TARIN KOT, Afghanistan – Five Indiana Army National Guardsmen who serve on the Combined Team Uruzgan Combat Service Support Military Advisory Team received their 3rd Infantry Division combat patch at Multi National Base Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, Dec. 28. The CSS MAT is multinational unit with service members from the Indiana Army National Guard, the Slovak army, and the Australian army assigned to it.

The five guardsmen were individually selected for this mission by Maj. Gen. Martin Umbarger, the adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard.

“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen to provide advisory services and assistance to the Afghan National Army,” said Maj. Joshua Clark, deputy commander, CSS MAT, MNB TK

The team formed in April and began their predeployment training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. Additionally, the team deployed to Slovakia and Germany to conduct North Atlantic Treaty Organizational Phase I and Phase II training with their Slovak partners.

“The training was a great opportunity to focus on tactical and technical skill sets, and to conduct team building with our Slovak partners in order to come together as a unit prior to deploying,” Clark said.

In honor of the event, the soldiers were patched in a ceremony by American Col. Douglas C. Cardinale, 2nd “Spartan” Armored Brigade Combat Team commander, 3rd Infantry Division. The combat patch is second to none.

“The division has a long and storied history and has a deserved reputation for excellence. Being able to be affiliated with the division is a distinction that I am proud to have,” Clark said.

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