FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – According to the Defense Manpower Data Center approximately 68 percent of Soldiers today have deployed to the Middle East at least once. That is especially true for Soldiers of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. After their current deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the brigade will be the most deployed unit in the Army.
Spc. Matthew Lunsford, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd HBCT, humbly remembers those who fought before him.
“Veterans Day is a day of remembrance,” the two-time deployer said, “Not really me, but a day for people to remember the guys in the past.”
Staff Sgt. Jorge Sanchez, Headquarters Troop, 3rd HBCT, has been in the unit all nine years of his military career.
The Nicaragua native moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., when he was 14-years-old and said he didn’t really pay attention to the holiday despite his grandfather being a former Marine.
“For some kids it’s just a day off of school but now that I am grown up and I joined the service I really understand what it means,” he said.
Lunsford, a Greensboro, N.C. native, admitted he was one of those kids.
“When I was little it was a day I got out of school to go hunting,” the 23-year-old said. “But I respect it more now.”
Lunsford said although he is not a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, he has visited outposts before and enjoys listening to the stories the veterans have to tell.
“It’s neat to hear what they did and how things are different,” he said.
Sanchez has seen the differences first hand having deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and to Iraq four times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“New Soldiers need to understand this is the best deployment the 3rd Brigade has ever had,” he explained. “The conditions have improved 150 percent. This is pretty much a five star resort compared to what the unit has had in the past.”
Lunsford believes it is the support from home that makes it all worth it. His best memory comes from walking into the hanger at Lawson Army Airfield at Fort Benning, Ga. upon returning from his last deployment and hearing the cheers from all the families and friends who came to welcome home their Soldier.
“I got to see my daughter for the first time,” he said.
Sanchez has walked into that same hanger four times already and said he comes home from each deployment more knowledgeable than when he left.
Deployments submerge Soldiers in multiple cultures, not only from the country they are deployed to but also within the unit and supporting units from other nations, he explained. During his previous deployment Sanchez served beside soldiers from the country of Georgia who resided at the same combat outpost.
“The Army is the best school for life,” he said. “Going on the old Army slogan, ‘Be all that you can be,’ you can. You can do anything and go anywhere in the Army.”
Staff Sgt. Jorge Sanchez, Headquarters Troop, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, measures a table at his workshop Nov. 6 at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. The Nicaragua native has been in the brigade the entire nine years of his military career and currently serves as head of the brigade’s Repairs and Utilities section during his fifth deployment to the Middle East.
Staff Sgt. Jorge Sanchez, Headquarters Troop, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, measures a table at his workshop Nov. 6 at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. The Nicaragua native currently serves as head of the brigade’s Repairs and Utilities section and says Veterans Days means more to him now that he has served though five deployments to the Middle East.
Spc. Matthew Lunsford, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, prepares his vehicle for a mission Nov. 6 at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. The Greensboro, N.C. native humbly feels Veterans Day is a day to remember heroes who served in the past.
Spc. Matthew Lunsford, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, prepares his vehicle for a mission Nov. 6 at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. The Greensboro, N.C. native believes it is the support from home that makes deploying multiple times worth it. 
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