Got questions? Commander wants to hear them on video

Spouses of 3rd Brigade Combat Team soldiers who have a beef with the Army will get an unusual opportunity while the unit is deployed to Iraq.

Every couple of months, they can take up their grievances via satellite with Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the 4th Infantry Division commander and the leader of American forces in Baghdad. In a ritual that started last week at Fort Carson, Hammond and other senior leaders will host video conferences that will let families at home question the commanders of their deployed spouses.

“Communication is key,” said Brig. Gen. James M. Milano, who attended the video conference at Fort Carson last week, just before he got on a plane headed overseas.

The 3,800-soldier 3rd Brigade is deploying to Baghdad along with the Fort Hood, Texas-based division headquarters led by Hammond.

Families in Colorado will have a network of officers at Fort Carson who will help them with everything from child care to payroll problems.

But the satellite feed will give them a chance to get their answers from the top. It’ll also give Hammond a chance to show the growing connection between his command and Fort Carson. The division headquarters and its 1st Brigade Combat Team from Fort Hood are scheduled to move to Fort Carson by 2010.

In the trial run last week, most of the questions asked of the general were about life at home rather than strategy abroad.

Hammond got grilled on everything from working hours for soldiers before their deployments to how much extra cash troops will get for work in the war zone.

The general was able to nail down some details for families in two 4th Infantry Division brigades that aren’t deploying this month.

The 1st Brigade from Fort Hood will leave for Iraq in mid-March on what is planned to be a 15-month tour. The division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Carson won’t go to war until late 2008.

Hammond was also able to predict when Fort Carson will start seeing newcomers from Texas. Troops from the division headquarters and 1st Brigade will start moving here after they return from Iraq, he said.

“It’s certain that the division headquarters will relocate in the summer of 2009,” he said.

During the conference, Hammond said the link with families back home will let him deliver some of the encouragement they deserve.

“We shouldn’t move forward another step without saying thank you,” he said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0240 or tom.roeder@gazette.com

REUNION PLANS

The 82nd Airborne Division Association has scheduled reunions April 9-12 in Atlanta, May 19-25 in Fort Bragg, N.C., and Aug. 13-16 in St. Louis. For information, e-mail srgabn@aol.com.