3rd Infantry Division Celebrates 90th Birthday

Lt. Col. Ryan J. Kuhn, from Clarks, Neb., 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division deputy commander, speaks to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians during a dinner celebrating the 90th birthday of the 3rd Inf. Div. at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq.
Lt. Col. Ryan J. Kuhn, from Clarks, Neb., 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division deputy commander, shouts 'Rock of the Marne' as he and Spec. Kily-Scot Ingersoll, from Honolulu, Hawaii, a supply specialist in the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion and youngest Soldier serving on Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq, cut the 3rd Inf. Div. birthday cake at FOB Hammer.

Lt. Col. Troy Perry, from Belfast, Maine, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, speaks to Soldiers during a dinner commemorating the 90th birthday of the 3rd Infantry Division at Forward Operating Base Rustimiyah, Iraq. (Left to right) Cpl. Jeffrey A. Zimmerman, from Petoskey, Mich., a mechanic in Company F, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, Staff Sgt. Wade T. Weitzel, from Reno, Nev., a field artilleryman in Company D, 2-69th Armor Regt, Staff Sgt. Lucas C. Trammell, from Ocala, Fla., Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Staff Sgt. Stephen E. Burden, from Lima, Ohio, a tanker in Company D, 2-69th Armor Regt., stand behind Perry.

Pfc. Kira Gumbs, from St. Thomas, Company F, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, Lt. Col. Troy Perry, from Belfast, Maine, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, and Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Proft, from Phenix City, Ala., command sergeant major of the 2-69th Armor Regt. cut the 3rd Infantry Division birthday cake during a dinner commemorating the 90th birthday of the division at Forward Operating Base Rustimiyah, Iraq.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment sing the 3rd Infantry Division song at a dinner celebrating the 90th birthday of the 3rd Inf. Div. on Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq.

by Maj. Joseph Sowers
3rd Headquarter Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division gathered in dining facilities and mess tents throughout the Mada’in Qada and Baghdad Nov. 21 to celebrate the 90th birthday of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Lt. Col Ryan J. Kuhn, from Clarks, Neb., the deputy commander of the 3rd HBCT, hosted the ceremony for Soldiers residing on FOB Hammer.

Maj. Dewey Boberg, from Anaheim, Calif., executive officer of the 3rd HBCT, took a small contingent of Soldiers from the 3rd HBCT headquarters to FOB Rustimiyah to commemorate the occasion with Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment. The 2-69th Armor Regt. is currently detached from the 3rd HBCT and serving under the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in the Karada district of eastern Baghdad.

Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., from Prince George’s County, Md., the commander of the 3rd HBCT, and Command Sgt. Maj. James M. Pearson, from Philadelphia, the 3rd HBCT command sergeant major, attended a ceremony at Victory Base Camp hosted by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Inf. Div. and Multi-National Division - Center. Grigsby and Pearson attended a re-enlistment ceremony earlier in the day at Camp Victory that included 58 Sledgehammer Soldiers.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment celebrated at Combat Outposts Cleary and Cahill. Soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment celebrated at COPs Cashe – North and Cashe – South and Patrol Base Assassin. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment celebrated at COP Salie.

Kuhn complemented the Soldiers and recognized Sailors, Airmen and Marines for their contributions to the legacy of the 3rd Inf. Div. during his remarks at the dinner on FOB Hammer.

“Let’s face it. The Sledgehammer Brigade has made more of an impact on the pages of history than almost any other Army unit, and it’s not just because we’re the most deployed brigade in the United States Army,” Kuhn said. “Our nation has called upon us to perform a difficult mission, and we have done it with a determined purpose and an unbeatable team spirit.”

Following a review of the 3rd Inf. Div. history and Kuhn’s remarks, Kuhn and Spec. Kiley-Scot Ingersoll, from Honolulu, Hawaii, a supply specialist in the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, cut the 3rd Inf. Div. birthday cake. Ingersoll is the youngest Soldier serving on FOB Hammer.

Boberg explained that it was important for members of the 3rd HBCT to join Soldiers from the 2-69th Armor Regt. on the special occasion.

“They are still members of the Sledgehammer Brigade and the 3rd Infantry Division,” Boberg said. “We all share in the pride and traditions of this great division.”

Boberg said that the deputy commander and command sergeant major of the 2-2nd Inf. Div. told him they have been impressed with the “superb performance” of the 2-69th Armor Regt. while serving in the Karada district.

Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Proft, from Phenix City, Ala., the 2-69th Armor Regt. command sergeant major, remarked on the magnitude of the 3rd Inf. Div. birthday.

“I think about the Soldiers that served before me and how hard those guys had it,” Proft said. “When they come up to me and thank me for my service, I’m just honored. It is an honor to serve in the same division as those veterans. To be put in the same company is a real honor. It is something that is hard to describe.”