|
Staff Sgt. Elvis N. Umanzor
4th IBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. Public Affairs
When Soldiers aren't deployed in combat operations, they still find ways to serve while at their home stations. Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, volunteered on Saturday Oct. 13, to cleanup James A. Brown Park in Hinesville, Ga.
The cleanup is in collaboration with the nationwide Make a Difference Day which is on Oct. 27; however, this was one of the last opportunities the Soldiers would have to volunteer before leaving at the end of the month.
Stacy M. Breithaupt, the outgoing family readiness support assistant for 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., said the unit wouldn't be here for the actual event date because they would be at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Ft. Polk, La.
Breithaupt, a Flint, Mich., native, said, “This is a good way for the Soldiers to give back to a community that gives a lot to them.”
Staff Sgt. Jeremy J. Beard, a weapons squad leader with Company B, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., said, “It’s important to give back to the community and provide a safe place for the kids and anyone who wants to come and run.” The Tampa, Fla., native said, “It feels good to give back.”
Staff Sgt. Jas L. Rivara, a squad leader in Company B, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., said this was all about the kids and being able to give back. The Hamilton, Ala., native has volunteered to clean up multiple times.
Denise J. Deigh, a local resident, walks all around Hinesville and sees the need for parks to be cleaned up.
Deigh, originally from Portal, Ga., said, “It’s a blessing for these young men to take time out of their schedules on a Saturday to volunteer.”
Many Soldiers who volunteered last year expressed how it was easier to clean up this year.
Sgt. Lucas D. Cifka, a sniper team leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., said there was less to upkeep this year. “Last year we did a lot more. We cleared a good 15 meters from the path.”
Cifka, an Olympia, Wash., native, said “Last year the command sergeant major was out here with a chainsaw cutting down the overhung tree limbs.” He said everyone volunteered when unit asked.
The Soldiers were divided in two groups. One group was tasked to pick up and load the debris on a large trailer pulled by a truck. The second group was in charge of unloading the trailer.
Soldiers picked up, loaded and unloaded more than six trips worth of debris, clearly making a difference at James A. Brown Park.
Staff Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger
4th IBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. Public Affairs 
FORT STEWART, Ga. – More than 20 “Cottonbalers” from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, transformed a crowded Fort Stewart, Ga., classroom into the dusty roads and majestic mountains of Afghanistan, Aug. 30, using the power of language alone.
The Soldiers, under the instruction of Spc. Assal Ravandi, an automated logistics specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., and a native Dari speaker, demonstrated for battalion leadership their grasp of the Dari language—one of the primary languages spoken in Afghanistan—which they have gained through participation in the battalion’s Internal Dari Language Training course.
The course, in its sixth week, is the first of its kind to be created in the “Vanguard” brigade. Soldiers enrolled in the course spend their duty days in the classroom learning words, grammar and sentence structure through a curriculum devised by Ravandi and vetted by “Cottonbaler” leadership.
“It’s not every day you get a chance—especially for someone with my rank—to be able to create and execute,” Ravandi said. “In the Army you’re always given instructions and you execute the instructions given—you have to earn [the right] to create and implement. It’s a great honor that I was trusted with this program.”
Ravandi said she began developing the course curriculum when her battalion leadership recognized that her knowledge of the Dari language was an asset to the unit and ultimately put her in charge of language instruction.
Ravandi added that the final version of phase one of the course, which ends Sept. 28, is based on material she gathered from the Defense Language Institute and personal research on teaching strategies. She said the course also incorporates games like vocabulary challenges and charades, as well as news clips from Voice of America, the largest U.S. broadcast operation, funded by the U.S. government.
Spc. Joseph E. Riopelle, an infantryman with Company D, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., said his favorite takeaway from the course thus far has been the complete classroom experience—from the motivation of the students to learn to the motivation shown by the instructor to ensure that every Soldier performs at the highest level.
The Summerfield, Fla., native said he believes the language course has given him vital tools he can use for whatever mission he encounters in the future. He said he feels confident he can interact with Dari speakers and said the power of knowing the language will allow him and his fellow Soldiers to more effectively help people.
Pfc. Andrew J. Tina, an infantryman with Company A, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., agreed.
“I think it’s a great advantage and opportunity to take the class because if I ever need to speak Dari to an [Afghan] Soldier or anybody else—maybe even the enemy—then I’ll be able to do it,” the Denver, Colo., native said.
While Ravandi said she is aware of her role in taking Soldiers who knew nothing of the language to having legitimate conversational and comprehension skills, the automated logistics specialist is quick to put full credit on her battalion leadership for having the vision to understand the importance that language plays in foreign relations and in Soldier combat readiness.
“I know that a lot of problems happen between countries because someone didn’t understand somebody or didn’t want to,” Ravandi said. “I hope [my students] take this tool with them … and [that] they’re able to [use it to] secure the peace and keep the respect of the world.”
Ravandi said based on the success of the program thus far, a second phase of training—which will cover the Dari alphabet and writing—is slated for early October.
|
