Photo By Staff Sgt. Bob Yarbrough | U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matthew McCollum, a Columbia, S.C., native, and commander of the...... read more read more
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LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The 4-3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, served as the garrison command on Forward Operating Base Shank, the second largest FOB in the International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command-East, from March to November 2013, and are preparing to return home after a nine-month deployment.
The responsibilities for 4-3 BSTB, known as Task Force Sentinel, included providing critical life support services and force protection to over 8,000 civilians, local and other country nationals, contractors, and U.S. and Coalition Forces who live and work on Shank.
Task Force Sentinel supported the transfer of responsibility to a capable Afghan National Security Force by conducting combined patrols, marksmanship training, and integrated base defense operations with the Security Toli (Afghan company-sized unit) from the Garrison Support Unit, 4th Infantry Brigade, 203rd Corps of the Afghan National Army.
The Sentinel Battalion was responsible for the site development and integration of the Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System, the first of its kind in Afghanistan. The system includes multiple interconnected weapon systems dispersed throughout Shank to counter indirect fire.
The Sentinel’s were responsible for ammunition allocation and distribution; grading and construction of communication and power infrastructures; and installing security bunkers.
The Base Defense Operations Center secured the perimeter of FOB Shank and ensured the synchronization and execution of base defense rehearsals.
In May, after a C-130 Hercules aircraft conducted a hard landing on Shank’s runway, the BDOC dispatched an incident command post to the scene while force protection personnel secured access to the site. They also coordinated for water and medical support by communicating with the on-scene commander.
The 4-3 BSTB is comprised of military police, engineers, military intelligence and signal Soldiers who directly support the Vanguard Brigade.
Company A, 4-3 BSTB, served as the brigade's route clearance element to allow freedom of movement in support of 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th IBCT, in Wardak Province; 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th IBCT, in Logar Province; and 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., 4th IBCT, who operated in both provinces.
Company A was organized into two route-clearance platoons which executed maneuver enhancement operations, finding and removing improvised explosive devices, for both partnered and unilateral U.S. and ANSF operations. They also supported RC-East’s retrograde, combat operations, base transfers, the installation of culverts and culvert denial systems, road repair, and provided general engineering services along main supply routes and other strategic locations within RC-East.
“The company was responsible for the most contentious portion of the main line of communication within TF Vanguard’s area of responsibility . . . and [allowed] for safe passage of key lines of communications for retrograde convoys and disruption of enemy indirect fires cells,” said U.S. Army Capt. Philip Song, the commander of Company A. and a Hacienda Heights, Calif., native.
The Sentinel Battalion provided continuous intelligence operations consisting of signal intelligence, human intelligence, geospatial intelligence and intelligence analysts across two provinces. The Unmanned Aerial Systems Platoon completed over 5,000 flight hours, and conducted more than 800 flights in Logar and Wardak.
The signal Soldiers provided direct support to the 4th IBCT communication sections at two FOBs and eight combat outposts. They also provided radio training to the ANA 4th Bde., 203rd Corps, in support of the brigade’s advise and assist mission, enabling the ANSF to conduct long range radio communication which is critical to command and control during operations.
U.S. Army Capt. Orlando Varela, commander of Company C, 4-3 BSTB, said his company “provided a robust mission command network, strategic and tactical, to Task Force Vanguard and its subordinate commanders.” “We are what gives this brigade their voice,” added the Charleston, S.C., native.
“The Soldiers of Task Force Sentinel demonstrated on a daily basis that they are disciplined, competent, and confident Soldiers who operate as a team of teams to support and enable the BCT’s operations,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matthew D. McCollum, a native of Columbia, S.C., and commander of the 4-3 BSTB. “They are the living embodiment of our battalion’s motto, ‘one team, one fight!’”
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2013 11:03 |
| Story ID: | 115885 |
| Location: | LOGAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Hometown: | CHARLESTON, SC, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SC, US |
| Hometown: | HACIENDA HEIGHTS, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 917 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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