Chaparral grad makes Army smile

Dick Benoit

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 9:58 a.m.

Soldiers from Korea to Saudi Arabia and several states have brighter smiles thanks to the craftsmanship and pride of Sgt. Joseph Huitt.

The 1996 Chaparral High School graduate, the son of former Las Vegas residents Diana and Sam Hardwick, has been applying his skills as an Army dental specialist since 1998, when he completed training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.

Huitt is presently the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Army's Eskan Village Dental Clinic in Saudi Arabia and is responsible for about $500,000 worth of dental equipment and supplies in a facility that treats more than 1,000 military and civilian personnel.

In addition to his management duties, he also continues his work as dental specialist assisting dentists in patient treatment and working in the dental lab.

Huitt's craftsmanship and pride in his work was noticed early by Army dental professionals. In September 2000 he volunteered for the multi-service Dental Prosthetic Laboratory Course. The course is not available to all soldiers. Participants must pass a hands-on test following exact measurements within the nearest millimeter, ensuring they possess the hand-eye coordination skills required to master the art of making lifelike prosthetics.

Huitt credits much of his success and work ethic to working with his stepfather.

"He owned City Glass in Las Vegas and we completed a lot of commercial and residential glass work. One of the largest jobs we completed was the renovation of the Fremont hotel. We installed approximately 350 insulated storm windows in a matter of 2 1/2 months. My grandfather, my father, my cousin and I completed all of the work," Huitt said.

Huitt, who has been recognized for excellence in previous assignments, was recently presented a coin of excellence for outstanding performance by his command sergeant major. He also was recently named NCO of the Month.

On Feb. 1, after earning the highest possible score from the promotion board, the Las Vegas soldier was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

Powering the nuclear Navy

Silverado High School 1998 graduate Jake Demarco will soon be playing a critical role producing propulsion power for America's nuclear Navy. Demarco, a petty officer 3rd class and son of Janet Demarco of Las Vegas, recently graduated from the Navy's Basic Nuclear Power School at Charleston, S.C.

Demarco, a 2000 graduate of UNLV, received fundamental training in several technical fields related to the nuclear power program. He studied basic mathematics and physics for three months in preparation for hands-on training later in the course. In the latter half of the course, Demarco spent hours becoming familiar with nuclear reactor theory and operations.

In brief

These sailors recently completed Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.: