FORT BLISS, Okla., - Air defenders, both past and present, came from all around the world to attend Fort Bliss' final World Wide Air and Missile Defense Symposium held here May 3-6.
The symposium provided guests with a trip down memory lane to remember the history of Army air defense as well as gave them a glimpse of the future for air defenders and their war-fighting technology.
After the arrival and registration of the guests, the symposium kicked off with an invitation-only ice-breaker to allow the visitors to get to know one another.
Day two of this conference started with a brief speech from Col. Donald Fryc, the commander of 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, followed by words of encouragement from Fort Bliss' commanding general, Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg.
"If you look at what air defenders are doing in Iraq - shooting down motors and rockets — they're saving lives and [in certain cases] launching a counter-attack," said Bromberg, also the commandant of the United States Army Air Defense Artillery School here.
The major focus of this symposium was the movement of 6th ADA Bde. and the ADA School to the Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Okla. The school will be working in close proximity with the field artillery school there.
These two branches will face many challenges, to include culture and ways of thinking, during this transitional phase, but it's important for them to come together and look toward the future, said Bromberg.
After Bromberg's speech, he presented four individuals with a token of appreciation for the tireless effort and dedication they put into helping air defense Soldiers. These individuals received a letter of appreciation signed by Bromberg and decorative clock.
Later that day, several air defenders from foreign armies were given the opportunity to visit the Motor Transportation Operators Course here. They received a tour of the facilities along with an up-close look at Soldiers navigating several driver-training simulators along with the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer.
Once their tour of the simulators was completed, the visitors loaded into vehicles and maneuvered around the real-life driver's course here.
This is a great course for Soldiers to take, and it has been taken by military occupational specialties that range from military police to Army cooks, said Eduardo Torres, a senior instructor for the course.
A formal banquet was also held, later that evening, for the symposium's guests at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center here; the banquet's guest speaker was retired Lt. Gen. Jay Gardner.
"It's an incredible honor to be the guest speaker, yet it's a sad time because [the ADA School is] leaving Fort Bliss," said Gardner, a former Fort Bliss deputy commanding general and deputy commandant of the ADA School. "The Fort Bliss staff did a tremendous job with the symposium while deploying Soldiers and transitioning [others] to Fort Sill."
Even though the quests at the banquet laughed and reminisced about the "good old days," one topic remained foremost for them.
No one here has forgotten about the hardships of the air defense Soldiers deployed in harm's way right now, said Gardner.
There was also a memorial drape, inscribed with the names of all the air defenders lost in the Global War on Terrorism, displayed at the banquet.
The last day of the symposium began with a color-casing ceremony, held at Memorial Circle here, for the ADA School and 6th ADA Bde. After the colors were cased, the ceremony's guest speaker, retired Maj. Gen. Donald Infante, talked about history of the ADA School and the Air Defender Statue.
"Just as the 'Iron Mike' Statue, at Fort Bragg, represents the sole of the paratrooper ... the "First to Fire" Statue will continue to represent the sole of the air defender," said Infante, the Fort Bliss commanding general and ADA School's commandant during the planning phase of the statue.
After Infante's speech, he presented Bromberg and Brig. Gen Roger Mathew, the commander of 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, with a replica air defender statue.
As the colors for each of the air defense units marched away, the chapter on the ADA School's history at Fort Bliss ended and a new one began.
"There is no other branch that can perform the air defense mission and then turn around and do the job of an infantryman, [military police officer] and artilleryman like the air defense Soldiers do every day in this war," said Gardner. "It's not just the active air defense Soldiers, it's the National Guard and Reserve as well."
| Date Taken: |
05.08.2009 |
| Date Posted: |
05.12.2009 13:18 |
| Story ID: |
33520 |
| Location: |
FORT BLISS, US |
| Web Views: |
451 |
| Downloads: |
378 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Air defenders unite for last time on Fort Bliss, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
