Fort Hood, TX: The Soldiers of Charlie Battery, 1 -147th Field Artillery based out of Yankton, SD have spent the last two months in Fort Hood Texas, preparing for a mid-summer deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The deploying unit is made up of 130 Soldiers based out of Mitchell, Salem, Sioux Falls, Watertown and Yankton. They were alerted for deployment in December of 2007, one year after Charlie Battery returned from a 16 month duty in Baghdad, Iraq. The unit mobilized again in April of this year.
While at Fort Hood, Charlie Battery Members have completed all individual tasks necessary for deployment and are currently certifying as platoons and a company. Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Dave Chase states: “I just road with Charlie Battery through a live fire range. It is incredible to see the amount of teamwork and how well trained these Soldiers are. They continue to set new standards wherever they go. Being two months into the deployment, these Soldiers have such high motivation and morale and just standout in our Brigade. They are a credit to their good South Dakota up-bringing.”
Charlie Battery Soldiers, along with Soldiers from its sister unit, Alpha Battery from Aberdeen and its Headquarters Battery out of Watertown have nearly completed all training necessary for certification and deployment. The unit is currently completing a Mission Readiness Exercise which replicates what each battery will be doing in Kuwait.
Acting Battery Commander Captain Scott Green, who took over the helm of Charlie Battery after a pre-activation injury to CPT Kerry Nilson, commented on Charlie Battery’s progress. “The Charlie Battery Soldiers have taken the standard of (No one is more professional than I) to a whole new level. As we continue to train, proficiencies increase, confidence grows and Soldier readiness is at an all time high. The training we have received is second to none for this mission and we are ready to deploy.”
The Charlie Battery Soldiers have been training on base security skills that will be needed for their year long mission to Kuwait. They have received training on tasks such as close quarters combat, hand to hand combat, combat life savers certification, searching vehicles and individuals, multiple weapon certifications, convoy movements, base security operations and Quick Reaction Force teams, just to name a few. The training over the past two months all comes together with an exercise involving all 2,500 Soldiers of the 115th Fires Brigade, which is based out of Cheyenne, WY. All of the batteries under each battalion conduct practical training exercises relevant to their mission over an eight day period. “You name the scenario and we put them through it,” stated one Observer-Controller-Trainer (OCT). “We do everything in our power to recreate operations and events that the units will experience while in country.”
The Charlie Battery Soldiers will receive a 4 day pass after all training is completed, before they deploy to the Middle East. Some family members plan on coming to Fort Hood, TX to visit their Soldier. Those families plan on spending time with their loved one while touring parts of central and southern Texas. Most of the Soldiers however, plan on traveling back to South Dakota to spend a few days with their families and friends. They are counting down the days and a “wake-up”. The Soldiers look forward to coming home, seeing the faces of their loved ones and friends and receiving the support that they always get from their South Dakota Communities.
NOTE: Since the terrorist attacks on America, the South Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,150 Soldiers and 1,000 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terror. Currently, more than 50 Soldiers and Airmen from the South Dakota National Guard remain on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations throughout Southwest Asia and Europe. More than 4,500 National Guardsmen are available in South Dakota to provide support for state and national emergencies and homeland defense.
