Volunteers,

Congratulations for adding another milestone to our mobilization and deployment:

Operation Thunder Road

As I write this, you have completed over 4000 combat patrols in Iraq. You have continued the distinguished history of the 278th Regimental Combat Team. You are adding to this history everyday and excelling in Area of Operations Volunteer. We are a very proud organization steeped with traditions and the Cavalry Spirit. I see it everyday in the job that you do in this very dangerous environment.

Last year, March 1, 2004, we were alerted for active duty OIF III. Many of us wondered if we would be capable; be able to live up to the name that our forefathers had made for this Regiment. I am here to tell you that you have lived up to those traditions, and it is only fitting that we have begun the time honored Army tradition of wearing the Three Rivers Combat Patch.

I am very proud of the Regiment and thank God everyday for the opportunity to lead such a fantastic group of dedicated men and women. Our Combat Unit Patch stands for over 300 years of history when the first units of our forefathers gathered their things on the banks of the Watauga River to begin the long march to fight the British in the battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens during the Revolutionary War. Members of the Regiment are authorized to wear three Presidential Unit citations for past conflicts in WWI and WWII. Be proud of that - very few units in the Army can lay claim to such historic, proud beginnings and heritage for so many conflicts. I was standing tall during the Division Transfer of Authority Ceremony when I saw our Regimental Colors flying next to the 1 ID and 42 ID - seeing that as a separate command we had all the same battle streamers and a much longer history. I am proud to wear our patch for all our Troopers that have been wounded here in Iraq and especially those that have paid the ultimate price for freedom.

As we don our patch we should pay tribute to Sgt. Paul W. Thomason, III who lost his life in an ambush and IED explosion. Our honor as soldiers fighting for freedom and our country lies in doing our duty toward our people and our homeland - as well as in the consciousness of our mutual obligation to keep faith with one another; so we can depend on each other. We must remember that even in our technological age, it is man's fighting spirit that ultimately decides the outcome. Sgt. Thomason has done his duty - to his Country, the Regiment, and most importantly to his friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife - that she be given strength to overcome her loss. Their children - may God bestow his blessings upon them for the rest of their lives. That they be comforted each day by God and each other. That all of his family will understand the sacrifice that their father has made for their country.

I would also like to commend the troopers that were involved in the fight that claimed one of our own. These Troopers lived the 278th Warrior Ethos. Pfc. Shawn Hall and Pvt. Laurence Orlandini both risked their lives trying to save a fallen comrade - proving that you should never give up. Both were wounded and returned fire on the insurgents - killing one and driving the others away. Pvt. Orlandini crawled quite a distance to give aid to Sgt. Thomason despite a broken leg - as a medic he put mission first. Nobody was left behind from the 278th - proving we never leave a fallen comrade! All of the soldiers showed the will to win and never surrender! I congratulate them on their courage, wit, dedication and I pray for their speedy recovery.

TAKE CHARGE!

Col. Dennis J. Adams
U.S. Cavalry
Diyala Province, Iraq