Photo By Capt. David Chace | North Carolina National Guard Soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 113th...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas – In a holding area off of Biggs Army Airfield, more than 100 excited North Carolina National Guard Soldiers spent the waning hours of May 19, 2015, anxiously awaiting the plane flight out of the United States that they’ve spent months preparing for.
Some passed the time arguing in support or their hometown Wolfpack or Tarheels, while others chatted over the noise with loved ones back home, taking advantage of their last moments of U.S. cell phone service.
Among the group of Soldiers, the red guidon of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment, poked over the sea of fresh crew cuts and faces burnt pink by the Texas sun.
With their bags packed and equipment loaded onto the aircraft that would take them overseas, Alpha Battery was ready to move on to the Middle East. After more than two months of active duty training, the battery was heading overseas to support a security mission in Bahrain.
“We’ll get the job done,” said 1st Lt. Carter Lemmerman, the Alpha Battery executive officer charged with overseeing the unit’s logistics and administration, so that the Soldiers can focus on their mission. “I want our family members and employers to know that we’re going to take the best care of our Soldiers we can, and that they’re in good hands.”
The citizen-Soldiers with Alpha Battery started pre-deployment training in early March - first at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, followed by specialized training at Fort Bliss.
“We started out with infantry training, learning how to react to contact and basic Soldier skills, and then we moved in to the mission-specific training, such as searching personnel and vehicles, setting up entry control points and establishing guard shifts,” Lemmerman said.
“After we reported to Fort Bliss, we got some very good training with subject matter experts on other search techniques and close-quarters combat,” he said.
Their training at Fort Bliss culminated in a multi-day exercise where the unit practiced running a forward operating base. Soldiers practiced running an entry control point, pulling security as tower and roving guards, serving on a quick-reaction force, and running a command post, Lemmerman said.
“We’re a combat arms firing battery, but we’ve added leaders from across the [1-113th Field Artillery Battalion] who have a lot of experience in a lot of different areas,” he said. “We’ve been able to utilize everyone’s knowledge and experience and take that into account when preparing for our mission.”
Staff Sgt. Jermaine Dennis, a 25U Signal Support specialist and the Alpha Battery senior communications noncommissioned officer, accepted a promotion into the battery this past February, after spending more than six years in the North Carolina National Guard’s 295th Signal Network Company, based out of Charlotte.
“I’m very excited,” Dennis said. “This is my first deployment. As a communications sergeant, I wanted to do my job in the real world, and the only real way I can do that is to actually deploy.”
Dennis said he’s ready to do the work he’s been trained to do, which includes working with the members of the battery to make sure they have the ability to communicate with each other during operations.
“I really like the customer service aspect of my job,” Dennis said. “Once I get the person’s radio and help them learn how to program it, it’s my job to get them trained and get them to be able to troubleshoot the equipment so they can solve some problems by themselves.”
Spc. Christopher Shade, the radiotelephone operator for Alpha Battery’s 2nd Platoon, is one of the Soldiers who will rely on Dennis for support and guidance. The full-time UNC-Charlotte student, studying business, said he is excited to serve on his first overseas tour of duty.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better, more squared away unit than the one I’m in now,” Shade said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, and I’m excited to see where these next few months are going to lead.”
Born and raised in Hickory, the now-Charlotte resident said he joined the North Carolina National Guard almost four years ago in order to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers, all three of whom are U.S. military veterans.
And even though Shade is a 13D Field Artillery automated tactical data systems specialist, he said he’s excited to take on a security mission and a unique deployment opportunity.
“Granted, I wish my first deployment would have been shooting artillery, but this will be a whole different ball game,” Shade said. “I think we’re ready for it, and I think we did a really good job training.”
If Lemmerman, Dennis and Shade each have one thing in common, it’s the support of their families and employers back home in North Carolina.
Dennis, a safety supervisor with Northern Tool + Equipment in Fort Mill, South Carolina, said his leaders and co-workers at the distribution center made sure to get his overseas address so they could send care packages.
“My employer is wonderful,” Dennis said, “The corporate safety manager, the vice president of distribution, the supervisors, and everybody at the distribution all told me to just give them a call if I ever need anything.”
The other Alpha Battery Soldiers echoed similar stories of support from their Families, employers and communities. Lemmerman is the human resources administrator for a non-profit organization in Winston-Salem, and Shade repairs and builds bicycles for Dick’s Sporting Good in Charlotte while attending college full-time.
As National Guard Soldiers, the men and women of Alpha Battery will return to their civilian homes, jobs and communities after their mission is complete.
But before their mission can be completed, the Soldiers are ready to get started. Back in the holding area, each deploying Soldier’s name was called one-by-one from a roster for final accountability. With their bags and weapons in tow, each Soldier filed onto the flight line toward their plane, where they'll leave U.S. soil for the next several months.
As they stepped onto the tarmac, each Soldier shook hands with Col. Vernon Simpson and Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph Johnson, who wished them luck and encouraged them to make the North Carolina National Guard proud.
Simpson and Johnson are the commander and command sergeant major for the 1-113th’s higher headquarters, the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team. Both have served as 1-113th senior leaders before moving up to the brigade.
This year, Alpha Company is just one of several 30th ABCT elements that will deploy in support of missions across the globe. Simpson and Johnson will lead the 30th ABCT headquarters as they support NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. Other subordinate elements of the 30th, including a Military Engagement Team, and 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, will serve in the Middle East.
As always, 30th ABCT units and rear detachments that are not currently deployed stand ready to support civil authorities and protect their communities around North Carolina, if and when called to do so.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2015 00:42 |
| Story ID: | 164431 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | CHARLOTTE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | HICKORY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | WINSTON-SALEM, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 805 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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