Photo By Victoria Molinar | Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, Florida National...... read more read more
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More than 600 Soldiers from the Florida National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, deployed from Fort Bliss in three chalks throughout September here to conduct security operations at the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Guardsman conducted several weeks of training in McGregor Range, New Mexico. The last chalk departed Sept. 26.
After fine-tuning their skills in tasks such as close quarter combat and air assault operations at McGregor Range, leaders of the battalion said the “Seminole” Soldiers were eager to take on their mission. They will conduct military-to-military training on topics such as technical maintenance and first aid to strengthen international defense against groups such as Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“Everybody’s confident with their ability to execute the mission, so everybody’s excited right now just to get down range,” said Lt. Col. Jerry B. Glass, commander, 2nd Bn., 124th Inf. Regt., before departing the Silas L. Copeland Arrival/Departure Air Control Group Sept. 12.
“We’ll be training with a lot of the other nations around there, plus we’ll partner with the 5th French Marines while we’re there and we’ll be doing some concurrent training with them,” he said.
Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Dunning expressed much gratitude towards the staff at the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security and the 5th Armored Brigade for their training services.
“I’ve mobilized at Fort Stewart, Fort Hood and now Fort Bliss, and this has been by far the best mobilization site,” Dunning said. “There are two things we were offered that we’ll never turn down and it’s to shoot live rounds and fly aircraft, and both of those opportunities were there.”
A Sept. 12 flight delay allowed the first chalk to watch the Florida Gators, an NCAA football team, and a favorite among many of the Guardsman, defeat the East Carolina Pirates 31-24.
“The delay is not great, but one of the advantages is we get to watch some football while we’re waiting,” Glass said. “They still have TV over (in the Horn of Africa), so I hope to catch the other games. It just means I’ll be up early to watch them.”
Chap. (Capt.) Lance Sellon said he hopes the mission will be a growing experience in cultural awareness for himself and the battalion.
“Some of what makes my role as Chaplain unique is that it’s not just about providing religious support to our Soldiers, but it’s also about advising our battalion commander on some of the religious implications of the different areas that we’re going to be providing additional support to,” Sellon said. “It’s about improving myself and learning my craft.”
While Islam dominates religious beliefs in many countries of Africa, extremist groups such as al Shabab and ISIS don’t reflect most Muslim communities, Sellon said.
“The majority of people in these Muslim countries, they want just what most Americans want, which is safety, peace for their families, a healthy lifestyle and a good income,” Sellon said. “We want to be able to help them have that by our partnership with countries in the Horn of Africa.”
Ultimately, the “Seminoles” intend to return from their mission with new perspectives and sets of skills.
“Our motto for the battalion and for the deployment is to come back better,” Dunning said. “We’re going to work on developing ourselves personally and professionally.”
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.15.2015 13:36 |
| Story ID: | 179017 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FL, US |
| Hometown: | LAKE CITY, FL, US |
| Hometown: | LIVE OAK, FL, US |
| Hometown: | STARKE, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 586 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Seminoles’ to enhance combat readiness in Africa, by Victoria Molinar, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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