Photo By Master Sgt. Theanne Tangen | Members of the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 139th Brigade Support Battalion...... read more read more
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BROOKINGS, S.D. – Soldiers of 139th Brigade Support Battalion, South Dakota Army National Guard, were surrounded by family and friends during their welcome home ceremony Saturday, May 18 at the Swiftel Center in Brookings.
The 139th, comprised of soldiers from the Brookings, Redfield, Watertown, Miller, Mitchell, Rapid City and Sioux Falls areas, deployed in July for a yearlong mission as a Logistics Task Force to provide supply, maintenance and transportation support to U.S. forces in Iraq and Kuwait in support of Operation New Dawn.
“Less than a year ago we gathered to send these brave men and women away to a distant, foreign land,” said Gov. Dennis Daugaard, during the ceremony. “It was a day of great sadness and also great pride. Today, that pride is bursting at the seams and our sadness has been replaced with joy!”
Daugaard read a long list of achievements the unit completed that included; 13 forward operating base closures, transportation of 31 million pounds of cargo and 6,500 personnel by land and air, 376 maintenance jobs completed, recovered more than $315,000 of lost property and more than $2 million in miss-shipped property, and in one re-supply mission, saved the Joint Task Force $6 million dollars.
“Our deployment was a resounding success,” said Lt. Col. Tony Verchio, 139th Logistics Task Force commander. “It was a level of success in which we should all be proud of these great men and women.”
While the leadership praised the 139th for their work during the deployment, they also recognized the support of family and community members. Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, the adjutant general of the SDNG, said the support from the family, friends and employers helped make the mission a success.
“When a unit returns like this it lifts a huge burden from the families left behind,” said Reisch. “I want to personally thank the spouses and the family members who have gone a year without the companionship of their soldier. Your contribution to this deployment was huge.”
Sgt. 1st Class Joel Rassel, a mechanic in the 139th from Woonsocket, agreed that family support was a huge factor for him while overseas.
“This ceremony is nice,” said Rassel. “We are able to publicly thank our families and friends for all they have done to support us. It’s a great ending to a great mission. The soldiers in this unit put in so much energy and went above and beyond. They deserve some time to get back to their families.”
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2012 10:25 |
| Story ID: | 88679 |
| Location: | BROOKINGS, SD, US |
| Web Views: | 168 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 139th BSB returns home with pride, by SSG Jacqueline Fitzgerald, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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