Army Sgt. Maj. Terry L. Stewart is one of 46 students of Class 56 who graduated from the Sergeants Major Course at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas. The class graduated a month early to allow graduates to prepare for a scheduled deployment.

The nine-month course is considered to be the capstone of noncommissioned officer training, preparing new and prospective sergeants major for duties as senior noncommissioned officers in positions throughout the Department of Defense and allied nation forces. Completion of the course is mandatory for promotion to sergeant major and command sergeant major.

The curriculum focuses on leadership, resource management, training management, and military operations at the highest levels throughout the Army, with emphasis on taking care of the soldiers and their families. Members of the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and international military services attend the course, which enhances the joint and combined arms' perspective.

Stewart is a food service sergeant major with more than 23 years of military service.

He is the grandson of Richard Stewart of Bridgehampton, N.Y.

His wife, Sonya, is the daughter of Dan James of Sunflower and Bennie J. Reed of Copperas Cove, Texas.

The sergeant major is a 1982 graduate of Childersburg High School and received an associate degree in 2003 from Central Texas College, Killeen, Texas.