Topic: Fort Lee VA

Dignity, reverence and respect for Fallen Heroes

October 21, 2013 |

Written by Sgt. 1st Class Mary Rose Mittlesteadt
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Bagram, Afghanistan – Mortuary affairs soldiers on the battlefield have become a vital asset throughout the past century; these proud and strong soldiers ensure fallen comrades receive dignity, reverence and respect.

To ensure each service member comes home with honor is why each one of these professionals put on the uniform every day. The Bagram Air Field Mortuary Affairs collection point is the final stop for fallen heroes in the northern half of Afghanistan as they make their way home. The collection point is operated by 54th Quartermaster Company from Fort Lee, VA, that supports Task Force Lifeliner, 1st Theater Sustainment Command.

The Mortuary Affairs Collection Point Bagram team stand together for a group photo, Oct. 17, 2013 at Bagram Air Field, Parwan province, Afghanistan. Sgt. Jarrett D. Ransom (top left), a native of Memphis, TN, Pfc. Shawn Thomas (top right), a native of Raeford, NC, Staff Sgt. Joel Wood (bottom left), a native of Plattsburgh, NY, Spc. Cody J. Montalbano (center left), a native of Rochester, NY, Spc. Jeremy Bennett (center right), a native of Cromwell, Ky., and Pfc. Paul Shrum (bottom right) a native of Casa Grande, AZ, are all soldiers with the 54th Quartermaster Company out of Fort Lee, VA. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sinthia Rosario)

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Fort Campbell’s Strike Dining Facility wins Army Connelly Award and Commanding General’s Best Dining Facility Award

May 21, 2013 |

Written by Sgt. Keith Rogers
2nd BCT UPAR

Fort Campbell, KY – “An army marches on its stomach,” was the famous observation made by Napoleon Bonaparte. The quote stood true then as it does now.

The Strike food service specialist Soldiers of the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), won the Department of the Army’s Philip A. Connelly Award and was also presented the Commanding General’s Best Dining Facility Award, during a ceremony held outside of the Strike Dining Facility, May 16th. The command team of the 101st understands the importance of the Strike Soldier chefs’ accomplishments.

Col. Dan Walrath, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), congratulates the culinary Soldiers of the Strike Brigade outside of the Strike Dining Facility, Fort Campbell, Ky., May 16. The Soldier chefs were awarded Fort Campbell’s Commanding General’s Best Dining Facility Award for the 2nd Quarter of fiscal year 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joe Padula, 2nd BCT PAO, 101st Abn. Div.)

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101st Airborne Division Couple takes journey through life side-by-side

January 3, 2013 |

Written by Sgt. 1st Class Abram Pinnington
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Khowst Province, Afghanistan – Once David and Lizeth Wakasa exchanged their vows they would set into motion an inseparable journey that would lead them to Afghanistan and eventually the Pentagon.

After they married in August 2008, the Wakasas planned their future together in their small New Jersey apartment. Seeking something more out of life, Lizeth propositioned her husband with a life full of endless possibilities, financial security and the chance to be different by joining the U.S. Army.

U.S. Army Sgt. Lizeth Wakasa (right), a food service specialist assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans,” 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), stands proud before her promotion to sergeant with her husband U.S. Army Spc. David Wakasa (left), also a food service specialist with Headquarters, 3-187, at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana, Dec. 1st, 2012. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Abram Pinnington, Task Force 3/101 Public Affairs)

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Blanchfield Army Community Hospital wins Army Medical Department competition, $1 million prize

November 1, 2012 |

Fort Campbell, KY – Blanchfield Army Community Hospital took the 2012 Best Military Treatment Facility title in the Army Medicine Business Operations Bowl, or Biz Bowl, beating out every other MTF in the Army.

“This victory will bring $1 million back into the hospital that will ultimately improve our services and facilities for our patients,” said BACH commander Col. Paul R. Cordts. “Competition encourages innovation and the Biz Bowl was no different. Every MTF took a close look at their processes, finding ways to improve, and that is a win for all patients.”

Blanchfield Army Community Hospital staff members compete in the first round of the Army Medicine Business Operations Bowl. Commander Col. Paul R. Cordts, Deputy Commander for Administration Lt. Col. Kyle Patterson, Clinical Support Division Chief Paul Pierson and noncommissioned officer in charge of the Department of Primary Care Sgt. 1st Class Marc Migala completed 3 more rounds, winning the final round in Fort Sam Houston, Texas Oct. 29, 2012 and winning $1 million which will ultimately improve patient care and services at BACH.

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U.S. Army to crack down on fitness standards for Soldiers entering Professional Military Education courses after November 1st

October 7, 2012 |

Written by C. Todd Lopez
Department of Defense

Washington, D.C. – Pre-war height, weight and physical fitness standards are coming back for Soldiers entering professional military education courses on or after November 1st.

The short explanation is: if you’re heavier than you should be, or you can’t meet the Army’s physical fitness standards, you’re not going to get into the professional military education, or PME, course you’re scheduled to attend.

The standards had been waived because the Army needed as many Soldiers as possible trained for the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts — but that is no longer the case.

Sgt. Nicholas Johnson, U.S. Forces Korea Soldier of the Year, finishes the pushup portion of the Army Physical Fitness Test during the 6th Annual Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition, Oct. 3rd, 2011, at Fort Lee, VA.

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Fort Campbell’s 101st Sustainment Brigade Lifeliners to Conduct “Mire Pit” Training

May 17, 2012 |

101st Sustainment Brigade

Fort Campbell, KY – The 101st Sustainment Brigade will conduct a training exercise May 18th, 2012 to test the skills of its Soldiers on recovering vehicles from extreme terrain conditions.

The training will include vehicle recovery in a “mire pit”; Soldiers will be recovering a stuck or overturned vehicle inside a wet, mud-filled pit. «Read the rest of this article»

‘Not an easy process’

August 11, 2011 |

Written by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan – The first call came early Saturday morning, August 6th, about the 38 U.S. and Afghan troops, killed by insurgents who shot down their CH-47 Chinook helicopter. After getting the call, Sgt. 1st Class Mary Perez said she doesn’t remember getting much sleep from that moment on.

She, along with other senior leaders from the 101st Sustainment Brigade and the 101st Special Troops Battalion, began rolling up their sleeves and headed to the Bagram Air Field Mortuary Affairs Collection Point where they were tasked to provide support in preparation for the eventual ramp ceremony.

Soldiers with the 101st Sustainment Brigade listen attentively as they receive a block of instruction on conducting mortuary affairs at the Mortuary Affairs Collection Point at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, in March 2011. The brigade and the 101st Special Troops Battalion provided critical support to the MACP who processed the recent fallen members of the special operations forces team killed this past week when a rocket-propelled grenade struck their Chinook in Afghanistan. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes)

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‘Mired’ in training

June 12, 2011 |

Written by Cpl. Sarah Keegan
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan – Exactly how many lieutenants does it take to recover a wrecked vehicle mired in the mud?

More than 20 junior officers with the 101st Sustainment Brigade got the chance to answer that question as they waded through the muddy pit to extract a wrecked Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle during vehicle recovery training.

The training, part of the brigade’s monthly Leadership Professional Development course, is intended to get the officers familiar with recovery procedures that soldiers face regularly as they conduct real world operations in a combat environment.

First Lt. Krystal Hertenstein, a platoon leader for the 584th Maintenance Company, 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, helps rig a snatchbox to recover a MAX-Pro vehicle from a mire pit during the brigade's Leadership Professional Development course. (Photo by Spc. Michael Vanpool)

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Lifeliners complete recovery training

May 20, 2011 |

Written by Spc. Michael Vanpool
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan – Soldiers of the 101st Sustainment Brigade completed the hands on portion of the Vehicle Recovery Course taught here with recovering a mired vehicle.

The course was taught by instructors deployed from the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School, and was taught over 83 hours and eight days.

During the course, the six soldiers learned the basics of recovering vehicle with the M984 HEMTT wrecker and the M1089 wrecker.

Sgt. Joshua Garner, a recovery instructor with the 59th Ordnance Brigade, US Army Ordnance Center and School, walks the six students of the Vehicle Recovery Course through different approaches to recovering a vehicle stuck in a mire pit. (Photo by Spc. Michael Vanpool)

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Schoolhouse instructors train lifeliners on vehicle recovery

May 19, 2011 |

Written by Spc. Michael Vanpool
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan – A deployment calls for a different skill set than the garrison Army life as many soldiers expand their knowledge with on the job training.

Those soldiers have formal classroom training and the same program as the schoolhouse. The only difference, instead of traveling to the school, the classroom came to them.

Instructors from the US Army Ordnance Center and School recently deployed to Afghanistan to train Soldiers outside the schoolhouse, including a Vehicle Recovery Course for soldiers of the 101st Sustainment Brigade.

Spc. Larry Smith, a mechanic with the 131st Transportation Company, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit attached to the 101st Sustainment Brigade, and Sgt. 1st Class Alvin Beehler, the chief instructor for the vehicle recovery course from the 59th Ordnance Brigade, US Army Ordnance Center and School, flip a mine resistant ambush-protected vehicle with an M984 HEMTT wrecker. (Photo by Spc. Michael Vanpool)

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