talon operation joint guard, bosnia-herzegovina serving ... · the talon is an army-funded...

Insid

e MUSIC EDUCATION . . . 2TANK YOU . . . . . . 3PATROL . . . . . . 4LAW AND ORDER . . . 5FILL ER’ UP . . 6-7JEAPORDY . . . . . . 8LIGHTNING . . . . .11

Talonthe

Serving the soldiers of Task Force EagleOperation Joint Guard, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Volume 3, No. 26 Friday, June 27, 1997

Top Gun

Tankers prepare for TopGun competition

rivalrySee RIVALRY page 12

Company B, 1-77 Armor, movestheir M1A1 Abrams Tanks to TankTable Five for training for the TopGun competition.

Photo by Spc. David Boe

The Talon Friday, June 27, 1997

THE TALON is produced in the interest of the servicemembers of TaskForce Eagle. THE TALON is an Army-funded newspaper authorized for membersof the U.S. Army overseas, under the provision of AR 360-81. Contents of THETALON are not necessarily the official views of, nor endorsed by, the U.S.Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or Task ForceEagle. THE TALON is published weekly by the 1st Infantry Division (Task ForceEagle) Public Affairs Office, Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina APO AE09789, Telephone MSE 551-5230, Sprint 762-5233. E-mail: [email protected]. Acquire the Talon and other Bonia-Herzegovina relateditems from theTFE homepage: www.1id.army.mil Printed by PrintComTuzla.Circulation: 6,500.

The Talon1st Infantry Division Commander . . . Maj. Gen. Montgomery C. MeigsEditor in Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. William L. DuPont364th MPAD Commander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. Frank PartykaOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st Lt. Robert M. InouyeEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sgt. William L. Geddes1st Infantry Division PA NCOIC . . . . . . . . . Staff Sgt. Gregory W. BinfordTranslator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mirela Zunic

Read and pass along -- a Talon is a terrible thing to waste

A young soldier once said to methat he thought there was someonein the Army whose only job was tothink up new buzzwords, acronymsand phrases. He may be right. Whenthese new expressions are intro-duced into the Army’s vocabulary,they are supposed to representsomething new or improved: a con-cept, an innovation or a better wayof doing things. Such is the case with“force protection.”

Force protection isn’t really a newconcept. It has been in the Army’sarsenal of warfighting enhance-ments for sometime. Any well-in-formed leader knows that force pro-tection enhances a unit’s warfight-ing capabilities. The first way isthrough concealment and deception.

It is here thatthe leader isable tocounter theenemy’s fire-power and ma-neuver bymaking hisown soldiersdifficult tol o c a t e ,strike and destroy. This stratagemallows the leader to deceive the ene-my through the use of good camou-flage discipline or other appropriatemeasures to prevent unneccesarycombat losses. (continued in the nextissue) See you all up front!!

UP FRONT -- FORCE PROTECTION

Command Sgt. Major S. L. KaminskiFirst Infantry Division (Forward)

I am seeing far too many soldiers operating military vehicleswithout their seat belts and shoulder harnesses fastened. USAREURRegulation 385-55, Appendix B clearly states that the senior occu-pant will be responsible for the vehicle and its passengers. If thevehicle moves without the seat belts and shoulder harnesses fas-tened, the senior occupant and each passenger are wrong.

The major threats facing Task Force Eagle soldiers in the rou-tine conduct of their missions are the road and traffic conditionsthroughout the area of responsibility (AOR). The probability of atraffic accident is greater than that of facing an opposing force. Wehave many assets geared to predicting the threat facing our sol-diers. The main supply routes of the AOR are not predictable.

Four weeks ago a 20-ton dump truck rolled over enroute to Ugl-jevic. A sharp left turn was followed by a right turn. The load shiftedand the vehicle ended up rolling over on the driver’s side. He andthe passenger were both wearing their seat belts and kevlars. Thedriver is convinced that these two measures probably saved hislife, or at least kept his injuries to a minimum. The vehicle roof,over the driver’s position was crushed down to the point where itimpacted his head. The front of his head hit the steering wheel. Theforce was great enough to break the steering wheel mounting brack-ets under the dash panel. Do you think he was glad he properlywore his kevlar with the chin strap fastened?

If you are convinced that none of these things can happen toyou, you do not belong behind the wheel of any vehicle, military orcivilian. If you do not want to wear your seat belt and shoulder har-ness for your own protection, think about someone at home whowould like to see you come home in one piece.

Maj. Gary R. Spegal, 1st Infantry Division Safety Officer

Children’s answers to music tests asseen in the Missouri School MusicNewsletter, collected by Harold Dunn.

I know what a sextet is but I had rath-er not say.

Instruments come in many sizes,shapes and orchestras.

Morris dancing is a country survivalfrom times when people were happy.

Most authorities agree that music ofantiquity was written long ago.

Probably the most marvelous fuguewas the one between the Hatfieldsand McCoys.

My very best liked piece of music isthe Bronze Lullaby.

My favorite composer is Opus.

A harp is a nude piano.

A good orchestra is always ready to play if theconductor steps on the odium.

I can’t reach the brakes on this piano!

You should always say celli when you mean thereare two or more cellos.

Another name for kettle drums is timpani. But Ithink I will just stick with the first name and learnit good.

A trumpet is an instrument when it is not an ele-phant sound.

For some reason, they always put a treble clef infront of every line of flute music. You just watch.

While trombones have tubes, trumpets prefer towear valves.

The double bass is also called the bass viol,string bass, and bass fiddle. It has so manynames because it is so huge.

When electric currents go through them, guitarsstart making sounds. So would anybody.

Mus

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Belt your passengers

The TalonFriday, June 27, 1997

Info briefs

Camp Demi - Ten Russian-built T-34 tanks were successfully movedfrom a Serb weapons storage site

near Han Pijesak to the Sokolac area un-der the supervision of Company C, TaskForce 1-41. Members of the Heavy Equip-ment Transport System (HETS) Platoon,701st Bravo Transport Battalion, provid-ed the HETS to move the old war machinesto continue the compliance of the DaytonPeace Accord.

The assignment provided a challengingopportunity for the soldiers of 1st Platoon,Co. C, TF 1-41, who spent several rainydays at the base of Mount Zeb during themovement. Themechanized in-fantrymen fromFort Riley, Kan.,maintained secu-rity, provided con-voy escorts andensured missionaccomplishment.

“The VRS (Re-public of Serbiaarmy) were di-rected by theOSCE (Organiza-tion of Securityand Cooperationin Europe) tomove the tanks, but did not have the as-sets, so they asked us for help. We cordonedoff the area, provided force protection forour soldiers to load up the tanks, and madethree trips to Sokolac.” said Sgt. 1st Class

By Spc. Susanne Aspley364th MPAD

Malcolm Junior. “Our biggest concern inthe mission was safety.”

Moving the massive guns was no easytask. Each tank, weighing approximately32 tons, was uploaded on a HETS, hauledby convoy to Sokolac, then downloaded toawait demilitarization. Pvt. Francisco Hur-tado, a driver with 1st Plt., had a chance tomeet some of the Serb soldiers that werepresent during the mission. “The Serbshelped out in the downloading process be-cause they were the ones who knew how torelease the brakes,” he said. “They cooper-ated with us and it was interesting to seehow they worked.”

Hampered by the occasional rain anddense mud, the roadways provided the big-gest hazard during the mission. Each con-

voy lasted onehour and con-sisted of twosupport vehiclesand four HETS,along with aspare cab for theHETSs in caseone broke down.“It was a chal-lenge maneu-vering aroundhills, with allthe cliffs andcurves,” saidSgt. Gerald Mc-Crea. “I was just

hoping that the brakes would hold with allthat weight. But my platoon did a excellentjob and were very careful. The 701st Sup-port from Guardian Base did a great job andwe worked well together.”

Tanks for the help

“The Serbs helped out in thedownloading processbecause they were the oneswho knew how to release thebrakes. They cooperatedwith us and it was interestingto see how they worked.”---- Pvt. Francisco Hurtado

Soft caps, notsoft headsBy Staff Sgt. Duane T. DeBrulerTask Force Eagle Safety NCO

I was up in my office last nighttrying in vain to catch up on somepaperwork when all of a sudden Iheard people shouting and holler-ing, “Hooah!” I thought to myself,“What the..., Have they decided toall get along and now we get to gohome?” No, it wasn’t that good, butit will definitely do for now. As youare no doubt aware, soft caps arenow authorized to wear on the basecamps and morale has just taken a500% jump.

Soldiers need to remember thatthere are certain duties that requirethe wearing of the Kevlar helmet.One of them is operating motor ve-hicles. First Infantry Division Com-mander’s Policy Letter number CG-17, Operator Safety, reads, “TheKevlar helmet will be worn by all 1stID soldiers whenever tactical vehi-cles are operated, including CUCV’sin a field environment. This appliesto all drivers and passengers of tac-tical vehicles.” All U.S. Forces arereminded that current force protec-tion levels require the wearing of theKevlar helmet, along with the restof your battle-rattle, while operatingor riding in a vehicle off-post, sodon’t get caught short.

While I am on the subject of theKevlar helmet, I will share with youone of my pet-peeves. Some of youout there don’t seem to know whatthat funny-looking thing that dan-gles from the helmet is called, orwhat it is used for. It is called a chinstrap . It has a neat little web madeto fit around your chin, and there’seven a snap that attaches to the oth-er little thingy that dangles off thehelmet. The chin strap won’t stayon your chin? Well, there’s a fix forthat too. The flappy things stickingout of the buckles are to tighten thechin strap so it will stay put.

Seriously though, the Kevlar hel-met, when worn properly, will pre-vent head injury if you are involvedin an accident. A loose Kevlar notonly offers you zero protection, butbecomes a projectile in the event ofan accident involving any force atall. Do the right thing when you arein a military vehicle, buckle up, turnyour headlights on, and tighten thatchin strap! Do it for the loved oneswaiting for your safe return.

A Serb soldier guides aT34 tank onto the HETSduring Company C'stank-moving mission. Photo by Spc. Susanne Aspley


B RATANUC, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Not allroads in Bosnia-Herzegov-

ina are lined with smiling and wav-ing children, as a foot patrol fromCompany A, 1st Battalion, 13thArmor (Team Tank), Task Force 1-41 patrolling the town of Bratanucfound out. According to the trans-lator, one shopkeeper yelled “hey,where are your body bags?”

“Not everyone is friendly. If theywere, we (SFOR) wouldn’t be here,”said Sgt. Tony Miller, 1st Platoon,Team Tank.

The platoon conducts variousmissions in the Bratanuc area.During the war, the town wasroughly half Muslim and half Serb.Today, it is all Serb, and the Re-publica Srpska cross with the fourCs in each corner can be seen painted onthe sides of many buildings. The crossstands for Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava,Only Unity Saves the Serb.

1st Lt. Brian McDonald, 1st Platoonleader for 1st Plt., Co. C, TF 1-41, which isattached to Team Tank, said his soldiersconcentrate on presence patrols, mostly onthe Serbian side. “We are constantly mov-ing and interacting with people in thetowns. It’s a good way to find out their atti-

tudes and how they feel about issues likefuture resettlements or the elections.”

Miller said that because his platoon isattached to a tank company, “we pick up alot more mounted and dismounted patrolsin our area of responsibility, because theyare usually tasked with QRF (quick reac-tion force). But the patrols gives us a chanceto see what is going on in the Serbian side.”

The patrols often take the soldiers toplaces dark with memories of war. Pass-

By Spc. Susanne Aspley364th MPAD

ing by the ‘Dutch factory,’ Miller explainedit was the place where the Serbs tied Dutchsoldiers to posts as human shields to wardoff U.N. intervention.

The platoon also patrols around thetown of Zvornik, where the gray, stone ru-ins of the Kula Grad Castle remain. Builtin the mid 1300s, it overlooks the deepgreen Drina river that divides Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Today, the bluffserves as a good reference point for Task

Force 1-41 as missions moveabout the area. According to Pir-ich Nedzad, translator at CampDobol, 50 Muslims held backSerbian attacks on the fortressin the spring of 1992. They weresurrounded and eventually over-run by the Serbs after runningout of ammunition and supplies.

Nedzad explained that theMuslims held the fort in orderto keep a corridor open for civil-ians to escape from the city. Thebattle created 42,000 Muslimrefugees from Zvornik, half ofthem fleeing to the Tuzla area,half going to western Europe.Those who remained or werecaught in battle were among the4,000-5,000 killed.

With the memories of the waroften just around the corner, 1stPlatoon may sometimes findthemselves in ambiguous anddiscomforting locations, butnothing that can’t be handled.“We have the best platoon be-cause we have great NCOs. Theyall know how to do get the jobdone.” said McDonald.

Getting it done

Pfc. Eric Favant, Company A, TaskForce 1-41, prepares his weapon beforemoving out on a presence patrol.

Sgt. 1st Class. Bradley Hartman, Company A,Task Force 1-41, takes a reading off the GLIDsystem during a presence patrol near Zvornik

Photo by Spc. Susanne Aspley

Photo by Spc. Susanne Aspley


Law and order

CAMP BEDROCK — Driving along a commonly usedroute, a police officer signals for the driver to pull over tothe side of the road. The driver is questioned and at times

the vehicle is searched. If all goes well, the vehicle is back on theroad in a matter of minutes.

Scenes like this are common across Bosnia-Herzegovina aspolice try to restore law and order to a country recovering from adevastating war. Peace and the road to recovery are hard trav-eled paths, at times bringing out the worst in people. Illegal check-points resulting in ethnic beatings, unwarranted fines and otheratrocities still haunt people as they strive towards democracy.

“We’re coming up with a lot of illegal checkpoints at this stageof the SFOR (Stabilization Forces) mission,” said Sgt. 1st ClassGedemynas Jakubauskas, rear battle noncommissioned officer.

Working hand and hand with the International Police TaskForce, soldiers from the 108th Military Police Company out ofFort Bragg, N.C. are hoping to help stop these illegal checkpoints.

“The main thing we do on the mission is provide security forthe IPTF during the joint patrols,” said Capt. George Rodriguez,108th MP Co. commander. “In the event IPTF finds themselvesin a situation in which the checkpoint is illegal and the policedon’t want to disband, then IPTF will call us in and we’ll go aheadand try to disperse and disband the checkpoint.

“The higher command felt there was a need to go out and checkto see if these checkpoints were legitimate to ensure the freedomof movement of all people in the country,” Rodriguez said.

To prepare the soldiers to deal with illegal checkpoints, thesoldiers underwent extensive training and certification.

“We’re preparing our soldiers to take down illegal checkpointsif we come across them on our missions in accordance with theDayton Peace Accord and the GFAP (General Framework Agree-ment for Peace)” Jakubauskas said. “We’re certifying all thesquads in the unit on the different processes and running themthrough a variety of scenarios.”

“We started out by certifying all our MPs on how to take down acheckpoint and determine a legal checkpoint from an illegal check-point,” Rodriguez said. “Once we certified them, we coordinated withthe IPTF for days and times we’d like to conduct the patrols withthem. We vary the days and times so we don’t set a pattern.”

During the training and certification, the teams covered han-dling scenarios, such as being informed of an illegal checkpointonly to roll into the area and discover the checkpoint is legiti-mate. The MPs must ensure checkpoints outside the Zone of Sep-aration are being run according to regulations, which includesthe absence of long-barreled weapons. The squads also worked ona third scenario involving apprehending or detaining uncoopera-tive officers running a checkpoint.

“If it would ever escalate to the point of them being uncooper-ative and not wanting to relinquish their police identification cardsor produce their IPTF police permits, they would be running anillegal checkpoint and they’d need to be closed down and movedon their way,” Jakubauskas said. “If they didn’t comply with this,we’d have to apprehend them, confiscate their weapons and turnthem over to the IPTF headquarters.”

And the soldiers seem confident, well-trained and ready to dotheir mission.

“Usually the first thing we do is a roll by to visualize the scene.Then we receive a brief before we go in to take it down,” said Pfc.Christopher Hunt. “We then have to determine if the check isillegal or not. If it is, we tell them they need to take it down andleave. If they don’t want to, we have to secure them and turnthem over to the IPTF.”

Although the military police company believes in being pre-pared and trains for the worst, cooperation between local author-ities and SFOR has been very positive.

“In our area we’ve never had any problems with the local po-lice and I don’t think we will,” Rodriguez said. “This is just anoth-er added measure to ensure that everybody in this country knowsthat IPTF and SFOR are working jointly together to make theircountry a little safer.”

By Spc. Matt J. Johnson129th MPAD

Law and order

Spc. Sean H. Young, left, and Sgt. John Sanchez, both playing the role ofuncooperative check point operative, are detained and searched during atraining exercise conducted and attended by the 108th Military Police Company. Photo by Spc. Matt Johnson


CAMP COMANCHE – Apache attack helicopters are impressive weapons. Designed to move swiftly on the battlefield, Apaches serve a special purpose in Bosnia-Herzegovina. As symbols of

the might of the American military, the Apaches are a warning to malcon-tents in the Bosnian population: don’t start anything you can’t finish.

However, the Apache is only as good as the team that keeps it flying.And without a team of hardworking refuelers, the Apache is not an im-pressive weapon, but a handsome static display.

“Without the 3-5 Platoon, the Apache looks nice but it’s not going any-where,” said 1st Lt. William T. Golden IV, platoon leader.

The 3-5 Platoon is part of Headquarters and Headquarters Company,1st Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment, based in Fort Bragg, N.C., anddeployed to Camp Comanche for Operation Joint Guard. The platoon isresponsible for the Class 3 and Class 5 products – fuel and ammunition,respectively – used by 1st Bn. 229th Avn. Reg. and its more than 45 attackhelicopters in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) is located at the run-way at Comanche. It is not a pleasant place – stuck at the end of the hottarmac, surrounded by marshy areas and guard towers. There is no shadeat the FARP, except for a conex used by the entire platoon during the day.

“It gets really hot down here. But we don’t mind being this far awayfrom the rest of the flight line. We have a lot of autonomy down here,” saidGolden.

Refueling platoons are traditionally independent groups, said Golden.Independence, however, comes as a reward for hard work, because the 3-5 platoon needs to keep helicopters refueled and mission ready.

“The only time we get trouble is if we aren’t getting the aircraft refu-eled. We haven’t had that problem here,” he said.

The platoon, nicknamed the “War Dawgs,” maintain an effective oper-ation. Each soldier is trained in the specifics of refueling all types of mili-tary helicopters. They maintain different types of vehicles, including sev-eral large fuel trucks, which carry large loads of jet petroleum 8 (JP8).Each soldier knows the proper mixture of jet fuel and how to ensure it isready for use.

“The main thing is safety,” said Staff Sgt. Rick F. Logan. “Anything canhappen out here. We need to stress safety in everything we do.”

Fueling helicopters is not like fueling a car at the local gas station. Thefuel trucks pump up to 300 gallons of JP8 per minute in pressurized fuellines. And since most helicopters refuel while still “hot” – that is, while run-ning – refuelers need to take precautions to ensure the static electricitygenerated by the powerful rotors and blades does not ignite fuel vapors.

“If the nozzle on the hose is not properly seated and fuel leaks out, itbecomes vapor in the blades. A spark will set it off and you mightas well say goodbye to that aircraft,” said Golden.

One soldier does the actual refueling when the helicopter lands.Another soldier stands by with a fire extinguisher in hand, readyto respond to any emergency. The soldier with the extinguisher isresponsible for saving the refueler in an emergency. He or she doesnot worry about the aircraft.

“In a situation where vapor ignites, there’s not much we can dofor the helicopter. We want to get our soldier out of there as soonas possible,” said Golden.

It is dangerous work, but the soldiers of the 3-5 Platoon do notseem to let the idea of igniting vapors and exploding helicopters botherthem. Safety is stressed every minute, every hour, every day, saidLogan. Soldiers wear proper safety gear – gloves, helmets and gog-gles – during every refueling or when working with the fuel or otherequipment.

“It’s been really easy training the soldiers of this platoon. Theyunderstand their jobs and understand the importance of safety,”said Logan.

The platoon is also flexible, able to set up refueling points justabout anywhere, anytime. The platoon is trained to move to a loca-tion away from the established runway and set up a FARP in thewild. It can fly in a Chinook or a C-130, unload quickly and getready in a moment for thirsty helicopters.

“We can jump in and boom, set up something quick,” said Gold-en. “That’s one of the great things about this operation. We’re pret-ty high speed. We can do whatever the mission requires.”

Fill eStory by Sgt. Steven Collins, photos by Staff Sgt. Tim Erhardt129th MPAD


er� up

From top right, clockwise, Spc. AlexanderCollier checks hose connections for leaks andproper fit... With extinguisher handy, FireGuard Pvt. Jason Hall watches refueling ofApache... Pvt. Dixie Lee McElfresh fuels up anApache on the Camp Comanche flight line...Background, Apaches arrive at the CampComanche fuel point.


crazy!Reup? Not

EAGLE BASE – For those soldiersin Bosnia-Herzegovina consideringre-enlisting in the U.S. Army, no

time is better than now. In addition to themany benefits of choosing the Army as acareer, there are fringe benefits offered tothose who re-enlist during their deployment.

Re-enlistment bonuses, which for somemilitary occupational specialties (MOS) canbe as high as $12,000, are tax-free when asoldier re-ups in Bosnia-Herzegovina, saidSgt. 1st Class Linwood J. Smith, seniorcareer counselor for the 1st Infantry Divi-sion (Forward).

“Even if the soldier receives bonus pay-ments later, in the States or in Germany,the money is tax-free,” said Smith. “Thatis a benefit a soldier will not receive any-where else.”

Retention is an important focus of thechain of command in the units deployed toBosnia-Herzegovina. Although the deploy-ment can be tough and demoralizing forsome soldiers, Smith said he sees manysoldiers who are excited to re-enlist becauseof the Bosnian experience.

“This deployment is finally an opportu-nity for a soldier to do his job,” said Smith.“This is where the rubber hits the road, soto speak. It is not combat, but it is a closesubstitute. A soldier can do his or her jobin a real-world situation.”

Because retention is such a high priori-ty, commanders, command sergeants ma-jor and other high-ranking leaders realizethe importance or retaining good soldiersand give a special effort to help Smith andother career counselors.

“We have a commanding general (Maj.Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs) that takestime out of his day to re-enlist a soldier orwho flies by a helicopter to a unit to re-enlist soldiers. That says a lot,” said Smith.

Commanders and enlisted leaders at thebattalion level and the company level alsoshare crucial face time with soldiers try-ing to decide whether to re-enlist.

Having the full support of the chain ofcommand makes Smith’s job easier. He isone of three full-time career counselors.There are also eight battalion-level reten-tion NCOs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as wellas many company-level retention represen-tatives. The career counselors help all sol-diers, in every career field.

Smith said he and other counselors willgo the extra mile for a soldier who is seri-ous about re-enlisting but has questions.If a soldier wants to change branches, forexample, counselors will make the neces-sary phone calls to make sure a soldier willbe able to get a slot in that new field.

“Every branch knows who I am becauseI’m on the phone all the time,” said Smith.“We want to follow-up on all questions. Tryto find options for the soldier. We don’tmind making that extra call.”

Being in Bosnia-Herzegovina is often aplus, because commanders and schools areanxious to accept experienced and motivat-ed soldiers. Making a career field changeis not hard, it just takes the time to find aslot for a soldier.

“We also have the soldier call his or herspouse before the final decision. This is afamily decision. I had a soldier who told hiswife that he was looking at four years, butif he signed for six years, he would get thebonus tax-free. She said ‘Go for it. Get thebonus.’ We need to include the families onthese decisions,” said Smith.

Smith and other career counselors arecareful not to talk an unsure soldier intore-enlisting. Sometimes, getting out of theArmy is a good option for the soldier, espe-cially the ones interested in going on to col-lege or those with family considerations.

“We just lay out the many options forthe soldier. The decision is theirs. We justhelp them see the different options. We arethere to answer questions. And we’ll dowhatever we can to help a soldier who isinterested in re-enlistment,” said Smith.

If you are a soldier who needs to startthinking about whether to re-enlist or not,contact Staff Sgt. Marvin Chattman atMSE 553-7320, Sprint 764 for Task Force1-41 soldiers, and Sgt. 1st Class LinwoodSmith and Staf Sgt. Allen Sharpe at MSE558-8343, Sprint 762-8343 for all otherTask Force Eagle soldiers.

By Sgt. Steven Collins129th MPAD

Reup? Notcrazy!

Spc. Bryon Roberts takes the oath during an aerial re-enlistment ceremony. Staff Sgt. Klaus Lowry holds upa flag while Maj. Chris Reddish administers the oath.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Mary Doyle


After the question was answered, a panel of judges made up ofcompany-grade officers gave judgment on each answer. The pan-el of judges could be overridden at any time by the ultimate judg-es, two field-grade officers. It was a situation which created plen-ty of laughter through the differences of opinion of all the judges.Points were then tallied by the first sergeants.

“This was great, it was a nice change of pace,” said Pvt. Micha-el J. McDougall, 59th Quartermaster Company. “The competi-tion was nice -- everybody came out a winner. There wasn’t so

much stress. When you’re stressedout you don’t really rememberwhat you learned; plus you couldwin some prizes.”

The soldiers participating wereencouraged to be good sports whilestill being as rowdy and loud asthey possibly could. Soldiers com-plied with their laughter andshouts.

“It is a lot of fun for the group,”said Nurse. “There was competi-

tion between each of the groups but there was also camaraderieand cohesiveness in the group, and that was what we were look-ing for.”

“It’s not like a regular game here just passing time,” said Mc-Dougall. “You can play the game and win prizes and learn. It’s some-thing that helps move the mission along. If everyone comesand participates and learns, that’s what makes the missionsucceed.

“It was very successful. I didn’t expect such a great turn-out,” said Nurse. “I look forward to seeing this simplifiedlearning in the future. Not only in Tuzla but in the wholeArmy. We are not trying to get awayfrom the task, conditions and skills.We are just trying to learn at dif-ferent levels and in differ-ent ways.”

EAGLE BASE -- While soldiers rarely associate trainingwith the words fun and exciting, Task Force 38 accomplished that mission, and did it with lots of laughter.

The training was set up much like the popular TV game showJeopardy, with three teams. A category and point value would bechosen and the answer for that selection would be given. The teamthat chose the question was given the oppportunity to answer it,and if they couldn’t, the other teams weregiven a chance. If the correct question wasgiven for that answer, they would receive thepoint value. If the incorrect question was giv-en, they would lose that point value. Catego-ries included Physical Training, Drill andCeremony, Nuclear Biological Chemical(NBC) and Land Navigation.

“We know these are the areas that peoplehave failed in the past, and we tried to put itinto a nice kind of game format so that whathappened here today was a game show in-stead of a boring everyday class of task condition standards — weput some fun into it,” said 1st Sgt. Kenneth Nurse, 943rd Re-placement Company. “We put together this format last year andit was very successful, so we decided to run it here today.”

To play the game, each team chose a team leader who wouldspeak for the group. The team picked the answer togetherand gave the question through the spokesperson. After theteam was given an answer, they were to caucus and agreeon the question.

“We introduced a non-traditional type of learning wherewe eliminated the kind of task conditions and skills. Webrought it together in a format that soldiers can learn bet-ter with their peers,” said Nurse. “It’s kind of unique in away. To prepare for this, we pulled together all the ques-tions that have given PLDC, ANCOC and BNCOC studentsproblems in the past.”

Different kind of JeopardyBy Pfc. Wendy R. Tokach129th MPAD

“We are not trying to get awayfrom the task, conditions andskills. We are just trying tolearn at different levels and indifferent ways.”---- 1st Sgt. Kenneth Nurse


C AMP COMANCHE — Apachepilots see them scooting by on their“golf cart” hurrying down the Camp

Comanche flightline with parts and missiles.Crew chiefs perplexed with electrical prob-lems confer with them under the witheringBosnian sun. They climb into an Apachecockpit and study manuals or crawl underits belly to inspect a stretch of its 25 miles ofwire. Soldiers of the Armament Platoon,Company D, 1st Battalion, 229th AviationRegiment are definitely busy.

As an armament platoon, its membersare responsible for keeping the 1st Bn.,229th Avn. Reg. AH-64 Apache attack he-licopters armed, but since the armamentsystems depend on the electrical system ofthe aircraft to operate, these soldiers mustinsure that system is functioning proper-ly. “If it isn’t, the Apache is just a flyingplatform,” said Staff Sgt. Leslie Smith, pla-toon sergeant. “It would have no purpose.”

“We’re essentially ‘spark chasers’ be-cause all the systems on the Apache arerelated to the electrical system in someway,” said Spc. Tracy Perry.

It’s up to the platoon’s soldiers to ensurethe ammunition is maintained and quali-fied to go onto the aircraft, the platoon’spersonnel properly load the munitions onthe aircraft, and the electrical systems willfire those munitions. These soldiers alsorun diagnostic tests on the computers thatoperate the electrical systems and main-tain the video sight system.

“Our part in this platoon is to make sure

the Apache can make the observations and,if necessary, perform its attack functions,”said Spc. Scott Huntington. “The Apachesare the eyes, ears, and muscle in the sky.”

When a problem is detected with an air-craft, the crew chief will try to diagnoseand repair the discrepancy. If he feels anelectrical specialist is needed, armamentpersonnel are called in to solve the prob-lem. “Sometimes we fix it ourselves, butsometimes we have to go to them becausethey’re the specialists with the electricaland weapons system,” said Spc. LuisMosqueda, an Apache crew chief with the1st Bn., 229th Avn. Reg.

Once the maintenance NCO finds outexactly what is wrong with the aircraft, heinforms the squad leader, who then passesthat information to the squad members.They are responsible for each company’saircraft and its repair.

“We’re nicknamed “The Dawgs” becauseof our determination in hunting down aproblem and rectifying it. We like to getthe job done, and if we have to get dirty todo that, then that’s what we have to do,”said Smith. “We’re here on a serious mis-sion. We take our jobs seriously.”

“We’re the best at what we do,” said Pfc.Alton Jones. “We get jobs done on an aver-age of two a day. We want the pilots to getback into the air.”

After a repair, the armament specialistperforms a maintenance operational check(MOC) on the aircraft while it’s on theground. “The procedure is to verify the prob-lem, fix it, implement a solution, and test itout,” said Smith. “We can’t skip procedures.”

According to Sgt. John Howell, the ba-sic Apache armament system, the “HeavyHog” configuration consists of Hellfire la-ser-guided missiles, rockets, and rounds of30 mm ammunition. In addition to ensur-ing all this ordnance is functional, the ar-mament dawgs make certain the aircraft’scounter-measure system is operational.“This device spreads laser-diffusing mate-rial into the air,” said Howell.

Smith said that the work orders are dis-tributed evenly which helps alleviatestress. “Our platoon functions like a fami-ly,” said Smith. “Each soldier depends uponthe others, not only in accomplishing hisjob, but also for his morale. We handle liveammo daily and a mistake can be disas-trous, so we help one another deal withstress by laughing and playing togetherbesides working hard.”

Capt. Brian Cox, a Co.B platoon leader,said that the armament soldiers minimizetime on the ground. “We’ve completed allassigned missions since we got here,” saidCox. “That’s a testament to this platoon aswell as our crew chiefs. We’ve done in amonth what ordinarily takes six months inthe States.”

“We have to maintain readiness evenduring a peacekeeping operation,” saidCapt. John Feutz, Co. B, 1st Bn., 229thAvn. Reg. commander and a co-pilot/gun-ner. “If the situation ever develops wherewe need a show of force, we have to beready, and the armament platoon helpskeep us mission ready. When they go by ontheir golf cart smiling and say it’s fixed,we know it’s fixed.”

By Staff Sgt. Tim Erhardt129th MPAD

Chasing sparks

Spc. Scott Huntington and Sgt.John Howell check the circuits onthe 30 mm Area Weapons System.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Tim Erhardt


Hey! Sharp haircut! You�d look like this too if youwore your helmet for six months

Turtles in the Box Starring Muddy and Dusty by Capt. Peter Buotte

We’ve entered the thunderstorm season here in Task ForceEagle, and with it, service members are at risk from lightning.

Approximately 1,000 fatalities oc-cur each year worldwide from light-ning, with 50-300 occurring in theUnited States. Here in Bosnia-Herze-govina there has been one document-ed minor injury from lightning thoughsoldiers remain at high risk. Any oneof the 12 thunderstorms that typical-ly come through Tuzla each year canproduce lightning that could causeharm. The number of storms this yearmay actually be significantly higher,and are even more common in thenorthern plains areas of MND(N) thanthe mountainous regions.

A variety of myths surround light-ning strikes. Although most peoplestruck by lightning are injured (70%),it is not universally fatal (30%). Thosewho are injured often have long-termconsequences, including nerve dam-age, psychiatric symptoms, memoryloss, significant depression, or a hostof other problems. Persons struck bylightning do not remain “electrified”and are safe to touch. Few realize thatone of the most dangerous times for afatal strike actually occurs before thestorm, as lightning can travel as far as 10 km horizontally outfrom a thunderstorm head. Finally, being inside a building doesnot make one immune to injury because of side flashes throughplumbing fixtures, telephones, or other appliances attached tothe outside.

The danger from lightning occurs from four mechanisms: highvoltage, heat, electromagnetic effects, and explosive forces. Al-though a direct strike to a person out in the open is most danger-

ous, the more common cause of injury is a “splash” of lightningthat travels from a nearby tree, building, or other object next tothe person.

The best treatment for lightning injuries is to prevent themfrom occurring. Preventive measures include:

1. Be aware of weather predictions andconditions2. Seek shelter in a building or metal-enclosed vehicle during a storm. Intents, stay as far away from the polesas possible.3. In buildings, avoid open doors andwindows, metal objects, plug-in appli-ances, plumbing, and telephones.4. Outside, avoid metal articles, powerlines, metal towers, etc.5. If you cannot find shelter, avoid iso-lated trees and hilltops. In the woods,seek shelter in a low area.6. In the open, seek a low area and getinto a position to minimize your heightabove the ground7. If on the open water, get to shore.

If a person is injured, first aid mea-sures include:1. Avoid becoming a casualty yourself;take appropriate precautions to protectyourself or the victim from being injuredfrom lightning, flying debris, etc.2. CPR for those who have no pulse andhave stopped breathing.3. Protect the airway of those who areunconscious.

4. Consider the possibility of a neck or spinal injury by avoidingthe movement of those with back or neck pain, or those who fallor have been thrown.5. Provide routine first aid measures for other injuries, which of-ten include fractures or lacerations.6. Seek help from your local treatment facility.

By taking a few simple precautionary measures, we can avoidthe potential catastrophic effects of the summer’s thunderstorms.

Lightning HazardsBy Lt. Col. James A. Geiling, MD, MC, Division SurgeonDivision Surgeon’s Office


RIVALRY

G ETTYSBURG RANGE – Pfc.Bradley E. Stevenson sits in theloader’s hatch of his M1A1

Abrams, gripping the handles of the M 240machine gun. It’s hot, he feels sweaty andthe idling tank is vibrating under his feet.But looking downrange at the targets hewill soon engage, he has only one thoughton his mind.

He wants to see his platoon sergeantknocking out pushups in front of the platoon.

“I’d made a wager with my platoon ser-geant before the engagement for somepushups,” said the 20-year-old tank loaderfrom Salem, Ore. “And I wanted to hit mytarget so he’d do them in front of the pla-toon for me.

“It was a little extra motivation.”It worked. After his Abrams lurched for-

ward and halted at the firing line, Steven-son zeroed in on a simulated sniper 50meters in front of him and let go with a 25-round burst that appeared to hit the tar-get. Upon closer examination, it was dis-covered that Stevenson had indeed cut the“sniper” down – but not before he got someribbing from fellow tankers who said hehadn’t hit anything.

“They were wrong. My loader cut thetroop down – he was on it,” said Steven-son’s tank commander, Staff Sgt. Danny W.Browning, a Detroit, Mich., native. “They’rejust mad because they lost the bet. Actual-ly, all those guys who were telling us wewere wrong, they’re all Philadelphia Fly-ers fans and they can’t deal with this (theRed Wings defeating the Flyers in the Stan-ley Cup), so they’re trying to blame us for

all their problems. My loader is a RedWings fan and I’m a Red Wings fan – itwas all good.”

Browning, 23, said rivalry – whethersports or military related – is a major partof a tanker’s life in his unit, Company B,1st Battalion, 77th Armor. To them it’smore than just making bets – it’s a matterof prestige.

“I think the big thing is just goingaround the company and saying, ‘Ya, I’mTop Gun!’” Browning said. “Everyone isalways trying to outdo each other, but ev-eryone is still close, and it doesn’t get toanyone. But the big thing is being Top Gunand bragging rights. It makes you try hard-er.”

For Browning, Stevenson, and the restof tank B-38, the machine-gun training atGettysburg Range, a few miles south ofBrcko, Bosnia-Herzegovina, validated thehard work they themselves have done re-cently since coming together as a crew.

“I’m very pleased with my tank,” saidBrowning. “This is my first time as a tankcommander and I have a brand-new crew— it’s the first time we’ve worked togetheron a range, and everything clicked. Every-thing went well.”

Browning said he hopes to duplicate hiscrew’s good performance at GettysburgRange when the company goes up to Hun-gary in July for its first major gunnery ex-ercise since leaving Germany in March forpeacekeeping duty in Bosnia-Herzegovina.He said the unit is looking forward to thechance to get back to basics and fire the“big guns.”

“I think it’s a tanker’s dream, to actual-ly go out and use that weapon system for

what it’s made for,” said Browning.“It’s a rush. It’s kind of hard to ex-plain, but once you get inside andsqueeze those triggers, it’s a goodfeeling.”

It’s a feeling the tankers of Co.B haven’t felt in months. Peace-keeping duties in and around Brc-ko have kept the unit busy, withpatrols, weapon storage site inspec-tions and guard duty making rangetraining difficult – but not impos-sible. Sustainment of war-fightingskills is critical, said Capt. SashaA. G. Dombrovskis, Co. B com-mander, and worth the time andeffort to train.

“During wartime, during peaceyou still have to train, you still haveto rehearse,” said the six-year vet-eran tanker. “Granted we do a lotof missions here, but you just haveto find the time and place to train.”

Dombrovskis, a self-styled “mil-itary brat,” said the machine guntraining his unit did at GettysburgRange was a valuable first step inpreparation for the gunnery inHungary. It accomplished the threeobjectives he had laid out; it al-

lowed his tankers to zero and test fire theirM1A1 machine-guns, train in war-fightingskills, and prepare for gunnery, which is,he said, the ultimate tanker experience.

“The nature of the tanker is, if he hasthe opportunity to fire his tank, he will,”said Dombrovskis. “That is what we loveto do. We love to move around in our tanks.We love to shoot our tanks.”

“It was something that took some doingto put together,” said Staff Sgt. James J.Lampe. “It’s not the best range for tanks tobe using, but we did the best we could withwhat we have here.”

Tucked into a small meadow just southof Brcko, Gettysburg Range is a formerYugoslavian small arms range. Its curved,concrete rifle pits are still visible throughthe weeds. Short and narrow, Gettysburgallows only one tank to fire its machineguns at a time.

“Nevertheless, we are out here firing ourweapon systems, learning a little bit moreabout our gunnery techniques and refin-ing them a little bit more,” said Lampe.

Of course, along with the gunnery exer-cises comes the normal rivalry among thecrews as they compete for Top Gun. “Butit’s a healthy rivalry,” said Lampe, who ad-mits being ribbed quite a bit about hishometown’s hockey team losing the Stan-ley Cup finals. “However, when Tank Ta-ble Eight comes up the ribbing stops, andis replaced by handshaking and crew mem-bers saying, ‘Good luck’ to each other.”

Notwithstanding the goodwill amongthe crews, all bets are still on, and winners,like Stevenson, will collect.

“Oh, he’s definitely going to do the push-ups,” he said.

RIVALRYfrom page 1

By Spc. David Boe364th MPAD

Staff Sgt. David J. Farver (foreground) and Pfc. James L. Leggett,of Company B, 1-77 Armor, prepare to fire their machine gunsduring Tank Table Five gunnery at Gettysburg Range. Photo by Spc. David Boe

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