Sergeant Jay Lewis Originally  joined the 3rd Infantry Division Realism Unit on September 12, 2021, where he served till January 2023 and retired as Staff Sergeant, However, it didn't take long for him to see that he wasn’t done yet with the unit.  Reenlisting in March 2023 for his second tour of duty within the unit. He was assigned to Alpha Company, First Platoon, Fourth Squad, before eventually landing in our newly formed Fifth Squad to provide his leadership to a new team.  Currently, Sergeant Lewis has once again answered the call and moved into our First Platoon Radio Telephone Operator role.  Throughout his time during this tour, he has shown a very strong passion for our unit, dedication, patriotism, valor, fidelity, and professional excellence. In view of these qualities, his demonstrated leadership potential, and dedicated service, Sergeant Jay Lewis has been awarded the Soldiers Medal and selected as this Soldier of the Quarter.

Tell us a little about yourself?

 - As many of the people in the unit know, i am a chef in my personal time, and am very passionate about food and the art behind the balance of food looking and tasting amazing,

 Why did you join 3rdID and what keeps you here?

- I've always enjoyed milsim as a hobby, but the community 3rd has is unique and the people I've met here and friends I've made always keep me coming back to check in on them.

Any favorite/funny/memorable moment throughout your whole time in the unit? 

- I've had alot of great memories here, from my first operation in Africa with then SFC C.Brock having his rifle cook off as i was dragging him making us both casualties, to this current campaign, I'd say my favorite memories of my time in the unit so far was my time with 1st Squad Scorpions, the group we had was so personally connected and we had so much fun, so shoutout to now LT Vandle, LT Winters, SSG Ivanov, CPL Byrd, CPL Donnelly and many many more that made that so special, i also want to shoutout Silva, Marsh, Ayers, Cooper, Sanford, Crawford, Frost, Rou and so many more that if i named this would be years of reading, for keeping me around with the great times and hilarious conversations.

Any advice to give to your fellow soldiers to help them in their careers here?

- Have fun and try to make relationships, we all come here for the hobby of milsim but what makes 3rd special is the fact that we have a great community of people from all around the world.

What army value is the most important to you and why? 

- the most important army value to me is Selfless Service, in life and in gaming doing things that don't always get you recognized because you know that it helps the majority is something i find admirable and try to do in my own life.

What motivates you to keep pushing forward in the unit and do you have any goals for the future within the unit?  

- my greatest motivation in the unit since returning has been trying to improve the unit so that people joining are having fun, my goals now are to continue helping where i can with my limited time.

Any valuable lessons you have learned while being in the unit?

- Invest in yourself, do the extra shit and go the extra mile and you'll be noticed, in 3rd that could be attending more optional trainings, going to schools, in life that could be putting in a few extra hours at work, or simply getting a new haircut, but doing things that make you feel better, tends to lead to better performance from yourself and in turn you reap the benefits.