{"id":240558,"date":"2024-07-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=240558"},"modified":"2024-07-30T17:14:35","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T17:14:35","slug":"father-and-son-florida-guard-soldiers-train-during-xctc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=240558","title":{"rendered":"Father and son Florida Guard Soldiers train during XCTC"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Army Staff Sgt. Dale Fulzenloger (left, who is now a first sergeant) poses with his son, Airmen 1st Class Tristan Fulzenloger (right, who is now a specialist) in their respective uniforms. Spc. Fulzenloger has since switched service components to the Florida Army National Guard to serve with his father in 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment. They have both mobilized to Camp Shelby to support the 2024 Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise, a major training event that ensures the Florida National Guard\u2019s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team\u2019s readiness and proficiency to deploy. (Photo courtesy of 1st Sgt Dale Fulzenloger.)
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\n Sgt. 1st Class Dale Fulzenloger (left, who is now a first sergeant) poses with his son, Spc. Tristan Fulzenloger (right). They both serve in 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment and have mobilized to Camp Shelby to support the 2024 Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise, a major training event that ensures the Florida National Guard\u2019s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team\u2019s readiness and proficiency to deploy. (Photo courtesy of 1st Sgt Dale Fulzenloger.)
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CAMP SHELBY, Mississippi\u2013 For at least two weeks every year, Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) Soldiers say goodbye to their family members when they report for their annual training \u2013 except when that annual training is actually a family affair.<\/p>\n

Close to 5,000 FLARNG Soldiers converged on Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in July 2024 to participate in the Exportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) exercise. XCTC is a major training event that occurs every five years, and it ensures the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team\u2019s (IBCT) readiness and proficiency to deploy. Within the 53rd IBCT\u2019s 116th Field Artillery Regiment, two Soldiers had a relationship that is rare to find in military units.<\/p>\n

Army 1st Sgt. Dale Fulzenloger is the first sergeant for Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment. When he arrived at Camp Shelby for his unit\u2019s XCTC-focused annual training (AT), he did so with his son, Spc. Tristan Fulzenloger, a forward observer assigned to the Fire Support (FiST) Detachment of 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s AT represents a continuing Fulzenloger family tradition of military service that has lasted four generations on both sides of the family. The senior Fulzenloger\u2019s grandfather was an Air Force MP for 33 years who retired as a chief master sergeant, and his father was a sergeant in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The junior Fulzenloger\u2019s maternal great grandfather served in the Army during World War II, and his maternal grandfather was in the Navy.<\/p>\n

First Sergeant Fulzenloger enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard in 2011, attended basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia, and did an interstate transfer to Florida in 2019.<\/p>\n

Spc. Fulzenloger first enlisted in the Kansas Air National Guard. At his Air Force boot camp graduation, his father surprised him by \u201ctapping him out\u201d of formation. Usually done by a family member, getting \u201ctapped out\u201d describes an Air Force tradition that allows a new Airman to break the position of attention after the ceremony. To the junior Fulzenloger\u2019s knowledge, his father was still deployed to Kuwait at the time, and the specialist had not expected to see him for at least another month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him, and it didn\u2019t register at first,\u201d Spc. Fulzenloger said. \u201cI saw a dude in uniform, and I thought, \u2018Wait a sec, you\u2019re not supposed to be here right now.\u2019 That graduation was memorable because he got back early from deployment, but I also got to meet my new baby sister for the first time, as well as an uncle [who the family had recently reconnected with].\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Airman Fulzenloger became a crew chief on a KC-135 refueling jet. He said he enjoyed the work, but he entered a phase in life where he began \u201cfeeling stuck,\u201d and the future Soldier realized that the field artillery work his father did appealed to him more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked the mechanic side of things, but I also like the grunt work, being out in the field, and doing cool stuff,\u201d Spc. Fulzenloger said. \u201cAfter everything [my father] told me about being a forward observer, I said, \u2018that\u2019s the job I want.\u2019 Initially, the Air Force seemed like the best choice, but I didn\u2019t see myself long-term in the Air Guard, so I got out and joined the Army Guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The specialist actively made the rounds to personally obtain the various signatures required to execute his conditional release, all the way up to the base commander. This change of service component also required him to go through boot camp again, this time in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Afterwards, he stayed in Fort Sill to attend his advanced individual training (AIT) to become a field artillery forward observer at the same place his father attended AIT.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe likes to punish himself,\u201d 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said.<\/p>\n

Spc. Fulzenloger said his AIT was a relatively low-stress environment because of previous conversations he\u2019d already had with his father about being a forward observer, which helped him process his training and \u201cthe overall big picture\u201d for quicker understanding. First Sergeant Fulzenloger\u2019s training advice has continued to help the specialist\u2019s technical proficiency and professional development beyond AIT.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome advice he gave me is to take every opportunity for in-person training,\u201d Spc. Fulzenloger said. \u201cForward observers can do a lot of simulation work in a call-for-fire trainer, but if you have a chance to do a live fire, whether it\u2019s mortars, artillery or close air support, take it whenever you can. Oh, and don\u2019t ever say \u2018no\u2019 to a school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spc. Fulzenloger managed to execute his interstate transfer to Pinellas Park so soon after switching components that he never attended drill with a Kansas Army Guard unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to some people in [my current unit] before I moved,\u201d the specialist said. \u201cI got to see the field, and it was kind of like a family where everyone is tightly knit, they get along, and everyone is good at their jobs. If you\u2019re in a good group of people, you\u2019re going to make sure everyone is on their A-game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Fulzenlogers drilled as fire support team members, also known as \u201cfisters,\u201d in Pinellas Park, Florida, but when the senior Fulzenloger became a first sergeant, he soon transferred to a different unit. The two Soldiers now report for monthly drills in different cities, but they both continue to serve within the same battalion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have a family member under your rank in the Army,\u201d 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said. \u201cOne of us had to transfer, and when a first sergeant position became open, they sent me to the Alpha Battery [in Dade City].\u201d<\/p>\n

First Sergeant Fulzenloger said that he and his son also share a mutual, long-time interest in firearms, which, in addition to their shared military service, has brought them closer together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s different when you see a Soldier doing really well, and he\u2019s also your son,\u201d the first sergeant said. \u201cWe go out shooting together and we\u2019re getting into competitions with handguns and shotguns.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Spc. Fulzenloger said that as a \u201cfister,\u201d he\u2019s getting first-hand experience in things he heard stories about growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny, with him usually at the battery and me on the hill or with the infantry guys, when I\u2019m calling for fire, I might hear which battery is firing and I\u2019ll think, \u2018Oh, my dad\u2019s over there,\u2019\u201d Spc. Fulzenloger said. \u201c[After training], he\u2019ll tell me about his side, I\u2019ll tell him about my side, and we\u2019ll see how they match up. It\u2019s really cool to have that bond outside of the immediate family by blood where we\u2019ve also got the military side, and we know we\u2019ve always got each other\u2019s backs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since his son joined the Army, 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said his leadership style has evolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou view things differently,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I see behavior that needs correcting as a first sergeant now, I think, \u2018What if my son did something like that? What would I do or say to him as a corrective action?\u2019 Half the guys out here are my son\u2019s age, and I look at them like my sons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going forward, neither Soldier intends to end their careers soon. The first sergeant has over 13 years of service and aims to become a sergeant major.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather made E-9 and the goal is to hit the same level as him and make my own parents proud,\u201d 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said.<\/p>\n

Spc. Fulzenloger said he plans on doing 25 to 30 years in the Guard, and he is interested in exploring options in the Security Forces Assistance Brigade or the warrant officer program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone is looking to join the military after a parent, talk to both parents to find out how the military has helped their family \u2013 it\u2019s helped my family drastically,\u201d 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said. \u201cYou also become brothers and sisters with a lot of people in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The majority of parents tend to be proud of their children, and not surprisingly, 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger is no exception. He said his son took second place in a FiST competition last year, placing below a sergeant who went on to win a Best Warrior Competition at the battalion level. The competitors placing below Spc. Fulzenloger were also sergeants.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce in a while, I hear from one of my son\u2019s supervisors about how autonomous he is in getting things done, which is something I\u2019m especially proud of,\u201d 1st Sgt. Fulzenloger said. \u201cAs a first sergeant, you couldn\u2019t ask any more of a Soldier. As a father, you couldn\u2019t ask any more of a son.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Army Staff Sgt. Dale Fulzenloger (left, who is now a first sergeant) poses with his son, Airmen 1st Class Tristan Fulzenloger (right, who is now a specialist) in their respective uniforms. Spc. Fulzenloger has since switched service components to the Florida Army National Guard to serve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240560,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=240558"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240563,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240558\/revisions\/240563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/240560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=240558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=240558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=240558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}