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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Feb 9, 2012 - 5:06:14 PM |
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3rd Bn., 156th Inf. Regt. accepts new mission in Iraq
By Sgt. Nathaniel Orphey, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team public affairs
Jun 18, 2010 - 11:32:48 AM
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Soldiers with A Company, 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) mount lights on a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt Nathaniel P. Orphey) |
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) will accept a new mission during their deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The "Bayou Bandits," headquartered in Lake Charles, La., were originally tasked with providing security to convoys transporting equipment and supplies to assist in the upcoming responsible drawdown of U.S. troops and equipment from Iraq.
In their new mission with the 3rd Sustainment Brigade out of Ft. Stewart, Ga., The battalion will continue to provide convoy security teams and will also provide quick reaction forces and security for contracted vehicle recovery teams. In addition, B Company has been tasked with providing support for special operations units located throughout Iraq.
"Our mission hasn't really changed," said Master Sgt. Orise Cormier, operations sergeant with 3rd Bn., 156th Inf. Regt. and a Jennings, La., native. "It's grown. The main change is that we are going to be running a lot more missions to more places than we were while at Al Asad."
The new mission requires the battalion to take charge of what was formerly a brigade-size mission.
"This will be a challenging new task for us," said Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen Hickman, command sergeant major of 3rd Bn., 156th Inf. Regt. and a DeQuincy, La., native. "But our Soldiers have trained hard and are more than capable of accomplishing the mission that has been given to us."
To help support its new missions, the "Bandits" have been assigned an additional company from the 256th.
G Company, 199th Brigade Support Battalion, permanently attached to 1st Bn., 141st Field Artillery Regiment, will relocate to provide additional convoy security forces. The companies of 3rd Bn., 156th Inf. Regt. will be conducting their new missions from different bases across Iraq.
"Having units work out of multiple locations is not a new experience for us." said Lt. Col. David Gooch, commander of 3rd Bn., 156th Inf. Regt. and a Katy, Texas, native. "Our battalion is made up of units located at nine different cities across western Louisiana and we have quite a bit of experience operating out of separate communities in support of state missions."
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downto80ibs
14 Jul 2010, 23:01
i know someone that is in the army that is in the 156th infantry brigade.
He is a sargeant. sgt.D
PARKER
18 Jun 2010, 14:44
Thousands mourn Ethiopian fire victims in Seattle ON June 18th, 2010 IN
SEATTLE — An Ethiopian Orthodox Christian ceremony began with traditional
chanting by religious leaders as a memorial service got under way Friday
morning at Key Arena for the victims of last weekend's fatal fire in
Fremont.
A crowd of nearly 3,000 was expected to attend the event, many arriving by
shuttle from Yesler Community Center, where the East African community has
been gathering all week to grieve alongside the victims' families, members
of Seattle's Ethiopian community.
Killed in the fire at Helen Gebregiorgis' Fremont apartment were three of
her children, Joseph Gebregiorgis, 13; Nisreen Shamam, 6; and Yaseen
Shamam, 5; her sister, Yerusalem Gebregiorgis, 22; and a niece, 7-year-old
Nyella Smith, daughter of a third sister, Yordanos Gebregiorgis.
The names of the dead were displayed on the electronic reader board above
the gathering Key Arena crowd, many of them members of the area's East
African community and dressed in traditional attire, with women in flowing
garments and white shawls known as netellas, which are worn at spiritual
events.
Mayor Mike McGinn was expected to address the crowd, along with Maria
Goodloe-Johnson, superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. Others expected
to speak were local East African religious and community leaders, with a
reading of a letter of condolence from the Ethiopian Consulate in Los
Angeles.
A slideshow and musical presentation in honor of the dead was expected to
conclude the event, which Daniel Gebregiorgis, brother of the Gebregiorgis
sisters, said would mark the end of public mourning as the family turns its
attention to helping Helen find a new home.
"We don't know where Helen is going to go from here," he said.
The Gebregiorgis siblings came to the U.S. n in 1989 along with their
refugee parents, who had fled their war-torn native country.
The memorial, originally set for the center's Exhibition Hall, was moved to
Key Arena because of the large number of expected attendees. "We didn't
want to be in a position where people would have to be turned away," said
Seattle Center spokeswoman Deborah Daoust.
Some Seattle residents have questioned Mayor McGinn's decision to provide
the use of Key Arena for the service at taxpayer expense. Daoust said those
costs — which she initially estimated at about $5,000 — were low
because the arena was already configured for such a large-capacity stage
event, having hosted several recent high-school graduation ceremonies.
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