april 2012 277th asb newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
TF Mountain Eagle, another
month has gone by and we are starting to see a lot of changes
across the board. Like last
month, a lot of us are very busy
but many are still waiting for
the rest of the equipment. We
did get most of our training
equipment (trucks, generators,
etc) in March and now those
vehicles are getting the commu-
nication assets installed.
Our focus remains resetting our equipment (I talked about
the last two months). The good
news is that we are starting to
get a lot of this ‗refurbished/
updated‘ equipment back. A
good example of this is C Com-
pany getting their Joint Net-
work Node (JNN) and Com-
mand Post Nodes (CPNs) back,
inventoried with some individ-
ual training. Hopefully you read about this event in the Moun-
taineer a couple of weeks ago.
We are also going through a
lot of inspections and profes-sional development events to
improve our processes in sev-
eral areas within our organiza-
tion. The biggest of these in-
spections is the Aviation Re-
source Management Survey
(ARMS) which will take place
at the beginning of April. The
good thing about all of these
events is that they force a unit
to validate the way they do daily operations.
HSC did an exceptional job
preparing for the Army Award
for Maintenance Excellence. A
team from the Army staff came
down to inspect HSC‘s motor-
pool and armsroom – they were
highly impressed with the effort
our Soldiers put into the prepa-
ration for this inspection.
Again, this event was captured in the Mountaineer and hope-
fully you were able to read
about it.
A Company is starting to get
busier with the supply support
activity and supporting aviation
repair parts to the rest of the
Brigade and they will soon be
running the airfield refuel site
again…they setup the refueling
points in January. B Company is focusing on
preparing the Brigade for the
Eagle Commander’s Corner
T A S K F O R C E
M O U N T A I N E A G L E
2 7 7 T H A V I A T I O N
S U P P O R T B A T T A L I O N Liberty Times A P R I L 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 4
H O T T O P I C S
Alpha FRG Meet-
ing: Thursday,
April 12, 2012,
5:30pm at Rhicard
Hills Community
Center.
Bravo FRG Meet-
ing: Thursday,
April 12, 2012,
5pm at Adirondack
Creek Community
Center.
Charlie FRG Meet-
ing - Thursday,
April 12, 2012,
4:30pm at the Char-
lie Company Build-
ing.
HSC FRG Meeting:
Thursday, April
12th, 2012, 5:30pm
at 277th Battalion
Classroom.
C O N T A C T S
B A T T A L I O N S T A F F
D U T Y D E S K
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 0
C H A P L A I N
( C P T ) L O V E
3 1 5 - 6 8 1 - 0 8 8 3
F A M I L Y R E A D I N E S S
S U P P O R T
A S S I S T A N T ( F R S A )
M I C H E L E G A L L O W A Y
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 6
M I L I T A R Y F A M I L Y
L I F E C O N S U L T A N T
( M F L C )
3 1 5 - 4 0 5 - 7 4 4 9
3 1 5 - 2 1 2 - 6 9 1 9
A R M Y C O M M U N I T Y
S E R V I C E ( A C S )
I N F O R M A T I O N
A N D R E F E R R A L
3 1 5 - 7 7 2 - 6 5 5 7
1 - 8 0 0 - 8 2 6 - 0 8 8 6
M I L I T A R Y
O N E S O U R C E
1 - 8 0 0 - 3 4 2 - 9 6 4 7
By LTC Albert H. Stiller
Battalion Commander
UH-60 M-model new equipment
fielding / new equipment training. B Co is the focal point for the
aircraft tool dispersion and then
the aircraft maintenance during
the entire event.
Our training priorities still
remain focused at the Soldier
level: weapons qualification, in-
dividual medical training, drivers
training, and schools; however,
we are slowly migrating towards
some collective training events. Last month we had a lot of
farewells: This month we hail
CPT Natalie Nissen as the new
HSC company commander; she
came to us from Fort Riley. We
also hail A Company‘s new com-
pany commander, CPT Bryan
Bolin who came to us from the
Brigade S3 shop. I already hailed
CSM Carlos Escalera and 1SG
Jernigan (HSC 1SG) last month; however, I just want to highlight
the leadership changes that have
occurred over the last month.
Included are pictures of HSC
change of command, A Company
change of command and the 1st
Annual Mountain Winter Chal-
lenge 2012. (Pictures on page
10).
Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates
For the rest of the article, go to page 8.
By Melissa Stiller
FRG Advisor
Greetings 277th Soldiers
and Families! I hope you
have been enjoying this
wonderful, crazy winter
weather we‘ve been having!
Is it possible we won‘t have
to shovel any more snow?
I‘ll believe it when I see it.
Happy Easter! Can you
believe it‘s already April? I
hope those of you with kids
have a nice Spring Break.
With April comes the deadline
for filing your income tax re-
turns. If you haven‘t already
filed them, think about taking
them to the Tax Assistance
P A G E 2
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
Headquarters & Support Company - Battle Penguins
Hello Families of HSC
277 ASB, first off I would like
to introduce myself. I am CPT
Natalie Nissen, the new com-
pany commander for HSC. I
am married to my amazing
husband, Matt Upward and
have two wonderful step-
children, Benjamin (13) and
Natalie (9). I am new to the
Fort Drum area, recently com-
ing from Fort Riley, KS and
working in the 541st Combat
Sustainment Support Battalion.
My family however still remains
in Kansas until later this spring.
Now I would like to con-
tinue with the best part of this
job, the Soldiers. February went
by quickly with the inspections
and changing of the entire com-
mand team. Now in March we
are focusing on getting the com-
pany into a rhythm. There will
be minor changes during the
work day but my main job is to
make sure that there are few to no
late nights and that the Soldiers
are getting the time needed to
spend with family.
Another change that will
be occurring is the search for a
new call sign and motto. There
will be a competition among the
Soldiers for a chance to no longer
be the Penguins. Currently we
are back to the historical Talons
as we transition to a new time. I
would like to instill camaraderie
and cohesion within the unit and I
think this is a good stepping stone
to do just that.
The FRG meeting is a little
later this month, March 28th, giv-
ing way for me to take enough
time to start the search for leaders
within the FRG. I hope to see
many of you there and help me
start rebuilding what could be a
great FRG organization.
I look forward to serving with
you and your Soldiers.
Natalie Nissen
Talon 6
(315)774-1465
By CPT Natalie Nissen
HSC Company Commander
Presently SGT Justin Lux the
Total Army Family Point of
Contact is assisting in the FRG
Leader Role. SGT Lux can be
reached at 315-396-2080
o r e m a i l a t
MIL There is a FRG Leader in
the wings to come forward dur-
ing the March FRG Meeting.
HSC FRG Meeting is Wednes-
day, March 28, 2012 at 5:30pm,
277th Battalion Classroom.
HSC FRG Meeting for April is
tentatively scheduled for April
12, 2012. Please stay tuned!
Please contact Michele Gallo-
way, the Battalion FRSA at 315-
774-1206 or email at Mich-
[email protected] if you
are interested in becoming FRG
Leader, Treasurer or Key Caller.
We look forward to hearing
from you soon!
HSC Family Readiness Group Notes
OPEN
HSC FRG Leader
P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 4
Alpha Company Family Readiness Group Updates
Alpha Company - Atlas
The FRG is a Command Program. I‘m a
volunteer liaison between the Families and
the Command Team. If you have any ques-
tions don‘t be scared to ask. I‘ve been
around the Army life for 13 years and here
at Fort Drum for 4 ½. I will do my best to
answer any questions or address any con-
cerns. If I don‘t have the answers, I will
find an answer or take it to the Command
Team for assistance.
Our Next meeting will be April 12th @
Rhicard Hills Community Center 5:30 Pot
Luck Dinner. Bring a Dinner dish and juice
or soda to share.
Our Soldiers, Our Family, On Our
Shoulders!
Sarah Popp
937-541-6371
Sarah Popp
A Company FRG Leader
Hello Alpha Families, welcome North
Country spring. Time to break out those flip
flops if you haven‘t done so already. Hope
everybody had or is having a great spring
break. Thank you to everybody that came
out to our March FRG meeting. I was a bit
nervous since it was my first official meet-
ing. But we had a great turn out and I‘m
glad that I got to meet a few of the new
spouses and welcome them to our Family.
This is just the beginning of a whole new
chapter of our Alpha Family history. Re-
building is the key right now to keep our Alpha Family strong, We are still looking
for some more volunteers, Key callers, a
treasurer, event planners, etc.. If you are
interested, please contact me.
Virtual FRG (vFRG)
Access
Visit the website:
www.armyfrg.org
Click on ―Find an FRG‖
Click on New York
Scroll down under Fort
Drum and click on ―277th
ASB/TF Mountain Eagle‖
Enter your personal infor-
mation and your Soldier’s
last four SSN
For issues or problems log-
ging in, contact the 10th
CAB FRSA, Jackie Sharpe at
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 1 0 4
By CPT Bryan Bolin
A Company Commander
I want to take this opportu-
nity to introduce myself to
those who have not met me. I
arrived at Fort Drum in August
of 2011 and worked with the
Rear Detachment as the assis-
tant BDE S3. I started my ca-
reer in 2004 as a platoon leader
in the Oregon National Guard.
In 2006 I was deployed to Af-
ghanistan as a maintenance con-
trol officer. I then spent time as
the XO for a field maintenance
company. In 2009 I was de-
ployed to Iraq as the BN S4.
Finally, in 2010 I was an assis-
tant BDE S4 before arriving to
Fort Drum.
It has been almost a month
since I took command of A
Company and I can safely say
that A Company has some of the
best Soldiers in the Army. I am
very pleased with what I have
seen so far and I know that we
will only get better as time goes
by. Right now we are transition-
ing from resetting the Company to
individual training. It feels like
we are going a million miles an
hour at the moment, but once we
get things set up and our proc-
esses in place it will calm down
some. This summer will be busy,
but will still allow time for Sol-
diers to be with their families.
We are continuing our opera-
tion of the refueling point and the
warehouse. In the coming months
we will also support the Brigade
gunnery by manning an ammuni-
tion holding area and operating
the refueling point for the dura-
tion. Additionally, we are run-
ning ranges, to include a mounted
machine gun range and
participating in a convoy
live fire exercise. These
are some very worthwhile
training opportunities and I know
we will excel.
This Company has an out-
standing reputation, which is di-
rectly attributable to the superb
leadership of each Soldier. I look
forward to mentoring and learning
from the Soldiers of A Company.
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
P A G E 4
Bravo Company - Hangar Rats By MAJ Ryan Guthrie
B Company Commander
Greetings Hangar Rat
Families: The short and mild
winter is transitioning into an
early spring. I know most
spouses are not happy that it
seems like we are always de-
ployed during the worst win-
ters. Enjoy the weather and
the countless warm weather
activities available to Soldiers
and Families in the North
Country this season.
The company distributed
multiple awards this month.
The Certificate of Achieve-
ment was awarded to PFC
Peter Gilbert and the Army
Achievement Medal was
awarded to PFC Joel Rempillo
for service while assigned to
the Rear-Detachment. Many
PCS awards were given to our
departing Soldiers to include
the Army Commendation
Medal to SGT Jesse Horrocks
and the Army Achievement
Medal to SPC Andrew Allen,
SPC Brent Brooks, SPC Eric
Roudybush, SPC Hector
Villegas, SGT Jason Katayama,
SPC Justin Corwin, and SPC
Thomas Schramm.
We promoted three Soldiers
this month. PFC Lott, SPC Bel-
castro, SPC Jordan, and SPC
Gogue. We reenlisted SPC Efta
this month for continued mili-
tary service. Re-enlistment is
getting tougher for Soldiers as
the Army attempts to draw down
its forces. Only the best get the
privilege of continued service.
We also received and wel-
comed outstanding Soldiers to
our formation in March. We
welcomed CW4 Relland Jones
and his wife, SGT Thomas
Sadler and his wife, PFC Greg-
ory King, PFC Darius Powell,
PFC Ronald Barton, SPC Benja-
min Jenkins, SPC Ronald Kuiper
and his wife, SPC Lance Person
and his wife, SPC Devin Stran-
anthan, and
PFC Greg-
ory Vaillan-
court.
Final ly,
the Com-
pany bid
farewell to some of our finest.
The company bid farewell to
CW5 Shawn Cummings who
started his retirement leave on 1
March 2012. We also bid fare-
well to SPC Andrew Allen, SPC
Dion Francis, and SPC Evan
Phillips. They will be missed
and we wish them the best in
their future endeavors. All of
our departed Soldiers received
an airframe plaque as a token of
our appreciation for the honored
service while in B Company,
277 ASB.
Until next month,
Major Ryan A Guthrie
Hangar Rat 6
(315) 772-4239
Bravo Company Family Readiness Group Updates
Gigi Tomsu
B Company FRG Leader Hello Bravo Soldiers and
Families! Another month has gone
by and April is finally here. Let‘s
get ready for spring and the out-
doors. There are many activities to
find on-post. There are walking
trails throughout post and play-
grounds for the family. A great
source to locate events going on at
Fort Drum is the MWR. They
have information on the Army
Community Service, BOSS, clubs
and restaurants, recreations, and
much more. Just go to
www.drummwr.com to see what
might interest you.
Our first company FRG meet-
ing on March 8th was enjoyable. It
was a small turn out, but I was
delighted to have more one on one
time with some new spouses. Cur-
rently, I am looking for ideas for
the future of our FRG whether it
be for our meetings, fundraising,
or other activities. This is the time
you can make a difference for our
FRG. I need your help because I
cannot do this alone. If you have
any thoughts or suggestions feel
free to contact me.
As a reminder, we still need key
callers. It is not a time consuming
position. It is also a great way to
connect with other spouses in our
company. The next key caller
training is April 11th from 10-
11:30am or 2-3:30pm at the ACS.
Call 315-772-0470/2848 to regis-
ter. Call early for reservations,
however childcare is not available.
Our next FRG meeting will be
on April 12th at 5:30pm. It will
be at the Adirondack Creek Com-
munity Center located on main
post. This meeting is a potluck!
Bring refreshments, sides, or des-
serts and join us for a good eve-
ning. It is not required to bring
food so still come by and join us.
There will also be a speaker from
the ACS joining us to give an
overview of what the ACS has to
offer. Bring your family along
for some free food and informa-
tive announcements. I hope to
see you at the next FRG meeting.
Take care!
Gigi Tomsu
315-777-6521
Charlie Company - Ravens
P A G E 5 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 4
By CPT Matthew Thompson
C Company Commander
We had our first company FRG
meeting since our return from
Afghanistan on Tuesday, March
13th. It was a pot luck at the
company and we had a pretty
decent turn out and some great
tasting snacks for our first meet-
ing. We talked about the way
ahead for the FRG and we de-
cided to set a monthly rhythm for
our FRG meetings and conduct
them on the second Thursday of
each month from 4:30-5:30 pm. So
our next meeting will be here at the
company on Thursday, April 12th.
Once the weather warms up we
plan on conducting our meetings at
parks around the community to en-
joy the great weather here in the
summer.
This month we finished up the
validation exercise for all of our
WIN-T communications equip-
ment. The CECOM team of engi-
neers commended the company as
having been one of the most pre-
pared and helpful units they had
ever encountered. That is abso-
lutely a result of all the hard work
2LT Elizabeth Cummins, our new
JNN Platoon Leader, and all of your
Ravens did to prepare for the exer-
cise. I can‘t thank each of you
enough for the support you provide to
your Soldier to allow that to happen.
This month we also did some re-
fresher cold weather training since we
have been out of the Fort Drum area
for so long. We broke out our tents
and heaters and conducted some
classes on how to survive in the ex-
treme cold that typically happens dur-
ing Fort Drum‘s winters. Lucky for
us, this was a mild winter. In April,
we will be preparing to support the
CAB‘s helicopter gunnery exercises
occurring in May with communica-
tions support from our WIN-T equip-
ment. Hope to see more of you at the
next FRG meeting!
Visit www.myarmyonesource.com
There are options to Login with your
username and password or Register if
you don‘t have a profile.
Fill out your information.
When you‘ve created a profile, click
on ―Volunteer‖ on the top right sec-
tion of the page. This will take you to
the Volunteer Management Informa-
tion System (VMIS)
Click on ―Opportunity Locator‖
Select ―Fort Drum‖ under Military
Community and ―FRG: 10 AVN–
277‖ under the Organization and click
Search.
Choose the volunteer position you‘d
like to apply for. When the new page
loads, click Apply.
Online VMIS FRG Volunteer Registration
Check out the vFRG! The 277th ASB vFRG has lots of informa-
tion and links to Fort Drum and military
resources! Link directly to CYS, ACS,
Military OneSource, My Army Benefits and
more! Check out AFTB and Mobilization
and Deployment training schedules! See
page 3 of this month’s newsletter log in
instructions!
Charlie Company FRG Notes Megan Wilson
C Company FRG Leader
Hello Everyone,
It‘s winter again! LOL! Spring will
come ―again‖ soon, hopefully. Thank
you all who came to our last FRG Meet-
ing in March. Our next FRG Meeting is
Thursday, April 12, 2012, 4:30pm at
Charlie Company.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Megan Wilson
818-279-3927
P A G E 6
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
D I D Y O U K N O W ?
Army Community Service
(ACS) has clinical Military
Family Life Consultants
(MFLCs) available for walk-
in confidential consults? If
you feel you need some-
one to talk to or are hav-
ing marital problems,
please call them at 315-212
-6919 or just stop by M-F
8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
ACS also has a Financial
Readiness Program that
provides free counseling or
advice on financial matters?
They can provide all types
of financial assistance: pull
credit reports, budgeting,
debt management, invest-
ing, etc. Call 772-0050 for
more info.
Behavioral Health Con-
tacts: Suicide Resources/
Hotlines Connor Clinic Appoint-
ment Line: 315-772-2778
After Hours Emergency
Services (Holidays and
Weekends) Before 9:00
pm: Acute Care Clinic,
315-772-5236
After 9:00 pm: Samaritan
Medical Center Emer-
gency Department: 315-
785-4100
Local 24-Hour Crisis Line:
315-785-4516
National Suicide Preven-
tion Lifeline: 1-800-273-
TALK
Suicide Prevention Action
Network (SPAN):
ww.spanusa.org
By CPT Steven Love
―He who answers before listening-
that is his folly and his shame.‖
Proverbs 18:13
If we are being honest we
would admit that there are times
we do not listen very well. Re-
cently I was able to spend some
good time with couples as well as
singles, talking about relationships
over Strong Bond events. I was
glad to take part in these events
with some great people. One of the
positives of a Strong Bonds get-
away is that people usually come
away saying/thinking that it is good
to equip myself to grow, succeed
and thrive in relationships.
For the married couple relation-
ships are work but by attending and
participating in Strong Bonds they
acknowledge relationships are
worth working on. For the singles,
besides getting to go to Niagara
Falls, they took some time to think
about how to prevent themselves
from getting involved with a jerk
or jerkette. Relationships are one of
the greatest parts of our lives and
also one of the greatest pains of our
lives.
One overwhelming reason why I
(along with other Chaplains and
counselors) find work never ending is
because ―love is blind‖. Researchers
at the University College London
found feelings of love lead to a sup-
pression of activity in the areas of the
brain controlling analytical thinking.
It seems that once we get close to a
person, there is a reduction in the
activity used in the brain. Romantic
love suppresses neural activity associ-
ated with one‘s ability to be a good
judge of a partner. In addition, mas-
sive releases of oxytocin, dopamine
and other hormones and neuropep-
tides in the brain create euphoric
feelings that further cloud analytic
judgments, masking those repeating
offenses that should be obvious warn-
ing signals of problems to come.
(Science Proves That Love is Blind,
BBC News Report on article from
Neurolmage. June 14,2004.)
Why are we having those prob-
lems? Well, those hormones have
come down (some more than others).
In the beginning of relationships if we
would slow the chemistry (the inti-
macy, passion and touch) down and
take time to know who we are drawn
to we might avoid an inevitable train
wreck. In many cases of premarital
counseling I find the couple has a
very limited capacity to listen. I hear
things that cry warning, warning! But
they don‘t hear any warnings, they
just ―feel that they are in love‖ and
everything will work out.
What can you do? Glad you asked.
Be aware of these three areas of social
skills that can hurt relationships:
Lack of insight how he or she comes
across to others. How are their inter-
personal skills or basic social skills?
Lack of emotional control or stability.
Are they up then down and all over
the place? Lack of basic relationship
skills. They don‘t apologize or they
have poor communication skills.
If you really want to enjoy a rela-
tionship for ―more than a minute‖ let
a good friend or a wise Pastor, Chap-
lain or counselor speak into your life
regarding these three areas. Then do
something that a wise person does,
listen to them. For it is a folly and a
shame to walk straight into trouble
when it can be avoided.
Love Big, Live Well
Chaplain Love
Love Is Blind
CONTACT INFORMATION BN Staff Duty 774-1200
24-hour BDE Staff Duty 774-1100
FRSA 774-1206 email [email protected]
FRG Leaders
HSC – OPEN/Acting FRG Ldr SGT Lux cell: 315-396-2080;
A Co – Sarah Popp-cell: 937-541-6371, [email protected]
B Co—GiGi Tomsu-cell: 315-777-6521, [email protected]
C Co—Megan Wilson-cell: 818-279-3927, [email protected]
FRG Advisors
Melissa Stiller – home 681-6734, email [email protected]
NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH
STRESS AWARENESS MONTH
APRIL 8, 2012 EASTER SUNDAY
APRIL 20, 2012 VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION DAY
APRIL 25, 2012 EXECUTIVE ADMIN DAY
V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 4
April 2012
P A G E 7
Mar. 24/25/31/Apr. 1 - Maple Days
(watch maple syrup being made on
post)- 10am—2pm at 45th Infantry Hill
Water Tower.
Mar. 29– Childcare names due.
Mar. 30– Arts and Crafts Center
closes permanently.
Apr. 2-6—Local Schools Spring Break.
Apr. 16-20 - Ft Drum Volunteer Ap-
preciation Week, 7am - 4:30pm at
ACS
Apr. 28 - USO Ice Cream Social - 2pm
-4pm at USO
Apr. 10/30 - Thrift Savings Plan Class–
2pm-2:30pm at ACS.
Community Events Need Help? Call or visit Military
OneSource to find infor-
mation about taxes, par-
enting, deployments,
finances, taxes, counsel-
ing, PCS moves & more!
Upcoming Key Caller
Class Dates: April 11th
All Classes are at ACS from
10-11:30am or 2-3:30 p.m.
Call Mobilization and Deployment to
register at 315-772-0470.
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 DONSA 7
8 EASTER 9 DONSA 10 11 Key Caller
Class 10-
11:30am/2-
3:30pm
12 FRG Mtgs
HSC, 5:30pm;
A, 5:30pm;
B, 5pm;
C, 4:30pm .
13 14
15 16 Treasurer
Report Due
Newsletter
Submission
Due
17 18 19 20 21
22 23 Key Caller
Advanced 1-
2:30pm
24 25 26 27 28
29 30 OPSEC
10:30am–
12pm
Training/Classes
FRG Suspenses
BDE/BN/CO FRG Meet-
ings/Training/Events
Joe Wietecha, Personal Financial
Counselor, is back and here to help
until April 13, 2012. Call him at 586-
350-7650 to help set up a budget,
check your credit, develop a plan to
get out of debt, get started investing,
or whatever you need assistance with.
You can also always call Financial
Readiness at 772-0050 for this same
type of assistance.
Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates, continued
P A G E 8
Eye On The Eagle
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
Center. Call or stop by after 1 pm
(772-6727/3635) to get an appoint-
ment for the next day, or if you do it
on a Friday after 1 pm, you can make
an appointment for the next week. It
might take a few minutes of calling
to get through, but this is a FREE
service for Soldiers and their Fami-
lies. Take advantage of it and don‘t
go pay H&R Block or someone else
to do your taxes. You deserve that
money you worked hard for, not
them! Now that many of you will be
getting a nice chunk of money back
from the government, think about
how you can use it to help yourself.
Resist the temptation to go spend it
and make a plan to put that money to
use. Pay off some debt, or start in-
vesting for specific goals (have you
made financial goals?), to buy a
house, or for your retirement. The
people at Financial Readiness, a
branch of ACS (Army Community
Service), 772-0050, and our Financial
MFLC (currently Joe Wietecha until
mid April) are here to provide free fi-
nancial advice. I‘ve worked with them
and they are really good financial
counselors. Anyone can become
wealthy, but it takes work- you have to
make a plan, make a budget, and start
saving now, even if just in small
amounts to begin with. Don‘t put it off.
Starting young puts you at a great ad-
vantage to develop that wealth because
of the amount of time your money has
to grow. I don‘t mean to preach, but I
really want each of you to be finan-
cially successful because I know it‘s
within your grasp! Think save (instead
of spending) and be rich!
Lastly, April is National Volunteer
Month. I‘d like to thank all our won-
derful volunteers in the 277th! The
FRG cannot be successful without you,
and we sure appreciate your helpful-
ness and dedication. Remember to stop
by ACS and get a gift for your vol-
unteer hours. I‘d especially like to
thank our terrific FRG Leaders;
Sarah Popp, Gigi Tomsu, and Megan
Wilson. You guys are great for doing
all that you do! I know it‘s a bit chal-
lenging right now since we are lack-
ing so many volunteers, but hang in
there and I‘m sure more people will
step up to help soon.
To the rest of you, please take the
time to say thank you to your FRG
Leader and Key Caller. They dedi-
cate their personal time to help keep
you informed. Thank you 277th Vol-
unteers!
B 277th ASB, TF Mtn Eagle.
SPC Efta was reenlisted by
CW3 Lonnie Leggett.
ARMY PHOTO BY CPT Melinda Walden
P A G E 9
SSG Pearson and SGT Rivera, Charlie Company’s platoon sergeants set up for a class on heaters duing cold
weather training.
RAVENS
Ravens setting up a medium size tent as part of our cold weather training.
P A G E 1 0 PICTURES CONTINUED
P A G E 11
277th Aviation Support Battalion History
In February 2006, the 277th Aviation Support Battalion
deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom VII, where it provided combat service and support
to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon.
The Unit redeployed in February of 2007 after earning the
Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker Award for best Aviation
Battalion in 2006 and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In October 2008, the 277th ASB deployed to Iraq in sup-
port of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-11, where it provided
support and combat services to the 10th CAB, Task Force
Lightning. The unit redeployed in October 2009 and earned
the Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker award for the Best
Combat Service Support Battalion for the work performed
during its 2008-2009 deployment.
20125 Hangar Access Road
Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield
Fort Drum, NY 13602
Phone: 315-774-1206
Fax: 315-774-1231
E-mail: [email protected]
277th Aviation Support Battalion
10th Combat Aviation Brigade
“Freedom and Liberty”
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