FORT DRUM, New York (Oct. 16, 2015) -- Soldiers from the 925th Contracting Battalion and Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Drum contracting office cased their colors during a ceremony Sept. 24 at the battalion's complex.
The ceremony signifies the battalion's preparation for its upcoming deployment in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
Lt. Col. Wyeth Anderson, the 925th CBN commander, and Sgt. Maj. Rachelle Hairston, the 925th CBN sergeant major, cased the battalion's colors in a ceremony presided over by Col. Carol Tschida, the 419th Contracting Support Brigade commander from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The leadership and Soldiers of the 925th CBN are no strangers to this type of operation, as most have previously deployed overseas.
Battalion members welcomed home Soldiers from their 605th and 619th Contracting Teams last week from a nine-month deployment. During the ceremony, Tschida congratulated the battalion's Soldiers on their outstanding contributions during the past deployment.
"Mission first. People always. You are going to be under pressure and the temptation to take shortcuts or to otherwise operate outside of the way you have been taught and trained. Maintain your honor and integrity," Tschida said.
She concluded by quoting journalist Walter Lippmann, "'He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.'"
Anderson followed Tschida with words of appreciation.
"When the Army promotes its personnel, it is a recognition of their potential to serve in higher positions of responsibility," Anderson said. "Receipt of this mission is in recognition of our battalion's potential to support our nation's interests overseas. We have no laurels to rest upon and will work hard, because we are well trained, well led, and we will do our jobs well."
Operation Freedom's Sentinel is a follow-on mission after the end of U.S. combat missions in Afghanistan in December as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Operation Freedom's Sentinel entails working with allies and partners as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission as well as continuing counterterrorism measures against al-Qaida.
The 925th CBN was activated in August 2014 and in more than a year, the battalion has been entrusted to deploy and provide contracting support the 10th Mountain Division and its mission.
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