Wolfpack Family Readiness Group team.

All of the baked goods, candy, and decorations definitely in-

creased our morale and made this holiday season especially

enjoyable and memorable.

December was also a great

month for recognizing out-standing Soldiers with awards

and promotions. SPC Dozier and SPC Balaoas were both

promoted to the rank of Ser-geant and inducted into the

Noncommissioned Officer Corps. Additionally, SGT Mack-

all was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant. A total of six

Soldiers were awarded the Army Achievement Medal for

meritorious achievement, and

two Soldiers earned Certificates

of Achievement for excellence during specific operations.

Great work, Wolfpack!

On December 30th the company bid farewell to CPT Fritz Beck

and his wife Sherri, and thanked

them for their hard work and dedication to the Wolfpack over

the past year. We also extended a warm welcome to CPT William

Morris, the new Wolfpack Com-mander. Special thanks to Vic-

toria Goepfert, wife of CPT Jacob Goepfert, who will become the

Wolfpack FRG leader. Your will-ingness to serve is much appre-

ciated by our team.

Happy New Year to all!

31 December 2011

Volume 2, Issue 7

TASK FORCE

LOBOS

Featuring updates from:

HHC/Wolfpack 1

A CAC/Vultures

A ASLT/Werewolves

B CO/Blackcats

2

B ATK/Reapers

C CO/Witchdoctors

D CO/ Outlaws

3

E CO/Renegades

F CO/Ravens

Rear Det/Rear Guard

4

stone in our deployment. Our

Soldiers enjoyed a memorable holiday season with their com-

rades in arms. At each of our operating sites, leaders ensured

that Soldiers had the opportu-nity to speak with loved ones

over the telephone, enjoy ex-

travagant meals at the camp dining facilities, and wherever

possible, enjoy some time off.

Nonetheless, our mission did not cease during the holiday.

Our Soldiers maintained 24-hour operations in four Air Traffic

Control towers throughout Af-ghanistan, provided around-the-

clock fueling and rearming capa-bilities, provided command,

control, logistical, and adminis-trative support within the Tacti-

cal Operations Center, operated two medical aid stations, and

executed maintenance on our fleet of aircraft and vehicles. In

addition, each of our flight com-panies executed missions in the

air. I know you join CSM Soliz and me in feeling extreme pride

for the dedicated service of your loved ones during this time of

year. - LOBO6

Force Lobos to provide aviation

support during the operation.

Components of all five flight com-panies, with essential support

from each aviation support com-pany, enabled this mission to

succeed. In particular, the Task

Force provided air movement of personnel and critical supplies,

provided attack weapons teams, and performed a leaflet drop to

support the Afghan objective. The end result was the surrender of

enemy forces, the safe release of hostages, and the liberation of a

besieged community.

This operation highlighted the growing trend of Afghan units

gradually taking the lead in the planning and execution of counter

insurgency operations. Incidents of this nature ensure that our

Afghan counterparts gain the competence and confidence nec-

essary to someday operate alone. Task Force Lobos is particularly

proud of the contribution our team made to their success.

Of course, the arrival of the holi-

days marked a significant mile-

Family and friends, December

proved another excellent month for the Wolfpack. First

and foremost we’d like to send our

appreciation and gratitude to all of

you for making our

holiday season extra joyful while

deployed. Over the last month, the

Company has re-ceived an over-

whelming number of holiday care

packages from friends, family, and

our second-to-none HHC Commander, CPT William Morris, and acting First

Sergeant, SFC David Little, on Camp Marmal.

LTC Huff and Command Sergeant Major

Soliz stand near the Task Force Christmas

Tree inside the Tactical Operations Center

at Camp Marmal, Afghanistan.

Task Force Lobos, Regional Command-North, Afghanistan

Task Force Commander As we usher in a new calendar

year, the Lobos continue to pro-vide professional, responsive,

and effective aviation capabili-ties to our International Security

Assistance Force (ISAF) allies. As our deployment progresses, our

aircrews and support personnel

continue to fine-tune their skill in the completion of assigned mis-

sions. Despite challenges from adverse weather, the Task Force

remained the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade’s premier air movement,

air assault, aerial reconnais-sance, and attack formation.

The month of December brought

with it another opportunity for our Task Force to directly inte-

grate with Afghan security forces in the execution of a very impor-

tant two-week offensive opera-tion. After insurgent forces took

several Afghan Soldiers hostage and overran a defenseless civil-

ian village, the Afghan Army and Police planned a major operation

to gain the freedom of the hos-tages and liberate the town from

enemy control. As to be ex-pected, they called upon Task

Vultures

Due to poor weather, we are finding our-

selves spending more time on the ground

than in the air. Even though we flew fewer

hours, we still completed all possible mis-

sions and provided outstanding support

throughout Regional Command – North.

Despite the slower days, we still found our-

selves staying busy on the ground conduct-

ing maintenance and ensuring the aircraft

are always ready to launch. Recently, SSG

Tirado paved the way for external fuel tank

installation on one of the aircraft. For sev-

eral weeks, the crew chiefs spent countless

hours in the cold, rain, and snow installing

and troubleshooting the system to ensure it

worked properly. All the crew chiefs contin-

ued to do an awesome job regardless of the

weather. We thank them for their continu-

ous hard work and dedication.

The Vultures congratulate CW2 Turner for

achieving RL1 day, night, and NVG status.

With CW2 Turner’s progression complete,

the instructor pilots are beginning the proc-

ess of training Vulture pilots on the external

fuel tank system. CW3 Schmich, CW3 Har-

rington, and CW3 Davis continue to provide

excellent instruction to all of our pilots.

This month the Vultures presented several

awards to SGT Wilcox. Our Battalion Com-

mander, LTC Huff, awarded SGT Wilcox an

Air Medal for service, an ARCOM with Valor

for his efforts during an air assault several

months ago while assisting German ground

forces, his PCS ARCOM, and NATO Service

Medal. SGT Wilcox was one of our best door

gunners and crew chiefs over the past sev-

eral years for the Vultures, and we reluc-

tantly bid him farewell.

With the conclusion of the holidays, the Vul-

tures send a big thank you to all the Fami-

lies who sent us care packages over the last

few weeks; special thanks to our FRG for the

Christmas stockings and baked goodies.

Your Blackcat Soldiers continue to dedicate

themselves to their important mission in

Blackcats

ready” posture, developing physical fitness,

and strengthening relationships with loved

ones.

We also changed Family Readiness Group

leaders. The Werewolves thank Mrs. Sarah

Cox-Gardner for her significant contribu-

tions to the company. Additionally, we wel-

come Mrs. Patricia Lewis as the new FRG

leader, and thank her in advance for the

effort and support her service represents.

With a view of snow capped mountains, the

Werewolves experienced a unique deployed

Christmas. Though we could not spend the

holiday with family at home, we spent it as

a family and team here in Afghanistan. With

decorations lining the command post,

boxes filled with gifts from home, and a

delicious dinner, the holiday was well re-

Werewolves

The month of December passed quickly for

the Werewolves as the battle rhythm and

focus on mission accomplishment kept the

company consumed with operations. The

Werewolves experienced several significant

events this month, including a change of

command, a change of Family Readiness

Group leader, and arrival of the holidays.

On December 15, 2011, CPT Nelson relin-

quished command to CPT Moore. CPT Nel-

son leaves the Werewolves to attend the

Career Course at Fort Rucker. Since taking

command, CPT Moore has “hit the ground

running.” His command philosophy in-

cludes establishing a team proud of the

Werewolves’ history, maintaining a “battle-

Page 2 TASK FORCE LOBOS

LTC Huff presents awards to SGT Wilcox prior to his

departure from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, setting the standard for mis-

sion accomplishment on a daily basis. We

extend a warm welcome to Specialist Benja-

min Jones, a new arrival to the unit from one

of our sister companies. He joins an ex-

tremely professional formation operating at

the highest level of success. The Soldiers,

Warrant Officers, and Leaders of the com-

pany continue to do an outstanding job, and

we’re sure he will contribute at the same

level of excellence.

The Blackcats enjoyed a fantastic Christmas

party on the 25th at Camp Marmal. We

exchanged small gifts, played games, and

enjoying delicious pizza from the German

“Pizza Place”.

ceived. The myriad of care packages helped

remind us of home and the purpose behind our

sacrifice. With gratitude and optimism for the

future, we wish you all a Happy New Year.

CPT Moore accepts the company guidon from LTC Huff.

CPT Jeter and CW3(P) Brown pose for a picture

before a mission in Kundoz, Afghanistan.

We look forward to the upcoming New Year

and the rewarding events that await us in

2012. Our eagerness and excitement to

return to Fort Hood is growing as we begin

planning and preparing our company for

redeployment.

Thank you for the dedicated support during

this holiday season. The Blackcats truly

appreciate the numerous care packages

and Christmas cards that we received from

our families and friends. The unconditional

support from our Family Readiness Group

continues to amaze us. Special thanks to

Marietta Groh for leading the Blackcats’

FRG!

forward to concluding the second half of our

mission in Afghanistan.

Volume 2, Issue 7

Outlaws

As we

marched

through the

Holiday Sea-

son, the

Reapers

continued to

enjoy the

frequent

care pack-

ages and

holiday cards

from friends

and family

back home.

Although the

weather was

somewhat

dreary on

Christmas

Day, our spirits remained high as we contin-

ued to progress through the second half of

the deployment. With seven months

squarely behind us, everyone is beginning to

see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Despite a significant reduction in flyable

weather, the Reapers maintained a 24-hour

schedule of crews standing by to launch

when the occasion called. The Reaper Crew

Chiefs continued to brave the freezing tem-

peratures on a daily basis to keep our air-

craft ready to fly. The Reapers also supple-

mented Task Force Guns with four pilots

during a lengthy mission assisting our Af-

ghan counterparts. While this tasking, along

with Soldiers away from Afghanistan for mid-

tour R&R, put a heavy strain on the remain-

der of the Company’s Soldiers, we continued

to maintain our capabilities and execute a

full schedule of combat operations at Camp

Marmal.

to Fort Hood approaches quickly. The Sol-

diers enjoyed the Holiday festivities, includ-

ing a Christmas X-Box tournament, and the

swapping of stories around a live-action fire-

place and wooden Christmas Tree

(constructed by the Shops Platoon). Also,

everyone relaxed and enjoy items received

through the mail. These festive activities

proved short as the non-stop mission cycle

provided the Company meaningful work,

even on the holidays.

As we continued with daily maintenance, the

Soldiers started to process the needed pa-

perwork and conduct the planning to accom-

plish our next major mission -- redeploy-

With the

ending of

the holiday

season

and the

start of the

New Year,

the Sol-

diers of

Delta Com-

pany rec-

ognize that

the day of

their return

ment. The Outlaws continued to perform a

difficult job maintaining our sizable fleet of

aircraft on a daily basis. Their time and sacri-

fice to the mission is noticed by all and appre-

ciated by every Soldier flying the aircraft upon

which they work. As we make the turn into

2012 our end goal draws near and the daily

operations ensure that time passes quickly.

As always I would like to thank all of the FRG

volunteers for their continued hard work and

all of the spouses at home for their sacrifice

over the past 7 months. From each of us,

Happy New Year and we look forward to re-

uniting with you all very soon.

cluded realistic live training exercises. These

initiatives improve the medical readiness of

our allies and provides us

with opportunities to im-

prove multi-national rela-

tions.

Although the holidays tend

to remind us of the dis-

tance between ourselves

and our family, your deter-

mined support diminished

that effect as much as

anyone could have hoped.

You are the backbone of

our morale; your thought-

ful gifts and words of sup-

port have enabled us to

carry on against the cold

winter winds. We all look

Happy New Year from the Soldiers of Charlie

Company. Now on the down slope of the

deployment, we are ever grateful for the

kindness and support that we received from

loved ones throughout the holiday season.

Your kindness and generosity really made

the holiday season special for our Soldiers.

As we enter 2012, the thought of returning

home has turned from wishful thinking to

deliberate planning. While each site contin-

ued to focus on the MEDEVAC mission

through the coldest month to date, we also

started preparing equipment for redeploy-

ment. Additionally, our air-ground integra-

tion training continued throughout Decem-

ber, with weekly training with German, Fin-

nish, and Norwegian counterparts that in-

Page 3

Several Outlaws near the Company’s

Christmas decorations.

Witchdoctors

Witchdoctors pose with Christmas stockings in the hangar at Camp Marmal.

The most significant event of the month was

the Bravo Company Change of Command on

December 2nd. The Reapers bid farewell to

CPT Joy Nickel, who will briefly serve on the

Brigade staff before redeploying. We also

welcomed the new Bravo Company Com-

mander, CPT Thomas Richert, who joins the

Company from Task Force Attack. He looks

forward to meeting all of the families and

friends of Bravo Company upon our return to

Fort Hood.

As the Company begins another year, the

Reapers eagerly await our return to Fort

Hood and reintegration with our families.

Rest assured that planning and initial ac-

tions to accomplish that objective are al-

ready well underway at the Brigade, Task

Force, and Company level. Everyone in the

Company looks forward to the excitement of

this upcoming transition. Until then, we wish

everyone a happy and safe New Year. Reapers stand behind a table

overflowing with Christmas presents.

Reapers

The Renegades are working harder than

ever! Your family members proved that

they have what it takes to succeed despite

the ever-present challenges of extremely cold weather, contingency operating conditions,

and the arrival of the holiday season. Special thanks to our Family Readiness Group volun-

teers for their strong efforts making this Christmas a very memorable season of our

deployment.

Maintenance Platoon executed beyond ex-

pectations during the month of December, recovering 9 vehicles, repairing and complet-

ing weekly services on 20 generators, and flawlessly maintaining a 99.5% combat readi-

ness rate. All of these missions were done while completing 32 work orders, including

the repair of 5 arctic heaters, the turn in of 18 HMMWVs for RESET, completion of 4 ser-

vices on LMTVs and HEMTTs, plus 5 ATV re-pairs. Congrats to our Motorpool for such a

fantastic record of accomplishment during the month!

The Distribution Platoon issued over

105,000 gallons of fuel and 18 different types of ammunition to Task Force Lobos

aircraft and coalition forces during Decem-ber. PFC Isaac was newly promoted from

PV2 to PFC by CSM Vela during his visit to PRT Meymaneh. The constant rotation

schedule of our Distribution Platoon allows

service members a chance to conduct refu-eling operations at three different sites

while gaining vast experience.

December proved another successful month for HQ Platoon. Our Supply Section

and Orderly Room personnel completed dozens of administrative and logistical

requirements for the Company’s Soldiers. Finally, our Food Services Soldiers sur-

passed everyone’s expectations by serving a fabulous Christmas meal at our Dining

Facility, impacting the entire Task Force. Renegades!

Renegades

traditions of our allies in Afghanistan. Kun-

duz and MeS celebrated in German style,

which translated into lots of chocolate, deli-

cious meals, and camaraderie. At Meya-

manah, our Norwegian counterparts taught

our controllers the many contributions

that reindeer make to the Norwegian

culture. Our Shindand team celebrated

the pure American way, with a top notch

meal and a viewing of the classic movie

A Christmas Story. All Foxtrot Company

Troopers enjoyed the opportunity to

unwind, have fun, and celebrate the

holidays in their own way.

On behalf of every F/2-227 Trooper, I

would like to let you know that we miss

our families and sincerely appreciate

your continued support. Our Soldiers

always execute to the highest standards

and 1SG Pinckney and I couldn’t be prouder

to share this time of year with such an excel-

lent group of Cavalry Troopers! We wish you

all a Happy New Year.

Ravens

The month of December brought change to

the Rear Guard family. We said goodbye to

CPT Lukas Berg on December 5th as he

prepared to deploy forward and face new

challenges in Afghanistan, and welcomed

CPT Brian Anderson as the interim Rear

Guard Commander. Despite the holiday

period, the Rear Guard OPTEMPO re-

mained

steady.

The

Com-

pany

NCOs

worked

diligently

to prepare another flight of late deployers

to join the Lobos downrange, and prepared the

Soldiers who would remain to travel safely

through a historically unsafe time of year. The

Company has been very proactive in identifying

and mitigating risk for our Soldiers during this

month, as well as coaching and mentoring

leaders of all levels on engaged leadership of

Soldiers.

Rear Guard continued to prepare the Lobo

footprint for the return of the main body, in-

cluding identifying Battalion buildings and re-

ceiving new furniture for many offices. Our

next big task is to begin the painting and de-

tailed preparation that comes with establishing

a quality work environment for the team.

On the family front, December brought the Lobo Christmas party for our families. Good

Rear Guard

The Ravens enjoyed an exciting month of

December. In concluding 2011, we pro-

moted our newest NCO – SGT Vanessa

Smith. Congratulations on your accom-

plishment, keep up the good work, and

welcome to the NCO Corps!

Foxtrot Company received an extremely

generous donation of over 100 pounds of

candy (with a handful of toothbrushes and

toothpaste) from the Waverly Family Den-

tistry Practice of Waverly, Iowa this month.

1SG Pinckney has personally seen to the

distribution of this sweet and festive treat

to team sites throughout northern Afghani-

stan.

Each team site experienced the Christmas

SPC Foster takes the Oath of Enlistment in the

Company Maintenance shelter.

Soldiers from the Camp Marmal tower on Christmas.

food, conversation and great times were had

by all who attended. Kudos to the Family Readiness Group and all who helped make

the afternoon a success. The FRG continued to work tirelessly to help ease the added

strain of separation on families caused by the holidays. Additionally, our FRG provided

snacks and baked goods to Lobo Soldiers in

the barracks for the Holidays. We proudly recognized Christine Kastl (A CAC FRG Co-

Leader) as volunteer of the month for Decem-ber.

In closing, this month has been productive

and rewarding, and the team looks forward to

the safe return of all of the Rear Guard Sol-

diers from holiday leave locations. The Rear

Guard Cadre wish all a safe, prosperous, and

Happy New Year.