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174th Infantry Brigade bids farewell to Fort Drum

  • Published
  • By Army 1st Lt. Kevin Skindell
  • 174th Infantry Brigade Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The 174th Infantry Brigade cased its colors for official movement to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst during a ceremony May 20 at Fort Drum, N.Y.

The ceremony, overseen by Maj. Gen. Kevin Wendel, First Army Division East commander, marked the final farewell and new beginning for a brigade.

"Change is a constant for us in the Army," said Wendel. "Thank you for all of your hard work training mobilizing units for deployment."

The 174th In. Bde. Soldiers have spent the majority of the last five years traveling across the country to train, coach and mentor deploying servicemembers. In 2007, the 174th In. Bde. began its road trip here, at then Fort Dix, spending six months alongside the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade.

First Army tasked the 174th In. Bde. to augment sister brigades and get troops trained and validated for missions overseas during summer surges of servicemembers slated for ongoing contingency operations. It was soon on to Fort Bragg, N.C., and then to Fort McCoy, Wis., the following summer.

Later that year, the 174th In. Bde. went to Camp Shelby, Miss., to train more than 5,000 Soldiers of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, trailing the unit to Fort Irwin, Calif., for a National Training Center exercise and back out to the east coast for the unit's wheels up to Iraq. It was safe to say the 174th was what 1st Army called an "away brigade," but today its duty station is reclaimed.

"I am proud to say today the brigade heads home," said Wendel during the ceremony.
Wendel was alluding to the fact that on Aug. 5, 1917, the brigade was first constituted at then Camp Dix, N.J.

Col. Chipper Lewis, 174th In. Bde. commander, followed the general's remarks by speaking highly of the 42 years the brigade spent at Fort Drum.

"We've enjoyed our stay, and the support we've received at Drum with the 10th Mountain Division," Lewis said. "We will miss it here."

May 20 marks the day the 174th In. Bde. leaves Fort Drum officially, but the transition began back in the summer of 2007.

Lewis personified the upcoming change the evening prior to the casing, by saying goodbye and honoring five Department of the Army civilians at the Hillside Lake Lodge who served with the 174th In. Bde. during its tenure at Fort Drum.

"With the move, we leave behind some very dear coworkers and friends," Lewis said.

Members of the brigade said a solemn goodbye during a ceremony at 10th Mountain Memorial Park following the casing ceremony. Four 174th In. Bde. Soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. Sgt. 1st Class Michael Benson, Sgt. 1st Class Casey E. Howe, Master Sgt. Tulsa Tuliau and Lt. Col. Leon James were honored with a memorial inscribed with words from English classicist John Maxwell Edmonds:

"When you go home, tell them of us and say, 'For your tomorrows these gave theirs today."

The 174th In. Bde. and the 72nd FA Bbe. underwent transformation last year. Many Soldiers already made the physical move to JB MDL and have been conducting post mobilization training in support of ongoing contingency operations since 2010. The brigade's colors are set to be uncased in conjunction with the 174th In. Bde. change of command ceremony July 19.