As the commander of the Sledgehammer Brigade continued to speak about the inactivation of his unit, the rain increased from drizzle to downpour as the Soldiers stood in formation and watched their units colors be cased for what could be the last time during an inactivation ceremony on Kelley Hill.
"This is a hard day, and this is a solemn day" said Maj. Gen. James Rainey, the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
The 3rd BCT, 3rd ID, is a historical unit tracing its roots back to 1917 when the 3rd ID was activated. The Sledgehammer Brigade itself has been part of the Fort Benning community for nearly 20 years.
The effect of this inactivation could be seen in the faces of those attending the ceremony. Sledgehammer Soldiers of the past, and present were in attendance. Previous commanders from around the country attended the historical event.
"You can't take away the sadness, but what you heard today is, the legacy of this brigade is in its people " said Brig. Gen. Pete Jones, commandant of the Infantry School and a commander of the 3rd Brigade from 2008 through early 2011.
According to Simmering, the personnel of his brigade were asked to accomplish something that was nearly impossible, given the timeline they had to work with; less than nine months to deactivate an entire brigade worth of equipment and Soldiers. In the end and as expected, the Soldiers made it happen.
"There are a couple things that you can take from this " said Rainey. "Everything is a learning opportunity. The first one is, you don't get to pick your mission. That's not how it works, but you absolutely get to decide whether you're going to be excellent at it. You absolutely get to decide if you're going to win. If you look at what (the command team) has done, and what the Soldiers of this unit have done, you absolutely were excellent at this, and you absolutely won "
"For me, I believe that a leader's role is to be optimistic " said Rainey. "I think it comes with the job. You can't be a cheerleader, but you can't afford to be pessimistic. So, I look for something to optimistic about for this day, for this ceremony, for this casing, and it was hard, but I think I found it. It is this; as we shut down this great brigade, the men and women who leave here are going to spread that excellence, that 'Sledgehammer' ethic, throughout the 3rd Infantry Division, throughout Fort Benning, throughout the Maneuver Center of Excellence, and throughout the entire Army. And for that, we can all be optimistic that it will make the Army a lot better"
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