BOSS program hosts Single Soldier Day | Article

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program held a day of camaraderie on May 5 with a celebration on Minick Field at Smith Barracks. Hundreds of area Soldiers participated in the program.

The event was open to single Soldiers, geographical bachelors and single parents and offered a variety of activities including basketball, battle bows, cornhole, a dunk tank, flag football, music, and a raffle.

The planning for this day has been ongoing since October and led by Cpl. Phoebe Moreo, Network Communication Systems specialist, and C Company, 44th Expeditionary Signal Brigade-E Company BOSS representative.

“I was the battalion BOSS representative at my first duty station where a Single Soldier Day was organized each year,” said Moreo. “I was very involved with it and it became near and dear to my heart,” she continued. “Incidentally, I became the BOSS representative for the following two years and joked that I may never escape this. And sure enough, I became the company BOSS representative here.”

The Baumholder BOSS committee recognized that their program needed help with more engagement, and they wanted to get more people invested and involved to make sure it succeeds.

“As a group, we were trying to figure out ways to make the Baumholder BOSS program more engaging. I thought back to my first duty station’s Single Soldier Day and I brought that idea to the group, who responded with an overwhelming ‘YES’! And I was told to run with it,” continued Moreo. “At that point, I needed at least one other person to make this happen. That’s when Spc. Quarells stepped up in a big way, and after seven months of planning, we had a successful event, and we are very excited about it.”

Spc. Marcus Quarells, a Signal Support Systems specialist with 421st Medical Battalion (Multifunctional), has been involved in volunteering since his freshman year in high school and naturally fell into the position as his battalion’s BOSS representative, which he sees as a way of volunteering while being part of a group of similar, like-minded, motivated people who come together to help others.

“I heard about the Single Soldier Day from Cpl. Moreo when she spoke about it at my battalion’s BOSS meeting. The consensus of the council was to go for it,” said Quarells. “Cpl. Moreo made a Single Soldier Day committee; I joined right away, and we just kept going from there.”

The BOSS program represents the voice of the single service member. For single service members, BOSS members are advocates who advance quality of life issues on the installation, and in the barracks, to senior leaders on post and throughout the Army. The BOSS program is based on three program pillars: Quality of Life, Community Service and Recreation and Leisure.

The Garrison BOSS program is managed by a senior enlisted advisor, MWR advisor and BOSS president. The senior enlisted advisor for USAG Rheinland-Pfalz is Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen LaRocque who fully supports BOSS program initiatives.

“Cpl. Moreo brought up the idea for the Single Soldier Field Day, I gave her the go-ahead and she took the reigns and went for it,” said LaRocque. “To see the work, coordination, and dedication from Cpl. Moreo and all the Soldiers involved in planning this from concept to execution- in an effort to better Soldiers’ lives, is phenomenal and demonstrates just a small piece of what the BOSS program can do.”

As members of BOSS, Soldiers have a voice in how they live, spend leisure time, and support their surrounding communities. BOSS Soldiers coordinate and participate in community service projects, organize recreation and leisure activities, and actively support the quality of life needs of single Soldiers.

At the May 5th Single Soldier Day event, one lucky Soldier walked away with a Play Station 5 he won from the $5 raffle. Winners of the three-on-three basketball tournament, team ‘Bald +One’, and winners of the flag football tournament, team ‘Bengals’, walked away with medals, USAG Rheinland-Pfalz coins from LaRocque, and a lifetime (or at least a year) of bragging rights.

Staff Sgt. Samuell Ewing, Veterinary Food Inspector, 64th Medical Detachment Veterinary Support Services, and team captain for team ‘Bald +One’ said, “I’m happy with the outcome. Winning matters.”

According to Cpl. Moreo, “the overall effort was worth it! We worked hard, and it was a relief that it went well, especially as a pilot program here,” she said. “I really hope that next year someone else takes it on and Single Soldier Day becomes an annual event that gets better every year.”

“The sky is the limit as far as what the BOSS program can do if they put their minds to it and are willing to put in the work,” said LaRocque who, after the success of Friday’s event, has laid down the gauntlet and challenged the BOSS program to put on a “mud run” type of event in the future.

The BOSS program serves the single Soldier community which includes- active, guard/reserve, single parents, geographical bachelors, and other branches of service and Foreign Service Members.

BOSS membership, leadership and project management roles enhance promotion packets. Learn more about BOSS and how to become a member at www.boss.armymwr.com.

U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz serves, supports, and secures the total force community enabling power projection for the European Theater.