Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, visits the 56th Stryker...... read more read more
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FORT IRWIN, Calif. – Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau and his senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Kepner, visited the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Aug. 6-7 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. here.
Lengyel and his senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Kepner, circulated the simulated battlefield to observe the 56th SBCT’s rotation at NTC and meet the Soldiers operating in the austere desert conditions.
“Our number one job in the National Guard, according to Secretary Mattis, is to become a more lethal force,” said Lengyel “You guys are making us so proud and doing great things all over the world.”
Lengyel and Kepner recently visited National Guard troops in the nations of Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo, highlighting how the Guard is part of the Army’s total force and plays a critical role in operations around the world.
Taking time to meet with Soldiers at all levels during their visit, Lengyel and Hepner shared a lunch of Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE) with a small group 56th SBCT Soldiers.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this, we do this stuff at the [Fort Indiantown] Gap with the training and setting up the network, but in this environment it’s definitely a lot more exciting, more challenging, you really feel like you’re in the Army,” said Spc. Timothy Lazzaro, a nodal network systems operator-maintainer with Charlie Co., 103rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and a Pittsburgh native.
The nodal network systems operator-maintainer is responsible for making sure that the lines of communication at the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) are always up and running.
“It’s like going back to basic training, you’re sweating everyday, you’re disgusting, you’re camelback is constantly empty, you’re carrying a rifle around all the time, it’s not the regular ‘sit in my air-conditioned truck and wait for someone to come to me with a problem,” said Lazzaro. “Everybody said it was awful here, but then you just embrace it while you’re here and you can brag about it later to people who’ve never experienced anything like this.”
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2018 17:17 |
| Story ID: | 288322 |
| Location: | FORT IRWIN, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 119 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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