Photo By 1st Sgt. Jessica Barnett | Brig. Gen. Mark Corson, commanding general of the 130rd Sustainment Command...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - “Today marks a new chapter here in Iraq,” said Staff Sgt. Jamie Stebbing, commanding general executive assistant, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a St. Paul, Minn., native. “In essence, we are moving forward, combat missions have ended and Operation Iraqi Freedom is over. Our time here has changed the lives of the Iraqis. New Dawn marks the beginning of their freedom and gains back their sovereignty.”
Sept. 1 marked the validity of Iraqis’ stability as a nation, moving from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn. The 103rd ESC celebrated the significant moment with a ceremony held Sept. 3 in front of the 103rd ESC Joint Operations Center at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
Prior to the ceremony, soldiers received a commemorative T-shirt donated by Francis Communications Incorporated.
“It just goes a long way to show support is still there,” said Stebbing. “All the T-shirts that were donated by Francis Communications Incorporated shows support for all the soldiers throughout the seven years that they have risked their lives, away from home, and put their freedom on hold in an effort to mark this new time for the Iraqis. This reassures us that people are out there still supporting us, Operation New Dawn and the new era of Iraqi solitude.”
During the ceremony, Brig. Gen. Mark Corson, commanding general of the 103rd ESC, and a Maryville, Mo., native, commented on the past accomplishments and future endeavors of the U.S. military.
“We now have the end of operations after seven years, five months, and 11 days of war, from 20 March 2003 to 31 August 2010,” he said. “With the beginning of Operation New Dawn, what have we accomplished? In many of our cases, we have sacrificed two, three or four years of our lives to be over here in the Middle East. What did we accomplish? Well I’ll tell you. The United States and its coalition forces partners liberated Iraq from an evil dictator. That evil dictator, Saddam Hussein, was responsible for not one but two wars: the Iraq/Iran war and the invasion of Kuwait.
“What you have done, as we take a long look at the accomplishments here, has given Iraqis a chance at democracy,” expressed Corson. “Democracy is in fact a great gift. They have embraced that democracy in not one, but in two national elections. The Iraqi people have turned out in droves to vote. They have demonstrated this with risking their lives to do so.
“The Iraqis have built a security force with our assistance, that by no means is perfect, but it is effective,” emphasized Corson. “They will fight. They conduct operations and find caches of ammunition, weapons, improvised explosive devices and more. They have been fighting those things. We have helped them to do that, but they have shown this capability. They have essentially destroyed al-Qaida in Iraq, with our help, and they have marginalized other violent, extremist groups.”
However, there are challenges ahead to help Iraq seat a government and continue in a stable direction. The mission is long from over, urged Corson, as he finished speaking to his 103rd ESC troops.
On behalf of the unit, Corson accepted a framed t-shirt signed by all the workers of Francis Communications Incorporated. As the master of ceremonies, Col. Kenneth Jones, deputy commanding officer with the 103rd ESC, and a Topeka, Kan., native, read about the company, Corson ripped open his ACU top to proudly show off his “American Hero” t-shirt.
“I want to thank the Francis Communications Incorporated employees for the ‘American Hero’ T-shirts provided to the soldiers of the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary),” wrote Corson, in a thank you letter to the company.
| Date Taken: | 09.03.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2010 11:44 |
| Story ID: | 55752 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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