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

Change of command for Dagger, Devil brigades 

Army sustainment programs in full force
 Duty First! July 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 pro-

duced under the provisions of AR 360-1, pub-

lished 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. Circu-

lation 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. Matt Hackathorn

Editor

Anna Staatz

Staff Writers

Jordan Chapman

Stephanie Hoff

Illustrator

Justin Angeles

Photo by jordan chapman, duty first! magazine 

No Mission too Difficult. No Sacrifice too Great.

July 2010 | www.riley.army.mil

Cover: Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 1st Infantry Divi-

sion deputy commanding general-rear, and Com-

mand Sgt. Maj. “Buddy” Wallace, command ser-

geant major-rear, place a wreath of remembrance at 

the base of the Fallen Soldier Memorial June 17 at 

Fort Riley.

CONTENTS

Departments

Victory Week

Features

Danger 6

Focus on sustainability 

key for bright future Danger 7

Re-enlisting helps 

Families remain stable Teams go for the gold

Victory Week brings out 

best in sports competition 

Kicking off Victory Day

CAB launches festivities 

ahead of Victory Week

Warriors stand tall

Soldiers rise to challenge 

in Victory Warrior events

Wishing a happy birthday

Soldiers mark Army’s and 

Division’s big day Remembrance

Victory Park ceremony 

remembers fallen heroes

A final review

Victory Week culminates 

with Division Review event 

Getting to the point

Dagger Brigade undergoes 

change of command

WTBComplex operational

Facility to offer the best care 

for wounded warriors

New leadership

Welsh taking command 

of Devil Brigade

Reduction plan in place

Army policy makes energy 

conservation a priority

Never thrown for a loop

Sustainment Operations Center 

keeps division running smoothly Being in the Zone

Warrior Zone stays busy 

entertaining Soldiers

Getting more with less

1+1 Barracks initiative offers 

Soldiers more privacy A sustained effort

Task Force Durable 

offers seamless transition

23

6

4

89

12 28

22

26

20

16

24

18

14
Roughly 45 years ago, our nation’s men were called to fight 

in Vietnam, many entering 

the war by way of the draft. They served 

their time and came home, but for many 

of them, life was forever changed.

They came home to protests on college campuses and in major cities, and a 

sweeping anti-war attitude in the media. Often, the warmth of the welcome 

home ceremonies we are so familiar 

with was absent as these Soldiers came 

home. 

I will never forget the homecoming 

story of one Vietnam veteran, a recipient of two Purple Heart Awards. He 

arrived back in the United States, and 

was stopped on his way out of the airport by a security officer. The officer 

told him there was a large anti-war 

protest going on near the airport and 

that it was not safe for him to leave the 

area while wearing his uniform. Understandably, this veteran became 

very angry when he heard this—he 

had spilled blood for his country and 

this was the thanks he received. He 

went into the restroom, changed into 

civilian clothes, threw his uniform in 

the trash and walked out of the airport. 

His interactions with the military agencies available to help returning veterans and with fellow veterans were few 

and far between after that.

Many veterans, even if their story 

wasn’t quite the same as this Soldier, 

are very aware of the pockets of animosity toward anyone associated with 

the Vietnam War that existed in many 

parts of the country. This year, during 

our Victory Week celebration, the Big 

Red One reached out to some of our 

own Vietnam veterans, as well as those 

local veterans who served in that war, 

but weren’t part of the 1st Infantry Division. Some of them spoke at ceremonies during the week, some of them visited with the current Soldiers of regiments they once served in, and some 

marched in a special formation during 

the division review. It was our very 

small way of attempting to right a 

wrong that happened a long time ago, 

and our very short opportunity to tell 

those veterans thank you.

To the veterans of Vietnam, I extend 

my sincere thank you, from one Soldier 

to another. I’d like to also remind you 

that despite the conditions you may 

have returned home to, you are honorbound to the men you served with to 

stay connected to the military community. Beyond staying on top of what’s 

available to you through the Veterans 

Administration, you should stay in 

touch with the fellow Soldiers you 

fought beside. All too often, the challenges faced while transitioning home 

lead to long-term frustration with the 

military in general. Your brethren need 

you—they need to talk to you, share 

stories, and find the relief of sharing a 

painful experience with someone who 

knows exactly what they are talking 

about. And more than that, the Soldiers 

of today need you to share those experiences and set the example and standard 

for living through the challenges that 

follow time in combat. Perhaps most of 

all, the average American needs you to 

share your stories, your piece of history, 

so that it is not forgotten.

Stay in touch—with each other, with 

today’s Soldier, with those who won’t 

otherwise hear a Soldier’s story. 

And for those Soldiers of today, 

don’t forget to shake the hand of the 

next Vietnam veteran you meet and say 

thank you. That is your duty to them.

Now ... get after it!

The United States Army has long 

recognized that our mission is 

only accomplished because 

America entrusts us with its most precious resources—its sons and daughters. It is our obligation to ensure that 

our Soldiers today—and the Soldiers of 

the future—have the land, water and air 

resources they need to train; a healthy 

environment in which to live; and the 

support of local communities and the 

American people. 

We have recognized the need to focus on 

sustainability at both the Army level and 

within the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley. The new Army Strategy for the Environment: Sustain the Mission—Secure the 

Future establishes a long-range vision that 

enables the Army to meet its mission today 

and into the future. Sustainability is also one 

of four goals within the Fort Riley 2015 

Campaign Plan. Together, these strategies 

focus our thinking to address both present 

and future needs, while strengthening community partnerships that improve our ability to organize, equip, train and deploy our 

Soldiers as part of the joint force. 

Sustainability connects our activities today to those of tomorrow with 

sound business and environmental 

practices. We have learned over the 

past decades that simply complying 

with environmental regulations will 

not ensure that we will be able to sustain our mission. We must strive to become systems thinkers if we are to 

benefit from the interrelationships of 

the triple bottom line of sustainability: 

mission, environment, and community. To sustain the future Army we must 

implement effective policies and practices that safeguard the environment 

and our quality of life in a manner that 

our nation expects of us.

Factors influencing our nation’s security and stability have dramatically 

changed since the Army last published 

a comprehensive environmental strategy in 1992. America’s potential enemies 

are no longer exclusively established 

states with physical assets at risk. Advances in technology, ever-increasing 

global population and urbanization 

have effectively made the world smaller. They have placed greater stresses on 

the world’s interconnected human, economic, and natural systems. Local and 

regional issues, such as famine, natural 

disasters, ecological degradation, economic decline, political upheaval, and 

disputes over precious and sometimes 

scarce natural resources are evolving 

into global issues that influence how the 

United States must respond and interact—through political, economic, and 

when necessary, military engagement. 

 Although much is changing, certain 

things remain constant. The Army’s primary mission is to defend the United 

States—its people, its land and its heritage. Our core values endure. While remaining true to our primary mission 

and these values, the Army must continually evolve to remain relevant and 

ready to meet these global challenges. In 

this rapidly changing environment, 

meeting mission requirements worldwide will increasingly require both safeguarding the natural systems, upon 

which our quality of life depends, and 

more effective partnering at the global, 

federal, state and local levels. 

To meet these challenges, we are 

transforming how we fight, how we 

train, how we do business and how 

we interact with others in order to 

continually improve and provide for 

the nation’s security. More importantly, we are changing the way we 

think and act. It is up to all of us to 

work together to “Sustain the Mission—Secure the Future.” 

Duty First!

2| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |3

Commanding General DANGER 6 Command Sergeant Major DANGER 7

Securing the future Staying connected to military 

Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks Division Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Champagne
By Spc. Roland Hale

Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office

BAGHDAD—June 15 started a flurry of 

recreation at Fort Riley, Kan., as the 1st 

Infantry Division kicked off its annual 

Victory Week. Soldiers and families of 

the 1st Inf. Div. came together on the 

post for sporting events, concerts and 

ceremonies with the intent of building 

unit camaraderie and celebrating the 

division’s heritage. But this year, Fort 

Riley’s Victory Week was missing 

something. Several 1st Inf. Div. units, 

including the division’s headquarters, 

are currently deployed and weren't 

there to celebrate, but one unit did its 

best to bring the spirit of Victory Week 

to Iraq.

 With temperatures soaring above a 

hundred degrees, Soldiers from the 

Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Inf. Div. 

at Camp Taji, Iraq, took a break from 

their daily duties June 6 to celebrate the 

birthday of the 1st Infantry Division – 

and the 66th anniversary of the D-Day 

landings on the beaches of Normandy, 

France. 

The CAB Soldiers took part in a fivekilometer race and a volleyball tournament. Also in celebration, the brigade 

re-enlisted 111 Soldiers on Taji Army 

Airfield. The Soldiers raised their right 

hands to take the oath of re-enlistment 

while standing around a several hun-

dred square-foot painting of the 1st Inf. 

Div.’s insignia—a Big Red One. 

“Good vibes, great energy,” said 

Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Thomson, the 

brigade’s senior noncommissioned offi-

cer. “About 400 Soldiers turned out this 

morning to run in the spirit of the 1st In-

fantry Division, to show their support 

for those who paved the way for us.”

The 1st Infantry Division was acti-

vated on June 8, 1917, and has played a 

key role in each of the nation’s major 

conflicts since then, with the exception 

of the Korean War. During the D-Day 

invasion, Big Red One Soldiers landed 

on Utah beach, one of the more famous 

fronts of the assault.

Today, Thomson said, the good 

vibes and great energy also are evident 

in the mass re-enlistment ceremony. 

The brigade, which recently arrived in 

Iraq, already has met its annual reten-

tion quota.

“The fact that so many participated 

in the run and in the volleyball tourna-

ment, and in the re-enlistment ... is an 

indication that morale in the brigade is 

high,” Thomson said. 

In the middle of the day’s celebra-

tions, however, CAB Soldiers were re-

minded of their mission when the ex-

plosion of a nearby improvised explo-

sive device echoed across Taji.

“In everything we did today we took 

a moment to remember the division’s 

history—and sure enough, we’re still in 

a dangerous place,” Thomson said, 

speaking about the explosion. “Iraq has 

come a long way and it’s entering a new 

phase of the operation, but it was a re-

minder that there are still dangers out 

here. And we’re still warriors.”

VICTORY WEEK

4| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |5

CAB gets early start

Soldiers celebrate Victory Day in Iraq

Spc. Roland Hale, CAB PAO

Lt. Col Paul Mele, commander of the 1st Attack Reconnais-

sance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation 

Brigade, runs through a spray of water at the finish of a fivekilometer run June 6 at Camp Taji, Iraq. INSET: A mass formation of CAB, 1st Inf. Div. Soldiers re-enlist June 6 at Taji 

Army Airfield.

Spc. Roland Hale, CAB PAO

Soldiers from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Inf. Div., fight for a point during a volleyball tour-

nament June 6 at Camp Taji, Iraq. The group was celebrating the birthday of the 1st Infantry Divi-

sion and the 66th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy, France.
6| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |7

By the 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs Office

One of the biggest parts of 

Victory Week is sports 

competition. Throughout 

the week, Soldiers represent their units in 14 different sports 

events, accumulating points toward 

winning the Commander’s Cup award 

at the end of the week.

It all started June 15, as clashes of 

thunder were echoed with cheers of enthusiasm from more than 5,000 1st Infantry Division Soldiers. The Solders 

stood in formation in the rain to participate in the annual Victory Run, but that 

didn’t deter them from doing their best 

in the event that kicked off Victory 

Week, a weeklong celebration the Big 

Red One’s lineage and history. 

The run was led by Brig. Gen. David 

Petersen, 1st Infantry Division and Fort 

Riley deputy commanding general-rear, 

and Command Sgt. Major Darrel Wallace, 

division command sergeant major-rear. 

Rear detachments from deployed 1st 

Inf. Div. units, such as the Division 

Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 

Sustainment Brigade and the Combat 

Aviation Brigade represented their organizations by running with the unit’s 

cased colors.

The week continued with competitions in volleyball, basketball, kickball, 

weight lifting, golf, boxing, combatives, 

dodgeball, flag football, tug-of-war, 

softball and a 10-mile run. 

The 10 Mile Run is a qualifying event 

for Soldiers to compete in the Army Ten 

Miler, scheduled for this October in 

Washington, D.C., but also earned competitors points toward the Commander’s Cup. 

Second Lts. Charles Billi and Meghan 

Curran, of 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, 75th Fires Brigade, from Fort Sill, 

Okla., crossed the race’s finish line in 

first and second, respectively. 

“It feels great. It was a tough course, 

I always thought that Kansas was flat 

but there were plenty of hills along the 

route for an extra challenge,” Billi 

chuckled. He was the first runner to 

cross the finish line with a time of 1 

hour, 3 minutes and 50 seconds. 

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. 

Shortly after, Curran was the first female runner to cross the finish line and 

second overall competitor to complete 

the race. Both she and Billi will advance 

to compete for their inaugural run in 

the Army Ten Miler this fall. 

“Running has always been fun for 

me,” she said. “I had a great time participating in the Victory Week Ten Mile 

run today and I look forward to representing the Big Red One in the Army 

Ten miler.”

Twelve Soldiers of the 1st Infantry 

Division donned headgear and boxing 

gloves and went head to head with fellow Soldiers of the Big Red One on June 

17 in Hanger 863. The 12 competitors 

sparred in six different weight classes 

that ranged from heavy-lightweight to 

super heavy.

Participating in the boxing competition “was a lot of fun,” said Pvt. Carissa Accardo of Dental Activity, who 

defeated Pvt. Tay Weeks of 101st Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, in the female 

light-middleweight division. “I had 

never boxed before. I practiced about 

four times leading up to Victory Week 

and really enjoyed it. I look forward to 

participating in the competition next 

year.”

In combatives, Soldiers from all over 

the 1st Infantry Division competed to 

determine who is the best, most skilled, 

and most mentally tough fighter in a 

Modern Army Combatives tournament 

final June 17 at King Field House in 

front of a large and enthralled audience.

The tournament placed fighters into 

six weight classes, from flyweight to 

heavyweight, with the winners qualifying to train and participate on the team 

which will represent the 1st Infantry 

Division and Fort Riley at the all-Army 

combatives tournament in October at 

Fort Benning, Ga. 

One of the fighters was 46-year-old 

Staff Sgt. James Wilson, Jr., 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st 

Heavy Brigade Combat Team.

“I love combatives,” Wilson said. 

“I’ve been fighting all my life.”

Despite being much older than his 

opponent, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native 

finished third in the lightweight class, 

and had much of the crowd behind him 

for the entirety of his three-round fight, 

which he won unanimously on points.

“It feels great to finish third. Feels 

fantastic,” he said. “It lets me know I 

still got it.”

In the end, the Commander’s Cup 

went to 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat 

Team. The winners from each athletic 

event were recognized before the entire 

1st Infantry Division on June 18, just before the division review at Marshall 

Army Airfield.

To secure their prize, the “Iron Rangers” were able to achieve first place 

overall finishes in softball, the 10-miler, 

boxing and the Victory Warrior competition.

It’s not who wins that matters, 

though. For many Soldiers, winning or 

not, Victory Week acts as a time to get 

closer as a unit and division.

Cpl. Ronald Parker, 1st Bn., 18th Inf. 

Regt., agreed with Griffin.

“Everyone works together to show 

how much of a team they can be,” Parker said. Parker earned a first place finishing position in the lightweight 

weightlifting competition with a 235-

pound bench press.

Getting together to have fun while 

coming together as a unit is important 

to Parker, he continued, stating that becoming a better team now means better 

training later.

“Our motivation goes up even higher ... when it’s time to train everyone is 

already motivated and keep going as a 

team.”

* Editor's note: Stephanie Hoff, Jordan 

Chapman and Spc. Daniel Stoutamire contributed this story.

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

The “Red Dragons” quaterback of 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla., tries his luck at rushing the football down the field 

June 16 on Custer Hill.

Unit sports teams compete 

during Victory Week to win 

Commander's Cup award

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley deputy commanding general-rear, and Command Sgt. Major Darrel Wallace, division 

command sergeant major-rear, lead more than 5,000 Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division, June 15 at the beginning of the four-mile Victory Run. 

The run was the initial kick-off of Victory Week.
By Sgt. Jason Lee 

Kansas Adjutant General’s Public Affairs Office

FORT RILEY, Kan. — Seven Soldiers 

from the 1st Infantry Division participated in the Victory Warrior competition 

June 16 as part of a week-long event to 

honor the division’s heritage. 

The Victory Warrior competition 

tested Soldiers on their basic combat 

skills. The Soldiers worked in teams of 

two—with one exception—and were 

graded on their ability to complete the 

tasks. Some of the tasks the Soldiers 

were given to complete were to call for 

indirect fire, employ a hand grenade, 

apply a tourniquet and liter carry a 200-

pound dummy 150 meters. All of the 

tasks were done while completing a 12-

mile road march.

“I’m not a ruck marcher,” said Sgt. 

John Jasper, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team. “The road march was 

probably the worse.”

The Soldiers competed first in hot sun 

and then plowed through the last portion 

as heavy rain clouds gathered.

The final part of the Victory Warrior 

competition was a marksmanship competition in which the team members had 

to hit eight-inch disk targets at 25 meters, 

four-inch disk targets at 15 meters and 

three-inch disk targets at 10 meters. The 

competitors also shot long-range targets 

in unsupported, kneeling and standing 

off-hand positions.

“We got out there and the sun was 

pretty much beating us down the whole 

day,” Jasper said. “It was rough going up 

and down the hills.”

Jasper and teammate, Cpl. Terrence 

Jones took first place in the competition. 

“It is defiantly tough,” Jones said. “I’ll 

probably be here next year to defend the 

title.”

The Victory Warrior competition was 

one of 16 events that took place in which 

battalions could compete in to get points 

in order to win the Commander’s Cup, 

presented to the battalion with the most 

points at the end of the week. 

8| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |9

By Jordan Chapman

1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

T wo words were on the minds of 

Soldiers and Veterans attending 

the Army’s 235th and the 1st Infantry Division’s 93rd birthday celebration—pride and tradition.

Lined with honor units standing at 

attention with unit flags and the colors 

of the United States of America rippling in the wind, the 1st Inf. Div. Parade Field was filled with history June 

15, the day also marking the beginning 

of Victory Week, 2010.

Not only were attendees able to hear 

Army and Big Red One history, they 

were able to see an illustration of the 

past as period vehicles dropped off Soldiers dressed in previous war-time 

uniforms from the Revolutionary War 

to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“This patch on my left shoulder, the 

Big Red One, for 93 years the Soldiers 

of the 1st Infantry Division forged a 

brotherhood of peace in a time of war 

that can never be broken,” Brig. Gen. 

David Petersen, 1st Infantry Division 

deputy commanding general-rear, 

said.

 By showing such respect to the uniform each Soldier wore, attendees also 

showed much reverence for any Soldier who wore the uniform during the 

Army’s past 235 years.

“Whether it’s 93 years or 235 years, 

American Soldiers have been willing to 

sacrifice for this nation for a long time,” 

Petersen said, adding that like some 

other things, the United States Army 

gets better with age.

“Were it not for the courage and tenacity of our Soldiers, our country 

would not be what it is today. Against 

all odds and through all the hardships 

they have had to face, they have followed through with a simple vow, ‘We 

will be free’,” Petersen said.

Retired Col. Kenneth Burgoon, former Big Red One Soldier and World 

War II veteran, could appreciate the 

words spoken at the celebration.

“The tradition that is here carries on 

year to year and they never forget it. 

It’s something they (the Soldiers) learn 

to live by,” Burgoon noted, proud of 

his division and certain that every veteran of the 1st Inf. Div. still lives by 

their previous unit’s tradition.

One other tradition never forgotten 

was the cutting of cake. With the help 

of the youngest Soldier currently stationed at Fort Riley, Pfc. Tanner Holder, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd 

Armor Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team, Petersen sliced the Army’s cake.

“It was an honor, it feels really 

good,” Holder said.

“The Army’s story is America’s story,” Petersen said. “Every man and 

woman wearing a uniform today is 

pinning another chapter in that glorious history ... and now today that burden, that duty, indeed that privilege 

falls upon the Soldiers of today.” 

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

1st Infantry Division Soldiers dressed in period uniforms stand in formation during the Army’s 235th and the 1st Inf. Div.’s 93rd Birthday celebration June 15 on the 1st Inf. Div. Headquarter’s Parade Field. 

Soldiers 

mark Army 

and Division 

birthdays

celebrating

Pride Tradition

Warriors stand proud

Victory Warrior competition brings out best for participating soldiers

Sgt. Jason Lee, Kansas Adjutant General’s Public Affairs Office

TOP: Sgt. Garrett Zuerker, 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, assembles a radio at one of the stations in the Victory Week 

Warrior Competition June 16 at Fort Riley. ABOVE: Cpl. Terrence Jones and Sgt. John Jasper, 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 

put a tourniquet in place on a mock injury as part of the Victory Week Warrior Competition on June 16 at Fort Riley. BACKGROUND: Three competitors 

march their way toward the next station during the Victory Warrior competition.
Fallen Heroes LOVE, PRIDE, 

DEDICATION, 

IMMORTALITY.

Each word may have meant a little 

more than the other depending on the 

person’s relationship to the fallen, but 

it’s certain that every mother and father, 

sister or brother, Soldier or commander 

in attendance of the Victory Park Ceremony held one priority higher than the 

rest—remembrance.

Spc. David Lane, Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, Staff Sgt. Ryan Zorn, 

Spc. Charles Parrish, Cpl. Tony Carrasco, Jr., Senior Airman Bradley Smith and 

Sgt. 1st Class Glen Whetten each had 

their names added to memorial stones at 

the Fallen Soldier Memorial in Victory 

Park June 17, an emotional ceremony 

underlined by loved ones visiting the 

stones, touching their names and sharing memories of the past which could 

only be endured with the embraces and 

support of other Family present.

Confronted by a buffeting wind and 

hot sun, each person in attendance paid 

tribute to the fallen with music performed by the Pipe and Drum Corps 

presented by the Isis Shrine Temple, the 

laying of a wreath at the base of the Fallen Soldier Memorial, the singing of 

“Amazing Grace,” a 21-gun salute, taps 

and the reading of each name.

“The patch that we wore on our 

shoulder pulls us all together ... we are 

bonded together by the Big Red One 

patch,” said the guest speaker, retired 

Brig. Gen. James Shelton, explaining that 

he served in nine divisions throughout 

his career but none was ever so special 

as the Big Red One.

“This is the patch of sacrifice,” he continued, adamant to tell why everyone must 

remember why such sacrifices were made. 

Symbolically speaking, Shelton stated that the great men being remembered 

died so that our nation’s flag might still 

wave over us, though to him, it means 

something different.

“Those sacrifices we honor today 

mean that they fought and died for the 

principles by which our nation stands: 

equality of opportunity, life, liberty and 

the pursuit of happiness for all mankind,” Shelton said.

The ceremony at Victory Park has 

been an annual occurrence since the park 

was dedicated at Fort Riley two years 

ago. The stones at the park honor Big Red 

One service members who have paid the 

ultimate price during the conflicts in Iraq 

and Afghanistan. Each year, fallen heroes 

from the past 12 months are honored.

10| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |11

Victory Park ceremony recognizes 

Soldiers' ultimate sacrifice

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

TOP FROM LEFT: Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 1st Infantry Division deputy commanding generalrear, and Command Sgt. Maj. “Buddy” Wallace, Command Sergeant Major for the 1st Infantry 

Division-rear, move toward the Fallen Soldier Memorial and then place a wreath of remembrance 

at its base during the Victory Park Ceremony on June 17 at Fort Riley; Flags adorn Victory Park 

during the June 17 ceremony. BOTTOM FROM LEFT: A crowd of Family, Soldiers and friends surround 8-month-old Chloe Smith as she reaches out to the touch the memorial stone of her father, 

Senior Airman Bradley Smith; Soldiers conducting 21-Gun Salute stand ready and then fire their 

third round in honor of those 1st Infantry Division Soldiers who gave their lives in the past year; 

1st Infantry Division and Sergeant Audie Murphy Association Soldiers unveil the memorial stones 

of those Soldiers who gave their lives during the past year while deployed.
would have given anything. I’d give 

anything now to get them back,” he 

said. “In battle, our world shrunk down 

to just a few men; the man on our left 

and the man on our right. We held each 

other’s lives in our hands. That is exactly the same thing experienced by you 

men and women today.”

During the ceremony, Brig. Gen. 

David Petersen, deputy commanding 

general-rear, was driven around the assembled troops in a World War I-era 

vehicle, in order to inspect the formation, and then units marched past Petersen and Command Sgt. Maj. “Buddy” Wallace, division command sergeant major-rear, to conclude the ceremony. The Division Review marked the final day of Victory Week, a weeklong celebration of the lineage and history of the Big Red One.

12| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |13

By Stephanie Hoff

1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

T HE PAST AND PRESENT of the 

1st Infantry Division came together June 18 on Marshall Army Airfield during a formal Division Review. 

Nearly 1,100 Soldiers representing 

each of the units currently assigned to 

the Big Red One were presented during 

the ceremony. 

The Soldiers currently assigned to the 

division were able to hear the first-hand 

experiences of a former Soldier of the Big 

Red One, who served as a company 

commander during the Vietnam War. 

Retired Lt. Col. Albert Clark Welch, 

a former company commander in 2nd 

Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, was 

the ceremony’s guest speaker. He described to the Soldiers and spectators 

the differences between serving as a 

Soldier in the Vietnam War as opposed 

to today’s military operations. 

“My thanks and my profound appreciation to you veterans and what you 

did in Vietnam,” he said. “My profound 

thanks I also extend to you, the Soldiers 

of the 1st Infantry Division today. You 

are fighting a war, that I won’t say is 

better or is more or less deadly.

“I will say that as I walk around 

here, I believe that us, Vietnam veterans, who were tough people and we’re 

still tough people, cannot compare to 

you men and women who are serving 

today. You look like every one of you 

has a personal trainer.”

Welch described the vast distinctions 

the Soldiers in Vietnam experienced 

upon their return home in contrast to 

the welcome home ceremonies received 

from today’s active-duty Soldiers. 

“We went to war because our country asked us to. Simple as that. But more 

important, we went to war because we 

saw it as our duty to go wherever we 

were needed and fight for our country,” 

Welch said. “Those of us who went 

there, took on bloody fighting and bitter sacrifice and it just kept getting 

worse and worse and worse until we 

came home. We were young and confident and patriotic and there were countrymen who knew little and cared less 

of what we experienced. That is not true 

of you.” 

A similarity experienced by both 

generations of Soldiers is the camaraderie and bonds that are formed amongst 

fellow soldiers, he noted. 

“We loved each other. I would have 

given anything to keep up the lives of 

the men who’d been entrusted to me. I 

For Your Review

Nearly 1,100 Soldiers on display at Division Review Ceremony 

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

FROM LEFT: A group of local Vietnam war veterans, salute to Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 1st Inf. Div. deputy commanding general-rear, as they 

pass the review stand June 18 on Marshall Army Airfield; Petersen rides in a World War I era Army vehicle during a Division Review Ceremony. 

BELOW: Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division salute during the playing of the National Anthem during the Division Review Ceremony on Marshall 

Army Airfield. The review featured nearly 1,100 Soldiers representing each of the Big Red One’s current units.

I would have given anything to 

keep up the lives of the men who’d 

been entrusted to me. I would 

have given anything. I’d give anything now to get them back.”

Retired Lt. Col. Albert Clark Welch
14| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |15

Currently made up of 20 Army Reserve Soldiers, 

Task Force Durable provides oversight for the brigade’s 

battalions while the brigade’s Sustainment Operation 

Center synchronizes and optimizes the sustainment 

functions for Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division.

“We maintain connectivity with the Division and 

the garrison so there isn’t a void when the 1st Sustainment Brigade main body departed,” Carra said. “We 

are prepping Fort Riley for when they come back. We 

are, in a way, the brigade staff that still is here, while 

the brigade staff-main, is forward in Kuwait doing 

their job.”

“We have a lot of specialized expertise in logistics, finance, human resources and other areas that are sustainment functions ... and we can help,” Carra continued, 

explaining that to start the process they had to find any 

and all friction points in the Army Forces Generation 

process, which is handled in large part by the SOC.

“We have to find out why it’s a friction point. Is it a 

self-inflicted issue or is this a systemic issue,” Carra 

said. These questions are asked and answered at 

weekly Sustainment Synchronization meetings with 

key staff and leaders from all eight brigades in the 1st 

Infantry Division, including 3rd Brigade Combat 

Team in Fort Knox, Ky., the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and the 

75th Fires Brigade in Fort Sill, Okla. Other attendees at 

the meetings include the Mission Support Element, 

Army Materiel Command, Fort Riley Garrison, MEDDAC and DENTAC and others to discuss the Army’s 

core enterprises: manning, equipping, funding, maintenance and facilities.

“It is these things that drive the ARFORGEN process,” said Lt. Col. Brian Tempest, SOC deputy chief, 

explaining that the SOC instigates communication between every key leader on Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division to work through trouble areas to better inform the senior commander when he needs to 

make decisions or know where his units are at within 

the ARFORGEN process.

“We are here as a vehicle to support that process,” 

Carra said, ready to push forward to ensure success 

while the 1st Sust. Bde. conducts the sustainment mission in Kuwait day in and day out. 

WHEN COL. JEFF CARRA LOOKS OUT HIS OFFICE WINDOW, 

there is an excitement in his eyes. Carra sees buildings being constructed around Sustainment Drive that once completed, will allow 

a central location for every sustainment unit on Fort Riley. He sees 

Soldiers coming in and out of the 1st Sustainment Brigade headquarters conducting business, completing their duties and supporting Fort Riley as though the 1st Sustainment Brigade hasn’t been 

deployed to Kuwait for the past four months. He sees progress and 

success in the seamless transition between the brigade’s deployment 

and the start of his own mission, commanding Task Force Durable.

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

ABOVE AND BELOW: The 1st Sustainment Brigade headquarters building stands tall and fully operational even as the brigade is 

deployed to Kuwait for 12-months.

Task Force Durable offers seamless transition
Our job is to find those (disconnects), fuse it, analyze it, get it 

back to the right agency and get 

the fix. It’s working, that’s the 

beautiful thing about it.”

Lt. Col. Brian Tempest, 

SOC deputy chief

Having become fully operational 

Sept. 10, 2009, and built to synchronize 

and optimize sustainment functions for 

Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division, 

logistically speaking, the SOC is the center pivot to the constantly turning wheel 

of information and operations that 

drives Big Red One units to success.

First conceived as a necessity for the 

division after Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks, 

commanding general for the 1st Infantry 

Division and Fort Riley, decided that the 

Army Forces Generation cycle needed to 

be optimized, the SOC has since become 

the Army’s standard in how to build and 

run such centers with efficiency.

“We fuse the core enterprises (readiness, facilities, equipping and manning) 

using all the players of the logistics personnel on this post and we provide that 

information through the Joint Operations Center (JOC) to the senior commander, so he can make a decision as to 

where his units are at in the ARFORGEN 

process,” said Lt. Col. Brian Tempest, 

SOC deputy chief, explaining he and his 

team’s constant mission is to monitor, 

track and assist in finding the disconnects in communication on Fort Riley 

and finally addressing them through 

four consolidated meetings per month, 

each of which focuses on one of the core 

enterprises.

Though the 1st Sustainment Brigade 

deployed to Kuwait in March, the SOC 

is still fully operational and manned by 

personnel provided by Task Force Durable, a type of “mission support element” tasked to continue sustainment 

operations on Fort Riley while Col. Donnie Walker, 1st Sust. Bde. commander, 

and his Durable Soldiers complete their 

missions overseas.

So far, mission success. “Our job is to 

find those (disconnects), fuse it, analyze 

it, get it back to the right agency and get 

the fix. It’s working, that’s the beautiful 

thing about it,” Tempest said.

There is still some road ahead, 

though. “We have got the facilities, we 

have the manning, we have the equipment and money. Now it’s matter of taking it the next step, which is putting the 

system in place that will give us that holistic look of a Brigade Combat Team on 

the ARFORGEN timeline with all its key 

tasks and sub tasks identified and a system to monitor and track. That’s where 

we are going,” Tempest said. 

16| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |17

The human brain is the center of the human nervous center. It continuously receives sensory information and rapidly analyzes the data and then 

responds, controlling bodily actions and functions. Comparatively, it’s the equivalent of the 

Sustainment Operations Center.

Courtesy graphic

Big wheel keeps on turning

Sustainment Operations Center manages continuous loop 

of information and operations that drives Big Red One

Jordan Chapman

Duty First! Magazine
18| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |19

The Fort Riley Directorate of Public Works along with the 

Corps of Engineers and selected contractors have been busy 

building new housing for the post’s single Soldiers that correspond to the Army’s 1 + 1 barracks initiative. 

The 1 + 1 barracks provide each Soldier with a private, 

well-appointed bedroom. Two junior enlisted Soldiers share 

a common kitchenette and bath in a two-bedroom suite, 

hence the 1 + 1 moniker. Dozens of projects for new 1+1 barracks and renovation of existing barracks are in design or 

under construction for Fort Riley’s Soldiers. 

“I don’t think you’ll meet any Soldier who has moved 

into their new barracks and said ‘I wish they would have 

left it the way it was,’” said Alan Ingwersen. “It’s just completely different from the World War II barracks where possibly 100 Soldiers would share one big room with bunk 

beds. You had no privacy. It’s just completely different. It 

just feels great to turn the barracks over to these well-deserving Soldiers.” 

The goal of the planners for PW is to provide every redeploying unit to Fort Riley with completed 1+1 barracks. 

When the Combat Aviation Brigade returned from their previous deployment, the unit’s single Soldiers received brand 

new 1 + 1 barracks located on Whitside, off of Huebner Road. 

The Soldiers of Division Headquarters and Headquarters 

Battalion and 1st Sustainment Brigade received new barracks 

before they left and may return to different barracks but will 

still receive 1 + 1 barracks.

“It’s nice to think that we have this coordinated program 

that has construction being completed just as units are returning from deployment but that’s not true,” said Mike Goreham, 

chief of planning for PW. The military construction process 

could take up to four years, when adding in the time it takes 

for the process to get approved by Congress to the final completion of the new building, Goreham explained. 

“Our goal is that all Soldiers, who are single Soldiers, return from deployment and move into 1 + 1 barracks,” he said. 

“It looks like we’ll achieve that goal by the end of 2012.”

When the Soldiers of the CAB previously re-deployed to 

Fort Riley, they were welcomed home to six brand new barracks buildings, each with the capacity to house 156 Soldiers. 

The buildings all feature individual bedrooms with two Soldiers sharing a common kitchenette and restroom. 

With some elements of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat 

Team returning earlier than expected to Fort Riley, housing 

arrangements for the single Soldiers of the “Dragon” brigade 

are being made to ensure that the each returning Soldier receives 1 + 1 barracks, said Christina Hill, master planner for 

PW. The unit may be temporarily housed in 1 + 1 barracks 

until the completion of their permanent barracks, she noted. 

“It’s not like we say ‘Why don’t you just hold them in 

theater an extra two months so we can finish the barracks?’” 

Ingwersen said. “They’re going to come back, and we’re 

happy that they get to come home early, and we’re going to 

get them into 1 + 1 barracks and, when the other barracks 

are done, unfortunately they get to move. But it’s into brand 

new barracks.”

Monitoring the changes for scheduled deployments and 

re-deployments and arranging ‘back-up’ plans is practically 

a must when determining available barracks housing, Goreham added. 

“It’s a constant challenge to always look at which units are 

scheduled to return and which units are coming back first 

and try to keep up with those changes in the deployment 

schedules. You have to have contingency plans,” he said. 

“It feels good to turn over brand new barracks. It’s a great 

feeling for me as a project manager,” Ingwersen said. “These 

guys deserve the best and that is what we are striving to deliver to them.” 

New barracks initiative 

to provide single Soldiers 

with more privacy

The days of a single Soldier having to 

climb up on his bunk bed at the end of 

the day or walking down the hall to the 

restroom are quickly diminishing. 

BY STEPHANIE HOFF | DUTY FIRST! MAGAZINE

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

Construction workers work to complete new 1 + 1 barracks, June 9, on Graves Street. The 1 + 1 barracks initiative provides each Soldier with a 

private bedroom and a shared common kitchenette and bathroom between two junior enlisted Soldiers. 

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

TOP: Remodeling efforts are currently under way to transform the barrack 

buildings located at the end of the Normandy Drive to 430 private suites 

for senior enlisted Soldiers. The suites will include private bedrooms and 

bathrooms for each Soldier. ABOVE: The new kitchenettes included in the 

1 + 1 barracks initiative include a refrigerator, range and microwave. The 

kitchenette and common area are shared among two junior enlisted Soldiers, who each have their own private bedroom. 
that is turned off. That is the best way, even better than stand-by mode. Any

-

thing that is plugged in is basically pulling energy,” he said. “At the end of the 

day or even when you leave the office for a meeting, if you just hit that power 

strip and turn it off, a lot of energy is saved. If I did that and then the next person 

does that, the power strips pay for themselves in less than two months.

“A big energy consumer is coffee pots. A lot of people will leave that 

coffee pot on all afternoon, long after they’ve finished their coffee.”

Energy engineering and procurement are the areas that require minimal 

to no input from the average work force. Constructing new energy efficient 

buildings and re-modeling the post’s aging facilities are some examples of 

procedures currently taking place to reduce Fort Riley’s excess usage. Im-

proved insulation, installing fluorescent light bulbs and thermostats that 

are automatically set to adjust during the peak and non-peak hours of the 

day are some of the leading energy-saving exercises currently under way. 

“The new buildings we are building on post are built to a much higher 

standard. Energy engineering are the things that we can put in place to 

make that building operate a whole lot more efficiently. Things that we can 

do that really don’t take user input. The users really don’t have to do any-

thing, the building does it itself,” Scruggs said. “Those are the types of 

things that don’t impact the workforce at all as far as they don’t have to do 

anything to make savings.”

Energy procurement involves the purchasing of the post’s energy sourc-

es such as electricity, natural gas and propane as well as the purchase of a 

portion of those energy commodities by on-post contractors. 

“Fort Riley currently purchases its natural gas six months ahead of time to 

receive a significant discount on the purchase,” he said. “That is a huge thing. It’s 

kind of one of those ‘out of sight, out of mind’ things for the general post population. It doesn’t save any energy but it does save a lot of money.” 

Informing the workforce, building new energy-efficient buildings and 

re-modeling the post’s current facilities to enhance their energy usage are 

all methods that Fort Riley is currently undertaking to reduce its energy 

consumption by 3 percent each year. The establishment of Energy Conser-

vation Officers in each building is an additional possibility that may be in-

stalled in the future. The ECOs would be responsible for informing the 

work force of energy-saving practices and of keeping the individuals in-

formed of the latest techniques. 

“Is this new? No, this is not new. The things that we’re doing in energy 

conservation today are the same things we were doing 25 years ago. It was 

all there it was just the amount of emphasis that was put toward it,” Scruggs 

said. “Most people think it doesn’t matter anyway. Well if you take a whole 

lot of ‘it doesn’t matters’ they add up to a whole lot throughout the day and 

throughout the year. Those little steps, you don’t think they’re that big of 

deal, but they add up.” 

20| www.riley.army.mil I

t takes approximately two seconds to perform, 

but when multiplied by the number of the Fort 

Riley work force, the simple act of shutting off 

your computer monitor and office light switch when 

away from your desk, can potentially save the post 

thousands of dollars. 

Under Presidential Executive Order 13423, Fort Ri-

ley is expected to reduce energy consumption by 3 percent annually or 30 percent overall by September 2015. 

Monitoring of the post’s energy usage began in 2007. 

“On some good weather years, we have reached that 

three percent target. Weather is a huge variable in tracking something like this,” said David Scruggs, Fort Riley’s chief of the Engineering Services Division for Public Works. “We’re not that far off from reaching our goal. 

I think it’s obtainable. It just takes a little effort on everybody’s part.” 

Nearly $18 million is spent annually for the post’s 

energy consumption. Reducing Fort Riley’s energy 

usage by 3 percent each year would generate a sav-

ings of nearly $540,000 per year and a savings of $5.4 

million over 10 years.

“The post basically saves half a million dollars a 

year just by going down 3 percent in energy usage,” 

Scruggs said. 

The Fort Riley Energy Management Program is 

broken down into four areas: engineering, aware-

ness and procurement and renewable energy, 

Scruggs said. 

Informing the post’s work force of simple tasks 

that they can insert into during their daily routine falls 

under energy awareness. Scruggs recommends turning off lights when the room or office is not in use and 

plugging individual’s monitors, desktop printers and 

charges for cell phones and iPods into power strips 

and turning the power strip off when the employee is 

away from their desk or leaves for the day. 

“The most efficient piece of equipment is the one 

Reduction Plan

Courtesy photos

FROM TOP: The computer’s monitor has been determined to consume some of the 

unit’s most electricity. The Fort Riley work force should turn their monitors off when 

they leave their office for a meeting and at the end of the work day. Under the new Fort 

Riley Energy Conservation Program, the work force is discouraged from operating min-

iature refrigerators in their offices, as the appliances can consume at least more than 

150 watts of electricity. Under the new Fort Riley Energy Conservation Program, the 

work force is encouraged to hook monitors, desktop printers and charges into power 

strips and turn the power strip off when the employee is away from their desk or leaves 

for the day. “The most efficient piece of equipment is the one that is turned off,” said 

David Scruggs, Fort Riley’s chief of the Engineering Services Division for Public 

Works.

Courtesy photo

When connected to a usage monitor, a cell-phone charger displays the electricity usage it is still consuming while not 

charging a phone. 

Post looks to cut back energy usage 30 percent by 2015

Stephanie Hoff | Duty First! Magazine

Duty First! July 2010|21
22

| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |23

By Deikeya Greer

1st Inf. Div. Post Newspaper

“This is truly a historic day, a mark of 

tangible commitment providing the 

absolute best care for our wounded 

warriors,” said Brig. Gen. David Pe-

tersen, 1st Infantry Division and depu-

ty commanding general-rear on May 

27during a ribbon-cutting ceremony 

for Fort Riley’s Warrior Transition Bat-

talion Complex. Fort Riley, home to 

the first WTB in the Army is now home 

to the first completed WTB complex—a 

$54 million dollar facility.

“This is a start of what will continue 

to be an evolving way of taking care of 

those who have sacrificed so much,” 

Petersen said. 

According to Petersen, the complex 

will be a place where wounded ser-

vicemembers and their Families will 

be able to take part in physical and be-

havioral health activities, receive qual-

ity outcome-focused care and service, 

and access to conscious care.

The three-building facility will pro-

vide a battalion headquarters, compa-

ny operating facilities and a Soldier 

and Family Assistance Center. 

Groundbreaking on the project be-

gan in September 2008. It took 18 

months to finish the project. The new 

barracks, battalion headquarters, COFs 

and SFAC total about 131,000 square 

feet.

Along with the ribbon cutting, lead-

ers signed the Army Medicine Health-

care Covenant. 

The signing of the covenant marked 

the commitment to providing quality 

health care to wounded, ill and injured 

Soldiers as well as their Families.

The WTB complex project was a 

joint effort among the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers, the Fort Riley garrison, 

the Army Medical Department and the 

Warrior Transition Command. Prior to 

the building of the WTB complex, Sol-

diers assigned to this battalion lived in 

temporary mobile housing units. 

The construction of this new facility 

is aimed to meet the needs of and bet-

ter the lives of the servicemembers. 

“This facility is much like a dorm 

room,” said L’Tanya Pugh, outreach 

coordinator for SFAC. “We want the 

warriors to be as comfortable as pos-

sible. They have already given so 

much. This is just a little comfort as 

they transition back into their normal 

routines.”

In the WTB barracks, each service-

member has their own room, already 

furnished with a television and laptop, 

a bed, desk and recliner. There are 

gathering places, fireplaces and other 

rooms and activities to keep the ser-

vicemembers in a relaxed and condu-

cive environment.

“It’s not about the brick and mor-

tar—that’s not what takes care of Sol-

diers. It’s the people, the processes and 

the care that will occur on the inside of 

the facility,” said Col. Kevin Brown, 

garrison commander. “We recognize 

the sustained conflict that we are in 

and the sacrifice of their Families, and 

we’ve committed the dollars and time 

to put together a facility like the one 

here today.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

served as the executing agent for de-

sign and construction for the WTB 

complex.

“I think this is a great commitment 

to the Soldiers and taking care of them 

during their time of transition,” said 

Christopher Prinslow, deputy com-

mander, Kansas City District, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. “The U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers is very proud 

to have been a part of this endeavor.”

According to the WTB website, the 

mission of WTB is to provide care and 

healing for the wounded, ill and in-

jured Soldiers, their Families and 

caregivers in order to develop a bal-

anced structure that is responsive to 

the Army and the needs of the war-

riors in the midst of this transition. 

The new facility will help accomplish 

this mission.

“This was a wonderful event. I 

think it will boost the morale of Sol-

diers because for so long wounded 

Soldiers have been thrown away when 

they were injured, but now this shows 

that the Army does care about them 

and this is proof of their giving back,” 

said Lt. Col. John Jones, WTB.

The new WTB Complex is located 

next to the Irwin Army Community 

Hospital and its new building site just 

off Huebner Road.

Photos courtesy of the 1st Infantry Division Post Newspaper

TOP: Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 1st Infantry Division deputy commanding general-rear, speaks at the Warrior Transition Battalion ribbon cutting 

ceremony. MIDDLE: Representatives from Fort Riley, IACH and the WTB stand with the Army Medicine Health Care Covenant during the grand open-

ing of the WTB Complex at Fort Riley. BOTTOM: Representatives from Fort Riley, IACH and the WTB along with Family and community members cut 

a ribbon marking the grand opening of the WTB Complex at Fort Riley. The complex is the first to be completed in the Army. WTB Complex open 

$54M facility to 

help in evolution 

of health care
 Duty First! July 2010 |25

Unique to Fort Riley and the Army, the entertainment facility welcomed its 

first guests during Super Bowl Sunday of 2010. Since then, the 4,200 square foot 

building has continued to offer a pool table, wireless internet access, a food and 

beverage bar serving wings, fries, gourmet salads, wraps, sandwiches, pizza, 

breakfast items, javacinnos, coffee and teas, quality beers and much more; seven 

high powered gaming machines, four stand-alone computers for internet browsing, 19 flat screen TV’s that can be watched using portable audio speakers, gaming consoles, games, movies, a back patio featuring a top of the line grill and a 

movie theater complete with plush recliners that are tested and approved for 

“movie narcolepsy.”

“This is their place, we do it all for them,” said the dedicated Mike Alderson, 

Warrior Zone operation business manager, expressing his own desire to constantly provide the highest quality entertainment environment for any Soldier 

that walks through his door. 

“They’re our boss. We love what they do for us,” he said, a comment that 

could be justified in every staff member’s action, especially one Angela Jackson, 

By Jordan Chapman | Duty First! Magazine

Fort Riley Soldiers find themselves in the Zone Year-old entertainment facility offers 

little bit of everything for everyone

Food and Beverage manager, whose 

amiable smile and personality has 

earned her the nickname “Mom” to 

many of the facilities warriors.

Pvt. Zack Slater, Special Troops 

Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, is one Soldier who helps 

uphold the nickname, who feels 

Jackson is like his second mother.

“When I first got here, new to 

Kansas, I came with five or six 

other guys from my unit. We all 

came up here and ever since we 

always come in here. It’s a lot of 

fun. It has everything a single Soldier could possibly want to do on 

a weekend,” he said, explaining 

he has met a few of his friends through the activities there and oftentimes 

finds himself visiting with the staff more than anything else.

Staff Sgt. Charles Keaton, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team 

could agree and additionally felt the Warrior Zone a great relief for Soldiers on post who 

can’t travel off post. “This is the best idea Fort Riley has ever had,” he praised. 

Best idea or not, it’s the attitude within that helps the Warrior Zone succeed. 

When a Soldier is talking to Alderson, there is one phrase constantly on the verge 

of his lips: “We want you to feel at home when you come here,” Alderson would 

say. “This is your place. Let us know what you need, what you want, what you 

enjoy and what you don’t enjoy. I think all of my people want to know that.” 

When confronted with such a statement, on the whole, the Soldiers want 

more of what is offered, a wish that has been granted.

Within the next month, ground will break on a new Warrior Zone to be located on Custer Hill that is bigger and better in order to help accommodate the 

Fort Riley Soldier’s growing appetite for fun. The new facility is to be complete 

in June or July of 2011. More information on The Warrior Zone also can be found 

at www.riley.army.mil under the Recreation tab.

Opening the doors to 

Building 8067, you’re 

presented with a cool rush 

of air, low lighting and the 

scent of café style food. 

The atmosphere is the epitome of relaxation as you 

hear the low rumble of a 

movie theater, the laughing conversations of the 

staff and your buddies 

calling you over to the pool 

table. It’s the Warrior 

Zone, a community for all.

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

RIGHT: Angela “Mom” Jackson, front, food and 

beverage manager, and Amanda Wood, food 

and beverage attendant, arrange the ingredients of a sandwich for a Soldier waiting in line at 

the Warrior Zone on June 4. ABOVE: Amongst 

many other entertainments, 1st Infantry Division Soldiers have the option of playing a round 

of pool at the Warrior Zone. 

Jordan Chapman, Duty First! Magazine

LEFT: A Soldier enjoys his time playing an X-Box 360 video game at the Warrior Zone on 

June 4. BELOW: Seven high powered computers, perfect for gaming, wait to be played in 

the Warrior Zone. 

24| www.riley.army.mil
26| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |27

SOLDIERS REPRESENTING each 

battalion of the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry 

Division stood at attention at 9 a.m., May 

25, on Custer Hill Parade Field to say 

good bye to their former leader and welcome their new commanding officer. 

Col. Eric Welsh assumed command 

of the ‘Devil’ Brigade during the change 

of command ceremony from Col. Eric 

Wesley. 

“This truly is an exciting day here at 

Fort Riley, for the 1st Infantry Division 

and for the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat 

Team,” said Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 

1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley 

deputy commanding general–rear. 

“The Wesley’s have provided exceptional service and leadership in the last 

two years. It’s an honor for me to take a 

little bit of time to reflect on what this 

outstanding Army couple has done for 

the Soldiers and Families of the ‘Devil’ 

brigade.”

Petersen commented on the vast 

changes the brigade has undergone during the two years of Wesley’s command. 

For the past three years the mission for 

the Soldiers of 1st HBCT was to train the 

Soldiers who had been assigned to a 

Military Transition Team. Before assuming the mission, the brigade was required to hand over a majority of its 

equipment and vehicles and decrease its 

once 3,000-Soldier-strong population to 

a little more than 300. The unit was then 

no longer an official brigade, but referred 

to by the Army as a Table of Distribution 

and Allowances. A TDA is generally a 

small group of Soldiers who comprise 

non-combat and non-deployable workload based units. 

 “You were charged with the training of all Army, Navy and Air Force 

personnel to serve on Transition 

Teams,” Petersen said. “Not an easy 

task by any means, but important, as 

those missions are often most difficult. 

Through your leadership; those teams 

have deployed to theater, knowing that 

they had received the best training that 

was available.” 

In September 2009, the MTT training 

mission was transitioned to Fort Polk, 

La., and the “Devil” Brigade began to rebuild its resources and train for their upcoming deployment, scheduled for this 

fall. The return to a heavy brigade combat team from a TDA required the simultaneous transition of equipment and 

personnel to Fort Polk while receiving 

new equipment and Soldiers being assigned to the building unit daily. 

“I can’t even imagine the logistical 

nightmare that could have been,” Petersen said. “But it’s a task that you made 

look easy and before long, the ‘Devil’ 

Brigade was at 100 percent strength and 

ready to train. And that’s exactly what 

they’ve been doing.” 

Wesley is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to become the new Chief of 

Plans for the CJ35 or combined joint 

planning section and International Security Assistance Force. 

He commented on his appreciation 

for the opportunity to lead such a historic battalion as it underwent a major 

transition and now prepares for the new 

role of an advise and assist brigade. 

“This is both the oldest and newest 

brigade in the United States Army. It’s 

oldest by its lineage and it’s the newest by 

modularity as the newest Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team and that will be my thing,” 

Wesley said to the Soldiers and Families 

of the brigade. “I have to tell you that I am 

amazed at what you do. I could not be 

more proud to have commanded the oldest and the newest brigade in the Army. 

“I’m convinced that (Col. Welsh) will 

make this a better brigade. I respect his 

passion and his intellect and I’m certain 

that he will lift this brigade to levels that 

you would not expect.” 

Welsh’s previous assignments have 

included his service as battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 4th Brigade, 1st US Cavalry Division 

at Fort Hood, Texas and most recently as 

a Joint Staff Officer serving as the director of the Chairmen of the Joint Chief of 

Staff’s Special Program’s Office and as 

the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, 

Army (CSA) in Washington D.C. 

“This brigade has accomplished 

many great things. From preparing to 

deploy in 2005 to standing down; in order to build the transition team training 

mission from scratch, to standing up yet 

again as a heavy brigade combat team,” 

Welsh said. “I am humbled and I am 

honored to be standing before you today 

and I look forward to the opportunity to 

lead these fine Soldiers in this heavy brigade combat team as it prepares to deploy to Iraq.”

Story & photos by Stephanie Hoff

Duty First! Magazine

CHANGE

COMMAND

ABOVE: Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley deputy commanding general–rear, passes the colors of 1st Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division to Col. Eric Welsh, signifying Welsh as the brigade’s new commander, during a change of command ceremony 

May 25 on Custer Hill Parade Field. OPPOSITE: Soldiers of 1st Bn., 5th Field Artillery fire ‘Old Thunder’ signifying the beginning of the change of 

command ceremony for 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, May 25 on Custer Hill Parade Field. Col. Eric Welsh assumed command of the historic brigade from Col. Eric Wesley.

Devil Brigade welcomes in 

new commanding officer
28| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! July 2010 |29

S OLDIERS OF the 1st Infantry 

Division “Dagger” Brigade welcomed Col. Paul Calvert as their 

new commander June 4 on Custer Hill 

Parade Field.

While standing in formation before 

their friends, peers and community leaders, the Soldiers of the brigade watched as 

outgoing commander Col. Joseph Martin, 

Calvert and Brig. Gen. David Petersen, 

deputy commanding general for the 1st 

Infantry Division and Fort Riley—rear, inspected their ranks and then spoke.

Martin first gave all the credit of his 

own success with the 2nd Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team to his Soldiers, explaining 

by way of quotes from Ecclesiaticus from 

the Book of Apocrypha, that it is all too 

easy to credit leaders with great successes 

of the state, an organization or unit.

“(Ecclesiaticus) acknowledged that 

those who were truly responsible for an 

organization is those who make up the 

organization as a whole and all of those 

who supported them,” Martin said, implying the importance of the Family behind a Soldier.

“The brigade’s accomplishments 

are many ... you’ve heard them in previous speeches, you’ve heard Brig. 

Gen. Petersen talk about them. To 

achieve those accomplishments it took 

a team of teams,” Martin said. He acknowledged his own Family as one 

team and thanked all of the others that 

have supported the Soldiers under his 

command while he was responsible for 

their well-being.

As for the Soldiers he leaves behind 

under the eyes of Calvert, Martin advised 

each trooper to remain confident, remain 

high in spirit and always keep the “cando” attitude that continues to amaze the 

entire division.

Calvert was the first to recognize 

and give applause to his new Soldiers 

upon taking the podium. 

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to 

command in this storied brigade and division,” Calvert said. He assured his listeners that he does not take the responsibility lightly, understanding the challenges that he and his men will face.

“Together, there is nothing that we 

as a team are incapable of overcoming,” 

he said.

The Dagger Brigade last deployed to 

Iraq in 2008 and returned to Fort Riley 

in late 2009. The unit is currently preparing for another deployment.

NEW ‘DAGGER’ IN PLACE

Story & photos by Jordan Chapman | Duty First! Magazine

Commanding officer thankful for opportunity

TOP: 1st Infantry Division Soldiers dressed in period uniforms stand at rest before firing the cannon behind them during the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Change of Command ceremony June 4 at Custer Hill Parade Field. ABOVE: Cannons fire during the change of command ceremony at Custer 

Hill Parade. OPPOSITE: David Petersen, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley deputy commanding general-rear, passes the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat 

Team colors to incoming commander Col. Paul Calvert during a Change of Command ceremony June 4 at Custer Hill Parade Field.
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