Posted on 02/01/2008 3:05:26 PM PST by SandRat
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 1, 2008 Cold drizzle and hot metal rained upon the ground here yesterday as a group of 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldiers honed their mortar- and howitzer-targeting skills in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan in April.
Howes is among about 3,800 4th Brigade Combat Team soldiers from Fort Campbell that are preparing to deploy to eastern Afghanistan this spring. Im here to protect my country and that is what I will do, said Howes, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company soldier who sports a combat patch from a previous duty tour in Iraq. The 4th Brigade Combat Team, part of the 506th Infantry Regiment, can trace its lineage to the World War II unit that helped raise the German siege of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, said Army Maj. Patrick R. Seiber, public affairs officer for 4th BCT. An HBO miniseries, titled Band of Brothers, highlights the World War II exploits of several members of the 101st Division, from the landings at Normandy to the capture of Adolph Hitlers Berchtesgaden vacation home. The 101st Division is nicknamed the Screaming Eagles. Its headquarters also will deploy to Afghanistan to relieve the 82nd Airborne Divisions command element, Seiber said. The divisions 1st, 2nd and 3rd brigade combat teams currently are deployed in Iraq. We look forward to doing a good job in Afghanistan, Army Sgt. 1st Class Troy D. Albert, an automated fire-support specialist with 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, said as he deftly channeled range-related message traffic. Im basically the AT&T of field artillery, Albert said. The Baton Rouge, La., native said his military job is exciting, different, and never the same. Army Lt. Col. Tom W. OSteen, commander of 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, was on hand to watch the training exercise. The two-day exercise involved fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and mortar and artillery fire-support assets, OSteen explained. It integrates all of those assets that theyre going to use in Afghanistan, he said. This is the capstone exercise for our preparations for deployment. Deployments are always difficult and involve competing interests, OSteen said. Youre trying to focus on the mission youre getting ready to do, but you also have to keep your mind on getting your family ready for an extended separation, he said. I think weve done a good job on giving the soldiers and the leaders time off to get their families ready. It is also important to communicate with soldiers and their families prior to deployments, he said. OSteens wife, Carolyn, is the leader of his units family readiness group. The families are as interested in where were going as we are, OSteen said. He said he recently provided a briefing for his soldiers families in which he showed them where the unit will be in Afghanistan and how families can obtain support and communicate with their deployed loved ones. Back in the exercises command center, Army Sgt. 1st Class John F. Kohne, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company fire support noncommissioned officer, said he was pleased by the way his soldiers had performed. Its going pretty good, Kohne, a two-year Iraq veteran and San Diego native, said. The rounds are accurate; the men are maintaining good morale; and were getting a lot of steel down range. Army Pvt. Trevor A. Lauritson, a supply clerk with the 4-320th Field Artillery, has been in the Army just eight months. He provided his thoughts about going to Afghanistan. Im pretty excited. Ive never been deployed, yet, said Lauritson, who hails from Sacramento, Calif. Fighting terrorists overseas prevents battling them at home, Lauritson said. I think that if there wasnt a war overseas, then thered be a war here, he said. |
Related Sites: 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) |
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101st Airborne Division
Screaming Eagles BumP!
Soldiers have a way with words that the politicians could take lessons from.
Short, to the point and dead on!
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