48th Brigade Training Continues at Fort Stewart

A Soldier of the 48th Brigade Combat Team raises his M4 rifle toward a possible target during a training patrol. (Georgia National Guard photo by Sgt.Roy Henry)

With Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team in its twelfth week of training at Fort Stewart near Savannah, the more than 4,000 Soldiers who’ll be going to Iraq are in the final stage of collective training.

As that part of the process comes to a close, the brigade continues its preparation for moving to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. There, the 48th will have its warfighter abilities validated by active Army trainers.

Once that’s completed, it will move back to Fort Stewart and get ready for that day when it will board the aircraft that will take it to Iraq and the missions the brigade will perform, which is expected to be in mid-May.

A two-day festival and formal send-off ceremony is being planned for May 13 and 14 at Fort Stewart.

Brigade officials said that the training brigade has received has been nothing short of phenomenal, especially when one considers that there’s been so much to do and only a short time to in which to do it. Three months may seem like a long time to some, but the days seem to fly by for everyone from the senior leadership down to the individual Soldier.

Specialists Michael Astuto (left) and Reginald Whimbush conduct pre-fire checks on the .50 caliber machinegun atop a Humvee assigned to 1st Battalion, 108th Armor. Astuto and Whimbush are scouts with the 108th’s Headquarters Company.

Brigadier General Stewart Rodeheaver, commander of the 48th Brigade Combat Team, said the esprit de corps and the dedication with which the brigade has approached this train-up has been nothing short of superb.”

That includes those Soldiers who have come to the 48th from other states, Rodeheaver added.
Since the brigade’s arrival in January at Fort Stewart, fellow Guardsmen from Illinois, Missouri, Alabama. Puerto Rico and Maryland have joined the 48th’s ranks. The integration of these troops has been seamless and each unit brings with it a whole new set of skills that have enhanced those already possessed by the 48th..

As training progresses, the Soldiers are being rewarded for their hard work and long hours with time off with their families. Several elements of the 48th recently returned to Fort Stewart after having spent three days with their loved ones, and other units are getting ready to trade the long days, lonely nights and noisy field problems for civilian clothes, nights close to loved ones and some quiet time at home.