rockhound review - 107thengineers.org review july 2012.pdf · the “rockhound” sense of ......
Post on 12-May-2018
230 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
to carry on the tradition of
making Michigan Proud of their
Army National Guard Soldiers!
Two Michigan Engineer Battal-
ion representatives standing
“Shona Ba Shona”, means
“Shoulder to Shoulder” exem-
plifying the phrase we use :
One Army, One Fight!
HOOAH!
FOB PASAB, Afghanistan. Popu-
lation approximately 2200, sits
in the Zharay District near the
banks of the Arghandab river
valley. A fertile farmland mixed
with the abundance of grape
vineyards and sunflower fields.
Although war torn and some
areas dissipated by the act of
violence inflicted by the Taliban,
the area continues to thrive.
We, at the 1433rd/1432nd will
do our absolute best in order to
keep the roads clear of IEDs, so
the people of Afghanistan can
have the freedom of movement
in a safe environment.
Although the threat remains,
the “ROCKHOUND” sense of
sniffing out the threat and ac-
complishment of their missions
is always foremost on their
minds. Through the rigors of
training and schooling, the
“ROCKHOUNDS” have the skill, and knowledge to conduct
their mission in the safest and
most effective manner there is.
One thing is for sure though,
the 1433rd/1432nd will continue
FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN
223rd Engineer Battalion– TF Knight
1433rd/1432nd Engineer Com-
pany currently falls under the
direction of Task Force Knight,
which is the 223rd Engineer
Battalion, from the Mississippi
Army National Guard based out
of West Point, MS.
The tradition of hard work is
recognized on the Battalion
Crest with the phrase “Crescit Labore,” which is literally trans-
lated as “It Grows With Labor”.
The heritage of the 223rd Engi-
neer Battalion runs deep with a
rich history, and continues to be
known for hard work, service
and commitment to excellence.
1433RD/1432ND
ENGINEER
CLEARANCE
COMPANY
JULY 1 2012 TOA PICTURES
ROCKHOUND REVIEW
IN THIS ISSUE:
We have arrived
At the Peak, CPT Falor
1SG Rye’s Blast Window
Misfits
Hogslayers
Honey Badgers
Night Crawlers
FMT/HQ
Soldier of the Month
At the Peak 2
Blast Window 3
Misfits 4
Hog slayers 4
Honey Badgers 5
Night Crawlers 5
FMT/HQ 6
Soldier of the
Month
7
“WE SHALL
REVEAL”
FROM THE PEAK CPT TODD FALOR
BLAST WINDOW 1SG DAVID RYE
Greeting from FOB PASAB,
As the realization for some of the younger soldiers set it, I see our seasoned veterans taking them
under their wings and giving the needed guidance to adapt in this type of environment. The mix of
experience and eagerness is developing our unit into becoming a well balanced team. The younger
guys that have attended all the specialized training are able to teach some of the older guys a few
things or two on the technical side, while the experience on tactical knowledge is spread out
through the teams by the more seasoned soldiers. The performance thus far has exceeded the
expectations put forth by the commander and myself which will only get better as we move for-
ward.
All this can be only attributed to the support they have received from family and friends in the last
18 months as we prepared to perform this mission assigned to us. With that said, a Huge Thank
You to all the Families and Friends out there for the support you have shown these true American
Soldiers.
ESSAYONS!
1SG Rye
“ROCKHOUND 7”
Military Humor:
Mr. and Mrs. Braithwaite Backus,
Bald Buzzard Ridge
Mountainville, KY
Dear Ma and Pa:
Am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and
Brother Elmer the Army beats working for old
man Minch. Tell them to join up quick before all
the places are filled.
I was restless at first because you got to stay in
bed till nearly 6 a.m.( but am getting so I like to
sleep late. All you do before breakfast is smooth
your cot and shine some things -- no hogs to
slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split,
fire to lay. Practically nothing. You got to shave,
but it is not bad in warm water.
Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice,
cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on
chops, potatoes, beef, ham steak, fried eggplant,
pie and regular food, but you can always sit
between two city boys that live on coffee. Their
food plus yours holds you till noon, when you
get fed.
It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.
We go on "route marches," which, the Sgt. says,
are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is
not my place to tell him different. A "route
march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home.
Then the city guys all get sore feet and we ride
back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful
flat.
The Sgt. is like a schoolteacher. He nags some.
The Capt. is like the school board. Cols. and
Gens. just ride around and frown. They don't
bother you none.
I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know
why, the bull's-eye is near big as a chipmonk and
don't move and it ain't shooting at you, like the
Higsett boys at home. All you got to do is lie
there all comfortable and hit it, you don't even
load your own cartridges they come in boxes.
Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join
before other fellows get onto this setup and
come stampeding in.
Your loving son,
Zeb
P.S. Speaking of shooting, enclosed is $200 for
barn roof and ma's teeth. The city boys shoot
craps, but not very good.
Page 2 AS WE SEE IT
I would like to start by personally thanking the 1432nd/1433rd friends and families for all the
support that you have shown over the last several months. Without you, our soldiers would not be
at the readiness level they are at today. After several flights and layovers we are now in Afghanistan
and ready to begin our mission here. We have trained hard and we are ready for the challenges that
lie ahead. I know you are all worried about what the coming months will bring, and I assure you that
your soldier has received the best training and has the best equipment of any Army in the world. Just
because we are now deployed does not mean our training ends. We will continue to train everyday
to make ourselves better. I know I can speak for everybody in the unit when I say let the count-
down begin and in about nine short months we will see you all again. Again thank you for supporting
your soldier and I look forward to providing you with updates every month on our deployment,
Godspeed.
CPT Todd Falor
“ROCKHOUND 6”
Specialist Jarrett Zimmer Cleans and
performs checks on his individually
assigned weapons before a combat
mission as part of pre combat checks
and inspections. Specialist Zimmer is
assigned to 1st Route Clearance Pack-
age with the 1433rd Sapper Engineer
Company.
1ST PLATOON “MISFITS”
2nd PLATOON “HOGSLAYERS”
Second RCP would also like to
recognize SPC Jacob Lomoro.
SPC Lomoro left Fort Bliss
early so that he could receive
specialized training at KAAF.
He has been on multiple mis-
sions already and has helped
train others in the platoon on
what he has learned. The pla-
toon counts on him to accom-plish multiple tasks above his
grade and they are always com-
pleted to a very high standard.
His dedication to the success of
the platoon sets the standard
for others to follow.
SFC Palacios
Knight 7-2 “Hogslayers”
SSG Drebenstedt with SPC
Lomoro make last minute
checks prior to mission.
From Second Platoon, It has been a hectic and ex-
hausting few weeks since leav-
ing Fort Bliss. It seems like it
has been forever since our
pass. Thank you to all the
families that were able to come
and we missed anyone that
could not. The family’s support
of second platoon has been
second to none. We left Fort
Bliss and took a very long flight
to Manas. After Manas we
arrived in Afghanistan and
started our last bits of training
and movement to FOB Pasab.
Second platoon is now at Pasab
and slowly getting moved in.
We have been getting valuable
training and mentorship from
the unit we are replacing and
are quickly moving into taking
their place to get them home.
The platoon is doing great and
we look forward to updating
our families on the progress we
are making. Thank you for
everyone’s support and
prayers.
“EXPERTS
OFTEN
POSSESS
MORE DATA
THAN
JUDGEMENT”
Colin Powell
Page 3 TOA PICTURES
Recently, shortly after leaving FOB PASAB, on a routine mission,
3rd Platoon witnessed a vehicle accident involving a Afghanistan
citizen on a motorcycle and a civilian pickup truck. The driver of
the motorcycle who was injured received medical treatment by
3rd Platoon’s Medic SPC Dull which consisted of a broken ankle
and multiple abrasions. This display of humanitarian treatment and
kindness from the 1433rd brings respect and trust to the local
Afghan populace.
3RD PLATOON “HONEY BADGERS”
4TH PLATOON “NIGHT CRAWLERS”
Hello from FOB Pasab,
4th platoon just finished their first rotation of missions. It was an amazing experience. We were fortunate
to see so much of the area here we will be operating in for the coming months. The platoon was able to
learn a ton in its first week here. The experiences we had will be tantamount to our mission success
here, giving us a snapshot of what we are already strong on and what we can begin to improve on. As a
platoon we are growing closer together. Of course you all know our company was originally two com-
panies from all different areas of Michigan. The backgrounds from soldier to soldier are vastly different
giving us such a diverse company and more specifically platoon. These differences have been and will
continue to be a source of so much of our strength and success here. Every soldier is able to bring a not
only their experience as a combat engineer to the table but also has a wealth of knowledge from the
civilian life too. We are learning more and more about one another and ourselves everyday as we move
forward on this deployment.
Page 4 ROCKHOUND REVIEW
3rd Platoon assisting
Local National citizens
after arriving at the
scene of an auto acci-
dent.
Spirits here are high, thanks to the support of one another and all of you back home we are
able to from bounds that will last forever. We all know how hard it is to say good bye to a loved one
for a year. We want you all to know how much we appreciate what you do for us. Your strength and
resolve back states side feeds the strength and drive of your soldiers here. The military defines a Com-
bat Multiplier as; supporting and subsidiary means that significantly increase the relative combat
strength (power) of a force while actual force ratios remain constant. The families and loved ones we
left behind is arguably the most significant combat multiplier any of us could have with us while we
endure these times. So from all us Nightcrawlers (4th platoon), thank you for what you do and God
bless. Until next month, Essayons.
Cont. 4TH PLATOON “NIGHTCRAWLERS”
Page 5 Newsletter Title
SFC O’ Callaghan has
been appointed as the
ANA (Afghanistan Na-
tional Army) Training
Liaison for the 1433rd.
His duties include; coor-
dination of training the
ANA partnered with the
1433rd, scheduling of
ANA missions with the
RCPs, and oversight of
the ANA maintenance
program. SFC O’Cal-
laghan’s team also in-
cludes, SGT Pyles, SGT
Rose and SPC Schiller.
Already their team has
made a huge difference in
developing a rapport with
the ANA counterparts,
showing dedication to
their assigned mission
moving forward.
ANA LIASION, SFC O’ CALLAGHAN
SFC O’Callaghan 1433rd ANA Liaison and
SFC Grimes from the 223rd EN BN discuss
ANA involvement prior to mission.
Transfer of Authority (TOA) 11July2012
Page 6 Newsletter Title
Transfer of Authority. Transfer of authority of forces is the formal transfer of
a specified degree of authority over designated forces both between nations
and NATO Commanders, and between any two NATO Commanders.
In this case it was the transfer of authority between the outgoing unit, the 22nd
Engineer Clearance Company (ECC) from Fort Lewis and the 1433rd Engineer
Clearance Company (ECC) from the Michigan Army National Guard.
A process of the outgoing unit (22nd ECC) brings their guidon to attention and
is rolled and put into a sleeve indicating mission complete. While the incoming
unit (1433rd ECC) brings their guidon to attention and is uncased representing
assumption of assigned mission.
Page 7
TOA PICTURES
CPT Wolf and 1SG Brinkley of the 22nd ECC roll and incase
the unit guidon, indicating mission complete and turn over the
mission to the 1433rd ECC.
CPT Falor and 1SG Rye
uncase the unit guidon
signifying assumption of
authority of assigned
mission.
Battalion Commander LTC
Cleveland of the 223rd EN
BN, displays the
1433rd/1432nd Unit Guidon.
SPC Brantly LaFave from 3rd Platoon has been se-
lected as June’s Soldier of the Month for the 1433rd
Engineer Clearance Company.
SPC LaFave was selected by his peers to be part of the
ADVON that went early to Afghanistan to attend ad-
vanced training on specialized equipment used by the
company. His ability to comprehend the language and
technical aspects of the equipment made him a valu-
able asset in training other soldiers within the company
on that piece of equipment. SPC LaFave was also able
to impress the active duty component we have re-
placed with his knowledge of the equipment and ability
to operate it with such high proficiency.
CONGRATULATIONS!
SOLDIER OF THE MONTH
top related