Photo By John Hughel | Oregon Army National Guard Maj. Matthew Brewer (center), commander of 3670th Component...... read more read more
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CLACKAMAS, Oregon – With the unit colors rolled up and cased for the final time, the 3670th Component Repair Company was formally deactivated during a ceremony on Dec. 7, 2018, at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon.
Marking more than 75 years of service, the formal deactivation for the 3670th allowed unit members a final opportunity to reflect on past accomplishments and close an extensive chapter within the Oregon Army National Guard.
The unit was first established on February 24, 1943, as the 309th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company at Camp Hood, Texas, but was later inactive until June 10, 1945, when it was reconstituted as the 3670th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company and allotted to the Oregon Army National Guard.
“Today we reflect on the storied history of the company, from the fields of strife in Europe, Kuwait and Desert Storm, and later as part of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom,” said Brig. Gen. William Prendergast, Oregon Army National Guard Land Component commander, in describing the long history of the unit.
In addition to combat deployments, Prendergast said the 3670th has supported state and other federal missions to include working with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, performing maintenance to allow cadets to have the necessary equipment for training.
Several members of the unit recently returned from a nine-month deployment to Eastern Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. It was the third time that members of the 3670th Component Repair Company deployed to Europe to provide theater-level calibration and repair of critical weapons systems, communications equipment, tactical vehicles and other equipment.
“We deployed Soldiers with very specific MOS’s (Military Occupational Specialty) that did testing, measuring diagnostics of equipment in the field and other roles with our NATO partners,” said Maj. Matthew Brewer, 3670th Component Repair Company commander.
When not deployed, the unit supported the major commands in the state, both the 82nd Brigade Troop Command and the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). They prepared equipment for training, including the 41st IBCT’s recent eXportable Combat Training Capability (xCTC), and preparing them for potential future deployments.
“The work involved purging night vision devices, gauging up weapons and providing a full spectrum of armament and maintenance support to the elements in our state,” said Brewer.
The transition of Soldiers and transferring nearly $3 million worth of specialized equipment is part of the deactivation process.
“As we continue to challenge ourselves, a deactivation should not be looked at as an ending, rather as a beginning for others in the unit (3670th) to go onto new opportunities,” Prendergast said.
In deactivating the unit, Brewer said the principal challenge was finding new homes for more than 200 Soldiers that made up the 3670th.
“It was a pretty big movement of Service Members as we worked with each individual Soldier to find out what they were looking for in a new unit,” Brewer said, describing these case-by-case challenges. “For some, it was keeping their same MOS but others with unique skills we had to find other ways to cross train them into new jobs.”
For some of the Guardsmen, the changes are welcome as this deactivation allows them an opportunity to look at new military career fields. For others, it has been more bittersweet as long-established bonds and traditions formed over many years will now lie in the memories of the unit’s history. Though in many ways, the 3670th will now live on in other units around the state as the Soldiers transition forward.
“During our last drill meeting in September, the key message I wanted them to know is that we have built such a cohesive team and developed so many good Soldiers,” said Brewer. “By building great leaders, we will fill the ranks in other units and carry on the highest principles of the 3670th.”
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2018 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 303244 |
| Location: | CLACKAMAS, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 351 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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