TOP CHARACTER STRENGTHS

BRAVERY - LOVE - FORGIVENESS

Specialist Fredrick Jenkins III was born on May 10, 1991. Fredrick was a military brat, he grew up between Germany, Fort Hood, Fort Benning and Tampa, Florida. His father was in the active-duty Army and stationed in various locations. Fredrick’s parents, Lisa and Fred are Tampa, Florida natives, and Fredrick spent some time in his very early childhood living there. His friends all called him Fred and he had a smile that would light up the room and warm the heart of anyone. His hobbies were playing games on his PS4, watching Crunchyroll, Anime and hanging out with his buddies.

Fredrick graduated in 2009 from Jordan Vocational High school in Columbus, Georgia. He ran cross country, played the alto saxophone in the marching band, and was enrolled in the culinary arts program. After graduation, Fred attended Johnson & Wales University in Miami for Culinary Arts before enlisting in the Army.

SPC Jenkins joined the Army on January 10, 2012. He completed basic training at Fort Jackson, SC, and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Gordon, Ga. He was awarded the Military Occupational Skill of 25B, Information Technology Specialist. Upon completion of AIT, he attended Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia and graduated in September 2012. On October 8, 2012, Fredrick was assigned as a Local Area Network Manager with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Joint Base Elmendorf, Richardson, AK.

SPC Jenkins’ awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (4th Leaf Cluster), Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army, Army Service Medal, Parachutist Badge, Expert Rifle Bar, and Australian Army Airborne Wings.

Character Strength Stories:

Bravery - Fred was brave in trying new things. He wasn't afraid to learn or move out of his comfort zone. He didn't know how to play an instrument, but he learned how to play the alto saxophone in high school. He entered a culinary cooking contest with almost no knowledge of cooking. He wasn't afraid to fail. He understood that failure was a part of the learning process.

Love - Fred is one of five sons and has one sister. He was extremely close to his siblings. They are still being sustained by the love he showed and had for them. I remember when we went to Alaska for his memorial service. His battle buddies were such a mess we had to comfort them. Fred's 1stSgt first spoke at his service in Tampa, where he was laid to rest. The 1stSgt needed consoling. This is the amount of love Fred showed and the amount of love that was shown to him.

Forgiveness - Fredrick was a manager at McDonald's during high school and right before he enlisted. He had returned from Johnson & Wales College and was just waiting to go into the Army. A disagreement broke out at McDonald's and one customer threw her drink at the other customer. The drink hit Fredrick instead. He called me and told me what happened. I was livid. He simply said, "Mom, can you please bring me another shirt?" By the time I got there, he had de-escalated the issue. I learned a lot from my son that day. I learned forgiveness and I learned discipline.

- Frederick and Lisa, Surviving Parents