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.