Photo By Senior Airman Jack Layman | Spc. Anthony Rozzel an Infantryman with Delaware company, 1st Battalion,1-501st...... read more read more
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It’s an early arctic morning, and a Soldier receives a call to report to the arms room for weapon turn-in. Without skipping a beat, the armorer makes his way to the post.
At all times, the arms room must be available to issue and receive the necessary gear required by Infantryman assigned to Delaware Company. Those needs are met by U.S. Army Spc. Anthony Rozzel.
Rozzel, an infantryman with Delaware Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, fulfills the additional duty of head unit armorer, but what makes him get out of bed?
For a company, the armorer is a cornerstone in operational success. Inside the armory, one will find M9’s, M4’s, M2A1 .50 caliber machine guns, and any supporting equipment a Soldier might need in the field. Peripheral gear includes night optical devices, M4 bayonets, and improved target acquisition systems more widely known as TOW ITAS missiles.
Through every profession and time period, people have used tools to accomplish a job. The job of the Infantryman is to destroy and deter enemy ground forces. And in the profession of arms, armaments are the tools required to complete the mission.
“If I'm not ready, if the equipment isn't ready and it fails, it could essentially make an operation fall flat on its face,” said Rozzel. “If we can't make hit times to complete weapon draws, or retaliate to whatever is going on, essentially, I’ve failed. If equipment is broken and I can't provide the tools for people to destroy the enemy, how are they going to [do that]?”
As a kid, Anthony had aspirations to join the Army and earn his green beret – not for pride or honor, but to have fun and look cool while kicking down doors. However, to save his marriage he had to put his military career on hold. This meant dropping out of the Special Forces pipeline.
To live the best of both worlds Rozzel decided to pursue his second career choice and become an infantryman. During his time as an infantryman friends were made and skills were learned.
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. During an airborne operation Rozzel’s parachute had malfunctioned. Unable to correct it on time, he was left in freefall for over half of the descent and sustained injuries to his left leg and right hip. Rozzel was jumper number 6 and still was the first to hit the ground.
Though as one door closes many are bound to open.
The jump left Rozzel in poor condition. No longer able to go out into the field, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Felix Chung, an executive officer with Delaware Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, placed him under the mentorship of the old head unit armorer. “It was a perfect position for him,” Chung said. “SPC Rozzel is an outstanding Paratrooper with a proven track record of success. As a Platoon M240 Lima gunner, he demonstrated that he has the necessary technical expertise and willingness to learn that is essential for a Delaware Company Armorer. He concurrently served as the Assistant Armorer for 12 months, and he showed the necessary prerequisites and proficiency to take the helm of Delaware's Arms Room.”
Now fully recovered, Rozzel keeps coming back to take care of his people. He makes sure all the gear in the armory is operational and accounted for. This is his way of taking care of the 70 Soldiers that make up Delaware. To put into perspective, Rozzel explained that if a unit went to a forward operating base while deployed and the equipment wasn’t properly inspected by the armorer, it could get someone killed.
“[If] you have broken night optical devices, if nobody checked for it and you went to pull guard and can't see the enemy approaching, then you are a detriment to the rest of the force in it all,” Rozzel
said.
By virtue of the mission set that Delaware is tasked to accomplish, every Paratrooper must achieve an unrivaled level of physical fitness and technical expertise in order to maneuver and defeat the enemy. Delaware Paratroopers can oftentimes be found rucking and running in sub-zero temperatures, perfecting battle drills, and honing their skills on all of the company’s arsenal. With Rozzel’s hard work and dedication to his people, the mission at Delaware will never fail.
| Date Taken: | 01.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.09.2022 17:23 |
| Story ID: | 414273 |
| Location: | ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 321 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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