Ft. Polk, LA -
On the Fort Polk Army Post, the 162nd
Infantry- known as the ‘Tiger Brigade'- hosted the first ever 'Return to Tiger
Land' on Saturday, allowing veterans and their families to be reunited to a
post they once called home.
"The significance of today is that we're
bringing them back here to Tiger Land to see what it's like in 2012" said Ft.
Polk Commander, Matt McKenna.
Fort Polk is rich in history- having
been the post that trained the most combat infantry men in America and shipping
them to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War- the same time the post became
known as ‘Tiger Land'.
"Tiger Land is tied to the history of
the Louisiana Tigers all the way from the Civil War" said McKenna.
Long after the War in Iraq, Ft. Polk
was presented with a different mission than in years past. The mission shifted from total combat
training to leadership and advisory training with the goal of helping security
forces in Afghanistan become self sufficient.
"In the 1960's we trained combat
infantry men to fight and win in Vietnam... In 2012 we're training combat
advisors to make sure the Afghan national security forces fight and win in
Afghanistan" McKenna said.
During the ‘Return to Tiger Land', veterans
and their families were able to see- first hand- staged combat and rescue
training, changing combat vehicles and some equipment used by the tiger
brigade.
"Each generation, there is a world of
difference in the change of vehicles, weapons, aircraft and training methods
and it's just amazing to see how things do change" said Army Veteran and
Sulphur resident, Steve Flenniken.
For some veterans, the event marked
the first time they've been back to Ft. Polk since training. They said the event served as the perfect homecoming.
"I'm very humbled for getting the
opportunity to come back after so many years" said Army Veteran Edward Holmes.
And for another Army Veteran and Sulphur resident, Pat
Stanley, returning to Tiger Land was an act bigger than himself.
"It's me coming here to represent all those others who
live in other parts of the country who have probably never been back to Louisiana
but they still hold in their memory Ft. Polk, Louisiana and Tiger Land" Stanley
said.
The ‘Tiger Brigade hopes to make the ‘Return to Tiger
Land' an annual event.
Copyright 2012 KPLC. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and KPLC, a Raycom Media Station.
