FORT STEWART, Ga. – The Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 3rd Infantry Division Artillery (3rd ID Artillery), and Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion (HHBN), 3rd Infantry Division (3rd ID) worked together with the Soldiers and Family Readiness Group (SFRG) to set in motion a mission of organizing and collecting donations for care packages and supplies to set up inside of barracks rooms to support and welcome home Soldiers from a 9-month European rotation at Fort Stewart, Georgia, April 2024.
Soldiers returning home from deployments face challenges retrieving their belongings from storage and gathering household supplies right after a flight. There are difficulties when those flights arrive early in the mornings or late at night. Soldiers often return to empty barracks rooms while being physically and emotionally drained from deployment. The need for supplies can also be so great that stores run out of products.
“By putting people first, that’s how we build our team, motivate their careers in the military and establish their belief that the Army is worth serving in.” said Capt. Ryan Boileau, commander of the HHB rear detachment. “We need to take care of our Soldiers, especially those who live in the barracks who are usually junior enlisted and new to the Army. It’s on us as leaders to ensure they are taken care of.”
Boileau and Soldiers of the HHB and HHBN rear detachments routinely performed mold mitigation twice a week for a duration of 9 months. The rear detachment Soldiers viewed everyone downrange as their comrades and believed in the mission to prevent their teammates from returning home to moldy, empty barracks.
“It’s kind of the whole mission of rear detachment to support Soldiers overseas so they don’t have to worry about what’s going on back home,” said Boileau. “Personally, I have been on rotations in Germany and Korea and it was so difficult for me to take my focus away from the mission because of my concerns with issues facing my return home. I want to make sure that my Soldiers come home to something good.”
Boileau teamed with military spouses from SFRG, Belinda Bault and Katherine Rudder from 3rd ID Artillery, along with Lesly Aguilar and Tonya Adame from HHBN, to put out a wish list for barracks room supplies such as toilet paper, laundry detergent, new pillows, full bed sets, full towel sets, shower curtains, home baked goods, various snacks and more. SFRG was grateful that the community, families and other support networks from social media contributed donations.
“You can only wish that people will come together and support the military and make this vision happen,” said Belinda Bault. “We were able to outfit 110 single Soldier barracks rooms to make them feel at home upon their return.”
The vision moving forward is that anytime a 3rd ID Artillery or Division Soldier comes home from a deployment, they will be fully supported. SFRG has organized a stock room because these efforts are ongoing and long standing. The wish list is active and it is going to remain active so long as Soldiers are on rotation.
“We are going to make sure the rooms are fresh, smell good and are fully supplied and ready to go for the Soldiers,” said Lesly Aguilar. “When they walk into their rooms they won’t have to wonder what to eat or where they’re going to sleep.”
“This mission helps make a very big difference,” said Aguilar. “It helps us combat suicide and depression as well as other issues.”
There were a total of 40 HHB rear detachment Soldiers who went through the barracks and deep cleaned on April 25, 2024, and 30 Soldiers who spent all day April 26, 2024 setting up the supplies and decorating the barracks rooms.
“It’s a whole team effort,” said Boileau, “between the leadership board, HHB and HHBN rear detachment Soldiers, SFRG and the community. It takes a whole village and it shows what can happen when everyone believes in a mission.”
In the Army, there are always missions on the horizon. This need will constantly take the support of leadership, SFRGs and communities around the world in order to fulfill.
“This is the military and we are your family,” said Bault. “You’re part of us and maybe your parents aren’t here, but somebody thought about you and we are here to support you.”
Soldiers assigned to HHB and HHBN arrived early on April 30, 2024, attended their redeployment ceremony and were then bussed to the barracks where they were greeted by Boileau, Sgt. Maylene Santos, the HHB barracks manager, Katherine Rudder and Belinda Bault. Soldiers were handed their room keys and entered their barracks rooms with surprise and smiles when they saw the care packages and supplies already set up and stocked in their rooms.
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