Thanks for the great questions. The command team plans to continue this column to provide Soldiers the opportunity to ask direct questions about their issues and concerns. During a morning run with Soldiers of E Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery, Soldiers asked the following questions, some of which we addressed below. The remaining will be addressed in the next issue of The Monitor or due to operational security will be addressed by the chain of command.
What is the next deployment mission for E Btry., 5-52 ADA?
There is no scheduled operational deployment for E. Btry. There are two Sentinel Crews that are deploying to Fort Drum, N.Y. Equipment was picked up this week and Soldiers leave Friday. With our successful deployment of all batteries but E Btry. to Yuma, Ariz., the Patriot batteries have a standing 96-hour preparation to deploy orders, possible participation in Eagle Resolve, and a pending May 2009 deployment to Southwest Asia. E Btry. is prepared for a real-world mission.
Why are the Soldiers from E Btry. being forced to move to a different barracks? Where will they be moving, and what is the condition of the building they are moving to?
Long term, E Btry. is moving to 11th ADA Brigade’s Headquarters and Headquarters Battery barracks as part of a larger effort to consolidate 11th Bde. and support post transformation objectives. The time for that move is still to be determined. E Btry.’s third floor was vacated to house transient Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and later, 3rd Battalion, 43rd ADA. In the larger Post Barracks Utilization Plan, each of our barracks buildings accommodates two battery-size elements. Since its activation, E Btry. has solely possessed one barracks building and were occupying office space and the supply room that would be used by a second company. They had an elaborate weight room and ample administrative space, which they have lost to make room for 3-43 ADA’s move-in.
Are Sentinel radars assigned to air and missile defense battalions going to be consolidated in one battery at some point, or will they continue to be split between the headquarters, headquarters batteries and the Avenger battery?
Sentinel radars are distributed by our air and missile defense mission table of organization and equipment with two in HHB to support the forward area of Air Defense/Forward Area Control Terminal and four in E Btry. while we are reviewing future plans for air defense sensors. There is presently no plan to change that arrangement.
Is there a plan to ease the overcrowding at Fort Bliss Elementary School?
Bliss Elementary is not overcrowded. The planned staffing for teachers in the elementary level is a 22-to-1 student/teacher ratio. The school ratio is according to state guidelines. Most grade levels at Bliss have 19 students in attendance
The School Liaison Office spoke to the principal from Bliss, and he thinks parents are referring to the fact the school is not approving any student transfers. The reason being when a class reaches a capacity of 19, they can no longer accept transfer requests. They have to leave three slots open per class to service children registering from their school area. Schools cannot deny service to any child residing within their school zone. In other words, if a class is over the student/teacher ratio and they have children registering within their zone, the school has to open a new section.
Maj. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg
Fort Bliss Commanding General