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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – In 2004, the Army started a transformation to gear up for the 21st century and the Global War on Terrorism.
Spc. Jerry Leal, a supply clerk with the 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, came into the military in 2004 to transform himself in a soldier.
Leal made the plunge into the Army shortly after his father passed away from kidney cancer in 2003. “When he passed away in May, a week later I joined the military for a change in pace and to get away,” he said. “I left for basic training three months after he passed.”
After graduating his military training as a unit supply specialist, Leal arrived at Fort Campbell, Ky., February 2005, to his first assignment in what would become the 101st Brigade Troops Battalion, 101st Sust. Bde.
The brigade was created from the 101st Division Support Command and the 101st Corps Support Group, 1st Corps Support Command. It was reorganized as reactivated as Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 101st Support Group in 2004, and officially re-designated as the 101st Sust. Bde. in 2005.
The unit was called the Sustainment Unit of Action, and was preparing for an upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Leal and the SUA left for the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., in early April 2004. “At the time, I didn’t know anything about the Army,” Leal said. “We were just starting the transformation.”
When the unit returned from two weeks at JRTC, they were designated the Brigade Troops Battalion and then the 101st Sustainment Brigade. Their mission was to not only supporting themselves, but also the newly created brigade combat teams when they needed assistance in combat operations.
“We’re all in one, we can support ourselves and other brigades,” he said. “The Army was building the brigade and figuring out what worked and what didn’t.”
The brigade and BTB spent a year in Iraq, supporting brigade combat team, mostly from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Northern Iraq. During the year, Leal and other Soldiers of the unit earned the 101st combat patch.
“I got to wear Abe, and when I told people that I was 101st, they said I was in a prestigious unit and I felt proud,” Leal said.
As he was gearing up for a second deployment, the brigade and battalion were making visible changes of the new unit structure. He deployed to Kuwait with the R5 (reception, R&R, return-to-duty, replacement, redeployment) platoon of the Human Resources Company, BTB, 101st Sust. Bde. in August 2007.
Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Blake, then the command sergeant major of the 101st Sust. Bde., gave the platoon his design of the infamous “Death Star” for their helmets. The four brigades of the 101st Division wear distinctive insignia on their helmets, including a Club, Heart, Tori Gate and Spade.
Blake created the death star for his brigade, which includes the 4 brigade insignias in a four-point compass rose, with the 101st Screaming Eagle front and center.
Leal and the R5 platoon were the first to deploy to combat operations with the new brigade insignia. He spent 15 months in Kuwait, and supported service members as they entered and exited the Iraq theater of operations.
This past June, the brigade made a significant change in repatching Lifeliners with a brand new unit patch. The patch is a slightly modified version of the 101st Airborne Division patch, but spilt in two colors, with red representing their operations in Vietnam and green being their current operations in Afghanistan.
The deathstar, created by Blake, is prominently centered in the shield, signifying the brigade’s lineage with the division.
“We’re still Screaming Eagles no matter what,” Leal said. “I feel honored to wear the Sustainment brigade patch since I’ve been here since the beginning.”
The 101st Brigade Troops Battalion became the 101st Special Troops Battalion, meaning the battalion includes staff of the brigade and battalion.
Leal witnessed firsthand the transformation of the Lifeliners in the past six years, and will continue to as the brigade transforms again.
“The leadership molded and mentored me from multiple deployments to change me to who I am now,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.16.2011 10:16 |
| Story ID: | 70463 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Forging a Legacy, by Michael Vanpool, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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