Published: August 03, 2009 09:22 am      

Task Force Cyclone prepares to deploy

Plainfield soldier ready to continue service

Edinburgh — Indiana National Guard soldiers are soon deploying to Afghanistan to complete an important mission. Plainfield native John Kennedy Jr. is one of those soldiers.

Kennedy and his fellow soldiers are members of the Indiana National Guard 38th Infantry Division.

Members of the 38th Infantry Division’s Task Force Cyclone started their mobilization training at Camp Atterbury on July 10 in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan over the next year. There are approximately 200 soldiers from Indiana and a few from Kentucky in this group being deployed.

The main mission of the task force is to assist the Afghan government with security, construction, economic, and agricultural support in the assigned area of operations, as well as facilitate the reception, training, housing, and sustainment of U.S. troops entering the country.

This mobilization of Task Force Cyclone will make history as being the first combat mobilization of the division’s Headquarters Company since World War II.

During this month soldiers will put the final touches on individual and combined training, medical preparedness, and personnel records before leaving the country to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

“We’ve been training for the last year for our mission,” said Specialist John Kennedy of Plainfield. “I feel pretty confident in our training and am looking forward to helping the Afghan people with their economics and to help them bring their government online.”

Soldiers have focused on individual training and weapons qualifications, including squad automatic weapons and crew weapons, drivers training, medical training, Humvee rollover training, and many other training tasks over the last year.

“We’ve done map reading, first aid, and recognizing and reacting to an IED,” Kennedy said. “All the training we’ve done could fill up a page.”

Kennedy is not new to the military. He is a career man.

“This is my third deployment,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been in the military for 20 years.”

Kennedy’s parents, John and Gerldine Kennedy, live in Camby. His son, John Kennedy III, 15, is a student at Plainfield High School.

“He just finished his Eagle Scout,” Kennedy said. “I’m so proud of him.”

Kennedy graduated from Plainfield High School in 1984.

The task force will move into a walk phase now, says the task force senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Lucas.

“The plan is to be at a run phase by the end of this training to fine-tune our processes and procedures to accomplish our missions in Afghanistan,” said Lucas, in a press release.  

The commander agreed that having well-trained troops will greatly enhance the performance of the task force.

There will be a departure ceremony for the soldiers of Task Force Cyclone Aug. 11 at Camp Atterbury.



brenda.holmes@flyergroup.com