1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Update 4-15-06 Page 2

The past month has seen several different significant events for the Gators.
I would like to start by welcoming the following new Gators and their families.
PFC Joey Hacker and his wife Ashley came from HHC/1-22 IN.
He has already earned positive recognition for his late night physical training session with another Soldier
by CSM Ronald T. Riling – the 4^th Infantry Division Command Sergeant Major.
Also coming from HHC is SGT Brett Bussell, his wife Juliette, and their 2 year old daughter Faith.
SGT Bussell is a communications NCO and is a great addition to the company.
SPC(P) Brian Keith is returning to A Company from a long stint in the battalion’s personnel section.
After outstanding service to the unit, it is great to have him and his family back with the Gators.
SSG Timothy Mosteller is coming to A Company to fill the master gunner void that SSG(P) Jason Shields has held
for the past year. PFC Jesse Ladner, PVT Brandon Coulter, and PVT Gregorio Garza are all new to the company
and the Army – arriving only recently from Basic Training. Welcome to you all!

Sadly, the arrival of new Soldiers generally means the departure of others.
PFC Carlos Raygada from 3^rd Platoon accepted the position vacated by SPC(P) Keith in the battalion’s personnel section
at HHC. SSG(P) Shields of the Headquarters Platoon moved from the Gator Master Gunner
to serve as the Battalion Master Gunner. As one of the Gators who have been with us the longest, it is tough to see him go.
PFC Kelso of 1^st Platoon and both SPC Cornette and PFC Camacho from 3^rd Platoon – along with their families –
all went to 1st Brigade, 4^th Infantry Division to serve with them. Lastly, 1LT(P) David Claycomb of the Headquarters Platoon
went to HHC to serve as the Assistant Civil Military Operations officer. Good luck in all your future endeavors.

We would like to congratulate the following Soldiers who have earned promotions this past month.

We also want to recognize the following Soldiers who were recommended for promotion at our most recent promotion board. Soon they will be rewarded for their hard work with additional stripes on their collar.

On April Fools Day, we awarded several Good Conduct Medals – they are awarded for three consecutive years of error-free service.
Congratulations to all the Gators who have provided commendable service to the nation.

· 1SG Rohan McDermott

· SFC Gilbert Nail

· SSG William Cole

· SSG(P) Miguel De Losantos

· SSG Neil Floyd

· SSG Gilbert Lopez

· SSG Michael Schneider

· SSG Kevin Voll

· SGT Matthew Brown

· SGT Thomas Brown

· SGT Ryan Curry

· SGT Cody Hoefer

· SGT Roy Lewis

· SGT Mark Little

· SGT Ian McNabb

· SGT Jason Payne

· SGT Rudy Rosalez

· CPL David Cummings

· CPL Ryan Meador

· CPL(P) Craig Steiner

· CPL Christopher Portillo

· SPC Robert Abdallah

· SPC Rodger Kelly

· SPC Alain Morin

· SPC James Thompson

SGT Robert Brown earned recent recognition as the Special Troops Battalion NCO of the month of March,
and maintained his performance by triumphantly taking NCO of the Quarter honors as well.
He has put a great deal of effort into preparing for these two boards and was handsomely rewarded.

The month of March passed rather quickly as the tempo keeps us busy each and every day.
We have been sending the Special Troops Battalion battle squads home on environmental leave,
so their absence requires some careful juggling of personnel to provide escort service to the Division staff.
We have also been rotating them through fixed site security to give them a break from the battle squad mission.
2nd and 3rd Platoons have swapped missions once again, with 2nd Platoon now providing fixed site security
and 3rd Platoon accomplishing the battle squad missions. I think this monthly rotation enables each platoon
to maintain its focus on combat operations. Each platoon establishes a weekly training plan that improves
on their common infantryman skills. In general, they have been training on map reading, marksmanship, physical fitness,
foot-marching, calling for indirect fire, first aid, weapons familiarization, and dismounted patrolling.
Maintenance of individual and unit equipment, as well as skill training on battle squad missions, security missions,
and detainee operations also dominate an already busy schedule.

One of the weekly events that we have established is the selection of a Gator of the Week.
The award is presented to the Soldier in the company who has made a notable contribution to his or her mission.
The past recipients are PVT David Ruiz-Villaneuva for his professionalism and dedication as a battle squad driver,
CPL Cesar Arroyo for his diligence in maintaining his platoon’s vehicles, SGT Tran for her commitment
to safe and secure detainee operations, and SSG Gilbert Lopez for transporting a group of staff officers
to an important meeting when several other VIP’s arrived late for the same meeting.
Thanks for all your hard work.

I hope this letter finds you and yours well.
The Soldiers of B Company continued to perform in an exemplary manner over the past month.
We were reminded of the cost of our freedom as we suffered the loss of Private First Class Sean Tharp on March 28th.
He was a young, silent warrior whose memory we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with Sean and his family. His memory – and the memory of others before us –
will continue to fuel our desire to achieve noble works and overcome our enemies.
The company gathered with Soldiers from D Company, to whom 3rd Platoon is attached,
on April 1st to celebrate his life, service, and to say goodbye.

Continuing the mission for which PFC Tharp and many others have sacrificed, the company conducted several
successful operations this past month. Among these were two air assault operations. For many Soldiers,
this was a new experience and one they will not soon forget. Our most notable operation involved the discovery
of an extremely large ammunition cache by the Soldiers of 1st Platoon. The Soldiers spent over a day and a half
in a tireless effort to unearth all of the potentially lethal materiel. The cache included nearly one thousand mortar rounds
of various sizes, rockets, and other ordnance. This will surely help to make the area safer in the future.
The blast created by the controlled detonation of these materials could be felt over ten kilometers away.

Congratulations to SFC Vernon Wippert and his wife, Robin, on the birth of Hunter Jackson on March 21st.

We would like to congratulate the following Soldiers who have earned promotions this past month.

I’d also like to congratulate the following Soldiers on their decision to continue their enlistment in the Army.
We thank them and their families for their continued commitment and sacrifice.

Finally, we said goodbye to Bear 5 – 1LT Chris Bluhm – this past month. After eight months of service to the Bears,
he is to assume duties as the Signal Officer for the 4th Support Battalion stationed at CAMP TAJI.
No one worked harder in the first three months in Iraq. The XO job is often a thankless one – if he does his job right,
the XO truly works for every Soldier in the company to make sure he has what he needs to accomplish his mission.
1LT Bluhm did just this and we will miss him.

Chaos Soldiers have continued to serve very effectively for the unit to which we’re currently assigned –
2^nd Battalion of the 502^nd Infantry. Our Soldiers have a very tough job to do in very austere conditions,
but they are a motivated bunch who are taking the fight to the enemy every day…and winning.
You have much to be proud about your Chaos Soldier.

Current operations at the Water Treatment Facility have proved to be quite effective.
While conducting routine patrols recently, Chaos managed to uncover a rather large insurgent weapons cache.
The finding of the weapons cache not only provided the company with a plethora of information regarding enemy tactics,
but it significantly reduced the enemy’s ability to attack coalition forces in our area of operations.
Continued presence in the area combined with our Soldiers’ situational awareness is a key factor
that has changed the area our Soldiers inhabit.

Congratulations to SPC Kelley Martin who most recently reenlisted for 6 years.
MG Thurman, Commanding General of the Fourth Infantry Division, reenlisted SPC Martin at the 4ID Headquarters
located at CAMP LIBERTY. Reenlistment has been a priority of Chaos Company over the past few months.
Despite the tough road ahead, the company strives to keep the Soldiers aware of the importance of their sacrifice to their country.
The command is extremely grateful to the Soldiers and their families for their continued support.
Congratulations are also due to SSG Alan Meeks, SGT Scott Borawski,
and SPC Rey Aguilar for having reenlisted in previous months while deployed.

Chaos would also like to give special notice of the recent promotion of 1LT Justin Twombly.
As the platoon leader for 2^nd Platoon, Justin was promoted while conducting operations in Sadr Al Yusifiyah.
2^nd Platoon is currently attached to Warrior Company of 2-502 IN and they have been the spearhead
for the majority of key operations conducted by the battalion. In addition to being promoted, 1LT Twombly
and his crew also distinguished themselves by firing the first tank main gun round at insurgent forces.
As the gunner, CPL Carl Zachary effectively engaged an enemy mortar tube with a HEAT round.
His quick acquisition and proper identification of enemy forces is just one example of the professionalism
and lethality of the Soldiers of the company.