Squadron takes on new mission, name

Courtesy Photo | Lt. Craig Collier, Flint, Mich., and Command Sgt. Maj. Emmitt Maunakea, commander and command sergeant major of 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment and Cross Functional Team Slugger, raise their squadron standard during a transfer-of-authority ceremony on Forward Operating base Loyalty, Dec. 26. The 3rd Sqd. 89th Cav. Regt. officially assumed command-and-control responsibility for their operational environment in eastern Baghdad from 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment. (Photo/Sgt. Maj. Ronald Semerena)  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

12.31.2007

Courtesy Story

4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – The 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, officially assumed command-and-control responsibility for their operational environment in eastern Baghdad during a transfer-of-authority ceremony, Dec. 26.

The 'Cross Functional Team Slugger,' relieved 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, CFT Destroyer, whose standard has flown over their headquarters on Forward Operating base Loyalty for the past 15 months.

As the late afternoon sun was setting on Baghdad, and on the Destroyer's rotation, their commander and command sergeant major, Lt. Col. James Phillips and Command Sgt. Maj. Javier Briseno, lowered their squadron standard. Lt. Col. Craig Collier, from Flint, Mich., and Command Sgt. Maj. Emmitt Maunakea, squadron commander and command sergeant major, then raised the Slugger standard.

Passing of responsibility from one cavalry unit to another symbolizes continued stability and security inherent in the arrival of the cavalry, according to a transfer of authority order published during the ceremony.

Since arriving in Baghdad, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cav., leaders and Soldiers have been 'learning the ropes' of their new operations area from 61st Cav. Soldiers, explained Collier. "Now it's our turn," he said.

The majority of Slugger Soldiers have served in Iraq recently, claimed Collier, including himself in that category. For some of them, this will be their second or third tour of one year or longer, he said. However, Collier has noticed situations in Iraq are different this time around.

"The Iraqi national police, local police and Iraqi army units are much better equipped and manned," said Collier. "I asked one Iraqi "shurta" (policeman) on patrol with us why he joined. 'For my country,' he unhesitatingly replied.

"He had body armor, a clean rifle that he carried properly, and a new uniform that matched his comrades in the patrol," continued Collier. "His team looked far more professional than any of the Iraqi security forces I saw in 2006."

Even with all of this progress, Collier said there is still a lot of work to do.

"Children and adults wave at us as we pass. In our sector, government clean-up projects are improving the streets," said Collier. "The ubiquitous garbage, improving but spotty government services and less-frequent, but persistent, attacks remind us that we've still got a long way to go, but the improvement from a year ago is real."

Collier said Phillips reminded him they have been deployed together before during a Christmas holiday, as lieutenants in the same infantry battalion while in Panama for Operation Just Cause in 1989. Collier also reflected upon what his squadron has done to prepare for the mission at hand.

"Since receiving our orders last May, we began to get ready for this mission," said Collier. "Our training included individual tasks such as marksmanship and combat-life-saving techniques as well as collective tasks like react to an improvised explosive device."

As a combat unit, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cav.'s deployment training emphasized physical fitness, with events such as road marches in body armor and one and a half hour physical training sessions, explained Collier. Their collective training culminated with a graduate-level exercise with Arabic-speaking role players and aggressive enemy, he said.

"For two weeks we fought a well-organized and tenacious enemy while providing economic assistance to locals and training indigenous security forces; tasks we knew we'd face in Iraq," said Collier. "Sometimes we won battles, sometimes we lost them, but we learned from our mistakes and tried to avoid repeating them."

The Slugger Soldier's preparations for deploying to Iraq also included weapons qualifications, immunizations, uniform and equipment issuance – including improved body armor, and updates of the latest enemy techniques and counter measures, said Collier.

Formerly known as "Saber," 3-89 Cav. adopted the name "Slugger" because 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, from the 82nd Airborne Division already had the Saber call sign, said Collier. Therefore, 3-89 Cav. decided to be named Slugger, following the lineage of 899th Cavalry, he said. The M36B1 "Slugger" was a World War II armored fighting vehicle first used in 1944 and was developed to stop German Panther and Tiger tanks at long range.

• Date Taken: 12.31.2007
• Date Posted: 12.31.2007 17:39
• Story ID: 15114
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ