1st Lt. Chad Lawrence
1/71 Cavalry Regiment
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq -- Less than one year ago, 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment was little more than a few key leaders meeting in a closet in the gym at the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division headquarters building at Fort Drum, N.Y.
Since then, Lt. Col. Mark Meadows and Command Sgt. Maj. Myron Lehman have taken a group of Soldiers from that small beginning to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., where the unit was validated after only two field problems and are now primed to support the 1st BCT in the war on terror at the tip of the spear in Baghdad.
On Aug. 5, the initial advance party Soldiers from 1/71 Cav. landed on foreign soil for the first time in more than 50 years. The Soldiers took up brief residence in Kuwait in order to complete training for their mission in Iraq.
A week later, the entire squadron landed in Kuwait, making the 13-hour flight from family and friends in northern New York.
Throughout August, 1/71 Cav. Soldiers began acclimatizing to the heat and time-zone change by qualifying with their primary weapons systems, making finishing touches on preparing their vehicles and doing final pre-combat inspections.
All in all, the Soldiers of 1/71 Cav. have done everything possible to prepare for their deployment in Iraq, said 1/71 Cav.'s chemical officer 1st Lt. Brett Steele Berry of Orlando, Fla.
After a particularly difficult day of training, Spc. Danny Figueroa, of Orocovis, Puerto Rico, sat on his cot surrounded by friends, cleaning his weapon.
"My leadership is constantly preparing me and quizzing me on the many tasks that we have learned," said Figueroa. "I am confident that they have prepared me well for the challenges I will face in Iraq. Every day I feel more a part of the team than the day before."
With white sweat stains forming at the collar of his shirt, he resumed the task at hand. Realizing the importance of a well-working weapon, Figueroa, a former professional minor league baseball player, continued to brush and oil his weapon.
"Today, I spent four hours reconfirming my zero and acclimating myself to the heat. I feel that in the next couple of days I will be completely prepared for the coming year," Figueroa said.
Figueroa is just one of the countless Soldiers within the squadron who have united for the Operation Iraqi Freedom 3 mission.
"Men from Puerto Rico, to Maine, from Connecticut to Alaska have come together to form a cohesive machine that will support each other for the entire deployment," said Capt. Matthew Brown, 1/71 Cav. operations officer from Eau Claire, Wis.