224th Sustainment Brigade
Story by 1st Lt. Raymond S. Patterson
Photos by Spc. Curtis Given
09.26.2010 IRAQ - Soldiers with the 632nd Maintenance Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), welcomed “Glory,” an honorary member of their company, to their unit, Sept. 13 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.
Glory is no ordinary visitor. She’s not a living, breathing human being either. She’s a Beanie Baby®, and a Columbus, Ga. native, visiting from Ms. Julie Jackson’s kindergarten class at the Lonnie Jackson Academy in Columbus, Ga.
Spc. Salvatore Inga, an armament repairer with the 632nd Maintenance Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224 Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), cleans a weapon with Glory, Sept. 12, at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Curtis Givens)
Glory was sent by Jackson’s students to give moral support to the troops with the 632nd Maint. Co. Glory came with her very own journal written by the kindergarten students, which contained pictures of activities the students were doing in class.
Spc. Eric Dewitt, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 632nd Maintenance Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) ,and a Vernonia, Ore., native, poses for a photo with Glory in an all-terrain vehicle, Sept. 12, at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Curtis Givens)
Interested in the world around them, the young boys and girls soon heard of soldiers supporting the reconstruction in Iraq, and wanted to know what was going on here. Knowing they could not make the trip themselves, they sent their symbolic representative, and requested that the soldiers detail her arrival and exploits for them, so that they could learn firsthand what soldiers do in Iraq.
Sgt. Julius Jimenez, a metal worker with the 632nd Maintenance Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Queson City, Philippines, native, cuts sheet metal with Glory on his left arm Sept. 12 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Curtis Givens)
Since Glory’s arrival Sept. 12, she has already visited three sections, participated in work, and played some break-time football with some automotive platoon members. Glory will be given to each section for one day, and then she will return via mail to the Lonnie Jackson Academy, having chronicled her exploits with the 632nd Maint. Co.
She will leave her stories and legacy with the next generation of young Americans.