Sergeant Major Staples progressed rapidly through the enlisted ranks, he graduated from the United States Army Sergeant Major Academy. During his 23-year military career, he served in virtually every position of Army Food Service that a non-commissioned officer can perform from company to battalion, to division to Department Sergeant Major. His career included assignments with the 1^st Armored Division; 3^rd Battalion, 60^th Air Defense Artillery; U.S. Army Readiness Group, Redstone Arsenal; 25^th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks; and Army Center of Excellence, Subsistence, Quartermaster Center and School, Fort Lee. He worked tirelessly to make the Army Food Service Program better in every way. Significant is the direct impact he made on Army Food Service while serving in senior positions at the Army Center of Excellence Subsistence, Quartermaster Center and School, Fort Lee. 

He played a critical role towards provided direction and oversight of improvements supporting the Army Food Program from new Military Construction Army Dining Facilities to updates in automation requirements in the Army Food Management Information System and requirements in the Decision Support System providing end to end visibility of Class I dining facility, field feeding and go-to-war support. In the process of serving his Army and nation for 23 years, he has not only trained a future generation of food service leaders to better sustain the Army and the Quartermaster Corps well into the next century, he has also contributed to the acquisition of and improvement of the major subsistence management support systems they employ. His legacy is built on the total life cycle of our Army, from recruitment to training to equipping and sustaining.