Proud
family members like Melissa Gwynne, mother of SPC Jonathan
Gwynne of Company G, 237th Brigade Support Battalion, as well as
many Medina community members filled the Medina Performing Arts
center for the deployment ceremony Jan. 4. Company G is
deploying for a yearlong tour to Kuwait with the Ohio Army
National Guard's 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Photo by MAJ
Nicole Gabriel, adjutant general's department.
U.S.
Rep. Betty Sutton presents the American flag to Lt. Col. Gerard
M. Garvey, commander of the Ohio National Guard's 237th Brigade
Support Battalion, during the unit's Jan. 5 sendoff ceremony at
the Mount Zion Fellowship Church in Cleveland. The 237th is part
of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which is deploying for
a one-year tour in Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Kimberly D Snow, adjutant general's
department.
Ohio
Governor Ted Strickland greets Private Alfreda Bracewell and her
daughter during the Jan. 5, 2008 deployment ceremony for the
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion.
The unit is part of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which
is deploying for a one-year tour in Kuwait in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by James Sims, adjutant general's
department.
The
daughter of 1st Sgt. Thomas R. Watson of Headquarters and
Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery
Regiment, pins the rank of command sergeant major onto her
father's uniform. He was being promoted during the unit's Jan. 4
sendoff ceremony at Westland High School in Galloway, near
Columbus. The unit is deploying to Kuwait for a yearlong tour
with the Ohio Army National Guard's 37th Infantry Brigade Combat
Team in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by Staff Sgt.
Kimberly D Snow, adjutant general's department. |
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By Maj. Nicole Gabriel,
adjutant general’s department public affairs
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Soldiers were stoic, the thousands of
well-wishers, supportive, and the VIPs’ comments, laudatory, but
the mood was bittersweet at the recent deployment ceremonies for
the 1,600 Citizen-Soldiers of the Ohio Army National Guard’s
37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) who left recently for a
historic yearlong deployment in support the Global War on
Terrorism.
Family, friends and supporters gathered in full force at 17
ceremonies across Ohio, from Austintown to Springfield, Columbus
to Sandusky, to honor the Soldiers for answering their nation’s
call, say thank you and wish them well as they left for
mobilization training and a tour in Kuwait.
This deployment, the largest single-unit deployment for the Ohio
National Guard since World War II and the Korean War, marks a
significant milestone for Ohio and the “Buckeye” Brigade, which
has a prolific lineage. Brigade Commander Col. Richard Curry
told his troops they were not only combating terrorism, but they
were writing a new chapter in Ohio’s rich military history.
“Each of these dedicated deploying Soldiers marches forward into
history, adding their life contribution, which will enrich our
proud traditions and the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s
lineage and honors,” he said.
One of those Soldiers was Spc. Jonathan Gwynne of Company G,
237th Support Battalion, Medina, who, like his fellow Soldiers,
wore the uniform with the reinstated left shoulder-sleeve
insignia, the bright-red circle with an outer ring of white (a
resemblance of the center of the Ohio flag), which has not been
worn for federal service since 1954. After this deployment, the
patch will earn the distinction of being worn on the Soldiers’
right shoulders as a combat patch, which has not happened since
World War II.
While Gwynne was ready to make history, this call to duty
brought a pang of mixed emotions for his proud mother Melissa
Gwynne, who must send a son – and a Soldier – off to war.
“This is what he’s always wanted to do since he was 7 years
old,” Melissa said. “I have waves of emotion...” she continued,
tears welling in her eyes, and choking on her words. “He loves
his country and he is very patriotic. I am behind him 100
percent.”
The Ohio National Guard leadership, elected officials from the
federal, state and community levels, including representatives
from U.S. Sens. George V. Voinovich and Sherrod Brown; several
U.S. representatives and their staffs; Gov. Ted Strickland and
members of his staff; state legislators; as well as numerous
county commissioners, mayors and other local officials, attended
every ceremony and inspired the Soldiers with praise,
proclamations, promises of support and flags.
In Medina U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones read a poem, “Live
Your Creed,” and said military service men and women like those
in “Medina’s Own” Company G, 237th Support Battalion, set the
example for others to follow. She also gave Company Commander
Capt. Tim O’Connor, a proclamation and a flag. “Take it (the
flag) with you, protect it and bring it back,” she said. “So
far, every time I have given a flag, everyone has come back,”
she continued, generating applause and cheers from the crowd.
Strickland attended the ceremonies in Galloway and Springfield
for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 134th
Field Artillery Regiment and the Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, Special Troops Battalion, 37th IBCT,
respectively. He shook each Soldier’s hand and even helped
promote 1st Sgt. Thomas Watson to command sergeant major.
“I wish I could look each one of you in the eye and thank you on
behalf of the people of the great state of Ohio for the time and
talent that you are giving in service to Ohio and in service to
America,” Strickland said during his remarks.
Pfc. Megan Aigner of Company G, 237th Support Battalion, had
recently finished basic and advanced individual training, but
said she was eager to go and start the mission. “We’ve been
preparing for this,” she said. “We have had our good training. I
am anxious to do our mission and do it well.”
The 37th IBCT, now comprised of Citizen-Soldiers from Ohio and
Michigan, deploys for the first time as a modular brigade combat
team formation – a far cry from 1835 when each state sent its
militias to the face-off across the Maumee River in a dispute
over the territory that is now Toledo. The present-day “Buckeye”
Brigade, along with about 950 of their fellow Soldiers from the
Michigan Army National Guard, arrived safely last week at Fort
Hood, Texas, to conduct training before deploying in early
spring to Kuwait, where they will conduct base camp and security
missions.
“Things are going really well,” Curry said recently from Fort
Hood. “The brigade is settled in and the soldier processing went
very well. The morale of the soldiers is high, the facilities
are better than they expected and they are ready to start their
train up for the mission. The brigade has been getting kudos
from the trainers for how well prepared we are. The soldiers put
in a lot of extra training this year to be ready for this
mission and the instructors have been impressed.”
While other units within the new brigade have deployed for
various missions at home and abroad, this is the first
deployment as an Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which mobilizes
under the new Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) Model and is
currently scheduled to deploy for a total of 12 months.
The Ohio National Guard has about 2,000 Soldiers and Airmen
deployed for various missions around the world, but Maj. Gen.
Gregory L. Wayt, the adjutant general, said the Ohio National
Guard is ready to support any state emergency.
“While the Ohio National Guard continues to support the Global
War on Terrorism, we are ready to respond when called to support
an emergency in Ohio,” he said. “The Ohio National Guard stands
at more than 15,000 strong, so this deployment is a small
percentage of our total force, and we have ample resources
remaining in the state.”
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