File:Army Guard commander visits Savannah UAV unit (5931274115).jpg

CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, MARIETTA, Ga., July 12, 2011 – Major Gen. Maria L. Britt, Georgia Army Guard Commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. James Nelson, the Georgia Army Guard senior enlisted leader dropped in on Soldiers of Savannah’s Detachment 1, Company B, 48th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) on July 7 at Fort Hood, Texas, where it is training up for a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan.

Here, detachment members pose for a photo with Britt (center), Nelson (front row, far left) and Col. John King (front row, far right), who commands Macon’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The brigade is the BSB’s parent headquarters.

Commanded by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Anthony Brooks, the “Shadow Unit,” as it is known among its Soldiers, left Savannah’s Hunter Army Airfield on June 17. Since arriving at Fort Hood, its operators and payload masters have been increasing their flight hours, while the UAV maintainers further hone their specialized skills. In a month, Det. 1, will move on to Afghanistan and begin its reconnaissance mission for ground forces there. Brooks said he remains confident that his Soldiers are ready to take that mission.

Britt said that, from what she saw, and heard, the detachment’s 22 Soldiers are “highly motivated, and they most certainly are ready to take on the challenge that lies before them.”