FORT BLISS BUGLE April 23, 2015 3A UNIT NEWS>> Training is the oil that keeps the engine of our Army running Army NG engineers return from Middle East n 4A Troops destroy 75,000 pounds of explosives n 13A Food for thought: Food bank fosters assistance n 15A 4-1 BCT reflags to 3-1 BCT Soldiers from 2nd Bn., 29th FA Regt., 4th BCT, 1st AD, render honors with a 13- gun salute at 1st Armored Division Field, April 15. The weapons were fired during the end of the deactivation of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, transferring the ceremony to the reflagging of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. (Right) Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty, right, 1st AD and Fort Bliss commanding general, inactivates 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, at 1st Armored Division Field, April 15. Staff Sgt. Killo Gibson / 3rd BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team stand in formation for the last time as the reflagging of the 4th BCT to 3rd BCT takes place at East Fort Bliss, April 15. (Right) Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty, 1st AD and Fort Bliss commanding general, gives a speech during the reflagging of the brigade combat teams. Spc. Julia Redding / 24th Press Camp Headquarters Spc. Julia Redding / 24th Press Camp Headquarters Staff Sgt. Killo Gibson / 3rd BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs By Staff Sgt. Killo Gibson 4th BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs The 4th Brigade Combat Team takes the parade field for the last time as the Highlander Brigade before the deactivation of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and reflagging of the 4th BCT to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Bulldogs April 15 at Fort Bliss. The host for the ceremony was Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty, 1st AD and Fort Bliss commanding general. The deactivation of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team is due to the Army s restructuring. This scenario is all too common for Twitty. It was only a few years ago when then, Col. Twitty, 4-1 Cavalry commander, and his command team removed their Stetson hats, and donned the traditional Army berets. The 4th BCT has undergone many changes over the last decade transforming from 4-1 Cavalry Long Knife to their reflagging in 2008 as 4th BCT Highlander to now the 3rd BCT, 1st AD Bulldogs. Along with the inactivation of 3rd BCT, 2nd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, reflagged as 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. With all the inactivation s and reflagging of the units, 3rd BCT stands to gain approximately 1,100 Soldiers. Although the name has changed, the same Soldiers and leaders remain in place. Col. Chip E. Daniels, former 4th BCT commander, assumes command the newnamed 3rd BCT. We hate to give up what was a proud legacy of the Highlander Brigade. However, we get the opportunity to build upon the great legacy of the Bulldog Brigade, said Daniels. In honor of the sacrifices by the Soldiers, officers, noncommissioned officers and families of the Long Knife and Highlander Brigades, two tokens were presented to ensure the legacy of these units. I want the local community to know, we are still the same brigade that was established in El Paso. We just have a different name, but we will still keep the unofficial motto, El Paso s Own, said Daniels. During the ceremony Twitty, along with Command Sgt. Maj. Lance Lehr, 1st AD and Fort Bliss command sergeant major, unveiled and dedicated Long Knife Road, which replaced Tank Trail Road, and Highlander Street, which replaced Half Track Street. The renaming of these two streets will etch the lineage, history and the legacy of the brigades into storied history of the post. The Long Knife Brigade will always be remembered for the hard work and accomplishments put forth by the thousands of Soldiers who had the privilege of calling themselves Long Knife Soldiers, said Twitty.
4A April 23, 2015 FORT BLISS BUGLE Arkansas, Georgia engineers return from Middle East By Adam Holguin Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS, Public Affairs The 1038th Engineer Company, Arkansas Army National Guard, and Soldiers from the 876th Engineer Company, Georgia Army National Guard, arrived at the Silas L. Copeland Departure/Arrival Control Group airfield April 10, after completing nine-month deployments in the Middle East. The 1028th Eng. Co. spent the majority of their time in Kuwait, both at Camps Arifjan and Buehring, while also undertaking missions in Jordan, Afghanistan and Iraq. The 876th Eng. Co. first deployed to Afghanistan before assisting the 1028th Eng. Co. with missions in Kuwait. Col. James Treece, commander, 87th Troop Command, was here to represent the brigade headquarters and greet the 1038th Eng. Co. upon their arrival. The first thing I am going to tell them is welcome back. I am not going to say welcome home until they are on the ground in Arkansas, said Treece, I want them to focus on what they have to do here. There is a lot of good information they ll receive here. While in Kuwait, the majority of the missions the company undertook were improvements on the facilities and substructure in Kuwait. We were doing horizontal construction, mainly improving infrastructure on both Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan, to include additional drainage, retention ponds, road grading and sidewalks, said Capt. Clayton Shelley, commander, 1038th Eng. Co. We did some force protection measures We also built a staging area, a taxi runway on Ali Al Salem Air Base for an Apache (helicopter) squadron. Shelley was proud of the work ethic his Soldiers displayed and the amount of effort they put in. We were able to complete over 62 missions (with) just under 200,000 man hours, said Shelley. We were able to do that on seven different locations in four different countries. First Sgt. James Holm, first sergeant, 1038th Eng. Co., was proud of the schooling some in his unit members were able to complete. We had 15 Soldiers that we got through Warrior Leader Course while we were over there, which I am very honored that we accomplished, said Holm. That was a task they took on and it ll help move them along in their careers, it s already done out of the way for them. Ultimately, Holm was happy to be home without incident, I am glad I brought each and every one of them home. That s what counts, he said. The units will complete out-processing and demobilization requirements with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security before departing for their home states. Treece recognized Fort Bliss role in getting Soldiers home. This is the second unit that has come through Fort Bliss since I have taken command of the brigade I have nothing but positive remarks on the level of support that this installation gives these incoming and outbound Soldiers. The units efforts over the past nine months resulted in numerous improvements to U.S. bases in the Middle East and although horizontal engineer work may not be as glamourous as vertical construction, there can be no building without a solid foundation, something the engineers of the 1038th and 876th took great satisfaction in providing. As engineers we really do take pride in improving the conditions for Soldiers that are there now and that will be there in the future, said Shelley. Col. James Treece, right, commander, 87th Troop Command, briefs Soldiers from the 1038th and 876th Engineer Companies at the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Air Control Group after their arrival from the Middle East, April 10. Treece was a representative of the brigade headquarters and greeted the Soldiers upon their return from a nine-month deployment to the Middle East. Photos by Adam Holguin / Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS, Public Affairs First Sgt. James Holm, first sergeant, 1038th Engineer Company, is greeted while arriving stateside after completing a nine-month deployment to the Middle East, April 10, at the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Air Control Group airfield.
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8A April 23, 2015 FORT BLISS BUGLE FORT BLISS BUGLE April 23, 2015 9A PUT TO THE TEST DIVARTY Soldier, NCO of the Year competition held at Bliss 2 By Sgt. Maricris C. Cosejo 24th Press Camp Headquarters 1 4 3 What does it take to be the best? The Division Artillery, 1st Armored Division, challenged three Soldiers and two noncommissioned officers to answer that question during DIVARTY s Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year competition, held across Fort Bliss, from April 15 to 17. Sgt. Anthony Spall, DIVARTY NCO of the Year, medic, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, and DIVARTY Soldier of the Year, Spc. Raymond King, cannon crewmember, Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, answered. Spall, King and their fellow candidates competed in various events during the three-day competition. They completed the marksmanship qualification, day and night land navigation, combatives, warrior tasks and battle drills, an obstacle course, a written exam, a modified Army Physical Fitness Test and a leadership board. These events tested the Soldiers capabilities to think and act in stressful situations. The competition we do here is to select the best and prepare them to face their competitors in the division level, said Command Sgt. Major Franklin Jacobs, command sergeant major, Division Artillery, 1st Armored Division. This competition was specifically designed to mirror the division-level competition to give the Soldiers a better idea of the events in the higher level, said Jacobs. Ultimately, according to Jacobs, the competition was designed to challenge them mentally and physically, because if they aren t challenged at a brigade level, they ll be at a disadvantage at the division and higher competitions. Now with their results in hand, the two Soldiers are ramping-up their preparation for the division level. Lots of studying, lots of combatives, more range time and more full days preparing for the division level, said Spall. In addition, with preparation comes motivation to excel. My family and my friends motivated me. They kept pushing me. They gave me the drive to keep going during the competition, said King. It feels good to win. The competition isn t all glory for King and Spall. It reinforced the need to lead and share their knowledge and experience with their units. I learned things that I can show my guys and teach them. I would like to help other Soldiers compete one day too, said King. As for Spall, the upcoming competition (or the ones thereafter), isn t the end of a journey. He began at a company board months ago, but this is the beginning every Soldier from private to general can experience. Better, a better Soldier, said Spall. This competition was specifically designed to mirror the division-level competition to give the Soldiers a better idea of the events in the higher level. >> Command Sgt. Major Franklin Jacobs Photos by Sgt. Maricris C. Cosejo / 24th Press Camp Headquarters 1. Spc. Davis Karran, combat medic, HHB, 4th Bn., 27th FA Regt., DIVARTY, 1st AD, plots his points during the night land navigation portion of the 1st Armored Division Artillery Soldier and NCO of the Year competition, April 15, at Fort Bliss. 2. Staff Sgt. Karl Coulson, section chief, Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Division Artillery, 1st Armored Division, plots points during the night land navigation event. 3. Candidates of the 1st Armored Division Artillery Soldier and NCO of the Year competition start with marksmanship qualification, April 15, at Fort Bliss. All candidates were winners of the quarterly competition. 4. Spc. Raymond King, cannon crewmember with Btry. B, 2nd Bn., 3rd FA Regt., DIVARTY, 1st AD, climbs up the ladder during the timed obstacle course event. 5. Sgt. Anthony Spall, combat medic, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, Division Artillery, 1st Armored Division, carries a casualty during the warrior task and battle drills event.