| MOSUL, Iraq, July 5, 2003 -- The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) celebrated America's 227th birthday in grand style the Fourth at the division headquarters, located at the palace overlooking the banks of the Tigris River.
The Independence Day festivities culminated in a mass reenlistment ceremony, where 158 Screaming Eagles stepped forward, raised right hands in front of their fellow soldiers and swore to continue defending the Constitution of the United Sates. "We say this is a great day or a great evening in the Army, and a great moment for that soldier, because the Army gets [better] every time a single soldier raises his or her right hand and agrees to stay in our ranks," said Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Coalition Forces in Northern Iraq. "Tonight is a night that I think is unprecedented, and that is 158 great soldiers who will raise hands, take the oath and stay in our ranks for a number of more years." The soldiers who reenlisted, from privates to senior noncommissioned officers, represented 36 states in the Union and came from every major unit within the 101st. They crowded the palace compound and gave a new meaning to standing-room only as they flocked to the ceremony. For each soldier affirming his oath of service, there was a different face, a different set of skills brought to the table, and a different reason for staying in the ranks. "It was the $15,000 bonus," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Keen, Company D, 311th Military Intelligence Battalion. "Plus, it's a good job." Keen has been in the Army for about seven years as a Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System common ground station operator, a career field specialty currently in high demand. He committed himself to six more years Friday. "I would have reenlisted anyway without the bonus," said Keen, who plans on "going the full 20" to retirement. His wife, back at Fort Campbell with their two children, has been very supportive of his move, he said. "She's happy," Keen said. "She's glad I'm going to stay in." Staff Sgt. Tim Danko, Jr., a military policeman with the 194th Military Police Company currently attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Al Kut, said his decision to reenlist was driven in part by wanting so see how far he can go in the Army. " I've only been in six years, and I've made my E-6, so I'm going to stay in," Danko said. "When we get back, I'm going to put in for Drill Sergeant. My goal is to make E-7 in 10 (years)." Danko signed on for four more years with the Army. His wife, an Army recruiter in Clarksville, did not get a chance to voice her opinion about his reenlistment, but he's sure that she will be supportive when she finds out, Danko said. "She doesn't know yet -- I can't get a hold of her," Danko said. "But we both know we're going to stay in, so it's all good." The soldiers reenlisting lined the palace balcony and steps as Petraeus personally swore them in. Each one of them later received a division coin and had a personal photograph taken with the general. |
