1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Updates April Page 1

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

1st Battalion Newsletter

April 2010

BN CO, HHC, Chaplain

Regular 6 sends:

Friends and Families of the Regulars,

Once again I hope that this newsletter finds you and your family doing well. It was a very busy but incredibly
productive month for the “Regulars” as we completed our Mission Rehearsal Exercise at the Joint Readiness
Training Center (JRTC) in Fort Polk, Louisiana.

As many of you might have heard, JRTC was a phenomenal opportunity to stress the systems in a training environment
and get feedback on areas we needed to focus on prior to deploying to Afghanistan. Without a doubt, every Soldier,
unit, and system within the battalion went through as close to a simulated mission in Afghanistan as we could get at
before we deploy. All the companies performed extremely well in a wide variety of missions designed primarily
to build our capability to partner with Afghan National Security Forces and help them secure the local population.

For the Soldiers, I could not be more proud of how we performed as a team. Let there be no doubt in your mind
that JRTC was the first “win” in a long string of “wins” that will carry us through our deployment to Afghanistan.
For our Families, thank you again for your incredible dedication and how well you supported each other while
we were away. For the Soldiers and Families, I think we’re all starting to realize how well we can perform as a unit
when we support each other and work to get better every day. Even though our Afghanistan deployment will last longer,
the relationships and support chains we built during JRTC will undoubtedly get stronger over the next few months.

Over the next couple of months, we’ll continue to train on the lessons we learned at JRTC and also focus on other areas
to build capability within the formation. We’ll focus primarily on small unit tactics (including long range marks-manship),
mortar training, language training,and leader training to better prepare us for the Afghanistan operational environment.
Everything we do will be balanced to provide as many opportunities to solidify our most important relationships
through dedicated Family time.

A quick reminder that the Regular Ball is coming up on 12 June 2010 at the Antlers Hilton in downtown Colorado Springs.
Ticket prices are still not locked in but the cost will be well under the cost of a nice dinner for two at a comparable location.
I’m also pleased to announce that we’ve locked in Mr. Gil Sanborn as the guest speaker…you’ll be impressed
with his thoughts as a witness to the events surrounding 9-11.

As an organization, we continue to thrive within the uncertainty that naturally occurs with a unit heading into
an Afghanistan deployment. As you assess where you’re at in your personal relationships, unit or FRG training,
and personal attitude, I ask that you focus on areas that will help you “thrive” during our upcoming deployment
instead of just “surviving”. Where others see challenges, I hope our Soldiers and Families will see opportunities.

May God bless each and every one of you, the Regulars, and the United States of America.
Regulars, by God!
LTC Clay Padgett
“Regular 6”

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Greetings from the Joint Readiness Training Center,

Hammer Company arrived to JRTC and occupied Forward Operating Base (FOB) Anvil in the beginning of April.
The company was strung out on flights and finally reunited as a whole on 6 April. The FOB is small but we are
making it comfortable. At one point we had 937 Soldiers at the base that is only supposed to hold 400.
We had a slight over flow capacity of our port-a-potties but our proactive FOB Mayor, 1SG Hise, made new
arrangements to accommodate us. We are living in hard stand buildings and tents capable of housing 50 Soldiers each.
The cooks give us two hot meals a day (breakfast and dinner), we have trailers with hot water for shaving
and showering, and enough room to do PT and get a decent run in. The AAFES Post Exchange is here operating
out of a trailer selling snacks and personal hygiene items. FT Polk has done a great job replicating deployment life,
right down to horrible cell phone reception.

The first part of the month here in hot and humid Fort Polk, Louisiana concentrated on platoon and company
training lanes. The Scouts, Assault Command Post (ACP), and Mortar Platoon linked up with Training Mentors (TM),
specialties in their field, to learn more about their jobs. The ACP is training together for the first time and working out
a lot of kinks and learning how to operate as a team. They got to do a live fire exercise at Peason Ridge
which simulated driving through Afghanistan. The reports back from the TM were that SSG Cantu has a tight-knit
well-trained crew working with him. That was their first ever mission working together as a team,
which proves just how well trained our Soldiers are.

The Scouts did some good training as a platoon refining what they learned from Raider Blitz. Like any Battalion asset
they have been re-tasked to support our Charlie Company as some extra muscle to help the Cobras control their town.
By the end of the Rotation, newly promoted CPT Hartwig, SFC George and their Scouts will have worked
for almost every unit in the Battalion.

The last five days here at Fort Polk is our Force on Force exercise where we fight against a real enemy.
We all wear MILES gear which is a form of laser tag as we combat the bad guys. When we get hit by gun fire
the sensor makes a very loud annoying beeping sound and stops the laser in your weapon from working
so you can’t shoot back. This is the part of the exercise we have been waiting for, the fun part.
HHC is responsible for securing FOB Anvil in order to allow the staff a safe place to plan for the Battalion. |
We are concentrating on the Entry Control Point (ECP) making sure the people coming onto the FOB
are not carrying a bomb.

While here we had the distinct opportunity to promote several officers in the formation this month.
LTC Padgett promoted 1LT Hartwig (Scout Platoon), 1LT Ganim (S4), 1LT Muir (S6), and 1LT Banuelos (HHC XO)
to the mighty rank of Captain on the berm of FOB Anvil at sunset. 2LT Modlin, our very own medical platoon leader
finally got his black bar making him a 1LT.

We should all be home by the first week in May to enjoy the spring weather in Colorado. It’s going to be a busy month
as we concentrate on packing up for deployment, turning in unneeded equipment, and learning a new language.
I’ll be there in person at the next FRG meeting, looking forward to seeing everyone.

HAMMER 6

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“April showers bring May flowers.”

In our lives every one of us has heard the saying: “April showers bring May flowers.”
This popular saying has two main meanings to it, one being literal and the other symbolic. The literal meaning
comes from the fact that in many parts of the country April brings with it the most rain showers that we see per month
during the year. Yet these cold, rainy days of April give the seeds in the ground the nutrients they need to grow
into the beautiful flowers that so often characterize the spring month of May.

Much in the same way that this saying is true literally, I also believe that it is true symbolically as well. For instance,
the symbolic showers of April (which stand for the difficult circumstances of life) bring about the flowers of May
(which symbolizes the happy times of life). While it is not always pleasant to go through the “April showers”,
it is absolutely necessary that we go through these times in order to enjoy the better days of “May flowers”
that those days bring about.

April 2010 was a tough, yet outstanding, month for the Soldiers and Family members of 1st Battalion,
22nd Infantry Regiment. It was during this month that the Soldiers and family members of our 1-22IN Regulars
persevered and overcame the many challenges that came our way.

To our incredible group of spouses and children within our Regulars I say this: thank you so much for what you do daily;
for your Spouse, your children, our unit, and our country as a whole. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated and admired
by all, and I hope you find comfort in the fact that literally millions around the country pray for you daily.
Your Soldiers did a fantastic job down at JRTC, and they couldn’t have done it without your love and support
and for that I want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To the Soldiers of the Regulars I say this: great job Regulars. Each of you should be proud of the phenomenal job
that you did at JRTC. I am proud of each one of you. There truly is no other unit in the Army I’d rather be in
than serving alongside of each of you as your Chaplain. Keep pressing forward and keep training hard,
for we will be in Afghanistan before we know it.

May God continue to bless the Soldiers, NCOs, Officers, and Family members
of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment.

Regulars by GOD!
Deeds Not Words!
Chaplain Chip Satterlee

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