FORT SILL, Okla., Aug. 18, 2016 -- Lawton-Fort Sill community members officially recognized the arrival of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery to Fort Sill with a community welcome reception Aug. 11.
Then, Aug. 12, the unit's colors were uncased during a ceremony as the "Deep Strike" battalion's more than 225 Soldiers settled in to their new home.
Hosted by the Lawton-Fort Sill Co-op and Comanche County Fairgrounds, local sponsors and businesses came out to Great Plains Coliseum, Aug. 11, to support the 2-20th FA and meet the unit's Soldiers and leaders.
The battalion was officially moved under the 75th Field Artillery Brigade (FAB) in September 2015, while many of the 2-20th FA Soldiers were deployed to Korea. Originally from Fort Hood, Texas, the unit took up physical roots in the Lawton-Fort Sill area last month.
The open coliseum rang with chatter and laughter as Soldiers and their families filled the arena. Around it were booths set up by local businesses, where community members met and greeted Soldiers. Citizen groups and local business owners handed out small gifts, such as sunglasses, coloring books, candy, pens, stickers and flying disks to young children as they visited the booths with their parents.
Jamie Southerland, vice president of the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce and overseer of the Lawton-Fort Sill Co-Op committee, said the purpose of the evening was simple.
"We're welcoming a new battalion into our community, and we want to make sure that they feel how appreciative we are to have them here," Southerland said. "We want to make their families feel special. Many community members came out to just say hello and give a warm welcome."
Kids ran around as parents socialized with community members and co-workers. People took pictures of each other and basked in the opportunity to share a meal with their unit members.
Southerland, whose favorite part of the night was watching the children play, said the evening's mission was accomplished.
"I looked over and I saw a lot of the moms smiling and looking relaxed," Southerland said. "That was our intent for tonight; just to have a nice family night."
Tonya Dawson, a local community member, occupied the Veterans United Home Loans booth and said she came out to show appreciation for the 2-20th FA Soldiers.
"The entire community depends on our military, and we appreciate the sacrifices that the Soldiers and their families make," Dawson said.
She spoke on the importance of the newly arriving Soldiers in the local community and said it's even in the name.
"When people ask you, you don't say you're from Lawton," Dawson said. "You say you're from Lawton-Fort Sill. We're all one big community and we can't do it without our Soldiers."
Sgt. David Bonilla, 67th Forward Support Company motor sergeant, attended the event with his wife and daughters. He said he was pleased with the event and hopes that his unit continues to interact with the community.
"I like knowing the community supports us, and I'm thankful that we got invited to this event," Bonilla said. "This is something that no one has ever done for us before."
Bonilla said he enjoyed meeting community members and liked seeing his unit leaders at the event.
One unit leader, 1st Sgt. Max Creel of the "Renegades" battery smiled as he said his favorite part of the night was the baked beans.
All jokes aside, Creel spoke about the night's festivities and what they meant to the Soldiers.
"I know this night increased the morale of our unit," he said.
An all-around fun night, the reception closed out as Soldiers and their families trickled out the door.
The following morning, 2-20th FA Soldiers stood in formation at Polo Field to take part in the uncasing ceremony.
The "Deep Strike" Battalion uncasing ceremony began with an introduction and a prayer. The brigade commander spoke about the symbolic uncasing of the colors portion of the ceremony.
As the keeper of the regiment's colors, they had regimental and battalion colors present. The colors flew with their 27 campaign streamers, representative of the unit's storied history.
After the ceremony ended the 2-20th FA command team stood by and spoke with other 75th FAB leaders. Although the unit is finally here, there's still more work to be done according to 2-20th FA Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Ball and commander, Lt. Col. Damon Wells.
In addition to those who made the transition from Fort Hood, the unit has received new Soldiers coming from advanced individual training schools and other units in the area.
"We look forward to opportunities to mentor and provide leadership to the new Soldiers," Ball said.
Ball said that the unit has plans in the works that will further support unit cohesion and get the Soldiers out and about in the community so that they can experience what Lawton has to offer.
One thing is certain, while there's still more left to accomplish, 2-20th FA is off to a great start.
"The community reception of 2-20th FA has been the best I've ever seen in 21 years of service," Wells said. "It was really well put on, and the Soldiers loved it."
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