Fort Bliss Monitor

Vines visits Bliss
XVIII Airborne Corps commander discusses ‘state of the Army’

Spc. Jason Stadel
108th ADA Bde. Public Affairs

The 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade welcomed a new brigade commander last week. Col. David Mann took over the position from Col. John Seward who served two years as the 108th ADA Brigade commander.

The reviewing officer of the ceremony was Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander, XVIII Airborne Corps. The XVIII Airborne Corps is made up of four of the Army’s 10 divisions, and 13 separate brigades — including 108th ADA. During the ceremony Vines spoke about the challenges facing Soldiers all across the Army. He compared Soldiers of today to troops from World War II who were sent to Europe and the Pacific Islands.

“What you’re facing today in some ways is more important to America than 60 years ago. The Germans were not intending to invade Philadelphia, and the Japanese were not coming ashore at San Francisco,” he said.

Vines said the war on terror is a kind of war Americans have never seen, a scope and scale of evil not yet seen in history. He said it’s up to the Soldiers to put an end to the evil, “You’re at a critical point in history, you can make a difference, the pages of history have opened and you stepped forward.”

Vines also recognized the brigade for the work they did while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In December 2002 the 108th ADA Brigade received a deployment order while most of the brigade was on block leave. They would eventually support the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during the war. “This great brigade deployed on no notice over the holidays, flawlessly got there, and supported the great 1st MEF brilliantly,” Vines said.

The XVIII Airborne Corps comman-der reminded everyone about the importance of the job the Soldiers standing in front of him were doing. “These great Soldiers, like their peers in Iraq and Afghanistan today, have committed themselves that on their watch, while they stand ready tonight, America will be safe and free and strong.”

Lt. Gen. Vines himself is preparing to head back to Southwest Asia. In the near future parts of the XVIII Airborne Corps will be supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom III.



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	July 15 , 2004

<font size="-1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="-2">XVIII Airborne Corps Commander Lt. Gen. John Vines spoke to 108th ADA Brigade Soldiers about the current state of the Army.</font></font> <map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map> <font size="-1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font>	Vines visits Bliss XVIII Airborne Corps commander discusses ‘state of the Army’ Spc. Jason Stadel 108th ADA Bde. Public Affairs The 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade welcomed a new brigade commander last week. Col. David Mann took over the position from Col. John Seward who served two years as the 108th ADA Brigade commander. The reviewing officer of the ceremony was Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander, XVIII Airborne Corps. The XVIII Airborne Corps is made up of four of the Army’s 10 divisions, and 13 separate brigades — including 108th ADA. During the ceremony Vines spoke about the challenges facing Soldiers all across the Army. He compared Soldiers of today to troops from World War II who were sent to Europe and the Pacific Islands. “What you’re facing today in some ways is more important to America than 60 years ago. The Germans were not intending to invade Philadelphia, and the Japanese were not coming ashore at San Francisco,” he said. Vines said the war on terror is a kind of war Americans have never seen, a scope and scale of evil not yet seen in history. He said it’s up to the Soldiers to put an end to the evil, “You’re at a critical point in history, you can make a difference, the pages of history have opened and you stepped forward.” Vines also recognized the brigade for the work they did while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In December 2002 the 108th ADA Brigade received a deployment order while most of the brigade was on block leave. They would eventually support the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during the war. “This great brigade deployed on no notice over the holidays, flawlessly got there, and supported the great 1st MEF brilliantly,” Vines said. The XVIII Airborne Corps comman-der reminded everyone about the importance of the job the Soldiers standing in front of him were doing. “These great Soldiers, like their peers in Iraq and Afghanistan today, have committed themselves that on their watch, while they stand ready tonight, America will be safe and free and strong.” Lt. Gen. Vines himself is preparing to head back to Southwest Asia. In the near future parts of the XVIII Airborne Corps will be supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom III.