1st Battalion 22nd Infantry
1st Battalion Newsletter
September 2013
BN CO, Chaplain, HHC
REGULAR 6 :
Soldiers, Family, and Friends of the Regulars,
After eight months here in
Kuwait, this will be our final newsletter while deployed. I think
I am safe in saying that
we are all extremely excited to return home to family and the
Colorado Springs community. Nine months away from
family and friends is difficult, no matter where you are
deployed. For some of our Soldiers returning home in the coming
weeks,
this will be their first opportunity to meet their new child. We
all look forward to the happy reunion and beginning the
next chapter of our lives.
The Autumn
temperatures have finally settled in at Camp Buehring with daily
highs only reaching about 100 degrees
extremely nice conditions given the August and September heat.
This will make the transition with the incoming Brigade
much easier. Flights begin this week and will continue on every
week throughout the remainder of October and beginning
of November. All of your Soldiers should know at this point what
Main Body flight they are on, so please communicate with them
to find out for sure when they anticipate to return. Once you
know their Main Body flight, you can also call the Raider Brigade
Hotline at
719 to get pre-recorded information on the date and time of the
welcome home ceremony for each flight.
During our remaining time in
Kuwait, we are focused on finishing strong and maintaining a high
state of mission readiness.
We look forward to the upcoming transition with 2nd Brigade and
will conduct a first class handover to set them
up for success. Finally, we are prepping our personnel and
equipment for redeployment and reintegration at Fort Carson.
After the welcome home ceremony each of us will enjoy a 3-day
pass before beginning reintegration training.
The Soldiers of the Battalion
continue to perform extremely well and I couldnt be more
proud of them. Congratulations
to all 54 of our newly inducted Non-Commissioned Officers. This
first class NCO Induction Ceremony was indicative
of the top notch Non-Commissioned Officers in our battalion that
really know how to do things right. Once again, great job!
Please take a moment to LIKE us on Facebook. We continue to post
numerous pictures to showcase your Soldiers
and their many accomplishments. (Keyword Search: Regulars by God)
Thanks for all that you do! We will see you soon!
Regulars, by God! Deeds, Not Words!
LTC Steven J. Adams
REGULAR 7 SENDS:
Soldiers, Family, and Friends of the Regulars Battalion,
GET AFTER IT! The
time has finally come for our battalion to begin redeploying
Soldiers back
home to Fort Carson. It has been a long and rewarding deployment
for everyone. We are very
proud of the many accomplishments our battalion has added to our
rich history. The Regulars Battalion
can come home proud of our service here in Kuwait due to the hard
work of our Soldiers,
NCOs, and Officers. If you have been following us on
Facebook and liking our photos you have
seen everything from Small Arms Ranges, Live Fire Exercises, Air
Assault Missions, Change of
Responsibility Ceremonies, Change of Command Ceremonies, Expert
Infantry Badge Testing, Excellence
in Armor Training, Expert Field Medic Badge Training, numerous
promotions and award
ceremonies, and very soon our redeployment closing out with
photos of Families reunited at the
special events center back home at Fort Carson.
If you have not been keeping up
with us on our Battalions Facebook page, I strongly
encourage
you to take a look: https://www.facebook.com/
#!/pages/Regulars-by-God/179874164570. Our
page not only captures our deployment in photos but will also
show the professionalism of the unit.
The page is a source for useful and vital information, such as
when to be at the Special Events
Center to meet your redeploying Soldier.
Everyone always wonders what to
expect after the Special Events Center when my
Soldier gets home. After your Soldier checks in and the ceremony
ends they will receive a 72
hour pass. This will then be followed by 10 (working) days of
mandatory reintegration training.
However, normal duty days will start as we get back into the
swing of daily life back at home station.
Below are some key events and dates for our Families back home to mark on the calendar:
Holiday (3 and 4 day weekends):
11 - 14 Oct Columbus day
8 - 11 Nov Veterans Day
28 Nov - 1 Dec Thanksgiving
6 - 8 Dec (3 day pass after our Ball)
Block Leave dates:
14 Dec - 7 Jan
I again urge everyone back home
to get tied into the Family Readiness Group by contacting Theresa
Scott at
mail.mil or (719). She will further guide you to your individual
company FRG leaders if you have not yet
been contacted.
In closing, the strength of our
Soldiers is their Families and deployment has been a tremendous
success because of you. The Soldiers and Leaders are very
resilient because of our
Families and their continued support. We all look forward to
seeing you all soon. GET AFTER IT!
Regulars by God
Deeds Not Words
Command Sergeant Major Timothy
Edwards
Regular 7
When I considered where we are
at in the deployment process these upcoming days and weeks ahead,
I thought
it applicable to share one of Aesops Fables with you called
The One-Eyed Doe.
A Doe had had the misfortune to
lose one of her eyes, and could not see any one approaching her
on that side. So to
avoid any danger she always used to feed on a high cliff near the
sea, with her sound eye looking towards the
land. This meant she could see whenever the hunters approached
her on land, and often
escaped by this means. But the hunters found out that she was
blind of one eye, and hiring
a boat rowed under the cliff where she used to feed and shot her
from the sea. "Ah!"
she cried with her dying voice. Moral of the Story: Stay Alert
Stay Alive!
Soldiers of the 1-22 Infantry
Battalion have done a wonderful job in support of Operation
Spartan Shield and have excelled at everything from individual
competitions, gunnery exercises,
EIB Qualification, Commanders Cup, and most recently the
ongoing EFMB Qualification
process. Lets not become complacent now.
During this very busy yet
exciting time of making preparations to redeploy, transferring of
property, and multiple movement pieces, it is essential to
remember that the mission is
not yet complete. The Regulars have come too far to let down our
guard when it comes to
safety, PCCs, and PCIs this close to returning home. I encourage
you to remain extremely
vigilant at all times, keeping both eyes open, and also looking
out for your battle buddies.
Keep doing the right things, even when no one is looking and
avoid trouble!
1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober
spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around
like
a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Deeds, Not Words!
Hammer Company Soldiers, friends, and family,
Hello Hammer Families! I know we
are all ready for this deployment to end! The countdown is
getting shorter and shorter
as we prepare for our Soldiers to come home.
A few things I would like to
talk about is reintegration and homecoming. Reintegration is a
stressful time. I know we will
be happy to be home and you will be happy for us to be there, but
it is still stressful. We must find our place in the
home after being bachelors for the last nine months. For at least
the first couple of days, I feel like I am a visitor
in my own home because I dont want to mess with
Wendys schedule and routine. It usually takes me a few days
to adjust. Wendy and the kids say that they feel like they are
walking on eggshells too since I have been gone and
they had their own thing going on. This is normal. This is the
conclusion of my eighth deployment and some things
never change, we learn to adjust, that is the power of the Army
Family.
Before we redeploy, we will be
doing some classes to help get your Soldier ready to come home.
Reintegration is
one of the classes. I will explain to them that you have been
running the house while we have been gone and that they
need to respect that. The worst thing we can do is criticize
anything and/or try and make changes to your routine.
Hopefully they listened and didnt drone off.
Something else I am going to
talk with them about it financial planning. It is more of a risk
for our Single Soldiers
than our Married Soldiers, but they dont need to go try and
spend all of the money they saved up for the last nine months in
one weekend. This is a good time to set aside a nest egg for
themselves for emergencies or for their future.
The biggest and longest topic of
discussion is going to cover the issues that may truly become big
issues; alcohol,
domestic violence and drugs. I will continue to hammer home that
they will not be able to drink Colorado Springs dry in the
first 72 hours they are home. Their tolerance for alcohol is
greatly reduced and they need to drink responsibly. Furthermore,
we will talk in great detail about preventing domestic violence,
both him on her/children and her on him/children. I will not
tolerate any form of domestic violence and my rule is that I
place a No Contact Military Protective Order on the Soldier, move
them in to the barracks for a minimum of seven days and rescind
their off-post privileges. This will be followed by counseling
from not just their leadership, but also with ACS and Family
Advocacy counselors. We have been gone for 9 months, the last
thing anyone wants is more separation. Finally, marijuana may be
legal in Colorado, but it is still illegal in the Army for
Soldiers to use.
Finally, I am emplacing a 100
mile radius travel restriction the first two weeks your Soldier
is home. We have not
been driving much for the past nine months and I dont want
anyone to attempt to drive for longer than they are used to.
Furthermore, we have to do mandatory reintegration training the
first two weeks we are home so no one will have time to
travel too far. 100 miles still has Denver within its
radius so it shouldn't affect anyone too bad.
I have also been asked about
Paternity Leave and Block Leave. Paternity Leave is a case by
case basis. Tell your Soldier
to talk to me about it and we will set it up after they are done
with Reintegration Training. For the younger Soldiers, I am
recommending that we make the first 10 days of their Block Leave
their Paternity Leave so that they are not charged all 25
days. For the older Soldiers with a lot of leave days, I am
considering whatever they submit, within reason. Block Leave has
been set by COL Tyler, the Brigade Commander, as 14DEC13 to
07JAN14. That is set in stone and you can start buying plane
tickets now if you like, however, I ask that you set you return
ticket for 05JAN14 in case there are travel issues.
Heres to the countdown to redeployment! /salute
Respectfully,
CPT Anthony Thies
HAMMER 6
Hammer Families,
Hello once again to the families
of Hammer Co. The last phase of the deployment
is now upon us, REDEPLOYMENT. I want to thank you for your
patience and all you have
done to support your spouse during the deployment. Ensure you
congratulate your significant
other on a job well done during Operation Spartan Shield. We are
currently conducting
tasking that will enable the Soldiers to have smooth transition
before their departure.
The Brigade just celebrated
its 50th Birthday on the 24th of August. 1-22 IN was
awarded the Raider Brigade Trophy for the third year in a row.
The Regular Battalion will be
conducting a NCO Induction Ceremony for all Soldiers who have
been promoted into the
NCO Corps during the deployment. This Induction Ceremony is a
pivotal time in a Soldier
career. It is a gateway that will, without a doubt, change 15
NCOs career path or outlook.
Thank you again for all the hard
work taking care of the families in the absence of
your spouse.
Sincerely,
1SG Edward L. Mills Jr.
Hello fellow Hammers and Families,
For those of you I do not know,
let me take a quick moment to introduce myself. My
name is CPT Anthony Chung and I took over for CPT Jon Gonzales as
the HHC Executive Officer
this past April. I am married to Elizabeth Brumbaugh who is the
Charlie Company FRG leader,
where I was previously the 3rd Platoon Leader and the Charlie
Executive Officer. It has been a
learning experience transitioning between an Armor company to a
Headquarters company, and
I would like to thank all the families who have helped welcome
Lyzzy and the Soldiers, NCOs,
and Officers of HHC who have made the transition that much
easier.
These past months have been
quite hectic. We continue to train at the highest level.
If I could take pictures of most of the vehicles in the HHC motor
pool or take a picture of the
deadline report, you might be able to see a small glance of just
how busy the Soldiers have
been since arriving to Kuwait in February. My supply sergeant,
SSG Pico, and I have had numerous
training exercises to resource. These exercises include a
multitude of field problems, a
MORTEP run by our Mortar Platoon, a SCOUTEX and Spur Ride ran by
our Scout Platoon, and
many others I guarantee your Soldiers will relive with you when
they get back. It has been a great
learning experience, especially for those younger Soldiers and
this being their first deployment.
We are looking forward to
returning home to Fort Carson, Colorado and being with our loved
ones again. We are
busy continuing to train hard, while at the same time beginning
the process of loading our containers with equipment and
personal belongings to send back to Colorado. These connexes
should be expected back after the Christmas block leave, so
we will look forward to that in this upcoming year. I look
forward to meeting many of you at future functions such as the 1-
22 IN Ball and other HHC or BN outings that we will be holding.
Until then, keep marking days off your calendars and we will
be home sooner than we know it! HAMMERS!!!!
Respectfully,
CPT Anthony Chung
HAMMER 5
Medic Platoon, HHC
Friends and family of the Medical Platoon,
The Medics continue to push
ahead with their plans to conduct full spectrum training for the
Expert Field Medical Badge
(EFMB) starting on 21 SEP. We will begin to train solely for
EFMB, to include studying for the rigorous exam. In preparation
for the training initiative, the Medics have had to solidify and
coordinate all processes for the return home. This included
packing and preparing all equipment for transport home.
The Medics are looking forward
to the EFMB competition starting on 05 OCT. Once the competition
begins, the sole
mission will be competing. Along with Land Navigation and the
Exam, EFMB will test your Medics skills in weapons, CBRN,
and medical testing lanes. The most grueling event will be the
final 12-mile Road March, which we will be required to complete
in 3 hours. The Medics have been training every Saturday in
preparation for that event.
You should be extremely proud of
what your Blood Medics have accomplished thus far! Soon, we will
all be home
and your Soldiers will be integrating back into your lives!
Until next month (when we all are back!),
2LT Jay Jerman
Blood 6
SFC Adam Silvis
"Blood 7"
Scout Platoon, HHC
Friends and family of the Scout Platoon:
As the summer comes to an end
the temperatures continue to drop to more comfortable levels.
Although the cooler temperatures
are appreciated, it has not changed the high operational tempo
that your Soldiers have maintained throughout the deployment.
Scouts and Snipers have continued to improve their current
locations for future operations in the two countries we currently
operate in. Their hard work and dedication has set conditions for
a successful transition between units in the upcoming weeks.
The main focus of late has been
on security operations while ramping up property accountability
and equipment pack out.
Your Soldiers focus naturally moves toward redeployment as
containers and personal equipment are packed.
The upcoming weeks will be filled with operational and
administrative redeployment tasks in order to rejoin the
Battalion,
and in turn, fly back to Fort Carson.
At Camp Buehring, Kuwait Scout
Soldiers continue to aid the Battalion with ongoing operations.
Over the past month,
Soldiers have executed maintenance, reset and accountability for
company equipment. They have also been instrumental
in aiding the company with preparations for redeployment to Fort
Carson.
As we approach the end of
deployment we ask the families to continue to support your
Soldiers as you have over
the past 8 months. Your strength and courage enable your Soldiers
to maintain focus for a safe redeployment. As always,
we appreciate your sacrifices you have made and continue to make
for your country.
1LT Brandon Landes
Comanche 1
SFC Michael Anderson
Comanche 4
Friends and family of Thunder Platoon,
As summer draws to a close, we
find your Thunder Men continuing their mission in the waning
Kuwaiti heat. Despite continued
sandstorms and cooler temperatures (~110F), your Soldiers have
worked tirelessly this past month to maintain the fight and
further
develop themselves as professional Soldiers. The month of
September witnessed the platoon continuing their mission while
preparing
for redeployment in the future. During this month, your Soldiers
executed four major training events; Call for Fire training,
a Gunners Examination, the Best Mortar Competition, and
Platoon Maneuver Training. The Gunners Examination tests
the proficiency
of the gunner in five areas: mounting the carrier mounted 120mm
mortar, making small deflection & elevation changes,
referring
the sight and realigning aiming posts, making large deflection
and elevation changes, and reciprocally laying the mortar.
Impressively, each Soldier in the platoon qualified Expert,
scoring between 90 and 100 percent. The Best Mortar Competition
was a
platoon-internal competition designed around the numerous tasks
of a 120mm Mortar Crew; the competition tested the crews
ability
to prepare a M121 Mortar System for operations, and execute
follow-on fire missions. SGT Kyle Dorseys crew came out on
top,
earning them a 3-day trip to Camp Arifjan, and their name on the
BMC plaque back at Fort Carson. Finally, Platoon Maneuver
training
increased the movement & maneuver skills of each crew, as
well as occupation skills and basic mortar tasks during day and
nighttime operations.
Although our main focus has been
primarily structured around maintaining professional skills, we
have not forgotten that resiliency
is extremely important to the welfare of the platoon. Several of
your Soldiers have been given the opportunity to travel to
Qatar, a rare and incredible opportunity. The trips were received
well by all who went, and are consider to be an unforgettable
experience.
As we look to the near future, I
would like to take this opportunity to discuss two key events:
homecoming & reintegration. As
most of you already know, Reintegration is an extremely stressful
time for everyone. While exciting, this can be a tough time for
you
and yours while you struggle to find a place in each others
lives. For 9 months you have been living apart, and now, each of
you
have your own schedule and routine. It is important to remember
that tensions may be high for both spouses, and especially for
children,
as they adapt to the change of the new normal. In
order to create a smooth transition for both family and Soldier,
the company
will be receiving classes to help prepare them for their return
home.
Each day in this platoon, I find
myself inspired by the fortitude, resiliency, and capabilities of
these young men to shoulder any
task. As always, we would like to thank all of you for your
continued love and support of your Thunder Mortarman! You are the
force behind the fight!
Until next month,
1LT Samuel Flohr ----------SSG
Richard Harrington
Thunder 6 ------------------------Thunder 7
**********************
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