The 509th Clearance Company held a redeployment ceremony Friday, signifying its return to Fort Leonard Wood following a nine-month deployment to the Republic of Korea.
Capt. Curtis Million, 509th Clearance Co. commander, addressed the Soldiers during the ceremony and recalled his remarks from their deployment ceremony.
"I stood right about here, in this vicinity, at this podium and made a very bold, but confident statement," he said, "that before you stood some of the highest quality combat engineers, horizontal construction engineers, maintainers and support personnel the Army has to offer. Nine months later, that statement still holds true."
The Soldiers of the 509th served as the only clearance company in Korea, and accepted that responsibility with enthusiasm as they quickly became a valuable asset to not only the 8th Army, but to Korean counterparts also, Million said.
During their deployment, 509th Soldiers conducted capability briefs to students in the Republic of Korea engineer school, comprehensive seminars for Korean army commanding generals, horizontal construction missions, a full recovery mission of a Buffalo route clearance vehicle, two field training exercises and route clearance interoperability training.
The list of accomplishments for the 509th is long, Million said, and it culminated with Maj. Gen. Theodore Martin, 2nd Infantry Division commanding general, presenting the 509th Clearance Co. with the 2nd Inf. Div. Honor Feather Streamer.
"We built an incredible team that did incredible things," Million said. "We quickly made a name for ourselves and were sought out on a repetitive basis."
Lt. Col. Jacqueline Reini, 5th Engineer Battalion commander, welcomed the Soldiers home with congratulations for a job well done.
"The vital impact the Renegades were able to make on the U.S. Army and the ROK army's engineer alliance can't be understated," she said. "Their mission to deploy to the Republic of Korea in support of the U.S. 8th Army and the ROK army is complete."
The ceremony concluded with 509th Clearance Co. uncasing their guidon to officially signify their return to Fort Leonard Wood.
Related Links:
Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood Facebook
Social Sharing