SDDC Soldier honored.

Soldier from the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command is the latest Transporter to be inducted into the Order of St. Christopher.

Staff Sgt. Frank Valentin was inducted June 7 at the SDDC Operations Center, Fort Eustis, Va.

Presenting the St. Christopher medal were Brig. Gen. Maynard "Sandy" Sanders, deputy commanding general for mobilization, and Col. John Tartala, deputy chief of staff for operations.

Valentin served in Kuwait with the 1174th Transportation Terminal Battalion, Fort Totten, N.Y., until May, when he returned to the United States and Walter Reed Army Medical Center because of illness.

Sanders, who nominated Valentin for the honor, pulled a card out of his pocket and held it up to the assembled crowd.

"The Army Values are on this card--Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honesty, Integrity, Personal Courage--I might just as well carry a picture of Staff Sgt. Valentin instead," Sanders said.

Following the ceremony, Valentin attended an operations update and met members of the Command Operations Center.

Christopher is the patron saint of the Transportation Corps Regiment and has been associated with Transporters from the earliest times.

Usually depicted carrying Christ and, symbolically, the weight of the world's sins across a river, the image of St. Christopher serves as a symbol of strength, loyalty and safety for Transporters charged with moving the force.

Patti Bielling, Public Affairs Specialist

SDDC Operations Center