“Our Task Force runs together this morning to re-member the 6026 families that have lost loved ones in this war. While the 4th of July is a day of celebration for us and for our Nation, this day

must also stand in memorial to our fallen and for those families that continue to bear the cost of Freedom.” LTC Dan Dent

PUBISHED BY SPC KERRY LYNCH

RAPTOR 6 REPORTS COMBAT LIFESAVER

CSM SHARES AROUND TOWN

CHAPLAINS MESSAGE MARINER PRIDE

HHC HEADHUNTERS 1-168TH REPRESENT

CHARLIE FATCATS CAUGHT IN THE ACT

DELTA DRAGONS B CO RETURNS

FEATURED ARTICLES COMPREHENSIVE SOLDIERS FITNESS

PROMOTIONS RESOURCES

INDEPENDENCE DAY SUMMER FUN

ANSWER TO MAY/JUNE TRIVIA THE 12 U.S. GENERALS WHO BECAME PRESIDENTS ARE: ARTHUR, EISENHOWER, GARFIELD, GRANT, HARRISON B., HARRSION W.H., HAYES, JACKSON, JOHNSON A., PIERCE, TAYLOR, AND WASHINGTON ARMY HISTORY IN JULY 1985, AFTER HAVING COMPLETED BASIC TRAINING AT FORT HOOD, TEXAS, ELVIS PRESLEY RENTED A HOUSE IN KILLEEN, TEXAS. IN WHICH HIS PARENTS, GRANDMOTHER, TWO COUSINS, AND A FAMILY FRIEND OCCUPIED. BEING GIVEN PERMISSION TO LIVE OFF POST, ELVIS MOVED IN AS WELL. REMAINING THERE UNTIL HE COMPLETED TANKER TRAINING AND RECEIVED ORDERS FOR WEST GERMANY. TRIVIA WHICH COUNTRY PRODUCED THE FIRST OPERATIONAL MILITARY HELICOPTER AND IN WHICH YEAR?

CW4 BREEN

R aptor Families and Friends, It’s now been 5 months since we left home and your Soldiers continue to deliver rock-solid

performance, despite an ever-changing mission. Similar to the Raptors last deployment, during the surge of coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the withdraw of US Forces from Iraq and changes to the Army’s mission in Afghanistan are requiring this team to meet new challenges. Like all good units, their ability to rise to the occasion – while maintaining a positive attitude is what makes them great. This unit is strong and getting stronger every day - in large part due to a sense of unity, camaraderie, and a belief that it belongs to something bigger than itself. This spirit was symbolized by our Task Force Raptor Run on the 4th of July. Units formed at 0400 and ran together as the sun came up over the flight line. The run was a memorial to the thousands of families back home that spent Independence Day remembering the loss of a loved one in service to our great Nation. While this operation keeps everyone busy, please know that we miss you all greatly and look for-ward to reconnecting during mid-tour leaves. The leave program is running smooth and will continue through the fall. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need anything. Continuing the mission. Raptor 6

G reetings Soldiers, Family and friends. As I write this article I realize we have completed over

100 days of our Mobilization! Time is flying by! As you know by now our Soldiers are fully involved in keeping our Raptor Bat-talion running at full speed! The energy level as well as morale is high with our troops. I am constantly amazed how driven our Soldiers are and the energy they exhibit both when I observe them perform-ing their assigned duties in the heat of the day as well as the heat of the night, but also when I watch them take first, second and third place in many competitions here on post – running, deadlift and tri-lift competitions just to name a few. Our Sol-diers somehow manage to find time to get involved in volunteer work with the MWR agents here on post as well. All this channeled energy makes for very busy troops – which makes the weeks fly by! Our first line supervisors and unit leaders are taking advantage of the time this mobilization af-fords us to work with our Soldiers and provide excellent one-on-one and small group training. Our first line supervisors are working to develop leadership skills in our junior leaders which will in turn provide our Battalion with a great group of skilled junior enlisted Soldiers ready to assume leadership positions

in our Battalion, the 66th TAC and the Washington Guard when we return. I’m happy to have the opportunity and time here to be part of this program with our NCO’s. We celebrated Independence Day a few weeks ago. July 4th, 1776 was a defining moment in the history of the United States. It was the day the United States of America was born. This is a day of patriotism and pride for our coun-try, and I am proud to part of a very professional group of deployed National Guardsmen and women supporting our country on this important occasion. Independence Day in the United States is by far the most important national holi-day of the year. While the fanfare is dwarfed by mega holi-

days like Christmas and New Year’s eve, Independence Day in one of those days that the country and its people need, especially in the complicated times we still experience after over 10 years of conflict. Since 1938 July 4th has been an official paid holiday for government workers; however we will continue operations as normal here. I have enjoyed hearing how families and friends back home celebrated on this holiday weekend. I am also thankful to each and every one of our Rear Detachment support staff and to you, the family member back home, who show sup-port for us every day with your letters, packages and phone calls. You packages and letters go a long way in raising spirits over here during these very hot days and nights!

Thank you for your support. Be safe this summer and GO RAPTORS!

B elieve it or not, we are almost halfway done with the deployment. This is a real good thing! However, looking forward to the end of the deployment at this point in the game still seems to create a lot of

stress, specifically, because—there is a lot of time left in this deployment! The more I dwell on this, the more dissatisfied I can become with my current situation.

A little saying has helped me in an incredible way over the last few weeks. Here it is, "The journey is the destination." We humans are constantly looking for the next thing in our life that is going to satisfy us or make us feel better. It could be a certain date/time like mid-tour leave or Christmas. Or, it could be something material (car, house), it could be a different job, deliverance from a stressful situation (i.e. the end of the deployment), etc. But, in the process, we find that it is very difficult to be thankful for and enjoy our present situation. It is good to look forward to something in the future. However, when we look for-ward to what might take place at the expense of what is actually taking place—we have a problem.

Do you ever wonder why parents often look longingly back at the "good ole days" when their kids were little? It is because most of the time, we parents have basically missed out because we were always looking forward to when things were going to be easier. ―I can’t wait until they start walking so I don’t have to carry them anymore,‖ or ―I can’t wait until they start talking, I can’t wait until they are potty trained,‖ etc. Guess what?! As a result we were not thankful for our current situation and we looked long-ingly for the next easier or more satisfying stage of life.

We treat God the same way. We are constantly asking Him to deliver us and to miracle us to the next more satisfying situation. However, we don't realize that the journey—the present situation—is the destination, it is the main point. God has intended for you to experience the things you are experiencing today—right now! He is using your experiences to transform you, to change you into a person that trusts Him more. He wants you to be thankful for, to have patience with, to willingly strive and have tolerance for the people and the situations that are currently in your life. Yes, that includes those people that are sinning or have sinned against you. De-liverance is not the main destination the journey is. The jour-ney is where you are shaped and formed. The journey is where reconciliation and healing takes place. The journey is where you savor the present instead of coveting the future. The journey is where you love, learn and grow!

―Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, know-ing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and persever-ance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.‖ Romans 5:1-5

H eadHunter Friends and Families, Your Soldiers are continuing to do

great things every day, and continue to exceed the standard. This month was a big month for awards, re-enlistments, and recognizing the excellent per-formance from Soldiers across the formation. I would like to thank the following Soldiers for their commitment to excellence in physical fitness: LTC Dent, MAJ Johnston, MAJ Dan Brewer, MAJ Don Brewer, MAJ Wold, CPT Suyat, CSM Spaulding, SGT Gitau, SSG Bibbins, SPC Serrano, SSG Rei-chelderfer, SFC Summit, SSG Gutierrez. They each scored 90 points or higher in each event of the Army Physical Fitness Test, leading their peers and setting the standard. We also awarded many Soldiers with the Army Achievement Medal for go-ing above and beyond their skill sets to improve this organization: SSG Reichelderfer, SGT McDon-ald; SPC Sayers, SPC Collier, SPC Logan, SPC Armstrong, SPC Lynch, and SPC Nash. Their com-mitment to this organization and dedication to quality products and effort showed every time, shaping our mobilization setup and training at Fort Hood. Last but not least, I am proud to announce the names of those Soldiers who have chosen to re-enlist and continue to carry on this fine tradition and outstanding reputation your Soldiers have built over the last year. SFC Franz, SFC Summit, SPC Pester, SPC Aasted, SPC Hood, SPC Taylor, and SPC Nash; I thank each and every one of you for your hard work and look forward to working with you over the remainder of the deployment. As always thanks for the continued support from you; the Families, friends and loved ones of these great Soldiers. CPT Rob Goertzen

H eadhunter Friends and Family, I just returned from my mid tour on

June 29th. It was a much needed break I thought, till I got the honey do list when I got home! Overall it was really nice being back in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. We recently have been having some ter-rible dust storms in the last couple of days so it’s been kind of miserable. I would like to thank Master Sergeant Walters for an outstanding job as acting 1SG while I was on leave, boy he sure was glad to see me! This month we were able to promote SSG Ray to SFC congratulations! Fall is right around the corner so we will start planning weapons qualifica-tion and another PT test. Bye for now and enjoy the summer.

1SG Jensen

H ello to Our Cougar Family, I would like to start off with saying to

our B Company brothers and sisters ―Welcome Home‖ your mission is complete and we are very proud of you, a job well done. We look forward to seeing you soon. As the company first sergeant, one of the greatest things that I get to do with the Commander is promote Soldiers. This month I was able to do just that.

We promoted Specialist Novak to Sergeant Novak. The promotion to sergeant is very signifi-cant, they are technically proficient in there MOS, and tactically proficient in there basic Soldier skills, but most of all they are looked upon as a leader, and SGT Novak displays those skills. We have started our mid tour leaves and everyone is enjoying them-selves, and being safe. We hope everyone at home is doing good, you are always in our thoughts. 1SG Grau

G reetings Cougar Family! I hope this message finds all of you enjoying

the summer months with your families. For most residents of Washington that will mean days with the temperature starting to move towards the 80's and possibly the 90's. Unfortunately for the FAT-CATs, the temperature on a daily basis is between 115 and 120 degrees! Needless to say, summer has definitely arrived in Kuwait and our missions continue to come in. During the last two month, the FATCATs have flown fewer missions than the previ-ous months, due to the significant amount of sand storms. I'm sure that most of you have seen the pic-tures on our website, but we've had numerous sand storms that have lasted for 3-5 days. During the last month I had the distinct privi-lege of promoting Specialist Kevin Novak to Ser-geant. SGT Novak is a very deserving soldier and has done an outstanding job for us since his arrival to the unit. We have also able to send our first two groups of Soldiers home on their mid-tour leave.

Typically the first few blocks of mid-tour leave is not a very popular one. However, since the period hap-pened to fall during the school graduation time frame and was during the summer, there was a lar-ger amount than usual. Approximately every two weeks from now until the end of November, we will be sending a group of soldiers home for two weeks from each company. Thanks again to all of the family members who continue to send the care packages and cards to our Soldiers. Each and every one of them is ap-preciated. Along with thanking our families, I would also like to say thanks to the Boeing Corpora-tion and the Costco Wholesale Corporation. Both of these companies have been extremely charitable with amount of care packages and gifts that they have sent us. Take care and stay safe this summer! CPT Mitch Sieglock C/1-140 Commanding

H ello Dragon Family, I’d like to take this first opportunity to

introduce myself to the families back home support-ing the hard working soldiers of Delta Company. I’m LT Adam Hanisch, stepping into LT Miller’s former shoes as the D CO XO and maintenance Platoon Leader and acting company commander while CPT Gering enjoys his leave this month. New to the main-tenance side of the organization, I’ve been working in the S3 shop since completing UH-60 flight school last summer. It’s been a genuine privilege to be given the opportunity to lead, learn from and work with PSG Johnson and the Soldiers who continue to have such a positive impact on the success of the Raptor mission, a professional group who truly em-body the warrior spirit. Last month, the Dragon night shift was hon-ored with special recognition in the Raptor Report. Their dedication and work ethic has remained full force on every shift throughout June, a month which showcased some of the more intense dust and heat conditions this country has to offer. Sandstorms which often limited visibility to less than 30 feet did-n't stop the Dragon's mission or efforts, only re-

quired Soldiers to drive on wearing face masks and an extra mental toughness. Adverse weather did not stop the professional growth of this company in June, as we were proud to promote SPC Pichardo, SPC Becker and SGT Wallace, three Soldiers who will continue to exemplify the work ethic that has so far defined this company throughout Operation New Dawn. We hope this newsletter finds all of our friends and family in good spirits and ready to cele-brate the upcoming 4th of July holiday, in what should be some of the better weather Washington is briefly allowed to enjoy. You remain in the forefront of our minds and continue to provide the motivation only the thoughts of home can instill. Thank you for your con-tinued support! LT Adam Hanisch Dragon 16

D ragon Family, Here we are in July, almost half way

done! Our Company has been performing well. The sandstorms, heat, dirt and occasional Nile monitor sighting keep the spice in our lives each day. We have had the privilege of being able to promote some very deserving Soldiers this month. Congrats go out to SPC Pichardo, SPC Becker and finally SGT Wallace. More to come in the future. Twenty-five of our Soldiers have been awarded the Army Drivers Badge and two have been awarded the Senior Crew-member Wings. The work is never truly done, but our Soldiers have found the time to excel in other areas too! SPC Pichardo won the Bench Press contest, PFC Palmer won the Triple Up contest, and SGT Logan has come in first for the females on the 5K fun run. In addition

to this, SGT Valdiviezo has been teaching P90X fit-ness and SGT Logan has been volunteering at the MWR. Great job! To say that the unit is in better shape than be-fore is an understatement. We now have no one on the overweight program and only one person that needs to pass the PT test. We have five that have earned the Army Physical Fitness Badge. Most Sol-diers have been working out on a regular basis and it shows! We have the Battalion Run on the 4th of July and it looks to be a good time. Hope all is well back home, the Soldiers and I appreciate all that you do. You are the reason we can do these great things here!

1SG Turner

Life’s A Beach By SFC Todd Gillies

Dust, everywhere, the last few days have seen, well only about 20 feet in front of us. Dust storms have been our mainstay during the end of June and beginning of July. Thirty to forty knot winds send those nasty little particles into every crevice. We have a small sand dune building up on our front porch. I think the best way to describe the feeling is this. Take your hair dryer and turn it up to the highest setting. Point it at your face and toss a handful of fine grit sand up, voila! Other than that, troops are doing well. SGT Blas spent a week training in combatives. He is fine tun-ing his hand to hand combat skills. SSG Dodge and SPC Crespo took a defensive driving course that in-cluded skids and an obstacle course. Your Soldiers are maintaining and doing well, for us it seems the days are going by quickly. We are starting our leave rotations and each of us are talking about the plans we have made when we get back home. We have a chance to do some additional work for the base here. Fixing generators, there is a short-age of mechanics and a surplus of tactical generators that need servicing. SPC Nation, our generator me-chanic is taking the lead. Generators will be delivered to our motor pool where they will be worked on. This is just one more chance to give our Soldiers the feeling of being part of the mission over here. Happy Fourth of July! Let us all celebrate our individual and nations independence. Remembering those before us that fought for our freedom, and those present that serve our great Nation. To those that will follow our footsteps in the future. We here wish you a happy and safe holiday.

SFC SUMMIT

SFC RAY

SSG COSORUS

SGT WALLACE

"The CSF program will build our family members up as the Army is currently provid-ing very similar training to Soldiers. This training will empower them to face life's

challenges with their Soldier ‐ as a team." ‐ Dana Whitis, ARNG Resilience Expert

Why participate in the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program?

The Army National Guard recognizes the increased sacrifices our Family members make on a daily basis. The CSF program is designed to provide Army National Guard

Family members with the thinking skills and coping strategies needed to take care of themselves and their Soldier. The program helps link them with resources and

tools available in the military community that can build resilience.

How can I participate in the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program? Family members can take the Global Assessment Tool, which is an assessment of a

person’s baseline in the dimensions of strength: emotional, social, spiritual and family. The assessment provides immediate results that link to tailored

self‐development training. This training provides a wide‐range of tools to better communicate with Family members and Soldier, as well as tools allowing a person to

maximize their overall potential.

What’s in it for me? Our National Guard is strong in part because of the support our Soldiers receive

from their Families. This program enables Family members to actively manage vari-ous physical and psychological challenges in their personal lives, and continue to be the pillar of support behind our Soldiers. The Strength of the Nation depends on it.

Global Assessment Tool

Provides Family members with their baseline in four dimensions of strength: emo-tional, social, spiritual and family; and provides an opportunity to track self‐

development and growth in these areas over time. Available online at: https://www.sft.army.mil/sftfamily

Comprehensive Resilience Modules

Educates and provides tools so that Family members can develop their strength in the four dimensions.

Available online at: https://www.sft.army.mil/sftfamily

Employment Transition Coaches Camp Murray – Serves Pierce County Tamie Clark (253) 512‐8727 Morgan Zantua (253) 512‐8400 Camp Murray/Olympia – Serves Pierce County Jacqui Miller (253) 512‐8761 Kosal Gablehouse (253) 512‐1382 King County

Rich Garmong (253) 512‐1391 Shamra Ness (253) 945‐1816 24410 Military Rd, Kent 98032 Matt Ridgway (206) 378‐6432 1601 W Armory Way, Seattle 98119 Snohomish County ‐ Eric Collins (360) 738‐6166 2730 Oakes Ave, Everett 98201 Port Orchard – Peter Berrios (360) 473‐2656 1950 Mile High Drive, Port Orchard 98366 Serves Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap County Vancouver/Centralia – Cindy Roadifer (360) 567‐7578 Bldg 993, Vancouver Barracks, Vancouver 98661 Moses Lake, Yakima & Tri‐Cities – Ray Villar-real (509) 361‐4173 2501 Airport Lane, Yakima 98901 Serves Kiltitas, Yakima, and Klickitat County, Ad-ams, Franklin, Benton, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin County, Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, and Grant County Spokane – Shawn Graves (509) 532‐2711 1626 N. Rebecca, Spokane 99224, Serves Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Whit-man County

Resiliency Care Team Director of Psychological Health

Julie Madsen (425) 248‐9508 ALT SARC – Angela Taylor (253) 512‐1342 SPPM – Connie Marler (253) 512‐7880 Survivor Outreach Services

Shirley Schmunk (509) 734‐7053 Jarad Lathrop‐Webber (West) (253) 202‐0982

ESGR—Bldg 15, Camp Murray Bryon Burgess ‐ (253) 512‐8468 Kathleen Wilcox ‐ (253) 512‐8253 Marie Moynahan ‐ (253) 512‐8489

Family Readiness Support Assistant 81st BCT – Korina Huddleston (253) 512‐8506 96th TRP CMD ‐ Jake Jaquith (253) 680‐4397 66th AVN – Lori Snyder (253) 370‐7872

Transition Assistance Advisor Annie DeAndrea ‐ (253) 512‐8722

Warrior Transition Unit Liaison SSG Aaron McCarthy ‐ (253) 512‐1351

Yellow Ribbon Team Air Guard YR Contractor

Michelle Husser (253) 512‐1359 DCS Plans and Operations

Ken Schwarm (253) 512‐1383

Joint Family Support Assistance

Program Military OneSource—Don Ham Brief Support/Scheduling‐(253) 303‐2751 MOS Resources and Assistance 1‐800‐342‐9647 Personal Financial Counselor: James White (253) 307‐7297 Operation Military Kids: Darleen (253) 445‐ 4557 Child & Youth Military Family Life Consult-

ant:

Kim Larkey (253) 355‐9939 Adult Military Family Life Consultant: Lisa Tice (253) 682‐7792

Veterans Affair Officer American Legion Service Officer

Cathy Hennie (253) 512‐8196

Airmen & Family Readiness Coor-

dinators Camp Murray

Angela Sutter (253) 512‐3397 Building 107, Camp Murray 98430 Spokane

Mary Thomas (509) 247‐7009 1403 W Wainright Blvd. Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane 99224

Chaplain State Chaplain

COL Steele (253) 606‐9271

Family Programs Senior Family Readiness Support Assistant

Linda Wulf (253) 512‐7753 State Youth Coordinator

Robbin Seeberger (253) 512‐7985 Child & Youth Specialist

Zach Bonta (509) 247‐2848 AFRC Bldg 4400, 300 E. Eaker Ave, Fairchild AFB 99224

Family Assistance Coordinators Camp Murray‐Pierce County Denise Whitten (253) 512‐8367 Serves Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark,

& Skamania County

Roxanne Boose (360) 524‐1142 Bldg 993, Vancouver Barracks, Vancouver 98661 Serves Grays Harbor, Thurston, Lewis,

and Pacific County

Eva Valentine (360) 704‐6707 515 Eastside St SE, Olympia 98501 Serves North King County

Sara Robertson (206) 473‐2896 1601 W Armory Way, Seattle 98119 Serves Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom,

San Juan, and Island County

Nicole Sopher (425) 317– 3527 2730 Oakes Ave, Everett 98201 Serves South King County &

West Pierce County

Deborah Discolo (253) 355‐5124 24410 Military Rd, Kent 98032 Serves Clallam, Jefferson, Mason,

and Kitsap County

Ron Underwood (253) 254‐1906 1950 Mile High Drive, Port Orchard 98366 Serves Kiltitas, Yakima,

and Klickitat County

John Rimel (509) 469‐4638 2501 Airport Lane, Yakima 98901 Serves Adams, Franklin, Benton,

Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield,

and Asotin County

Betsy Metcalf (509) 546‐4384 127 W Clark St, Pasco 99301 Serves Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas,

and Grant County

Doug Heimbigner (509) 630‐0701 6500 32nd Ave NE, Moses Lake 98837 Serves Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln,

Pend Oreille, Spokane, and

Whitman County

Stacey Markley (509) 844‐4059 1626 N. Rebecca, Spokane 99224 Serves Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Pend Oreille,

Spokane, and Whitman County

Kim Cole (509) 844‐1115 AFRC Bldg 4400, 300 E. Eaker Ave. Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane 99224 Serves Pierce County and South

King County

Sarah Monta (253) 208‐8602 622 4th Ave SE Puyallup, WA 98372

Select bowling centers and schools around the country are participating in the first ever Kids Bowl Free program. This program is designed by bowl-ing centers to give back to the community and provide a safe, se-cure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer.

From project basics to giving your child the opportunity to say, "I built it!", our Build and Grow kid's clinics are a great way to help build confidence! Bring the kids into any Lowe's store and build a FREE wooden project. Each participant also receives a free apron, goggles, a pro-ject themed patch, and a certification of merit upon completion of their project. www.lowesbuildandgrow.com