32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team begins arrival at Fort Bliss

Photo By Lt. Col. Deanna Bague | Fort Bliss welcomed Soldiers from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team with chocolate cake. The 32nd IBCT will train here in preparation for their upcoming deployment.  

FORT BLISS, UNITED STATES

02.23.2009

Story by Maj. Deanna Bague 

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

FORT BLISS, TEXAS – Hundreds of troops from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a Wisconsin National Guard unit, began arriving here Feb. 28, to undergo combat training before heading to theater in the spring.

More than 3,200 Soldiers constitute the 32nd IBCT, which is expected to be at full strength here by the first week in March.

The day following their arrival, personnel from the Mobilization and Deployment Brigade advanced the Guardsmen through the Soldier Readiness Processing Center to ensure all their administrative, medical records and requirements were in order. Spc. John-Michael Matis of the 32nd IBCT said he was pleasantly surprised with the expediency of the process.

"It was quick and painless, minus the shots," he said. "[This] being my first deployment, I didn't know what to expect."

SRP personnel said they strive to make customer satisfaction their No. 1 priority.

"We're here just to make sure that we can help them so they won't have anything to worry about," said Staff Sgt. Willie Lattimore, patient administration non-commissioned officer in charge, with the 7201st Medical Support Unit. "We're here to take care of them no matter what it takes."

Col. Christine Sautter, medical commander of the SRP center, said the collaboration between Wisconsin state surgeon Col. Kenneth K. Lee, the case managers and her providers facilitated the medical preparations for the 32nd IBCT.

"They have done an outstanding job," Sautter said. "This is one of the best collaborative efforts we have seen. Deployment health is just as important as is training. It's been a win-win situation for everybody."

Sgt. Brian Ropicky, assigned to C Troop, 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment, said he welcomed the warm temperatures he encountered upon his arrival here. When he and other members of his unit left Wisconsin the temperature was 15 degrees and there was snow. Ropicky said his unit received mission-based and specialized training last month at Camp Blanding, Fla.

"We were expecting the weather to be nice and warm, but the week that we left, there was a cold snap that came down from Alaska and the weather was actually somewhere down in the teens at night and in the high 50s during the day," said Ropicky. "We were expecting 70s and nice weather. We were quite surprised at how cold it was."

Ropicky said he is looking forward to engaging in training that will prepare his unit for their upcoming deployment. He wants to spend a great deal of time utilizing the much talked about ranges. The unit comes with a great deal of enthusiasm and motivation, he added.

"I know that everyone here from the 32nd is going to knock the socks off the cadre here running the show," he said. "We're going to show them that we don't play around."

• Date Taken: 02.23.2009
• Date Posted: 03.02.2009 03:18
• Story ID: 30613
• Location: FORT BLISS, US