JBB celebrates Black History Month

By 13th Sustainment Command Expeditionary Public AffairsFebruary 20, 2010

JBB celebrates Black History Month
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Bernard Brogan, the operations officer with the 72nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, gives the keynote address at the Black History Month observance luncheon Feb. 19, at Joint... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
JBB celebrates Black History Month
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
JBB celebrates Black History Month
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Service members and civilians reflected on the accomplishments of blacks in the military during a Black History Month luncheon Feb. 19 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

The theme for the event was Heritage and Horizons: The Legacy Of the Tuskegee Airmen, which originally began as an all black unit.

The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, whose equal opportunity office hosted the event, has a lineage that began with the Tuskegee Airmen, more specifically the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II.

"The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen is an important part of American History," said Maj. Bernard Brogan, the operations officer with the 72nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, and a graduate of the Tuskegee Institute.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American fighter pilots in the Air Force and played an integral role in the de-segregation of the U.S. military, said Brogan, the keynote speaker for the event and a Muscle Shoals, Ala., native.

In addition to Brogan's speech on the history of African-American military aviators, guests at the luncheon were treated to a poetry reading and a performance by the H-6 Jazz Trio.

"That jazz was definitely on point," said 1st Lt. Kyle Frazer, the aide de camp with the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and a Bloomfield, Conn., native.

The band played an improvised blues and jazz piece, giving the audience a taste of traditional African-American music.

Frazer said he believes it is important for the military to hold observance events, not just for Black History Month, but for all minority groups because of their many contributions to America.

"Going into the future, we've got to keep having these events," he said. "We're here, able to do the things we're doing because of the work they did in the past."

At the end of the luncheon, Brig. Gen. Robert Harris, commanding general of the 194th Engineer Brigade, 416th Engineer Command and a Hixon, Tenn., native, shared with the audience a quotation he said brought meaning not only to this Black History Month observance, but to the observance of all Americans' contributions to their military and their country.

"A man can't know where he's going until he has learned where he's been," he said.