task force ram newsletter april
DESCRIPTION
40th Engineer Battalion NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
Family and friends of Ram, your Soldiers are doing outstanding and im-portant work. We have Signal Soldiers all across northern Afghanistan providing the brigade it’s communications backbone, Military Intelli-gence Soldiers operating in the same areas providing vital information that allows commanders to make informed decisions, Engineers and MPs partnering with the Afghan Border and Uniformed Police helping them become better by enabling them to better themselves. All types of Ram Soldiers are providing security on our FOBs and on patrol as well as ensuring Soldiers have food and water and other life support as well as equipment and vehicles that are well maintained. They have made a positive difference already. CSM and I are proud of all the work our Soldiers have accomplished and we thank you for the support you pro-vide your Soldiers every day. Our condolences go out to the family members within our Brigade whose Soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. Thank you for the support you have
provided them as well.
From the desk of the Commander
Newsletter Date April 15, 2011 Volume 1, Issue 1
TF Ram April Newsletter Camp Mike Spann, Afghanistan
Special points of
interest:
Battalion Command
Team’s battlefield update
Opportunity to grow
spiritually
Partnering with Afghans
Embracing non traditional
jobs and excelling at them
Provision of intelligence and communications across
N. Afghanistan
Inside this issue:
From the desk of
the Commander
1
Religious Support
Team
2
Havoc Update
-CSD (Savage)
-Support
-Black Sheep
-Renegade
-Wrench
3
4
5
6
7
8
Sappers Forward 9
Ravens 10
Voice of the Rock
Cover Page
11
12
Ram’s Horn
Soldiers, families and friends of Task Force Ram, I am happy to be writing this article to you from Camp Spann, Afghanistan. It has been a lot of preparation to get to this day and we are grateful this important mission is off and running- boots on the ground! To introduce myself, I am Chaplain (Captain) David Chapman. My wife Sarah and I have been with the TF Ram since June 2010. We knew before leaving Fort Riley, KS that the 170th IBCT would be deploying to Afghanistan and prepared ourselves for it. Being married only 16 months, we are experiencing the same trials as many of our young married Soldiers. Being prior service helps to season the soul of an Army family, but deployment is still a time of testing and strengthening the bonds of love as nothing else can. Emails, Skype and phone calls can make all the differ-ence when we consider the trials the other is facing while we are apart. Kindness and listening without judging is more precious in times like this. The TF Ram Religious Support Team (RST) - PV2 Daniels and myself- jumped into our new location with both feet. And running from the start! We are fortunate to be based at Camp Spann with the TF’s command group, Headquarters Company, parts of the 502d Military Intelligence Company, 589th Signal Company, and the BCT’s RST. We fell in on an established chapel, Freedom Chapel, left to us by the 10th Mountain Brigade Support Battalion. CH (CPT) Brian Hargis and CH (MAJ) Code provided an environment of spiritual vibrancy - with a strong sense of physical discipline. Working closely with CH (MAJ) Dunn and SSG Williams, 170 IBCT RST, we are serving the Camp Spann community. We are not doing this alone. We have Distinct Faith Group Leaders (DFGL) for the Gospel Service, Latter Day Saints Service, the Hispanic Bible Study and Men’s Bible Study. Part of what we do is encourage people to take an active role in their spiritual growth and be an encouragement to others while far from home. Deployment is an opportunity to grow in our faith traditions and a unique environ-ment to see God move in our lives like nowhere else. And we have fun and develop great friendships along the way. My focus has been the Sunday Evening Christian Worship Service, Sunday School, Mid-Week Bible Study and field services at JCOP Hairatan. Attendance and interest has been growing each week, though life on deployment is a constant roll of deadlines, crisis and unexpected events because we are in a dangerous place. We continue the mission of ministering to Soldiers, civilians and your families as best we can. But we also pray for divine help that we don’t labor in our limited means. It is a challenge, but it is also exciting! As the TF Ram RST, PV2 Daniels and I have had the privilege of ministering to Charlie CO Soldiers at JCOP Hairatan, see the Freedom Bridge on the northern border of Afghanistan, visit Unmanned Aerial Surveillance (UAS) Soldiers at locations that 502d operate out of and work with our NATO allies at Camp Spann and Marmal German Air Hub/ In-processing Center. Each day is an adventure but we take nothing for granted. For all those who take time to read this article, I ask you to pray for TF Ram - our Soldiers, our families, our leadership and our mission. Prayer makes a difference that is sometimes hard to quantify but in hindsight know things happened that defy reason. I look forward to telling you more in the coming months. Happy Easter and Passover!
CH (CPT) David Chapman
Chaplain’s Corner
“Keep moving, stick
together, keep your
heads down!”
Newsboys
Page 2 TF Ram April Newsletter
CH Chapman ministering at Sunday Worship
TF Ram Religious Support Team CH Chapman and PV2 Daniels
heading for the field
It is hard to believe that it has already been a month since the last of HAVOC arrived here in Afghanistan. As we’ve arrived the tasks have continued to pile up, and as always HAVOC meets the challenges head on. Our platoons support the battalion across the battlefield, support the Afghan government through staff training and projects, train the border police, provide fire fighting capability, and provide command and control for TF Ram. Many of our Soldiers are acting in new roles to fill mission requirements and are perform-ing extremely well. No matter what the mission, HAVOC works together to get it done. Be proud of your Soldiers as they are already becoming well known as professional, competent, and capable individuals.
Havoc Command Team Update
“….Many of our Soldiers
are acting in new roles to
fill mission requirements
and are performing
extremely well....”
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 1
Company First Sergeant 1SG Michael E. McGuire
Company Commander CPT David R. Kelso
Savage platoon has been going out on multiple tactical patrols into the city of Mazar-e-Shariff to provide security for Key Leader Engagements. We also have seven Soldiers working in Khiliguy as police trainers, teaching and mentoring Afghan Police. They are developing training plans and setting the police force in their province up for success. - LT Leggett
HAVOC 1: CSD (Savage)
Page 4 TF Ram April Newsletter
Waiting to roll Prepping the vehicle for QRF
Standing by for the STT to finish a Combat Advisory Mission
Interacting with the locals
Hello friends and family…hope all is well back home. Support Platoon is doing well and keeping busy like always over here in Afghanistan. During the past few weeks we have been pre occupied with the following: settling into our rooms, inventorying property that was shipped from Baumholder, getting our vehicles up to mission standard, and running night mission up to 6 times a week. As a platoon, we are responsible for conducting combat patrols to Hairatan, where C Co is located, to provide them with logistical support to include: fuel, MREs, mail, etc. We like oper-ating at night because the weather is cooler and there is less traffic. For the longest time, we were operating with only 16 Sol-diers but after some rearrangement of personnel and platoons we now have 25 Soldiers. This will allow everyone to take R&R
leave and still accomplish the mission here. Also, it allows us more flexibility for missions, nights off for Soldiers, and more personal time; which is always a morale booster! - LT Ellington
HAVOC 2: Support
“….We are responsible
for conducting combat
patrols to Hairatan,
where C CO is located to
provide them with
logistical support….”
Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1
Cleaning up after a fun day at a small arms range
To all Family and Friends of the Black Sheep, I hope that these words find you well. The Black Sheep have kept themselves busy over the last few weeks. Staying occupied keeps the deployment moving, already we are a month into it and it feels like only a week has passed by. We have been conducting operations for a couple weeks now and things are finally settling down. While we have multiple mission sets, the primary mission of the platoon involves CERP (Commander's Emergency Relief Program). From wells to schools to civic beautification, this program allows commanders to contract various projects wherever they are needed. Currently, we are involved in building additions to two schools, shoring up the ceiling in another, re-tiling the courtyard of the Blue Mosque and building a wall for a District Governor. In the process of looking for projects, we have gone to a dam that is in danger of being bypassed, a pistachio
farm with a view that can't be beat, and a school with a “small” population of 1200 students. Every project we do has an impact on the Afghan population that will last long past our departure. All of you should be proud of the work Black Sheep has done and continues to do. I have only been
the Platoon Leader for our Soldiers for the last few months and I could not ask for more from them. We have inherited some of the most important missions in this area because
the leadership knows we will excel at the tasks given to us. I hope the rest of this deployment passes as quickly as this last month has and each Soldier is reunited with you soon. I am hopeful that most of you liked these pictures taken by our platoon in the last month and I will do well to provide some more in the next edition.
LT Wilcox
HAVOC 3: Black Sheep
Page 6 TF Ram April Newsletter
Lunch provided by the District Governor Black Sheep before mission
View from Camp Spann
Blue Mosque
“….From wells to schools to
civic beautification, this
program allows commanders
to contract various projects
wherever they are needed....”
Pulling security by the dam
Renegade Platoon has been training for this day for the past month, and for some even longer. It is the inaugural class of the 170th IBCT Northern Shield Training Academy. Their Afghan Border Police students took their seats in the Renegade Training Compound classrooms on the 28th of March 2011. They came ready to train and learn all that Renegade Platoon could teach them. Training for the students consists of classes in basic military, policing, and first aid skills, to include individual movement techniques, handcuffing tech-niques, and treating a wound. The Renegades are building long last-ing friendships with the local border police, having fun, and learning lifelong lessons in the process. They enjoy having the opportunity to make a difference and impart their knowledge onto students willing to learn how to be better po-licemen. They send their best wishes and all their love back to family and friends in Baumholder and abroad. - LT Biggs
HAVOC 9: Renegade
“….The Renegades are building
long lasting friendships with
the local border police, having
fun and learning lifelong
lessons in the process....”
Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 1
Setting up the training area and interacting with the Afghans
From the very start of this deployment the 40th Engineer Battalion Maintenance Team has been running full throttle. I’m sure some Soldiers would probably say that it is similar to jumping on a treadmill while it’s set to the highest speed. Most of the team has been here for less than a month, but a tremendous amount has been accomplished already. Recently, the team worked together and replaced an engine and transmission in an M978A1 Fuel Tanker, a critical piece of equipment for the battalion. Firefighting has now become an additional duty for five Soldiers on the maintenance team. SSG Crane and four junior enlisted Soldiers from Headquarters and Head- quarters Company (HHC) now have a great responsibility as the volunteer firefighters for all of Camp Mike Spann. A responsibility they don’t take lightly. In their short time as volunteer firefighters, they’ve already trained with the firefighters from the Air Force, drove and operated the cool truck with the big sprayer, and even got a chance
to wear the highly coveted fire hat. But make no mistake, these handpicked Soldiers know they’ve been selected to respond to any emergency fire situation. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the rest of the maintenance team currently pulling guard duty in the towers, and manning the entry control points, not to mention the junior enlisted Soldiers that were chosen as gunners and dismounts on various patrol sets. These Soldiers may not be working within the scope of their job as a maintainer, but they’re making the rest of the maintenance team proud while they
travel outside the wire (FOB). There’s no doubt that we have a long, poten-tially rough road ahead, but with everyone working as a team to accomplish the mission at hand, I have no doubt that 40th Engineer Battalion will be recognized as having the best maintenance team within the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
-Mr. Parker, BMO
HAVOC Wrench
Page 8 TF Ram April Newsletter
Installing a new engine and transmission Wrench getting a brief before night operations
SPC Parker, SPC Zandate and PFC Cote setting up the Motor Pool
SPC Lynch ordering parts
“….It is similar to jumping on
a treadmill while it’s set to
the highest speed....”
SFC Baker and PV2 McKay getting their hands dirty
Break time for SGT McLeod & SGT Goodwin
Company Commander
As a new Company Commander, I could not be more ex-cited to Command this Com-pany of exceptional men and women. I am honored to be a part of their team and am amazed by the ingenuity and dedication that has brought them to this point.
Our Company has a unique and exciting mission that our
Soldiers should feel proud to be part of. The work they do every day has a direct impact on improving the lives and future of thousands of Afghans. Our mission is complex and I know I will ask much of our Soldiers but at the end of our time here, we will look back and be satisfied with the work we have done.
I look forward to keeping you in-formed of our accomplishments and day to day lives.
“Sappers Forward” - Sapper 6
C CO “Sappers Forward”
Key Leader Information:
Commander:
CPT Neil Kester
First Sergeant:
1SG Dwayne Beckles
FRL:
SSG Shadeed Stevens
Cell: 01622603392
1st Platoon Leader:
1LT John Roberts
1st Platoon Sergeant:
SFC Kevin Buras
2d Platoon Leader:
1LT Brandon Horne
2d Platoon Sergeant:
SSG Vincent Adams
4th Platoon Leader:
1LT Zachary Weigelt
4th Platoon Sergeant:
SFC Thomas Mingo
“….The work they do
every day has a direct
impact on improving the
lives and future of
thousands of Afghans….”
Page 9 Volume 1, Issue 1
2d Platoon posing for a picture
Proudly displaying the FRG Banner
As 1st Brigade 10th Mountain Division prepared to transfer authority to 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 502d MI CO was one of the first elements on the ground and was charged with the responsibility of ensuring a smooth transition. Our Soldiers as always were motivated and rose up to the challenge and needless to say the transition was seamless. The weather was cold and windy when
we first arrived but has dramatically warmed up as we approach the summer months. The unmatched dedication to mission of each Ra-ven Soldier following the assumption of responsibility from 1/10th MTN, has been nothing but outstanding.
1st Platoon ACT took over the brigade’s fusion cell and assumed the responsibility of providing timely and accurate intelligence to the maneuver units across the brigade’s battle space. The platoon also briefs and provide up to date summaries to the Brigade Commander on a daily basis.
3d Platoon UAS platoon is collocated with 1-84 FA and provides real time imagery from the UAS platform. The UAS platoon took on the mission to ensure that intelligence gaps were filled and the com-mander priority intelligence requirements were answered . 4th Platoon (HUMINT) Soldiers were immediately placed into the outlying forward operating bases. The platoon ably ensured the smooth transition at all outlying FOBs and that of Camp Spann. All Soldiers including 2d Platoon are putting in 12-18 work hours per day. We are very confident that our Raven Soldiers will make a world of difference for the people of Afghanistan. Congratulations to SGT Joshua White on his promotion to into the NCO ranks!
Headquarters Platoon: The focus of HQ Platoon has been equip-ment transfers. By making sure the company’s equipment were in place and transferred, HQ Platoon gained a foothold here at Camp Spann. Without their hard work and dedication, other platoons in the outlying FOBs would not have been able to conduct their missions.
RAVENS
Page 10 TF Ram April Newsletter
Equipment Inventory before transfer
“….Our Soldiers as always
were motivated and up to
the challenge and needless to
say the transition was
seamless....”
502d Military Intelligence Company
LIFE AT CAMP SPANN
Special points of interest:
·502d assumes responsibility
1st Platoon (ACT) provides daily
intelligence
UAS flies in support of 1-84 FA
HUMINT Soldiers interact with the
local populace
“….none of this would
have been possible without
the hard work of your
Soldiers....”
CPT Parker
Page 11 Volume 1, Issue 1
This month the 589th Signal Company did a number of great things from revamping some new systems to repairing a lot of pre-existing issues. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of your Soldiers. Job well done to our newly promoted Sol-diers! Keep up the good work: SPC Cole Harland SPC Davon Rivers SPC Lena Kim The company bade farewell to two of our Platoon Leaders, 1LT Leforte and 1LT Wat-son to 24th BSB and 2-18 IN BN respec-tively. Their leadership was instrumental in deploying our company and we wish them the very best in their next assignment. We also warmly welcomed two Lieutenants into our fold as replacements: 1LT Bird from Battalion staff and 1LT Schultz from Brigade staff. An additional page has been added for some photos. “Voice of the Rock” – Lighting 6
Commander: CPT Robert W. Parker III [email protected] First Sergeant 1SG Charles McNabb [email protected] FRG Email: [email protected]
Family Readiness Liaison Number: SGT Gerbine Cell: 01622634917 DSN: 314-485-7523 How to dial to the US: 001 + area code + number How to dial from the US to Germany: 011 + 49 (country code) + number (do NOT include the first 0) BTA Website: www.baumholder.army.mil/sites/local
We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship. - Omar Nelson Bradley
Company Mailing Address YOUR SOLDIER’S NAME (No Rank) 589th Signal Company, 170th IBCT
Camp Mike Spann APO AE 09368
NETOPS Platoon Soldiers get ready for a repair mission
Task Force Command
and Staff
Commander
LTC Erik D. Zetterstrom
Command Sergeant Major
CSM Keith R. Whitcomb
Executive Officer MAJ David C. Woodruff Jr.
Operations Officer
MAJ Michael J. Swienton
NCOIC: MSG James Richardson Jr.
Personnel Officer
CPT Alexander Acheampong NCOIC: SSG Chantal A. Glover
Intelligence Officer CPT Michael M. Ellichman
NCOIC: SSG Ashley G. Johnson
Logistics Officer 1LT Jonathan F. Dyer
NCOIC: SFC Shannon D. Martin
Signal Officer
1LT Larry V. Kemp
NCOIC SFC Troy J. Moore
Special Staff
Chaplain Chaplain (CPT) David W. Chapman
Physician Assistant
MAJ Hollis L. Smith CPT Nasaazi M. Lwanga
NCOIC: SSG Joseph A. Holt Jr.
Non Lethal Effects Officer
SFC Eric Fontaine
Maintenance Technician
WO1 Walley R. Parker NCOIC: SFC Ervin D. Baker
Family Readiness Staff Assistant Ms Michelle J. Mims
Official Address HQ, 40th EN BN-Task Force Ram
170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
Unit 23803
Camp Mike Spann
APO AE 09368
Editor CPT Acheampong
Supervising Editor
MAJ Woodruff [email protected]
Task Force Ram—Battering Rams!
CPT Kester 1SG Beckles
CPT Kelso 1SG McGuire
CPT Hamilton 1SG McNerney
CPT Parker 1SG McNabb
CPT Swickard SFC Doukoure
Rear-D