FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Soldiers of the 7th Sustainment Brigade stood shoulder to shoulder at Fort Eustis' Anderson Field House Jan. 28 for a 10 a.m. deployment ceremony. The brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, and the 53rd Transportation Battalion officially cased their unit colors and bid a fond farewell to family and friends in light of their pending deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Standing before family, friends and fellow Soldiers, Lt. Col. Steven Wilke, STB commander, and STB Command Sgt. Maj. John Harris, cased the STB colors followed by the casing of the 53rd Trans. Bn. colors by Commander Lt. Col. Corey New and Command Sgt. Maj. Bruce Acker.
Col. Lawrence Kominiak, brigade commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Tony Escalona, brigade sergeant major, formally cased the brigade's colors. The casing of the colors symbolizes the transfer of mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn and is a time-honored military tradition.
Though the majority of the brigade's headquarters element will be forward deployed, the garrison mission will continue with operations being conducted by the rear provisional STB commanded by Lt. Col. Bradley Shutz and Command Sgt. Maj. Yolanda Johnson. The provisional STB uncased their unit colors, signifying the official placement of the rear detachment command team.
Following the color casing ceremony, Brig. Gen. Robin Akin, commanding general, 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and the ceremony's reviewing officer, provided words of encouragement and praise to the Soldiers standing before her.
"We are not here to celebrate going to war but to celebrate the Soldiers standing before you," said General Akin. "The families deserve to see you here."
General Akin talked about the training, dedication to mission and the professionalism the Soldiers of 7th Sust. Bde. bring to the table. It was a year ago this week that many of the brigade's Soldiers standing in formation deployed to Haiti.
"A year ago today, we took part in one of the largest humanitarian missions in the world," she said. "What is important about today is the 530,000 Haitian families who received assistance during a time of crisis, and you will take that same dedication with you to Afghanistan and Iraq. We look forward to seeing what you all will do down range."
General Akin gave a heartfelt thanks to family members and offered reassurance while their loved ones are deployed through the support of the brigade's provisional command team and the Family Readiness Support assistant.
"It is the tireless efforts of the family members that contribute to the overall success of the mission," said General Akin.
To the local community, General Akin offered sincere thanks for their non-stop support of the brigade's numerous back-to-back deployments.
Deployment is nothing new for many Soldiers, but for others going forward with the 7th Sust. Bde., this will be a first.
"I'm stoked," said Chief Warrant Officer Nicolas Manglona, STB operations officer. "This will be my first deployment. I am excited and ready to go."