GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — It hasn’t been an easy past few months for the 172nd Infantry Brigade.
In November, the unit found out it was heading to Afghanistan this summer, more than six months earlier than planned.
Then the brigade learned it wouldn’t be taking its tanks into battle: Soldiers were told to prepare for dismounted operations, and a record snowfall in December cut into precious training time.
And this month, citing a loss of confidence, the Army relieved the brigade’s commanding officer and re-assigned his top enlisted man.
Despite the turmoil, the show must go on, Maj. Jon Thiessen, the 172nd deputy operations officer, said last week.
“Right about now, guys were supposed to be firing tanks on the range,” Thiessen said. “Instead, they are doing squad- and platoon-level training focused on dismounted movements and patrols.”
On Wednesday, the brigade replaced Col. Frank Zachar with Col. Edward Bohnemann, even as troops trained for the deployment in the wintry weather.
Bohnemann, a veteran of three combat tours and whose most recent assignment was as an instructor at the School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., was too busy training his soldiers to be immediately available for an interview, said Maj. Joe Buccino, a brigade spokesman.
In a press statement issued Wednesday, Bohnemann said he had no doubt that the right leaders are in place to train soldiers, take care of families and execute the mission in Afghanistan. He said his sole focus is preparing the brigade’s soldiers and families for the impending deployment.
The brigade commander is ultimately responsible for getting his unit ready to deploy, said V Corps public affairs officer Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale.
How Zachar’s departure will affect readiness might not be known yet, said retired Lt. Col. David Johnson, executive director of the Center for Advanced Defense Studies.
“Any way you look at it, this is bad news,” he said of Zachar’s ousting. “Every planning cycle relies upon commander’s guidance.”
But Thiessen, the unit’s operations officer, said the training plan for the deployment was established before Zachar left.
“Our training plan was already established in September and there has been no deviation based on the fluctuation in leadership,” he said.
Capt. Michael Roesler, 27, of White Bear Lake, Minn., who commands Company B, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Regiment, said the move has had no impact on his unit.
“I haven’t seen any changes at all,” he said, as his men prepared to conduct live-fire dismounted training on a range at Grafenwöhr last week. “This training was laid on before the news came out that the brigade commander had been relieved.”
Enlisted members of the unit also said they had not been affected by the relief of their commander.
“It has had no impact on morale,” Roesler said.
