THE EAGLE LIFT

LEDGER

10th Edition

January 2012 1LT Kelly Barton,

Executive Editor

Greetings once again from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Happy New Year to all of you.

Unfortunately the last day of 2011 was a sad one for us with the sudden and unexpected loss of Specialist Pernell Herrera from the New Mexico National Guard. Pernell was conducting physical training on the morning of December 31st when he suffered a heart attack. Although he couldn’t have been in better hands, surrounded and treated by his Company’s medical personnel, they were unable to revive him. Pernell was a great Citizen-Soldier, and a friend to all who knew him.

As I watched the news programs during the last few days of 2011, I realized that it has been quite a year. Some of the highlights included the natural disaster in Japan, the killing of Bin Laden, the Arab Spring pro-tests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, and the withdrawal of all US military forces from Iraq.

It’s been quite a year for all of us over here as well. When we deployed a year ago, most of us experienced extreme cold and snow as we boarded the planes. We arrived here to rain and mud, but within just a few weeks spring arrived, and along with it came a transition to dust, a lot of dust, and the “summer fighting sea-son,” which translates to busy times for an aviation unit. Throughout the summer months we watched our attached units come and go, saying farewell to Hawaii and Germany, and hello to units from New Mexico, Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, Nebraska, and Alaska. In the fall we wrapped up the majority of our R&R leaves, and said farewell to our Australian attachments who returned to Australia just in time for summer down under. Now it’s winter again, which means we’re almost done, and I couldn’t be more proud of how this team has performed throughout the deployment.

I’m equally impressed with the other half of our team…our Families at home. Through my many deploy-ments over the years, I’ve always felt that our Families bear a far larger burden. For Soldiers, we simply have to eat, sleep, go to the gym, and do our job. There are no bills to be paid, no grass to cut, no plumbing leak that has to be fixed, and no young children who need to be shuttled from one after-school event to the other. Our entire Nation is not at war, but our Army definitely is, and thus so are our Families. Thanks to all of you at home who have persevered through far more significant challenges than we Soldiers have faced here in Afghanistan.

As we publish this final edition of the Eagle Lift Ledger, I want to thank 1LT Kelly Barton and SSG Charles

Cartwright for the time and effort they put into this newsletter every month. Many thanks as well to all of the

communities, friends, and small businesses across America who supported us so selflessly throughout the

year. We look forward to seeing all of

you within the next few weeks.

Sincerely, Scott Gerblick Task Force Commander

Commander’s Corner

The CSM’s Foxhole

CSM’s Foxhole,

Hello again from Kandahar! I’m happy to announce that this will be the last article for the last Task Force Newsletter coming from the CSM’s Foxhole. In a few short weeks Family and friends will be able to hug and love on their Soldiers as they proudly arrive back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

On 1 Jan 2012, three Soldiers from Task Force Eagle Lift were Battlefield Promoted (BFP) for demonstrating extraordinary job performance while serving in combat conditions. Ser-geant Guy Morgan of Bravo Company, 2-135th Aviation (Muleskinners) was promoted to Staff Sergeant and became the only National Guard Soldier in the Brigade to receive a Battlefield Pro-motion during our deployment. Specialist Michael Madden of Alpha Company, 7-101st Aviation (Rude Doges) was promoted to Sergeant and joined the ranks of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corp. Private First Class Jeffery Glossip of Charlie Company, 1-52d Aviation (Arctic Dustoff) was promoted to Specialist. I am proud to announce that Task Force Eagle Lift had the highest BFP selection percentage within Task Force Thunder. Congratulations to all our BFP recipients throughout the deployment.

Holidays in Kandahar was celebrated a little differently than most people were use to, but the Task Force Soldiers found ways to make the best out of every event. “Super-Fly Santa” swooped in to visited the Soldiers and even made some famous “First Cup Funnel Cakes”. Some Arctic Elves (C Co 1-52d) entertained the Soldiers with Christmas Carols that were a little bit modified to bring the Kandahar Christmas spirit to all! To top the holidays off, several Soldiers claimed to have spotted the ever elusive Alaskan Pink Jack-A-Lope! This creature is known for its ability to make people smile and is often found stealing hugs. Please visit the Task Force Eagle Lift Face Book page; https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagle-Lift-7-101-Aviation-Regiment/204324899599953 to enjoy the pictures of our Soldiers during this holiday season.

Before I officially sign off from Kandahar, I again want to thank all the Families, friends and supporters that have made this deployment brighter for all our Soldiers. Your continued sup-port throughout the year has been amazing! God bless you all and God bless our great country!

Respectfully,

JP Thomas

Task Force CSM

HHC — Fighting Griffins

they've received his help…they

just know things went smoothly.

Both of them were well-deserving

of the unique opportunity.

As this final newsletter

draws to a close, I want to end

with a very heart-felt "thank you"

and special recognition for our

supporters back home. The

Families, friends, and loved ones

that make up our Family

Readiness Group have done a

great job making this deployment

as hassle-free as anyone could

hope for. Whether you were

cramming goodies into care

packages for the troops, taking

care of those left behind, or

representing the Griffins at the

many on-post functions around

Fort Campbell, your time and

effort have been greatly

appreciated. If I may, I'd like to

personally thank our Battalion

FRSA, Julie Franklin, and our

Griffin FRG Leader - and my wife -

Karly Morris. Your hard work

makes it easier for us to do what

we have to. Thank you, and see

you soon.

- CPT Gabe Morris

Griffin 6

It's the most wonderful

time of the year! It seems we

have so many reasons to

celebrate. In a delightfully

refreshing way, the weather is

frightfully cold and chilly - nobody

is making fun of the First

Sergeant fleece anymore.

Christmas and the whole holiday

season seemed to cheer up the

mood considerably. Of course,

friends and family are missed by

all, but there's still some peace

and joy to be shared by greeting

passers-by with "Merry

Christmas" or "Happy Holidays."

On top of everything else, as the

days of December slide on by, our

return to home station feels ever

closer.

It's quite busy all around

right now. Not only are all the

Griffins focused on their normal

duties and facilitating the

impressive fleet of Task Force

Eagle Lift aircraft, but they are

also squeezing in the time to

knock out the hundred-and-one

requirements to go home. As a

company, we are trying to finish

off a host of mandatory training

that should take care of us all the

way through March. PT tests

have been a favorite event all

through December so that

everyone that needs to move or

go to training or a school in the

next six months will be ready.

Containers full of Army property

are being meticulously

inventoried, inspected by

customs - all in the freezing cold -

and then moved to the staging

yard for departure.

Awards are another hallmark of a

combat tour drawing to a close.

As we enter our final months, it

becomes time to recognize the

sacrifice and service every

member of the unit gave to their

country. Throughout the year,

Griffins represented the United

States of America with honor and

pride, which was evident by the

shining commendations

presented across the formation.

In total, our Soldiers were

awarded with 15 Bronze Stars, six

Air Medals, and over 60 Army

Commendation Medals.

Two Soldiers were

individually selected to have their

end of tour awards presented to

them by the Chief of Staff of the

Army, General Raymond Odierno.

These Griffins were Captain Nate

Pototschnik and Staff Sergeant

Gajah Gower. Nate has been a

rock-steady influence behind the

scenes of the S3/Operations

section throughout the

deployment. All year long, he has

slaved away planning future

operations for the battalion in a

dark, windowless office that you

have to intentionally go looking

for to find. Gajah is a supply

sergeant extraordinaire. While

primarily responsible for HHC, he

is considered to be the senior

supply specialist by logistics

personnel across the battalion,

and routinely facilitates and

assists every company with a

wide range of actions from

ordering printer cartridges to

conducting change of command

inventories. A quiet professional,

most units don't even know

Jingle All the Way...to the Plane Home!

January 2012

Highlights:

Christmas!

Award Ceremonies

Thank you very much

January 2012

Our Soldiers in Pictures

HHC — Fighting Griffins

HHC — Fighting Griffins

A CO Rude Dogs

VOLUME 1

Dear Rude Dog Friends and Family,

Hello all and Merry Christmas!! Time is still flying by and the Rude Dogs are preparing to come home. We’ve already packed up a majority of our personal gear and are eagerly waiting to pack up the mission equipment. The temperature continues to drop and we have actually had some nights drop below freezing. That leads to some cold missions for our crew, but I think most would agree that the cold is still better than the 100+ temperatures of the summer.

Kandahar dining facilities provided an outstanding meal for Thanksgiving. We had turkey, roast beef and ham as the main courses along with all the trimmings and dessert. Truly a remarkable feast for all of us. We have received numerous packages full of Christmas decorations and the CP now looks like the North Pole. Thank you to all who sent us these care packages. It allows us to have a little bit of home while we are here. Also, after 10 months of waiting and hoping, we received a 46” LCD television for our CP, a long awaited luxury that allows us to watch football when not planning, flying or preparing for the upcoming Relief-in-Place.

I want to congratulate the following Soldiers who were promoted, re-enlisted or received an award during the last month.

Promotions: Awards: Re-enlisted:

CW3 Ben Thorley CW3 Sam Kohlhaas (Senior Aviator Wings) SGT Paul Valentino SGT Jarod Shockly CW2 Danny Olmeda (Combat Action Badge) SGT James Schumann Thank you again for your support throughout the year. We are thankful to have such a wonderful support group back home and we are anxiously waiting to see you all again. CPT Jason Birkle Rude Dog 6

A CO Rude Dogs Photos

B 7-101 Varsity

~ As always, Varsity thanks you for all the

Love and Support from back home. Thank You! ~

~CPT Paul Flanigen ~1SG Josh Bryan

V6 V7

To the Friends and Families of VARSITY,

We are all, whether we admit it or not,

pretty much counting down the days till we get on

the planes and start our trip back home. There is

the spirit of Christmas in the air. There is also in the

air, the smell of the contents of all the amazing care

packages we have received from each of you. A

huge “Thank You” from all of us!

Even though it is the Holidays, the

workload remains the same, but we continue to

meet the mission day in and day out. Our flight

crews consistently perform to a higher level, as we

continue to set the standard for mission readiness

and missions accomplished; as we drive to the very near end

of the rotation here in RC South. One last push!

As we begin the somewhat long and arduous task of

packing all our gear and personal items. Know that we are

keeping each and every one of you in our thoughts and close

to our hearts throughout the Holiday season. As we know that

we are in each of yours. Merry Christmas! And a very Happy

New Year!

January 2012 The Varsity January update. VOLUME 1

WE ARE ALMOST HOME!!

Varsity Photos

CHRISTMAS!!!!

we love to spread the cheer too!!

C 4-101 Blackwidows

Greetings Blackwidow Families! The holiday season is slowly drawing to a close and with it, we are one step

closer to returning home. Our Blackwidows continue to do great things and we anxiously await the arrival of

the incoming unit. As we count down the days, we can look back with pride at all of our accomplishments and

remember the good times and the bad. However, one thing is clear, our unit success has been grounded on a

foundation built by our families and friends. Without your support, we would not be the unit we are today.

With that always in our minds, we thank you for your constant and unwavering support and know that you all

are in our thoughts and prayers. We look forward to our reunion with our families and friends and we will see

you in the new year.

Blackwidows celebrating Christmas in style! Believe it or not, that is the biggest smile CW2 Andrel has had on his face all year! CPT Sudweeks is wearing a hat made from a local rodent.

January 2012

VOLUME 1

C 4-101 Blackwidows

A day in the life of a Blackwidow...

During the month of December the Blackwidows also had the privilege of presenting the newest

Specialist and Sergeants in the company. Congratulations to SPC Ralston, SGT Seymour and

SGT Stanzione! Keep up the hard work!

Congratulations SPC Ralston!

Congratulations SGT Stanzione!

Congratulations SGT Seymour!

Blackwidow Aviators were recently recognized by CDR Anderson, Commanding

Officer of a Special Operations Task Force, for their outstanding performance

in support of his soldiers with the Navy Achievement Medal.

C 4-101 Blackwidows

A day in the life of a Blackwidow…

That’s one fly Santa!

The Blackwidows recently had the

privilege to fly a mission with

Wings 6, LTC Albus. Sir, Thanks

for the visit, good to see you

down South.

C 4-101 Blackwidows

A day in the life of a Blackwidow…

C 4-101 Blackwidows

A day in the life of a Blackwidow...

Coming soon to a theatre near year: When the Red Phone Rings….

Yes Mr. President this is BW6........ No worries the Blackwidows are on it!

To all the Family and friends back in the states, we’re happy to be writing our final newsletter as we look forward to seeing

you all in the near future. The Dragons have had quite a busy and exciting month. We brought in both Thanksgiving and

Christmas with barbeques filled with great food that seemed to make the 50 degree weather feel just a little bit cozier. We

were also honored to have the 101st Airborne Division Commander, Major General James McConville, visit the Company

and proudly promote two of our Shops Soldiers, SSG Darren Brooks and SGT Greg Villagomez , and present SGT Ar-

lene Williams with a coin for achievement.

We’d also like to recognize and congratulate the following promotees: MSG Warren Noble, SSG John Fornal, SSG Osidis

Ayala, SGT David Jorgenson , SGT Robert Mitchell, and SGT Marcus Wilson. Our Soldier of the Month win goes to

SPC Wyatt Schardine with SGT Brandon Bramblett securing the title of NCO of the Month.

Everyone’s spirits are high as we continue packing and anxiously anticipate the arrival of our replacements. However,

we’re all still focused on the mission and will continue to do exceptional work until the day we leave. All the Soldiers of

Delta Company would like to thank you for your continued support and amazing care packages that brought the holidays a

little closer to home.

We’ll be seeing you all soon! -CPT Bickford

D CO 7-101 Aviation Regiment DELTA COMPANY DRAGONS

D CO 7-101 Aviation Regiment

The “No Worries” Update January 2012 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a merry Christmas and a restful holiday with friends and family. We have finally reached the end of this deployment, and as you read this last newsletter your loved one’s return is only days away. 2011 has been quite the year for Echo Company. Your Soldiers have achieved a great deal and although I cannot list every Iron Dog’s individual accomplishments, I would like to reflect on their outstanding service as a whole. I ask you to forgive me, as much of the following is Army lingo.

Throughout this deployment, the sustainment operations of Task Force Lift depended wholly upon the logistics capability of the Iron Dogs. Your Soldiers demonstrated their ability to fully integrate into the war efforts of Task Force Lift through continuous, simple, responsive, and flexible logistical support in providing ground maintenance, Armament Control and Security, and Class I & III distribution. The Headquarters platoon successfully lead the food service section in the delivery of hot meals three times a day and pre-packaged meals once daily, every day throughout the deployment, totaling over 100,000 meals supplied to the flight companies. The Soldiers assigned to the consolidated arms room maintained accountability and physical security of weapons and various sensitive items in excess of $15 million 24 hours a day, performing numerous transactions daily, incurring zero losses or discrepancies. The Maintenance Platoon sustained a 98% mission readiness status on 158 pieces of ground equipment throughout the Task Force, ordered over $1 million dollars worth of class IX repair parts, executed over 50 recovery missions, and completed over 400 deadline work orders and 200 services. Through their 24 hour CL III resupply, the Distribution Platoon served to be the life-blood of the Task Force aviators. They issued over 3 million gallons of fuel to more than 8500 aircraft, conducted 20 sling load operations, and performed one emergency Jump FARP. The dependability of Echo Company was uncompromising, as they never failed to employ the right logistical resources at the right time and right place. Echo Company’s embodiment of the logistics principles and characteristics ensured the success of Task force Lift’s tactical operations, in turn effectively supporting the full-spectrum war efforts of Task Force Thunder. The achievements and contributions of Your Soldiers are numerous and central to the overall success of the combat mission in Afghanistan.

I think most would agree that these are pretty impressive figures, but even the greatest statistics don’t fully convey how much your Soldiers gave during Operation Enduring Freedom 2011-2012. Ultimately, the mission would have failed without the Iron Dogs. We certainly have much to be proud of in our Soldiers! Furthermore, we couldn’t have done all these great things without your love, support, and sacrifice. We are forever indebted to you. Lastly, as you reunite with your Iron Dog, I ask that you remember the redeployment classes regarding the essential steps to a successful reintegration. If you have questions or need assistance, the chain of command is here to help. I look forward to meeting you all in the coming months and continuing to serve as the Echo Company commander during garrison operations. See you back home!

IRON DOG 6

“Outside the CP”

1LT Marcus Harold

CPT Blake Jenkins

1SG Ronnie Simington

CONGRATULATIONS!

Promotions

SPC Conti

SPC Penoukou

SPC Udas

Iron Dog Coins

SPC Appleby

SPC Bishop

SPC Like

Anniversaries

PV2 Ivy—10 DEC

SGT Hamacher—15 DEC

SPC Murphy—29 DEC

Birthdays

SSG(P) Newman—6

DEC

SPC Conatser—15 DEC

SPC Aldridge—23 DEC

SPC Hornberger—30

DEC

Headquarters - Prowlers Page 2

Distribution Platoon - Punishers Page 3

Messages from the Punisher Family:

SPC Alcantara – Happy Holidays to everyone at home! I miss you all and can’t wait to see you soon!

SPC Appleby – Happy Holidays Mom and Dad! Thank you so much for all your love and support throughout this deployment! I am excited to get home and spend 2nd Christmas with the family! See you soon and God bless!

SGT Bayliss – I love you Jayne and Trenton! Happy Holidays and I’ll see you soon!

SPC Chamberlain – I love you Tracy, Aurora, and Camrin! See you soon! Mwuah!

SPC Conatser – Can’t wait to get home! I miss you guys and love you all!

SGT Dismukes – Happy Holidays to all! I hope to talk with you soon!

1LT Eyster – Merry Christmas to my Beautiful Jessica, I love you! Thank you for walking joyfully through this year with me! Thank you also family in Maine! Above all, thank you to my God and friend, Jesus Christ! Soli Deo Gloria!

SSG Fournier – To the Castle/Reyes/Garcia Familya, Happy Holidays! I can’t wait to see you soon es-pecially my Marley! Love you! XOXO

SPC Fox – See everyone soon! Love ya’ll!

SPC Hornberger – Andrea and Jojo daddy loves and misses you two tons and bunches! See ya soon stinkers!!! :

SGT Johnson – I love you Sara and Justin (aka. King Justin)! You light up my life!

SPC Like – To my wife Renee and wonderful kids, Happy Holidays I can’t wait to see you soon!

SSG Maurice – Keep us in your prayers. See you all next month!

SPC McCray – Merry Christmas to my lovely wife Amanda and my two baby girls. Daddy misses you and can’t wait to be with you next Christmas. Until then be safe and I’ll see you soon!

SPC Patno – Can’t wait to see you all!

Maintenance Platoon - Pirates Page 4

At last! It is homecoming month for Echo Company Motor Pool Platoon “Pirates”. With this month’s newsletter we decided to do something different and share with you some of the best pictures from around our motor pool during OEF XI-XII--hope you enjoy them! We are finally hitting the finish line! Thank you for all of your amazing support and prayers!

“AIR ASSAULT” “NO WORRIES” “ARGH”

1LT Tellez and SFC Reel

Dear Friends and Families:

The holidays are finally upon us! Spending

such a celebrated time of the year away

from those we love is a difficult endeavor.

However, the simple fact that the season

signifies our deployment coming to a

highly anticipated conclusion has our spir-

its up.

Your loved

ones remain

extremely

busy this

month as

we carefully

pack all of our equipment and complete

countless administrative requirements for

“redeployment.” Our goal is to put forth

110% effort now in order to focus on

spending time with you all upon return.

The first small group will be home with

you by the time this newsletter arrives; the

rest of us will follow close behind.

It has certainly not been ‘all work and no

play’ this month. Buccaneer teamwork and

dedication was on display at FOB Wolver-

ine as we competed in multiple events for

the Commander’s Cup competition. Be-

cause of their efforts—in the words of

LTC Gerblick—“the Task Force Wings

Commander’s Cup is going to look great in

our trophy case back home.” Your loved

ones’ participation and unbending support

resulted in our winning of the Thanksgiv-

ing 6K run, the TF Wings Basketball tour-

nament, and a close second place during

the Bench Press competition. Regardless

of who owns the trophy when we go

home, I am extremely proud of them.

Their performance goes to show that you

can’t judge a 25-person ATC company by

its cover.

As quickly as it began, our time here is

drawing to a close. Stepping off the plane

back home is among the happiest events in

our lives. However, reintegration does take

some work. I encourage everyone to exer-

cise a bit more patience as we all readjust

our lives. The chain-of-command and our

fellow Soldiers

and Family

members are

always there as

a network of

support as

well.

I am looking forward to meeting you all

and having a reunited company back at Ft.

Campbell. Best wishes to all throughout

the holidays and in the New Year!

Warm regards,

Ben Seipel

January 2012

January 2012

Buccaneers “FOX NEWS”

December Promotions:

(Pictured to the near, right)

SSG Brandon Maloy

SSG Donny Wilson

SGT Patricia Calabrese

2nd Place in the

Six Silent Men

Shooting Comp:

Reenlistment:

(Pictured on the far, right)

SPC Jeremy Barton

1st Place in the

Turkey Trot:

Buccaneers “FOX PHOTO’S”

ARCTIC AIRMAIL Chronicles of a displaced MEDEVAC Company

Christmas is right around the corner!

That being said, hopefully Santa can pull off dust landings!!

Boy, when the weather changes here it changes fast! Just last month we were still seeing lows in the 50s but now it’s plummeted into the chilly lower 30s during the coldest part of the night.

This has made for interesting early morning and late night MEDEVAC missions. In previous months you ran out to your helicopter, threw on your gear, climbed in, put on your helmet, and did your thing. Now, you follow the same routine up until the “putting on your helmet” part. With the colder temperatures comes a new problem that many are experiencing for the first time since leaving Alaska: a rock-hard helmet liner. Usually the inside of the helmet is lined with a cushy little padding system that is

really, really comfortable to wear. When this super comfy and cushy foam gets cold however, it’s like trying to fit your head into a wooden box that was made three sizes too small. The foam eventually warms up and contours to your head of course, but for those first few minutes it’s quite the site to see people smooshing their helmet further and further onto their head (with a very entertaining grimace on their face) to get a good fit. Another good waker-upper is grabbing your CEPs (wired earplugs that connect to the helmet) and jamming these petite little ice blocks deep into your ear canal before realizing the consequences and letting out an exasperating and shocked “Whoa! That...was...COOOOLD!”

We haven’t gotten snow yet but it should be upon us soon unless all the yearly moisture allocated for Afghanistan was used during last months “Swim-for-Your-Life Floodfest 2011” which is a very real possibility (that was a TON of water!) The weather folks haven’t mentioned snow (just like they didn’t mention an ocean falling from the sky last month) but that has not prevented a myriad of ideas of how to best utilize the coming snowfall. Naturally, ideas have started off with normal concepts like snowmen, snow angels, forts, snowball

fights, and the like but as is the Army way, rapidly digress into scheming about practical jokes, who’s gonna get who, and any manner of snow-dusted, ice-crusted shenanigans. Just think of childhood when that one little turd in your class would throw snow in your face at recess. Now imagine that kid all grown up and working next to you with a hand full of snow and a sly little grin on his face...you get my drift (no pun intended.)

Another month or so and this will be our in-flight view...brrr!!

CW3 Josh Meyers and SGT Pat Wilson last winter

SSG Dan Sherwin isn’t scared of the cold. “That’s how we do it

in Canada - eh.”

As you all know November has passed, and with it Thanksgiving. We would have much rather been at home with friends and family but the spread here in country wasn’t too shabby considering the location, circumstances, and facilities available. Of course the menu differed from location to location but a typical spread included: roast turkey, smoked turkey, prime rib, roast beef, ham, lobster, shrimp cocktail, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams, two different kinds of stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, and about a billion other trimmings and even more types of dessert. Needless to say, it’s amazing how much stuff you can cram into a styrofoam to-go box to ensure the crews stuck on duty get a wonderful turkey dinner just like the folks who got to sit down in the chowhall to eat. The post-dinner festivities here in Afghanistan were

incredibly similar to the rituals followed in any other normal setting. We sat around talking and telling stories and then one-by-one people started dropping like flies. Within an hour or so of eating, almost every single person had crashed out with a belly full of sleep-inducing turkey. It was a pretty good Thanksgiving for us this year but something tells me that next years celebration at home will beat this one hands down!

Shortly after turkey day came the first of December and with it came three promotions for some very deserving DUSTOFF Soldiers. This month we’ve had the pleasure to advance three of our hard working crewchiefs to the next level. At the top of the list is for advancements is our very own Sergeant Joe Bryant a.k.a. “Angry Joe” to Staff Sergeant, followed by Specialist Jettadia Bush to Sergeant...finally, and rounding out this month’s promotions is Private First Class Trey Ressler to Specialist...again. These gentlemen have proven their worth to the Company through their dedication and tireless work ethic start-ing well before the deployment and during our entire time here and the promotions, though long overdue, are very well earned! Congratula-tions gents, you’ve worked hard and deserve this!

More congratulations are in order but these kudos are for the whole company. The totals are in and as of the beginning of December the Company has flown over 3,100 missions and evacuated over 3,160 patients to a higher level of care. These are absolutely staggering numbers and are a testament to the dedication and hard work of every member on our team. Great job DUSTOFF!!

Not your typical Thanksgiving tradition:

Making s’mores over an impromptu ammo can charcoal grill...good times!

SPC Trey Ressler is now officially back in the E4 Mafia, capiche?

Okay, when you said 15 pieces of flare I thought you meant...wait, never mind, you didn’t specify so you can’t

get mad if I took you literally!

With only about 50 deployment days remaining things have started moving at a quicker pace and that’s never a bad thing. We’ve already begun planning a Christmas party for the 24th of December at KAF and the various outlying sites are decorating their areas to celebrate the season as well. Christmas trees are go-ing up and the Santa hats have begun appearing. Random care packages are coming in from the states filled with candy canes and wrapped presents (they feel like socks so I’m guessing it’s probably from a patriotic grandma.) People everywhere are packing up footlockers and extra bags to ship home and the end is in sight. It’s always incredible to look at the amount of stuff you have at the end of the year versus the amount of stuff you brought with you. It never seems like you’ve acquired that much extra until you have to pack it up and run out of bags to stuff things in. The not-so-enjoyable part of having all this stuff isn’t packing it into shipping containers here, but the un-packing of the same contain-

ers during the middle of winter in Alaska. Hopefully the weather is nice or we can find hangar space to facilitate unload-ing them inside.

Well folks, things are picking up and winding down all at the same time. It’s been an interesting year and we’ve all changed a little bit. Having been here and experienced all that Afghanistan has to offer has made us better and stronger peo-ple. Having to handle the home front on your own has done the same for you. We’ve endured hardships and forged friend-ships that would have never been possible were it not for our time together here. Managing bills, children, and the occa-sional crisis has given you a new confidence to handle any situation, no matter how daunting. Coming out of this deploy-ment with new insight, maturity, wisdom, and understanding is an incredible gift won through our many trials and tribulations both here and at home. You could have probably done it with-out us, but we know that we could not have done this without

you. Thank you for sup-porting us and being there when we needed you most. We provided the muscle for our overwhelmingly successful mission but you provided the heart. Thank you, and we love you!

Love is composed of a single soul

inhabiting two bodies.

-Aristotle

The “Tango Tree” courtesy of the FOB Wolverine Crewchiefs

Our snowy Christmas tree complete with candy canes and Rudolph the Red-

Nosed Reindeer Ornaments

Big Happenings IN DECEMBER:

Birthdays

December 3rd - SGT Joe Bortz

December 4th - CW2 Zack Martin

December 8th - SGT William Bechtel

December 10th - CPL Amanda Mosher

December 22nd - SSG Joe Bryant

December 25th - Baby Jesus...duh!

December 28th - 2LT Dave Keppler

Anniversaries

December 26th - Robert & Karine Tovmassian December 27th - Cody & Megan Allen December 28 - David & Amanda Piggott

Until next time…

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!

CW2 Matthew J. Grove

DUSTOFF pilot and newsletter-writer-guy “Uhh, yeah I have a brown nose, I was born with it. Wait a minute...what

are you trying to say?”

Captain Samuel Perez joined C Company as an attached en route critical care nurse on 11 November 2011. He is assigned to the En Route Critical Care Nurse (ECCN) program of the 44th Medical Brigade, in Bagram. That program provides inter-facility critical care transport support to various medical evacuation platforms throughout Afghanistan, including Army Dustoff and U.S. Air Force FEVER. Prior to joining C Company, Cap-tain Perez was assigned to FEVER at Bastion Airfield. While there, he flew 80 C-130 missions, logging more than 170 flight hours. The mission of FEVER is to transport critically-wounded patients throughout Afghanistan. The role of an ECCN is to maintain the level of care that was initiated at the MTF (medical treatment care facility) dur-ing transportation to the next MTF. The ECCN also provides medical interventions as necessary during patient transport.

Captain Perez became an ECCN less than one year ago, after completing military and civilian flight-nurse training. This training included the Joint En route Critical Care course at Ft. Rucker, Alabama and also flight nurse training at a civilian training academy in Kansas. Captain Perez said that he became a flight nurse because he wanted “to be a part of Dustoff.” He learned about Dustoff from Captain Dennis, a friend and one of the first nurses in Afghanistan’s ECCN program. Captain Dennis reported that his experience with Dustoff had been challenging and rewarding and that it had helped him to grow as a medical provider.

Captain Perez said that his biggest concern when he came to Dustoff was about how he would fit in as a member of the flight crew: “I was concerned about whether the flight medics would accept the idea of another medical provider in the flight crew. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they welcomed me into their team.” He notes that he quickly fit in and got to work as a member of the flight crew, due to the willingness of the flight medics to show him the “tricks of the trade” of working on patients inside a blackhawk. When asked what it was like to work in the cramped space of a Blackhawk, he described the experience as “challenging.” He said, “I was not expecting to wear 30 to 40 pounds of equipment on my body.” That, plus the on-board flight gear, the medi-cal gear, the other crew members and one to two patients left very little room to maneuver.

Captain Perez observed that—beside the lack of space—another key difference between providing emer-gency medical care in an emergency room and providing it in the back of a Blackhawk has to do with the lack of other health-care professionals. “In an emergency room, you are working with a plethora of other medical care personnel—surgeons, nurses, respiratory therapists, anesthesiologists and various other medical specialists. In Dustoff, it’s just you and the medic and the crew chief in a very small space.”

Captain Perez noted that there are other challenges associated with on-board medical care at the point of injury. Communications are impaired by the high noise levels and by the fact that medical crew members must constantly perform non-medical tasks such as clearing the aircraft rotors from obstacles. These factors, coupled with the lack of lighting and the pitching and rolling of the aircraft make even routine medical tasks difficult, at times.

One mission stands out from the others in Captain Perez’s mind. He was a crew-member on an aircraft that landed into an active firefight to extract a critically-wounded Marine. Although none of the crew members were hurt, Captain Perez will not soon forget that particular mission. He said that there was “no question” in his mind and that of the other crew members that they would succeed in extracting the wounded Marine, even though they saw muzzle flashes and bullets striking the ground around the aircraft. Captain Perez points to the “calm de-meanor” of the flight medic as a source of inspiration to the other crew members. “Sergeant First Class Gensamer’s presence of mind helped me to stay calm and stay focused on my tasks.” He credits Gensamer with outstanding leadership during that mission and every day.

When asked about his opinion of Dustoff, Captain Perez had this to say: “The legacy of Dustoff lives on

in the day-to-day missions that Charlie Company executes every day. You never know what any particular mission

has in store. All you know is that someone needs you. “ Captain Perez is grateful to the members of Charlie

Company who supported, trained and welcomed him over the past month. “I am honored to be a member of the

Dustoff Team,” he said.

Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment

Dear Family and Loved Ones,

First and foremost, you are greatly missed this Holiday Season. As we try to make the best out of

the circumstances our thoughts and prayers go out to you. Putting our best foot forward, we

decorated the office with Christmas lights and stockings to bring some Christmas cheer to Af-

ghanistan. All the Christmas mail we’ve received has been amazing. From full Christmas stock-

ings to the FRG blankets, the mail has been coming in by the truck load. On Christmas day we

pooled planned to put share all the food we received by placing it on a table in the crew-members

lounge, but soon our table was overflowing with the generous gifts and bountiful amount of food

you sent. We feasted the entire day on it, adding more food as more and more was eaten.

On Christmas Eve we held a White-Elephant gift exchange where everyone brought a gift to give

and through a complex series of rules, they were all exchanged in a series of trades. It was al-

most like the card game “Rummy” where a person could either choose from a pile of open pre-

sents or take one that someone had already opened. It was a great time with many laughs. The

Soldiers at FOB Wolverine and Tarin Kowt celebrated in similar fashions with gift exchanges and

Christmas meals. The was another festive 5k race at FOB Tarin Kowt, while the sSoldiers at FOB

Wolverine settled for an easy day around the airfield with their own gift exchange that evening.

As this holiday season winds down we look forward to the prospects a new year will bring and

look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

Sincerely,

Travis Easterling

Sugar Bear News

A Very Sugar Bear Christmas!

JANUARY 2012

Soldiers look on, trying to deter-mine which box might have the best gifts as the pile grew for the White-Elephant gift exchange.

Soldiers Enjoy their new blankets Getting in the Festive mood

(TOP LEFT) Hanging out with disco Santa Claus

(TOP RIGHT) Even that Standards shop got in the Christmas Spirit

(BOTTOM LEFT) Trying to keep up with all the Christmas mail

(TOP LEFT) Looking on while SGT Jones tries to get into his present

(TOP RIGHT) SPC Makert enjoying his new friend

(RIGHT) Soldiers looking on in antici-pation

(BOTTOM LEFT) SGT Burns in-specting his new gift...little did he know he wouldn’t keep it long

Greetings from the FNG’s of Kandahar – the Mile High Muleskinners!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I think everyone will agree with me when I say that I am

very happy to see the calendar flip over from 2011 to 2012! This year will

be one none of us will ever forget and not only for the sorrows that it

brought but also for the many blessings we received. Whether it was one of

the many births we had within our ranks or new friendships we built, we had

plenty to be thankful for in 2011 and from that aspect we hope 2012

continues to bless all of our soldiers, their families, friends and the many

supporters we have gained along the way.

The week before Christmas I was able to escape Kandahar for a few days and

travel out to Salerno and Shank to spend some "quality time" with our

Muleskinners. It was definitely worth the trip as I was able to talk to

nearly everyone in our unit for an extended period of time. I am happy to

report that everyone was in pretty good spirits considering they were in

Afghanistan for Christmas instead of home with their families! For those

that had R&R coming up they were very excited in counting down the days and

for those that had just returned they still had the perma-grin on their

faces!

It was very refreshing to be able and talk to the soldiers about what their

plans are for AFTER the deployment considering all of my conversations with

them the last two years have been nothing but getting ready for the

deployment! As I told them, there will be many new opportunities within

Nebraska Army Aviation in the coming months. On top of the natural

turn-over from promotions and retirements the Nebraska Guard received a new

Aviation Company (D Co, 1-376th) that will fly the new UH-72 helicopter in

Grand Island. This new unit provides many great opportunities for enlisted

and officers both and will provide some additional room for upward mobility

within the Aviation ranks. As I told each of our soldiers, be patient upon

our return and see what new opportunities present themselves and decide what

is the right fit for them and their families.

Thanks again for all of your tremendous support! Now that 2012 is FINALLY

here the time will go by quickly! In the meantime, we will ensure that

everyone stays focused on the tasks at hand and that your soldiers continue

to execute the mission to perfection with the utmost respect for safety!

CPT Wilhelm – ‘Skinner 6 ’ 1SG McBride – ‘Skinner 7

B CO 2-135 AVN