Photo By Staff Sgt. James Kennedy Benjamin | BARRIGADA, Guam – Soldiers with Detachment 5, 368th Military Police, 9th Mission...... read more read more
Soldiers assigned to Detachment 5, 368th Military Policy Company, 9th Mission Support Command, made history by becoming the first Army reserve unit in Guam to deploy from its home station into theater.
“For those of you who don’t know it... today is history,” said Col. Kirk Slaughter, the 9th Mission Support Command deputy commander for operations, as he addressed family members, friends, co-workers and service members. “This is a first mobilization of an Army reserve unit here in Guam.”
Slaughter said that it was proof that all armed forces service branches and civilian entities on Guam could come together to execute a home station mobilization for an army reserve unit.
Army Sgt. 1st Class William Sherrow, the noncommissioned officer in-charge for the detachment, talked to the audience about the detachments’ mission readiness at the deployment ceremony.
“The Soldiers of 368, specifically Det. 5, are strong,” Sherrow said confidently. “We are well trained, and we are fully capable to be the best this mission has ever known.”
Sherrow, a combat war veteran, also talked about the brotherhood the detachment built since they were called up to active duty.
“We have built a bond that anticipates each other’s moves, completes each other’s sentences, and protects each other in the mission above all else,” Sherrow said. “They are a breed that represents the fighting spirit of our ancestors. Our bond as Soldiers are as strong as I have ever experienced in my military career.”
For the last several weeks leading to the deployment, Det. 5 Soldiers have utilized facilities and assets at Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam to successfully train for the mission.
“As we look at around this assembly, we see the Guam team in support of this common effort,” Slaughter said. “We came together as a team to ensure that these Soldiers were properly trained, properly supported and prepared to deploy. You all have contributed significantly in preparing this unit for their mission,” he said to Navy, Air Force and Guam National Guard representatives in the room.
In the last two decades, the military police company has been called to active duty five times, four of which were in support of military operations in the Middle East.
For many Soldiers of the unit, the driving force behind their motivation to complete the mission and return home is to reunite with their families.
“Our loved ones are the reason that we sacrifice,” Sherrow said. “Without the love and support of our families, we’d be lost in the challenging times ahead of us.”
Slaughter commended the Soldiers and their families for their sacrifices in preparation for the mission.
“Thank you for the sacrifices you and your Families have already made,” Slaughter said. “They are ready to execute their mission and go to serve, protect and defend the freedoms we so cherish. These Soldiers, the Boonie Dogs, are the guardians of freedom and the American way of life.”
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2016 21:12 |
| Story ID: | 210667 |
| Location: | GU |
| Web Views: | 4,485 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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