FORT SILL, Oklahoma (Dec. 20, 2019) -- Almost 3,000 Fort Sill basic combat trainees left the 434th Field Artillery Brigade Dec. 19, to begin their holiday block leave. The annual December exodus allows trainees, and brigade staff to spend two weeks with their families and friends during the holidays.
"It's like a deployment, we're pushing 3,000 Soldiers," said Col. Michael Konczey, 434th FA Brigade commander. "It's a team effort from the brigades across the post, and outside agencies."
Trainee Pfc. Kyler Monroe, D Battery, 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery, wasn't traveling far for the holidays. He was taking a bus from Fort Sill for the 90 mile drive to Oklahoma City, where his father would pick him up and take him home to nearby Midwest City.
"I'm going home and surprise my wife (Samantha); she's thinking I'm coming home tomorrow," said Monroe, who is 20 years old. "We going out to eat some good food."
Monroe said he plans to tell his wife, and friends all about basic combat training, and his experiences here.
Konczey said the trainees were given briefings about behavior during the break.
"They're given a brief on standards and conduct, travel, and proper decorum," Konczey said. Basically, they are Soldiers 24/7 - 365, and there are expectations that go with that.
They also were given a safety briefing, as well as a physical training program that they could take with them, he said.
"It lays out what they should be doing to maintain their fitness because we all will be eating a lot," he said.
While on leave the trainees are encouraged to tell the Army stories to family, friends, and the public, Konczey said.
About 200 trainees chose not to travel for the holidays and were put in a stay-back battery, the commander said.
"We have myriad events for them: USO-sponsored trips to Oklahoma City, to movie days on post, to gaming systems set up at the battery," Konczey said. "On Christmas Day, we have an Adopt-A-Soldier program where families host trainees for the day for a home-cooked meal."
Rehearsal of concept, or ROC drills, were performed by the brigade staff in preparation of the exodus to ensure smooth mission execution, Konczey said. "Everybody knows when everything is moving, each of the airports understands how many Soldiers are coming in."
And, brigade liaison teams consisting of battery commanders, drill sergeants from three brigades, and first sergeants were at each of the airports Dec. 19-20, to handle any situations, Konczey said.
The holiday block leave is also a time for 434th FA Brigade staff (cadre) to decompress, Konczey said.
"We encourage everyone to maximize this opportunity to take leave," he said. "Because of the stay-back mission, we will have some (drill sergeants) take time off from the front end, and the back end of the block leave."
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
The holiday block leave is the biggest project for Adventure Travel, which has the leisure travel contract with Fort Sill, said Hossein Moini, Adventure Travel owner. "This is our 13th year doing it, and it's a fun project."
In addition to its office in Bldg. 4700, Adventure Travel staff set up a satellite office on the basic training side of the post to accommodate the trainees, said Teresa Sherrill, Adventure Travel project manager.
"We do everything: We book their flights, we book their shuttles to and from the airports," Sherrill said. "We're constantly looking for the best prices, the right dates, and the best itineraries to get them home.
"Some days we are ticketing 220 to 250 people, so that's a 10- or 12-hour day," she said. Those happy faces knowing they are going home, all make it worthwhile.
Travel arrangements began the last week of October, and ended the first week of December, and were done so as not to interfere with the units training, Moini said.
Airline arrangements were made to the closest major hubs: Dallas/Fort Worth International Field (DFW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport, and the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Moini said. Some trainees' parents made their own airline reservations, and their sons and daughters only used the shuttles to the airports.
Forty-four buses from Soldier Express, a local family-owned bus company, provided transportation to the airports, said Karl Hanza, one of the owners of Soldiers Express. He said this was a medium-sized project for the company, noting it regularly transports large numbers of Soldiers to Fort Irwin, California, and Michigan.
FORT SILL USO
After checking in at Cache Creek Chapel, trainees marched across a parking lot to Vessey Hall, their departure site. There, the Fort Sill USO provided snacks and water, said Jennifer Kirby, USO Oklahoma senior director.
"We purchased over 5,000 individually wrapped snacks for the trainees," she said. Volunteers, who were military spouses from the 434th FA Brigade, worked in shifts throughout the night to provide refreshments. Last year, the mission ended at 3 a.m.
Kirby said she was in contact with the USOs at DFW and DAL airports about the trainee arrivals at those locations. "I'll send out information saying: 'In about three hours expect 200 trainees.'"
Kirby added that on Dec. 22, the stay-back trainees were going to have lunch at the Fort Sill USO Center; and later in the week the USO would transport them to Dave and Busters in OKC, for lunch and gaming sponsored by the Fort Sill Federal Credit Union.
At Vessey Hall, Konczey was talking to the trainees, trying to ease their stress levels. "They should all be smiling because they are going home."
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