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Press Release
 
25th Infantry Division (Light) & U.S. Army, HawaiiPublic Affairs OfficeCPT Juanita Chang or Ms. Stefanie Gardin(808) 655-4815 or 655-8729
 
Release number: 2005-05-01May 3, 2005
**** Press Release ****
For immediate release
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS
–Approximately 5,000 25
th
Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army,Hawaii Soldiers who recently returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom were honored in a ceremonyhere today.The Soldiers recognized are from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 25th AviationRegiment, 84th Engineer Battalion, 40th Quartermaster Company, 540th Quartermaster Company,25th Transportation Company, and the 8th Forward Surgical Medical Team.Family, friends and others wishing to honor the Soldiers attended the ceremony. Maj. Gen. Eric T.Olson, commander of the 25th Infantry Division, spoke at the ceremony, as well as Governor Linda Lingle.The 2nd BCT was honored with the Meritorious Unit Citation for its deployment to Iraq. The 1stBattalion, 25th Aviation Regiment has been submitted for the same award.The 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment was recognized with the Valorous Unit Award, and the1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment has been recommended for the Presidential Unit Citation.Both of these units fall under the 2nd BCT.The 2nd BCT was headquartered at Kirkuk Regional Air Base and conducted operationsthroughout northeast Iraq. Their accomplishments include: conducted combat missions as the 1stInfantry Division reserve throughout Iraq; trained companies C and D of the 209th and 208th Iraqi National Guard to the highest state of readiness of any such unit in the 1st Infantry Division area of responsibility; assisted in training Iraqi police officers; responsible for the capture of 123 personsof interest, including eight high value targets; conducted 298 coalition/joint/interagency raids,13,206 combat patrols, and seven air assaults; and destroyed over 367,000 pounds of netexplosives of unsecured Iraqi munitions.The
1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds”
were deployed to the Sunni Arabregion of northern Iraq. They successfully conducted a major combat operation to thwart theinsurgents’ attempt to take over the city of Hawija. After 10 hours of fighting, showing that theyhave “No Fear,” the Wolfhounds killed and captured more than 100 enemy combatants. Hawijawas unquestionably the most dangerous area within the brigade area of responsibility.
 
The
1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlets”
were Warrior Brigade’s main effort inOIF-2. The Gimlets were responsible for the security and stability of Kirkuk, Iraq’s fourth largestcity, with an ethnically diverse population of more than 850,000 citizens. Unparalleled initiativeswith the 3,300 man-strong Kirkuk police—a highly trained special reaction force unique to thetheater—served as a model for Iraq. The Gimlets supervised and trained 14 police stations. Theyalso expanded the Kirkuk police academy’s cadre and facilities, as well as created a governing police force and ordnance disposal unit.The
1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons”
spearheaded the brigade’s effortin fighting a complex counter insurgency. They were recognized by the 1st Infantry Division andselected to become the division’s reserve. The Golden Dragons were attached to the 3rd Brigade,1st ID for a critical corps-level offensive operation targeting foreign fighters. During theoperation, the Golden Dragons conducted a battalion air assault raid that resulted in the capture of six high value targets.The
2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment “On Time”
conducted infantry maneuversalong with artillery operations firing more than 4,000 rounds in direct support of the Warrior Brigade ground operations, as well as counter fire missions. The battalion was a critical combatforce in defeating a terrorist enabler. They played a crucial role in security operations for thesuccessful transition of authority to the Iraqi government on June 28, 2004.The
225th Forward Support Battalion “Strike Lightning”
maintained equipment for threeadditional infantry battalions, resulting in an equipment readiness rate of 92 percent or better.They successfully conducted more than 200 combat logistics patrols, drove more than 120,000miles, and provided in excess 675,000 gallons of fuel to units. The 225th FSB medics treatedmore than 5,200 patients. Strike Lightning maintenance personnel completed more than 3,100 joborders to maintain the brigade’s combat power.Awards issued to Soldiers of the 2nd BCT include 568 Bronze Star Medals (eight with “Valor”Device) and 1,258 Army Commendation Medals. In addition, 163 of the unit’s Soldiers receivedthe Purple Heart.The
1st Battalion (Attack), 25th Aviation Regiment
 
“Lightning Attack”
supported the 1stArmored Division, the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Calvary Division while conductingmissions in Iraq. The battalion amassed an impressive amount of enemy battle damage. They provided unprecedented air to ground integration on thousands of missions in support of 17different ground maneuver brigades. The battalion executed the most combat hours for a 12 month period, of any pure aviation battalion since the Vietnam War, flying over 25,100 combat hourswhile performing more than 6,200 reconnaissance, security and close combat attack missions.For their heroism and meritorious achievement and service, the battalion’s aircrews and Soldiersearned one Distinguished Flying Cross, one Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device, two PurpleHearts, 20 Bronze Star Medals for Service, 12 Air Medals with “V” Device, 52 Air Medals for Achievement, 69 Air Medals for Service, 18 Army Commendation Medals with “V” Device and137 Army Commendation Medals for Service.Members of the
84th Engineer Battalion “Never Daunted”
directly improved the quality of lifefor 15,000 soldiers by conducting operations to build a 10-mile perimeter road around a base campand conducted 24-hour operations to build housing units. Their construction efforts weretremendous in rebuilding Iraq and setting up base camps for coalition forces. The unit traveledmore than 5,000 miles emplacing concrete for buildings and taxiways. Their awards include two
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