Photo By Amabilia Payen | Lt. Col. Bradford Shaw, commander, 2206th Mobilization Support Battalion, briefs...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - The 224th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, deployed July 22 from the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Air Control Group to conduct a mission at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The unit’s home base is Scottsdale, Arizona, but many of the members of 224th MP Company volunteered for this deployment and come from Texas and California.
“I want my Soldiers to come back in better shape than what they are in right now,” said Capt. John Barbee, commander, 224th MP Company, when addressing his command goals for the unit. “I told their families that if they don’t come back better as a husband, wife, daughter or son, then I haven’t done my job. I want them to be in better shape, have an education and probably get promoted. [The Soldiers] are a wonderful group of guys and we are going to pull the best out of them.”
One Soldier in the 224th MP Company had a long journey to get to this deployment. Staff Sgt. Nathanael Addington, squad leader, 2nd Platoon, 224th MP Company, joined the Army at age 27 after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and felt it was his duty to fulfill a family tradition of military service. However, several injuries stemming from an automobile accident prevented him from deploying. After years of therapy, he finally got the green light from his doctors to deploy.
“I felt that I needed to do it because if I didn’t, then I would regret it,” Addington said, who had grandfathers, uncles and cousins serve in the military since World War II. “God has blessed my family and me on the civilian side. I joined to serve and fulfill a family tradition. This deployment is now filling that gap and I am looking forward to it.”
To make their Soldiers better themselves is the goal for both Addington and Barbee. The comradery amongst strangers from three different states demonstrates the leadership values that have been instilled by both leaders. Addington and Barbee contribute their success to the support provided by Family Readiness Groups located in the states where their Soldiers come from.
“People stepped up to be FRG leaders,” Barbee said. “The families are our biggest supporters. We could not do this without them.”
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2015 16:03 |
| Story ID: | 172514 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Hometown: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | SCOTTSDALE, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 359 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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