Photo By Sgt. Alexander Chatoff | FORT HOOD, Texas – A U.S. Army Soldier from the 1st Battalion 44th Air Defense...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Tx— 1st Battalion 44th Air Artillery Regiment (or 1-44 ADA) returned home from a year long deployment to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on April 24 and 27, 2022.
The 1-44 ADA deployed from Fort Hood in April 2021 on a mission to defend Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar and Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates from aerial threats such as missile and aircraft attacks.
Lt. Col. Doug Marshall, the battalion commander of 1st Battalion 44th Air Artillery Regiment, reflects on the deployment.
“It can be really difficult to maintain the level of readiness required to execute our mission.” said Marshall, ”We may have to engage a threat on any given day and without any real notice. Our team did an excellent job of maintaining that level of focus and professionalism.”
The 1-44th ADA led a successful mission full of accomplishments, but some accomplishments stood out to Marshall.
“The missile engagements on 24 and 31 January are obvious.” Marshall continued, ”It was the first time in 19 years that a U.S. army air defense artillery unit used a patriot to defend an asset that was threatened, which is a significant milestone for not only our Battalion but for our entire community.”
Marshall expressed how proud he was of the soldiers for stepping up to fill in positions above their grade.
“We faced several manning challenges and critical shortages that left us lacking not only numbers, but some very significant knowledge and experience in certain areas.” said Marshall, “There are so many examples of soldiers and NCOs working in duty positions that were above what they are used to. The work of these individuals is what truly enabled us to be successful and the fact we had so many Soldiers who did what was necessary and did so without any hesitation was quite remarkable”
Upon their return the 1-44th ADA came home to an Uncasing Ceremony followed by reuniting with their friends and family. Marshall hopes the soldiers will take the experience from this deployment and take it with them.
“Enjoy the time you are going to have with friends and family.” Marshall continued, “Understand that the mission you performed for the past year was challenging and you should be extremely proud of how you served. I know that it made a difference, it impacted operations across the theater and protected the lives of fellow service members and critical capabilities for the Joint Force.”
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2022 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 419663 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 1,536 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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