TASK FORCE 3-227 ASSAULT HELICOPTER BATTALION, 1ST AIR CAVALRY BRIGADE, 1ST CAVALRY DIVISION
S P E A R H E A D A S S A U L T N E W S 24 DECEMBER 2011
COMMANDER’S COMMENTS To all family members and friends of Task Force Spearhead, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that your TF Spearhead Troopers continue to perform magnificently here in Afghanistan. We have crossed the halfway point in the deployment and have much to be proud of!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
HEADQUARTERS COMPANY “PHANTOM KNIGHTS”
2
C Company 4-227 “SNAKEYES”
3
C COMPANY “GHOSTRIDERS”
4
D COMPANY “ROUGHNECKS”
5
E COMPANY “REGULATORS”
6
The Soldiers of TF Spearhead have provided our brothers and sisters within Regional Command West with record-setting aviation support. The Task Force has safely moved over 12,500 soldiers and civilians throughout Afghanistan; executed over 292 MEDEVAC rescue missions; provided an incredibly responsive, 24hr Attack Weapons Team coverage for the entire region; are closing in on our 2 millionth gallon of fuel in support of both aviation and ground missions and maintained an impressive operational readiness rate while safely flying over 11,500 flight hours. We have also hosted representatives of 12th Combat Aviation Brigade during their Pre-Deployment Site Survey as they prepare to relieve us in the summer, had numerous visitors, ranging from the IJC Commander to the WWE Superstars; enjoyed the “Turkey Bowl” Thanksgiving day football tournament, and the leaders enjoyed serving thanksgiving meal at the DFAC. Currently we are in
the process of welcoming our new MEDEVAC Company, F/5-159th and saying farewell and job well done to F/1-126th the outgoing MEDEVAC Company. The transition is going well and demanding our mission focus to ensure that we maintain this important mission during the process. Winter has set in and the temps are dropping! The TF Coffee shop is decorated for Christmas and we have had 24/7 Christmas music playing in the TOC Compound since 1 December. (Some would say BLARING!) As busy as we are, the Task Force Spearhead Soldiers have found a way to embrace the Holiday season. Each and every one of you has helped us in this endeavor. We have been receiving overwhelming support from so many grateful, patriotic Americans. We have actually had to augment the post office with one of our very own forklift drivers to help move all of the mail!
The Task Force will wrap up the Holiday Season with a Christmas Party and Bonfire at 1800 on the 24th , and Command Sergeant Major Pitkus and I will enjoy the privilege of serving a traditional Christmas meal to our Soldiers in the dining facility on Christmas Day. I look forward to personally thanking each Soldier for their sacrifice and service during the Holiday Season. Although a good meal or decorations cannot replace the joy of spending time with family members during the Holidays, our Soldiers inspire us with their overwhelming expressions of pride in being a part of TF Spearhead, and the opportunity to serve the country. We will continue working hard to make a difference here and look forward to our return to you all soon. Sincerely,
I also wanted to highlight a tremendous effort made by our families in the FRG back home. The FRG acquired items from the USO and other agencies, assembled, packaged and shipped a special Christmas bag for each and every deployed Soldier in the entire Task Force! Over 600 bags are standing by for the 1SGs to play Santa Claus here in Shindand! I would like to personally thank you on
CSM’S STATION Spearhead Family and Friends, I would like to start by wishing each and every one of you a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”. I know each and every one of us wish that we were home spending the holidays with the ones that we love. As we pass through our six month mark I would like you all to know that your significant other, son, daughter, father, or mother has done an outstanding job here in Shindand and you could be very proud of their accomplishments. I know that the Task Force Commander and I are very proud of each and every one of them. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! CSM Pitkus
behalf of all of us for your support and hard work.
LTC Alexander At the close of another year, we gratefully pause to wish you a warm and happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
HHC ‘PHANTOM KN IGHTS’ SIX MONTHS DOWN, SIX TO GO!!! Christmas Greetings from the Phantom Knights at Shindand! We have found the Christmas cheer here in between our busy mission with the help of a few decorative individuals. The CSM’s Coffee shop is the first thing you see and hear when you enter our compound. He, with S6’s help has had 24/7 Christmas music for all to enjoy. The TACOPS /FLIGHT OPS tent is a warm welcome for the pilots thanks to Archega and Waylon’s decorative spirit.
As you can see your Commander is on leave and got to see his baby boy, Logan born on 15 December at Darnell army Medical Center. Congrats to Hildebrand family for their newest member.
Congrats to the Niederriters on their twins, Kendsly Raye and Berkley Ryan born on 13 November 2011.
ceiving. The Mail room and the S1 Shop have worked overtime getting the literally, room full of mail daily to the Task Force’s Soldiers.
Congratulations Promotion SGT George SGT Smith SGT Guerra SGT Johnson SPC Nantell
Babies November Kendsly Raye and Berkley Ryan Niederriter December Logan Mason Hildebrand
Congrats to the Falbes on their new addition, Maci Falbe born 16 November 2011 in McAllen TX.
Maci Falbe
HHC has done a fine job welcoming in our New MEDEVAC Company F 1-159th National Guard out of Tampa FL, from maintenance test flights and last minute ranges, to email accounts and the TOC’s constant battle tracking/ planning, they have keep us busy and allowed us to bring them into the team properly. I want to thank all the Soldiers in HHC for their continued excellent performance. Thank you to the Families for supporting us
Birthdays
December SPC Warren SPC Smith V. SPC Whittaker SPC Day CW4 Erickson SPC Smith, S PFC Collins
January SPC Springer SGT Silva SSG Brown SGT George SPC Falbe
this year and especially this Holiday season. We are driving on with our
As most of you well know, we are all passed the half way mark of our deployment, and those on ADVON are well “deployed family” and are past. So far, this deployment doing fine. has been a huge success, our CPT JUSTIN T HORSFALL job is to keep it that way. I humbly thank all you at home for all of the packages that your Soldier’s have been re-
SPC Caro
C Co. Attack “Snake eyes”
“I GOT YOU, BABE” While 1SG Anthony was the only Snake alive in 1965 when Sonny & Cher topped the charts with this classic single, most of the Snakes were alive when this song played over and over in the Bill Murray, 1993 cinematic classic, “Ground Hog Day.” The term became a popular metaphor for the life of a deployed Soldier in combat. While every day still provides a new set of challenges, we must continue to work together to accomplish the mission. The fast pace of our operations allow for work, sleep, and repeat. We enjoy the occasional event that serves as a diversion and a bit of a break. All of us would prefer to be at home spending the Holidays with our immediate family, sharing cherished memories, a few libations, and some great food. However, in the absence of our family by blood we have our family by purpose. Like many families we have the crazy uncle, the dreamer cousin, and the flatulating grandpa.
At the end of the day we are brothers who fight and bicker but care for each other and protect one another as any family would. Some Snakes are experiencing the Holiday’s away from their nuclear family for the first time, while others cannot remember the number of Holiday’s they have missed in support of this cause. This time of year provides pause for the sacrifices that everyone makes and an opportunity to reflect and be thankful for gifts we have been given. The changes of season and passing Holidays remind us that although our day to day operations are exhausting, time marches on as there are only 274,539 minutes until we are home with our families preparing for summer fun.
Your support of the Snake Eyes has been overwhelming as SPC Wolf returns from the mail room with mountains of packages filled with homehome-baked reminders of our loved ones. Please continue to support your Solider and remind them of how much you care. Thank you for your sacrifices. sacrifices
-Romeo GQ: Cortez, Sutter, Nieves -SPC Cochran freshly promoted
-A Moustache Tribute -Photos Courtesy of the “Apache Surgeon” & resident lens wiz
-1SG posing with our live tree
C Co 3-227 Ghostriders
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Merry Christmas from the Ghost Riders!!! The cold is finally upon us as the seasons change in Shindand. Happy Holidays to our friends and families back home. Thank you for your continued support through letters and care packages. We miss you all, and we will be home soon. Continue to check our company webpage “ghostridercav.com” and our facebook page “C Co. Ghostriders, 3-227 AHB, TF Spearhead”, for updates. Don’t forget to view the latest installments of GhostRider TV.
“SGT Guzman’s Reenlistment”
DAY-TO-DAY In the past couple of months the Ghost Riders said goodbye to our two BlackHawk Platoon Leaders, CPT Wax and 1LT Castro. Your dedication and leadership to the company will be missed. Good luck in the next step in your careers. The Ghost Riders would also like to welcome our two new Platoon leaders, 1LT Livingston and 1LT Czernia-
“Crew Brief”
MISSION
“Winter Flying”
kowski. Additional new members of our company include CW2 Nielson, SPC Letnom, SPC Foster, and SPC Ahmed. Welcome to the team !!
The GhostRiders continue to provide phenomenal helicopter lift support for western Afghanistan. Our Chinook platoon continues to be the workhorse of the theater, providing critical resupply to outlying forward operating bases that have been isolated by the winter months. We continue to support a myriad of customers amongst our NATO partners including Italy, Slyvenia, Lithuania, and Spain.
GHOSTRIDER QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Is there a CAV hall of fame?” - CPT Hedrick “No. But if there was, I would be in it.” - 1SG Berry “1LT Czerniakowski at the controls.”
D Co. Roughnecks
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HAPPY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! First and foremost, I know that all of the Roughnecks
We have been fortunate enough to celebrate the promo-
wish that they could be home with their family and friends
tions of SSG Haas, SGT A. Rodriguez, SGT Benitez, SPC J.
throughout this holiday season. However, I’ve been com-
Carter, SPC Askew, SPC Howell, PFC Gause, and PFC Navarro.
pletely impressed with everyone’s festive spirit here and the
SFC Brown and SFC Potts were also selected on the latest E8
total transformation of our company area into a winter won-
promotion board, and a heartfelt congratulations goes out to
derland is amazing. Wreaths and lights adorn porches and
both of those outstanding NCOs and their families.
walls, wrapping paper covers office doors, snowflakes hang from the ceilings, and Santa hats are everywhere. There is even a gingerbread house! Since the last newsletter, your Roughnecks have been
Your Roughnecks are making the most of FOB Shindand with their enthusiastic support for activities outside of work. SPC Howell and PFC Maynard nearly won the Airbase Halloween costume contest with their portrayal of a flamingo and a
incredibly busy maintaining the Task Force fleet. CW3
police officer, and many of our Soldiers are consistent run-
Rumplik, SSG Hines, SGT Spivey, and SSG Karlsson all aided
ners in the local mud runs and 5ks. SPC Doran recently
in the recovery of a broken MEDEVAC helicopter in early No-
placed third in the Airbase talent contest with her outstanding
vember. That evening saw fantastic collaboration between
singing, and the Roughneck football team led by SFC Lindsey
SFC Brown in Production Control, multiple Avionics and Air-
and SPC Flowers is still in the running for the Christmas Eve
frame Soldiers, the Technical Inspectors, HHC Soldiers at the
MWR football championship. Their numerous practices so far
TOC, the flight companies, and our 615th B/FLE attachment.
indicate they’re well prepared to win!
It was so impressive to watch all of the distinct groups offering their unique skills throughout the night and resulted in an aircraft being safely returned to mission capable status.
Although we won’t be able to spend the holidays at home this year, please know that you are in our hearts and minds. The abundance of mail we’ve received already is a testament to all of the great support from home, and everyone has enjoyed the treats! Best wishes for a safe and joyful Holiday season to everyone! -Roughneck 06, CPT Beth Lachner and Roughneck 09, 1SG Stacy Orr
Roughneck range cadre during the Downed Aviator training event.
SFC Potts, 1SG Orr, and SFC Lindsey oversaw the spur ride range
LTG Scaparrotti and CSM Troxel, the IJC command team, helped the Roughnecks celebrate Thanksgiving with a visit to Shindand and our maintenance hangars. A festive dinner at the dining facility also brightened many spirits.
PFC Navarro following her promotion.
E Co. REGULATORS
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GREETINGS FROM SHINDAND AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN! The Headquarters platoon of Echo consistently competes internally for the best platoon within Echo Company. During the last Soldier/NCO of the month board, the headquarters platoon swept the NCO of the month with sending SGT Singmanichan, 92G. Her victory has been an addition to the company’s record 5-0 for this season’s Soldier/NCO of the month board. Along with competitiveness, the headquarters platoon also does a phenomenal job when it comes to MOS proficiency. The supply section is, hands down, the best Unit Supply in the Battalion. After taking over the TPE equipment left behind, the company’s unit readiness was lacking due to massive shortages on ALL the equipment left for Echo. Since then 100% of the Company’s shortages has been put on order. The supply section receives equipment to fill the shortages every day, and slowly but surely has been improving the overall mission effectiveness for the deployment. In Distro the heat of summer has passed and the chill of winter creeps through Afghanistan but the Soldiers of Distro Platoon are still red hot with work, missions and training. Soldiers leave and return refreshed from R&R, finding themselves motivated to jump right back into the rhythm of work with their Battle Buddies. A noticeable increase in the mission is from the Ammo and Transportation Section as the Task Force trains and retrains Soldiers on basic and advanced marksmanship with individual and crew-served weapons. This increased demand on ammo has kept the section and its Soldiers, SSG
Tiffanie Rideaux, SGT Jonathan Wegscheider, SPC Jeremy Harper and PVT Allen Patrick, very busy. Alongside the ammo section are the transporters, led by SGT Jonathan Hudson, that move the Task Force’s equipment, supplies and machinery. Moving the multitude of large and complex machines of war is no easy task and takes lot of training to operate the equipment designed to move these machines. The 88M Motor Vehicle Operators SPC Cornelius Green, PV2 Armeen Braxton, and PV2 William Chulak receive training daily on these vehicles; preparing themselves for critical missions at a moment’s notice. In Maintenance Platoon SPC Wilson, since stepping foot into maintenance, has distinguished himself from his peers. On 1 December 2011 Private First Class Wilson; soon to be Specialist Wilson was surprised when he was called to the front and center of the Echo Company 3-22th Task Force Spearhead’s formation, to receive his promotion to Specialist. The hard work Specialist Wilson displayed, scoring a 290 on his Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), winning boards, furthering education, troubleshooting, repairing and servicing generation equipment aided in his promotion to Specialist. PFC Ezell, John who is a young and determined warrior, who demands nothing but the best, won the Soldier of the Month Board for the month of November 2011. His performance was noted by the Battalion Command Sergeant Major; CSM Pitkus and the Echo Company First Sergeant; 1SG Reid as being stellar. Due to Private First Class Ezell’s perform-
ance, he will be competing at the Brigade Soldier of the Quarter Board. SGT (P) Mejia, Ricardo is a 91B serving as the Senior Mechanic Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, recently attended the Staff Sergeant/E-6 promotion board in November of 2011. Sergeant Mejia’s performance was awesome. The discipline, military bearing and knowledge he displayed at the promotion board earned him a recommendation to compete for the rank of Staff Sergeant.. In addition to the Maintenance Platoon’s recognition of winning boards and promoting Soldiers, training must take place and work must be done. The Maintenance Platoon successfully trained ten Soldiers on the Mine Resistant Ambush
Promotions November SGT Sturgill December SPC Green SPC Wilson SPC Justice
Protection (MRAP) Vehicle, qualified 15 Soldiers on their primary weapon system (M16), and provided logistical support (servicing, troubleshooting and dispatching) for over 80 pieces of equipment. The training and logistical support of the Maintenance Platoon increased the functionality of the platoon, company and task force greatly.
Birthdays November: SPC Irwin 3 Nov PFC Marshall 11 Nov PFC Sanders 12 Nov PFC Moore 13 Nov SPC Lee 22 Nov PFC Lartey 23 Nov PFC Elliott 25 Nov PV2 Tatum 28 Nov December: SGT Evangelista 2 Dec PFC Jones, C. 11 Dec
-Regulator 06: CPT Bryant, Gerald
SGT Silva 12 Dec
-Regulator 09: 1SG Reid, Thomas
SGT Valencia 19 Dec PFC Gipson 21 Dec
“Supporting Excellence”