Page 10 - The Dispatch May 2019

TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT

Photo Essay By:
Sgt 1st Class Sean A. Foley (U.S. Army Reserve) and
Sarayuth Pinthong (U.S. Air Force)
For hours Kelly Field had been dark, but the airfield located in
San Antonio, Texas was anything but quiet. Guardsmen with
the 143rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) had been in constant
communication with fellow Soldiers hundreds of feet in the
air aboard a C-17 Globe Master. As the plane's four jet engines
pushed through the night sky, Soldiers inside were bathed in
red light to preserve their night vision, undergoing last minute
equipment checks and safety briefs. In a moment those Soldiers
would step from a plane and parachute toward a drop zone.

Confident in their training and fellow Guardsmen, each Soldier
moved toward an open door and took a leap of faith that they
would arrive safely. Upon landing, was when the hard work
would begin. Weapons at the ready, Soldiers moved to take a
landing strip and secure key facilities. Weapon fire rang through
the night as simulated munitions added more realism to the ex-
ercise. Realism that was needed as these sky Soldiers may one
day face this exact circumstance, not in Texas but in a hostile re-
gion where Texas Guardsmen will battle back near-peer military
powers.
(Top) U.S. Army National Guard 1st Lt. Charleston Fagle, Platoon
Leader for 2nd Platoon, co. A 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment
(Airborne) (1st Bn, 143 Inf. (A)), calls up a situation report during an
airfield seizure, as part of a joint force entry exercise, at Kelly Field,
Lackland Air Force Base, near San Antonio, Texas, March 23, 2019.
(U.S. Army Reserve Sgt 1st Class Sean A. Foley)
10 TheDISPATCH May 2019