Photo By Giancarlo Casem | Sgt. Kimberly March, of Ridgely, Tenn., Company C, 203rd Personnel Support Battalion,...... read more read more
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By Spc. Giancarlo Casem
CFLCC PAO/ 50th Public Affairs Detachment
U.S. ARMY CENTRAL LIFE SUPPORT AREA, Kuwait - An important milestone was reached at the Third Army/U.S. Army Central Life Support Area, Kuwait. The 500,000th service member from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom to go through the Rest and Recuperation (R&R) program was processed and sent on his way back home.
Spc. Alexander Fordyce, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was given the honor of being the 500,000th Soldier.
"I just thought I was going on vacation," said the 19-year-old from Fayetteville, N.C. "I was kind of shocked."
The milestone is a testament to the hard work that is put in by the service members and civilians at LSA and nearby Kuwait City, said Staff Sgt. Domenic Desimone, outbound R&R operations non-commissioned officer in charge, Detachment (Det.) 1, 444th Adjutant General Bn.
"It is a great deal," he said. "It shows that we have great civilian counterparts in the R&R program that takes care of Soldiers. Without the R&R program, this war would be a lot harder on Soldiers."
Desimone's section is the first phase that service members go through in the R&R program. Service members are in-processed and travel arrangements are made through a local travel service agency. They are then afforded the opportunity to fly anywhere, both inside and outside the continental U.S. (CONUS), granted they provide a leave address, Desimone said.
In March 2004, the R&R program appropriated funds to cover the cost of commercial airfares. This move provided service members with a round trip ticket from one of two CONUS gateways to a U.S. leave destination, or with a round trip ticket to an international leave destination from Kuwait.
After the service members are initially in-processed, they bring their luggage through a customs check in a different tent. Here fellow service members from a Navy customs detail personally check each passenger's belongings for unauthorized items such as live rounds and produce. The luggage is then loaded into a waiting truck.
After the passengers have received their tickets, they are then loaded onto the bus and sent on their way to Kuwait International Airport.
Desimone said they try to keep the process as simple as possible to make their operations run smoothly for the passengers.
The hard work that his section does during long 12-hour days was rewarded during a ceremony at Liberty Hall in LSA.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Robinson, 377th Theater Support Group (Forward), commander, was present to thank the 444th Soldiers for their hard work. He also presented awards to the civilian personnel who keep the program operational.
Even though the spotlight may have been on the 500,000th passenger, the importance of the R&R program was also highlighted.
"R&R is important, it gives you mental break from stresses of combat, to get back to what's normal to you, especially for younger Soldiers. They've never been away from home - some of them just got out of basic training," Desimone said. "It's not something you're used to."
For Capt. Kelly Goodrich, Det. C, 38th Personnel Support Bn., her choice to go on leave later during her deployment was for the benefit of her Soldiers and also coincided with a family reunion.
"R&R is very important. There is a lot of stress that goes in Iraq," she said. "I am a company commander and I see my Soldiers day in and day out. Between the combat and personal issues at home, they need a break."
"If we didn't have that break, we'd lose morale and the mission wouldn't be as effective," Goodrich said.
"That break raises their morale and gets them back up to combat readiness to continue with our mission."
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2007 15:57 |
| Story ID: | 10777 |
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| Web Views: | 938 |
| Downloads: | 824 |
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