Photo By 1st Lt. Aaron Guenther | Virginia National Guard Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment salute...... read more read more
By 1st Lt. Patrick Wilson
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – The last remnants of a late spring sand storm having delayed his arrival at Contingency Operating Base Adder by more than 10 hours, Virginia Adjutant General, Maj Gen Robert Newman, Jr., jumped feet first into his schedule of events with no rest as his aides from the National Guard Bureau had originally planned.
Instead, Newman headed straight for lunch with his Soldiers at the coalition south dining facility to hear the details of their new mission.
"We came all this way to see our Soldiers from Virginia and wish them well as they begin their work here," Newman told assembled leaders from 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Lynchburg, Va.
The Virginia National Guard commander was joined on this trip by State Command Sergeant Major Carl Holcomb of Mechanicsville, Va.
Approximately 400 Soldiers from the 1-116th are currently based at COB Adder to conduct convoy escort missions to set conditions for the future responsible reduction of U.S. troops and equipment in Iraq, while deployed with the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).
"The Soldiers from Virginia and Louisiana are making history," the state's commander explained. "The type missions they are conducting will go on for years. As people sit home with their families, watching 'Dancing with the Stars,' these boys and girls from Virginia and Louisiana are giving their time...sucking the sand...to get the job done."
In addition to lunch and dinner with Soldiers from the Headquarters, A and B Companies, Newman also visited with Soldiers as they prepared for their early evening convoy from Adder.
The general paid particular attention to updates on dangerous parts of the route where other convoys have been hit with either small arms fire or improvised explosive devices.
Although the lowest amount of violence since the war began has been reported this quarter, the Soldiers still take every precaution when they head out on the road. Each Soldier wears his Improved Outer Tactical Vest, a heavy bullet proof vest meant to protect Soldiers from both bullets and shrapnel during an explosion, and a protective helmet.
No longer heading out in light-skinned Humvees, the Soldiers now roll out in state-of-the-art vehicles that are both mine resistant and loaded with thick, steel armor.
"The 1st Battalion was called up on very short notice for this mission," said Holcomb, the state's senior enlisted advisor. "These Soldiers have been working hard to learn an entirely new platform…and to repair them as well. This is no easy job for an infantry battalion more accustomed to walking everywhere."
Following the duo's visit with the convoy escort teams and inspection of the mission preparations, they traveled by convoy to the nearby Ziggurat of Ur, which was first built in the 21st Century, B.C. This neo-Sumerian UNESCO World Heritage Site, believed to be the birthplace of Old Testament Prophet Abraham, is only 10 minutes from COB Adder.
On the state command's whirlwind visit with their Troops, they were special guests of 1-116th Battalion Commander Lt. Col. E. Scott Smith, a resident of Lynchburg, for a formal transfer of authority ceremony. Smith assumed operational control of the convoy escort mission from the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment.
The new operation, styled Task Force Overlord in honor of the Battalion's historic connection to the D-Day landing at Normandy, France, also includes the 1-141st Field Artillery Battalion from New Orleans.
"As I sat and watched the ceremony, I felt pride as I saw the Virginia flag flying in the formation," remarked Newman to the 116th Troops. "The 1-116th will forever be linked with the Troops from Louisiana and together, you will accomplish great things."
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2010 11:18 |
| Story ID: | 49537 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 137 |
| Downloads: | 114 |
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