Troopers of Company F, “Fox,” 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cav. Bde., were reunited with their families June 24 on Cooper Field at Fort Hood, Texas after a nine-month deployment.
Maj. Gen. John Thomson III, commanding general of the 1st Cav. Div., welcomed the troopers as Fox Company stood in formation waiting to be released.
“All the families, you are free to charge those great troopers on the field, and all you great troopers on the field, you are free to charge your families in the stands,” Thomson said.
Troopers are excited to be back home, said 1st Sgt. Donald Edler, the senior enlisted advisor for the company. Everyone is looking forward to spending time with their families after a job well done.
“We’re extremely proud of our Soldiers,” Edler said. “I believe we made a difference for the people of Iraq as we try to eliminate the ISIS threat.”
The troopers recognize they have done a great deal of good for a country that really needs it, said Capt. Michael Allen, Fox company commander, who described the deployment as rewarding.
“Morale is at its highest right now,” Allen said. “It has a lot to do with coming back home but also because we are better prepared for the next mission.”
Fox Company provided reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition capabilities to American ground forces from Kuwait using the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial system.
“The unit’s ability to accomplish their mission was critical in the liberation of Ramadi and Fallujah,” said Allen. “Using the Gray Eagle, Fox Company was a key component in planning aerial strikes.”
Fox Company’s biggest challenge was getting ground force commanders to see the potential the unit could offer said Elder.
Commanders of the ground force weren’t aware of the Gray Eagle’s ability to engage moving targets.
“We wanted to demonstrate the full potential of the platform and entice them to use the UAS as a force multiplier,” Allen said. “It enabled us to remove targets without sending boots on the ground.”
Allen stated the most important part of the mission was allowing the Iraqi Soldiers to liberate their own country.