Unofficial 1st Infantry Division Magazine of Soldiers and Families | www.riley.army.mil

▪Soldier earns Silver Star

▪Combatives team finishes second

▪Color Guard sits tall at nationals
 Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |1

TEAMWORK is the foundation of the Big Red One. I shall

never fail my team, for I maintain the standard. My conduct and 

self-discipline set the example for others to follow.

HONOR is what I stand for–an American Soldier on duty

for my country. My loyalty is intense. I display care for

my fellow Soldiers and my chain of command through courage, 

respect, integrity and compassion.

I have learned to ENDURE, to thrive in adversity. 

The harsh reality of combat gives me the enthusiasm for

realistic training. I am physically and mentally strong to

meet the demanding situations my unit encounters.

We are one in the Big Red One. Our BROTHERHOOD

gives us strength to fight on to any objective and accomplish the 

mission as our veterans have done before us. I live the legacy of my division.

READINESS is my priority. To be ready for any mission,

anytime, anywhere. My business is first-class training and living high 

standards of care and equipment, weaponry and tactical and 

technical competence.

My ORGANIZATION is my strength. The BRO is bigger 

than any one individual. It gives me purpose, self-confidence, 

competitive spirit, intestinal fortitude and the desire to fight 

with all my heart.

Duty First!

The Duty First is an unofficial publication produced under the provisions of AR 360-1, published by Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division. 

Editorial views and opinions expressed are not 

necessarily those of the Department of Defense, 

the Army or the 1st Infantry Division. All photos 

are Army photos unless otherwise noted. Circulation is 6,000 per issue, printed monthly. Story 

and photos submissions are welcome and should 

be sent to: 

1st Infantry Division

Public Affairs Office 

ATTN: Editor 

Bldg. 580

RM 317

Fort Riley, KS 66442 

Telephone number

COM 785-239-6821 

 DSN 856-6821 

or visit Duty First online at www.riley.army.mil.

1st Infantry Division Commander

Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks

1st Infantry Division CSM

Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Champagne

1st Infantry Division PAO

Lt. Col. Sophie Gainey

Editor

Anna Newman

Staff Writers

Jordan Chapman

Stephanie Hoff

Illustrator 

Justin Angeles

Photo by Jordan chapman, duty First! magazine

No Mission too Difficult. No Sacrifice too Great.

Nov/Dec 2010 | www.riley.army.mil

Cover: Spc. Jeffery Moris, Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard, takes out a target 

with his pistol during the level two mounted pistol competition held at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas.

C O N T E N T S

Departments

Features

Danger 6

Making life stable for 

Soldiers, Families 

Danger 7

At Veterans Day 

and always 

Around the DIVISION

Clay Center welcomes 

home ‘Dragon’ Soldiers 

Danger Forward

Brigade holds special 

re-enlistment in Iraq

No job too great

Desert Storm allows Soldier 

to fill many roles

Hero's name lives on

Fort Riley honors Vietnam vet 

with award, academy names

Better late than never

Fifty-six years later, WWII unit 

earns presidential citation

Until they all come home

Missing Soldiers 

not forgotten

Striking a high note

Band quintet thwarts enemy 

ambush in Iraq 

Taking a combative stance

Fort Riley combatives team 

wins second at tourney

Charging ahead

Mounted Color Guard sits 

tall at national event

Soldier earns Silver Star

Sergeant leads effort to ambush 

the enemy in Afghanistan

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10

8

6

4

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29
Today, they might have gray 

hair and stooped shoulders, or 

they might be a student taking 

night classes to earn a college degree, or 

they might be anything in between. But 

however ordinary they might look now, 

at one point in their lives, they all did 

something extraordinary: they made 

the decision and sacrifice to wear the 

uniform of one of the branches of our 

Armed Forces. 

And every November, we pause life 

for a day to honor those ordinary people who have done extraordinary 

things. Many of them have endured 

great hardships, the loss of family and 

completely changed their lives in order 

to mold themselves to serving the military. And those decisions were made 

just to get to the place where they raised 

their right hand.

In late 2006, as the “Dragon” Brigade 

was preparing to deploy, a young Soldier turned in his Family contact paperwork to the Family Readiness Group. 

No one was listed on the form. When 

the FRG leader asked why, he told her 

that his Family was Amish and he knew 

for certain they would want no contact 

with him or anyone in the military. That 

Soldier knows exactly what it is like to 

make a huge life change, leave his Family behind, knowing they might never 

speak to him again, and charge forward. He is one of the small percentage 

of people who actively choose to make 

this country great.

Once that uniform rests on someone’s 

shoulders, it forever changes how they 

see the world and what they are willing 

to do for others. In October, Sgt. Zachary 

Reese, of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, was awarded the Silver Star 

for his actions in the Korengal Valley of 

Afghanistan. After observing a group of 

approaching enemy fighters, he organized a hasty ambush to take the fight to 

the enemy. Later, as he was searching 

the enemy dead, one of them, feigning 

death lunged at him and Reese engaged 

him in hand-to-hand combat. 

Our Soldiers are ordinary people 

who do extraordinary things. Eventually, they take the next step in their lives 

and no longer put a uniform on every 

day. Veterans Day is an opportunity for 

all of us to celebrate the choices made 

by our veterans to serve our nation, 

whether it was in Europe, Vietnam, Korea, Panama, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq or 

Afghanistan. 

We cannot forget those choices. This 

Veterans Day, thank someone who 

served. Impress upon our youth the importance and depth of that service. 

Those choices and sacrifices must not 

be forgotten by the nation they were 

made for, and should be remembered 

not just on Veterans Day, but in every 

day we have the opportunity to say 

thank you.

We salute all the men and women 

who have worn our uniforms. Because 

of you, we stand where we are today.

Now ... get after it!

On Nov. 11, 1918, World War I 

came to an end as the Allied 

and German forces signed an 

armistice agreement, bringing an end to 

the fighting in Europe and bringing Soldiers of the Big Red One home to their 

Families and friends after a successful 

campaign. Our 1st Infantry Division 

“doughboys” were the first to fight in 

The Great War, and the first American 

unit to win a battle when the 28th Infantry Regiment secured the French village 

of Cantigny.

Twenty years later, legislation was 

passed for a national holiday—Armistice 

Day—recognizing the signing of that 

agreement and to honor the veterans 

who fought in World War I. In 1954, after 

our nation had been through another 

World War and the Korean conflict, Armistice Day was re-designated as Veterans Day, a day to honor the legacy, the 

sacrifice, and the courage of the hundreds of thousands who have served in 

our nation’s military. 

Each year we pay tribute to both our 

present and past veterans. We have parades, ceremonies, and honor the fallen 

at cemeteries across the nation. Among 

those we honor are the thousands who 

have worn the Big Red One patch, and 

all of the historic regiments that have 

made up the ranks of the Fighting First. 

Some of those regimental histories date 

back to the Revolutionary War, others 

fought in the Mexican War, against 

brothers in the Civil War, kept peace here 

on the plains, and defended freedom in 

the Philippine Insurrection. There was 

no sacrifice too great for those Soldiers 

serving in some of our division’s most 

historic regiments.

Since 1917, Soldiers have worn the Big 

Red One patch and fought for freedom 

and justice at all points across the globe. 

There has been no mission too difficult. 

From the Argonne Forest to the beaches 

of Normandy and from the jungles of 

Vietnam to the concrete jungles of the 

Balkans, 1st Inf. Div. Soldiers have served 

gallantly and heroically, paving the way 

for the generations now serving in this 

historic division.

Today’s Big Red One Soldiers have 

kept peace on the streets of Baghdad and 

helped rebuild a safer, stable, and increasingly independent Iraq. They have 

also fought hard in some of the most remote areas of Afghanistan, watching 

over valleys from high mountain outposts and rooting out the Taliban threat 

in an effort to bring peace to the Afghan 

people. The Soldiers in today’s division 

have, and will continue to put duty first.

The history of this division is truly 

amazing, and it is the men and women 

who have worn the Big Red One patch 

who penned those historic chapters. We 

should honor them each and every day, 

but especially on Veterans Day. I want to 

personally thank all of the veterans who 

have proudly served in the ranks of the 

Big Red One. You are the giants on whose 

shoulders we stand. And we salute you.

Duty First!

2| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |3

Commanding General DANGER 6 Command Sergeant Major DANGER 7

Honor veterans every day An extraordinary holiday 

Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks Division Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Champagne
4| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |5

Dear Readers,

Every November, Duty First! pays tribute to our veterans. Our 

veterans are ordinary men and women who chose to do the extraordinary for their country and we are forever in their debt. 

Normally, we profile a veteran from each conflict the 1st Infantry 

Division has fought in; but this year we chose to do something 

different. We still touch on each conflict, but we opted to do it through 

different angles.

In this issue, we remember our veterans who are missing and 

discuss the ongoing efforts to retrieve their remains; look at conflict 

through the eyes of a group of veterans who made the pact to 

continue getting together every year until there are only three of 

them left—the significance of three being their unit, the 3rd Field 

Artillery Regiment. A veteran’s story is also told through the eyes 

of his wife, and Desert Storm and our current conflicts are told 

through the men who fought in them.

While special efforts are always made to recognize veterans 

on Veterans Day, I would ask that you do three things for our 

veterans:

Tell them thank you! They sacrificed much so that our country 

could always have a force to defend its shores. In ways big and small, 

they have changed the course of history by their actions.

Tell their stories to our young people. It is impossible to say how 

important this is. The stories of dedication, courage and strength must 

be retold so that it is impressed upon our next generation how important small decisions can be and the importance of the legacy they are 

entrusted with carrying forward.

Help our veterans who cannot help themselves. For many, the 

scars of war carry on for years, crippling their ability to deal with 

many things. For them, we are obligated to go the extra mile. Do it! 

For me, one of the best parts of this job is meeting, talking to and 

interacting with our veterans and they are some of the best and most 

loyal friends you could ever ask for!

—Anna Newman, editor

It was here, on the battlefields of 

France, that the 1st Inf. Div. experienced 

its first missing or prisoner of war Soldiers. The Great War saw more than 300 

Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division 

become captured or missing. 

Since World War I, Soldiers have been 

listed as missing or unaccounted for in almost every conflict the division has participated in. Today, approximately 150 

Soldiers from the 1st Inf. Div. who fought 

in World War II are still listed as unaccounted for. Some Big Red One Soldiers 

who fought in Vietnam and subsequent 

conflicts have carried the same status at 

one time or another.

JPAC and the Defense Prisoner of War/

Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) still 

work with other military agencies to locate and recover the remains of military 

members listed as missing in action.

Family Update Briefings

There are 10 family update briefings 

hosted by DPMO each year—eight regional meetings throughout the country 

and then two per year in Washington, 

D.C. Family briefings were first held in 

1995—just 12 family members were 

present at the first one—and since then, 

have continued to grow. The briefings 

give family members of prisoners of war 

or missing in action service members an 

opportunity to learn about recovery efforts as they relate to specific conflicts, 

learn about how the recovery and identification process works, how records 

are kept and a chance to meet with casualty officers about their particular case.

The Recovery Process

JPAC has several recovery teams that 

work on the physical recovery of remains. 

The sites are “found” through a variety of 

methods—known gravesites or POW 

camps, eyewitness accounts, or through 

records provided by other countries. Once 

a site reaches the excavation phase, a team 

from JPAC is sent to the site, and remains 

are retrieved through a methodical process similar to an archeological dig. Johnie 

Webb, JPAC deputy commander for public relations and legislative action, said 

that there are many known sites throughout the world, and several factors decide 

which sites get priority. The factors include what or how many remains are 

present, if the host nation of the site is considered friendly, what kind of physical 

hazards are present, whether the site is in 

jeopardy of disturbance or destruction 

and the availability of a recovery team to 

be deployed to the area.

“Our biggest enemy is time,” Webb 

said. “Every day that goes by, witnesses 

that could be helping us are dying and 

remains are deteriorating ... Time, terrain, weather—they’re all enemies.”

The Identification Process

Once remains are recovered, they are 

sent to the lab at JPAC, the largest skeletal identification lab in the country.

“We approach our recoveries like a 

crime scene,” said Tom Holland, scientific director at JPAC. “But our crime 

scenes are 40, 50 or 60 years old.”

Identifying remains is based upon 

multiple lines of evidence, Holland said, 

such as material or non-biological evidence, forensic evidence and circumstantial evidence—such as location.

DNA evidence is becoming an increasing factor in identifying remains. While 

DNA evidence is not the deciding factor 

in discovering identity, family members 

of service members who are missing are 

asked to allow JPAC to take a sample. The 

sample must come from someone on the 

service member’s maternal family line 

and consists of a simple cheek swab.

“DNA is not the golden bullet that’s 

going to solve everything out there,” 

said James Canik, deputy director, 

Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory. “But when you put it in the context of everything else, then it clarifies 

the bigger picture.”

For more information, visit: www.jpac.

pacom.mil or www.dtic.mil/dpmo.

GONE, NOT FORGOTTEN

Since the casualties of World War I, officials continue efforts 

to recover and return remains of division's Soldiers

Story By Anna Newman | Duty First! Magazine

I

n World War1, a brand new 1st Infantry Division set sail for Europe. There, the Big 

Red One fought in the battles of Cantigny, Soissons, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne 

and others. This brand new Army division fought with distinction, setting the high 

standard that it would continue to live up to as time went on.

JPAC photo by Marine Corps Sgt. Kara L. Coonrod

A local Papuan and Petty Officer 2nd Class James Hill work together to clean up the floor of an excavation unit in the Madang province, Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Two recovery teams 

and one investigation team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command deployed to Papua New 

Guinea in search of Americans lost during World War II. The mission of JPAC is to achieve the fullest 

possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of our nation’s past conflicts. 

Recovery Leader Kristin 

Baker, an anthropologist with the Joint POW/

MIA Accounting 

Command, sifts through 

some World War II-era 

aircraft wreckage 

during a recovery 

mission in the Madang 

province, Independent 

State of Papua New 

Guinea. The team 

excavated the area for 

more than 45 days, 

searching for clues and 

evidence of the aircraft 

and its lost aircrew.

JPAC photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon I
6| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |7

“When I joined the ‘Third,’ it was a 

horse-drawn battalion, one of the oldest 

artillery units in the Army,” Rupp 

said.

On July 14, 1942, the 2nd Cav. Div. 

was redesignated as the 9th Armored 

Division. The unit’s Soldiers traded in 

their horses for half-tracks, their once 

horse-drawn 75 mm’s were now selfpropelled 105 howitzers and Jeeps and 

motorcycles became more prevalent. 

“As battalion reconnaissance officer, 

I was assigned one of those motorcycles 

with a driver whose main goal in life 

seemed to be to scare me by whipping 

through Loblolly Pine forests at breakneck speed during the 1941 Louisiana 

winter maneuvers. I never admitted 

fear ... but probably should have,” 

Rupp said. 

In addition to participating in the 

training conducted in Louisiana, the 

unit also utilized the vast training areas of Fort Riley to exercise with its 

newly assigned equipment. The training would prove vastly beneficial as 

the unit’s Soldiers would find themselves aboard the Queen Mary in the 

fall of 1944, bound for service in World 

War II. 

For the first few months, Rupp’s unit 

was stationed northeast of Luxembourg 

City, in what he recalls as a ‘relatively 

quiet front.’ 

That would all change in the early 

morning hours of Dec. 16, 1944. Beginning at approximately 5:30 a.m., the 

Soldiers came under massive fire. An 

estimated 900 rounds were fired upon 

the units within the first hour. 

It would later be determined that 30 

German divisions were involved in the 

offensive that was planned by the Axis 

with the utmost secrecy, utilizing minimal radio traffic and the movement of 

German troops and equipment during 

night. 

“At about 5:30 a.m., we and the rest 

of the ‘Ninth’ began receiving fire on 

a front that, up until then, had been 

fairly quiet,” Rupp said. “Thus began 

‘The Battle of the Bulge,’ Hitler’s last 

hurrah.” 

During the next 10 days, the Soldiers 

of the 3rd Field Artillery Bn. fired more 

than 26,000 artillery rounds, averaging 

one round every 40 seconds. 

Rupp was a captain at the time and 

serving as the service battery’s commanding officer. The unit’s main mission was the transportation of records 

and personnel files, along with food, 

clothing and most supplies need by the 

battalion. 

“All that changed for my battery on 

the cold, wet morning 16 Dec. 16, 1944,” 

he said. “As service battery commander, 

it was my job to deliver that much needed ammo. We offloaded kitchen equipment, personnel records and battalion 

supplies and for the next five days, maybe longer, I don’t remember being out of 

my jeep. We made 150 mile turn-arounds, driving blackout at night, but we 

always found our way back to our guns, 

which was fortunate because there was 

no front line. A wrong turn could have 

meant big trouble.” 

Once the battle ended and the Allied 

forces were victorious in defeating the 

Germans’ attempts to take Luxembourg 

and form a route for their forces to the 

sea; the unit submitted an application 

for a Presidential Unit Citation. 

“We put in for recognition after the 

‘Bulge,’ but were turned down, partly, 

it was rumored, because we hadn’t lost 

enough men,” Rupp said. 

Upon the collapse of the Soviet 

Union in 1991, German battle reports 

were recovered in the Russian archives. 

The reports detailed how a German division was unable to gain access into 

Luxemburg because of fire in all the approach areas.

“Well that was the 3rd Field. We 

were firing a round every 20 to 30 seconds, and sustained for six days,” Rupp 

said. 

“The real satisfaction came 56 years 

after the war. We resubmitted (for the 

Presidential Unit Citation). This time it 

was approved,” he said. 

Eight of the unit’s former Soldiers 

were in attendance on Aug. 30, 2001, for 

the award ceremony that recognized 

the “extraordinary heroism and gallantry,” of the battalion’s Soldiers during the battle. 

“We had stopped an entire German 

division and anchored the south shoulder of the ‘Bulge’ while doing it. Finally, 

we had a PUC to prove it,” he said. 

Since 1973 the veterans of the 3rd 

Field Artillery Bn., are reunited once a 

year at Fort Riley, where their stories, 

that get ‘bigger and better’ with each 

passing year, Rupp chuckled, are retold 

and shared. 

RECOGNITION AT LAST

56 years after war—3rd Field Artillery's role in Battle of the Bulge 

earns Presidential Unit Citation

T

hey watched as their military horses 

were traded in for self-propelled vehicles, they’ve witnessed former horse 

stables transformed into office buildings, 

but their greatest memory of their military 

service will be helping their country succeed during a time of war. 

Every year the veterans and Family members of the 3rd Field Artillery reconvene 

upon Fort Riley to reunite at the historic 

post that brought them together more than 

60 years ago. 

Six months before the Japanese would 

bomb Pearl Harbor, propelling the United 

States into World War II, Robert Rupp, a 

young first lieutenant fresh out of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, was assigned 

to the 3rd Field Artillery Battalion. The unit 

was stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., and was 

part of the 2nd Cavalry Division. 

Story By Stephanie Hoff | Duty First! Magazine

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

Fred Gordon (left) and Robert Rupp, members 

of the 3rd Field Artillery Bn. Association, view a 

monument their association dedicated to Fort 

Riley in honor of their unit and former battalion 

commander who they served under during 

World War II. Every year, the members of the 

3rd Field Artillery Bn. Association reunite at 

Fort Riley to honor their former unit that 

trained at the post before deploying for World 

War II. 

Courtesy Photo

During WWII, the now 

infamous Remagen 

Bridge, was the last 

free standing bridge 

that allowed movement across the Rhine 

River. The Germans’ 

attempt to destroy the 

bridge was unsuccessful due to the 

efforts of Soldiers 

from the 9th Armored 

Division. “The 

Germans tried to blow 

it but the engineers 

got down there and 

pulled the wires loose. 

It was all ready to blow 

but it misfired and 

only partially went off. 

That was the first 

free-standing bridge 

to cross the Rhine,” 

said Robert Rupp, who 

served as a battery 

service commander 

during the war. 
8| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |9

“I fell in love with the guy. Right there 

and then,” she said.

“When it came time to go home, he 

told me he had a beat up Volkswagen 

with a heater that didn’t work ... and this 

was in November,” Tina said. “But he just 

said ‘If you don’t mind; I would like to 

drive you home anyway. 

“I didn’t mind. I didn’t care what car 

he drove, if he had money; whatever. It 

didn’t matter to me at all.”

As the couple began to date regularly 

and the conversations continued to flow 

freely, the one thing that Tina recalls very 

seldom mentioned during those exchanges was Frank’s service in Vietnam. 

“I had no idea about what he had already did in the service. I knew he had 

served in Vietnam, but he didn’t brag 

about it or say that he was a hero,” she 

said. “He would always simply say ‘I did 

what I did.’ He never wanted to stand out 

or be called a hero or anything.” 

And ‘hero’ is a very fitting word to describe her late husband. On Feb. 1, 1969, 

while serving as a platoon sergeant for C 

Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, then-Staff Sgt. Webb, and his men 

came under intense enemy fire. While receiving rounds from rocket-propelled grenades, automatic weapons and small arms, 

Frank exposed himself to the North Vietnamese Army and supplied covering fire to 

allow his men to retreat. 

As the fighting continued and the platoon’s leader became incapacitated, Frank 

took charge and crawled on his hands and 

knees among the Soldiers to provide them 

directions and encouragement. As the night 

approached, he and a small group of volunteers advanced forward to retrieve two of 

their fallen comrades lost in the struggle. He 

then destroyed an enemy bunker with two 

light anti-tank weapons, allowing his men 

to retrieve their fellow Soldiers. 

Ten months later he would be awarded 

the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions that day. Another four years 

later, he would find himself at an NCO 

club in Germany where he would meet his 

future bride. Three months after initially 

meeting, Frank and Tina were married. 

“When I think about his actions (in Vietnam); I think that I could have lost him 

right there that day and wouldn’t have 

been able to have ever met him,” she said. 

“I’ve always been proud of him. He wasn’t 

afraid; he did what he had to do. He never 

thought about himself. He just wanted to 

help his Soldiers that he fought with.” 

In 1974, after four years of marriage, 

they loaded up their young family that 

now included a son and a daughter and 

were transferred to the United States. 

“Of course I would go with him, wherever he had to go. I didn’t think ‘Yes! I’m 

going to the United States and now I’m going to be rich,’ Tina said. “I went with him 

because I loved him and he loved me.” 

Frank would eventually be assigned to 

Fort Riley where he would serve as a senior drill sergeant for the U.S. Army Retraining Brigade. 

Life at Fort Riley progressed smoothly 

for the young family as Frank advanced in 

rank and Tina stayed busy making them a 

home. Frank’s dedication to his Soldiers and 

the U.S. Army was not only represented by 

his numerous awards, that now included 

the Army Commendation Medal and Meritorious Service Medal that Tina proudly 

displayed in their home, but also in the special care he provided for his Soldiers, she 

said. She recalled one Christmas where he 

replaced a young Soldier who was scheduled to work a night shift so the Soldier 

could have the holiday with his family. 

“(Frank) would never think about 

himself. He just thought about his fellow 

Soldiers and their Families,” Tina said. 

“He had a Family then too, but I understood why he would want to do that for 

one of his Soldiers.” 

The young couple’s blossoming family 

life and Frank’s flourishing career took an 

unexpected turn when Frank began to get 

ill. After he was diagnosed with Lymphoma, it was believed to be due to exposure 

of Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. The family then began to spend a 

majority of their time at hospitals located 

from Kansas City to Fitzsimons Army 

Hospital in Colorado.

“He never complained when he began 

to get sick and would always joke around 

with the doctors,” she said. “He wouldn’t 

let loose. He refused to give up. He wanted to go on, but he never complained or 

told us he was hurting.

“He just didn’t want to stay away from 

his job. He didn’t want to be away from 

his Soldiers.” She recalled that it finally 

took his unit’s command sergeant major 

to tell him that he would no longer be allowed to report for duty due to his ailing 

health. “This broke his heart.”

When Frank took his last breath on 

March 13, 1979, just shy of 10 years of marriage, he was not only in the company of 

his family at his bedside, but his fellow 

Soldiers and commanding officers. 

His last wish was to be returned to Tina’s native Germany and be buried in her 

hometown, she said. Even upon his final 

transportation to Germany, Frank was 

not alone. A former comrade and friend 

who had served with him in Vietnam 

made the journey with him to transport 

his body to its final resting place. 

“I lost a husband. They lost a great Soldier. The Army is a Family. This is how I 

see it. I found out after my husband passed 

away this Family, the Army, was there for 

me. They cared for me and they helped me 

with anything I needed,” Tina said. 

More than 30 years after his death, Sgt. 

1st Class Webb’s heroic actions while 

serving in Vietnam as well as his attentiveness for his Soldiers are still honored 

by the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley. The 

post’s former Noncommissioned Officer 

Academy was renamed the Webb Professional Development Center. 

Today, the top graduate of the quarterly 

Fort Riley Warrior Leader Course is presented the Sgt. 1st Class Francis R. Webb 

Distinguished Honor Graduate award. 

“That they let him live on with all the 

awards presented in his name; is such an 

honor,” Tina said.

REMEMBERING A HERO

Vietnam veteran's name lives on in wife's fond memories 

and Fort Riley's Warrior Leader Course award 

Story By Stephanie Hoff | Duty First! Magazine

Honored Soldier, respected leader, loving father ... all are terms that have been used when describing the late Sgt. 1st Class Francis 

Webb. But to his wife, Tina, he will always simply be remembered as a best 

friend and devoted companion. 

Their relationship began one cold 

winter night in 1970 in Germany. Francis, who commonly went by Frank, was 

a young noncommissioned officer, recently returned from serving in Vietnam 

and Tina was a German native who decided to visit the local NCO club one 

night with friends. 

“I wasn’t there to look for somebody. 

I just wanted to have a good time,” she 

said. “I went to the NCO club and here 

he was standing across from me, and he 

just stared at me. I mean, he didn’t take 

his eyes off of me. And I was asking my 

friends ‘Why is he staring at me?’”

It didn’t take long before Frank made 

his way over to talk to her. The conversation flowed easily, she recalled, and 

she found herself greatly enjoying his 

company. 

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

ABOVE: Tina Webb hugs Sgt. William Cole, Sept. 3, after presenting him a bronze cast in honor of her husband, the late Sgt. 1st 

Class Francis Webb. Cole was awarded the Sgt. 1st Class Francis Webb Distinguished Honor Graduate for his accomplishments 

while completing the Warrior Leader Course. INSETS: From top, the late Sgt. 1st Class Webb, Tina Webb and Sgt. William Cole. 
Serving in the United States Army 

for 22-years as a paralegal, Dupree explained he didn’t get the chance to 

practice the skills of his MOS much 

during his time with the 4th Brigade, 

1st Inf. Div., then an aviation brigade, 

on the ground from Feb. 16 to April 15, 

1991. 

Instead of working his normal job, 

handling the paperwork of court marshals, article 15s and elimination and 

separation actions, he found himself 

acting as a platoon sergeant a good deal 

of the time, packing up vehicles, going 

on convoys, doing electrician work, 

routing wires from one tent to another 

and volunteering for the door gunner 

position on flight missions.

“I flew pretty much every day,” Dupree said, explaining that technique 

and technology has improved since 

then, but in 1991, there weren’t a lot of 

men who wanted to fly in the desert.

“The sand over there is like fine talcum powder and it just clogs up everything,” he said. “Powder is all over the 

place and you can’t see,” he said. Often, he explained, pilots would have to 

trust their skill and instincts to go 

straight up out of the cloud stirred up 

on the ground.

“I would only fly with a couple of 

guys who were willing to fly because 

they were good pilots,” he said.

Aside from the danger appeal, Dupree said he actively volunteered simply for the excitement he received 

while conducting provisions, people 

and ammunition pick-ups before coming back by nightfall.

“You have the door there, the ‘60’ is 

mounted on a hinge, you’re tethered 

and you’re right there in the door,” he 

said, living the memory. “Occasionally 

we would go check something out, I’d 

lock and load and would check it out, 

and if it wasn’t anything we would 

continue on with our mission ... it was 

a little bit of a rush.”

Even more dangerous than his volunteer flying was his volunteer work 

driving by night, and though it too 

brought excitement, it was of a different sort. 

“We would have night convoys ... even something as simple 

as ... people wanting to make phone 

calls back home,” he said, explaining 

U.S. phone companies would set up 

sites for that purpose, only they 

would be in the middle of nowhere.

“It was all a blackout drive, so you’d 

have to go with a battery operated GPS 

with the coordinates,” he said. “The 

terrain wasn’t always flat, there were 

cliffs,” he continued, implying the levels of anxiety one can achieve when 

driving without much light in a terrain 

that could drop out from underneath at 

any given time. 

“It was kind of scary,” Dupree said, 

describing one instance where he 

missed the edge of a 10 to 15 foot drop 

by the hairs of his skin.

“I’ve got my blackout lights on, 

which lets you see maybe two to three 

feet of head of you. I’m just driving 

along and following my coordinates of 

my GPS ... this one night I slammed on 

the brakes and threw the wheel and 

when the S1 looked over the side he 

was looking over the side of a drop,” 

he remembered.

Daytime convoys were no picnic, either. “We stopped at some place and 

figured out we were on top of an underground Iraqi compound. We set up 

for the night and didn’t find that out 

until they would try and come out. As 

they lifted up the board they would see 

these lights,” Dupree commented, explaining the easiest of solutions was 

present within one of their trucks, 

which they moved over the compound 

entrance.

Throughout all of these experiences, 

Dupree was fine with not having to 

concentrate on his paralegal work, explaining he expected to get on to the 

ground and do whatever was needed 

of him.

“When you go to the field, your 

MOS is secondary. You’re a Soldier 

first,” he said. Dupree came home from 

his service in 1991 with the Bronze 

Star.

“You’re very aware of the situation 

that you’re in and the dangers of it. You 

just hope you get through each day and 

you get back home.”

10| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |11

BEING A SOLDIER FIRST

Desert Storm veteran recounts volunteerism 

being foundation for earning Bronze Star 

Story By Jordan Chapman | Duty First! Magazine

T he Big Red One, the legendary unit famed for its victories and determination, for its courage and ever resilient men and women upholding its colors. Why? Because 

within each uniform is a person 

who knows that above all specialized training, job titles and 

position, they are Soldiers first. 

Retired Sgt. 1st Class LaMonte 

Dupree knows that all too well 

from his time spent in Operation Desert Storm.

Photo Courtesy the 1st Infantry Division Museum

1st Infantry Division Soldiers create the Big Red One insignia during Operation Desert Storm. 

Photos Courtesy 1st Infantry Division Museum

TOP: Two lines of 1st Infantry Division vehicles 

sit mission ready in the sands of Iraq during 

Operation Desert Storm. ABOVE: A 1st Infantry 

Division Soldier keeps his patriotism alive during time spent in Operation Desert Storm.
12| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |13

Sgt. 1st Class James Freeman, Staff 

Sgt. Frank McCaskill, Sgt. George Eleazer, Sgt. Travis Drabek and Spc. 

Tristan Calabrese received the Combat 

Action Badge on Sept. 22 in recognition 

for their actions in support of Operation 

Iraqi Freedom.

Members of the band’s Basra Brass 

quintet were traveling from COB Basra 

to Camp Bucca in Southern Iraq when 

the Soldiers’ convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Though the vehicle was totaled, no 

one was injured during the explosion. 

Band members took their weapons and 

immediately secured the area.

“You never expect something like 

that,” said Freeman, a 14-year Army 

veteran. Freeman said those responsible 

for the attack were later found and captured.

“There is a certain amount of humility in which I accept this, because I feel 

fortunate that I survived it,” McCaskill 

said. “The fact that we were able to 

come out of there OK, I feel very good 

about that.” 

McCaskill said that should he be assigned to another unit which is about to 

deploy again, he feels more prepared to 

mentor younger Soldiers who haven’t 

had the experience he has.

“We all volunteer to take the risk 

when we go over there and deploy,” 

said Maj. Christopher Ott, Division 

Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion—rear battalion commander. “These 

guys were actually engaged by the enemy ... they actually suffered that experience and now have the knowledge 

that they can fight through, do their 

duty and survive a hostile attack.”

Ott added that the quintet’s experience will help inspire their own unit 

and give confidence to the Soldiers that 

join them on missions.

“It was something that really 

strengthened us as a team,” Freeman 

reaffirmed.

More awards were given during the 

ceremony. Staff Sgt. David Basil was 

awarded the Bronze Star for exceptional meritorious service while assigned as 

a personal security detachment and 

quick reaction force squad leader in 

support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Army Commendation Medal for 

Meritorious Service was also awarded 

to Sgt. Bradley Clark, Sgt. Daniel Aldrich, Spc. Mark Dillon, Spc. Jess Willis 

and Pv2 Tyler Rolin for their technical, 

tactical expertise and commitment to 

excellence.

SCORE ONE FOR BAND

Basra Brass Quintet weather attack on convoy, 

receive Combat Action Badges

Story By Jordan Chapman | Duty First! Magazine

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

Spc. Tristan Calabrese is awarded the Combat 

Action Badge Sept. 22 in recognition for his 

actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 

July 3. 

I

t isn’t often that members of 

the 1st Infantry Division 

Band find themselves taking 

up arms against the enemy. Five 

of those Soldiers, however, 

found themselves doing just that 

July 3, making their own nation’s celebration of independence the following day taste 

that much sweeter. 

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

Sgt. 1st Class James Freeman (from left) Staff Sgt. Frank McCaskill, Sgt. George Eleazer, Sgt. Travis Drabek and Spc. Tristan Calabrese, 1st Infantry Division Band, stand ready to receive the Combat Action Badge on Sept. 22 in recognition for their actions 

July 3 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

1st Infantry Division Soldiers prepare to receive awards and medals Sept 22. Among those receiving recognition were Sgt. 1st Class James Freeman, Staff Sgt. Frank McCaskill, Sgt. George Eleazer, Sgt. Travis Drabek and Spc. Tristan Calabrese, 1st Infantry Division Band, who each received 

the Combat Action Badge for their actions July 3 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom .
14

| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |15

An inexperienced but technical-

ly masterful Fort Riley combat-

ives team placed second overall

in the 2010 All-Army Combatives 

Tournament on Oct. 3.

The team narrowly lost out on 

first place, racking up 398 points, 

behind III Corps’ 414. Fort Bragg, 

N.C., placed third.

Fort Riley finishes 

second in All-Army 

Combatives tourney

(continued on page 16)
16

| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |17

(continued from page 15)

Staff Sgt. Lonnie Kincaid, of 1st Engineer Battalion, 

placed third in the heavyweight division, winning by 

knockout against Ivan Iotchkolovsky of the Illinois Nation-

al Guard. Kincaid fought his way out of an attempted tri-

angle choke hold and then knocked his opponent to the 

floor with a flurry of punches.

“At first, when he had that triangle choke, I was like 

‘uh-oh.’ But I wasn’t choking, I was too wide for him. So I 

just found a hole and got out,” Kincaid said. “The intention 

wasn’t to knock him out, I just wanted to beat the hell out 

of him.”

Pfc. Matt Yaure, assigned to 1st Bn., 5th Field Artillery 

Regt., 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, also fought in the 

third-place match, but lost the bout by submission to Rob-

ert Texidor of III Corps. The fourth-place finish was far bet-

ter than Yaure, making his first tournament appearance, 

expected to complete in a competition boasting more than 

500 Soldiers.

“I had looked into UFC and MMA-style stuff before, but 

it wasn’t until after I joined the Army and saw the poster in 

my company area that I actually did this,” Yaure said. Yau-

re has never taken an Army combatives class. After seeing 

the poster, he decided to compete in the Fort Riley Com-

batives Tournament last spring. He did well enough there 

to qualify for the all-Army team and then spent the past 

three months in daily training with other team members.

“I learned a lot through watching YouTube videos and 

then training,” Yaure said. “This is my first major tourna-

ment and to finish fourth feels great. I’m definitely going to 

stick with it.”

(continued on page 18)

Big Red One team 

sends first woman 

to 2010 All-Army 

combatives event

By Anna Newman

1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORT BENNING, Ga.—It was another first for the 1st 

Infantry Division: Sgt. TanyaJean Pangelinan took to 

the mats as a competitor in the all-Army Combatives 

Tournament, marking the first time the Big Red One 

has sent a female contender to the 

event.

Pangelinan, assigned to 1st Battal-

ion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 

2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 

qualified for the 1st Infantry Division 

and Fort Riley all-Army team at the 

post combatives tournament last 

spring. She trained alongside other 

members of the team, which includ-

ed her fiancé, Sgt. Richard Pry. 

“We would train as a team, and then my fiancé and 

I would go home and train some more,” Pangelinan 

said. “A lot of females go through the combatives 

classes, but don’t take it to the next level.”

For Pangelinan, though, she never thought much 

about being the only woman on the team.

“These guys, while we were training, treated me 

just like another fighter. And that’s good,” she said. 

“There are no males or females on the battlefield.”

Pangelinan did not get the finish she had hoped for, 

going 0-2 in the tournament, but she said it was still a 

valuable experience.

“I enjoyed everything,” she said. “There’s a lot of 

camaraderie that developed within our team and ev-

eryone supported each other.”

The most valuable thing Pangelinan took away, 

though, were the things she could share with her unit.

“Everything with this is a learning experience and it’s 

something you can take back to the unit,” she said. “All 

the moves and stuff you learn—that’s stuff you can take 

back to your unit and use to train other Soldiers.”

Pangelinan

Anna Newmann, Duty First! Magazine

Pfc. Matt Yaure fights his way out of an armbar during the fightfor 

third place on Oct. 3.

Anna Newman, Duty First! Magazine

Spc. Matthew Arrington, 2nd Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., 

hangs upside down, while sinking in a triangle choke 

hold. He won the match by submission. 
18| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |19

By Jasmine Walthall

The Guidon Newspaper

In his first appearance at the All-Army Combatives Tournament, Staff Sgt. Jason Eggleston was golden. 

Eggleston, of 4th Maneuver Enhancement 

Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, fighting on 

the Fort Leonard Wood team, took first in 

the light heavyweight division, winning 

with an inverted arm bar submission.

 “My team was behind me, I had good 

coaching and I was just feeling my mojo,” 

Eggleston said. “I kept thinking about the 

guys that were with me, and everyone 

that was supporting me back at Fort 

Leonard Wood. I did not want to make 

everyone that said that I could do it out to 

be liars.” 

Eggleston has been practicing Brazilian 

jujitsu for the past nine years. He was 

trained in the art at Balance/Tai Kai Jiu Jitsu 

Academy in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Fort Leonard Wood team, which 

was comprised of the winners of each 

weight class at the post combatives tournament, practiced together before taking 

the trip to Fort Benning, Ga., to compete 

with combative teams from Army installations throughout the world. This was Fort 

Leonard Wood’s first time attending the 

competition.

“This is my first military competition, although I have competed with a lot of the 

guys in the civilian world,” Eggleston said. 

“It was some serious competition. The Army 

definitely sent their best guys and the competition was tough, but outstanding.”

By Anna Newman

Duty First! Magazine

FORT BENNING, Ga.—Two members of the 3rd Infantry 

Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, made an appearance in the all-Army Combatives Tournament as part 

of the Fort Knox, Ky., team. 

Sgt. Brandon Sandefur, Brigade Headquarters and 

Headquarters Company, fought for the third and final time in 

the tournament; and Spc. Matthew Mosall, 1st Battalion, 6th 

Field Artillery Regiment, made his first appearance in the 

tournament. The 3rd IBCT is currently stationed at Fort Knox. 

Both Sandefur and Mosall qualified for the team through the 

Fort Knox post tournament last spring. Since then, the team 

has spent three days a week training and preparing.

Sandefur, of South Bend, Ind., was a high school and college wrestler and took third place in his weight bracket during his first trip to the all-Army tournament in 2007. 

Sandefur wanted to pursue the World Class Athletes 

Program when he joined the Army, but did not do as well 

as he had hoped at U.S. Nationals. He returned to Fort 

Hood, Texas, and was convinced by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel 

Pilewski to train for combatives instead. 

 “I was hooked instantly. Once I saw it, I could see how my 

skills would fit in with it and help me do well at it,” he said.

He is leaving the Army early next year, and was hoping 

for a top finish during his final appearance at the event, but 

it wasn’t to be. Sandefur fought through the top side of the 

bracket Oct. 1, remaining in the contest with a shot at first 

place. The following day, he lost his first bout of the day, 

which dropped him to the consolation bracket, fighting for 

third and fourth place. He then lost the following bout by 

decision, putting him out of contention.

Mosall, from Albany, NY, in his first tournament appearance, went out of contention during the first day of 

bouts, but said the experience overall was good for him.

“It’s definitely a learning experience,” Mosall said. 

“I’m more aware of what I need to do to get better for next 

time.”

Sandefur, Mosall represent 3rd IBCT

Anna Newman, Duty First! Magazine

Sgt. Brandon Sandefur, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, takes on an opponent during rounds 

on Oct. 1 in Fort Benning, Ga.

(continued from page 16)

Other top six finishes went to 

Spc. Brett Hayes, flyweight division, 

and Staff Sgt. Jimmy Wilson, flyweight division.

The 1st Infantry Division and Fort 

Riley sent 24 Soldiers to the All-Army Combatives Tournament. Those 

24 Soldiers were divided into two 

teams. Only six of the 24 had ever 

competed in the tournament before. 

The annual tournament pits the best 

in the Army against each other in an 

Ultimate Fighting Championship 

style tournament. Combatives tournaments are designed to help Soldiers hone their hand-to-hand combat skills and build their willpower 

in fighting a tough enemy. Fort Benning officials said this year’s tournament featured nearly 100 more fighters that last year’s.

Teams from the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley have consistently placed in the top three spots at the 

tournament. The team finished third 

last year and first in 2008.

Courtesy photo

Staff Sgt. Jimmy Wilson looks for an opening during an Oct. 2 fight at the All-Army Combatives Tournament.

Eggleston brings home the gold 

4th MEB Soldier wins 1st in 

light heavyweight division

Courtesy Photo

Staff Sgt. Jason Eggleston, of 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, fighting on the Fort 

Leonard Wood team, took first in the light heavyweight 

division at the All-Army Combatives Tournament.
20| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |21

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

1st Infantry Division Mounted Color Guard Troopers pose for a photo after the end of the Major Howze team competition Sept. 30 during the 2010 

Annual Bivouac & National Cavalry Competition held at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas. 

Mounted Color Guard Troopers 

sit tall in saddle at Bivouac and 

National Cavalry Competition 

By Jordan Chapman |Duty First! Magazine

SAN ANGELO, TX

The excitement was high as cavalry units 

from every branch of the military, re-enactors and military riders from Australia and 

England converged on the historic grounds 

of Fort Concho Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

 The 12 1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard Troopers were more than ready to participate in 

the 2010 Bivouac and National Cavalry 

Competition. (continued on page 22)
(continued from page 21)

Staff Sgt. Michael Steede, Staff Sgt. 

Kristine McGinley, Sgt. William Colberg, 

Sgt. Corey Elder, Sgt. Tommy Evans, 

Sgt. Edward Pacola, Cpl. Carl Dreis, Spc. 

Jeffery Morris, Spc. Stephen Saracco, 

Spc. Tara Svedeen, Spc. David Williams 

and Spc. Jordan Wright attended, each 

divided up into differing levels of expertise – levels one, two and three.

“I’m ready to go,” said Williams. 

“We’ve practiced and are on top of it. 

We’ve memorized the course and now 

it’s all down to how our horses act and 

how we act.”

They may have been competing 

against different competitors, but every 

day, each Trooper cantered in on their 

horse and gathered around to share advice, stories or tips to help each other 

perform well in their individual classes.

Each day was divided into different 

competitions, the first day presenting 

each with the challenge of military 

horsemanship, which demonstrated 

how much control the rider has over the 

horse in different stages of stride, changing paces at different areas of the course; 

mounted pistol, which presented each 

rider balloons to shoot on the course, 

some of which had to be shot while in 

mid-jump on the horse, the height of 

which was determined by the competitor’s level; and the Maj. Howze team 

competition, a 5.5 mile timed trail ride, 

historic for its remembrance for the last 

ever cavalry charge.

The first day presented its challenges 

and victories, and gave each competitor 

something to improve upon, no matter 

their successes.

Elder said one need for improvement 

revolved around calming down each 

horse before an event started.

According to Wright, such nervousness on his horse’s part was due to the 

12-hour road trip, the different stall and 

the new terrain his horse, Vast, had to 

get accustomed to.

There are ways to calm a horse, 

though, Elder said.

“You can give them (the horses) stuff 

to do. Run them in circles, figure eight 

patterns, flexing his head left and right, 

pulling on the reigns and turning his 

head around to you,” Elder said, describing ways to calm a horse before a 

competition. “Just simple little stuff to 

keep his head busy and start listening to 

you, instead of trying to do what he 

wants to do.”

Taking the extra time to calm a horse 

could make the difference in it trusting 

its rider to make a jump successfully and 

to collect themselves after the jump, as 

opposed to dodging or refusing to jump 

and costing the team points. 

Such advice worked, as performances 

by some Troopers stood out during the 

second day of competition, which was 

full of military field jumping and mounted saber.

Wright stated that he surprised himself in the saber competition. “Normally 

I have difficulty stabbing through the 

ring or stirrup. I’ll usually get close to it 

but ... I think I did really well on the sabers.”

Another surprise on the second day 

of competition came from Williams in 

the jumping competition.

Riding his horse, Saber, who swung 

him to the ground on the first day of 

competition, Williams again had to battle through some of his horse’s nervousness at the beginning of the jumping 

course.

“I let him run his course with it, I got 

him pointed in the right direction, I 

choked up on the reigns,” Williams said, 

who, despite the start, presented the 

judges with a competitive jumping run.

“I did everything I had to do to get 

him through. He fought me every step 

of the way but he did go through for me 

and I’m proud of him for that,” he said. 

Williams earned second place for that 

run, which also helped him be invited 

into the Bolte Cup on the third day of 

competition, a level three champions’ 

competition that is reserved for the 15 

best riders of the event. 

“He (Saber) wasn’t too bad and he 

did eventually go through every single 

obstacle on the course for me. The horse 

has the hard part. All we have to do is 

swing and shoot,” he said.

Though he didn’t win the cup, it was 

the experience and the pride of being invited to the event that matter most to 

him.

“I was very excited to have another 

chance to win at something else and to 

be able to get out here and do something 

that only the top 15 competitors get to 

do,” Williams said.

They may have been there to win, but 

each could agree on one thing.

“In the end, you remember, ‘Yes, it’s 

a competition and yes you should put 

forth 100 percent, but you should also 

remember to have fun. It helps with everything,” McGinley said.

Sgt. William Colberg (level 1)

2nd Place—Mounted Saber

3rd Place—Military Field Jumping

Spc. Jordan Wright (level 1)

2nd Place—Military Field Jumping

3rd Place—Mounted Pistol

3rd Place—Mounted Saber

Sgt. Tommy Evans (level 2)

2nd Place—Mounted Pistol

2nd Place—Mounted Saber

3rd Place—Military Horsemanship

Spc. Tara Svedeen (level 2)

1st Place—Military Horsemanship

Pegasus Memorial Award (Lexington)

Spc. David Williams (level 3)

2nd Place—Military Field Jumping

22| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |23

By Jordan Chapman

Duty First! Magazine

When it comes to relationship ties between man and animal, for the 1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s 

Mounted Color Guard, the dog is out.

No greater bond exists for the Fort 

Riley Trooper than the bond between 

themselves and their horse. They are 

like minded, they train together, they 

know each other and trust one another 

to keep the other safe in any situation.

About 60 days after the Trooper arrives at the stables, they are first introduced to their horse, though it may not 

be a match in the beginning.

“We try to match the Soldier’s personality with the horse’s personality,” 

said 1st Sgt. Joseph Ballard, explaining 

that finding a match between horse and 

rider means they won’t fight each other, 

but complement each other as they train 

together.

“If you have a high strung horse and 

you don’t have a high strung individual, 

they won’t get a long because the horse 

will want to go, go, go but the rider will 

want to go slow and easy,” Ballard said.

Once the horse is chosen, training 

begins.

“It depends on much they ride 

them,” said Sgt. Corey Elder, explaining the amount of time it usually takes 

for a horse and rider to get comfortable 

with one another, which he figured 

could be as short as 30 days if they ride 

together every day.

“For some horses, it’s really easy to 

pick their gait up,” he stated, describing the different traits a horse can have, 

such as the way they walk. 

Using his own horse, Trooper, as an 

example, Elder said the horse’s gait is extremely smooth but at the same time, he 

must always be ready for Trooper’s little 

quirks, such as wanting to go too fast.

“Trooper is a Mustang. He likes to 

(go all out all the time), but the rider 

does too,” Ballard stated, illustrating 

his previous point for the necessity of 

like minded personalities when it 

comes an award winning pair. 

Add 12 of these pairings together, and 

you have the 2010 CGMCG team who attended this year’s Bivouac and National 

Cavalry Competition at Fort Concho in 

San Angelo, Texas Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.

Rider: Staff Sgt. Michael Steede

Time in CGMCG: 1 year, 2 months

Horse: Rambler

Time in CGMCG: 3 years, 6 months

Time Training Together: 10 months

1st time in competition together / level 1 

Rider: Staff Sgt. Kristine McGinley

Time in CGMCG: 1 year

Horse: Comanche

Time in CGMCG: 2 years

Time Training Together: 8 months

1st time in competition together / Level 1

Rider: Sgt. William Colberg

Time in CGMCG: 10 months

Horse: Cyclone

Time in CGMCG: 6 years, 4 months

Time Training Together: 6 months

1st time in competition together / Level 1

Rider: Sgt. Corey Elder

Time in CGMCG: 2 years, 4 months

Horse: Trooper

Time in CGMCG: 11 years, 9 months

Time Training Together: 2 years

2nd time in competition together / Level 3

Rider: Sgt. Tommy Evans

Time in CGMCG: 9 months

Horse: Jicote

Time in CGMCG: 12 years, 10 months

Time Training Together: 5 months

1st time in competition together / Level 1

Rider: Sgt. Edward Pacola

Time in CGMCG: 1 year, 3 months

Horse: Bill

Time in CGMCG: 3 years, 8 months

Time Training Together: 11 months

2nd time in competition together / Level 2

Rider: Cpl. Carl Dreis

Time in CGMCG: 2 years, 4 months

Horse: Mac

Time in CGMCG: 9 years, 2 months

Time Training Together: 6 months

2nd time in competition (Dreis), 1st time in 

competition together / Level 3

Rider: Spc. Jeffery Morris

Time in CGMCG: 1 year

Horse: Rifle

Time in CGMCG: 3 years, 6 months

Time Training Together: 8 months

1st time in competition together / Level 2

Rider: Spc. Stephen Saracco

Time in CGMCG: 1 year, 1 month

Horse: Scout

Time in CGMCG: 4 years, 8 months

Time Training Together: 1 year, 9 months

2nd time in competition together / Level 3

Rider: Spc. Tara Svedeen

Time in CGMCG: 1 year, 2 months

Horse: Lexington

Time in CGMCG: 7 months

Time Training Together: 7 months

2nd time in competition (Svedeen), 1st time in 

competition together / Level 2

Rider: Spc. David Williams

Time in CGMCG: 2 years, 1 month

Horse: Saber

Time in CGMCG: 4 years, 9 months

Time Training Together: 1 year, 9 months

2nd time in competition together / Level 3

Rider: Spc. Jordan Wright

Time in CGMCG: 8 months

Horse: Vast

Time in CGMCG: 6 months

Time Training Together: 4 months

1st time in competition together / Level 1

35th Annual 

Banquet Ribbon 

Winners

Man’s new four-legged best friend

1ID commanding general’s mounted Color guard

Colberg Wright

Svedeen Williams

Evans
By Jordan Chapman

Duty First! Magazine

It is only meant for the best. It is the 

Bolte Cup championship round of the 

annual Bivouac and National Cavalry 

Competition, pitting 15 cavalry riders 

against one another in time, accuracy 

and horsemanship. This year, Spc. David Williams, 1st Infantry Division 

Commanding General’s Mounted Color 

Guard, was invited to join in the fun.

Held at Fort Concho in San Angelo, 

Texas, the championship course was 

designed to test the skills of a cavalry 

rider in every form. The course allows 

the rider to illustrate their skills in 

mounted saber, mounted pistol, military field jumping, each of which Williams had already participated in.

The Bolte course also presented riders with a surprise obstacle—a dismounted rifle shoot that tests the constitution and training of the horse. While 

the rider shoots the rifle, the horse, mere 

inches away, mustn’t move outside of a 

designated box marked on the ground.

It’s no easy mission, but Williams 

was excited to join the fray Oct. 2, the 

final day of competition.

Before the start of the course, Williams was unsure of how his horse, Saber, would react. He and many others 

from the group of 12 Fort Riley Troopers that attended the event found their 

horses to be slightly skittish while on 

the individual courses, either bucking 

them off entirely or dodging or hesitating on field jumps.

“Anytime (our horses) see a jump 

they get real amped up and they just 

want to blast away and do it, but they 

don’t know how to control themselves on it,” said Sgt. Corey Elder 

and fellow Trooper to Williams, explaining that without the rider the 

horse can’t effectively navigate the 

jump to course speculations.

This problem presented itself to 

Williams during two of his previous 

runs. He was swung off his horse Sept. 

30 during his mounted pistol run, and 

had troubles Oct. 1 during the military 

field jumping run, which he ended up 

getting second place in.

“I did everything I had to do to get 

him through. He fought me every step of 

the way but he did go through for me and 

I’m proud of him for that,” he continued.

Williams was not deterred by these 

previous troubles upon the start of the 

Bolte Cup course, and commented to 

teammates afterward that he felt Saber 

did much better than on previous 

courses. Seeing his horse do well meant 

a lot to Williams, because he feels the 

riders have the easy part.

“As far as my part, it’s not that difficult. We do stuff like that (sabers, pistols 

and jumping) a lot in our practice arena. 

The thing is having a horse getting on a 

new course,” he said, explaining that it 

can be difficult for a horse to adjust easily 

to a new environment. “They are trusting us to tell us what to do and sometimes, they get a little skittish at stuff. 

That’s some of the issues I had today.

“He (Saber) wasn’t too bad and he 

did eventually go through every single 

obstacle on the course for me. The 

horse has the hard part. All we have to 

do is swing and shoot,” he said.

Though he didn’t win the cup, it 

was the experience and the pride of being invited to the event that matter 

most to him.

“I was very excited to have another 

chance to win at something else and to 

be able to get out here and do something that only the top 15 competitors 

get to do,” Williams said.

24| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |25

By Jordan Chapman

Duty First! Magazine

In early 2009, Spc. Jordan Wright didn’t 

know much about horses. He knew he 

liked them, and had decided some time 

ago while on a trail ride, that if ever presented the opportunity; working with 

them would be something that would 

tickle his interest.

Fast forward to Dec. 29, 2009, and 

Wright is walking into the historic 1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s 

Mounted Color Guard stable grounds, 

green behind the ears, but determined to 

succeed, and a good thing, too, because in 

exactly 10 months he would find himself 

in his first national horse competition, the 

2010 Bivouac and National Cavalry Competition held at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. 

“I know we’ll (Wright and his horse) be 

bringing home some ribbons,” he said with 

conviction, just days prior to departure.

Despite his composed outward appearance during the competition, discussions with other riders acknowledge the 

fact that everyone has two battles to fight 

in a national competition with so many 

riders present: the one they are here to 

compete in, and the nervousness inside 

themselves, which often can be reinforced 

with doubt and fear.

Nervous for himself and his horse, 

having enrolled in every individual level 

1 event available, including military 

horsemanship, authenticity, mounted 

pistols, military field jumping and 

mounted saber, Wright was good on his 

word. He placed second in military field 

jumping, third in mounted pistol and 

ninth in military horsemanship.

It was hard work making those placements, though. Wright had to first work on 

his horse, Vast, who he could tell was uncomfortable with his surroundings by the 

way he moved and wouldn’t cooperate.

“He was being difficult when we were 

doing our equitation (military horsemanship). I wish we would have done better,” 

he said, disappointed, because he knew 

before he came that the equitation competition was going to be the hardest for 

both of them.

“Getting (Vast) into a trot or canter is 

easy enough, but slowing him down is 

something else, because he doesn’t want 

to slow down,” Wright said.

Following his final event, Wright felt 

good about his performance, and especially the way Vast had improved 

throughout the competition. 

“He did really well. I think we did really well today,” he said.

THE ROAD TO VICTORY

Like so many, though, it was the experiences that got him to the point of victory 

that were most memorable.

The first of those memories started 

while in his 30 day trial period while riding bareback on retired horses, to best illustrate to his mentors his ability to balance as well as how well he could work 

his legs, ankle and hands while on the 

back of a horse.

“During (those) days, I would fall off 

10 times a day. They didn’t know if they 

would keep me, but I showed the initiative to keep trying and working myself to 

give myself the (opportunity) to get better,” he said.

No matter how difficult any day was, 

it was worth it when he was shown the 

horse he would be working with for the 

duration of his stay with the color guard. 

Like Wright, the horse was the newest 

addition into the stable.

“As corny as it is, I fell in love with him 

(Vast) at first glance,” Wright said, explaining he and his superiors went down 

to their training arena to see how he and 

Vast would respond to each other.

“We try to match the Soldier’s personality with the horse’s personality,” said 

1st Sgt. Joseph Ballard, CGMCG 1st Sergeant, explaining that finding a match 

between horse and rider means they 

won’t fight each other, but complement 

each other as they train together.

“Vast is a hot head,” Wright said smiling. “He likes to go. He doesn’t like to 

slow down and sometimes he doesn’t 

want to listen but you have to work on 

that,” he said, explaining that like Vast, 

he is willing to take any challenge and 

succeed while doing it.

“Since I’ve been here, they have challenged me ... any challenge you put in 

front of him (Vast), any challenge you 

put in front of us, we will work to get 

through it or get through it the first time,” 

he said, making his point by describing 

the first time they were both presented 

with level three military jumps. First try, 

no problem.

 “You do have to be in tune with your 

horse,” Wright said. “He and I work like 

gears on a clock ... he and I are becoming 

a team. A really good one,” he added.

“I’ve had to work all of my nine 

months to become what I want to call average,” Wright said humbly, indicating 

that the work isn’t done and there is a lot 

of ground to cover, though getting to participate in his first ever national competition has given him much experience.

“It’s been different. I hadn’t ever heard 

people getting together to (compete like 

this) ... until I got to the color guard,” 

Wright said. “Now that I have come 

down and done that, it’s been a lot of fun. 

More fun than it was competition.”

The Wright man for the Vast enterprise

Williams, Saber take 

part in Bolte Cup round 

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

Spc. David Williams, 1st Infantry Division Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard, practices with a trapdoor Springfield Rifle for his dismounted 

rifle portion of the Bolte Cup event, a level-three championship competition, during the final day of the 2010 Annual Bivouac & National Cavalry Competition held at Fort Concho. 
26| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |27

By Spc. James Kennedy Benjamin

305th MPAD, USD-S PAO

BASRA, Iraq—“It is like a soccer practice 

before the big game,” said Brig. Gen. 

Ricky Gibbs, 1st Infantry Division and 

United States Division-South deputy 

commanding general of maneuver, illustrating the importance of practice, repetition and teamwork to a room full of Iraqi 

Security Forces and U.S. Soldiers. “You 

can’t win a game with just one good 

player. You have to have many players 

that play together as a team. If you want 

that Iraqi team to win on the battlefield, 

you have to play together, practice together, so you can win together.”

With minimal U.S. advice or assistance, 

the combined effort of the Iraqi Army, Department of Border Enforcement, and Iraqi 

Police led to the successful completion of 

the first regional joint strategic military exercise Oct. 5 in Basra, Iraq.

Gibbs met with ISF leadership toward the end of the training at the 4th 

Region DBE Headquarters to discuss the 

map exercise, or MAPEX.

“We are all very proud of you as your 

partners and brothers in the security forces,” Gibbs said. “It does take a joint combined force of all the security forces, not 

just the Army or Department of Border 

Enforcement. It is one team, one fight.”

The purpose of the exercise was to 

evaluate and improve the participants’ 

ability to react to situations that threatened their security. 

“In the beginning, things started out 

slow,” said Maj. Gen. Ismael Arar, Maysan provincial chief of police, “but after 

briefing the [Iraqi] soldiers on what they 

had to do, it started going smooth.”

The army, police and DBE trained on 

smuggling interdiction strategies around 

the southern Maysan and northern Basra 

provinces—areas known for smuggling.

The MAPEX centered on how well 

the intelligence and information sections 

coordinated between one another. ISF 

units were evaluated on their ability to 

understand the situation, develop a plan 

of action, and execute the plan by communicating to subordinate elements.

The different sections participating in 

the exercise jotted notes on their successes and failures throughout the exercise, 

which provided feedback during the after action review.

“Repetition is the mother of all learning,” Gibbs said. “So you practice together all the time and it becomes second 

nature.”

The different branches of the armed 

forces work together and know what each 

other does, Gibbs said, attributing victory 

on the battlefield to joint cooperation.

The ISF is anxious to do more of these 

joint training exercises with its partners 

in the future, Arar said.

“[The exercise] met its goal,” Arar 

said. “At the end of it, I would consider 

this training successful.”

First joint regional exercise success for ISF

Aviation brigade holds re-enlistment in Iraq

Photo by Spc. James Kennedy Benjamin

Brig. Gen. Ricky Gibbs, United States DivisionSouth deputy commanding general of maneuver, and Maj. Gen. Ismael Arar, Maysan Provincial Chief of Police talk about the map exercise 

at the 4th Region Department of Enforcement 

Headquarters Oct. 5 in Basra, Iraq, moments 

after it finished.

By Spc. Roland Hale

Combat Aviation Brigade PAO

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Ten Soldiers serving 

in Iraq with an Army aviation battalion 

re-enlisted Oct. 2 during a special ceremony on Camp Taji. 

The Soldiers, assigned to the 601st 

Aviation Support Battalion, re-enlisted at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point on the base, as fuelers from 

their battalion celebrated pumping 

their millionth gallon of fuel during 

the deployment.

The support battalion is part of the 

Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry 

Division, which deployed from Fort Riley, this March. The Soldiers who re-enlisted represented several of the battalion’s facets, including transportation, 

supply and maintenance. 

Staff Sgt. Justin Puls, the battalion’s 

career counselor, not only helped the 

Soldiers re-enlist, but also re-enlisted 

himself. Puls re-enlisted indefinitely, 

and plans to spend at least 20 years in 

the Army. This is his third re-enlistment, 

and also his most memorable, he said.

“As much as it was about me, it was 

about everyone I re-enlisted with. It was 

a great opportunity to go out there with 

those Soldiers,” said Puls. “It makes me 

proud, not only of the Soldiers, but also 

to be a part of the battalion pumping that 

millionth gallon.”

Pfc. Syrita Wilson, a motor transport operator with the battalion and a 

native of Warner Robbins, Ga., also 

re-enlisted. 

“It was good to have other people reenlist with me, and at the same time 

know that we reached the 1 million 

mark,” Wilson said. 

Wilson re-enlisted for six more years 

of service, and plans to make the military a career after becoming an officer. 

The battalion will hold several more 

re-enlistment ceremonies before it redeploys to Fort Riley next March. The battalion’s fueling point on Camp Taji also 

plans to pump over 2 million gallons by 

the deployment’s end.

By Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Smith

1st Inf. Div. PAO

BASRA, Iraq—Beer, schweinebraten 

and ... running?

A lot of things come to mind at the 

mention of Oktoberfest, but a 5K run 

isn’t typically one of them. That’s exactly 

what Staff Sgt. Brooke Schiebel, an aid 

station noncommissioned officer-incharge with the 1st Infantry Division, 

thought of while organizing a run in 

Basra, Iraq.

“I wanted to do a run, and I knew that 

on leave I was going to Oktoberfest,” 

Schiebel said. “It just kind of hit me one 

day, ‘I should do an Oktoberfest theme.’”

So the Oktober Runfest 5K was born 

at Basra on Oct. 9 when 11 four-person 

teams took to the streets of the base.

Sgt. Maj. Bill Sutton, the protection 

sergeant major for 1st Inf. Div., helped 

Schiebel organize the event using his experience from planning the Basra Running Series, an eight-run series that has 

been going throughout the 1st Inf. Div.’s 

current deployment, culminating with 

the Army 10-Miler on Oct. 16.

“It was her concept. I just provided 

the route for her and some general guidance,” Sutton said. “I kind of gave her 

the script to follow, and just made general suggestions.”

Part of the script Schiebel wrote was 

the additional message of responsible 

drinking.

Schiebel’s unit, Division Headquarters 

and Headquarters Battalion, is within the 

90-day window of redeploying to Fort Riley, and she coordinated with a friend 

who works for Budweiser to provide gear 

for the first-place winners in the individual male and female categories.

“Budweiser has a theme of drinking 

responsibly. (They are) kind of sponsoring it, and because I’m giving away a 

Budweiser prize, I wanted to advocate 

drinking responsibly when we get back 

from the deployment,” Schiebel said.

“It’s a good message to get out there 

to our folks,” Sutton added. “We’ve got 

a lot of first-time deployers over here, 

and there’s always historically been a 

problem when we get back where Soldiers make that mistake of drinking and 

driving or do something against their 

better judgment. 

“Anything we can do to promote that 

message to think before you drink and 

have a plan is something (noncommissioned officers) will always preach and 

try to get the message into their heads. 

Any way that we can do it, it’s a good 

message and a good cause.”

Basra hosts Oktober Runfest 5K

Photo by Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Smith, USD-S Public Affairs

The ‘Desert Divas’ cross the finish line of the Oktober Runfest 5K in Basra Oct. 9. The Divas won the all-female team bracket and the unofficial 

best-dressed category. 
Cav Soldiers complete 

competition, earn their spurs

Sixteen Soldiers with the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy 

Brigade Combat Team, completed a 

three-day competition, testing their 

physical and mental fitness to earn their 

spurs in the Spur Ride Qualification 

event.

The first two days consisted of day 

and night land navigation; an Army 

physical fitness test; a history test; threat 

ID test; obstacle course; weapons qualification, scoring at least sharpshooter, as 

well as clearing, disassembly, re-assembly and functions check of the M9 pistol, 

M4 rifle, 240B machine gun and the M2 

.50 Caliber Machine Gun. 

The third and final day of the spur ride 

qualification, Oct. 7, consisted of a 12-mile 

ruck march, with Soldiers carrying a minimum of 25 pounds in their ruck sacks.

“The march has to be completed in 

three hours before a Soldier would be 

disqualified,” said Command Sgt. Maj. 

Charles Cook, command sergeant major 

of the 4th Sqdn., 4th Cavalry Regt. “But I 

think all our guys will make it in.”

All 16 Soldiers completed the ruck 

march, with the last Soldier’s time at 2 

hours, 52 minutes and 23 seconds. 

Capt. Timothy W. Decker, D Co., 2nd 

Battalion, 34 Armor Regiment, 1st HBCT, 

1st Inf. Div., who is attached to 4th Sqdn., 

4th Cav. Regt., 1st HBCT, received the 

highest individual score for an officer; Sgt. 

Jared A. Davis, Headquarter and Headquarters Troop, 4th Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt., 

received the highest individual score for 

an enlisted Soldier; and team three, which 

consisted of 2nd Lt. Patrick Dehnart, C 

Troop, 4th Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt., and 2nd 

Lt. Scott Andrew Boxler and Spc. William 

J. Gibbs, both with HHT, 4th Sqdn., 4th 

Cav. Regt., was recognized for obtaining 

the highest points overall with a score of 

574 out of 600.

Sept. ceremony recognizes 

‘Devil’ Soldiers about to deploy

Fort Riley leaders and members of 

the surrounding communities gathered 

Sept. 20 on Custer Hill Parade Field, for 

a deployment ceremony to say goodbye 

to approximately 950 Soldiers of the 1st 

Heavy Brigade Combat Team. 

The “Devil” Brigade Soldiers will 

deploy soon to southwest Asia in support of Operation New Dawn, where 

their mission will be to maintain peace 

and deter aggression throughout the 

region and serve in an advise and assist role. 

“The 1st Brigade is the one of the first 

advise and assist brigades to deploy into 

theater as part of Operation New Dawn,” 

said Brig. Gen. David Petersen, deputy 

division commander-rear. “OND represents a change in the mission of the U.S. 

forces in Iraq. Operations are shifting 

from combat missions conducted by U.S. 

forces to stability operations conducted 

by Iraqi security forces with the U.S.’s 

advice and assistance. 

Petersen noted that with the security 

improvements achieved in Iraq and the 

U.S.’s current mission to decrease its 

troop strength in Iraq to 50,000, only 950 

of the 3,500 Soldier-strong brigade will 

deploy in October. 

The units set to deploy are the brigade’s 

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the Brigade Special Troops Battalion 

and 101st Forward Support Battalion. 

 “There’s no doubt in my mind that 

the Devils will succeed, because this is 

precisely how they trained during their 

recent rotation at the National Training 

Center,” Petersen said. 

The deploying 1 HBCT units are slated for a 12-month deployment.

Clay Center welcomes home 

‘Dragon’ Brigade Soldiers

Soldiers of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade 

Combat Team, received a special welcome home from the community of Clay 

Center, Kan., Sept. 25, during a Community Covenant ceremony. 

The ceremony was to reaffirm the 

partnership by re-signing the covenant 

created between the “Raiders” Squadron and Clay Center in August of 2008.

“The reaffirmation of the Army Community Covenant is an important demonstration of the partnership that exists 

between our two units and entities—

entities being Clay County, Clay Center, 

the 1st Squadron and the 4th Infantry 

Brigade Combat Team,” said Lt. Col. 

Scott Nelson, commander of 1st Sqdn., 

4th Cav. Regt., during the ceremony.

“I’m very proud to stand here and reaffirm our covenant with Clay County 

and Clay Center,” Nelson added.

“To be able to reaffirm (the covenant) 

is so important, and I am so glad we 

were able to do that,” said Sharon 

Brown, Clay Center mayor.

The Clay County and Clay Center Army 

Community Covenant signing is one of several covenant signings that will take within 

the Central Flint Hills Region through October. In February 2011, the covenants will be 

taken to the capitol in Topeka and signed in 

February by state officials.

28| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! Nov/Dec 2010 |29

Around the DIVISION

By Sgt. John Zumer

3 IBCT Public Affairs Office

FORT KNOX, Ky.—Sgt. Zachary Reese 

rolled the dice in 2006 as a civilian when 

mulling a career move. Four years later, 

his decision to join the U.S. Army paid 

off in ways he probably couldn’t have 

imagined, with his fellow Soldiers and 

the nation as the biggest winners. 

Reese received the Silver Star Medal 

on Oct. 18 during a ceremony at Sadowski Field House in Fort Knox, Ky. 

Brig. Gen. David Petersen, deputy commanding general-rear, 1st Infantry Division, presided over the ceremony. 

The Silver Star is the third-highest 

military decoration that can be awarded 

to a member of the United States armed 

forces for valor in the face of the enemy. 

The required gallantry must have been 

performed with marked distinction, 

which was certainly evident in Reese’s 

case, Petersen said. 

During his comments to the audience, Petersen spoke of Reese’s actions 

in April 2009, while assigned to a reconnaissance platoon of the 1st Battalion, 

26th Infantry Regiment “Blue Spaders,” 

who are part of the 3rd Brigade Combat 

Team, 1st Infantry Division. Reese’s platoon was operating in the volatile Korengal Valley of Afghanistan as part of 

Operation Enduring Freedom.

Reese observed a large group of enemy fighters approaching his unit that 

day and reported the enemy force to his 

superiors. His unit was then able to take 

precautions and set up a hasty ambush 

with just enough time to deal with the 

threat. Several enemy fighters died 

where they stood because of Reese’s actions, but that didn’t end his involvement. After the firefight, he went back 

and searched the enemy dead. An enemy fighter feigning death lunged at him, 

but Reese was able to use his knife to 

dispatch the enemy. 

Reese still doesn’t consider himself a 

hero and is quick to hand off any credit 

to others that he served with. 

“What made it easy was having all 

these guys next to you,” he said.

Many others, including Petersen, said 

Reese’s actions that day were not only 

far from ordinary, but represented something even higher. 

“Your bravery that day embodies the 

spirit of the Big Red One,” Petersen 

said.

Reese admits to simply doing his job. 

He says he was grateful that his buddies 

were there not only to help each other 

out when needed on the battlefield, but 

to also help pass the time with their camaraderie. Most importantly, he said, 

their bond and unique contributions in 

Afghanistan brought much success. 

“We felt we were making a difference,” Reese said. 

As for the next big step in his life, Reese and his wife Reina are looking forward to him becoming a civilian again. 

He will be leaving the Army early next 

year for a college classroom. Federal service may call again in the future, but Reese is hopeful it will be in the form of 

working for the U.S. Border Patrol.

Soldier earns Silver Star for heroics

Photo by Spc. Tobey White

LEFT: Sgt. Zachary Reese, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, is congratulated on receiving the Silver Star Medal as his wife, Reina, looks 

on at a ceremony Oct. 18 at Sadowski Field House in Fort Knox, Ky. The Silver Star is the third highest military decoration awarded for valor in 

the face of the enemy. RIGHT: Brig. Gen. David Petersen, Deputy Commanding General 1st Infantry Division presents Sgt. Reese with the Silver 

Star on Oct. 18.

Photo by Sgt. John Zumer

Sergeant leads ambush against 

enemy forces in Afghanistan
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