Page 6 - Hometown Cabot July 2017

6SS SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017 ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE • HOMETOWN CABOT
BOOTSAROUND TOWN
Soldiers and community come together at Cabot Readiness Center
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Left: Members of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, an Army National Guard unit housed at the Cabot Readiness Center, shape up during a drill weekend. Right: Spc. Kristy Browning hones her repair skills during a drill weekend at the Cabot Readiness Center.
a question,’ they’re going to pick up [the phone] and call one of us.”
Some soldiers may visit the facility during the week for physical or other training, and the company stays in touch throughout the month via Facebook groups and outings to locations such as Pinnacle Mountain, she said.
“When you only see somebody once a month, you lose sight of what’s going on with them, so we try to stay active in their lives and let them know that you don’t have to just talk to me two days a month,” she said. “You can talk to me anytime, or anybody on my team.”
Recruiting is another full-time activity, and two or three recruiters may be present on any given day, she said, adding that the Readiness Center often receives visits from local high-schoolers seeking ways to pay for college.
“We don’t have a problem in this unit putting peo- ple in because they just walk in off the street,” Hughley- Sadler said. “I would say we probably get eight to 10 peo- ple a month just walking in. Whether they want to join or not, they want to walk in and know a little bit about [the Guard].”
In addition, a number of community organizations, such as the Cabot Christmas Alliance, the Kiwanis Club and the Cabot Police Department, host events at the Readiness Center, and its facilities are available for wed- dings and reunions. The Readiness Center sees at least three events a month, she added.
“It’s humbling to go, ‘This is what our community wants from us, and if anything, this is how we can give back and just be here with them,’”Hughley-Sadler said.
Mayor Bill Cypert said the Readiness Center brings a number of cultural and economic benefits to Cabot.
BY SARAH DECLERK / SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
Jacksonville may have the Little Rock Air Force Base,
but Cabot has its own military connection as home of the Army National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade Com- bat Team, located at the Cabot Readiness Center. Resi- dents may have spotted soldiers dining at local eateries or driving convoys along U.S. 67, and at any time, those soldiers might be deployed to defend the country.
“We’re always ready, hence the motto, ‘Stand ready to deploy at any time,’” said Sgt. 1st Class Leslie Hughley- Sadler, readiness noncommissioned officer.
Guardsmen stay on their toes by training one week- end a month and two additional weeks per year. The diverse bunch includes truck drivers, mechanics, cooks and weapons- repair specialists, she said, adding that almost all the soldiers work or study full time.
“Most of them — a majority — if that’s their job on the military side, it plays a part in their full-time job, too,” Hughley-Sadler said. “That additional skill they get from the military — they take it to the civilian world, and they try to tailor it to fit their needs as well.”
Each month, those men and women trade their civil- ian clothes for uniforms and head to the Readiness Cen- ter. The facility is authorized to train 114 soldiers, she said, but many are training or deployed, so only about 76 attend the monthly training weekend. She described a drill weekend with two words: “organized chaos.”
About two weeks before the occasion, soldiers receive instructions about what to expect at the upcoming train- ing session so they are ready to hit the ground running when the weekend comes.
“They’ve had that time to get mentally prepared to take off that civilian hat and put the uniform back on,”
Hughley-Sadler said, “because they’re citizen soldiers, so they’ve got lives, they’ve got families, and the Guard doesn’t always come first.”
During drill weekends, soldiers practice all the skills needed during deployment, from serving meals to haul- ing cargo. Because the 39th supports the 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Battalion, which has companies in Searcy, Walnut Ridge, Batesville and Forrest City, the team tailors its training schedule to complement the other companies.
“They’re foot-pounders, so when they need a ride somewhere, we’re who they’re going to call. If they need food brought to them, they call us. If they need their ammo brought to them, they call us,” she said. “You see the big trucks hauling the big conexes — that’s probably my guys going up and down the freeway.”
Between 10 and 15 soldiers from other companies may also come to train with the 39th, which provides driver training for the entire battalion, Hughley-Sadler said.
Just as guardsmen may incorporate military training into their day jobs, they also bring skills from full-time jobs to drill weekends. For example, soldiers who work as barbers may give haircuts, she said. Because the com- pany’s senior cooks are currently deployed, the soldiers rely on local restaurants to cater drill weekends, provid- ing a boost to the Cabot economy, she added.
During the week, a handful of full-time personnel update records and payroll, complete inspections, perform vehicle maintenance and answer phones.
“When you’re doing readiness training or you’re full- time personnel, you’re everything,” Hughley-Sadler said. “You’re the chaplain; you’re the financial support; you’re the marriage counselor. Anytime a soldier goes, ‘I have