Maintaining Momentum in Ukraine

Photo By Capt. Kayla Christopher | (From left to right) Spc. John Appleton of Buffalo, Oklahoma, Spc. Oscar Morales of Guymon, Oklahoma, and Spc. Keaton Beaty of Enid, Oklahoma, mechanics with Echo Company, 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, complete pre-mobilization training at Fort Bliss, Texas before deploying to Ukraine in support of Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. The 45th is deployed to Ukraine as part of the JMTG-U, an international coalition dedicated to professionalizing the Ukrainian army and establishing a combat training center in Ukraine, similar to U.S. and NATO standard CTCs such as the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels Training Area in Germany.  

YAVORIV, UKRAINE

07.10.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Eric McDonough 

45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Training takes center stage at the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine—as it should.

After all, the primary mission of the JMTG-U, a coalition of U.S., U.K., Canadian, Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian service-members, is to professionalize the Ukrainian army and establish a combat training center in Ukraine, similar to U.S. and NATO standard CTCs such as the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels Training Area in Germany.

However, not every Soldier deployed in support of the JMTG-U contributes directly to the mission through training. Many work in supporting roles, which are, although not as glamorous, just as important to mission success.

For the past six months, Soldiers with the U.S. Army’s Echo Company, 700th Brigade Support Battalion have worked ceaselessly to keep the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the JMTG-U mission-capable and moving forward.

“I always grew up hearing my brother's stories from Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Spc. John Appleton, a 700th BSB mechanic from Buffalo, Oklahoma. “I never once thought I’d be in Ukraine. Honestly, I never thought I’d be outside of the U.S. unless I was in the Middle East on a combat deployment. So, this is really cool.”

The 45th IBCT arrived in Ukraine in early January, during one of Ukraine’s worst winters in recent history. 700th BSB Soldiers worked long days and cold nights to keep the JMTG-U functioning through sub-zero temperatures and feet of snow.

Echo Company is not just a maintenance company, as a forward support company, Echo is tasked with all battalion-level support jobs.

When generators went down, Echo turned the power back on. When heaters stopped functioning, Echo turned up the heat. They ensured that the task force had water to drink and food to eat. While the majority of the 45th worked through the process of standing up the new Ukrainian training center, the Soldiers of Echo worked in the background to keep vehicles, equipment, and Soldiers running at peak efficiency.

In less than a month, Echo Company Soldiers will redeploy to home-station. Echo’s sister company, Foxtrot Company, 700th BSB, will assume responsibility for the JMTG-U mission.

As Appleton prepares to hand-off his duties to a new group of incoming Soldiers he looks forward to a future involving a new job in the maintenance field. He expressed that his experience in Ukraine has been a positive one.

“I’m going to go back and have a lot more knowledge on the vehicles,” Appleton said.

• Date Taken: 07.10.2017
• Date Posted: 07.10.2017 09:22
• Story ID: 240588
• Location: YAVORIV, UA
• Hometown: BUFFALO, OK, US
• Hometown: CHANDLER, OK, US
• Hometown: ENID, OK, US
• Hometown: GUYMON, OK, US