Columbia Battalion's First Soldier Sworn into the Army via Video Teleconference

 Pvt. Kayla Pflieger of Augusta, Ga., was sworn in the Army Dec. 2 by Maj. Gen. LaWarren Patterson, via Video Teleconference.

United States Army Pvt. Kayla Pflieger of Augusta, Ga., was sworn in the Army Dec. 2 by Maj. Gen. LaWarren Patterson, via Video Teleconference (VTC). Pflieger was in the conference room of the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Columbia at Fort Jackson, S.C., and Patterson, who is the deputy commanding general for operations/chief of staff, Installation Management Command at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, was in a conference room on his post.

 Pflieger, a 2014 graduate of Lakeside High School in Evans, Ga., is now an Army Cryptologic Linguist who will be responsible for identifying foreign communications using signals equipment.

Both parents were in the Army and her brother is commissioning soon but she just started thinking seriously about joining herself a couple of months ago. She was deliberate in  researching her options.  “I asked my dad a lot of questions about the Army and then went on goarmy.com for specific details. I also searched the internet about where installations where located,” Pflieger said.

The 19 year-old will start her six-year enlistment with a series of schools. First up is Basic Training at Ft. Sill, Okla., next Defense Language Institute training at Monterey, Calif., and finally Advanced Individual Training at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. Then, Pflieger will receive her first assignment and hopes to attend Airborne training in the future.

Pflieger never considered joining the other services. “I knew the branch I wanted; I just wasn’t sure about the job. I wanted to take my own path and this job will do that for me,” she said.

Pflieger is the daughter of Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Ron and Lori Pflieger of Augusta, Ga.  Patterson and Pflieger served together as Ft. Gordon’s Commanding General and Command Sergeant Major respectively. 

Anyone wishing to learn more about joining the Army should stop by the Augusta Downtown Recruiting Center at 3435 Wrightsboro Road in Augusta to see Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Picart or call 706-737-0244.