V I S I T S H A D O W

D U S T O F F O N

F A C E B O O K

The company also

unveiled the C/6-101

Shadow Dustoff Facebook Page in January. You can

find the page at http://

www.facebook.com/ShadowDustoff . We look

forward to providing our families current informa-

tion regarding their Sol-

diers’ achievements as well as upcoming events

for the Family Readiness Group on the page. The

page was also created with

the intent of documenting the heritage and 69-year

legacy of this great organi-

zation and all of its previ-ous Soldiers.

C / 6 - 1 0 1 M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R

THE 9-LINE Volume 1, Issue 6 15 February 2013

UNIT KEEPS FOCUS NEAR THE END

D U S T O F F 6 C O R N E R

W e would like to

thank all of the

support that you

provided from the

homefront that enabled our unit to

maintain focus while celebrating

the winter holidays and welcom-

ing the New Year during this de-

ployment. Our families and

friends are truly the foundation of

this great organization and all of

the individual and collective

achievements that your Soldiers

continue to produce here in Af-

ghanistan.

The unit continues to provide

first-rate MEDEVAC support to

our coalition and Afghan National

Security Forces across eastern

Afghanistan. As we are now in

the final third of our deployment

our Soldiers understand the need

for heightened mission focus and

emphasis on safety. The aviation

standardization section reinforced

(See: FOCUS on page 5)

1ST STILL FIGHTING FIGHT By CPT John Keutmann

1st Platoon Leader

January has been an-

other busy month for 1st

Platoon. Our missions con-

tinue to keep us on our toes

with new challenges still to

overcome. The platoon has

been attending small arms

ranges to keep our skills

sharp at Ghazni and Warrior.

We were fortunate to knock

out a lot of good flight train-

ing for our crewmembers in

progression (SPC Ryan

Lawrence and SGT Carlos

Morales earlier in the

month), which benefits the

pilots and back-seaters alike.

Towards the end of the

month we’ve had a lot of

winter weather. The weather

has delayed training and

mission load, but is a wel-

come break for the Soldiers

in the platoon who have

been working tirelessly for

the last six months.

Specialist Shelton Kill-

ingsworth, SGT Walter

Sanders, SGT Alex Marcum,

(See FIGHT on page 4)

T O P

D U S T O F F

A V I A T O R

Shadow

DUSTOFF Instruc-

tor Pilot CW3

Adam Stratton has

been selected as the

DUSTOFF Asso-

ciation Aviator of

the Year for 2012.

This annual award

is presented to rec-

ognize excellence

in service either for

one mission or for

an aviator’s career.

Tremendous per-

formance by an

inspiring aviator.

Above, CW3 Josh Williams discusses a mission prior to launch. At left, CPT John Keut-mann, left, pro-motes Specialist Stephen Adams, right, to Sergeant as Sergeants Cory McElhatton and Andrew Six hold the flag during a promo-tion ceremony.

Page 2 T H E 9 - L I N E

T O P ’ S T I M E

SOLDIERS BUSY WITH REDEPLOYMENT PREP

Page 2

A nother month

has come and

gone in the

blink of an eye,

and, here we are in Febru-

ary.

The MEDEVAC mis-

sion may have slowed

down but our Soldiers have

not as we are busy with our

preparations for our re-

placements to arrive. Al-

though it is easy to sit and

dream of family reunions,

trips to Disney Land, Lego

Land or just a day not hav-

ing to be in uniform, we

must remind ourselves to

remain focused on the task

at hand and like the Com-

mander likes to say “Finish

Strong.”

As operations in Jala-

labad come to an end for

our 4th Platoon Soldiers,

it’s just one more step in

the drawdown here in Af-

ghanistan. It reminds us the

landscape that we will

leave behind will be vastly

different than the one we

fell in on.

The Commander and I

were able to close out the

month of January by get-

ting away from BAF and

out to each of the sites for

a day or two. We were able

to sit down with all the

Soldiers and talk to them

about what a great job they

have done and listen to

their concerns and address

(See PREP on page 3)

By CPT Dave Behrmann

3rd Platoon Leader

Hello, again, from the Soldiers of Ba-

gram DUSTOFF. We find ourselves in the

twilight of our deployment as our upcoming

redeployment looms in the near future.

While we are all very excited to return home

again to our family and friends, we still

maintain a mission-focused attitude while

beginning preparations for our upcoming

relief in place by C Company, 3rd Battalion,

10th Combat Aviation Brigade. Although our

flight time has decreased as the winter

months continue, we have still had many

notable events that shape our Company as a

whole.

We are continually greeted by our Jala-

labad colleagues as they transition to Bagram

after handing over their operations with the

members of a National Guard MEDEVAC

unit. It is always a welcome sight to see fa-

miliar faces that some haven’t seen since we

deployed and have their company around to

assist in our mission here at Bagram. The

majority of the JAF team arrived in time for

the Super Bowl, which, while early in the

morning, still attracted a crowd to partake in

well received rivalries and good natured ban-

ter. Deer sausage donated by CPT David

Riggs, one of our Enroute Critical Care Pro-

viders, was grilled to celebrate the event.

This month also brought about the pro-

motion of Sergeant Dereck Bible, a crew

chief in 3rd Platoon. His accomplishments

have been apparent throughout this deploy-

ment, both in missions and maintenance and

his promotion is long overdue. Establishing

himself in the corps of Non-Commissioned

Officers, SGT Bible will surely make a fine

addition to the leadership of Charlie Com-

pany. Congratulations, SGT Bible!

Recently we were paid a visit by none

other than “Magnus,” the Air Force working

dog. Unlike his prior visits though, this visit

was more serious in nature. His handler

greeted us and asked for a volunteer to prac-

tice Magnus’ attack skills. Without a beat,

everyone in the group immediately pointed at

SFC Chad Neal. After being fitted in a pro-

tective jacket, he was instructed on several

training scenarios. When Magnus was led

into the hangar, his demeanor was visibly

different from his other visits. Instead of the

happy-go-lucky attitude, he imparted a steely

-eyed stare down with SFC Neal, never tak-

ing him out of his sight. After a quick com-

mand from his handler, Magnus jumped onto

SFC Neal, clamping down on his arm as he

attempted to run away. As quickly as Man-

gus had latched himself to SFC Neal though,

he released him with a simple “Out!” com-

mand from the handler. This demonstration

(See PROMOTED Continued on page 3)

Several unit

Soldiers tabbed

for sergeant

DUSTOFF SOLDIERS PROMOTED Sergeant

Dereck Bible, left, is con-gratulated by longtime friend, Specialist Marcus Barton, after Bible’s recent promotion to Sergeant. A number of Shadow DUSTOFF Soldiers were promoted to Sergeant in January.

Page 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 6

4TH PLATOON SIGNS OFF FROM JAF Some Shadow DUSTOFF Soldiers to redeploy early

By CPT Jared Brynildsen

4th Platoon Leader

Hello for the last time from

4th Platoon. For those that have

not yet heard the news, 4th Pla-

toon has received orders to return

home early along with the Task

Force Saber, which it has been

supporting throughout the de-

ployment. Due to several re-

alignments and mission changes

it was deemed necessary to send

TF Saber back after successful

mission completion.

Needless to say there are

very few complaints coming

from our Soldiers. Though it is

bittersweet that we are leaving

our DUSTOFF brothers and sis-

ters early, everyone is happy to

be returning home to friends and

family after a job well done.

Families can rest assured

that every 4th Platoon Soldier

contributed tremendously to the

overall success of the DUSTOFF

and TF Saber missions. During

the deployment, your Soldiers

completed 107 life-saving mis-

sions, many of which were com-

pleted under extreme circum-

stances. The lives of more than

150 American, Afghan, and Coa-

lition Force members were saved

as a direct result of your loved

ones’ work ethic, dedication, and

heroic actions.

Aside from missions, your

Soldiers completed more than

100 credit hours towards upper-

level degrees, and as a direct

result of the high quality of Non-

Commissioned Officers in the

platoon, eight Soldiers received

promotable status, two of whom

have already been promoted.

This deployment, though

shorter than normal, has been a

very successful one. The platoon

definitely had spurts of cabin

fever, but in the end everyone

acted as a family. It was with

great pride that SFC Ramos and I

led this platoon through Opera-

tion Enduring Freedom XII-XIII

and it is with gratitude that we

return every Soldier of 4th Pla-

toon to their families and friends.

continued until the exercise

was complete and we were

all allowed to pet Magnus

who, like a light switch,

went from attack mode, to

friendly mode.

As we prepare to head

home, one cannot help but

look back at all the accom-

plishments we’ve made

throughout this deployment

and not feel a heightened

level of pride in ourselves,

both as individuals and as an

organization. I am im-

mensely proud of each and

every one of my Soldiers

and their family members

who have sacrificed so much

these past eight months and

given their sweat, tears and

blood to accomplishing the

MEDEVAC mission. I look

forward to seeing everyone

re-united with their loved

ones when we step off the

plane and seeing them get

the well deserved rest they

will receive.

(Continued from page 2)

any rumors that may be lurking

around. At all the sites the Sol-

diers seemed to be in high spir-

its and each site had their own

way of passing time between

missions. At JAF, there was

Monopoly Deal; at Ghazni, it

was classic Monopoly; at

Shank there were videos; at

Warrior there were episodes

and talk about Top Gear and

“The Stig” (the British ver-

sion). And here at BAF it is

ping pong. However, there is

one common game among all

the sites, and that is “Call of

Duty.”

Congratulations to all of

the Soldiers promoted this

month. Former Specialists

Stephen Adams, Dereck Bible,

Javier Coromac, Jermaine

McKenney, Walt Sanders, and

Kevin Wright have now joined

the ranks of the NCO Corps.

Making Sergeant is a giant step

and I know each of them has

been well prepared by their

leadership. It is your time to

train those who will come after

you and prepare them.

-- 1SG Bailey

(Continued from page 2)

PREP PROMOTED

Sergeant First Class Chad Neal, above right, squares off against Mangus, an Air Force Working Dog, during a recent training event at Shadow DUSTOFF’s hangar.

and SPC Kyle Lamont were awarded the

Polish Army Medal by our Polish brothers in

arms at Ghazni for actions taken during a

MEDEVAC mission to save one of their

Soldiers.

We continue to build our relationship

with our ISAF partners to provide the best

service possible.

We had the pleasure of promoting Sand-

ers, Jermaine McKenney, Javier Coromac,

and Stephen Adams to the rank of Sergeant.

We welcome all of them to the Non-

Commissioned Officer Corps and we are

expecting great things from them in the fu-

ture. SPC Billy Taylor went to the promo-

tion board this month and received his pro-

motable status. Soon he will be joining the

ranks of the other fine NCOs in C Company.

The weather was pleasant most of the

month, but it’s been snowing on a regular

basis the last couple of weeks. This has given

the platoon the opportunity to practice close

quarters combat snowball tactics.

Outnumbered and out-flanked, 1LT

Matthew Perry and I still managed to put a

hurtin’ on our crew chiefs and medics. They

quickly learned that accurate, superior fire

power can be achieved by a lesser number

and overwhelm a much larger force when

coupled with the desire and will to win.

At the end of the day, the only real dam-

age done was the damage done to their pride.

We stand ready for any who challenge on the

field of battle (the flight-line) come next

snowfall.

We had the pleasure of sending our first

Soldiers back to the States to their families

this month. It is an exciting time to be able to

send some of our Soldiers home to be with

their families and not expect them back since

the end is so near.

Chief Warrant Officer Twos Stephen

King and Ashley Weber, thank you for all

you’ve done during this deployment, and we

can’t wait to join you back in the States soon.

Meanwhile, we remain focused and vigi-

lant in our duty. We will continue to fight on

until our very last day in country and thank

you for your support in this difficult task. It

is because of your support that we are able to

continue to give our support to the Soldiers

we serve in harm’s way.

(Continued from page 1)

Page 4 T H E 9 - L I N E

FIGHT

Newly promoted SGT Walter Sanders, Specialists Shelton Killingsworth and Kyle Lamont and SGT Alex Marcum were recently awarded the Polish Army Medal for their work during a mission to save a wounded Polish Soldier.

Page 5 T H E 9 - L I N E

By Captain Bryan Mathena

Headquarters Platoon Leader

January has been, without

question, the busiest month so far

for Headquarters Platoon. In the

past few weeks, all Headquarters

personnel augmenting our 4th

Platoon had to pack up and leave

Jalalabad.

At any given time, roughly

one quarter of Headquarters Pla-

toon was assigned to Jalalabad,

most for several months at a

time, others for most of the de-

ployment. After being a part of

the mission in that region for so

long, it’s been a challenge to

adjust to our new home at Ba-

gram, a new routine and most of

all, the colder weather.

Despite the movements, two

Headquarters Soldiers assigned

to augment 4th Platoon and train

with them at Jalalabad attended a

promotion board on 31 January

to become eligible for promotion

to Sergeant. It’s my pleasure to

announce that Specialists Bran-

don Eddinger and Jacob Hurst

are now promotable. I also want

to thank our hosts for all of their

hard work preparing these two

Soldiers for the board. Without

their help and dedication, this

wouldn’t have been possible.

Chief Warrant Officer Two

Eric Radford, SSG Brandon

Shaw and SGT Andrew Six have

begun preparing the company for

redeployment in several ways.

With dozens of award submis-

sions, the trio has been swamped

with awards, which is a good

thing. However, reviewing them

to ensure all award packets are

checked and ready for submis-

sion to our Task Force, is a time

consuming process.

As we move closer to return-

ing home, the time has come to

look at professional develop-

ment, which means schools and

training. The Admin shop has

been receiving requests and map-

ping out windows for Soldiers,

Non-commissioned officers,

Warrant and Commissioned offi-

cers to attend various profes-

sional development courses like

the Warrior Leader’s Course,

which prepares Specialists and

newly promoted Sergeants to

function as NCOs.

Chief Warrant Officer Four

Joe Callaway, CW3 Michael

Nielson and SFC Chad Neal have

been working to set the company

up for success by identifying

aircraft and equipment that needs

to be refurbished after our return

home. This process involves

identifying what equipment

needs to be inventoried and

packed. A time consuming proc-

ess, this will ensure that we’re

prepared to turn the appropriate

equipment and set the stage to

resume flying at Fort Campbell.

JANUARY THE BUSIEST FOR HQ

Headquarters Soldiers from JAF are enjoying some colder weather.

environmental training to

hone the techniques re-

quired to continue safe

operation in this environ-

ment, the maintainers

provided the skills and

expertise required to

maintain the aircraft under

challenging environmental

conditions, and the flight

medics and enroute criti-

cal care providers seized

the opportunity to conduct

required medical training

to maintain their medical

readiness. This collective

teamwork has been essen-

tial in sustaining a mission

-ready MEDEVAC or-

ganization.

During the upcoming

months, the unit faces the

challenge of continued

mission accomplishment

and setting the conditions

for the successful replace-

ment from our inbound

counterparts. All Soldiers

and leaders are identifying

the systems that have been

established during our

tenure and creating the

products that will enable

the continuity of

MEDEVAC operations

after we depart.

Fourth Platoon, led

by CPT Jared Brynildsen

and SFC Audrey Ramos,

conducted the first relief-

in-place operations for the

company at Jalalabad

Airfield. This great team

developed outstanding

training plans and a pro-

fessional handover to a

platoon from Charlie

Company, 2nd Battalion,

149th Aviation Regiment

who relocated from an

existing area within Re-

gional Command-East

(RC-E) as a part of the

changing environment and

operations in Afghanistan.

Their first-rate transfer of

authority is a testament to

the outstanding perform-

ance of this MEDEVAC

platoon and their excep-

tional actions in support

of our wounded Soldiers

in the Nuristan, Nangahar,

Laghman, and Kunar re-

gions of RC-East.

We promoted CW3

Justin Horton and SGT

Ryan Drahman during the

month of January with

more to follow in the

coming month. Special-

ists Stephen Adams, De-

reck Bible, Kevin Wright,

Jermaine McKenney,

Javier Coromac, and Wal-

ter Sanders were also pro-

moted to the rank of Ser-

geant on February 1st. It

is encouraging and moti-

vating to see the growth of

these Soldiers during the

past year and previous

deployments as they con-

tinue to demonstrate the

increased potential for

greater leadership posi-

tions and responsibility.

As we approach the

period of redeployment of

equipment, aircraft, and

personnel, the chain of

command will provide the

Family Readiness Group

information regarding

projected dates and times

for these movements. To

ensure we maintain opera-

tional security, this infor-

mation will be sent to our

Brigade and Battalion

Rear-Detachments as they

are responsible for notifi-

cation of families and

official movement dates

and times. Soldiers have

been informed to refrain

from publishing this infor-

mation on social media or

email to prevent misinfor-

mation due to constantly

changing movement win-

dows and requirements.

We will work to ensure

that all families receive

information in a timely

manner. Thanks again for

all of your continued sup-

port! – Air Assault!

— MAJ Chris Chung

(Continued from page 1)

FOCUS

Page 6 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 6

F riends and Fam-

ily of Shadow

DUSTOFF!

Your support

during this deployment

continues to be out-

standing and extremely

helpful! As our Soldiers

continue to work hard and

remain focused on the

MEDEVAC mission

down range, the unit’s

redeployment grows

closer. With the redeploy-

ment of our Soldiers

comes the importance for

positive information flow

to our families and friends

so that they can be pre-

pared for their Soldier’s

return.

Visit http://

www.campbell.army.mil ,

scroll over the “Families”

tab and select the lowest

option on the drop down

menu listed as “Welcome

Home Ceremonies.”

On the “Welcome

Home Ceremony” Page,

Fort Campbell provides

information in the form of

a Ceremony #/Unit/Date/

Time. Ceremony times

are subject to change at

any time, based on flight

arrivals. Also listed on

this page are the direc-

tions to and operating

hours of the installation

Visitors Center, what to

expect at the welcome

home ceremony, and what

not to bring to the cere-

mony. Unit points of

contact are also listed as

well. Information regard-

ing the return of your Sol-

dier will be provided by

the 101 CAB through the

Immediate Response In-

formation System, a pre-

recorded message sent to

selected personnel based

on the manifests provided

by the redeploying units

to the Brigade.

If you receive the

message it will contain the

Ceremony# for your Sol-

dier that you can look up

on the Fort Campbell

website. Please remain in

contact with your Soldier

for their projected return

dates.

As a reminder, we

recommend no more

packages/mail be sent

after 15 February to en-

sure your items do not get

lost in the shuffle when

the unit begins to change

out with their incoming

counterparts. Also, we

were looking at our next

spouses night out on 23

Feb 13 at the Blackhorse

Pub in Clarksville, TN.

Please email me

(Kathy.chung@us.army.m

il) if you are interested!

Thanks again for all

your support!

-Kathy Chung

For information on Shadow DUSTOFF Welcome Home Ceremonies, visit www.campbell.army.mil and click on the “Families” drop-down menu. Click on “Welcome Home Ceremonies” for the latest informa-tion on each unit’s arrival times.

KEEP INFORMED ON FORT CAMPBELL WEB PAGE