Indiana National Guardsmen reenlist in Slovakia during NATO deployment

Photo By 1st Lt. Jonathan Padish | U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Robert D. Burke, the Deputy Chief of Staff, NATO Multi-National Corps N-E, administers the Oath of Enlistment to Indiana National Guard soldiers during a reenlistment ceremony at Lest military training center, Slovakia, Nov. 12, 2019. Soldiers assigned to the 1st Squadron, 152nd Cavalry Regiment, 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 38th Infantry Division deployed to Slovakia for Slovak Shield 2019, a joint war-fighting exercise involving six NATO countries. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Jonathan W. Padish)  

SLOVAKIA

11.13.2019

Story by Senior Airman Jonathan Padish 

Indiana National Guard Headquarters

LEŠT, Slovakia — Ten Soldiers assigned to the 38th Infantry Division’s 1st Squadron, 152nd Cavalry Regiment, 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team reenlisted in the Indiana National Guard during a ceremony at a military training center here Nov. 12.

The Soldiers deployed to Slovakia for Slovak Shield 2019, a joint NATO war-fighting exercise involving the United States, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Portugal.

The presence of the Soldiers in Central Europe allowed for a former Indiana National Guard officer, now stationed in Szczecin, Poland, to travel to Slovakia to administer the Oath of Enlistment.

“I’m proud of the ten Soldiers who are enlisting with us today and continuing their careers,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Robert D. Burke, the Deputy Chief of Staff, NATO Multi-National Corps N-E.

The Soldiers, ranging in rank from specialist to command sergeant major and hailing from cities and towns across the midwest United States, rose their right hands and swore an oath to support and defend the United States in continued service to the Indiana National Guard.

“I’m proud of every one of you for doing this,” said Burke. “You’re a very small percentage of the American population who raised your right hand voluntarily to come and be a part of something bigger than yourself. Thank you for that, and thank you for your service.”

For some, time spent in the National Guard has flown by.

“I already did six years,” said U.S. Army Spc. Benjerman Hoffman, a Pekin, Indiana Soldier assigned to the cavalry regiment. “So, why not do six more? Pretty soon it’ll be twenty.”

Indeed, serving for at least twenty years in the Indiana National Guard can lead to retirement pay for Soldiers.

“There’s a retirement on the back end of this, and it comes very quickly,” said Burke. “That retirement takes care of yourself and your family. Just don’t do your six and get out. Do your twenty then think about getting out. Serve, and then walk away from wearing this uniform with a retirement and something to be proud of.”

The 152nd Cavalry Regiment focuses on readiness to ensure its Soldiers are deployable, well equipped and expertly trained to mobilize, deploy, sustain, transform and reconstitute forces in support of the warfight and defense support of civil authority operations across the globe.

• Date Taken: 11.13.2019
• Date Posted: 11.18.2019 17:50
• Story ID: 351513
• Location: SK