1st TSC prepares National Guard unit for coming deployment

Photo By Master Sgt. Duane Brown | 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) Command Sgt. Maj. Edward A Bell Jr. addresses 369th Support Brigade Army National Guard Soldiers expressing their importance and the immediate impact the 369th SB will have in support of U.S. Army Central’s mission in the U.S. Army Central’s area of responsibility at the beginning of a two-day Theater Academic Seminar in preparation for an upcoming deployment at Camp Smith, New York, 31 Aug., 2016.  

WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

08.31.2016

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Duane Brown 

1st Theater Sustainment Command

While deployed, the 369th SB will directly support the 1st TSC mission that is postured to meet all U.S. Army Central’s sustainment missions across a full range of military operations throughout the CENTCOM AOR.
Accomplishing this mission is no small task and requires cooperation at all levels of the sustainment community.
“We are an organization of dynamic leaders and strong teams, where adaptations and innovation is the norm,” said Bell.
Taking on a mission of this importance isn’t a task that will be taken lightly by the ‘Harlem Hellfighters’ Soldiers.
“I would put the National Guard Sustainment Community up against any active duty unit,” said 1st TSC Commander Maj. Gen. Paul C. Hurley Jr. “You give any National Guard Sustainment Brigade a mission and they knock it out of the park.”
The 369th SB Soldiers are committed and have a mindset that will set them up for success during the upcoming deployment to the CENTCOM AOR.
“The resiliency and strength of today’s Soldiers and leaders enables our forces to approach, assess and accomplish the mission on a constantly evolving battlefield,” said Master Sgt. Deborah Hollinger, personnel noncommissioned officer in charge, 369th SB and native of Wheaton, Illinois.Possessing the ability to execute the mission on a cerebral level is an important skillset.
“The Iraq and Afghanistan of before has drastically changed,’ said Melvin Pagan, 1st TSC training exercises coordinator. “This unit will be dealing with 20 countries across, four different time zones, 49 ethnic groups, 60 languages and 27 different religions.”
The 369th SB will be charged with all the above while sustaining combat operations in four nations.
“At the end of the day, it’s about the centerpiece of success, which is great men and women out there at the tip of the spear providing sustainment excellence,” said Bell.
Soldiers of the 369th SB come from lineage of pride and rich history that has earned them the nickname ‘The Harlem Hellfighters’; giving to them by the Germans.
The 369th Sustainment Brigade originated as the 15th New York Infantry, Harlem, in 1916 and was an African-American unit in the Army that was segregated.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the unit was mustered into federal service and assigned to the 185th Infantry Brigade. In 1918, the 15th Infantry was renamed the 369th Infantry and assigned to France’s 161st Division. The Soldiers served in combat under French command and earned a regimental Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) and many individual awards for heroism while serving under fire for 191 days in 1918.
In June 2015, Sgt. Henry Johnson, a member of the 369th Infantry, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award, by President Barack Obama for his heroism on the battlefield.
The 369th Sustainment Brigade is temporarily stationed at Camp Smith while their historic 5th Avenue Armory, along the banks of the East River in Harlem, undergoes a $42 million renovation. The renovation will maintain the 92-year-old Armory building’s historic integrity.

• Date Taken: 08.31.2016
• Date Posted: 09.13.2016 12:52
• Story ID: 209433
• Location: WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, US