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  5th AR celebrates Army Reserve's 105th birthday

  The McGregor Range (N.M.) dining facility prepared this cake for the celebration of the Army Reserve's 105th birthday at McGregor Range April 23. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class David Parish, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West)

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  5th AR celebrates Army Reserve's 105th birthday

  Left to right: Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Walker, McGregor Range (N.M.) Mayor Cell noncommissioned officer-in-charge; Command Sgt. Maj. Gabriel Jimenez, command sergeant major of the Directorate of Mobilization and Deployment; Col. John Dorney, director...

McGREGOR RANGE, N.M. -- Division West's 5th Armored Brigade celebrated the Army Reserve's 105th birthday April 23 with a cake-cutting at the dining facility here.

"The Reserve force is a huge part of our formation," said Col. Eric Schacht, 5th Armored Brigade commander. "It'd be tough to carry out our mission without them."

The brigade trains several thousand Reserve Soldiers every year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Guantanamo Bay and, previously, Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. The brigade is multi-component, comprised of active-duty, Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers.

Retired Col. Robert Cortez, the New Mexico Army Reserve Ambassador, participated in the celebration and expressed his appreciation for the Soldiers of the Army Reserve.

"Thanks for all you do to keep the Army strong," Cortez said.

Cortez spent more than 35 years in the Army and Navy Reserve, which allows him to view the Reserve force through a personal lens.

"We've proven ourselves to be very capable as Soldiers," said Cortez. "The Reserve is very important to make [the Army] a viable force."