Welcome to the Spartans

Photo By Staff Sgt. Melissa Parrish | Members of the 35th Infantry Division from the Kansas and Missouri Army National Guard receive the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division patch at the insignia and welcoming ceremony held at Hohenfels, Germany, Oct. 4. The guardsmen will head to Kosovo with the 4/25th IBCT (ABN) in support of ongoing peace support operations.  

HOHENFELS, GERMANY

10.04.2014

Story by Sgt. Melissa Parrish 

2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division Public Affairs

HOHENFELS, Germany – Members of the 35th Infantry Division from the Kansas and Missouri Army National Guard were formally received as members of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division during a shoulder sleeve insignia ceremony held here at the Joint Multinational Training Center Oct. 4.

The guardsmen will join the 4/25th IBCT (ABN) in Kosovo as elements of the brigade assume command and control of NATO’s Multinational Battle Group-East (MNBG-E) in support ongoing peace support operations later this month.

Lt. Col. Clint Baker, the incoming commander of MNBG-E and a native of Hamilton, Texas, gave the Soldiers a “Spartan” greeting.

“We are proud to welcome our brothers and sisters from the 35th Infantry Division as they join us for our Kosovo Force 19 mission,” said Baker. “There is no stronger bond than the bond of those that serve and strive together to accomplish a mission that is greater than ourselves.”

Baker was the first to place a patch on a guardsman’s shoulder – that of Maj. John Plaster, a native of Moberly, Mo. The 35th ID Soldiers followed suit and went one-by-one placing the 4/25th IBCT (ABN) patch on their Soldiers’ left arm.

Sgt. Patrick Finley, a human resources specialist with the Kansas Army National Guard, volunteered for this deployment and said he was excited to wear the Spartan patch.

“I really liked how we were initiated into the unit by the patch ceremony,” said Finley. “I am ready for the mission in Kosovo and I am ready to support 4/25 any way I can.”

Home stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, the 4/25 IBCT (ABN) and its subordinate 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment will conduct peace support operations in Kosovo as part of a nine-month rotation.

• Date Taken: 10.04.2014
• Date Posted: 10.09.2014 11:39
• Story ID: 144736
• Location: HOHENFELS, DE
• Hometown: MOBERLY, MO, US