Oklahoma Guard transportation unit awarded Meritorious Unit Commendation – DVIDS

OKLAHOMA CITY – Members of the 1245th Transportation Company, 345th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 90th Troop Command, Oklahoma Army National Guard were presented the Meritorious Unit Commendation in a ceremony held at the Ada Readiness Center in Ada, Oklahoma, May 4, 2024.

The Meritorious Unit Commendation is given to units who carried out their mission with outstanding performance during a period of combat. The standard of accomplishment required for a unit to earn a MUC is equal to an individual Soldier earning the Legion of Merit.

The Soldiers earned the award for their service in support of Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve during their 2018-2019 deployment to Kuwait. The award recognizes their excellence in performing difficult and high-profile missions, including the moving of UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters, a task that had never been accomplished in the area of operations.

“The mission the 1245th accomplished in the 2018 to 2019 deployment was sustainment operations in support of Operation Spartan Shield [within CENTCOM area of operations],” said Maj. Warren Queton, commander of the 1245th TC during the 2018-2019 deployment. “The 1245th Transportation Company specialized in the heavy equipment transporter, the largest transportation asset in the Army’s catalog of vehicles.”

During the deployment, the 1245th TC volunteered to partner with the Red River Army Depot in executing the “Golden Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) RESET” program. Their efforts and expertise improved the HET operational readiness rate by the end of the deployment.

“We were at about 30% fully mission-capable rating when we got in-country,” Queton said. “Because our maintenance crew had trained on how to work on those vehicles, and our drivers figured out how to operate and maintain those vehicles. By the end of our deployment, we were over 90% mission-capable to move heavy equipment throughout Kuwait.”

The award consists of two components. First, a streamer is displayed on the unit’s colors as a symbol of dedication to duty and willingness to make sacrifices to accomplish their mission.

Second, the individual Soldiers who were deployed with the unit are awarded a scarlet ribbon within a frame of laurel leaves.

“To me, it’s just dedication to hard work,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Bender, former platoon sergeant. “It shows that what we did overseas wasn’t for nothing–that I was able to be a part of something bigger than just myself.”

Not only was the unit able to improve transportation operations within Kuwait during the deployment, they overcame challenges unique to National Guard Soldiers working in an active-duty combat environment.

“There was a lot of preconceived notions about how the National Guard did business,” Queton said. “But they performed the mission brilliantly, meaning that they accomplished their mission at every point along the way, against the odds.”

The 1245th Transportation Company earned this award by serving with exceptional professionalism and determination, significantly contributing to the success of the command’s mission.

“This award speaks volumes for all the Soldiers at 1245,” Bender said.