Volume 1, Issue 3 Special points of interest: Comanche Troop Transfer of Authority, p.10 Family Resources, p. 21 Hero’s of the week p. 23-25
Inside this issue: HHT
3
Arikara
5
Bear
7
Comanche
9
Mohave
11
Redhawk
18
Family Readiness
19
Chappy
21
ATTACHED UNITS War Hammer
13
Centurion
15
Eagle
16
Glacier
17
August 2012
BLACKHAWK COMMAND UPDATE Opening a New Chapter Today is 11 September 2012. To many, 9/11 is a distant memory relegated to a page in some history book. But to our Troopers who move into harm's way day after day...it is the present... the now. It is the constant, ever-present reminder of our purpose, of why we leave our loved ones year after year, of why we fight. There is an immense sense of pride in being part of such a noble endeavor, an immense sense of pride in having the honor of serving with amazing Troopers on the field of battle that will literally define the future for our children, and their children. It is important that we remember 9/11 and remember that 9/11's memory is ground into every facet of what we do in Kandahar City. Earlier this month, Task Force BlackHawk closed one chapter and opened another in its storied history. We have successfully transitioned our role in Kandahar city to one suited for the skills of Cavalrymen. In the process we've connected with our sister Battalion in the city – the 503rd MP Battalion (Ripcord), commanded by LTC Terry Nihart and CSM Billy Counts. They understand professionalization of the Afghan Police simply because of their years of professional service as Military Police Our complimentary roles and responsibilities create an incredible team dedicated to solidifying the Afghan Uniformed Police capability to secure Kandahar. We are working side-by-side to allow the Afghan Police to transition to a state that is sustainable as we simultaneously reduce our presence in the city. Continued on page two.
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LTC Patrick Michaelis HAWK 6
CSM Daniel Neary HAWK 7
BLACKHAWK COMMAND UPDATE CONT. Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Centurion (287th MP Company) and Warhammer (303d MP Company) have been incredible teammates in creating conditions for success in Kandahar City. They now position their flag with the Ripcord team shifting their focus to professionalization of the Afghan Police. Three tremendous officers and their advisory teams (LTC Jorge Melendez - Avengers, LTC Matt McKinley - Dagger, and LTC Ross Coffey - Eagle) also realign their flags under Ripcord continuing their focus exclusively on the Garrison Police commands within Kandahar City. The BlackHawk team is stronger and wiser because of the incredible sense of team from the Centurion, Warhammer, Avenger, Dagger, and Eagle team. Thank you all for your teamwork! The CSM and I are proud to call you Cavalrymen! As Arikara Troop continues to defy expectations under the control of 2-17 FA, Bear and Comanche now assume a role that allows rapid response within Kandahar and prepares for contingency operations in support of the Lancer Brigade. We welcome CPT Tyler Patterson as the commander of HellRider Troop, and commend the way Mojave shapes the battlefield everyday through their commanding grasp of Military Intelligence functions. The CSM and I watch in amazement as the shift in roles happens seamlessly and the sense of focus within the troops clearly living the values inculcated in our formation as protectors and Troopers who serve with honor. Thank you all for your continued support as part of the BlackHawk family. Each of you at home mean so much to all of us over here. And we look forward to our homecoming. After all, we do what we do... because of you! v/r BlackHawk 6 & 7
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Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
HELL RIDER UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
HELL RIDER FAMILIES, As the newest member to Team Hell Rider, I would like to say that is an honor and a privilege to lead this troop in combat. I want to thank CPT Brett Gambacorta for building the troop into what it is today and making my transition as smooth as it has been. reported forchanges duty to TF in Steel, our Artillery Battalion. ThereArikara haveTroop beenrecently a lot of recent Team Hell Rider. In We will soon see Police Mentorship Training become the coin of the realm with our addition to the change of command, we Battalion have had lot of promoMP Companies under the watchful eye of our sister andateammate in Kandahar MP Battalion (Ripcord). It will prove be an exciting time and one tionsCity,503rd and reenlistments in the Troop. Youtocan find photos from that requires flawless execution. The CSM and I are proud to report we are ready, all the events at the link below: willing, and able. http://www.facebook.com/HellRiderTroop Since our last update we have had some significant leader changes within the Task you Force.for Captain Gambacorta, commander Teamforward HellRider, to created Thank yourBrett continued support and Ioflook an incredible team of teams which provided truly unique capabilities to the Squadmeeting of you ron and theall Brigade. He upon will be replaced by the equally capable Captain Tyler Patterson out of 2-1 Infantry. Captain Paul Tanghe, the former commander of Bear Troop, our return! responsible for a historically contentious seam within Kandahar City, gave the B Troop Guidon to Captain Terron Wharton. Everyone of these fine officers are exam-Hell 6 which make our Army great. ples ofRider the Values
CPT Tyler Patterson My congratulations to the families and the incredible work done on behalf of our FRG volunteers. We get incredible reports and good news stories of families HELL FOLLOWS! taking advantage of the opportunities under the Family Covenant, and the social event volunteers working tirelessly to bring the BlackHawk family together. Thank you again for all that you do. You make us all very proud over here! v/r BlackHawk 6 and 7
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HELL RIDER UPDATE
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ARIKARA UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Greetings from Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan (FOB Frontenac) to the families and friends of Arikara Troop and the Blackhawk Squadron! We hope this newsletter continues to find you in great health and prepared for the summer to come to an end. The month of August has brought a major shift in our mission, as well as incorporating a new platoon into our formation. We conducted a two week relief in place with Cowboy Troop out of Michigan to allow them to redeploy. On August 15th we took authority of southern Shah Wali Kot District, in Kandahar Province. We now operate out of two separate bases allowing the Troop to partner with Afghan security forces, and provide security to a much needed area. Blue platoon has taken on the mission of operating out of a small platoon combat outpost, while partnered with and living with Afghan National Army Soldiers. They have built a relationship that is trusted and making a solid difference in an area looking to improve their quality of life. I’m very proud of their accomplishments thus far, and they are making the Blue platoon family proud. FOB Frontenac is our home for the rest of the Troop and we are beginning to learn our way around a much bigger base. Red (B TRP), and White platoons operate in the remaining areas of Shah Wali Kot as they share a lot of the duties and responsibility for providing security in a vast area. We are now working with and training Afghan Soldiers, Afghan Police, and Afghan Local Police. The Afghan Local Police operate and live in their village, almost like the neighborhood watch program back in the United States. Our knowledge and responsibility has grown with this mission and Arikara Troop is taking the challenge head on. We will continue to serve with honor, and make our country proud. “Horns Up Front!” Arikara 6
-1SG’s Corner To all of our friends and family of Arikara Troop and the Blackhawk Squadron, greetings from Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan. The month of August has been yet another month of learning, having just moved here to FOB Frontenac. Our mission is entirely different than it was in the city, but our Soldiers are enjoying it much more as we are incredibly busy which is making our time away fly by. This month we’ve watched SSG Fulmer re-enlist to stay with us at JBLM which is great news for the Troop and the Squadron. He brings an amazing amount of leadership to white platoon and is always a great source of humor as well. The mortar section saw the addition of SGT (P) Skuse who has already proven to be a great asset to the team. Although the days are still fairly hot, fall is definitely near as we are finally seeing cooler evenings and mornings. We are serving under the guidon of TF Steel now, but continue to serve with honor and distinction as Blackhawk Troopers. Until next month, thank you all so much for your support and devotion.We continue to appreciate all that you do, and the sacrifices you have made in order to support us and our mission. Thank you to the FRG for our Arikara Troop sheet displaying words of encouragement and love. We wish you a safe and Happy Labor Day weekend! “HORNS UP FRONT!" FRG Corner Contact the FRG: arikaratroopfrg@gmail.com Walk to Afghanistan Miles: 3,070
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ARIKARA UPDATE
BEAR TROOP UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Greetings from Kandahar City! Bear Troop continued the theme of transition this month and saw a great number of changes to the Troop's mission set. We successfully closed two of our outposts, COP Millet and PSS 8, and brought both Red and Blue platoons back home to ANCOP. With the closing of the outposts, we also bid farewell to two of our platoons. 1/484th MP CO returned to their parent company at BP-3, and Green Platoon returned to Comanche at FOB Walton. The boys have been busy at ANCOP during the transition, making much needed improvements to force protection and quality of life. To maintain our readiness, the Troop has begun to refresh our training on many of our combat tasks and drills. One of the base defense drills we conducted received high praise from the SCO and was passed along to all the other Battalions in the BDE as an example of excellent training. This month the Troop has said goodbye to one officer and welcomed another. 1LT Kyle Tarver said his goodbyes to the Troop and is now with 2-17 FA as a FRG Corner Platoon Leader. Kyle was an integral part of Bear Troop for 18 months, known for his competence, fitness, humor, and the respect Contact the FRG: he had garnered from his Soldiers, peers, and superiors. We wish Beartroop81@gmail.com him the best of luck as he moves on to take a platoon. As LT Tarver Bear Troop FaceBook: left, we received a new Troop Fire Support Officer, 2LT Jacob Mabry. www.facebook.com/ bear.troop 2LT Mabry was commissioned from Oklahoma City University where Adopt a Bear Program: he wrestled for four years, was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, and An opportunity to support a Bear Troop Soldier, selected at majored in Spanish. He is currently engaged to Alyssa Bennett and random, by writing letters and they are planning on getting married in the fall of 2013. He also com- sending packages. For more information, see the Bear pleted Ranger School just prior to deployment. Welcome to the Troop FaceBook page (above), or contact the FRG. Team! New Bears:
Finally, congratulations are due to several of our Soldiers. PVT Cashaw was recently promoted to PFC and SPC Parnass passed the promotion board and was recommended for promotion to SGT. Finally, SPC Scott, one of our cooks, has decided to continue his service and reenlist. Keep up the good work, gentlemen! Thank you for your love and support. Four months down! v/r, Terron Wharton CPT, AR Commanding
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SPC Joseph and Mrs. Maria Parnass welcomed Marily Conchita Parnass into this world, 2:23 on May 14th, 2012 3 lbs 10 oz PFC Robby and Mrs. Danetta Largmann welcomed Elana Elizabeth Betty Marie Largmann into this world, 12:41 AM on June 4th, 2012 7 lbs 8oz 19 1/2 in. long Walk to Afghanistan Miles: 3,578
BEAR UPDATE
COMANCHE UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Dear friends and families of the Comanche Team, I hope you are having a great summer as we are continuing our efforts to transition control to the Afghan Security Forces. We are over four months in theater now and embarking on changing our mission set to over-watching the Afghan Security Forces. Since 1 July 2012 they have taken the lead on security operations within our area and have not slowed. We have also welcomed several new Platoon Leaders to the Troop and said farewell to several Comanche veterans. Any needs or concerns that you have with your Soldiers deployed can be answered through the Troops FRG or Rear-detachment. We continue to try to improve our position in getting you the most accurate information as possible. We have begun a transition with the 484th MP Company out of Montana for our current area as we move on to enable Afghan Security Forces in other areas. Their team is ready and willing to take on the challenge with positive momentum coming out of Ramadan. Our Afghan partners remain in the lead and even through Ramadan have gained considerable momentum. The 484th will work on professionalizing Afghan Security Forces in the area as their main focus. Since the end of July we have said farewell to LT Saul, LT Talbot, and LT Benjamin who have all moved off to bigger and better things. As young seasoned Lieutenants they will be able to pass off their knowledge and expertise that they have learned here in Comanche. All of them have done exceptionally well since their arrival in the Troop, excelling in all predeployment training and combat operations here in Kandahar City. Their proficiency has certainly saved lives in combat and as a Troop we are thankful to have had them. In saying farewell to them, we have three new Lieutenants that we welcome; LT Meno, LT Thomas, and LT Meeks as the new incoming Platoon Leaders in the Troop. They have all made considerable gains in learning their new assignments and we certainly wish them the best of luck here in Comanche! As a family I certainly thank all the members of our Team which is incredibly strong and resilient. We grow stronger day by day and FRG Corner the actions of our Troopers everyday speak to our values. Our Contact the FRG: Soldiers embody the role of being protectors and always living the comanchetroopFRG@gmail.com Army values. I cannot be thankful enough for the service of our Comanche FaceBook Page: Soldiers and the support of our families back home each and www.facebook.com/ ComancheTroop8.1CAV every day. I want to thank our wonderful FRG for their tireless “Like” our page to receive upwork to keep all of our families informed and we look forward to dates from the Commander and to view pictures of the Troop. seeing you soon! MICHAEL J. KELLY CPT, AR Commanding
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COMANCHE UPDATE
MOJAVE UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Soldiers, Families, and Friends of the 572nd Military Intelligence Company, As you are reading this, the Soldiers of the Company will be more than halfway complete with their deployment to Afghanistan. Despite the long days and nights and significant workload, the time has gone by incredibly fast and the upcoming months will no doubt go by as quickly. July was certainly a busy month, and August was no different. There has been a lot of outstanding work being done by all Soldiers of the Company, and we couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments up to this point. The BISE continues to provide outstanding support to the Brigade through timely and accurate intelligence production, the HUMINT and SIGINT Platoon are supporting units across the province in multiple operations and missions; many operations are driven by intelligence provided by our very own Soldiers. The TUAS Platoon continues its trend of success and is nearing over 2000 flight hours in country, which is a significant achievement at this point in the deployment. All of the work noted above performed by your Soldier is having a profound impact on the missions that are done by the Soldiers in our Brigade as well as with their Afghan partners. Their hard work and dedication is further enabling a safe and secure Afghanistan and allowing for a smooth transition as they assume responsibility from us. We will kick off the month of September with a Memorial Run on September 11 in honor of fallen Soldiers and the victims of the 9/11 attacks. We are expecting to have our official Company shirts in before this time and are hoping to wear them for the run. The Company would like to thank SSG Ginn of the BISE section for organizing yet another run for Camp Nathan Smith. The previous run was a success and had outstanding participation, and this FRG Corner one should no doubt prove to be a success. Finally, we have had many Soldiers re-enlist and be promoted Contact the FRG: since we arrived downrange. August was a very successful month. By this mico572frg@gmail.com time the Company should be the highest in the Brigade by number of reMICO FaceBook Page: enlistments . For August we had SPC Griffin (HQ), SPC Gordon (BISE), and https://www.facebook.com/ SPC Wastun (CM&D / ISR) re-enlist along with SPC Shane being promoted pages/572-MICOFRG/206715606061075 to SPC. We have several more Soldiers who are preparing to re-enlist in Walk to Afghanistan the weeks ahead. I would like to thank all of the previously mentioned Miles: 8,891 Total families participating: 21 Soldiers who have taken the oath to continue serving their country, as Upcoming Events well as their families and friends . We understand that decisions such as 21 June - details to come at a these take a lot of time and discussion with loved ones to determine later date which job, location, or options are in the best interest of the family. Your Soldier will no doubt serve the Company, their future units, and the Army with great distinction wherever they go. Sincerely, JOSHUA M. BAL CPT, MI
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MOJAVE UPDATE
WAR HAMMER UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Salutations from the Desk of War Hammer 6, It has been an eventful month with our realignment and transition to the Police Mentor Training (PMT) mission. Our realignment will be completed within the next week or so. I would like to say thank you to the 8-1 Cavalry Squadron, LTC Michaelis, CSM Neary, and the rest of the Staff and Soldiers of the Squadron. You immediately made us part of the CAV family and we appreciate the support you have given us over the past several months. Several of the Soldiers in the 303D MP Company have already started counting days to our redeployment. As one of my Soldiers says, “around 18 weeks or 9 more paychecks.” As with all Soldier’s, they miss their families loved ones and their civilian jobs. Even though they miss home, they remain vigilant and continue to make the Afghanistan Uniformed Police (AUP) a more professional force and prepare them to protect their city without coalition support. Over the course of the last month, we have made several new Afghan friends, dinned with them, and enjoyed conversation with them as they celebrated Ramadan and EID-UL-FITR. The down time during Ramadan, allowed us to continue our internal training and battle drills as well as improve the maintenance and reliability of our trucks and equipment. With the passing of Eid, training, mentorship, and joint patrols have started to increase in frequency. For a brief description of the Ramadan Holiday please follow the links below. http://www.msichicago.org/scrapbook/scrapbook_exhibits/catw2004/traditions/countries/ ramadan.html http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Ramadan Towards the end of the month, Chaplain Rivers and his sidekick SGT Beasley visited us to pay tribute to a memorial that was built by our head carpenter and MP SPC Stanly in honor of our fallen brother, Mr. Tom Boyle. They escorted the Division Priest with them to provide Catholic services to our Soldiers. As the supreme leader of the Holy Rollers Cigar Club, Chaplain Rivers provided stogies for the Soldiers which gave us time to reflect and socialize on past events and the coming months. We thank the Chaplains team for their time and their cigars. In the next couple of days we will finish a chapter of our deployment as we say, “til we meet again”, to our CAV brothers and “hello” to our MP family of the 503D Military Police Brigade. We look forward to working with them and it brings us one step closer to being home. Thanks again 8-1 CAV and to all the families and loved ones at home, “We miss you”.
CPT Travis Gilbert Warhammer 6
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WARHAMMER UPDATE
CENTURION UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
Hello Families and Friends,. It has been a busy month for the 287th MP Company. The Centurions continue to strengthen their partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces. In the last month the 287th has unembed Police Substations 3 and 10, completed multiple partnered patrols, and assisted with the accommodation of the Afghan Holiday Ramazan. The Company also SPC Chen completed 2 Base Defense Drills ensuring that the Soldiers, civilian, and local nationals understand what steps to take should COP Shurandam get attacked. The maneuver squads have done extremely well escorting CLIPs and making multiple trips to pick up mail. This has been a morale booster for the Soldiers and civilians that reside on COP Shurandam. Recently, one of the maneuver squads was sent to assist an SFAT team in the west. SPC Chen fell victim to a IED which ultimately took him out of the fight. Although he is not with the unit physically, he still keeps in contact with the Soldiers and leadership from the company. Just recently he told his leadership that he was happy to now be a Purple Heart recipient and plans to re-enlist. SPC Chen, shown in the top picThe Afghan people celebrated ture, is expected to make a full recovery. Ramazan on COP Shurandam. A live band sand and played
The 287th has also made many improvements to COP Shuranmusic as the Soldiers, civilians, dam. The COP now features an outside gym with free weights and and local nations danced and machines and a 1/4 mile track that Soldiers can run around. Last enjoyed the festivities. but not least is the amount of Soldiers willing to raise their right hands to stay in the Army. There have been eight re-enlistments for this month alone and many more to come. Below the Company Commander is giving one of the squad leaders the oath. Soldiers are also developing professionally as two Centurions were awarded Soldier of the Month and NCO of the Month board. Lastly, our Soldiers’ work has not been in vain as there have been multiple junior Soldier promotions. SGT Ciera Armstrong was promoted to Sergeant in August and SGT Peter Vanderven was promoted to Sergeant on the 1st of September. “Strength and Honor”
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EAGLE UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
To the Soldiers, Civilians, and Family Members of the Eagles, Thanks for your hard work and efforts this past month it has been one of great change. In chronological order: - we welcomed CPT Ted Divito to the team. A former non -commissioned officer, Ted has assumed duties as the Garrison Logistics Advisor and is already making a tangible impact on the readiness of our advised counterparts. - LTC Payton Sims, MAJ Brian Englund, and SFC Josh Pickering have established a new Security Force Assistance Team supporting an Army logistics battalion. - we welcomed LT Ryan Ball, SSG Jesse Hernandez, and the Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, 287th Military Police Company from Fort Riley, Kansas, to the team. Regrettably, we bid (temporary) farewell to SGT Leon Jordan's squad, although we look forward to their reintegration into the team in a few weeks. More importantly, you have all worked very hard to establish stronger partnership with our Afghan partners during Ramazan. You've been extremely considerate of their fasting traditions and sensitive to their fatigue inherent in police work in the summer heat of Kandahar City. Sincerely, I appreciate your respect of our partners; it has gone a long way to protect the mission! Seize the High Ground! LTC Ross Richard Coffey
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GLACIER UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
The month of July provided some interesting adventures for SFAT KC Mayor. Not only did we conduct our regular meetings with Municipal Staff at City Hall, we had opportunities to see many projects being conducted around the city. Schools, water projects, industrial projects, just to name a few. Progress is happening, quality of life is improving. Some of these missions proved to be challenge. We did get to visit the Sara Gundey School, recently refurbished, with the intent to ensure it was ready to reopen and provide the youth in Sub district 9 with a quality education, and a bright future. In an effort to build the capacity of our partners at City Hall, we have been working to improve the security situation as well. This has involved receiving 1000 prefilled sandbags, and emplacing them at guard points around the compound. And even more good news: It is with great pleasure that we congratulate SPC Osburn and his family on the latest addition. Alice Danielle was born on 15 July. Your adventure is just beginning. Unfortunately, the only constant that we are guaranteed at anytime is change. With the NATO-wide drawdown of forces, the Lancer Brigade area is expanding, and this means reorganizing units. To us, that means that the 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, 303rd MP Company will be released from their mission with SFAT KC Mayor. So to 1LT Sale, SSG Underwood and crew, we extend our thanks and appreciation. We are proud of what you have contributed, and wish you continued success. Our thoughts and prayers go with you.
Glacier 7
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REDHAWK UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
Rear Detachment 1LT Stephen Schwartz Rear Detachment Commander (651) 246-2095 Stephen.Schwartz1@ us.army.mil SFC Kirk Alcorn Rear Detachment First Sergeant Kirk.Alcorn@us.army.mil (360) 701-9723 8-1 Cav Staff Duty (253) 966-8307* no longer answered 24/7, only regular business hours Brigade Staff Duty: 253-967-6443 (answered 24/7) Emergencies Sexual Assault Reporting/Victim Advocates 253-966-SAFE (7233) National Suicide Prevention 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Army Emergency Relief (AER): 253-976-9852
August 2012
Greetings BlackHawk Family, It’s hard to imagine that another month has passed by. 1SG Alcorn and I would like to remind you that we are committed to continue serving you while your Soldier is away. We sincerely hope that each and every one of you are doing well, but if you find yourself needing help, please let us or the FRG know. We’d also like to say congratulation to everyone who has passed the half way mark. And to everyone else—you’re almost there! Wherever you’re at in this deployment, it has taken great strength and determination to get there. What a great accomplishment. For our local families, it is our greatest hope that we have helped give you a greater sense of family. If you haven’t yet joined us for our monthly Town Hall meetings, please come to the Squadron Building on Tuesday September 18th from 6-8PM. This should be another great meeting, and you can expect to receive very helpful information about your Soldier’s return and block leave, as well as a question and answer session. Please submit any questions you have to the FRSA at Laura.O.Meeks@us.army.mil or (253) 967-1493. I would also like to encourage all families to join us at Shoreline Park for the 2nd Brigade Family Day on Saturday, September 8th from 3-6PM. Please see our FaceBook page at www.facebook.com/8sqdn1cav for more information and a map. Take care and please let us know if there is anything we can assist you with. Sincerely, Redhawk 6 Stephen Schwartz CPT, MI Commanding
FAMILY READINESS UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 3
August 2012
8-1 Cav Family Events for September 2012
Resource Roundup 8-1 Cav FaceBook Page www.facebook.com/8SQDN1CAV Out of Town Link http://www.emailmeform.com/ builder/form/0zt0Jf1ej80aapyD6Xc Virtual FRG (vFRG) www.armyfrg.org (For registration instructions, ask your FRG or the FRSA) Child and Youth Services www.jblmmwr.com/CYS 253-967-CYSS BDE Military Family Life Consultant Mrs. Alexandria Horton (253) 363-6973 2ndMFLC@gmail.com Madigan Child and Family Assistance Center (CAFAC) 253-968-4843 MAMC Annex, Bldg. 9923A Financial Readiness 253-967-1453 Rear Detachment Mrs. Laura Meeks Family Readiness Support Assistant M-F, 8:30-5, and by appointment (253) 967-1493 Laura.O.Meeks@us.army.mil Chaplain CPT Barry Malone 253-651-3069 Staff Duty (253) 966-8307* Only answered during regular business hours
1) September Town Hall Meeting Tuesday, Sept. 18th, 6-8PM @ SQDN. Reserve your Hourly Care by calling 253-967-CYSS up to 30 days before the meeting. More details to come. 2) Puyallup Fair: Military Mondays, Free Admission September 7th-23rd Please go out and show our support to our community connector city when you can. http://www.thefair.com/puyallup-fair/deals_discounts/
3) Walk to Afghanistan Looking for a family activity you can do together? Why not exercise your way to Afghanistan? You know you can earn miles by doing any kind of exercise, attending FRG events, getting good grades, sending care packages, and more. Ask your FRG leader or the FRSA if you would like a packet that explains the rules and helps you keep track of your miles. Miles are due to your Troop/Company’s WTA volunteer at the end of each month. The FRG with the most miles wins the Golden Boot. 6,767 miles gets you to Afghanistan, good luck! Current totals:
BDE Staff Duty: 253-967-6443 (answered 24/7) Emergencies Sexual Assault Reporting/Victim Advocates 253-966-SAFE (7233) National Suicide Prevention 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Army Emergency Relief (AER): 253-976-9852
HHT: 7,270 Arikara: 12,575 Bear: 13,930 Comanche: 4,649 MICO: 29,053
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FAMILY READINESS UPDATE Volume 1, Issue 4
September 2012
August Town Hall Meeting August 20, 2012
A discussion about healthy marriage and communication, facilitated by Mrs. Alex Horton, 2nd BDE MFLC.
Families listen as LTC Michaelis gives a virtual update and answers questions.
The USO Puget Sound volunteered their time, grill, and hotdogs to feed our hungry families.
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CHAPPY’S CORNER
Greetings from Kandahar City. I pray all is well for each of you as we continue with the mission that is set before us. Change is in the air. Our Arikara Troop has pushed up North while our Comanche Troop has given command over to the Marshals of 484 th MP’s. As I am writing this I am currently visiting our Soldiers out here in Bear CAV world. They have come together as a Troop, closed their TI’s and consolidated their forces into one effort. It is good to see them all together, working side by side once again. I recently visited Arikara Troop who is now North of us. I had an incredible trip. It was so good to see our Soldiers, especially riding around in Stykers. They are extremely excited about the mission that is before them. In essence, they get to ‘be Cav’. Under this current mission they fall under the command of 2-17. The 2-17 Chaplain (Chaplain Anderson) had the blessing of caring for Arikara Troop in my stead. However, he recently had to fly back to JBLM for back surgery. The care of Arikara has once again fallen to me. I have the privilege of flying up to where they each week to offer them religious support. I wish the circumstances surrounding the shift could have been different, and my prayers are with Chaplain Anderson, but I am at the same time excited about the opportunity to be with Arikara again. With the addition of Arikara’s new AO comes the loss of our Warhammer brothers and sisters. I wrote on our Facebook page that I had to release the religious support of Warhammer to the 503D Chaplain. They will be in good hands with Chaplain Loux. However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t put up a fight to keep them. Ultimately the decision was made, and the care has passed to another. The time I did have with our Warhammer and SFAT brothers and sisters has instilled an incredible sense of respect and appreciation for what the MP’s stand for. Thank you for making me feel accepted and part of your family!
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Blackhawk & 503D Ripcord
HERO OF THE WEEK
PFC Bawden, Matthew 19D BEAR CAV PFC Bawden has displayed the competence and initiative expected from a Cavalry Trooper. PFC Bawden identified and corrected many deficiencies throughout ANCOP in order to better support the Troop’s personnel and its mission. . He reconstructed the C-IED. lane at ANCOP, which greatly enhanced the Troop’s ability to conduct I.E.D. defeat training. With his own initiative, he fixed four washers and three dryers, allowing ANCOP to accommodate 30 additional Soldiers with zero impact on laundry services. PFC Bawden, without mechanical support, was able to identify faults on the Commander’s vehicle, and using previous experience, was able to correct the problem and make it fully mission capable. PFC Bawden is a outstanding junior Soldier, who is totally committed to his Unit, superiors, and peers, and strives everyday to increase the morale and efficiency of his fellow Soldiers. PFC Bawden is the Squadron’s HERO OF THE WEEK
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