By Maj. William Carraway
Historian, Georgia Army National Guard
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| Georgia National Guard Soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade conduct annual training at Fort Stewart, Ga. August-September 2000 in preparation for mobilization to Bosnia in March 2001. |
Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Freeman recalls the day early in 2000 when, as a lieutenant, he called his Soldiers of the Support Platoon, 2nd Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment together in the Albany Armory.
“I told the platoon that, based on the
rumblings I had been hearing, we would deploy sometime in the near future,
observed Freeman. “At the time, my platoon laughed at the notion.”[1]
Months of rumblings and rumors gave
way to confirmation in February 2000. Major General Tom Carden, then a major
assigned as operations officer for the 2nd Battalion 121st
Infantry Regiment, recalled receiving the official notice of the deployment.
“The 48th Brigade commanding general
at the time was Brig. Gen. Robin Hughes, noted Carden. “He notified the
formation that we would deploy two battalion task forces and the 148th Forward
Support Battalion to Bosnia as part of Stabilization Force 9. We had a large
meeting at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth to go over the
details of the upcoming mission.”[2]
Freeman recalled his reaction to the
official announcement.
“I remember turning around and smiling
at (my Soldiers) upon receipt of the news,” recalled Freeman. “Deployment was
not something the Georgia National Guard was used to hearing during those days.
New times were definitely upon us.”[3]
The Bosnia deployment would encompass
approximately 1,200 Soldiers from the 48th Infantry Brigade. Brigade
headquarters staff would work alongside staff of the 3rd Infantry
Division during the mobilization. The 2nd Battalion 121st
Infantry Regiment would supply approximately 650 Soldiers to command a task
force. This task force would be augmented by companies of the 1st
Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment while logistics, medical and
maintenance support would be provided by the 148th FSB. Company C,
648th Engineer Battalion was assigned to provide engineering support
while firepower would be provided by the Cedartown-based Company B, 108th
Armor.[4]
Following the announcement, the 48th Infantry Brigade received an influx of volunteers from across the state. Marc Massey was
a private 1st class in the Jackson-based 166th
Maintenance Company when he learned of the Bosnia deployment.
“I had heard that the 48th Brigade was
being spun up to go to Bosnia,” recalled Massey. “At the time I felt that this
was the closest to ‘war’ that my generation would get.”
Massey interviewed with Command Sgt.
Major James Allen, senior enlisted advisor of the 148th FSB and
arranged a transfer to Company B.[5]
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| Sergeant Susan Corbitt applies a bandage to a simulated casualty during training at Fort Stewart, Ga. Sunday Sept. 10, 2000. Corbitt is a medic with the Macon-based Company C, 148th FSB Photo by Spc. J.M. Lowry, 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. |
“The Department of Defense, the U.S.
Army and the United States are demonstrating their confidence in the 48th
Brigade and the Georgia National Guard by selecting these units to lead the way
for National Guard participation in support of this mission,” said Poythress in
March 2000. “This is the first time that a National Guard combat unit of this
size and capability will take over such a large portion of this mission.”[8]
For many Soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade, the Bosnia deployment represented an opportunity to demonstrate the
brigade’s capabilities following the experience of the 1991 Desert Storm mobilization
in which the 48th, as the round out brigade of the 24th
Division, was certified as combat ready following its rotation at the National
Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif. but not in time to deploy with the 24th
ID. For nearly a decade, the memory of the 1991 mobilization haunted the
Soldiers, many of whom felt they had not been given a chance to prove
themselves.
“There was real sense of determination
from those who had been a part of the long rotation that we would leave no
doubt the Georgia National Guard could and would be successful training for and
conducting missions in Bosnia,” said Freeman.[9]
Like Freeman, Command Sgt. Major
Walter Kegley Sr., the brigade’s senior enlisted leader, felt an initial sense
of trepidation about the deployment but was soon convinced “that this was an
excellent opportunity for the brigade to show its value to our active Army
counterparts.”[10]
The summer of 2000 brought significant
changes to the 48th Infantry Brigade mission. General Hughes was assigned as
assistant commander of 1st Army at Fort Gillem and promoted to major
general. Succeeding Hughes as commander of the 48th Infantry Brigade was
Brig. Gen. Robley Rigdon who would additionally serve as assistant commander of
the 3rd Infantry Division in Bosnia. Colonel Tommy Stewart was
appointed to serve as the brigade task force commander in Bosnia.[11]
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| Brigadier General Robley Rigdon, and Command Sgt. Major Walter Kegley Sr, command team of the 48th Infantry Brigade at Fort Stewart Aug 30, 2001. |
Major William Alan Dent, then executive
officer of the 148th FSB, shared his reaction to the change of
command.
“We thought (Hughes) was deploying
with us,” recalled Dent. “However, he was soon re-assigned as a First Army
Advisor and did not deploy; we wanted him to deploy, and it was disappointing
that his leadership would be missed. But Brig. Gen. Rigdon stepped in as brigade
commander and was an excellent choice to lead the brigade to Bosnia.[12]
Fort Stewart: The
Training Begins
As the chaplain assistant for 2-121,
Spc. Anthony Davis recalled the train up for Bosnia from a unique perspective.
Davis had learned of the possible deployment during a regional chaplain
conference in 1999 shortly before the Georgia National Guard mobilized in
response to Hurricane Floyd. A sophomore at the University of North Georgia,
Davis recalled reporting to Albany before executing a three-week field training
exercise at Fort Stewart in August and September 2000.
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| Spc. Anthony Davis, a chaplain's assistant with the Georgia Army National Guard's Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment. Photo by Sgt. Roy Henry, 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. |
“In the field, the chaplain and I
would either stay around the battalion maintenance point or with the medics.
Part of our job during the train up was to visit the units in the field at Fort
Stewart, the ranges and at Camp Oliver.” Davis recalled a particular instance
in which a battalion staff meeting, held at Red Cloud Alpha Range was
interrupted at regular intervals by M-1 Abrams live-fire.[13]
Carden, who had previously mobilized
with the 48th in 1991 and who would subsequently deploy to Iraq
recalls the three-week training exercise at Fort Stewart, as among the most
aggressive in his more than 35-year military career.
“We qualified on Bradley Fighting
Vehicles and M1 tanks up through platoon live fire certification,” said Carden
who also recalled the force-on-force Marne Focus exercise with the 3rd
Infantry Division.[14]
“We treated the pre-deployment
training as if we were going into full scale combat operations,” said Carden.
We felt that if we could do the most difficult missions, it would enable us to
easily accomplish the actual mission of stability and support operations.”
In December, the Soldiers were put on
federal orders and resumed training in earnest at Fort Stewart as recalled by
Pfc. Massey:
Staff Sgt. Scott Boyd of Company B, 148th FSB probes
for mines at Fort Stewart. Photo by Spc. James Sherrill
124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
“The train up was intense. I arrived
at Fort Stewart just before New Year’s Day 2001. We were racked in the National
Guard Barracks and began performing basic Soldier training on sight.”
Joining the 48th at Fort
Stewart was Warrant Officer 1 Ralph Lovett who reported to the brigade directly
from Field Artillery Warrant Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Okla. A 1991
graduate of Georgia Southern University, Lovett recalled that this portion of
the train up: “…focused on basic soldier skills such as land navigation, and
marksmanship with some time spent on specific concerns for Bosnia such as
counter mine operations (poking around with a stick trying to find a mine) and
entry control point (ECP) procedures.”[15]
Also reporting to Fort Stewart
straight out of school was newly minted 2nd Lieutenant Alexander
McLemore who had completed officer candidate school with the Georgia Military
Institute in August 2000 and graduated from Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort
Benning the following December. While assigned to the Tifton-based Headquarters
detachment, McLemore never reported to his home-town armory.
“I never made it to Tifton, said
McLemore. “We graduated on a Friday and left right away for Fort Stewart.” Arriving,
McLemore went straight to the billets and immediately entered the training
rotation with 2-121. Expecting to receive an assignment as a platoon leader,
McLemore was instead assigned to work with Maj. Carden in operations where he
would take on main shift battle captain duties working with Sgt. Michael
Persley.[16]
 |
| Sergeant Michael Persley and 2nd Lt. Alexander McLemore of Headquarters Company, 2-121. Photo courtesy of Alexander McLemore. |
Representatives of the 48th Infantry Brigade visited Bosnia in January 2001 to meet with leaders from Security Force
8.[17]
The following month, President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld visited Fort Stewart. Lovett recalled the Feb. 12, 2001 visit:
“There was a lottery to sit with
POTUS, SECDEF and the 3ID Command Staff (MG Walter Sharp) during the President’s
speech. I was shocked to win a ticket and sit right behind POTUS and SECDEF. It
was quite motivating to say the least.”[18]
Fort Polk
Subsequent to the Presidential visit,
the 48th Infantry Brigade travelled to Fort Polk for a rotation at the Joint
Readiness Training Center which Dent described as “extremely cold and wet the
entire 3 ½ to 4 weeks during that rotation.”[19]
Dent’s description was widely echoed by other Soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade who were interviewed for this retrospective.
“It was cold, wet and miserable,” said
Massey. “We lived in circus tents. The heaters could barely keep up with the
damp cold air. When we weren’t standing on a gate or guard shack in the rain shivering,
we were slugging through the mud trying to get equipment fixed.”[20]
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| Specialist Philip Basinger of the Winder-based Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry quizzes Soldiers on various aspects of the up armored HMMWV at Fort Stewart, Ga. Sept. 2, 2000. photo by Spc. J.M. Lowry, 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. |
Despite the austere conditions, the 48th Infantry Brigade made progress in training and task organization. Kegley recalled
several meetings with counterparts in the 3rd ID to determine the
right mix of Guard and active personnel for the mission. He also noted that the
3rd ID and Georgia National Guard “provided all the facilities and
oversight that was needed in preparation of deploying (to include) SRP,
medical, dental, family support, quarters, and administrative support.”[21]
Returning from Fort Polk, the Citizen
Soldiers enjoyed time with family before assembling at local armories across
the state for send-off ceremonies.
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| Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard's Company B, 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment commanded by Capt. Frank E. Holder hear remarks by Cherokee County commissioner Harry Johnson, during the unit’s departure ceremony at the Leland National Guard Armory in Canton March 8, 2001. |
On March 12, 2001, more than 300
Georgia National Guard Soldiers departed Hunter Army Airfield Bound for Bosnia.[22]
Next Chapter: Task Force Eagle.
[1]
Jeff Freeman interview Sept. 22, 2021.
[2]
Tom Carden interview Sept. 20, 2021.
[3]
Jeff Freeman interview Sept. 22, 2021.
[4]
Jim Driscoll and Ken Baldowski. “Elements of Georgia’s 48th Brigade
to Deploy to the Balkans.” News Release, Ga. DoD, March 28, 2000.
[5]
Marc Massey interview September 30, 2021.
[6]
The Georgia Department of Defense. Mission, Vision, Values the Georgia
Department of Defense in 1997. (Atlanta: 1997) 2.
[7]
The Georgia Department of Defense. Building for the New Century the Georgia
Department of Defense in 1998. (Atlanta: 1997) 5.
[8]
David Poythress. “Command Focus” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Spring,
2000, 2.
[9]
Jeff Freeman Interview Sept. 20, 2021.
[10]
Walter Kegley Sr. interview September 30, 2021.
[11]
David Poythress. “Command Focus.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Summer,
2000, 3.
[12]
William Alan Dent interview September 23, 2021.
[13]
Anthony Davis interview September 22, 2001.
[14]
Tom Carden interview September 20, 2021.
[15]
Ralph Lovett interview September 23, 2021.
[16]
Alexander McLemore interview September 23, 2021.
[17]
“Credit Where Credit is Due.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Fall, 2000,
2.
[18]
Ralph Lovett interview September 23, 2021.
[19]
William Alan Dent interview September 23, 2021.
[20]
Marc Massey interview September 30, 2021.
[21]
Walter Kegley Sr. interview September 29, 2021.
[22]
Jingle Davis. “Georgia Troops Heading to Bosnia. Atlanta Journal Constitution,
March 12, 2001, 1.
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