40th Expeditionary takes mission today

Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Review ^ | Bill Hess Embed w/40th Exped. Sig Bn.

[SandRat]

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — Soldiers of the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion are anxiously waiting for when they will assume full control of an important mission from the 67th Expeditionary Signal Battalion.

Slowly the 67th’s soldiers have turned over responsibilities to the 40th, as the Fort Huachuca unit prepares to operate, maintain and install communication networks not only in Iraq, but Afghanistan and Kuwait as well. The 40th will be under to the 160th Signal Brigade, headquartered in Kuwait.

As the Arizona soldiers prepare for the hand-off — which will be formally done at a ceremony today in Al Faw Palace — the 40th’s headquarters company officially received a new commander, Capt. Carson L. Tenney.

Normally it would have been a change-of-command with the outgoing commander passing the company’s guidon to the new commander.

However, the old commander, Capt. Rich Erysh, is heading the 40th’s rear detachment on Fort Huachuca.

Of Erysh, battalion commander Lt. Col. Linda Jantzen said the importance of having a highly qualified rear detachment commander is important in light of the mission of Team 40th will have while deployed.

“Never shortchange the rear detachment,” she said.

As for the hundreds of deployed 40th soldiers, Jantzen said “we are on the biggest mission ever for Team 40th.”

And, it is critical to have a headquarters commander who will have to support the unit’s missions.

As a good rear detachment commander is important so is the headquarters commander who deploys and that position should never be shortchanged either, she said.

Saying Tenney “is the right man for the job,” Jantzen said the 40th’s 300 soldiers at Camp Victory will support 30,000 other people.

Tenney noted that throughout his short Army career it has been the noncommissioned officers that have been his strongest supporters.

“I’ve worked with excellent and outstanding NCOs,” he said.

Looking forward to the more than a year the 40th will be deployed, the captain said, “We are going to do amazing things over the next few months.”

The captain has a bachelor of science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott.

He has an Army Achievement Medal.

He and his wife have two daughters and are expecting their third.

The assumption-of-command ceremony was a little different in that the Headquarters Company’s guidon was uncased and unfurled, signifying the company is now in Iraq. The guidon had been furled and cased at a ceremony on the Arizona post a couple of days before the soldiers deployed.

Today, the battalion’s flag will be uncased and unfurled, signifying it is now located overseas.

Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or bill.hess@svherald.com.

[Traveler59]

I only hope someone can get that freaking comm infrastructure in the AOR straightened out with adequate redundancies so you don't lose all your comm pipes every time it even thinks about rain. Kind of sucks when the Col. is jumping down your neck cuz his connection dropped and I can't even get a phone call through to the help desk.

-Traveler (2006 - Balad AB/CJSOAC J6)