FORT POLK, La. -- Soldiers of the 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, gathered at Warrior Memorial Park Nov. 4 to receive the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The unit was awarded for its actions while deployed to Iraq in 2007-2008.
Lt. Col. William Chlebowski, commander, 5-25, took command of the unit in April 2009, after its redeployment from Iraq. "During the last deployment, these young Soldiers performed admirably," he said.
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during the period of military operations against an armed enemy. The unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit to an individual. The emblem is worn by all members of a cited organization and is considered an individual decoration for persons in connection with the cited acts and may be worn whether or not they continue as members of the organization. Other personnel may wear this decoration while serving with an organization to indicate the unit has been awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
"Unit histories are not something we scrutinize often, but every now and then it helps to do so to maintain a sense of perspective and establish a link to the past," said Lt. Col. Dennis Yates, who commanded the 5-25 while it was deployed. "Reading unit histories, one wonders what the Soldiers who earned the award had to endure. Prior to the 5-25's Operation Iraqi Freedom streamers, all of the unit's streamers were from World War II. The most significant point of today's ceremony is that this battalion has never earned a unit award.
"This award represents the closing sentence in this unit's latest chapter. It represents the sum total of an incredible amount of hard work and ingenuity that went into the campaign waged by the Soldiers of Task Force Thunder during their 14 months in southeast Baghdad," Yates said.
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