Training continues as 'Gunslinger' get ready to come home for Christmas
prior to deployment to the Sinai
09 Dec 2001
By CAPT. DERALD NEUGEBAUER
Special to The Daily Citizen
Task Force 2-153 completed another week of training after spending the Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family. The Family Support Groups organized a bus trip that allowed family members and friends of soldiers in TF 2-153 the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones, while others made the drive in their personal vehicles.
The "Gunslinger" dining facility provided an excellent Thanksgiving Day dinner for the soldiers and their families. Major General Don Morrow, the Adjutant General of Arkansas and Brigadier General Ron Chastain, the 39th Infantry Brigade Commander, flew in from Arkansas to visit and eat Thanksgiving dinner with the Gunslingers and their families.
"My wife, son and I got to meet General Chastain during the Thanksgiving dinner and then we went to the Royal Gorge," said Sergeant Delbert Alrich from Delta Company.
Staff Sergeant (SSG) Mark Harmon, of TF 2-153 Headquarters, Headquarters Company, has been assisting the Fort Carson dining facility by providing culinary expertise in the area of baked goods.
His talents have even been recognized by the 7th Infantry Division Commander, Major General Charles Campbell, who has sampled some of SSG Harmon's baked goods. SSG Harmon is a district manager for Country Home Bakers, Inc. based in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
The Thanksgiving Day weekend quickly came to an end and the "Gunslingers" started another week of training where they focused on squad level tasks for the Multinational Force and Observers mission, along with Nuclear, Biological and Chemical training.
NBC training consisted of soldiers gathering in a tear (CS) gas filled room where they conducted a series of exercises to ensure that their M40 Protective Mask works. This builds the soldiers confidence that the equipment that we are using works in a real environment. "I didn't feel the effects of the CS gas until I took off my protective mask," said Specialist Chris Purchase.
The infantry companies began squad level training this week on mock observation posts designed to resemble the observation posts they will be manning in the Sinai. Each squad began conductingdrills that will prepare them for mission success in the Sinai, Egypt.
The Task Force MP unit shared gate guard duties with the Fort Carson Military Police Unit. While working the gates of the Mountain Post the "Gunslinger" MPs were able to get a feel of what their job in the Sinai will be like while working MFO check points.
The Task Force Engineers also conducted some real world missions by remodeling several sites on Fort Carson. Though not directly reflecting their MFO mission, the remodeling allowed the engineers the opportunity to both hone their skills and provide a needed service to Fort Carson facilities. "I haven't ever put up dry wall until I came to FT Carson," said Sergeant Steven Cupp, who is from the 239th EN Company in Booneville, Arkansas.
The "Gunslingers" also welcomed new soldiers to the Task Force this past week. Linguists from the California National Guard and the health and welfare specialists from the Missouri National Guard completed TF 2-153rd in order for the unit to properly provide support to the Multinational Forces and Observers mission while in the Sinai, Egypt.
The "Gunslingers" will continue to train over the next two weeks by training on platoon and then company tasks in order to be validated for the Multinational Force and Observers mission before being released on block leave for Christmas.