3rd ID is back in town

Photo By Staff Sgt. Richard Wrigley | Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Gilpin, the senior enlisted leader of the 3rd Infantry Division, walks his children off Cottrell Field after a welcome home ceremony held here, Nov. 11. The Soldiers on the field are returning from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan and are the last group to return of the command and control element, which was serving as the U.S. National Support Element in Afghanistan and assumed duties as the U.S. Forces Afghanistan Deputy Command Team for Support. The command element also commanded Bagram Air Field and Joint Task Force 3. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 3rd ID Public Affairs)  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

11.13.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Richard Wrigley 

3rd Infantry Division

FORT STEWART, Ga. - For the last 12 months, the Marne Colors have flown high over Afghanistan - indeed the "Rock of the Marne" served proudly as a foundation of security and assistance for a region still in turmoil.

With roughly 300 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan since last November, each Soldier there had earned the title "veteran" if they had not already done so. This Veterans Day was especially significant to them.

Earlier this week, the rest of the nation celebrated Veterans Day, however here at Fort Stewart and abroad, Veterans Day was celebrated a little differently, as the last group of Dogface Soldiers from the 3rd ID Headquarters element who have been deployed to Afghanistan returned home to blue skies and big hugs during a brief but poignant welcome home ceremony held here on Cottrell Field, Nov. 11.

For the last year, the 3rd Infantry Division command and control element served as the U.S. National Support Element in Afghanistan and assumed duties as the U.S. Forces Afghanistan Deputy Command Team for Support. The Rock of the Marne also commanded Bagram Air Field and Joint Task Force 3.

“It was a complex mission the Soldiers executed,” explained Maj. Matthew Fontaine, a spokesman of the 3rd ID. “The Marne Division provided training and limited support to the Afghan military while they helped with security at Bagram Air Field.”

As many prominent media sources reported, the mission that existed to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of this year changed and so did the mission change for the 3rd ID while they were there.

“The Marne Division executed flawlessly while going through major campaign shifts,” said Fontaine. “They started with what had become the routine in Afghanistan in previous years, executing their mission under Operation Enduring Freedom, which was changed to Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.”

Despite the fluid and complex nature of the mission, the 3rd ID accomplished much while they were deployed. They conducted more than 3,000 joint patrols with their Afghan partners, managed a budget more than $3 billion in size, reduced the material footprint in Afghanistan by more than 40 percent, and oversaw more than $20 million in projects as well as managed contracts valued in total of more than $3 billion. The division also processed roughly 4,000 awards, and hosted more than 160 distinguished guest visits.

“Overall, the 3rd ID Soldiers did a fantastic job supporting [U.S. Forces Afghanistan] and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel,” said Fontaine. “We couldn’t be more proud of them.”

• Date Taken: 11.13.2015
• Date Posted: 11.14.2015 13:29
• Story ID: 181970
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US