2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Public Affairs Office
Vilseck, Germany – Before they headed off for Thanksgiving with their families and friends, thousands of Troopers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment gathered Wednesday morning Nov. 25 to hear from the 75th Commander of the Regiment, Col. James Blackburn and participate in a traditional run known as the Troop/Company/Battery Challenge.
The challenge was a tradition started last year. Instead of the customary Regimental Run, each Troop, Company or Battery competes for the best time and the chance to win the coveted Challenge Trophy.
Sponsorship and taking care of your fellow Dragoons was the central focus of Blackburn’s address to the masses.
“In the next few months, 800 new Soldiers, new Dragoons will join us,” Blackburn said. “800 of your newest and closest friends. I want to talk about sponsorship for a moment.”
He went on to stress the importance of being a good sponsor and described it like a fine meal.
“At the Regimental level it’s the meat and potatoes,” he said pointing out that most of the basic information any newcomer needs can be found on the 2SCR website under the newcomers tab.
Within the newcomers tab, Soldiers can find vital information on schools and PCSing to Germany. There is also a study guide to prepare you to obtain a U.S. Army Europe driver’s license.
“The Squadron is like the gravy,” he said. “that personalizes it.”
“The Squadron has a family readiness support technician that can push information out to every inbound Soldier we have.”
According to Blackburn the most important factor in sponsorship is the sponsor themselves.
“You at the Troop, Company, and Battery level, the sponsor, we call you the fork knife and spoon,” he said. “We expect you to make sure that all the information that is available is digestible in that 30 or 45 days before that new Dragoon gets here so they are fed the right information at the right time.”
“We expect you as the sponsor to be the fork knife and spoon because you know what their appetite is,” he said. “You know what they need because you have been there yourself and we expect you to devote that time to taking care of their needs.”
Blackburn went on to state that as a sponsor it is every Soldiers duty to make sure all new Dragoons have what they need in order to hit the ground running. He also said that sponsorship doesn’t stop until each Soldier and their families are well grounded in the 2SCR community.
“This is a duty I urge you to take seriously,” he said. “Your life depends on it.”
“You aren’t sponsoring somebody from another unit,” he continued. “You are sponsoring somebody who may be right beside you in a fire fight someday.”
The Colonel went on to say that if the Soldier comes with his or her spouse, to urge them to take advantage of the social networking that can be found within the Family Readiness Groups. It is within the FRG that these spouses can get the information they need to be self-sufficient and become productive members of the Dragoon Family.
