JBB units continue to close up shop

Photo By Staff Sgt. Paul Glover | First Lt. Michael Fazio, a native of Charleston, W.Va., stands guard, Oct. 23, at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in the empty remains of what was once a busy Tactical Operations Center for 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command just a week before. The 1-149th Inf. Regt. moved its operations south to Kuwait, leaving a few soldiers behind to finish up operations in Iraq.  

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

10.29.2011

Courtesy Story

77th Sustainment Brigade

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Just two weeks ago, the room on Joint Base Balad, Iraq, was booming with activity as Soldiers moved about supervising and watching over convoy escort teams spread out across northern Iraq. But on Oct. 22, blank walls and empty desks were the only occupants in the Tactical Operations Center of the 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

Looking around, a handful of soldiers remained in case any of the 1-149th Inf. Regiments line units moving south needed help with something. Mostly, though, they just were just working on their personal laptops, devices that were previously banned from the area due to the presence of classified information systems.

By this point, all of those systems had been packed away to be shipped south to Kuwait along with many of the 1-149th Inf. Regt.’s soldiers that went down early to set up a new operations center.

The assistant intelligence officer for the 1-149 Inf. Regt. was blunt in discussing how he felt about leaving Iraq during his third and final tour there.

“I was here towards the beginning of the war, and I'm here towards the end,” said 2nd Lt. Thomas Ormsby, a native of Paris, Ky. “To be honest, I'm not going to miss Iraq. I wasn't really excited to get back here a third time, and I sure won't miss anything about it.”

With the exception of a four-day pass in July, most of the soldiers have barely seen their families since the unit mobilized in June. They have missed birthdays, anniversaries, and in a few cases, their child’s birth.

“My wife's the backbone of our family,” Ormsby said. “It would have been a lot more difficult without her support and her capable handling of all of our family affairs … but it's been very difficult, especially with the birth of our third child.”

While there may be rumors of troops being home for the holidays, many 149th Inf. Regt. soldiers aren’t sure what the future holds for them specifically.

“We’re not done yet; we’ve got a lot more to do,” said Lt. Col. Bryan Howay, the battalion commander and a native of Taylorsville, Ky. “The missions we’re going to have to do in the south haven’t been fully defined. We’re happy to be leaving here, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Soldiers in the battalion hope for the best but also understand the future is still unknown as to whether the unit will be home for the holidays.

“If we will, that’s great. If not, that’s what I’m expecting,” said 1st Lt. Michael Fazio, a soldier with the 1-149th Inf. Regt. and a native of Charleston, W.Va. “I’m excited to see my friends and family and hopefully celebrate New Year’s with them.”

• Date Taken: 10.29.2011
• Date Posted: 10.29.2011 09:13
• Story ID: 79253
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ