For the first time in more than two years, the Christian County Chamber of Commerce and its Military Affairs Committee held its annual Eagle Ambassador Breakfast face-to-face early Wednesday morning — hosting a packed crowd at The Bruce.
The guest speaker —Col. Stephen Shrader, Chief of Staff for the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell — needed little introduction, but received one anyway. A native of east Tennessee and commissioned Infantry Officer from the Carson-Newman College ROTC program in 1995, Shrader has spent more than a decade under the powerful wings of the Screaming Eagles.
Shrader has held other posts in locales such as Fort Irwin, California, and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
But he noted there’s just something different about the Fort Campbell, Christian County and Clarksville area, and he’s glad to share that message with the more than 100 new soldiers the Screaming Eagles consistently import into their community.
It’s been exactly a year since Major General J.P. McGee took command of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and Shrader said there’s been a simple continued message of 10 words since his arrival:
“Training. Discipline. Fit. Cohesive. And ready for the future’s fight.”
Of the 27,000 soldiers at Fort Campbell, 20,000 of them at anytime belong to the 101st, with the other 7,000 comprised of other special companies and units.
For the first time in more than two decades, Fort Campbell’s command deployed its assets into the field for three weeks in last November — in order to test increased readiness and lethality.
Termed “Lethal Eagle,” Shrader said it was a critical success, and with parts of Fort Campbell currently deployed to NATO allies along the Ukranian border, Shrader said a “Lethal Eagle II” planned soon for this spring will only improve those units that remain on heightened alert.
Carter Hendricks, executive director for the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council, held a call for pledges to the MAC, noting that Fort Campbell doesn’t have “sunshine soldiers,” and that Christian County isn’t a “sunshine community,” because the work and support must come — no matter the weather.
Several events litter the MAC calendar this year. On June 2, it’ll be the Eagle Ambassador tour of Fort Campbell. On June 12, it’s “Military Night” with the OVL’s Hoptown Hoppers. On June 25, it’s the MAC Gala. On June 29, it’s “Military Night” at the Fair. And on October 14, the MAC will host its Chili Cookoff.
For more information about MAC, visit https://www.christiancountychamber.com/military-affairs.
