Family Bonds Created in Combat Zone

Photo By Staff Sgt. Karen Ingham | The 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team's Spc. Charles Waite, from Company A, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment waits in the staging lanes before providing security on his escort mission at Khabari Crossing in support of the responsible draw-down of troops in Iraq.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

07.19.2010

Story by Spc. Karen Ingham 

53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait,--Wars are started for love of country, religious beliefs, and politics, and are fought by husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. Soldiers are not only down range fighting for their family’s freedom, they are fighting for their fellow Soldiers sitting in the seat next to them, or in the gun turret pulling security for their convoy.

For the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team these groups are called Convoy Escort Teams; made of men and women who have become unconditionally like family during countless hours of traveling on the road. Like many families they have their faults and times of tension, but always help each other work through it, and work as a team to carry out their mission.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Birnbaum, Convoy Escort Team Leader, of Company A, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, considers his team to be an addition to his family. They have been preparing as a squad since they started their mobilization training back at Fort Hood, Texas in January.

“When I first took leadership of my team, I told them that we had to start relying on one another,” said Birnbaum. “We have become self -sufficient in every aspect.”

Birnbaum and his team were the First Convoy Escort Team to travel into Iraq from the Battalion. Throughout this deployment, his team has proved to be one of the best teams in the Battalion, and to represent Company A, said Sgt. Major William Sanchez, Sgt. Major of 1st Battalion Tactical Operations.

Communication, proficiency, and dependability are all key factors in executing a mission to its full potential. Birnbaum believes communication is one of the most important elements of his team, and they accomplish it very well. Considering his squad members all hold different job titles, they all must work and depend on one another to become proficient in every task.

“Just like any family we have our ups and downs, but I couldn’t be blessed with a better group to be by my side every single day,” said Birnbaum.

• Date Taken: 07.19.2010
• Date Posted: 09.13.2010 03:22
• Story ID: 56176
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW