Category: Military

Source: United States Army

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The 7th Mission Support Command bid farewell to the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade and welcomed the 163rd Regional Support Group during a combined ceremony, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 at Daenner Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany.

“Today is special because we are a part of history,” said Brig. Gen. Karen Monday – Gresham, the 7th MSC commander. “After years of faithful and successful service, we bid a fond farewell to the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade.”

Since the unit’s reactivation in Sept. 2010, the 361st maintained a role as the only forward-stationed civil affairs element in the Reserve component, provided units in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (2012,) and supported dozens of U.S. Army Europe and Africa exercises, engaging with NATO Allies and partners.

Monday – Gresham welcomed the command team and the newly activated 163rd Regional Support Group. “We are also fortunate to stand up a new brigade, the 163rd Regional Support Group,” she said.

Greater than two-thirds of the sustainment resources and capabilities for the total Army reside in the Army Reserve. The unit, headquartered at Camp Normandy, Grafenwoehr, Germany, is responsible for the management of sustainment and logistics assets in support of U.S. Army Europe – Africa missions in the region.

Units activating with the 163rd RSG include the 97th Chemical Battalion, the 729th Transportation Battalion, and the 783rd Military Police Battalion.

The 7th MSC is the only forward-headquartered U.S. Army Reserve command in Europe. Comprised of 25 units across Germany and Italy, the 7th provides ready, capable, units of action in support of U.S. Army Europe and Africa missions throughout the theater. For more stories about and information on America’s Army Reserve in Europe, follow us on Facebook @7thMSC.

Source: United States Army

DETROIT ARSENAL, Mich. – The U.S. Army announced today the path forward for the M1E3 Abrams Main Battle Tank modernization program.

The Army will close out the M1A2 System Enhancement Package version 4 effort and develop M1E3 Abrams, which will focus on making the capability improvements needed to fight and win against future threats on the battlefield of 2040 and beyond.

“We appreciate that future battlefields pose new challenges to the tank as we study recent and ongoing conflicts” said Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team. “We must optimize the Abrams’ mobility and survivability to allow the tank to continue to close with and destroy the enemy as the apex predator on future battlefields.”

“The Abrams Tank can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight, and we need to reduce its logistical footprint,” said Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems. “The war in Ukraine has highlighted a critical need for integrated protections for Soldiers, built from within instead of adding on.”

The Abrams Main Battle Tank is a full-tracked, low-profile, land-combat assault weapon that enables Soldiers to dominate their adversaries through lethal firepower, unparalleled survivability and agile maneuvering. It closes with and destroys the enemy using mobility, firepower and shock effect.

Years of testing, analysis, Soldier feedback and maturing technology culminated in this strategic decision. The new approach balances costs with the Army’s needs and invests in the nation’s defense industrial base.

The development of the M1E3 Abrams will include the best features of the M1A2 SEPv4 and will comply with the latest modular open systems architecture standards, allowing quicker technology upgrades and requiring fewer resources. This will enable the Army and its commercial partners to design a more survivable, lighter tank that will be more effective on the battlefield at initial fielding, and more easy to upgrade in the future.

This modernization will enhance the efficacy and maneuverability of armored brigade combat teams in conflicts across the globe through a reduced sustainment footprint and increased operational and tactical mobility.

The Army will continue to produce the M1A2 SEPv3 at a reduced rate until production transitions to the M1E3 Abrams, and the Army will carry technologies forward into the SEPv4 Abrams modernization effort.

“The M1E3 Abrams nomenclature is a return to the Army’s standard use of its type classification and nomenclature system for our combat vehicle fleet,” said Dean. “The ‘E’ designation represents an engineering change to an existing platform that is more significant than a minor modification and serves to designate the prototype and development configuration until the vehicle is formally type classified and receives an ‘A’ designation. This is distinct from the ‘XM’ designation used for new prototype systems.”

Initial operational capability is anticipated in early the 2030s. As longer-range threats increase in both lethality and survivability, the M1E3 Abrams will be able to defeat those threats. The Abrams Main Battle Tank remains the most lethal, protected tank in the world.

For more information, contact Ms. Ashley John at 586-405-5570 or ashley.f.john.civ@mail.mil.

Source: United States Army

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Army Capt. Larry L. Taylor, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, will receive the Medal of Honor at the White House on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, for his heroic actions and conspicuous gallantry while serving as a helicopter pilot with Troop D (Air), 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division, during the Vietnam War in 1968.

On June 18, 1968, then-1st Lt. Taylor was part of a two-helicopter team sent to support a four-man long-range reconnaissance patrol team that had been surrounded and was in danger of being overrun by the enemy near the hamlet of Ap Go Cong, Republic of Vietnam.

Taylor and his wingman, both flying AH-1G Cobra helicopter gunships, took off from their Phu Loi base and arrived at the contact site just northeast of Saigon a few minutes later. After locating the patrol team, Taylor and his wingman conducted low-level attack runs for 45 minutes, strafing the enemy with mini-guns and rockets while braving intense ground fire.

With both helicopters nearly out of ammunition and the enemy closing in on the patrol team, Taylor concluded that the four Soldiers would be overwhelmed if they tried to reach their evacuation point near the Dong Nai River. After learning that another plan to rescue the patrol team using a UH-1 “Huey” helicopter had been canceled, Taylor decided to improvise.

Running low on fuel, with the patrol team nearly out of ammunition, Taylor decided on a bold and innovative plan to extract the team using his two-man Cobra helicopter, a feat that had never been accomplished or even attempted.

Taylor directed his wingman to fire his remaining mini-gun and then return to base camp. He then fired his own remaining rounds while using his Cobra’s landing lights to draw the enemy’s attention while the patrol team headed southeast toward a nearby extraction point Taylor had designated.

When the team reached the site, Taylor landed his Cobra under heavy enemy fire and with complete disregard for his personal safety. The patrol team climbed aboard, sitting on the rocket-pods and skids, and Taylor carried them to a safe location.

Taylor was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he attended the Army Reserve Officer Training Program. In June 1966, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve, then joined the regular Army in August, volunteering as an armor officer.

After graduating from the U.S. Army Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Taylor quickly realized he was better suited to be a pilot than an armor officer. He had already obtained a fixed-wing pilot’s license before joining the Army and thought that experience would make it easier to learn rotary-wing flying.

After receiving permission to train as a helicopter pilot, he attended the U.S. Army Primary Helicopter School at Fort Wolters, Texas, and then advanced helicopter training at Fort Rucker (renamed Fort Novosel in 2023), Alabama, where he qualified as an Army aviator in June 1967.

Taylor served in Vietnam from August 1967 to August 1968, flying some of the first Bell AH1-G Cobra attack helicopters in combat. He flew more than 2,000 combat missions, flying the Cobra and UH-1 Hueys. He was engaged by enemy fire 340 times and was forced down five times. The Army awarded him at least 50 combat decorations, including the Silver Star, 43 Air Medals, a Bronze Star and two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and he also received the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star.

For his actions on June 18, 1968, he was awarded the Silver Star, which President Joe Biden upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2023.

Taylor concluded his military service as a captain with the 2nd Armored Cavalry in West Germany. After his Army service, he operated a successful roofing and sheet metal company in Chattanooga and was involved with several veterans’ organizations. He has also been a generous donor to charitable nonprofit organizations in the Chattanooga area. Taylor and his wife, Toni, reside in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.

The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the armed forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty. The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life, and there must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct.

Related Links

Medal of Honor: Capt. Larry L. Taylor

Medal of Honor

Source: United States Army

WASHINGTON – As part of the Army’s ongoing efforts to eliminate the stigma associated with seeking mental health support, the Army has approved a policy empowering Soldiers to request a mental health evaluation through a commander or supervisor in accordance with the Brandon Act. The Army’s new Brandon Act policy will allow Soldiers to confidentially seek help through their leaders in the rank of staff sergeant or above, and it will charge leaders to quickly and confidentially connect Soldiers with resources.

Named after Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Caserta, who died by suicide in 2018, the Brandon Act aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health care and provide an additional avenue for support. The act allows Soldiers to initiate a self-referred, command-facilitated mental health evaluation for any reason, at any time and in any environment.

“I call on leaders to continue making it clear that taking care of your mental health and your family is encouraged,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said. “We must constantly look for additional ways to connect our Soldiers with the necessary resources for their well-being, and the Army’s new policy to implement the Brandon Act gives Soldiers another tool to seek help while honoring the legacy of Petty Officer Caserta.”

Soldiers will not be required to provide a reason or basis to request and receive a referral. Mental health providers will conduct the mental health evaluations as soon as possible and will provide necessary clinical care.

This policy applies to Soldiers in the regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve who are on active duty for over 30 days. Guidance for Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers not on active duty for more than 30 days is currently under development. Soldiers will continue to have the option to contact a mental health care provider directly, without the involvement of their leadership.

Petty Office Caserta’s parents, Patrick and Teri Caserta, have been a driving force in implementing the Brandon Act across the military services.

“We did not want our son to die in vain,” said Patrick Caserta, a retired Navy senior chief combat veteran. “We are in the lifesaving business, and we will remain in this business the rest of our lives. We thank the Secretary of the Army and her staff for implementing this policy.”

Additional mental health resources include the 988 Veterans Crisis Line, Military OneSource nonmedical counseling, and the 24/7 Psychological Health Resource Center. For more information, visit https://www.health.mil/brandonact. Soldier patient rights and confidentiality of health information will be protected in accordance with Public Law 104-191, applicable privacy laws, and Department of Defense privacy regulations.

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Source: United States Army