FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
The Special Troops Battalion, 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), inactivated at Fort Eustis, May 28, as a result of changes in the Fort Eustis transportation mission.
According to the unit's official biography, STB was first activated October 18, 2006, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis with the primary mission of providing organizational, human resources, theater gateway, theater opening and signal support for the 7th Sustainment Brigade. In its short history, the battalion has deployed on three separate occasions, supporting missions in Iraq, Haiti and Afghanistan.
Upon receiving inactivation orders, the battalion consisted of 11 companies and 1,100 Soldiers. On January 16, 2014, STB cased its colors and became a provisional battalion. Throughout inactivation, the battalion continued to train, deploy and redeploy units while simultaneously inactivating and moving units in support of the brigade's transformation from sustainment to an expeditionary transportation brigade.
"Our Soldiers received the mission and executed without hesitation to meet the deadline," said Command Sgt. Maj. Mathew Calhoun, the unit's command sergeant major. "While an inactivation can be seen as a draw down, the Soldiers persevered and are looking forward to the future."
The Soldiers and families affected by this inactivation have either moved laterally to other units within Fort Eustis, or been assigned to other locations throughout the Army.
"The leaders and Soldiers of the STB truly understood the priorities of this brigade," said U.S. Army Col. Randal Nelson, 7th Trans. Bde (Ex) commander. "One, to support the work with trained personnel; two, to finish transformation; and three, to develop leaders' analysis - mission accomplished."
With continued praise upon the Soldiers of STB, Nelson offered his final thank you.
"To all the STB soldiers as well the 99th Movement Control Team that came in recently from Italy. We thank you for the herculean effort over the past months," said Nelson. "We're very proud of this team as they demonstrated resilience as we press forward with our new mission."