Photo By Master Sgt. Ryan Matson | Col. Douglas H. Stubbe, the director of logistics with the 87th U.S. Army Reserve...... read more read more
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - It was a merry time.
About 300 Soldiers from the 87th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command (East) and the neighboring Gulf Division, 75th Training Command joined in holiday song, shared jokes, camaraderie and a delicious meal at the 2014 Dining Out between the two units Dec. 6 at the Pine Tree Country Club in Birmingham.
But for the 87th USARC (E), the dining out was also something of a bittersweet farewell. The unit has received an order to disestablish at the end of the fiscal year as part of the greater realignment of the United States Army and Army Reserve.
“The total Army is reducing,” Command Sgt. Maj. James Preston, the 87th USARC (E) command sergeant major said. “That’s why this unit is going away, we’re at that point.”
The unit going away will have little economic impact on the greater Birmingham area, Preston said.
“It’s not like losing an Army installation in a small community with thousands of Soldiers who live and shop in the local community,” Preston said. “We’re talking less than 200 Soldiers who are normally only here on one weekend a month, so it shouldn’t have an impact on Hoover or Birmingham.”
More importantly, he said that none of the Soldiers from the unit will lose their careers in the military, but will instead find new homes with other Army Reserve units.
“We will find a home for every Troop Program Unit [drilling Reservist] Soldier,” Preston said. “When we first found out the 87th was inactivating, my comment to Brig. General Peter Bosse, the 87th USARC (E) commanding general, was that we need to let our Soldiers know up front so they can be prepared for it. He and I are actually talking with every Soldier, sitting down with them and asking what are their plans for after the unit goes away. We are going to help them reach that goal and get them into those units they want to fall into. It’s our desire to make sure every Soldier has a home before September 30, when the 87th folds it’s flag.”
Both Preston and Bosse said they will miss the unit’s Soldiers.
“For me, my best memory of my time here in the 87th was watching very talented Soldiers grow from Golden Acorns [the unit’s nickname] into mighty oaks as they were promoted or took on new duties and responsibilities in the Army Reserve,” Bosse said.
“We had professional, intelligent Soldiers that know the Army Reserve process and were able to go into Active Duty battalions and teach and mentor those organizations to be ready and to continue on with their mission,” Preston said.
Bosse will move on to San Antonio, as the director of the Army Reserve Engagement Cell for Army North and will also serve as the deputy commanding general for Reserve Affairs. Preston, who has over 38 years of military service under his belt, will retire.
“I will go home and do what my wife wants me to do,” he said. “Like they say, if you’re cooked your done! I enjoyed it though, I’ve done this since I was 18 years old, and it’s time for someone to take over and move forward.”
The 87th USARC (E) “Golden Acorns” provides administrative, logistical and training support for all TPU units under the Operational Control of 1st Army East, which will also disestablish. The command also provides Command and Control for the 1st Mobilization Support Group and 16 subordinate Mobilization Support
Battalions.
The unit was first constituted Aug. 5, 1917, at Camp Pike, Arkansas, and was part of the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. Later, the unit was re-designated as the 87th Infantry Division and fought in World War II as part of Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army. It was deactivated at the end of World War II, and first came to Birmingham May 12, 1947, as part of the Organized Reserves. It was again deactivated Feb. 15, 1957.
The unit returned to Birmingham once again Oct. 1, 1993, following Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to improve combat readiness amongst the Army Reserve. Since 2006, the 87th has worked under First Army to prepare Soldiers for mobilization.
| Date Taken: | 12.22.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2014 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 150952 |
| Location: | BIRMINGHAM, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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