United We Roll at Stardust Radio

Anyone who listens to our United We Roll World Tour Show on Stardust Radio has heard it said time and again that the men and women who serve are givers. These very special people have a true desire to help others, they do not stop when the duty clock stops, they reach out to those around them both on deployment and in their communities at home.

SSgt Derick Polk is a shining example of such a member with a giving heart. While we have talked about many different ways that military members offer their help, and have heard it straight from most every one of the hundreds of guests on United We Roll, SSgt Polk spells out why he helps in this article. You will know it when you read his words.

Congratulations to SSgt Polk on his induction to the Sgt Audie Murphy Club, named after a great American hero who also thought of others first!

We will be honored to share a visit with SSgt Polk on United We Roll Tuesday, November 2nd.
(Photos from release will be posted on our United We Roll Facebook page)

HQ, USD-Center
Camp Liberty
Baghdad, Iraq

Sgt. Audie Murphy Club inductee finds purpose in helping others
By Pfc. Emily Knitter
1/3 AAB PAO, USD-C

BAGHDAD- Staff Sgt. Derick Polk was like any normal high school student, excited about graduating and heading to college. He didn’t know what he wanted to study, but higher education had always been important to him. He filled out college applications, applied for scholarships, and waited.
Then life threw him a curve ball. “I found out I was having a daughter, and my priorities had to change,” he said.

Forced instantly to grow up, suddenly life was no longer about himself.
“What I personally wanted didn’t matter anymore,” said Polk, Headquarters Platoon sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. “I went to day and night school in order to join the Army. I wasn’t supposed to graduate till June, but I took extra classes so I could graduate in March.”

Only planning on serving one term, Polk saw the Army as a way to get on his feet and get his daughter and himself out of the projects in Camden, N.J. “[I joined] to take care of my daughter, hands down,” he said. “I wanted to provide a better life for her. I was not planning on staying in.” But the Army turned out to be exactly what Polk needed. “Once I got in and became a noncommissioned officer, it was clear that this is what I was meant to do,” he said. He has never looked back.

Making the decision originally to do whatever was necessary to support his daughter, he now finds purpose in life doing almost the exact same thing; helping support and mentor Soldiers. “I feel like developing Soldiers is what I am here to do,” Polk said. “Whatever is going on in my life does not supersede what is going on in a Soldier’s life. My main concern is taking care of my Soldiers all the time. Taking care of my family got me where I am today, and I will continue by helping to develop leaders and Soldiers.”

Polk still remembers the first time he saw a Sgt. Audie Murphy club plaque. Mounted on a wall inside a building when he was a private first class stationed in Alaska, Polk was intrigued. “I asked my leaders what it was, and they said it was for all the lead NCO’s who strive to do the best, take care of their soldiers and contribute like Sgt. Audie Murphy did,” he said. At 18 years old, he decided right then that he wanted to be a member of the club one day. “Even though I didn’t fully understand what it was at the time, just based on what they told me, I knew I wanted to be that NCO one day,” he said.

Now, at 26, his goal has finally come true. On Sept. 27, Polk was inducted into the Sgt. Audie Murphy club by Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston during a ceremony on Camp Liberty.

Long before the ceremony was even an idea in Polk’s mind, he had to spend countless hours studying for the board. But Polk claims he has been preparing for the opportunity his entire career. “As a private, I knew nothing about [the club],” he said. “I didn’t know what it took to be a member. But somewhere down the line, I grasped it. I didn’t see this, realize what it took to be in the club, and then start doing it. I just did what I knew as an NCO, what I believed was correct, and through my initial thought process [what I did] was what I needed to be in the club.”

Polk believes that is the reason he was chosen for the club. “I believe I presented myself to the board as an NCO who truly cares about what he does, besides just answering questions correctly,” he said. “I feel like I answered the questions, ‘This is what I do.’ Yes, I learned some more material and programs, but my approach to this has always been the same.”

Being told he had been selected for the club was one of the happiest moments in his life, Polk said. “After all that studying and all the work, it paid off,” he said. “It was one of my goals that I had set years ago, and to finally achieve this goal, there was nothing that could beat that.”

But becoming a Sgt. Audie Murphy Club member is not the final step.
“The Sgt. Audie Murphy club is an individual achievement you work for, but once it is attained it becomes an additional duty to help others,” he said. “You learn so much getting to this level to prove that you can help others. Once you get to this level, if you don’t help others there is no point.”

As a high school senior, Polk never imagined his life would lead him to where he is now. But because of his daughter, he found his purpose in life, and an organization that even has a club to honor everything he believes.

Although his sights are now set on becoming a drill sergeant after this deployment is complete, Polk says he is very content with his life.
“I have everything I want, not because I achieved and worked for myself, but because I spent more time taking care of others than taking care of myself,” he said. “I put my wife, my daughter, my Soldiers, and my peers first, and by putting them first I have always gotten what I wanted and needed.”

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