Soldiers welcome New Year with renewed commitment to serve

Photo By Sgt. Christopher Gaylord | Soldiers from the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion sit in a formation creating a "40" during a mass re-enlistment ceremony for the battalion at Al Faw Palace on Dec. 31. More than 130 40th ESB Soldiers welcomed 2009 with a new term of military service.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

12.31.2008

Story by Spc. Christopher Gaylord 

13th Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Christopher M. Gaylord
13th Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD – Many people ring in the New Year watching the crystal ball drop in Times Square and counting down with great anticipation to a brand new beginning.

For more than 130 Soldiers of the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., on Jan. 1 was a new beginning all of its own, as they renewed their commitment to serve in the U.S. Army, at Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq.

For the Soldiers of the 40th ESB, the event was not only a time to welcome their fellow brothers and sisters into a new term of service, but also to observe the vast accomplishments for which the battalion has worked hard.

"These Soldiers have done a phenomenal job over the past year," said Lt. Col. Linda Jantzen, battalion commander, 40th ESB. "This was a real tribute to the entire battalion; the entire team. We picked New Year's in order to say thank you for what they [the 40th ESB Soldiers] are doing."

For the past year, the 40th ESB has served as the primary theater signal battalion in Iraq– as well as in Kuwait and Afghanistan – installing, operating and maintaining a strategic communication network.

With communication being so important in this theater of operation, the battalion's efforts have been vital to the accomplishment of the military's overall mission.

"The war fighters live on communications and have no tolerance for outages," Jantzen said. "The importance of what these Soldiers are doing is installing a network and making it reliable for the war fighter. They're all proud of what they're doing."

The night was quite a special for each and every Soldier who reenlisted, but for one Soldier who feels an obligation to serve, it was the event of a lifetime.

Sgt. Charles Wantland, cable systems installer and maintainer, 40th ESB, originally enlisted for four years in the Army in 1990 as an infantryman, but received a hardship discharge to take care of his father one year into his term. It seemed as though his military service had come to an end.

In 2005, Wantland was able to rejoin the Army with the new communications skills he had developed for the past 13 years outside the military. He felt his reenlistment was necessary.

"I just felt like I owed those three years back to the Army," Wantland said. "I felt obligated to pay them back."

Wantland felt the mass reenlistment was a great achievement for the battalion and the rest of the Signal Corps and emphasized the importance in building a well-experienced force. He also noted the success the battalion has had in country.

"It's a large step for the Signal Corps," Wantland said. "We're going to have knowledge and experience present, and Soldiers to pass on their experience to new Soldiers, so we'll have a strong Corps."

"We've been effective and efficient in our duties here," Wantland said. "We've probably laid over 200,000 feet of cable and fiber."

In the end, 2009 was welcomed with one large step for the Soldiers of the 40th ESB, and the night served as a wonderful opportunity to recognize the performance of the unit, which is soon to end its tour here.

"This was a real thrill for me," Jantzen said. "If I go to war again, I want these Soldiers with me."

• Date Taken: 12.31.2008
• Date Posted: 12.31.2008 19:47
• Story ID: 28342
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ