Northeastern base dedicated to fallen 'Spartan' leader

Photo By Jon Arguello | Troopers from 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd BCT, unveil the sign naming the base at Jalalabad after Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty May 5 . (Photo By Army Spc. Jon H. Arguello)  

JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN

05.06.2007

Courtesy Story

Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO

By Sgt. 1st Class Michael Pintagro
Task Force Spartan Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, Afghanistan – Approximately 250 American, Afghan and coalition brothers-in-arms converged on Jalalabad Airfield May 5 to dedicate the major regional air base to a fallen leader.

Key leaders and Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Task Force Spartan), dedicated the airfield at Jalalabad to Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty on the anniversary of his death in a helicopter crash during a flight, which originated at the facility.

Fenty commanded the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd BCT, until the crash that took his life on May 5, 2006. The 41-year-old squadron commander flew the mission in order to personally oversee the extraction of his troopers from the Chowkay Valley of northeastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province.

Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai, the governor of Nangarhar Province; Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the 10th Mtn. Div. commander when Fenty assumed his command; Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force-82; Afghan National Army Maj. Gen. Mangal, the 201st ANA Corps commander; and Brig. Gen. Bernard Champoux of the International Security Assistance Force joined other key allied military leaders and the "Spartan" family for the ceremony.

Army Col. John Nicholson, Task Force Spartan commander, welcomed event attendees and greeted the Fenty family, which will receive a video recording of the ceremony. Nicholson spoke reverently of his fallen subordinate commander and friend.

"There was no finer commander and no finer man than Joe Fenty," the Spartan commander said. "As a commander, he was at the top of his game. There were none better."

"It was out of this gate and onto that airfield that Joe walked a year ago today, to board that Chinook to extract his Soldiers from a dangerous spot in the Chowkay Valley," Nicholson noted. "It's back to this place that our fallen comrades are brought for their trip home. So this is an important place, a place of honor and respect, a place worthy of being named after Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty."

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Delbert Byers of 3-71 Cav. described the personal side of his fallen commander. "He represented everything that I love about being a Soldier," Byers said. "He never asked another Soldier to do anything that he was not prepared to do or had not done himself. As busy as our commanders are, he always found time to talk to every Soldier regardless of rank or position."

Byers and subsequent speakers recounted Fenty's excitement about the birth of his only child, a daughter born shortly before his death. Squadron leaders developed a plan to connect the commander telephonically with his wife upon the child's birth.

"I had never seen him so excited and anxious waiting for that phone call," Byers recalled. "I am truly thankful that the plan worked and he had the opportunity to talk with Kristin as his daughter was being born. He also had the opportunity to view the pictures of his daughter that Kristin had sent him and like all of us proud fathers he shared them with everyone."

Fenty developed close ties with Afghan leaders during the brief but intense time he spent fighting alongside them.

Army Capt. Ross Berkhoff, the squadron intelligence officer, noted Fenty's compassion upon learning of the death of four ANA colleagues killed by an improvised explosive device during the early stages of Operation Mountain Lion. "I know he personally felt the grief that went along with losing the first members of our combined team," he said.

Army Lt. Col. Chris Cavoli, the commander of 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd BCT and one of Fenty's closest personal friends, described the pain that lingered over his colleague's death and recommended action as the "bandage" for "wounds" unlikely to ever fully heal. During an emotional tribute to his fallen friend, Cavoli recounted treasured memories of the last year of Fenty's life. The battalion commander recalled their mutual excitement upon seeing eastern Afghanistan during a reconnaissance prior to Operation Enduring Freedom VII. Cavoli also recalled discussing the baptism of Fenty's infant daughter. He described seeing Fenty off at the airfield prior to his fallen friend's last mission and standing by his grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

Fenty's troopers played a key role in the ceremony. Army Spc. E. Daniel Witherspoon, the lead mechanic for the commander's vehicle, served as narrator. Army Spc. David Gonzalez, Fenty's driver, spoke from the podium. Army Sgt. Sean O'Brien and Army Spc. Matthew Gomez, who served on the fallen commander's security detachment, unveiled a new sign overlooking the airfield entrance to the base and bearing their fallen commander's name.

The ceremony lasted less than an hour. A picture of Fenty taken shortly before his death stood adjacent the sign and podium during the event. The Long Island, N.Y. native and Florida resident served 20 years in the Army. A dynamic and innovative tactician and leader, Fenty played a pioneering role in cavalry operations within a transformed brigade.

• Date Taken: 05.06.2007
• Date Posted: 05.07.2007 14:00
• Story ID: 10268
• Location: JALALABAD, AF