On behalf of a grateful nation and a grateful gaming community, today we learnt of the passing of our very own Richard C. Anderson. Specialist R.Anderson joined our gaming community September 30th, 2019. Assigned to Alpha Company, First Platoon, First Squad as a Combat Life Saver, Anderson earned the role of Squad Combat Medic and served in First and Second Squads of First Platoon till the time of his passing.

Specialist R.Anderson having served in the Marine Corp in his early years of life, quickly gained the respect of his fellow soldiers and fit in very well in our community as he showed great passion and dedication within our unit. Specialist R.Anderson's awards consisted of Army Service Ribbon with honors, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Air Assault Badge, Marksmanship Badge (Sharpshooter) and completion of Combat Life Savers (CLS) Course and was a Range Safety Officer within Force Improvement Group.

Our Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 8th @ 1300 EST (Our Teamspeak and Servers) Our thoughts and prayers are with Richard's family and close friends during this difficult time.

Semper fidelis Richard C. Anderson

The Alpha Company awards ceremony is a special occasion once a month to allow the unit commander to honor recipients who have been recognized for their accomplishments while assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division Realism Gaming Unit.  

This ceremony marked the beginning of deployment status for Operation Thin Ice. 

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This month, Major John LaFlash held a ceremony to recognize...

The promotions and awards are  as follows;

Recruit Sean Blake promoted to Private Second Class.

Private Second Class Robert Yankura promoted to Private First Class.
Private Second Class Christoph Brock promoted to Private First Class.

Specialist Kenney Maxfield promoted to Corporal

Sergeant Bailey Lambert promoted to Staff Sergeant

NCO Professional Development Ribbon, NCODEV

Staff Sergeant Bailey Lambert
Sergeant Kevin Stubbs
Corporal Kenney Maxfield
Specialist Adam Smith
Specialist Johnathan Pacheco
Specialist Ryan Devlin

Army Service Ribbon, ASR

Private First Class Bryson Nethaniel
Private First Class Shaun Adams
Private First Class Ryan Stricklin
Private First Class Robert Yankura
Private First Class Christoph Brock
Private Second Class Andrew Dunn
Private Second Class Sean Blake

Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, MOVSM

Specialist Adam Smith

Armed Forces Service Medal, AFSM

Staff Sergeant Bailey Lambert

National Defense Service Medal, NDSM

Private First Class Shaun Adams

Army Achievement Medal, AAM

First Lieutenant Brad Ahles

Joint Service Achievement Medal, JSAM

Sergeant First Class Garry Beaudoin
 

Marksmanship Badge (Sharpshooter)

Private First Class Christoph Brock
Private First Class Robert Yankura 
Private Second Class Sean Blake
Private Second Class Andrew Dunn
 

Marksmanship Badge (Expert)

Private First Class Bryson Nethaniel
Private First Class Shaun Adams
Private First Class Ryan Stricklin

Basic Parachute Badge

Sergeant First Class Garry Beaudoin
Corporal Kenney Maxfield
Specialist Ryan Devlin
Private First Class Christoph Brock

3rd Infantry Division Realism Gaming Unit set to deploy

On 06JAN2020 roughly 4,000 troops of the 1st brigade combat team of the 82nd Airborne Division based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., have deployed to parts of Kuwait and Iraq. They were part of the division’s global response force, kept on standby for particular emergencies. A senior United States military officer said the deployment of the 82nd Airborne paratroopers and other ground forces was defensive, meant to position more troops in the Middle East who could be quickly deployed to defend or reinforce American embassies, consulates and military bases. The deployment comes in the wake of five U.S. airstrikes on Sunday Dec 29th, 2019, that targeted an Iran-backed militia known as Kata’ib Hizbollah — a group U.S. officials have blamed for a recent spate of rocket attacks against Iraqi bases housing coalition troops.  12JAN2020, The First Battalion 30th Infantry Reg, 3rd Infantry Division received orders to start remobilization training with intent to deploy to support the 82nd Airborne Division in the event of Iran’s continued attacks of US personnel in Iraq.   

On 02FEB2020,  Alpha Company, First Battalion 30th Infantry Reg, 3rd Infantry Division and supporting 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division  will hold a color casing ceremony, 1300EST in conjunction with their monthly promotion and award ceremony at Marne Garden as the Spartan brigade prepares to depart to Iraq in support of Operation Thin Ice. "This exercise is a great opportunity to highlight the 3rd Infantry Division's readiness and ability to deploy forces in supports of our Nation's operations,” said Maj. Gen. Tony Aguto, commander, 3rd Infantry Division.  “Our Dogface Soldiers are trained, ready and extremely excited to be a part of this historic exercise."   

Congratulations to our graduates for Warrior Leadership Course - Class (20-01)

NCO's are the backbone of the unit and the Army. The Warrior Leadership Course is a two day event that helps prepare soldiers to take up the role of NCO, giving them the tools needed to be effective leaders. Candidates are those Specialists and Corporals who have shown the potential and drive to be solid leaders of Fireteams as well as opening the opportunity for advance to Sergeant and beyond.

The following Soldiers have successfully completed Warrior Leadership Course 20-01:

Graduates:
 Sergeant B.Lambert 
 Sergeant K.Stubbs 
 Specialist A.Smith   
 Specialist J.Pacheco
 Specialist Maxfield  
 Specialist R.Devlin  

Spc. Levi Garner, from the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, ensures his M4 carbine is cleared before disassembling it during Expert Infantry Badge (EIB) testing at Hunter Army Air Field, Ga., Dec. 20. The Soldiers who participated in the event did so to earn the coveted EIB. The event consisted of seven days of skill level one task training, followed by five days of rigorous testing on those tasks. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel Guerrero)

All I Want for Christmas is my Expert Infantry Badge

Fifty-three Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, earned their Expert Infantry Badge, Dec. 20. The 12-day event was simultaneously conducted at Hunter Army Air Field by personnel of the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and at Fort Stewart, Ga. by personnel assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team.

Out of all the participants from the Raider Brigade, over 65 percent earned the coveted EIB, further cementing the brigade’s motto, Raiders First!

 “It makes me proud to be part of the Raider Brigade,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Reffeor, 1ABCT’s command sergeant major. “It’s a great accomplishment and they should all be so proud of themselves. They came out and represented the Brigade honorably.”

To earn the EIB, the Soldiers went through a seven-day train-up, where they became proficient in all of the 30 tasks on which they were to be tested. These tasks included, things like the EIB Physical Fitness Assessment, land navigation, weapons lanes, among many others. After this train-up, they went through five days of rigorous testing on those tasks. The culminating event was a grueling 12-mile ruck march which they had to complete in three hours or less.

 “The hardest part for me was remembering the steps and sequences on some of the tasks, but I kept doing repetitions after repetitions in addition to the help from my buddies,” said SPC. Blaine Logsdon, a recent EIB recipient from the 3^rd Battalion, 69^th Armored Regiment, 1ABCT. “This accomplishment makes me feel great and I am really proud to be a part of something more than myself.”

Ultimately, the EIB tasks are skill level one tasks that build lethality and confidence within infantry formations. These 53 Raider Soldiers can now take the knowledge and confidence they have gained, and train other Soldiers in their units to achieve this incredible goal.

The Alpha company awards ceremony is a special occasion once a month to allow the unit commander to honor recipients who have been recognized for their accomplishments while assigned to the 3^rd Infantry Division Realism Gaming Unit.  This ceremony marked the beginning of our 2020 year, as well as the announcement of the units 4th quarter, Soldier of the Quarter, Sergeant B.Lambert. 

This month, Major John LaFlash held a ceremony to recognize...

The following were promoted from

 Corporal to Sergeant

Kevin Stubbs

Specialist to Corporal

Bailey Smith

Private First Class to Specialist 

Casey Clinkscales

Ryan Devlin

Kenney Maxfield

Jonathan Pacheco

Adam Smith

The following commendations have been awarded by the 3^rd Infantry Commander 

Good Conduct Medal, GCM

Richard Anderson

Patrick Conlisk

Bailey Lambert

David Sklenar

National Defense Service Medal, NDSM

Philip Edgerton

Jonathan Pacheco

Adam Smith

Joint Service Achievement Medal, JSAM

Bailey Smith

Air Assault Badge

Brad Ahles

Garry Beaudoin

Curtis Brennan

Bailey Lambert

Kevin Stubbs

Joshua Edgren

 Sean Peterman

David Sklenar

Richard Anderson

Jonathan Pacheco

 Kenney Maxfield

Dallas Stad

Soldiers Medal - Selected as 4th Quarters Soldier of the Quarter 

Sergeant Bailey Lambert

Command Staff and I extend our deepest gratitude and best wishes to the Soldiers, Civilians and Families of the unit during this holiday season. This is a time of year during which many of us have the opportunity to take leave, relax, and spend some much deserved quality time with our friends and Families. I encourage you not to take this opportunity for granted.  All Soldiers are authorized for exodus as of 1600EST 22JAN2019  through 1200EST 02JAN2020. 

Since the US Army was founded more than 244 years ago, Soldiers have willingly and eagerly defended this nation during the holiday season. On Christmas night in 1776, General George Washington led an element of 2,400 Continental Soldiers across the icy Delaware River to attack the Hessian Soldiers in Trenton, New Jersey. This successful mission, and countless other missions during the holidays since that day, is a testament to the selfless service and bravery of the American Soldier.

As the holiday exodus is statistically a very active time for online gaming we will be keeping our Recruiting and Retention office open.  Staffed only by volunteers, RRO  will continue to recruit, process, orientate and place new soldiers during this time frame.  If you wish to be a volunteer during this time please contact Sergeant Bailey Lambert

As we enjoy this holiday season, please remember the Soldiers and Families who will not have the opportunity to spend this special time of year together. The Marne Division currently has more than 1000 Dog Face Soldiers deployed around the world defending our freedoms and working to achieve the ultimate goal of peace on Earth. As they work through the holidays with their brothers and sisters in arms, let us share the same camaraderie and cohesiveness here with their Families, who anxiously await their return.

Please remain vigilant this holiday season and keep safety foremost in your planning and actions. While this time of year is joyful for most, it is also the most stressful time of year for many. Domestic violence and suicides are an unfortunate, and preventable, effect of this stress. Provide support to those who are going through a stressful period of their lives, and seek support if you are experiencing the same. You are never alone in our Marne Family. You are each a valued member of an elite team and we want everyone to returned recharged for the New Year.

It is the season for parties. Take the time to have fun, but moderation is the key. New Year's Eve is notorious for drunk driving. Keep yourself and your loved ones safe by staying alert. If you drink, leave the keys with a designated driver, or call a taxi. If you are hosting, provide alternative, non-alcoholic drinks. Also remember: buzz driving is drunk driving. Don't text and drive and of course "If you drive don't drink and if you drink don't drive and if you drink don't drink alone!" 

It is truly a privilege, and a blessing, to serve as your Unit Commander. What makes this position so rewarding is the hard work, readiness, and resiliency of our Soldiers. Thank you for all that you do. May this joyous season bring you peace and happiness throughout the coming year.

Happy holidays to all of you and yours!  Army Strong, Rock of the Marne!

- MAJ J.LaFlash

Congratulations to the following Soldiers who have successfully One Station Unit Training

Congratulations to the soldiers of OSUT Class #19-31  for successful completion of training! These soldiers have been awarded the Army Service Ribbon and have earned the right to be full active members of their squad and the unit! This is merely the first step in your career here at 3rdID, we look forward to your continued success! Hooah!

Graduates:
 Private First Class Johnathon Pacheco  
 Private First Class Kenney Maxfield  
 Private First Class Dallas Stad