Photo By Capt. Jeffrey Dallin Belnap | Soldiers of the 75th and 65th Field Artillery Brigades salute during the transfer of...... read more read more
AL MINHAD AIRBASE, United Arab Emirates — Partnership was the underlying theme during the transfer of authority ceremony held May 14 at Al Minhad Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Members of the 65th Field Artillery Brigade, 75th FA BDE, Emirati Land Forces, and other coalition forces assembled as the mission of the Force Field Artillery Headquarters transferred from the 75th FA BDE to the 65th FA BDE.
“We are eager to learn from and strengthen each other to improve our combined military capabilities,” said Col. Adam Robinson, brigade commander for the 65th FA BDE in a speech during the TOA ceremony.
Speakers at the event included Maj. Gen. Andrew Schafer, 28th Infantry Division commanding general, Col. Steven Carpenter, 75th FA BDE commander and Robinson.
Throughout the last two weeks, senior members of both the 65th FA BDE and 75th FA BDE had been traveling throughout the Arabian Gulf meeting with members of host nations in preparation for the TOA.
“We are sowing seeds that may not be realized for many years,” Robinson remarked, demonstrating his understanding that building partnerships can be a long and slow process. “We will face many challenges along the way, but we must stay vigilant in our resolve to accomplish our mission.”
Partnership was a key objective for the 75th FA BDE as it worked with host nation partners in both bilateral and multilateral exercises, as well as cultural exchanges. Partnership building is a theme realized across Operation Spartan Shield. Those partnerships contribute to a larger, strategic objective that allow for a better flow of resources in the region and deter aggression from potential adversaries.
“Operation Spartan Shield reflects the unwavering commitment, the unwavering support the United States has for its partners in the region,” said Carpenter as he spoke about the 75th FA BDE efforts during their stewardship of the FFHQ mission.
The 65th FA BDE, a National Guard unit from Bluffdale, Utah, has been diligently preparing for 18 months for this deployment. Multiple training exercises had taken them from Utah to Indiana, to Pennsylvania, and finally their capstone training at Ft. Bliss, Texas, all of which prepared them to replace the 75th FA BDE which held the mission for the last nine months.
“We will continue to build upon the partner relationships developed by the 75th FA BDE,” affirmed Robinson.
The ceremonial rolling of the 75th FA BDE colors and the unfurling of the 65th FA BDE colors marked the transfer of authority as complete. Afterwards, both the 65th FA BDE and 75th FA BDE sang the division song of the 28th ID, the higher echelon unit that commands Task Force Spartan for OSS.
The 65th FA BDE was organized in 1917 at Camp Kearney, Calif. Since its formation it has been activated five times and involved in WWI, WWII, Berlin Crisis, and Operation Enduring Freedom in both 2006 and 2013. The unit was activated by the governor of Utah to support the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. The unit regularly participates in joint and multinational operations to include Yama Sakura, and Fleet Synthetic-Joint trainings. The 65th FA BDE coins the phrase “America’s Thunder.”
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2018 06:31 |
| Story ID: | 277630 |
| Location: | AE |
| Web Views: | 912 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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