In today’s post, I would like to educate you about F Company (Forward Support Company), 128th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) which is part of the Maryland Army National Guard. I was fortunate to serve as the Company Commander with F Company from 2008 to 2010. At the time, our company had recently transformed from the battalion HHC to a FSC.
My time in command was very enjoyable. I was fortunate to have a great AGR Staff, great subordinate officers and NCOs and great Soldiers. They made my life easy. We took great pride in getting the mission done on time and to standard. Our superiors thought very highly of our unit because of our performance. Our unit had a high morale. Soldiers were trained and motivated.
At the time, our unit was located in Dundalk, Maryland. I believe they have since located to Reisterstown, Maryland. In the early stages of my command time, we were part of the 729th Brigade Support Battalion; however, we transitioned to part of the 128th Brigade Support Battalion out of Pittsburgh.
Throughout the entire time we supported the 1/175th Infantry Battalion in Dundalk. Our motto was “Never Defeated” and our mascot was the “Spartans.”
As a Forward Support Company, our mission was to provide supply, transportation and maintenance support to the 1/175th Infantry Battalion. Our unit consisted of three platoons. Our HQ’s platoon had our HQ Staff and cooks. 1st Platoon had our transportation section, along with our ammo and fuel sections. Finally, our last platoon was our maintenance platoon. There were approximately 120 Soldiers in our unit.
Most of our Soldiers lived in the greater Baltimore area, but others were from western Maryland and Pennsylvania, too. At the time, we were part of the famous 29th Infantry Division (Blue and Gray). However, a few months after I left Company Command the unit was re-assigned to the 28th Infantry (Bloody Bucket) Division out of Pennsylvania.
I have many fond memories with F Company, 128th Brigade Support Battalion. We participated in the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. Also, we sent Soldiers on different deployments overseas. About six months after I left command, many of our Soldiers deployed to Egypt. In addition, we spent most drill weekends down at Fort A.P. Hill, or other training locations. In all my years in the military, this is the unit I am most proud to have served in.
If you were ever part of the F Company (FSC), 128th Brigade Support Battalion, I would love to hear from you. Please share your experience with the rest of our community by leaving a comment to this post. Tell us about when you joined the company, what your job is, and what some of your best memories are.
Also, if you have any questions about F Company, 128th Brigade Support Battalion, you can ask them here. I have been away from them for some time, but I will do my best to answer your questions. Thank you for visiting.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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I was just recently given the opportunity to train with the 128th BSB (HHC) out of Pittsburgh. I was able to lend my expertise and experience within the Signal realm to assist! I thoroughly enjoyed training with them and would welcome the opportunity again!
Awesome.
I joined “F” Co in October of 2008 shortly after returning from Iraq with HHC 1-175 INF as a “not so young” Specialist. I was immediately promoted to rank of NCO, (E-5) under the guidance of then SFC Trimble, SSG Fitzgerald, SSG Branch and of course the fine leadership of 1SG Wettig and Commanded by CPT Holmes. I had some really good times at the unit during the inauguration of President Obama. There was great morale throughout the unit thanks mainly to CPT Holmes and his finely developed sense of humor!
We had a ritual after every Drill Weekend where everyone would get the chance to nominate something or someone which was particularly funny for that period. The winner would receive the distinguished “Rickey Chicken” Award, which was a rubber chicken filled with air and clucked until all the air had left. As funny as it were, you didn’t want to receive it because you held that title until somebody did something funnier, (sometimes that could be months!) I made the mistake of nominating 1SG Wetting for shooting his sandbag on the firing range and he won! Needless to say, my career progression slowed drastically, ( I’m STILL a SGT!) Just kidding, I now hold the rank of SFC and am looking forward to retiring shortly with fond memories of some of the Soldiers of The Spartans I’ve had the Honor to serve with.
“Never Defeated!”
SFC Harold Kendricks
Thanks for the comment, SFC Kendricks. I’m glad you have been promoted twice since then. Thanks for your service. Never defeated!
I had the honor of serving with Cpt Holmes twice in my career. With F Co, I served as the Supply NCO for the unit. I officially came the AGR Supply NCO when the unit was called 729th BSB and then reformed into the 128th FSB. My most memorable moment was when we did Annual Training for the 175th and they felt that we would not be able to handle the stress of the Infantry training. Needless to say the NCO's, Officers and Soldier's of the 128th excelled above and beyind their expectations and completed our mission and the mission of the Infantry. Then came home and celebrated in a fashion that only a Cpt Holmes unit could celebrate.
Those were some great times, Mitch.
Spartans as mascot … I like it. One of my favorite books I’ve read is Sparta by Michael Whitby. Your Company Command moved often it seems. I admire President Barack Obama’s work ethic and rational outlook. He’s doing a good job. It must have felt a high honor to participate in his inauguration. I read his autobiographies long before anyone talked about him running for president. Back then, I thought he would make a good president. I would like to read more comments from those who have been a part of the the F Company (FSC), 128th Brigade Support Battalion.
I enjoyed my time in F Company, 128th BSB. The unit is still doing very well today. As far as the inauguration goes, it was a memorable experience. From what I heard, my old unit went back for his second inauguration ceremony in January 2013.
It is great to hear a bit of the history behind military units. I think it is easy to forget the variety of units and their respective responsibilities. By giving fellow members of the F Company an outlet to discuss their experiences, you are preserving history and traditions that should not be lost. “Never Defeated” sounds like the perfect motto.
Thanks, Neil.
My time with F Company, 128th Brigade Support Battalion was definitely my two favorite years in the military.