Photo By Staff Sgt. James Kennedy Benjamin | Staff Sgt. Mathew Teel, a platoon sergeant for 774th Ordnance Company, Explosive...... read more read more
United States Division-South Press Desk
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, acting director Army National Guard and Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Burch, command sergeant major, Army National Guard, paid a visit to Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, to check up on National Guard soldiers deployed to United States Division-South and to listen to their comments and concerns.
“I appreciated the general and sergeant major taking the time out of their busy schedules to listen to the soldiers,” said Staff Sgt. Rodney Johnson, a medical logistics non-commissioned officer with the Texas Army National Guard, 36th Infantry Division from San Antonio, Texas. “I am confident they will get the answers we are looking for back to Command Sergeant Major Early (command sergeant major, USD-S and 36th Inf. Div.) and he will disseminate the information to the troops.”
During Carpenter’s visit, he got the chance to talk with guardsmen at a town hall meeting and got firsthand knowledge of daily living conditions, missions and challenges that soldiers face while deployed.
“We are all proud of you and we promise to keep fighting for the needs of our soldiers,” Carpenter said. “We are here to listen to your concerns and get them back the leadership in Washington, D.C.”
During a working lunch with key leaders of the 36th Inf. Div., Carpenter praised the Texas-based soldiers for their pre-mobilization planning efforts, training, and execution.
Carpenter and Burch fielded questions on a wide variety of topics from non-commissioned officer schooling to the newly proposed Army physical fitness test.
Senior leaders gave Carpenter a tour of base facilities where he met National Guard soldiers from other states that are supporting the division. Among the units were the 501st Ordnance Battalion from Schenectady, N.Y., and the 297th Area Support Medical Company from California.
At the Troop Medical Facility on COB Basra, Maj. Scott Valley, 162nd ASMC commander, and Capt. Donald Nodora, 297th ASMC commander, met Carpenter where they discussed field medical operations and procedures. The tour of the facility gave Carpenter a better grasp on mission-essential training needed before deployment.
Before departing, he met with Lt. Col. Robert Mitchell, 501st Ordnance Battalion commander, and the soldiers of his unit. The soldiers showed Carpenter how they use some of their equipment to disarm improvised explosive devices.
Carpenter is scheduled to meet with other guard units throughout Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2011 14:00 |
| Story ID: | 68459 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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