Long Knife Town Hall Meeting (12 June 2013) Information Slides from the Town Hall are attached (3 pages of slides and the last is blank). The link to the video will be posted on the Long Knife Facebook: facebook/LongKnife.4thBCT.1stCavDiv. COL BENSON UPDATES FROM AFGHANISTAN Torch party (about 150 Soldiers) will likely arrive next week—these Soldiers are coming home with Torch as their mission in Afghanistan is complete. The Soldiers from 4BCT have been busy setting up the Afghans for future success and setting up the units following on up for success as well. Please take advantage of Reintegration Training and become familiar with the many tools at Fort Hood available to assist Soldiers and Families. No final decision on the reorganization of 4BCT. There is an anticipated decision / announcement to be issued by Department of the Army later in June. The support of Families is greatly appreciated—the Soldiers could not do their mission successfully without all of you! WELCOME HOME CEREMONY UPDATES Notification process: Soldiers provided the name and phone number of ONE PERSON they want notified. A Soldier from the unit or an automated system will make calls to the Family member—not the FRG. Calls will be made to the Families after the flight has left theater. The message will have a name of the flight (e.g., Flight Long Knife) and the Welcome Home Ceremony time, date, and location (Cooper Field). These calls will be made approximately 24-36 hours before the Welcome Home Ceremony. Look for updates on the Welcome Home Ceremony on the Long Knife Facebook page. If the Ceremony time changes MORE THAN TWO HOURS, calls will be made again. If the time change is less than two hours, updates will only be posted on Facebook. Note from Kristine: If you think your Soldier is arriving and you have not heard from the unit less than 24 hours before the expected arrival call the unit points of contact I emailed out to ensure your Soldier is en route if you have not heard from him! Let me know (call or email me) if you have any issues. Updates of Ceremonies will also be on the Facebook page and manifests of the Soldiers arriving at the Welcome Home Ceremony will be posted at Cooper Field three hours before the Ceremony (so you can double check for your Soldier’s name). It is recommended Families arrive 1 hour prior to the Welcome Home Ceremony. Family member parking will be on the west side of Cooper Field and bag pick up will also be on the west side. (NOTE: The video says “north side” but it is actually the west side.) A map of the site is on the slides. ****This was not covered at the Town Hall, but I will post a map and Cooper Field is at 1st CAV Headquarters (a black box on the map on Battalion Ave between 62nd and 72nd Sts). Battalion Ave will be CLOSED to all traffic for Welcome Home Ceremonies so you will need to reach the site and parking via 761st Tank Battalion Ave or 72nd St. The best gate to use is Clear Creek or the Bernie Back Main Gate. If you require a visitor’s pass GET IT EARLY! There is sometimes a long wait. To get a visitor’s pass at the Visitor Center at the Bernie Beck Main Gate you must have a state-issued driver’s license, current insurance, and current registration. If you are driving a rental vehicle you will need the rental agreement in addition to proof of insurance and the driver’s license. The Web site for the Visitor’s Center to obtain more information is: hood.army.mil/visitors.center.aspx?5. Rides will be available for Soldiers returning to barracks. Unit personnel will get them settled in their rooms. The Soldier will know before they arrive at Cooper Field their work schedule for the following week. SOLDIER REINTEGRATION The Soldier will have the day off after the flight, will undergo 5-6 days of training (with weekends off), and then will have a four-day pass. Soldiers will have this schedule and a sample is on the slides. Note: The four-day pass is not the block leave. Block leave for all Soldiers is 10 August – 8 September. Soldiers cannot leave early for block leave. FAMILY AND CHILD REINTEGRATION TRAINING Children and Reunion will be presented by the Family Advocacy Program and the 1st Cavalry Division (1CD) Family Readiness Center (FRC). Age 6 and under: Monday, 24 June, 1000-1100 (10-11 AM) Ages 6 – 12: Wednesday, 26 June, 1800-1900 (6-7 PM) Ages 12 and up (teens): Thursday, 27 June 1800-1900 (6-7 PM) Reunion Workshop for spouses and significant others will be Wednesday, 19 June, either 1230-1430 (12:30-2:30 PM) or 1800-2000 (6-8 PM) at the 1CD FRC. No childcare will be available. ***Soldiers will be able to earn a three-day pass if the spouse or significant other attends this training. Passes will likely be able to be taken in September or maybe as late as early October. Please preregister for either of these training by directly contacting 2LT Jostes at: [email protected]. Q&A Will Soldiers need to take motorcycle refresher training? All Soldiers who ride motorcycles must undergo a refresher training which will be offered weekly after flights arrive. When will each body arrive? Advance / Torch party arrives next week. Main Body 1 will arrive the first week in July with flights continuing through July. It is anticipated all 4BCT Soldiers will be home by 1 August. Will Soldiers be able to take leave at Christmas? Yes, they will be able to take leave in the block leave period if they have leave. What happens after block leave? Soldiers will first be working in the unit areas with reset, equipment return, motorpool moves, etc. There may be additional three-day weekends in the fall with the unit tasks are complete and Soldiers are staying out of trouble. No additional taskings for 90 days and after 90 days Soldiers will be available for reassignment to other units / PCS moves. Will 4BCT deploy again in a year? Some Soldiers from 4BCT who did not deploy with Long Knife are deploying with 2BCT in the near future. There are no current plans for another 4BCT deployment.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:28:16 +0000
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