Fort Riley Soldiers deploy to Africa
March 29, 2006
FORT RILEY, Kan. (Army News Service, March 29, 2006) – Approximately 150 Soldiers from Fort Riley, Kan., left for the Horn of Africa March 28.
Soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry will deploy for up to a year to the Central Command area of responsibility as part of an approximately 1,700-member Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.
The mission detects, disrupts and defeats terrorists in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen, said Lt. Col. Frank Zachar, commander, 1st Bn., 16th Inf.
The battalion will conduct military to military training in the African countries, he said.
"It's an awesome deployment. This is a great opportunity for the Soldiers," said Zachar. "The Soldiers are well prepared and have trained for the past eight months for this deployment."
The battalion last deployed in September 2003 for one year in Iraq.
Sgt. 1st Class Darrell Richards said he was excited for the opportunity to visit a new country, but will miss his family. He has deployed to Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo.
"I'm looking forward to seeing a new country and the missions we will go on," Richards said.
"You are the best of the best," said Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, assistant division commander (maneuver). "(The Deployment) is going to be a blast. I wish I was going with you."
(Editor’s note: Provided by the Fort Riley Public Affairs Office.)
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