Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | Col. Shawn Morrissey, left, commander of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade and a Boston...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – The 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command assumed control of troop sustainment operations in United States Division-North and Victory Base Complex from the 3rd Sustainment Brigade in a transfer of authority ceremony April 9 at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center-East here.
“The conditions have been set; it’s your time now to take the reins and bring them all home,” said Col. Shawn Morrissey, commander of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and a Boston native, to the incoming soldiers of the 77th Sustainment Brigade.
Morrissey thanked his staff and all of the soldiers in the 3rd Sustainment Brigade and all its subordinate units for making their deployment a success.
Over the course of its tour, the 3rd Sustainment Brigade provided sustainment and logistical support to more than 170,000 service members and civilian contractors at 40 Forward Operating Bases spread across 150,000 square kilometers of territory, logging 12 million miles of travel.
Col. Stephen Falcone, commander of the 77th Sustainment Brigade and a Cranston, R.I., native, emphasized the success of his unit’s six-month partnership with the 3rd Sustainment Brigade.
“We were well versed in how to conduct operations before we ever set foot in Iraq,” he said.
The responsible drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq, which the 77th Sustainment Brigade inherited, is the largest logistics operation since World War II nearly 70 years ago.
“We have broad shoulders, and we will undoubtedly rise to the mission,” Falcone said. “Let’s make Lady Liberty proud.”
A sense of excitement was palpable in the room during the ceremony, both from soldiers getting ready to redeploy and reunite with loved ones, and from those who just arrived, looking forward to fulfilling their historic mission at the culmination of Operation New Dawn.
“The excitement I sense also comes from the feeling you get from knowing you have accomplished something greater than yourself,” said Brig. Gen. Don S. Cornett, Jr., commanding general of the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and an Aurora, Neb., native.
The considerable accomplishments of the soldiers of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade seem even greater due to the fact that they replaced three sustainment brigades when they arrived in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom last year.
“Sustainment is a mission that never decreases,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Clifton Johnson of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade, a Lima, Ohio, native. “As long as there are soldiers on the battlefield, they have to be sustained,” he said.
The 3rd Sustainment Brigade’s leadership expressed pride in the accomplishments of the brigade, especially as it fell to them to do more with less.
“Every soldier in this brigade made it look effortless because of their focus and dedication to a purpose higher than themselves,” Morrissey said.
Morrissey ended his comments with a quote from our commander-in-chief.
“We have met our responsibilities,” he said. “Now it is time to turn the page.”
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2011 03:33 |
| Story ID: | 68509 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Out with the old, in with the new, by SFC Zane Craig, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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