101st Brigade Transfers Authority to Strykers

MOSUL, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2004 –

The 1st Brigade, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

handed over control of the Tigris River Valley area of northern Iraq

today to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade (Stryker)

2nd Infantry Division in a ceremony at the Qayarrah West Airfield.

 

The 1st Brigade Combat Team has worked in the area since May,

and military officials detailed various contributions the team made.

The unit's soldiers spent their time trying to improve the quality of life for Iraqis,

officials said, and they captured people who threatened the lives of Iraqis and coalition forces.

They destroyed hundreds of weapons and ammunition caches around the area.

They built and rebuilt schools, factories and other parts of the infrastructure.

They helped hold elections in the Tigris River Valley, and trained and worked with local soldier and militia groups.

"The brigade has not only helped the infrastructure, they've helped improve it,

" said Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 101st commander, during his remarks.

"It's a sign of great success of the 1st Brigade that they'll be replaced by a battalion."

 

Petraeus thanked the soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team for all the work they've done,

and offered words of encouragement to the incoming troops.

"This marks the end of (the 1st Brigade) mission here in northern Iraq

and I just want to say one more time -- very, very well done," he said. "This is a very doable mission for 5/20."

 

Col. Ben Hodges, brigade commander,

shared the feelings he's had and the brigade has neared the end of its tour.

"Today is bittersweet. There is no doubt that every soldier in the 1st BCT is anxious to get home, including me,

" Hodges said. "For the rest of your lives, no matter what you do or where you go, you'll be able to look back proudly."

Hodges spoke of the work done jointly by his soldiers and the local government and his thoughts on the future.

"I believe that our shared goal of a prosperous Iraq is very close," he said.

To the Stryker soldiers, he shared his belief in their ability to continue the beneficial work done in the area.

"You're going to be extremely effective in every facet of operations here in Ninevah province,

" Hodges said. "I believe that you're going to make history by enabling Iraq to run itself."

Lt. Col. Karl D. Reed, Task Force 5/20 commander,

expressed his appreciation of the work done by the 101st soldiers to make Iraq a better country.

"Their accomplishments will forever go down in history as one our nation's greatest achievements,

" Reed said. "It's a great opportunity; we're building a nation --

a nation governed by Iraqi citizens for Iraqi citizens.

My soldiers are very excited to do this because they're getting a chance to make a difference."

(Courtesy of the 101st Airborne Division.)

 

COLONEL FREDERICK B. HODGES

Chief of Staff
XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg

Colonel Ben Hodges, a native of Quincy, Florida, was commissioned in the Infantry in 1980 from the United States Military Academy.

 Upon completion of the Infantry Officer Basic Course (IOBC) and Ranger School, Colonel Hodges’ first assignment was with 3^rd Bn, 41^st Inf (M), 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in Garlstedt, Germany, from 1981 to 1984, where he served as a rifle platoon leader, anti-tank platoon leader, and company executive officer. Upon completion of the Infantry Officer's Advanced Course (IOAC) in 1984, Colonel Hodges was assigned to the 1^st Brigade “Bastogne”, 101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault), at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he served as a battalion and brigade staff officer and commanded C Company, 1^st Bn, 327^th Inf.  

Colonel Hodges' next assignment was to Fort Benning, where he served as a Small Group Instructor (SGI) at the United States Army Infantry School from 1989 to 1991. Following graduation from the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) and the School for Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1993, Colonel Hodges served as Chief of Plans, G3 in the 2^nd Infantry Division at Camp Red Cloud, Republic of Korea.  

Colonel Hodges returned to the Bastogne Brigade in 1994 as the Executive Officer of 3^rd Bn, 327^th Inf "Battle Force".  In 1995, Colonel Hodges moved to SHAPE at Mons, Belgium where he served as the Aide-de-Camp to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) until 1997.

Colonel Hodges returned again to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in 1997 where he commanded the 3^rd Bn, 187th Inf "Iron Rakkasans" until 1999.  Colonel Hodges next served one year on the Army Staff in the Office of the Chief of Legislative Liaison (OCLL) before attending the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, DC.  Upon graduation, Colonel Hodges served at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana as an Infantry Task Force Senior Observer-Controller. 

In the summer of 2002 Colonel Hodges assumed command of 1st Brigade “Bastogne”, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Ft Campbell, KY and deployed with the Brigade as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 2003 to February 2004. 

 In July 2004, Colonel Hodges was assigned as, Assistant Chief of Staff, G3, XVIII Airborne Corps, at Fort Bragg, NC and deployed with the Corps to Operation Iraqi Freedom as the C3 of Multi-National Corps-Iraq from January 2005 to January 2006.

Colonel Hodges’ became the XVIII Airborne Corps Chief of Staff in July of  2006.

Colonel Hodges is married and has two children.