Photo By Spc. Nathan Goodall | A Soldier from B Company, 40th Combat Engineers, 170th IBCT, says goodbye to his loved...... read more read more
BAUMHOLDER, Germany – A Soldier put his arms around his wife as she rested her head on his shoulder. She started to softly cry and he held her closer. He whispered something into her ear. She smiled and nodded as he put his head against hers.
The Soldiers of B Company, 40th Engineer Battalion, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, conducted a departure ceremony at the Hall of Champions here June 29 marking their deployment to Afghanistan.
The B Company “Bulldogs” deployed to the region in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Because the company deployed as a standalone element from the 170th IBCT, they will provide auxiliary route clearance support for another Engineer battalion.
The Soldiers of B Company are the first unit from the 170th IBCT to deploy to a combat environment since World War I.
“Due to the route clearance mission that Combat Engineers are now performing, Engineer companies are becoming independent so they can deploy by themselves,” said Capt. Lorintz B. Gleich, the B Company commander. “We will be falling under an Engineer battalion from somewhere else who needs extra support in the [improvised explosive device] fight.”
In order to prepare for their deployment, the Combat Engineers conducted training exercises in the U.S. and Germany.
The training exercises gave the Soldiers a chance to learn and practice important tasks and rudiments, such as route clearance and weapons qualification, said Pvt. Hernandez Ornelas, a Pheonix native, now an M2 machine gunner with 2nd Platoon, B Company.
“It was good training,” said Pfc. Gary Vergara, a Moreno Valley, Calif. native, now a driver assigned to 2nd Platoon, B Company. “I feel prepared, I feel really good about it.”
In addition to their extensive training, another factor in the Combat Engineers’ motivation is that half of the Soldiers of B Company volunteered to join the unit for this deployment.
Staff Sgt. Shadeed Stevens, a squad leader with C Company, 40th Engineer Battalion, said Soldiers from his company volunteered to deploy with the Bulldogs. Stevens was at the ceremony to support them and the rest of B Company.
The time Soldiers and their loved ones spent together at the departure ceremony built the kind of memories that will help Soldiers carry through, said Capt. David Chapman, the 40th Engineer Battalion chaplain.
“You need fresh memories when you’re going through the hard transition,” said Chapman.
The time and distance between Soldiers and their loved ones that comes with deployment is very difficult, said Gabriela Velasquez, wife to Pvt. Aaron Velasquez, a Combat Engineer with B Company, both of whom are El Paso, Texas natives.
“I’m very proud of everybody,” said Gabriela Velasquez. “I know they’re doing this for us. I appreciate it and I’m glad my husband is one of the ones out there.”
The departure ceremony was packed with Soldiers, family members, friends and loved ones. The phrases, “I’ll miss you so much,” and “take care of yourself,” echoed from group to group.
On the right shoulder of most the Soldiers’ uniforms was a subdued, infrared, American flag patch. A tactical patch, usually reserved for Soldiers going to war.
| Date Taken: | 06.28.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2010 05:54 |
| Story ID: | 52273 |
| Location: | BAUMHOLDER, DE |
| Web Views: | 680 |
| Downloads: | 340 |
This work, ‘Bulldogs’ deploy, by SPC Nathan Goodall, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
