{"id":252456,"date":"2024-08-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=252456"},"modified":"2024-08-13T04:17:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T04:17:01","slug":"alaska-army-guardsmen-complete-kuwait-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=252456","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Army Guardsmen Complete Kuwait Deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Alaska Army Guard Staff Sgt. Serita Harvey, an infantryman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, walks on to the flight line with Sgt. Thanakorn Nuanphong and Spc. Anthony Shaw behind her at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 10, 2024, after a nine-month deployment to Kuwait. Approximately 100 \u201cBison\u201d Company Soldiers deployed in November as part of Operation Spartan Shield. (Alaska National Guard photo by Balinda O\u2019Neal)
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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Approximately 100 Alaska Army National Guardsmen assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, returned home Aug. 10 after a nine-month deployment to Kuwait.<\/p>\n

Soldiers of \u201cBison\u201d Company, as they are affectionally known, briefly formed up before being released to join their loved ones, leading to a flood of hugs, tears and reunions at the Alaska National Guard Readiness Center on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.<\/p>\n

\u201cStepping off the plane and breathing in that good Alaska air \u2014 there\u2019s nothing better than that,\u201d said 1st Lt. Joshua Banks from Palmer.<\/p>\n

Banks, who served as a platoon leader for 40 Soldiers, highlighted the professional growth achieved during the deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us took school courses, and our commander really emphasized professional growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Since November, Bison Company Guardsmen served as a quick-reaction force to help respond to emergencies and potential threats throughout the region. Initially assigned four missions, the company successfully managed seven.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese additional missions brought a plethora of opportunities,\u201d said Capt. Richard Collins, Bison Company commander. \u201cWe built relationships and collaborated with units and partner nations across Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Each unit provided a level of training and exposure my Soldiers would not have experienced at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBison Company brought a wealth of experience and skills \u2014 a melting pot of talent that made us incredibly agile and adaptable,\u201d said Collins. \u201cThey made a lasting impact on the Operation Spartan Shield SECFOR mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operation Spartan Shield aims to build partner capacity in the Middle East to promote regional self-reliance and increase security among partner nations.<\/p>\n

Banks said it was a great opportunity to serve alongside other Alaskans. Now home, Banks looks forward to spending time outdoors, enjoying Alaska\u2019s natural beauty. \u201cAnytime you leave Alaska, you know when you come back, you can\u2019t beat just being outside and eating some berries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sgt. Jene Thompson, also a Palmer native, was looking forward to getting home. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for a good home-cooked meal \u2014 probably salmon and rice.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the deployment, Thompson served as a supply noncommissioned officer and became a platoon sergeant, gaining valuable leadership experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a lot about why we do the things we do back home during train up,\u201d said Thomspon. \u201cThe leadership piece was something I\u2019m very grateful for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Soldiers expressed gratitude for the support they received from friends, family and the wider Alaska community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t do what we did without Alaska\u2019s support,\u201d said Banks. \u201cIt\u2019s such a tight-knit community, and Alaska really has our back.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

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National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alaska Army Guard Staff Sgt. Serita Harvey, an infantryman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, walks on to the flight line with Sgt. Thanakorn Nuanphong and Spc. Anthony Shaw behind her at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 10, 2024, after a nine-month deployment to Kuwait. Approximately 100 \u201cBison\u201d Company Soldiers deployed in November […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252458,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252456","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\/252456","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=252456"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252459,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252456\/revisions\/252459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/252458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=252456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=252456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=252456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}