SPC Darien Tate

Tate, a former pro football player and schoolteacher for seven years, enlisted in 2011 to fight for his country with courage but has surged through the ranks embodying another Army value: selflessness.

At initial infantry training, drill sergeants selected Tate as a platoon guide, and he spent 16 weeks mentoring younger fellow recruits.

Company leaders at Fort Hood, Texas, immediately noticed the new soldier’s potential and charged Tate with upkeep of the nuclear, biological and chemical equipment room. Soon after, Tate was promoted to infantry rifle team leader, a role normally reserved for sergeants.

As a soldier, Tate applied many skills he honed while helping found and teach at an inner-city school, the Chicago Math and Science Academy.

“He is a natural-born leader, an extraordinary teacher and a true mentor to all those around him,” wrote Capt. Kevin Beasley, Tate’s company commander, in nominating the specialist for Army Times Soldier of the Year.

Off duty, Tate volunteered at the Cedar Valley Elementary School in Killeen and assisted a family readiness group with preparing barracks rooms in anticipation of soldiers redeploying from combat zones.

Tate built kitchens and sports fields in Haiti and visited orphanages and cooked meals for villagers in the Dominican Republic during trips through his church.

Despite that, he still made time for athletics, playing on a regimental basketball team. “He is the epitome of what the core values of the military stand for,” said friend Cynthia Miles in her nomination.