Photo By Kimberly Hackbarth | Spc. Erick Rodriguez, a Patriot launching station enhanced operator/maintainer with...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th ADA Brigade, participated in a week of unit activities dubbed “Renegade Week” Oct. 5-8, here, and in Killeen, Texas.
The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Issac Gipson, said the first thing the unit wanted to do upon its return from block leave after its yearlong deployment to southwest Asia was give back to the community.
“We had approximately 100 Soldiers go out and volunteer throughout the entire day performing numerous activities with the children and assisting the teachers over at Live Oak Ridge Middle School,” he explained.
Spc. Erick Rodriguez, a Patriot launching station enhanced operator/maintainer with Battery C, 4th Bn., 5th ADA Regt., assisted the students in the band, since he was in band when he attended high school, he said.
“It was a great feeling helping them become knowledgeable about their instruments,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like I was actually helping them out and teaching them.”
The following day, motorcyclists who attended the unit’s motorcycle refresher course conducted a motorcycle mentor ride.
“The idea of the motorcycle ride was to instill the safety mechanisms of motorcycle riding and embrace the proper way for Soldiers to protect themselves while riding their motorcycles,” said Gipson.
At the end of the day, the Soldiers of the unit, along with their families, participated in a softball tournament.
Including family members in the events throughout the week helped bring everyone closer together, said Rodriguez.
“This time we have our families to our sides where they can actually support us, see us, and also build the families back,” said Rodriguez.
The keystone event of the week took place Wednesday when the unit held a building dedication ceremony at the battalion headquarters.
Soldiers, family members, and retired Soldiers from the battalion attended the event that dedicated the building to 1st Lt. Richard Metcalf, who served in the Civil War with the 5th United States Artillery, which is the unit from which 5th ADA Regt. descended.
Renegade Week ended with a golf scramble at the Courses of Clear Creek, here.
“We felt it was very important basically to start a little bit slower (and) most importantly let the Soldiers understand that we appreciate everything they did over the past year," said Gipson. "So we’re … doing some team building events to try to maintain the appropriate level of morale and climate within the organization."
The week served as a “morale booster” for the unit, Rodriguez said.
“It shows an appreciation to us,” he explained. “It’s something we can enjoy as a unit.”
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.16.2015 11:37 |
| Story ID: | 179092 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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