Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gen. William E. Rapp, commanding general of Support Operations for U.S. Forces in...... read more read more
By Capt. Jared P. Myers
14th Engineer Battalion
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- Selfless service and an uncommon sense of duty took the form of 86 raised right hands as Maj. Gen. William E. Rapp administered the oath of re-enlistment to the Task Force Rugged soldiers assembled before him on Saturday at Camp Leatherneck.
Rapp, deputy commanding general of support operations for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, knows their service well: he led them as the 555th Engineer Brigade Commander in 2005.
Rapp reiterated the weight of making a renewed commitment in the face of Army-wide personnel cuts: “Every single one of you who re-enlists today is going to be a non-commissioned officer. If you aren’t ready for that, don’t [take this oath].”
During introductory remarks, Task Force and 14th Engineer Battalion Commander John G. Buck summarized the motives of his troops: “Duty, honor, and country. That spirit courses through the veins of each one of these Rugged soldiers.”
Nowhere was that spirit more evident than in the words of Sgt. Juvenal Luna, a combat engineer in the 576th Eng. Company, 4th Eng. Bn. stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. Luna was one of six soldiers awarded the Purple Heart in a ceremony held immediately before the re-enlistment. When asked what effect his injuries had on his decision to re-enlist, he stated simply, “It wasn’t easy, but it’s all about serving our country. I did this for my brothers who serve.”
Successfully gathering most of the “Rugged 100” at a central location proved to be a challenge of its own. For the past eight months, the 1,200-troop battalion has been finding and clearing deadly IEDs from local roads before they reach their intended victims. Effective coverage of these roads means decentralization of the battalion across three Regional Commands in southern Afghanistan, an area roughly the size of Washington State.
Ensuring this critical mission remained unaffected by the ceremony required months of planning, dozens of personnel substitutions, and thousands of miles in travel. Initial preparations began six months before the first contract was signed. Even so, 40 soldiers of a total 126 soldiers swore their oaths from remote bases due to mission constraints.
Buck described the event as “a culmination of the last six months of soldiers and leaders talking about the future, about options, about keeping the best, and ultimately, about thinking of something greater than self.”
Sgt 1st Class Jammy Tighe, battalion career counselor, described the magnitude of this accomplishment. “Very rarely has one battalion been able to re-enlist more than 100 soldiers on one day. That’s an astronomical feat.”
Of the 126 soldiers who re-enlisted on Saturday, 12 have received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during this deployment. Twenty-six have earned the Combat Action Badge, with several more pending its award for recent combat action. These soldiers represent 17 MOSs, military occupational specialties, and have served a combined total of 629 years.
“With the Army downsizing and re-enlistment options at a premium, only taking the best, top quality soldiers, the [battalion’s senior leaders] have picked the best,” Tighe said.
Task Force Rugged is primarily composed of companies from the 14th Eng. Bn., stationed out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Other companies include the 576th Eng. Company, from the 4th Eng. Bn. at Fort Carson, Colo.; the 509th Eng. Company, 5th Eng. Bn. of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and the 95th Eng. Company, 65th Eng. Bn. at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
| Date Taken: | 03.05.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2012 10:36 |
| Story ID: | 84752 |
| Location: | CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF |
| Web Views: | 696 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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