bad boy beacon mar 2012
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Hello Bad Boys families and friends:
The Bad Boys Forward are doing well. Eastern
Afghanistan has been pretty
snowy and cold for awhile as
Snow-pocalypse rolled by in Feb-
ruary, but the weatherman has
promised that it will start to warm
up next month. Who knows?
Maybe the snow will melt, and we
can start getting back to some
occasional games of GCA vs. Tower
volleyball.
In the last month, traffic has
been slow due to weather, but
everyone has been keeping busy
with regular operations, random
details, maintenance, and daily
games of ping pong. The verdict is
still out for the best ping pong
player in the company, but every-
one seems to think that they are.
We’ve also had the opportunity to
welcome a couple of new Soldiers
that you will get to know later in
this issue. To the new Bad Boys
families out there, take comfort in
knowing that we are taking very good care of
them.
In FRG news, Denise Coffee has
relinquished command as the FRG
Leader to Lori Darner. You may go to
her for any Family Readiness issues
and recommendations for fun family
activities. Additionally, my husband,
Ben Blane, has taken over the posi-
tion as Treasurer. He is, however,
taking a company command in 2nd
Brigade in May, so if there’s anyone
who would like to volunteer for the
job, please do. If you’d like to volun-
teer for ANYTHING, big or small, just
contact Lori or me, and we’ll find
something for you to help out with.
And if you didn’t know, we are about
half way there! Time is starting to fly
as we have already started prepar-
ing the way for the unit replacing us.
So continue to stay strong as we
push through the second half of the
deployment.
BB6
I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E :
College
Football Pics
1
TOWER
News
2
GCA News 3
From The
Top
4
New Soldiers 4
Soldier
Spotlight
5
Contacts/
Pictures
6
F C O 3 - 8 2 , T A S K F O R C E C O R S A I R , F O B S H A N K
Buckeye Pride Down Range O-H-I-O
Commander’s Corner
Bad Boy
Beacon M A R C H 1 , 2 0 1 2
V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 3
Ok ok!!! Maybe we took
advantage of someone else’s
good nature. We used and
abused a couple of BIG 12
fans in order to get this photo.
Pictured is the international
Ohio State Buckeye sign, not
a YMCA sign! Thanks to all
who participated regardless of
your team.
SGT Jeremy Hendershot
P A G E 2
Above & Beyond
Tower News
B A D B O Y B E A C O N
Blankets for Babies is a project that SPC Hamilton, Laura and I started back in early January. We hand crochet baby blankets to donate to babies in the NICU or to the parents of babies who don’t make it. These blankets are made to bring comfort to sick babies or to parents who lose their chil-dren. We are teaming up with a group called The Moms Club out of Washing-ton, where we make the blankets, mail them to this club, and they donate them for us since we’re de-ployed.
Crochet is a lot like knitting, except instead of two needles, you only use one and the stitches are different. The end result is the same though-a nice
little handmade blanket made solely to bring com-fort for those in need. I’m really excited to have SPC Hamilton’s help and see how many blankets we can make during this de-ployment.
PFC McClure, Jen
This month Tower Platoon received two new trainees, one of which is also new to Fox Company. These two new soldiers are SPC Hamilton L. and PFC Shelley. SPC Hamil-ton L. is now splitting her time between operations and studying for her CTO exam to become a rated controller. PFC Shelley, who is fresh out of AIT, has hit the ground running trying to study for his CTO and become part of his new shift. Both new trainees are excited to be in the train-ing program and SPC Hamil-ton L. is enjoying the change of scenery and controller du-
ties, which gives her a break from her normal company op-erations duties. Fortunately, all our rated controllers passed their Con-trol Tower Operator (CTO) exam. This was due to our fa-
Shank Tower
cility becoming CTO certified and it’s required that our con-trollers take a more advanced test to become certified to be able to control traffic from our tower here at FOB Shank. Our platoon has also been preparing 10th Mountain’s equip-ment, which they left for us to use when we initially got here, to be moved to reset where it can be revamped and sent back as a working unit. SPC Palmer, Robert
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 3
invigorating and challenging at times.
With the inclement weather this past
month, we have found ourselves put-
ting our skills to the test. The snow has
come in small amounts and it has come
in large amounts! And with the snow
have come ice and many hazards
throughout the FOB. Many of us have
become semi-pro ice skaters and some
of us have become professional ice
tumblers! Though it can be funny at
times, thankfully nobody has been
injured. During the month we have
had many accomplishments within
the facility. Specialist Andrews and
Sergeant Aker were promoted to the
ranks of Sergeant and Staff Ser-
geant. SGT Andrews attended and
won NCO of the month for our com-
pany, further showing the great lead-
ership that comes from the GCA!
We have also had time to throw in
some fun as well. Many of the sol-
diers and NCOs attended a Super
Bowl party that was hosted at the
GCA in which drinks and snacks were
served to accompany the great game
that ensued. With all this happening,
we have definitely put our best foot
forward and continue to drive on with
the mission. We look forward to seeing
you all and continue to have you in our
thoughts.
SPC William Scott Thompson
Another month has passed here at
Shank GCA and still a lot is going on.
We are now halfway through the de-
ployment and many of us have our
eyes set on the end of it! We all con-
tinue to engage in training and sharp-
ening our skills. Recently there was a
new Air Traffic Control publication
that was revised and published which
we use daily. Refreshing ourselves
with the new information has been
GCA News
C&E News Ello’ all, from C&E! With eve-
rything that has been going
on lately, time seems to have
slipped by. It’s already near-
ing the half way mark in our
time here, and even though
the past months have flown
by, it seems like an eternity
till we reach the end.
This last month has kept us
moving over here. Due to the
recent snowfall and recent
system issues, we’ve had a
chance to both refresh and
learn the ins and outs of
some of our equipment.
Over all it has been a good
month for us, I’d also like to
welcome back SSG Pierce
from his R&R and say we’re
all glad he made it safely
back to us. Soon another of us
will be leaving us for a few
weeks; we all hope he has
enough fun for all of us while
he’s back home with his loved
ones, and has a smooth trip
home.
SPC Garrett, Joshua
Even with all the long hours put in while
working we have managed to grow
closer with our fellow Bad Boys as a
whole, bringing us closer as a company.
Some of us aren’t used to the
cold, but snowy weather gives us
a chance to become accustomed
to it every day.
P A G E 4
Strengthening the Corps of NCOs
From The Top Bad Boy family, I swear I just wrote an article for the newsletter a couple days ago, but gladly
I'm doing another only because it means
one more month has passed. As usual a lot is going on. We as a company have
been sharpening our soldier skills by
rehearsing our Battle Drills to include first aid and other life saving steps. The
NCOs are extremely thorough when
instructing the junior Soldiers and the junior Soldiers are extremely
receptive to all instructions given.
Our Soldiers are doing a great job
from controlling traffic, fixing equip-
ment, airfield management and daily tasks on the FOB. We have figured
out what happens after it snows here.
What happens is mud. What hap-pens after mud is more mud. After
PT Soldiers have mud splattered all
over their uniform and it is tracked in every tent and building we walk in.
Needless to say, it is messy and I've
given up on telling Soldiers to clean because of the obvious. We take this
as a one for one trade since now it is
starting to warm up and the showers are getting warmer.
SGT Andrews our youngest most energetic NCO competed and won
the Battalion NCO of the Month
Board. He blew away the competition
and it was amazing witnessing him blaze through all of the other First
Sergeant's questions. Our NCOs and
Soldiers recently had the opportunity to sit down with our Task Force Com-
mand Sergeant Major, SGM Lowrey
to discuss upcoming changes to the Army. The information put out was
informative and helpful both with
decisions on continuing Army ser-
vice and career progression through
professional development.
We are currently going through
some leadership changes. SSG Nance has left us to go home due to
an upcoming surgery. Don't worry,
he left on good terms and health. SSG Nance (AKA Wildebeest) has
been a blessing to the operations of
this company not only as a sea-soned NCO, but also an out-
standing advocate for all Soldiers.
He will be greatly missed. SSG Plemon Aker will be filling the
big shoes replacing SSG Nance.
SSG Aker has what it takes. If you look up the definition
"Backbone" in the dictionary, you
will see a picture of SSG Aker. I believe he will increase the capa-
bilities of the GCA section as the
facility chief and continue men-toring our nation's greatest asset
into outstanding leader like him-
self.
1SG Ross Coffee
SGT Andrews
SGT Andrews made points
to E5 this month. He
has worked far above
the pay grade of E4 for
several months now.
SGT Andrews has been
stationed at F Co 3/82
since he completed
training. This is his sec-
ond tour in Afghanistan.
His ratings include GCA
and ATNAVICS. He
also won the NCO of
the month right after
getting his stripes!!!
SSG Aker, Plemon
SSG Aker made points to E6
through his hard-work and
can-do attitude.
SSG Aker was assigned to
Cp. Humphreys, Republic of
Korea then Ft. Rucker, Ala-
bama prior to F Co 3/82.
His ratings include: AT-
NAVICS, Fixed Base GCA,
ATCT, CTO, and an addi-
tional GCA. The degree he
is pursuing at Embry-Riddle
is a Bachelor’s of Science in
Professional Aeronautics.
SSG Aker & SGT Andrews promotion
ceremony.
B A D B O Y B E A C O N
Soldier Spotlight
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 3
SPC Laura Hamilton is the Spot
Light Soldier for the month of Feb-
ruary. She is from River Side, CA
and is married to SPC David Ham-
ilton and they both have a beautiful
1 year old daughter named Lilly.
SPC Hamilton currently holds
down the fort working in our Com-
pany Operations and also due to her
ability to multi-task she was re-
cently assigned to work part time in
the tower to earn her first CTO.
The Operations job is a frustrating
job nearly always because within
the company SPC Hamilton ulti-
mately works for the Commander
and First Sergeant making coordi-
nation between Battalion Staff
sections, creating spreadsheets/
trackers for numerous reasons, coordi-
nating company boards, ensuring your
Soldiers get out on leave on time, pick-
ing up mail, tracking documents sent to
higher, and ensuring Troopers training is
being tracked properly. At times I feel
she is a mind reader because 9/10 before
I ask for something she is already walk-
ing in my office to hand it to me or it is
already waiting for me on my desk. In
my opinion the only thing I'd wish SPC
Hamilton would change is she cleans
way too much. Every time she mops the
floor she claims she is only using a cap
full of Pine Oil. She claims to love the smell
and it results in a headache for me. Honestly I
feel this is a tactic she has mastered to get me
out of the office so I don't ask her to complete
more tasks.
SPC Hamilton is a Soldier not unlike all
others but a Soldier within a small category I'd
consider a few other. She is very through
when performing her duties. She accom-
plishes missions to the fullest and hates failure,
but learns from her mistakes. She is hungry
for the next level in the ranks and pushes her-
self both with Army Correspondence hours
completion and college courses. I have
witnessed SPC Hamilton on many occa-
sions working early mornings or late
nights either in the MWR facility or at her
desk earning points in preparation for her
upcoming promotion board appearance in
March. SPC Hamilton doesn't stop there,
also on her off time she spends many
hours crocheting blankets for a charity
group where people donate like items for
those in need.
I commend SPC Hamilton for her sacri-
fices and accomplishments both at home
and here in Afghanistan. There are many
duel military parents out there serving, but
commonly when it comes to deployment
both are not deployed at the same time. It
is also common when this happens for one
of the parents to get out of the Army to be with
the child. SPC Hamilton made a hard decision
to continue her service leaving her baby girl
Lilly home in the states. In my opinion this
takes great strength, heart and commitment.
SPC Hamilton and I have talked about her
decisions while on this deployment and she
has told me she believes that Lilly will one day
greatly appreciate the extremely hard decision
her mother made to prove we all need to fulfill
our commitments.
1SG Ross Coffee
New Bad Boys!!! Soldiers on Leave
PV2 Culwell, John of Riverside, CA, joins the Bad Boy family as a member
of the GCA Platoon. He is working towards attaining a PT score of 270 or
higher.
PFC Shelley, Zak of Lititz,
PA joins the Bad Boy fam-
ily as a member of the
Tower Platoon. He has the
same goal as Culwell,
which is to get a PT Test
score of 270 or higher.
February:
SPC Bradford
SGT Strittman
SPC Orso
SPC Hamilton, L.
SPC Hamilton, D. March:
SGT Andrews
SGT Hendershot
SPC Smith
SPC Thompson
SPC Chance
F CO. MISSION STATEMENT
F/3-82nd Combat Aviation
Brigade (CAB) on order will,
provide tactical air traffic
services in support of United
States joint forces and its allies.
Foxtrot Company 3-82 ATS
Task Force Corsair
FOB Shank
APO, AE 09364
CPT Janice Blane:
1SG Ross Coffee:
FRG Leader:
Lori Darner
(910) 890-0895
Bad Boys at FOB Shank
Find Us On Facebook!
www.facebook.com/#!/groups/fco382frg/
We’ll have more info on the t-shirts
next month. Right now, we’re ensuring
the shirt is what we requested.