Photo By Kimberly Hackbarth | Spc. Kyle Lloyd, Spc. Clare Dudash, Spc. Andy Toppin, and his wife, Ashley, appear on...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – The echo of nearly 1,000 soldiers’ voices filled a stadium as they sang one of the most well-known anthems in American history.
“Take me out to the ball game! Take me out to the crowd!”
Soldiers from the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division “Raiders,” came out to see the Tacoma Rainiers take on the Omaha Storm Chasers Aug. 18 at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Wash., for “Raider Night.”
The event gave Raiders a chance to unwind from their busy year, relax before the brigade’s rotation at Yakima Training Center, Wash., this fall, and bond as a unit.
“We are not a group of individual companies, or battalions; we are a brigade combat team,” explained Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Balmforth, the brigade command sergeant major. “Each one of us brings something to the fight a little bit different, but without any one of us we’d be unsuccessful as a brigade.”
Ryan Latham, the group event coordinator for the minor league team, helped plan the event and said the brigade’s turnout for the game was unprecedented.
“This is the largest military group we've ever had organized as one unit,” said Latham. “(We’re) certainly excited to have Raider Night and have the 4th Brigade represented in such strong numbers.”
However, there was more to the event than enjoying peanuts and America’s favorite pastime.
“(It) was an opportunity for the citizens of the local area to give thanks to our soldiers,” said Balmforth. “On the other hand, it’s also giving our soldiers a chance to interact with the local populace and show themselves as the professional soldiers that they are.”
Raider soldiers became the highlight of the evening, leaving a lasting impression even on the professional ball players.
“The appreciation that I have for what (the soldiers) do,” said Nate Robertson, a pitcher for the Rainiers. “To fight for our freedoms that we have for us to play America’s game and (the soldiers) enjoying that with us is pretty special.”
During every home game, four members of the military community are recognized for their service and given the royal treatment including photographs in the Rainiers’ dugout, special seating during the game and access to the stadium’s Summit Club.
Spc. Andy Toppin, his wife, Ashley, Spc. Clare Dudash, and Spc. Kyle Lloyd, were the four individuals selected by the brigade and all appeared on the scoreboard screen halfway through the game to commemorate their service.
Toppin, a former military policeman of the brigade’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, was severely injured during the brigade’s most recent deployment to Iraq when his vehicle was hit by an explosively formed projectile. He had the privilege of throwing the first pitch of the game.
Ashley, who’s been there throughout her husband’s recovery, was recognized as an example of the strong support Raider families give their soldiers.
Dudash, a medic with 702nd Brigade Support Battalion, was named Soldier of the Quarter for her battalion, earned her Expert Field Medical Badge and German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, and graduated Air Assault School all in five months.
Lloyd was a fire direction specialist with 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, during the 2009-2010 deployment with the unit when an EFP hit his vehicle. The blast caused severe lower body injuries.
As the night went on, junior-enlisted soldiers had a chance to see through the eyes of their bosses as well, which is something Balmforth hoped for.
“We can all be demanding leaders, and sometimes it’s alright for people to see you in a little different light,” explained Balmforth. “Sometimes it’s good for soldiers to see … that (their leaders) have families also (and) they go through everything the younger soldier goes through.”
One soldier, Spc. Michael Lofthouse, attended the game with his girlfriend and fellow soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, and said he appreciated seeing his leaders at a nonmilitary related function.
“It’s great seeing the leadership there because it shows that they’re into the same things we’re into and kind of puts them on the same playing field,” said Lofthouse. “At the same time, we’ve got leadership right now in uniform that are doing the Stryker demonstration, so it’s not just Joe, it’s the leadership putting in the extra hours and the extra time to kind of get the 4-2 name out there.”
Thanks to the game, the Raider Brigade left the stadium refreshed and ready to hit their upcoming training out of the park.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2011 17:19 |
| Story ID: | 76021 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 99 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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