Photo By Sgt. Aaron Ellerman | Brig. Gen. Fransisco A. Espaillat, commanding general of the 143d Sustainment Command...... read more read more
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ORLANDO, Fla. — The 143d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) held an uncasing ceremony at the 1st Lt. David R. Wilson Armed Forces Reserve Center here, Sept. 14.
Service members, families and honored guests were in attendance to witness Brig. Gen. Fransisco A. Espaillat, commanding general of the 143d ESC, and Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Leckinger, command sergeant major of the 143d ESC, uncase the unit colors signifying the unit’s return home.
“The Soldiers of the 143d have served our nation with honor and distinction,” said Espaillat. “As we uncase our organization’s colors, which officially signify our return home, I can think of no better way to share this moment than with our families, friends, and the entire Orlando community.”
The 143d ESC mobilized in June 2013 in Support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Nearly 300 Soldiers from the 143d ESC Headquarters, Headquarters Company deployed to several countries throughout Southwest Asia.
“This headquarters has deployed seven out of the last 13 years that we’ve been at war, making it one of the most deployed commands in the Army,” said Espaillat.
Soldiers in the 143d had a physical presence in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Romania during this deployment and had a direct impact on operations throughout the 20 countries within the Central Commands area of responsibility. Having these Soldiers spread across the region allowed the 143d to efficiently oversee operations throughout its AOR.
“As a deployed ESC, our mission was to be the single sustainment headquarters which provided mission command coordination as well as provided the beans, bullets, human capital, and quality of life support for all Army units and some coalition and allied partner units in the CENTCOM AOR,” said Espaillat.
During its nine-month deployment the unit accomplished many feats and overcame numerous challenges.
“One of the many missions that our command coordinated and helped execute was the ongoing retrograde and redeployment mission out of Afghanistan,” said Espaillat.
“People were challenged during the deployment in ways that they are not challenged here at home, finding themselves suddenly in charge of something real and having no one to rely on but one another, which really helped build maturity,” said Col. Christopher Govekar, former commander of the 143d ESC.
“The deployment was invigorating, there was always something new to do everyday,” said Sgt. Lisette Vera, human resources specialist for the 143d. “To accomplish all the goals I set for myself I found I had to be very meticulous with my time and prioritize all my tasks.”
Along with the Soldiers deployed overseas, the 143d also mobilized approximately 50 Soldiers to the units’ headquarters in Orlando to maintain mission command for the nearly 10,000 Soldiers in the 143d’s subordinate commands located throughout the Southeastern U.S.
“It is important to recognize the contribution that the Soldiers in the rear made are just as valuable as the forward element and it took a combined effort to accomplish our mission,” said Govekar.
Returning home after a successful deployment, the organization looks to ensure the proper reintegration of its troops and continue its mission supporting units and readying soldiers to continue the fight.
“As Army reservists, we do not return home to an installation, post, camp, or station, instead we return to hundreds of local communities around the country and go back to our families and civilian jobs remaining trained and ready for when our Army and our nation need us,” said Espaillat.
Following the uncasing of the colors, a change of responsibility was conducted with Command Sgt. Maj. Orlando Santiago accepting the position of senior noncommissioned officer of the 143d ESC from outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Leckinger.
“In my search for a new Command Sgt. Maj. for the 143d I looked for someone who could set high standards, live the Army values, and help me lead this command from the front,” said Espaillat. “I selected Command Sgt. Maj. Santiago to be the next senior noncommissioned officer of the 143d because he posses’ all of these qualities.”
After the ceremony, the 143d ESC HHC Family Support Group hosted a family day cookout for the Soldiers and family members at Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake. The cookout featured a children’s face painting station and donation of bikes to children of Soldiers who recently returned from the deployment.
| Date Taken: | 09.14.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.21.2014 20:15 |
| Story ID: | 142828 |
| Location: | ORLANDO, FL, US |
| Hometown: | ORLANDO, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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