Pvt. Jeff Austreng stood near his bunk and unpacked and repacked his gear. Body armor? Check. Uniforms? Check. Cold weather gear? Check. He finished and looked at the two stuffed duffels before him.
Good to go.
After completing two months of training in Fort Lewis, Wa., Austreng and the rest of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division are finally ready for their mission to assume command of nine of Iraq’s 18 provinces.
“Congratulations,” said Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, commanding general of the 34th Inf. Div. “We did it.”
After their arrival Feb. 14, the Red Bulls were supplied with their equipment and were medically cleared as fit to deploy. Then, they completed training that included weapons qualification, convoy operations, land navigation and unit-specific training. Finally, Soldiers completed a 10-day Mission Rehearsal Exercise where they performed the same tasks and missions they will be doing in Iraq.
“The MRX tested our ability to function as a division headquarters,” said Capt. Nickolas Wry, company commander of the Headquarters and the Headquarters Company.
“They threw all these scenarios at you,” Wry, a Fargo, N.D. native. “Hey this is happening? What are you doing? Who’s calling who? What calls are being made?”
“I’m new, so I learned a lot, especially as a private coming from AIT,” said Austreng, who had just completed Basic and Advance Individual Training. “I’m glad we did the MRX, because otherwise, I wouldn’t have any confidence overseas. It gave me an idea of what my role will be in Iraq.”
“We’ve truly formed as a team,” said Nash. “I am confident in the leadership, operational expertise, and support systems throughout the division headquarters.”
The Red Bulls will be in charge of leadership, command, control, and in-depth analysis for a 16,000 person multi-national division, and will have direct partnership with more than 40,000 Iraqi Security Forces in nine of Iraq’s 18 provinces. The Red Bulls will be headquartered in Basra, one of the largest cities in Iraq. There, the 34th Inf. Div. will take operational control of the area from the 10th Mountain Division, an active duty Army division based in Fort Drum, N. Y.
“We now look forward to the next phase of our training as we depart Fort Lewis and transit through Kuwait in order to begin our relief in place of the 10th Mountain Division,” said Nash.
“I’m just excited to get over there and get started,” said Austreng.
