The 48th Brigade Combat Team is coming home after a highly successful deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. To commemorate their history-making mobilization, the Brigade is publishing a War Book that will include photos, stories, timelines and other docu ments to celebrate their victories and will preserve their accomplishments for generations to come. You can be a part
Watch video of Brigadier General Stewart Rodeheaver, Commanding General, 48th Brigade Combat Team, talking from Baghdad, to a reporter from the Pentagon Channel about his unit, a change in missions, training the Fourth Iraqi Army Brigade in Baghdad and continuing to work with Iraqi security forces, and how the holiday season went. (Courtesy DVIDS)
Watch video of Brigadier General Stewart Rodeheaver, Commanding General, 48th Brigade Combat Team, talking from Baghdad, to a reporter from WSB in Atlanta, about the positive news of Baby Noor, who was flown back to Atlanta for surgery, her future in Iraq, unit morale over helping the baby, the holidays and other projects done for Iraqi youth, and facing the threat of improvised explosive devices, (Courtesy DVIDS)
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Welcome to the Georgia Department of Defense website for the media and the public providing photos, stories and other resources concerning the 48th Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq.
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48th BCT is Home!
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Posted Monday 17 July 2006 |
Read Stories About the return of the 48th BCT:
48th Begins Return - April 19, 2006
Members 118th and 121st Return - April 27, 2006
HQ, 48th, 148th Begin Return - April 28, 2006
108th Cav Returns - April 29, 2006
Wounded GI Greets Unit - April 29, 2006
148th, HQ, 118 Return - May 4, 2006
Cedartown Wife: 'Can't Believe He's Home' - May 8, 2006
YCA Cadre, Former Cadet Come Home To Rousing Welcome - May 5, 2006
108th Armor: Finally All Back - May 9, 2006
Last of the 48th Returns - May 11, 2006
Honeymoon Begins for Lee Family - May 8, 2006
'Phone Bank' Assists Families in Reunions - May 11, 2006
Smallwood is Last Man Off The Plane - May 11, 2006
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True Citizen Soldiers
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Posted Wednesday 12 April 2006 |
Photo - 48th BCT citizen-Soldiers have fought in Iraq for nearly a year. Nine Soldiers took part in the largest naturalization induction ceremony held in a combat zone, to date, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
48th BCT National Guardsmen become a part of military history
Story & Photos by
Spc. Tracy J. Smith
48th BCT PAO
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – It was necessary to forego the formalities of dress. Instead Warriors dusted the sands of the desert from their combat uniforms, placed their weapons by their feet and raised their right hands to validate a commitment; a pledge of solidarity. Soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team throughout Iraq representing varying cultural histories and countries proudly recited the oath of citizenship in the largest naturalization ceremony held in a combat zone.
For nearly a year these citizen-Soldiers have been affecting history throughout Iraq and stood tall as a large part of yet another historic event as 57 Soldiers and Sailors representing 29 countries promised, before their peers, to continue to stand firm in supporting and defending their chosen homeland, the United States of America.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Advance Party Arrives at Fort Stewart
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Posted Wednesday 22 March 2006 |
After nearly a year in Iraq, about 100 citizen-soldiers from the 48th Infantry Brigade of the Georgia National Guard returned home before dawn Monday to cheers and tears from their families.
The returning troops, from units across Georgia, make up the advance party for about 4,300 members of the 48th Brigade due home between mid-April and mid-May.
More than 60 family members waved flags and signs and cheered the troops when they walked onto the Fort Stewart parade grounds at 5:50 a.m. After a brief ceremony, the soldiers' wives, children and parents rushed the field for their reunions.
The advanced party will begin the process of receiving and processing the returning soldiers. As units redeploy, they will initially return to Fort Stewart for approximately one week during which they will undergo medical examinations and other post deployment requirements. All soldiers are scheduled to be released at their hometown armories during mid April and mid May.
The 48th Brigade deployed to the Middle East in May 2005 after several months of training at Fort Stewart. It is the largest combat unit of the Georgia National Guard to deploy overseas since World War II.
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48th Brigade Expected to Return Home As Planned
Say Georgia Guard Officials
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Posted Wednesday 15 March 2006 |
Georgia National Guard officials have confirmed that there are no plans to delay the homecoming of members of the 48th Brigade Combat Team serving in Iraq.
“The plan at this time is to have all of the 4,200 members of the unit home by the middle of May as originally scheduled,” said Major General Terry Nesbitt, commander of the Georgia Army National Guard.
While exact dates of the actual return have not been released, Guard officials have confirmed the first departures from Iraq will begin in mid-April and extend through the middle of May.
News reports in recent days indicated that some units face the possibility of extensions in Iraq. The reports are being discounted by Georgia Guard officials.
“The timing of return of all of our deployed Soldiers depends on the needs of the commanders in Iraq,” said Nesbitt. “But there is currently no change anticipated involving the 48th Brigade.”
Nesbitt added that because aircraft schedules, the return flights could be adjusted by several days, even at the last minute. But he said this is normal for large groups of Soldiers returning from a war zone.
Following their return to the U.S., the Soldiers are expected to be on duty at Fort Stewart, near Savannah, for about a week to undergo medical reviews and administrative out-processing. They will return to their hometowns to be released from active duty.
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Run to the Border
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Posted Thursday 09 March 2006 |
Photo - A convoy of trucks from Al Asad, Iraq rolls into the holding yard at Trebil, Iraq on the Jordan border after completing a 300 mile trek across Iraq that was conducted by Battery A, 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th BCT.
By Sgt David Bill
48th BCT PAO
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq - Traveling the long, dusty and dangerous roads daily throughout the western Iraqi desert, Soldiers of Task Force Cobra sustain the fight for the coalition by securing the convoys that transport needed materials to and from the Iraqi town of Trebil on the Jordanian border.
The “Road Warriors” of 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th BCT, take the lead for the combat logistics patrol; convoys of sometimes over 100 eighteen-wheeled trucks driven by “third country nationals,” that provide the fuel, water, food, repair parts and other classes of supply that are requisitioned by units operating in the western sector of Iraq.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Run to the Border
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Posted Thursday 09 March 2006 |
Photo - A convoy of trucks from Al Asad, Iraq rolls into the holding yard at Trebil, Iraq on the Jordan border after completing a 300 mile trek across Iraq that was conducted by Battery A, 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th BCT.
By Sgt David Bill
48th BCT PAO
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq - Traveling the long, dusty and dangerous roads daily throughout the western Iraqi desert, Soldiers of Task Force Cobra sustain the fight for the coalition by securing the convoys that transport needed materials to and from the Iraqi town of Trebil on the Jordanian border.
The “Road Warriors” of 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th BCT, take the lead for the combat logistics patrol; convoys of sometimes over 100 eighteen-wheeled trucks driven by “third country nationals,” that provide the fuel, water, food, repair parts and other classes of supply that are requisitioned by units operating in the western sector of Iraq.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers
Provide Iraqi Civilians
th Potable Water
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Posted Thursday 09 March 2006 |
Photo - In coordination with local contractors and local leaders of An Nasiriyah, 48th BCT Soldiers begin a project to help deliver 10 water tanks to the villages of Al Majeed and Al Sarhan. (Photo provided by 48th BCT Civil Affairs Team)
By 1st Lt. Selena Owens
48th BCT PAO
CAMP ADDER, An Nasiriyah, Iraq – On March 6, the 48th Brigade Combat Team, Civil Affairs Soldiers made a basic necessity of life more accessible for citizens in the Al Batha area. Through coordination with local contractors, Civil and Tribal Leaders, the 48th BCT Soldiers were able to provide 10 water tanks to the villages of Al Majeed and Al Sarhan.
Clean water is considered a rare commodity in Iraq, bottled water is one of the first things children ask for when convoys of Soldiers stop to hand out goodies. Not only will the water tanks allow the villages to store clean, potable water for drinking and cooking, they will also aid in fighting common illnesses associated with non-filtered water.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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U.S. Medics in the Sand --
Treating Rural Iraqi Citizens
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Posted Monday 06 March 2006 |
Photo - Two sisters smile for the camera as they wait their turn to be seen by Soldiers from the 48th Brigade Combat Team during a recent medical outreach program near the city of An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
Story and photos by
Staff Sgt. Britt Smith
48th BCT PAO
CAMP ADDER, An Nasiriyah Iraq—On a sunny afternoon in a small Iraqi village a group of 48th Brigade Combat Team Soldiers work to make life a little better for Iraqi Citizens. The 48th BCT conducted a medical outreach program at the Shaheed Al Mehrab School. This rural school played host to a group of medical professionals who along with their Iraqi Counterparts joined forces to provide medical treatment to people who might not otherwise get the care they need.
As Soldiers and Villagers converged on the school, there was an air of excitement as the members of Charlie Company, 148th Support Battalion unloaded their equipment and set up shop in the school’s vacant classrooms. The patients, lining up were ready to be seen and the medics were ready to treat, exactly what medicine is all about, the connection between health provider and patient.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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US Soldiers Provide Tents to Grateful Iraqis
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Posted Tuesday 28 February 2006 |
Photo - Spc. Jason Douthitt (r), of Evansville, IN., gets assistance from local Iraqis to roll large tents for Bedouins who lost their shelters recently in a storm.
Shelter from the Storm
Sgt. David Bill
48th BCT PAO
BASE CAMP ADDER, An Nasiriya, Iraq—Soldiers from the 48th Brigade Combat Team and the 406th Corps Support Battalion, delivered large tents to five local Iraqi Bedouin families who lost their homes during a recent dramatic winter storm which brought high winds and heavy rains to the area.
After the storm, Sheik Mohammed Minshed Tayseer contacted the 48th BCT Civil Affairs Office, and requested five tents for the five families in his area who were in dire need of shelter after the storm. The civil affairs team requested support of the 16th Combat Support Group who quickly responded to the need by providing shelter in the form of Army Tents.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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The Challenges of Youth
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Posted Tuesday 28 February 2006 |
Photo - "The world is a small place," Staff Sgt. Kenneth J. Brown (left) is fast to remind Spc. Dustin J. Adams. Brown is medical platoon sergeant 1st Bn., 118th FA Regt., 48th BCT. Brown mentored Adams in the Youth Challenge program at Ft. Stewart, Ga. Adams is now a combat medic serving in Iraq.
Class reunion for 1st Battalion 118th Field Artillery Medics
Story & Photos by
Spc. Tracy J. Smith
48th BCT PAO
Camp Al Asad, Iraq – “We will be forever linked,” jokes Staff Sergeant Kenneth J. Brown flashing a smile in the direction of one of his medics. He refers to the bond he and Specialist Dustin J. Adams, a 48th Brigade Combat Team field medic attached to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry Regiment share. Brown has known Adams since he was 16 years old.
“It is one of the most hideous moments of my life!” Adams declares as he recalls the phone call that made him rethink his decision to be a combat medic for the Georgia Army National Guard.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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U.S. Soldiers Supply Medical Treatment for Iraqi Citizens
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Posted Thursday 02 February 2006 |
Photo: Spc. Todd Poteet, a combat medic and Capt. John W. Strain, II, (right), a physician's assistant, both with Charlie Medical Company, 148th Support Battalion explains prescribed dosage to a Al-Badoun tribesman. The gentleman took advantage of the one-day clinic conducted for this predominately Shiite region just outside of An Nasiriyah. (Photo by Spc. Tracy J. Smith, 48th BCT PAO)
48th BCT Soldiers share gifts of healing thru medicine
SGT David Bill
48th BCT Public Affairs Office
CAMP ADDER, An Nasiryiah, Iraq— Medical Community Assessment Program is an operation that brings basic medical services to the Iraqi public where no services are readily available. Soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team established a short-term clinic at a local school to provide medical treatment and basic social services to local Iraqi citizens.
“It’s going to be a great day,” said Lt. Col Scott Carter, Civil Affairs Officer for the 48th BCT before the team’s convoy drove the 45 minutes to the school. “Every time we go out we represent the Soldiers of the 48th Brigade that don’t get the opportunity to interact with the Iraqi people.”
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Accessories are Important
“Shoes truly do make a difference”
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Posted Thursday 02 February 2006 |
Photo: Spc. Sam Rogers, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 48th Brigade Combat Team, receives his "payment" from a young Iraqi Girl who is overjoyed with her new shoes. Spc. Rogers helped deliver donated shoes to the Abu Tubar School near An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
Story and photos by
Staff Sgt. Britt Smith
48th BCT PAO
CAMP ADDER, An Nasiriyah, Iraq- It all comes down to a little leather, vinyl and rubber, by themselves not very much but together they make a pair of shoes and shoes in Iraq are the gateway to an education and a better way of life. School children cannot attend school unless they are dressed properly and that means shoes on their feet.
Shoes represent the difference between a child in a classroom, learning and a child outside watching as other children study their daily lessons. In a country where a little bit of money goes a long way, some parents simply do not have a spare dinar to put shoes on their children’s feet, opting instead to feed them. An education comes in second or third on the priority list of parents who must have their children work the fields and tend the herds of sheep that is often their sole source of income.
The 48th Brigade Combat Team Civil Affairs Team has been actively involved with school supplies and desk donations since they arrived in the southern region of Iraq in November 2005.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Four-Star Dining Experience in Iraq
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Posted Thursday 02 February 2006 |
Photo: Pfc. Justin W. Harper is a student in LaGrange, Ga. In Iraq, the 48th BCT citizen-Soldier drives trucks for the 108th Armor Regt. He enjoys the care the professionals of the 'convoy café' put into preparing each meal, but he really appreciates the camaraderie the contractors and Soldiers share.
Story and photos by
Spc. Tracy J. Smith, 48th BCT PAO
CONVOY SUPPORT CENTER SCANIA, Ad-Diwaniyah, Iraq – At any truck-stop in America you can find the basics for a weary truck driver. Fuel, a dry place to stretch out and catch a night’s sleep, shoppette for the essentials and, of course, hot food. Although the latter is not always tasty, it is typically edible.
But this isn’t the states. In Iraq, a much more aggressive approach must be taken to get the 18-wheelers laden with supplies needed to sustain the fight to coalition Soldiers. Soldiers fighting, risking lives, to help a fledging democracy coexist with its rich history and religion based traditions.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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The “Doc” is in:
108th Armor Medics give local Iraqis medical aid
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Posted Thursday 26 January 2006 |
Photo: Spc. Jonathan Bentjen, 108th Armor Regt. 48th BCT combat medic bandages 3 year old Hassan's wounds in a makeshift medical aid station in the community just outside of the convoy support center's gates.
By Spc. Tracy J. Smith, 48th BCT PAO
CONVOY SUPPORT CENTER SCANIA, Ad-Diwaniyah, Iraq – The three-year olds tear-filled brown eyes dart cautiously around the metal container that serves as a makeshift medical aid station for the citizens of Nippur, in Ad-Diwaniya, Iraq. This unlikely beacon of optimism for local Iraqis is not a favorite place for Hassan. His father, Hakim, believes this aid station is a Godsend.
“We can not pay for regular treatment,” Hakim says as his eyes show unmistakable gratefulness for the compassion the 108th Armor Regiment’s Combat Medics have shown his son. “They are a blessing from God.”
[ Read the rest ... ]
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The Midnight Express;
48th Soldiers Provide Escort to Supply Convoys
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Posted Monday 23 January 2006 |
Photo: Spc. Bradley Arrowwood (front) and Spc. Andrew Todd, Military Police with the 48th Brigade Combat Team, wait in their gun turrets for the word to move out as another convoy prepares to roll.
Story and Photos by:
SSG Britt Smith
48h BCT PAO
In war the supply line is the lifeblood of an army, a fighting military can not sustain itself without the necessary supplies to function on a daily basis. The beans and bullets must be moved regardless of combat, weather or any obstacle that stands in the way of a well sustained U.S. Army.
In order to free up American troops so that they can take the fight to the enemy and to help Iraq rebuild itself into a democratic nation, convoys in Iraq are manned by contract drivers hired by companies to move the supplies where they are needed. Iraq is still a country where the enemy wants to stop any progress towards freedom and convoys pose an easy target for their hit and run tactics.
The 48th Brigade Combat Team from the Georgia Army National Guard deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After six months of combat operations in Southwest Baghdad in an area that is known by the locals as the "Triangle of Death," the 48th BCT conducted hundreds of combat patrols, discovered large and dangerous weapon caches and in general made dangerous neighborhoods safer for their residents. The Brigade received new orders and a change of mission; they were to conduct ‘Convoy Escort Duty" for the hundreds of supply trucks that travel the highways of Iraq every day.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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48th BCT Soldiers Deliver
School Supplies To
An Nasiriyah Children
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Posted Wednesday 28 December 2005 |
Photo: Staff Sgt. William Todd (foreground) and Maj. Joseph Rohrer of the 48th BCT hand deliver school desks to the Fatih Bab Khabir School as the school children look on.
Photos & story by Staff Sgt. Britt Smith
48th BCT PAO
CAMP ADDER, An Nasiriyah, Iraq - In an effort to make learning a little more comfortable for local school children, the Civil Affairs Soldiers from the 48th Brigade Combat Team recently delivered school desks to three schools in the An Nasiriyah area.
Fatih Bab Khabir, Al Hanna and Nor Al Ukem schools were the recipients of the desks which were built by the 194th Engineer Brigade which has been recently replaced by the 48th Brigade’s 648th Engineer Battalion
School children give their unanimous approval as 48th BCT soldiers delivered desks and school supplies to the Nor Al Ukem School.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Soldiers from US and Italy Team to Play Sandlot Soccer
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Posted Wednesday 28 December 2005 |
Photo: Spc Justin Smith challenges the ball as the Soldiers of the 48th BCT and the Italian Army square off in a game of sandlot soccer.
Story and photos by:
Staff Sgt. Britt Smith
48th BCT PAO
CAMP ADDER, An Nasiriyah, Iraq - Pick up or pro? The question is what happens when a soccer game breaks out between coalition forces; recently Soldiers from the 48th Brigade Combat Team and the Italian Army lined up on either side of a number 5 soccer ball and engaged in a real game of “sandlot” ball. The grass was definitely in short supply at Camp Adder’s soccer field but not the enthusiasm level as the two teams went at it amid the dust clouds and sand.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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Water Plant Powers Up
Generator provides continuous
Source of power
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Posted Friday 09 December 2005 |
Photo: Lt. Col Scott Carter(second from the left) 48th BCT Civil Affairs Officer gets thanks from Lt. Col. Muhammed Jassem, Executive Officer for the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraq Army in front of a new 1000kbh generator for a water plant in Mahmudyiah, Iraq.
Story and photo by Sgt. David Bill,
48th BCT PAO
MAHMUDYIAH,Iraq — 250,000 people will have more access to clean drinking water now that a large generator is in place at the CiCi Bar Water Plant in Mahmudyiah. Having a 1000kbh Perkins generator at the water plant will provide a more consistent source of power that will keep the water flowing to the people of Mahmudyiah, Yusifyiah, and Lusifyiah. “Clean drinking water is one of the largest concerns in this area,” said Lt. Col Scott Carter, Civil Affairs Officer for the 48th Brigade Combat Team.
[ Read the rest ... ]
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