Engineers begin arriving for joint Guard and Reserve mission

Photo By Tulara McCauley | The Headquarters, Headquarters Company of the 528th Engineer Battalion, 225th Eng. Brigade, Louisiana Army National Guard, from Monroe, La., arrived, here, June 4, to begin mobilizing through the Directorate of Mobilization and Deployment for an upcoming mission in Kuwait.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

06.04.2014

Story by Tulara McCauley 

Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS Fort Bliss

FORT BLISS, Texas – The 528th Engineer Battalion command staff, the Headquarters, Headquarters Company and the Forward Support Company of the 225th Eng. Brigade, Louisiana Army National Guard, from Monroe, Louisiana, arrived, here, June 4, to begin mobilizing through the Directorate of Mobilization and Deployment for an upcoming mission in Kuwait. The two companies will combine with five additional Guard and Reserve units from different states to conduct engineering missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Three of the Guard units, the 1038th Eng. Company, 875th Eng. Bn., a horizontal construction company from Little Rock, Arkansas; the 234th Eng. Company, 1249th Eng. Bn., a vertical construction company from Warrenton, Oregon; and the 621st Survey and Design Team, 505th Eng. Bn. from Gastonia, North Carolina, will mobilize through Fort Bliss with the 528th. Two Army Reserve companies from the 983rd Eng. Bn., 372nd Eng. Bde., will join the 528th in Kuwait. The 961st Eng. Company, a horizontal construction company from Sharonville, Ohio and the 304th Eng. Company, a vertical construction company from Lima, Ohio will bring the battalion to full strength.

According to Lt. Col. Greg St. Romain, battalion commander, 528th, the headquarters and forward support companies have trained the past year in preparation for the deployment.

“This unit is extremely motivated to support operations overseas and is really looking forward to getting to know one another other a little better while here at Fort Bliss,” said St. Romain.

Although only 50 percent of the Soldiers in the 528th previously deployed, the majority of the headquarters company is made up of senior leaders with plenty of military and civilian experience.

This is St. Romain’s first time mobilizing through Fort Bliss. “I was impressed when I came for a site visit with DoMaD,” St. Romain stated. “There is a lot of support here with a great open door policy and customer-oriented atmosphere. This time with DoMaD will give us an opportunity to build an even closer team.”

First Sgt. Robert Prestridge, the first sergeant of the FSC, is also mobilizing out of Fort Bliss for the first time. “The site visit was very informative,” Prestridge said. “We toured the facilities and learned the layout of the land.”

Prestridge was looking forward to supporting the battalion in Kuwait.

“We provide everything from meals to ammunition,” said Prestridge.

There is a maintenance crew that provides organizational maintenance for the equipment that is assigned to the battalion. The company is also responsible for some supply operations working in conjunction with the supply section. Although the FSC is located in Northeastern part of the state of Louisiana, the unit has citizens from New Orleans, Shreveport and Lake Charles, Louisiana, and from as far away as Florida and Texas.

“We have a lot of expertise within the unit,” said Prestridge. “We have people who are really excited about what they are doing and they all want to be here. That’s a huge plus.”

Spec. Collie Devin of Morgan City, Louisiana, mused about his first deployment while he enjoyed his lunch of baked chicken.

“I expect it to be real hot – real different,” said Devin. “I’m going to miss my family.”

Specs. Crystal Broussard and Anastasia Sylvester, sisters from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, transferred to FSC from E Company, 199th Brigade Support Battalion out of Jeanerette, Louisiana to volunteer for deployment. Broussard has spent 3 years in the Guard as an administrator, truck driver and petroleum supply specialist.

“We got to cross-train in other specialties,” said Broussard.

Sylvester, a truck driver, was pleased to move from the transportation branch to work with engineers.

“I’m excited to help people and we are in a position to do that,” said Sylvester. “It may not be what we signed up for but that is how we all come together on a mission.”

The sisters have a father and eight uncles who retired from the Navy. They are the first females of the family to join the military.

“I know it’s hard for our families, but they are stronger than we are,” said Broussard. “I want to thank them for holding down the home front.”

The sisters work well together and find it natural to deploy together. Both of them work in medical billing and plan to start their own business when they return from deployment.

“It’s nice to have a biological sibling with me on deployment, but all my fellow Soldiers are my brothers and sisters as well,” said Sylvester.

• Date Taken: 06.04.2014
• Date Posted: 06.24.2014 17:10
• Story ID: 134252
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: BREAUX BRIDGE, LA, US
• Hometown: GASTONIA, NC, US
• Hometown: JEANERETTE, LA, US
• Hometown: LAKE CHARLES, LA, US
• Hometown: LIMA, OH, US
• Hometown: LITTLE ROCK, AR, US
• Hometown: MONROE, LA, US
• Hometown: MORGAN CITY, LA, US
• Hometown: NEW ORLEANS, LA, US
• Hometown: SHARONVILLE, OH, US
• Hometown: SHREVEPORT, LA, US
• Hometown: WARRENTON, OR, US