1-32 CAV in the News

Here is a link to an article concerning our brigade and unit. It was published by the Associated Press and then picked up by a number of newspapers across the country.

BASTOGNE! (that's the name of our brigade)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmHzKawNv1z4N9erIGe5ygY0KhwwD9C0SH4O0?index=3

Orders Issued

For those of you who did not hear my brigade, the 1BCT, has received its orders. I am including a copy of a article about the announcement from the local newspaper, "The Leaf Chronicle." You can view the page directly at http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20091021/NEWS01/910210331/1002/1st-BCT-receives-Afghan-orders

1st BCT Receives Afghan Orders--101st brigade one of three to deploy
By JAKE LOWARY • The Leaf-Chronicle • October 21, 2009

Another 101st Airborne Division brigade is going to Afghanistan, and the Pentagon said Tuesday it's "very possible" more 101st units could be heading there as well. The Defense Department announced Tuesday the 1st Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Afghanistan in spring and summer 2010, about the same time the division headquarters heads back to Regional Command-East, where it held command for 15 months from March 2008 to May 2009. The 1st BCT's deployment involves about 3,700 soldiers. Also announced Tuesday were deployments for the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany, and the 2nd BCT from the 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard. Together, Tuesday's announcement covers about 11,200 soldiers. Also deploying next month will be a 200-member Marine unit specializing in the use of MV-22 Ospreys, which will deploy to Regional Command-South, based in Kandahar. The 3rd BCT, 1st BCT, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade and division command group have all received orders sending them to Afghanistan. Though orders for the 2nd and 4th BCTs and 101st Sustainment Brigade have not been released, officials at the Pentagon say it's "very possible" those units also could go to Afghanistan, where more attention and focus has been directed as combat troops begin to withdraw from Iraq. The Pentagon was cautious not to confirm or deny any rumors of deployment orders. "We can't make an assumption that they will go," said Lt. Col. Lee Packnett, "but it's very possible."

Keeping 101st intact
When the Army announced the orders for the division command group, it said the Army is trying to keep units with their divisions. "We will seek to better align the rotation of units and their headquarters for force cohesion," the release stated. Packnett said that effort is not only for the benefit of the units deployed, but also for the local populace, so they become familiar "with the Screaming Eagle patch of the 101st." Packnett said all Fort Campbell infantry units already heading to Afghanistan will be under the command of the 101st, which will take over for the 82nd Airborne Division command group, currently controlling RC-East.

The 101st CAB will be deploying to the southern part of the country, which is currently under the control of Dutch Maj. Gen. Mart De Kruif. RC-South control rotates between the Netherlands, Canada and Britain.
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The 1st BCT and 3rd BCT will replace units currently in RC-East. Packnett did not say which units would be replaced by the 101st units.

All of the 101st's deployments are part of regularly scheduled rotations and are not part of any troop buildup being discussed in Washington.

Packnett said it's too soon to determine if the 101st will be part of any increase in troop numbers.

"Right now we can't speculate on anything," he said.

Getting ready
Maj. Gen. John Campbell, commanding general of the 101st, said in a Tuesday news release that the 1st BCT has been preparing for months to deploy to Afghanistan, a place where the brigade has yet to serve in the war on terror.

"They continue to train hard, and I have no doubt they will be prepared to face the challenges of the tough fight in Afghanistan," Campbell said.

Col. Drew Poppas, the brigade's commander, said the brigade has benefited from the previous deployments of current battalion commanders and an ongoing working relationship with units currently there.

"We're incorporating all of these lessons," Poppas said.

The tactical training the soldiers are participating in doesn't differ much from preparing for Iraq. Cultural, language and terrain training do differ, and those preparations began when Poppas took command late last year.

"We've adjusted a little bit because of the specific dynamics," Poppas said.

Poppas too said his soldiers are more than ready as they expand their preparations to larger, more complex and diverse exercises.

"We were prepared yesterday, we're prepared today just as we will be prepared tomorrow," he said.

Busy Time

The title kind of says it all.

It has been a "busy time", and will continue to be so for a while. However, I can say that we have a new tool to help with that.

First, let me step back and give a belated blog congrats and happy birthday to the new SERGEANT Robert Ramos! He was promoted recently. Just in time for his birthday. You can see from the pictures some of the ceremony. One of the cool aspects of being in a cavalry unit is that we have a fairly rich heritage. That is why you see many of the Soldiers in Stetsons. It is not required, but there is a strong camaraderie with the units and Soldiers. By the way, I don't think CH Randall is really that tall. I think the rest of us were standing in holes. ;-)

So, back to the new tool for ministry. SGT Ramos and I finally have a HMMWV (or Humvee) in order to get in and out of the field. There are times when we are asked to share it with other groups in our unit, but for the most part we are able to use it to get back and forth.

Why this is really significant is because we typically rotate Soldiers in and out of the field for training. So at any given time, I have Soldiers at one or more of our training ranges, and then some back at our main offices. Fort Campbell is pretty large and so some of the ranges are 45 minutes away. As a chaplain, a lot of my service comes in the form of counseling. It can then be difficult to counsel at the offices when I am out at a range, but there are needs on the ranges as well. So therefore, having our own vehicle to be able to go back and forth as needed REALLY makes a difference. Of course we also had to get licensed and that took time too, but now we are good to go.
Another side-benefit of having our own vehicle is that we have a fair amount of gear to haul if we want to do a "full-blown" field service. A field service is pretty much like it sounds--a form of a church service in the field. Now the "field" could be an outpost, or in some sort of structure, or usually, literally in an open field.

If you take some time to consider all of the elements that are usually included in a standard church service, you begin to see our potential dilemma. The Army though has had A LOT of experience at this and so we have chaplain kits and a few other items that help with these challenges. However, having a vehicle helps because we are able to bring out the gear that we need, and then even use the vehicle in order to setup. In our case, this last week we were able to do a field service and even included communion with it. It seemed that the Soldiers who came very much appreciated what we were able to share with them.