1 BCT Transfers Authority to 170 IBCT

 
 

Photo by Sgt. Blair Neelands

Col. Bill Burleson and Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Defreese, the command team of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, case the Brigade’s colors during a Transfer of Authority ceremony to mark the end of their 12-month deployment at Camp Mike Spann in northern Afghanistan March 7. First BCT handed over responsibility for their area of operation in northern Afghanistan to the soldiers of 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

 

Story by Sgt. Blair Neelands
CAMP MIKE SPANN, Afghanistan – First Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division handed over responsibility for their area of operation in northern Afghanistan to 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team during a transfer of authority ceremony March 7 at Camp Mike Spann in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The ceremony included Col. Bill Burleson and Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Defreese casing the 1st BCT colors to mark the end of a 12-month deployment, while Col. Patrick Matlock and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston uncased the 170th colors to symbolize the unit’s readiness to conduct training and joint-operations with the Afghan National Security Forces in the Faryab, Balkh, Kunduz and Baghlan provinces

“For the past 12 months, our goal has been to support Afghan security forces so that they can provide security for their country,” Burleson said during his speech. “I am proud of what Afghan and International Security Assistance Forces have accomplished over the last year.”

First BCT trained thousands of Afghan Uniform Police and Afghan National Border Police through multiple programs over the year-long deployment. The soldiers of the brigade also worked side-by-side with the ANSF to clear many areas throughout the North of insurgents.

“Many places are now safe and secure for the people of Afghanistan to live, work and flourish,” Burleson said. “In a series of operations, the security forces of combined team north have taken an unrelenting fight to the enemy and have denied insurgents areas of safety.”

The Warrior Brigade arrived in northern Afghanistan in March of 2010 with the mission of training and partnering with the ANSF, but over the year friendships were built.

“Equally important as security gains that have been achieved are the friendships developed over the past year,” Burleson said. “These relationships, and the resulting trust, will shape the lives of all our soldiers and Police.”

Burleson concluded his speech by thanking the local leadership from the ANSF and the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

“In the next few days, the soldiers of 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division will return to the United States,” he said. “The 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team comes in highly trained and well led, they replace us without interrupting the steady progress underway. They will carry on this mission and perform exceptionally.”

Upon completion of 1st Brigade’s mission in northern Afghanistan, Burleson and the remainder of the brigade will redeploy to Fort Drum with celebration and families awaiting their arrival.

German Bundeswehr Recognizes U.S. Forces in Northern Afghanistan







U.S. Army Brig. Gen Sean P. Mulholland, deputy commander, RC-North, U.S. Army Col. Daniel Williams, commander, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade and U.S. Army Col. Willard Burleson, commander, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The commanders accepted the award on behalf of their units and all U.S. soldiers throughout the region

 ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan
2011-02-D-209
For Immediate Release

KABUL, Afghanistan (Feb. 28, 2011) — Commanders of U.S. forces in International Security Assistance Force Regional Command North were presented with Germany’s second highest military decoration for merit in Mazar-e Sharif district, Balkh province, Feb. 26.

The Silver Honour Cross of the Budeswehr for outstanding meritorious service was presented to U.S. Army Brig. Gen Sean P. Mulholland, deputy commander, RC-North, U.S. Army Col. Daniel Williams, commander, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade and U.S. Army Col. Willard Burleson, commander, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The commanders accepted the award on behalf of their units and all U.S. soldiers throughout the region.

“We are honored to accept these prestigious awards on behalf of our soldiers in RC-North,” said Mulholland. “Teamwork is a great word but means nothing if there are no tangible actions demonstrated towards that goal. All ISAF participating nations in RC-North as well as our Afghan partners have made great strides towards synchronized plans and operations. RC-North soldiers and Afghan National Security Forces have executed operations with great success. We thank the German government and the German military for this consideration. We are all humbled by this great honor and are committed to continue to ‘press the fight’ as one team.”

Germany and the U.S. are two of 16 nations contributing to the 11,000 soldiers in RC-North and partnered with Afghan National Security Forces to provide not only a safer nation but also to develop governance and socio-economic programs.

Germany and the U.S. have enjoyed a long partnership of cooperation which was highlighted by German Army Maj. Gen. Hans-Werner Fritz, former RC-North commander, during a U.S. Department of Defense news briefing Jan. 4.

“They came down, they recovered the wounded, and then they started again,” describing the actions of two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the U.S. Army’s 4th Combat Aviation Brigade after an insurgent attacked a German position. “And obviously, being in the air again, they became aware that there was a dead soldier on the ground. And they came back under fire, they recovered the soldier and they said: we are taking home a fallen hero. This is the quality of the cooperation we are talking about.”

The award, signed by German Minister of Defense Karl-Theodor zu Guttenburg, was presented by German Army Lt. Gen. Rainer Glatz, commander, German Operations Command during a ceremony on Camp Marmal.

Love and War...

Love and War: Two couples thoughts on dual-military marriage
1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs
Story by Capt. Cynthia Holuta

Photo by Capt. Cynthia Holuta

Dual military couples, Capts. Blair and Joe Didomenico and Capts. Dave and Maria Gregory have an opportunity to spend time together at Camp Mike Spann located in northern Afghanistan. Both couples are deployed with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan - Marriage is hard. Ask any couple no matter how long they’ve been married and they’ll tell you it takes work. Throw in long periods of separation and a war on top of that and it becomes that much more difficult.

Such is the case for two dual military couples in the 10th Brigade Support Battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division who are currently deployed across Afghanistan.

Of the 130 dual military couples in 1st BCT, 24 of the couples are in the BSB, and of that three of them are officers holding a command or leadership position.

The first couple, Capts. Dave and Maria Gregory are both company commanders in forward support companies in the 10th Brigade Support Battalion.

Dave is commander of Company F, 10th BSB in support of the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment and Maria of Company G in support of 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. Though they are in the same battalion each is located at a different Forward Operating Base.

Dave, currently located at FOB Kunduz in north east Afghanistan met his wife Maria, currently located at FOB Griffin in north west Afghanistan, during a land navigation course at Transportation Officer’s Basic Course in Fort Eustis, Va., back in 2004. They began dating in 2005 when they were both stationed at Fort Drum, New York where they were quickly separated due to opposite deployment schedules. During their courtship, the two Soldiers took their Rest and Re-cooperation leaves together whenever possible and spoke on the phone or e-mailed each other as often as possible.

“I think the biggest challenge for me is being apart from Dave,” said Maria. “Dave and I were never in sync with each other’s timeline so whatever time we got to see each other we made the best of it.”

When Maria was home on rest and recuperation leave from her deployment with 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in July 2009 she and Dave decided it was time to get married and had a small ceremony with family in Las Vegas.

When Maria redeployed to Fort Drum, she requested to be transferred to 1st Brigade knowing that they were getting ready to deploy again in January so that she and Dave would be on the same deployment cycle.

The couple agrees that knowing the ins and outs of each other’s job is a good advantage, especially with the plethora of acronyms the Army uses.

“Communication about a hard day at work would be even more frustrating if you had to explain the situation and all the acronyms to a nonmilitary spouse,” said Dave. “It is nice to have a spouse that speaks the language too.”

The Gregory’s also agreed that finding time to spend together is probably the most difficult part of being dual military.

They celebrated their first anniversary July 4 at Camp Mike Spann, located in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan when they both had business to conduct. They were able to enjoy the day together and look forward to quality time when they redeploy.

The second couple, Capt. Blair Didomenico is a company executive officer in the 10th BSB and is married to Capt. Joe Didomenico who is an operational planner on the 1st Brigade staff.

The Didomenico’s met in the Virginia Military Institute Pipe Band where they were both attending in Lexington, Va. Though they met in 2004 during Blair’s freshman year and became friends, they did not start dating until after Joe graduated in May of that year. They married three years later on May 26, 2007.

You could say the couple started their lives together being separated due to the schools followed by subsequent deployments. But despite the separation, the couple enjoys that they know firsthand what the other one does for a job.

Having someone to share the whole military experience with is one of the biggest advantages said Blair who is currently stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

“We both pretty much understand what the other is going through and we can help one another through the many ups and downs,” she said.

Joe said he thinks it funny that he can speak “Army” with his wife when they are at home.

“Sometimes we talk in acronyms while we are cooking dinner,” he said. “And more often than not when we choose to do things on our weekends, there is a clearly defined intent, and a task and purpose that allows us to achieve our end state.”

But as with anything, the advantages don’t come without challenges. Finding time to spend together and worrying about each other’s safety are two of the Didomenico’s greatest struggles.

With Blair away and running convoys in southern Afghanistan, Joe worries about her safety while he remains in northern Afghanistan at Camp Mike Spann.

Earlier in their deployment a Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team soldier’s wife was killed the day after he left to go home, when her convoy hit and improvised explosive device on its way to the airport. This “hit close to home” for Joe.

“It gives you an uneasy feeling knowing that this deployment is not over for you or your wife until you both have your feet back home,” he said.

Of the three deployments the couple has endured to both Iraq and Afghanistan, this is the first that they resided in the same place, even if it was for a short time. Joe and Blair spent the first three months of their deployment at Camp Mike Spann located near Mazar-e-Sharif when Blair was serving as platoon leader for Company A, 10th BSB’s Convoy Security Element.

“There is just very little time to spend together in a deployed environment,” said Blair. “You almost struggle to get time together, and when you don’t live together that is another challenge. Eating meals and walking around the FOB together is great and all, but it’s just not the way a married couple should have to spend their time together. It often made us wonder if it would be easier doing this apart from one another.”

Overall, the couples agree that while being dual military has its added challenges; it is not much different than any other marriage. All marriages have their high points and low points and its how you communicate and work through them that are key.

Blair, who had the unique experience of being the spouse at home during Joe’s first deployment and being deployed at the same time as her husband and with her husband said that keeping busy and reminding yourself that it is all temporary, is the best way to deal with the challenges.

She said the keys to staying together are, “not forgetting what life is like when you’re together, and communicating as much as you can, and just understanding the circumstances that you’re both under.”

Both couples take advantage of any chance they might get to spend together while they are deployed and look forward to their return home to Fort Drum in mid-March.

http://www.dvidshub.net/news/61981/love-and-war-two-couples-thoughts-dual-military-marriage