2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment Takes Command at Combat Coutpost Carver

Colonel Wayne Grigsby, commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division; Col. Pat White, commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and their officers salute during the playing of the U.S. national anthem at Combat Outpost Carver May 11. (U.S. Army photo/Spc. Justin Snyder)

By Spc. Justin Snyder
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment transferred authority over to 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, during a ceremony May 11 at Combat Outpost Carver.

Just three months ago, the 1-15th Inf. Regt. Soldiers moved onto the land that is now Carver and built the place from the ground up with help from hired local Iraqis.

Carver is located next to the Tigris River near Salman Pak, which had been used by extremists as a safe haven. The outpost is one of the largest that 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division has set up.

Transferring the land and the commitment over began with the Iraqi national anthem followed by the United States national anthem. Colonel Wayne Grigsby, commander of the 3rd BCT, addressed the crowd of Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division; 3rd BCT Soldiers; and local Iraqi leaders and citizens.

Following the anthems, Grigsby thanked the Iraqi citizens and leaders for their support of the 3rd HBCT Sledgehammer Soldiers over the past 15 months and assured them that the 2-6th Inf. Regt. would continue to support them.

“Sledgehammer is now leaving, but the United States remains committed,” said Grigsby, a native of Prince George’s County, Md. “I know that the 2-6 Infantry Regiment will continue to support the leaders of Iraq and take them to the next level.”

Lieutenant Colonel Jack Marr, commander of the 1-15th Inf. Regt., followed Grigsby. He said that he is excited the 2nd BCT, 1st Armd. Div., was chosen to lead in the Mada’in Qada.

“The (2nd BCT) Soldiers are the best of the best,” Marr said. “They are ideally suited to lead in the Mada’in Qada.”

Afterwards, Marr, a native of Minneapolis, cased the colors of the 1-15th Inf. Regt. and turned over the podium to Lt. Col. Michael Shrout, commander of the 2-6th Inf. Regt.

Shrout, a native of Renton, Wash., made the transfer of authority official when he uncased the colors of the 2-6th Inf. Regt. He then thanked the 1-15th Inf. Regt. for their hard work.

“The cooperation between the 1-15 Infantry Regiment and the people of the Mada’in Qada is remarkable,” Shrout said. “On behalf of the 2-6 Infantry Regiment Soldiers, we will continue where they left off. We look forward to partnering with you to bring further prosperity to this area.”

Shrout said he plans to do that by working with Iraqi leaders on various projects. He is most excited about building a civil service corps, which will develop a department of public works for their town.

Brigadier General Adnan Javad, of the Iraqi Police, attended the ceremony and said IP and the 1-15th Inf. Regt. have had a great relationship over the past 15 months.

“We would like to work in sync with the 2-6 Infantry Regiment,” Javad said. “I am looking forward to the next year or so.”

The ceremony concluded with the playing of the 3rd Infantry Division Song, 1st Armored Division Song, and the Army Song.

The 2-6th Inf. Regt. falls under the command of the 2nd BCT, 1st Armd. Div., from Baumholder, Germany, which is replacing the 3rd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., in the Mada’in Qada in Eastern Iraq.