Indiana Soldiers return from deployment

Courtesy Photo | At Camp Eggers in July 2009, members of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment, gather with members of 634th Forward Support Battalion whom they replaced to provide security for Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. Also shown are members of Burhan security services.  

CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, UNITED STATES

05.28.2010

Story by Sgt. William Hill 

Camp Atterbury Indiana

CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind. – More than 150 Indiana National Guard Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment returned to the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Ind., May 28, for demobilization after completing a year-long deployment in Afghanistan.

Master Sgt. Scott Hardesty, the senior operations non-commissioned officer for Company A, said their mission was to provide security for Camp Eggers and the personnel living and operating inside the camp.

"We looked at what Camp Eggers needed for support and security, and we made it happen," said Hardesty. "We built a giant metal wall around the camp, we provided sniper screening, and we [updated] the Base Defense Operation Center … by adding computer systems, TVs and satellite tracking with video feeds of all of Kabul."

Hardesty said they also communicated with any coalition forces in the Kabul area, so that if an incident occurred in the city, they were able to receive the information instantly and react immediately.

"If something went boom for example … If it was the coalition force that got injured, then we would go out and protect the scene and help the locals do damage control," Hardesty said. "We basically had our [finger on the] pulse on Kabul."

Staff Sgt. Jason Huston, a squad leader with Company A, said along with providing security for the camp, Soldiers from Company A provided security for fuel trucks which traveled 10 miles of austere and mine-scattered terrain, delivering about 15,000 gallons of fuel each day.

"The importance of the mission was to ensure that the fuel was getting from point A to point B, without any being taken, without any incident, without any attack. And that happened," said Huston.

Now that the Soldiers are back home in Indiana, they have a new mission to complete; reuniting with family and friends.

• Date Taken: 05.28.2010
• Date Posted: 06.02.2010 11:58
• Story ID: 50720
• Location: CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US