One in a series highlighting service members assigned to the Exchange.
Who is he: Army Sgt. 1st Class Cody Ewing, Public Affairs Ops NCO, Pacific Region.
Years of experience: Ewing enlisted in the Army in 2009. He has been with the Exchange since November.
What he does in the Army: Ewing enlisted as an Air Defense artilleryman, a job that combined his interest in technology with being out in the field.
“It was definitely an interesting career for a while, but it gets very monotonous doing the same thing every day—it gets old really fast,” he said.
While Ewing was stationed in Germany, he contemplated leaving the service at the end of his contract but was advised by one of his NCOs to look into other jobs he could transition into.
“At the time, radio broadcast specialist was a [military occupational specialty], and I figured ‘you know what, for years people have been telling me I have a voice for radio, so maybe I’ll give it a shot,’” he said.
“My job as a radio broadcast specialist was primarily documentation and video news product creation for the 10th Mountain Division,” he said. “I covered training and events on Fort Drum, creating mostly video products for social media. I utilized my radio skills by narrating most of the history videos we produced for the division as well as all division-level ceremonies—earning the nickname ‘The Voice of the Mountain.’”
His role at the Exchange: He communicates with internal and external audiences—service members, family members and retirees—to keep them informed about Exchange services and maintain open lines of communication.
“So far, the coolest thing I’ve gotten to do is cover the story of the Robertson Barracks Exchange in Darwin, Australia,” he said. “Never would I have thought this job would take me to Australia. It was pretty neat to see such a remote operation supporting our troops … and getting to see crocodiles!
“I look forward to learning and growing in this job,” he said. “It’s going to be something different, but in that fact it’s also going to be exciting. I get to learn something different about the innerworkings of stuff some Soldiers take for granted.”
Memories of Exchange Support: “I didn’t even know the Exchange was a thing until I went to basic [training] at Fort Sill,” he said. “I was really surprised, this was basic training, I’m sitting there like ‘there’s a mini mall on base, how, why?’
“My basic training went over winter, so I remember they let us go and do shopping for Christmas. The fact that was all available was surprising for me.”
Family Serving Family: “Family serving family is helping people out when they need it, not just because they need it—and no other reason,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a family member, but someone that is helping people out like they’re family.”
Leave a Reply