Photo By Sgt. David Scott | Capt. Philip McDowell (left), commander, 159th Seaport Operations Company, 13th Combat...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - The 159th Seaport Operations Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) recognized its Soldiers’ achievements and transferred of authority of its mission July 10 in a ceremony at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
During this end-of-tour event, 11 Bronze Star medals, 78 Army Commendation Medals and 42 Army Achievement Medals were awarded to 159th SOC Soldiers. Also, 220 coins of excellence from the 159th SOC were awarded. These awards supplemented the variety of awards attained by unit members over the course of the nearly 12-month deployment, which ranged from membership in the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club to brigade non-commissioned officer of the quarter and battalion Soldier of the quarter. The unit completed its mission without any injuries or accidents.
About 250 Soldiers were in attendance, including the honorees and Soldiers from the 403rd Transportation Company (Inland Cargo Transfer Company), 7th Transportation Battalion, 82nd Sustainment Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., the unit replacing the 159th SOC.
The 159th arrived in theater in July 2009 and is scheduled to redeploy to their home station, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va.
At the end of the ceremony, the 159th cased its guidon while the 403rd simultaneously unveiled its own, marking the end of the transfer of authority.
Every member receiving a decoration was awarded his or her respective medal or ribbon by Lt. Col. Anthony P. Bohn, commander of the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and an Orono, Minn., native.
In delivering the keynote address, Bohn said the unit accomplished many feats, including the relocation of a central receiving and shipping point in less than 24 hours, and conducting more than 900 material handling equipment missions with more than 90,000 pieces of cargo and 60,000 containers.
Bohn used the occasion to thank the unit for their hard work and dedication to the mission.
“You did everything asked of you, and more,” he said.
Bohn said he has always had good communications with specialized cargo handling units like the 159th SOC.
“There’s something special with a seaport operations company,” he said. “Every time I’ve had an interaction with this type of command, it’s always first-rate. It’s just a very tight-knit community. They get to play with a lot of neat equipment. They get to see a lot of the world.”
The leadership of the unit made a significant difference in the outcome of the unit’s deployment, Bohn said.
“This is truly, truly, an exceptional command team,” he said. “They [the 159th SOC] have very strong leaders. They really need to be applauded for the team they have put together and the missions they have done.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Stanley Richards, command sergeant major of the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and a Phenix City, Ala., native, said he witnessed the unit live up to its nickname over the course of this deployment.
“It’s in their name, ‘warrior pride,’” Richards said. “They’re warriors and they’ve got a lot of pride. Everything they’ve done, they’ve done to the best of their abilities. They are going to be missed, but it is time for them to go home to be with their loved ones.”
Capt. Phillip McDowell, commander of the 159th SOC and a Charlottesville, Va., native, said his point of emphasis was physical fitness.
McDowell said he thought his unit’s physical fitness stood out as the crowning achievement of the deployment.
“I am most proud of the physical training results for this unit,” McDowell said. “Having the highest Army Physical Fitness Test average score in the ESC [the recently redeployed 13th ESC], considering that we have 137 Soldiers here, a 274 average score is a significant achievement.”
McDowell said his unit’s replacements, the 403rd Trans. Company, should be ready for the challenge ahead of them.
“They have a huge mission, a daunting mission, ahead of them,” he said. ‘They are running five CRSP yards in the theater. They’re going to be all stretched out throughout Iraq. So managing the command-and-control piece of those yards is going to be extremely difficult. I think they’re extremely up for the challenge. They should be able to shine.”
First Sgt. Charlie McKenzie, first sergeant of the 159th SOC and an Atlanta native, said the most important accomplishment of the unit came early in 2010.
“We moved and then integrated the largest CRSP yard in the Iraqi theater [in February], which is a direct reflection of the responsible drawdown,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie said the 159th maintained a drive for sustained superior performance throughout the deployment and that he was moved by the emotions of the moment because of the esprit de corps of the unit.
“This moment in time is heartfelt,” he said. “Our accomplishments are a testament to us being assigned to a company with this much spirit, motivation, morale, discipline and cohesion about the Army and about taking care of our families as we fight the war on terrorism.”
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2010 15:06 |
| Story ID: | 53414 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 464 |
| Downloads: | 203 |
This work, Departing seaport unit leaves legacy of warrior pride, by SGT David Scott, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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