Photo By Staff Sgt. Andrew Valenza | The 42nd Infantry Division Staff Officers in Charge and Non-Commissioned Officers in...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas — Six hundred and fifty 42nd Infantry Division Soldiers wrapped up their training for a deployment to the Central Command area of responsibility t with a Culminating Training Exercise command post exercise the week for Feb. 19, 2020.
During the command post exercise, division Soldiers rehearsed situations and incidents they could face while providing command and control for the tactical forces assigned to Task Force Spartan in the region.
The division’s mission will be to increase security and self-reliance throughout the region by acting as headquarters for Task Force Spartan.
The 42nd Infantry Division Soldiers will oversee 10,000 Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers in the region.
"This is theater-specific training, to prepare the division to assume command,” said Major General Steven Ferrari, the division commander. "We have gone through a progressive training road to the deployment, so this is the culminating event to prepare us for the theater of operations,” Ferrari said. "This is the crossing of the' T' and dotting of the 'I' with the training.”
Exercises like this are nothing new to the 42nd ID. Over the last 18 months, the division headquarters has conducted a series of similar events, including two Command Post Exercises and two Staff Training Exercises.
Based in Troy, New York, and reinforced by Soldiers from across the country, the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters departed home for two weeks of training at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania on January 11, 2020 before transitioning to federal active duty. Once federalized, the headquarters moved to Fort Hood to conduct its final training for the mission in close coordination with U.S. First Army and U.S. Army Central Command.
Based in Troy, N.Y. the 42nd Infantry Division is known as the “Rainbow Division” because of its World War I history. When it was first organized in 1917 it included National Guard units from 26 states and its chief of staff, then Colonel Douglas MacArthur, said it would stretch across the country “like a Rainbow.” When not deployed, the Division headquarters is assigned to the New York Army National Guard, but the unit still reflects its multi-state make-up with assigned and affiliated units from more than a dozen states.
"Overall, I think it went well," said Capt. Steven Higgins, a battle captain with the 42nd ID. . "Most of the people I've worked with are seasoned veterans, and they know what they're doing."
As part of Operation Spartan Shield, Task Force Spartan maintains a U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia sufficient to strengthen our defense relationships and build partner capacity, according to the Task Force Spartan website. Units supporting Spartan Shield also provide a variety of capabilities that include aviation, logistics, force protection, and information management. In addition, the task force facilitates theater security cooperation activities such as key leader engagements, joint exercises, and conferences, along with humanitarian assistance and disaster response planning.
As the training wound down, Ferrari expressed his gratitude for the Soldiers and Families of the division for their continued support.
"I want to thank all the Soldiers for their service and sacrifice; we all know it's not easy, said, Ferrari.” I want to thank their families, because they serve too, maybe indirectly, but sometimes it's harder on the families. It takes that team effort at home and abroad."
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2020 11:01 |
| Story ID: | 363693 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 421 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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