HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thunder Times A Bi-Monthly Chronicle of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team Volume 2
THIS ISSUE From the Top Current News
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Frontline Frames
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Play It Safe
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Chappy’s Chat
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From the Front
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Meet Your Team
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Parting Shot
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155th ABCT FAMILY READINESS 24 HOUR HOTLINE 601-313-0155
Issue 1 January 1, 2019
FROM THE TOP Season’s greetings from the Ghostchaser Team stationed in Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The Soldiers of the 106th Brigade Support Battalion continue to make their mark upon the Middle East Lt. Col. William Walley in support of Commander, 106 SPT Operation Spartan Shield. Our team is continuing to provide tactical logistics and health service support for the Brigade and other units within the area of operations. In addition to sustaining the Brigade, the Ghostchaser Team has been actively involved with our Kuwaiti partners. We have partnership efforts with the Kuwaiti National Guard’s Supply & Transportation Directorate and Medical Directorate along with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense’s Military Equestrian Force. Joint training events have already been conducted with these partners as we strive to improve interoperability with our host nation partners. The holidays tend to get taxing because we are apart from our families and loved ones. For a lot of Soldiers, this is the first time they have been away from home for an extended period of time. Today’s technology has allowed
Soldiers to maintain communications with families and friends back home which is key to staying focused on the mission at hand. Our leaders have done a phenomenal job taking advantage of every training opportunity to maintain individual and unit readiness in order to sustain that focus. Our families back home certainly can be proud of the accomplishments their Soldiers have achieved during OSS. Empowering our young officers and NCOs will be the key for success with our redeployment operations right around the corner. The turn in of Army Prepositioned Stock will be a challenging event, not only for the Battalion, but the Brigade as a whole. This event, along with turning in Theater Provided Equipment and preparing to redeploy in the upcoming months will require decentralized operations. Our young leaders will not only succeed in accomplishing these endeavors, they will do so safely and in an outstanding manner. As always, it has been an honor to serve with the soldiers of the 106th BSB and the 155th ABCT. Special thanks to the families of all our Soldiers. Without your support, none of these accomplishments would have occurred. I wish everyone a Happy (and Safe) Holiday Season. We Shall Provide!! Ghostchaser 6
CURRENT NEWS Lt. Gen. Timothy Kadavy, director of the Army National Guard, visited Steel Rain Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment, Dec. 20, 2018 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Williams)
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FRONTLINE FRAMES
Soldiers with Charlie Company, 150 EN qualify with the MK 19 grenade launcher at Udairi Range in Kuwait. (Photo by Spc. Abigail Patton)
A Soldier with 1-155 IN prepares to disassemble an M2 .50 caliber machine gun during an “Uncoil” exercise. (Photo by Sgt. Samuel Gaffney)
S A F E T Y
The honorable Mark T. Esper, Secretary of the Army, recognizes service members, including troops from 1-18 CAV, during a visit to the JTC in Jordan. (Photo by 2nd Lt. Marco Jimenez)
Bravo Battery, 2-114th FA conducts gunnery during the brigade “Uncoil” exercise near Udairi Range. (Photo by Sgt. Edward Gathman)
Distracted is Distracted • SENDING OR RECEIVING A TEXT MESSAGE TAKES A DRIVER’S EYES FROM THE ROAD FOR AN AVERAGE OF 4.6 SECONDS. • AT 55 MPH, THAT DISTANCE IS EQUIVALENT TO A FOOTBALL FIELD. • HEADSET CELLPHONE USE IS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY SAFER THAN HANDHELD DEVICES. SIMPLY PUT, DISTRACTED IS DISTRACTED.
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CHAPPY’S CHAT There are so many people who buy into New Year’s resolutions. This year I am going to lose more weight. This year I am going to go to the gym and get fit. This year I am going to focus on my family. Whatever it might be, we want to change a pattern of thinking, feeling, and reacting. I must admit that this year has held many emotions. Chaplain David Morris In the beginning there was Chaplain, 2-198 AR some excitement because this is a first deployment. Some were anxious of the unknown and what we would be doing. As time developed, Soldiers became weary and tired from a long field exercise at Fort Bliss. But then emotions ramped up again to begin the new journey of deployment. As time evaporated, tensions grew and emotions heightened. 2018 has been a good year that tested our resolve, our patience
and our opportunities to excel. It’s important to note that we cannot look in the past and rearview mirror drive. 2019 is upon us so we must look at today as a different year, but more importantly a day that we can mark on our calendars that changed everything. In Psalms 118:24, the author wrote, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” As members and families associated with the 155 ABCT, I challenge us to focus on taking one day at a time, and making it count. We only have a few more days until we are back home safely in the arms of our family members. But with these last few days, make every day count. I don’t believe in resolutions because it’s not manageable. Most of the gyms are vacant on January 10th. Most of us forget about our visions because they are too broad. Prioritize your thoughts, dream BIG, but make every day count. Ch. Morris
Task Force India Bravo Teaches Marksmanship to Iraqi Army Soldiers Story by Spc. Jovi Prevot CAMP TAJI, Iraq - For Soldiers worldwide, rifle marksmanship is one of the most basic skills each and every soldier must possess. Iraqi soldiers are learning how tedious the training can be and what it takes to become an expert marksman. Mississippi Guardsmen of Task Force India Bravo instruct Iraqi Army soldiers assigned to the Supply and Transportation Regiment on basic marksmanship in a weeklong primary marksmanship instruction class. The Iraqi soldiers were fully engaged with the essential training. “Training like this is going to give knowledge to the soldiers. In this way he can know everything he needs and that will make him a better soldier,” said one Iraqi company commander with the Supply and Transportation Regiment. Though the soldiers may not be infantry, marksmanship skills are important to them. “Each and every soldier is supposed to know how to be a soldier first, so anything that he could learn is important,” he said. “When we do our jobs we face many things, mechanical problems, casualties, and even death. If we can prepare our soldiers for this, they will be better.” Though marksmanship is a basic skill universal to all services, the evaluation of marksmanship skill varies. “Their weapons qualification is completely different than ours, but that doesn’t matter when we teach basic marksmanship fundamentals, it is universal,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Garner, security forces platoon sergeant assigned to Task Force India Bravo. The training was tailored to the specific needs of
the Iraqi soldiers. “Prior to beginning training we assessed them on their skills, then we developed our training course based on a NATO Primary Method of Instruction,” he said. The course layout mirrored the way the U.S. Army trains its Soldiers. “We taught a course including both classroom and practical exercises and we went from less than 10% to more than 75% being able to demonstrate weapons proficiency,” said Garner. “We saw a drastic change in their accuracy of their marksmanship, after teaching the class,” he said. “There was a 75% improvement from pre to post assessment.” To date we have trained approximately 500 Soldiers,” said Garner. “In the near future we will teach courses on advanced marksmanship techniques that is our next step.”
Mississippi Guardsmen instruct Iraqi Army soldiers on basic marksmanship. (Photo by Spc. Jovi Prevot)
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Meet Your Team As the former Jordan Liaison Officer (LNO), I had the privilege of working alongside multiple agencies, branches of the military, and Jordanian Armed Forces. Jordan is a strategic partner in the war against terrorism and continues to partner with the United States and its allies to defeat ISIS. Maj. Waygon Sanders One of the missions that the Former Jordan LNO,155 ABCT 155thArmored Brigade Combat Team is directly involved in is the JOEP (Jordan Operational Engagement Program). This program, run by the 1-18 CAV, develops Jordanian Soldiers in nine weeks of training in different soldier skills.
The Jordan LNO is responsible for coordinating the needs of the units on the ground to provide a backfill of a shortage of personnel, equipment, or command emphasis. The LNO is also responsible for working hand in hand with the embassy to ensure that we are in line with the Defense Attaché and CENTCOM Commander’s lines of effort. People entering the country must also be in contact with the LNO in order to ensure they have housing and their entrance into the country is approved through the embassy. The LNO will continue to play an instrumental role in coordination and preparation to accomplish the mission and strengthen the partnership between the 155th ABCT and Jordanian Armed Forces. Maj. Sanders
**IMPORTANT MAIL UPDATE** THE LAST DAY TO RECEIVE MAIL WILL BE 31 JAN. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT FAMILIES DO NOT SEND MAIL AFTER 15 JAN!
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PARTING SHOT
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PUBLISHED BY THE 155TH ABCT PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE PAO - 1st Lt. Terry Hill II Thunder Brigade Soldiers participated in an Air Assult pre-familiarization course led by qualified Air Assault instructors in the 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Williams)
PAO NCOIC - Staff Sgt. Michael Williams PA SPECIALIST - Spc. Jovi Prevot
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