172nd Infantry Brigade

Story by Pfc. Bethany Little

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Soldiers of the 172nd Infantry Brigade had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Secretary of Defense and demonstrate their duties at Forward Operating Base Kalsu Sept. 11.

William J. Lynn III visited with Soldiers of 504th Military Intelligence Company, 9th Engineer Battalion and 172nd Support Battalion.

Starting at the unmanned aerial vehicle launch site, Soldiers of 504th Military Intelligence Company demonstrated and explained the importance of the UAV. The Soldiers taught Lynn how to operate the UAV, then gave Lynn the controls so he could launch it.

"I think it went really well and it shows how people take the time to come out here and let us tell them about what we do out here," said Spc. Matthew D. Palmer, UAV operator, 504th MI Co. and native of Troy, Mo.

Following the UAV demonstration, 9th Engineer Bn. Soldiers showed Lynn the different vehicles used for route clearance missions. Lynn toured a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle, the primary medical evacuation vehicle for route clearance missions.

Lynn also learned how to inspect for improvised explosive devices from a Buffalo, a heavily-armored counter-IED vehicle. Using a mechanical arm with a small camera attached, Lynn moved a rock around in search of a possible IED.

After looking at each of the vehicles, Soldiers of 172nd Support Bn. showed Lynn their maintenance capabilities.

Lynn met and recognized Soldiers from the different battalions by presenting them with his personalized coin before leaving Kalsu.

"I'm happy he came out here so the Soldiers could show him how hard we work," said Staff Sgt. Jason Kudla, standardization operator, 504th MI Co. and native of Indian Mills, N.J. "Visits like these show that leaders do care."

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