Photo By Sgt. Maj. Alejandro Licea | Sgt. 1st Class Jeffery Mckenzie crawls under a barbed wire obstacle during a training...... read more read more
Story and photos by U.S. Army Sgt. Alex Licea
Third U.S. Army Public Affairs
FORT MCPHERSON, Ga. (Feb. 20, 2006) -- Prior to his mobilization, Antivon White would start his morning off like most people. He would wash up, enjoy a nice cup of his favorite coffee and get dressed for work. Now, this father of two wakes up and quickly puts on his Army uniform, eats breakfast at a dining facility and climbs onto a bus, on his way to another day of military training.
For White, a native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., who will work for Third Army's Special Troop Battalion, and more than 30 of his newest comrades, life went from zero to 60 when the Third U.S. Army Augmentation Company activated its 13th Detachment earlier this month.
"Unlike my civilian life, the Army life pushes me more," said White, an administration sergeant with more than 10 years of military service. "I have gone from working eight-hour days to 12- to 15-hour days."
The mobilization of a Reserve detachment is a semi-annual event for the Third U.S. Army Augmentation Company, as Reserve Soldiers are called for active duty. However, unlike a regular unit mobilization, these troops are mobilized as individuals, pulled from across the country and put together to create this detachment. Upon reporting, they receive a briefing on the unit's mission as U.S. Central Command's Army Component, whose area of responsibility spans across 27 countries from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia.
Maj. William S. Schaper, Third U.S. Army Augmentation Company commander, describes the importance of these U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers to accomplish Third Army's mission.
"Our Soldiers [Third U.S. Army] are spread all over our area of responsibility, and it is critical we have this resource to fill in the gaps back home and abroad," he said. "As the Army Component for CENTCOM it is important we are at full strength."
A couple of days after reporting to their new home station just south of Atlanta, these newly activated Soldiers move two hours south for a week-long basic combat refresher course at Fort Benning's CONUS Replacement Center, commonly known as CRC. During the course, detachment Soldiers hone their skills in a variety of basic combat operations. Everything from basic rifle marksmanship to individual movement techniques is covered, preparing these Soldiers for a rapid deployment.
"For many this will be the first time they have fired a weapon in a long time," said David Santini, a prior military service member turned civilian instructor at Benning's CRC. "This course is designed to help them learn the proper way to do the fundamentals."
One of these Soldiers, Capt. Don Kaufman, who will be working at Third U.S. Army's civil affairs section, compared his Soldiering experience to his civilian job at the United States Department of Agriculture.
"It's definitely not behind a desk," said a sweaty, winded Kaufman after completing a series of individual movement drills. "This has been a great refresher for me, and I'm just trying to keep my head up and making sure my knee pads stay on."
For many of these troops, the next stop is Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan. Despite the fact the detachment will be disbanded so quickly after being put together, Schaper feels confident their cohesion is very strong and that, along with their prior experiences, will carry them to success.
"This is a smaller detachment than the last one," Schaper said. "But they came together so quickly and will bring a lot of experience from their civilian skill sets and make positive roles to their section."
For White, Kaufman and the other troops the hardest part is leaving home for a span of up to 18 months.
"My wife is very supportive of me, and this is not the first time we have had to go through with this," said Kaufman. "However, I will miss my wife and daughter very dearly."
For White, who will be deploying to Kuwait, the environment and pace may have changed, but for this noncommissioned officer it's all part of being a Solider.
"I've been living the Army life for a long time," he said. "Regardless of if you're active or reserve it's all about being ready to accomplish the mission."
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| Date Taken: | 02.21.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2006 17:00 |
| Story ID: | 5455 |
| Location: | FORT MACPHERSON, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 144 |
| Downloads: | 19 |
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