Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Lt. Col. Blace Albert (right) of Charlottesville, Va., and Command Sgt. Maj....... read more read more
Subscribe
LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – After training for more than a year to prepare for their mission here, the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion uncased their colors during a brief ceremony on Forward Operating Base Shank here Nov. 4.
The battalion, dubbed Task Force Dagger, is part of TF Patriot, the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which cased the brigade and six battalion colors during a deployment ceremony at Fort Polk, La., Sept. 30.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Blace Albert, TF Dagger commander from Charlottesville, Va., reminded his soldiers of what they have accomplished to this point and of their important mission ahead.
“You all have conducted an incredibly complex operation deploying out of Fort Polk and getting all the way over here with all of your equipment,” said Albert. “You ought to be proud of yourselves, so far; but we have a lot of work to do.”
TF Dagger soldiers have trained for about 18 to 20 months and are ready to begin making a positive difference in Afghanistan, said Albert. Glad to finally be in country, he said uncasing the battalion colors symbolizes their taking over the mission from the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s BSTB.
Albert said his battalion is replacing a very competent 173rd Airborne IBCT and expects to continue the momentum they built during their time here. He addressed TF Dagger soldiers to reassure them of something he said they already knew.
“They are ready for their mission here,” said Albert. “And … they are going to make a big difference so that the people of Afghanistan can have better lives; have a government they can count on and feel secure in their lives as they provide for the daily needs of their families.”
U.S. Army Spc. Orville Raney, a mechanic from Forsyth, Mo., assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th BSTB, said his deployment to Afghanistan was a little nerve wracking at first. However, it feels good to be in Afghanistan now, and he knows the importance of his job with TF Dagger.
“It is very important, because look at the terrain around here,” said Raney. “You have got to have vehicles operational to be able to run over these mountains.”
Raney said his unit has a pretty good crew of mechanics, and he is confident they can keep convoys rolling. Raney works on vehicles for Afghan and Czech forces as well as for U.S. and enjoys interacting with them.
Family support is a large part of soldiers succeeding in their missions while deployed. Raney realizes this and appreciates the support he receives from back home.
As the TF Dagger commander, Albert knows how important families are to the morale of his soldiers and mission accomplishment. He offered assurance to family members back home and to his soldiers.
“First of all, I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for everything that they do so we can be successful over here,” said Albert. “And, I want to assure them of the same thing; that all the soldiers here are well trained and performing very well, and it [this deployment] is going to be worthwhile.”
Albert said not just his battalion but all of 4th IBCT, 10th Mtn. Div., in Afghanistan is prepared and ready to make a positive difference. The entire TF Patriot is looking forward to working with the people in Afghanistan to help make their lives better.
“They have certainly made a lot of improvements in their security and quality of life, and we look forward to helping them continue on,” said Albert. “My mission is similar to all the other battalions in the brigade combat team, in that, everything that we are doing here is to enable the security forces to protect the population as the governance and development in the country continue to improve.”
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.07.2010 06:11 |
| Story ID: | 59587 |
| Location: | LOGAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 155 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, TF Dagger uncases colors, readies to roll up sleeves, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
