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Alaska Unit Leaves TF 38, Reflects on Year-Long Deployment

By Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowry, Task Force 38 Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - An aviation company with Task Force 38 left its nest here as part of the responsible drawdown in Iraq.

Alaska-based A Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment left the desert and headed home after a year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"Overall it's been wonderful year with a great group of professional Soldiers," said Capt. Russ Vander Lugt, Breezy Point, Minn., the company commander. "We really got a great group of Soldiers here, and they make my job easy."

According to the commander and the unit's senior enlisted Soldier, 1st Sgt. Gary Sanders, the unit, nicknamed the Tomahawks, was organized with a majority of new Soldiers and Soldiers from other units.

U.S. Army Spc. Glynn Forrester, an A Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew chief, closes an access panel on a UH-60 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Forrester, a Fort Worth, Texas resident, and his company are set to return to Fort Wainwright, Alaska after a year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowry, Task Force 38 Public Affairs (released)

"Yeah, we started off with a really young group of Soldiers," said Sanders from Cincinnati. "(The Army) put us together and sent us on our way - new crew chiefs, new pilots. They all learned their jobs and were ready to go."

While in Iraq, the unit flew special forces Soldiers, high-ranking generals and ambassadors, and battlefield circulation flights - moving troops around Iraq.

The commander and the first sergeant spoke positively of their Soldiers and of their troops' tenacity.

"It shows you exactly what kind of Soldiers we have. We kept driving our Soldiers - maybe it's stubbornness and refusing to quit. There's no quit to the Tomahawks," said Vander Lugt.

Sanders said that his Soldiers came together as a team, even though it was newly assembled.

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Gary Sanders, center, A Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment's top enlisted Soldiers, salutes Capt. Russ Vander Lugt, left, the unit's commander, during the company's end-of-tour awards ceremony at Joint Base Balad, Iraq on Friday, Jan. 22, 2009. Vander Lugt, Breezy Point, Minn., and Sanders, Cincinnati, led the UH-60 Black Hawk company that flew 4,100 aircraft hours, more than 14,000 crew member hours, and approximately 1,200 missions during its year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowry, Task Force 38 Public Affairs (released)

"When you look in the dictionary for team players, you'll see Alpha Company," said Sanders.

Spc. Michael Baker, St. Petersburg, Fla., an A Company crew chief and mechanic reiterated Sanders' statement.

"We're always working together, always as a team, especially when we leave the ground, that's when it's game time," said Baker. "We're really tight knit."

While in Iraq the unit moved two different times - from Baghdad to Basra and then to Joint Base Balad. Through the moves A Company reported to different headquarters units, and its Soldiers became part of those teams.

"Every organization we went to, we became part of that organization and helped them and they helped us," said Sanders.

One of the headquarters units was Task Force 38. The TF 38 Soldiers helped A Company through a tragic time when Spc. Michael Cote, a Company A crew chief, died in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter accident on September 19. According to A Company leaders, TF 38 leaders, commander Col. David Wood and Command Sgt. Maj. John Watson, were instrumental in helping during Cote's memorial ceremony.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Adam Miller, an A Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, communicates with a crew chief. Miller, Phoenix, and his company are set to return to Fort Wainwright, Alaska after a year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S Army photo by 1st Sgt. Gary Sanders, A Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment (released)

"I really feel Command Sgt. Maj. Watson and Col. Wood went out of their way to help with that event and made us feel like part of the team," said Vander Lugt. "Col. Wood took a personal knowledge and caring for our Soldiers, their families and how they're doing."

Sanders echoed that sentiment.

"A lot of battalions (and headquarter units) could've just checked the block, but the sergeant major made sure what we felt we wanted was put into the ceremony," Sanders said.

Watson said he was honored to help with the ceremony that helped A Company Soldiers through the grieving process of Spc. Cote's death.

"We did something that was necessary to give them the best professional, military ceremony that we could," said Watson. "We made sure that ceremony was done right for Spc. Cote, his unit and all the task force Soldiers."

Yet the A Company Soldiers moved past the tragic event and continued their successful deployment with the aid of their fellow Soldiers, the unit's family readiness group and families.

"If it wasn't for them taking care of things back home, our guys would be going crazy," said Sanders.

Team work, families and the Soldiers' attitude is what made A Company's deployment successful, said Sanders and Vander Lugt.

"We're known for having a high esprit de corps because we enjoy what we do, and top (1st Sgt. Sanders) and I enjoy leading the troops because of the group we have," said Vander Lugt.

"There's a trust between the Soldiers and command, and I can trust them to get the job done," he said.

Company A flew 4,100 aircraft hours, more than 14,000 crew member hours, and approximately 1,200 missions during its year-long deployment.

"The Army got its bang for its buck with us," said Vander Lugt.