Teams in training stay connected to home front

Teams in training stay connected to home front
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, November 27, 2007

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — There were, of course, the meat-and-potato training exercises: running raids, conducting security operations and evading roadside bombs.

But during the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division’s recent training in Hohenfels, there also was the business of keeping tabs on the home front and providing a steady flow of information back to families in Baumholder.

In the case of 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, a regular newsletter dubbed “Knight News,” chronicled the unit’s work during the mission rehearsal exercise at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels. From lessons in Iraqi culture, to unit missions and interviews with soldiers in the field, the idea was to provide families back home with regular “news from the front.”

“It was important we communicated back to the families in this way. Targeted communication,” said Lt. Col. Rich Morales, 1-35 commander.

That practice effort will continue when the Iron Knights head downrange, with the “Knight News” covering a different company of soldiers every two weeks, according to Morales.

~snip~

This will mark the third deployment for the 2nd BCT. However, the brigade will be heading downrange this time with a new cast of leaders as well as many young junior enlisted soldiers.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50531