At the heart of the Blue Spader motto, “Let him bear the palm who has won it,” is a feeling of pride we have in setting and achieving tough, professional standards. Even after our redeployment from Iraq and a well deserved reunion with friends and family, the soldiers of 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment live their motto everyday by the aggressive way they seize upon each new training opportunity as a chance to excel and further hone their warfighting skills. Judging by recent accomplishments during Air Assault School and Expert Infantryman’s Badge testing, the arrival of new leaders within the Battalion, and tough, realistic training events in the coming months, it is clear that this generation of Blue Spaders is already poised to secure their place in our nation’s history books.

With the end of reintegration activities in May, we wasted no time in getting back to “the basics” of individual and squad training. The month of July was particularly busy for the Battalion as our soldiers—specifically from the Scout and Support Platoons—supported Air Assault training in Schweinfurt, Germany. Though soldiers throughout the entire U.S. Army Europe footprint participated at the class, 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment was well represented at the training and succeeded in graduating 33 air assault soldiers. By all accounts, the standout Blue Spader was the Battalion Chaplain, CPT Edward Choi. Already responsible for a tremendous positive surge in the spiritual health and morale of the Battalion, Chaplain Choi was also described by the Air Assault Cadre as the most motivated soldier attending the training. As the class leader, Chaplain Choi’s dynamic, inspirational leadership was infectious and resulted in an unprecedented 175 soldiers graduating from his air assault class.

The intensity of training stayed high as we immediately moved into Expert Infantryman Badge Testing in August. For the infantry soldier there is no better single statement of competence than having earned the coveted Expert Infantryman Badge. The Senior NCOs who ran the sites and evaluated tasks like employing hand grenades, calling for fire, and operating a SINCGARS radio ensured that all awarded EIBs were well deserved. To all who have already received the badge, sentiments about the test are remarkably similar: the EIB is clearly not a “freebie.” After two months of training, road marches, “expert” weapons qualifications, and testing, 77 Blue Spaders earned their Expert Infantryman’s Badge. In addition to the 77 who earned the badge, 22 of these outstanding soldiers achieved the added distinction of being “true blue”—passing all tests on their first try. These soldiers were 1LT Farmer, 1LT Johnson, 1LT Maravilla, 1LT Murray, 1LT Weisman, SSG Grywa, SGT Hamby, SGT Lamb, SGT Martinez, SGT Patrick, CPL Johnson, SPC Burdick, SPC Caldwell, SPC Howell, SPC Johnson, SPC Moore, SPC Redona, SPC Valladares, SPC Wermter, SPC Wright, PV2 Garcia, and PV2 McGruder.

A good unit looks toward the future but never forgets the lessons of the past; we are no different. Recently, during the September 2005 U.S. Army Europe Land Combat Expo in Heidelberg, Germany, several key members of 1-26 IN discussed the lessons learned from Operation Iraqi Freedom II, in particular, Operation BATON ROUGE, 2nd BCT’s successful operation to retake the city of Samarra from insurgents. Though attendees at the conference greatly benefited from the professional discussion, we received the biggest payoff from this type of thorough analysis and discussion, as the techniques of successful operations and other important lessons learned are now key inputs into all 1-26 IN training events, like the squad situational training exercises also completed during September.
Our focus right now is preparing for the next fight—whenever and wherever it may be. We understand the importance of setting young team and squad leaders—the junior leaders that “make it happen” every day during daily patrols in Iraq—up for success. Supporting this effort is a CSM and Senior NCO initiative called the Combat Leader’s Course. Created specifically with the young soldier in mind who has moved into his first leadership position, the October 2005 course will provide these soldiers with the skills and confidence to take charge and lead soldiers in combat. This issue of confidence and authority is key: one of the course’s goals is to differentiate leaders from peers, making the friend or fellow member of squad into a capable combat leader; in turn, the course may also motivate others to strive for those leadership positions. Immediately after graduating from this course, these young leaders will test their mettle in squad live fire exercises and platoon situational training exercises planned for the month of November, working up to the Battalion capstone event in February 2006 at Hohelfels.

These events promise to pay large dividends for the Blue Spaders in the months to come as we strive to continue our historic legacy. When combined with the new leadership arriving in the Battalion, the Blue Spaders will be unstoppable. In particular, our new Executive Officer, MAJ(P) John W. Reynolds III, has already fired up the staff with his fighting spirit and brings with him a wealth of combat experience, most recently from the streets of Fallujah with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment. Though we are sad to see the HHC First Sergeant, 1SG Lorenzo Farrow, depart after being frocked to Sergeant Major, we are pleased to announce that our new HHC First Sergeant, 1SG Todd Sims, is already a battle-hardened Blue Spader and is moving over to the position from his former role as B Company First Sergeant. Stepping up as B Company First Sergeant is SFC Jody Heikkinen, a former Platoon Sergeant in A Company and an extremely capable NCO who has demonstrated time after time that he is ready for the responsibilities of First Sergeant.

Though still less than a year in Garrison after their recent deployment, the Blue Spaders are already preparing to answer their country’s call—and doing so with grit and verve. If anything, these past few months show a group of Soldiers already marching on a path toward success, no matter where or when their country might need them to serve. But as always, we will dominate the high ground and accomplish all missions.
Courage!!!




ERIC O. SCHACHT
LTC, IN
Commanding