The Attack Sentinel

Volume 1 Issue 6 August 2011

Table of Contents Attack 6 Sends

Attack 7 Sends

HHC

Aco

Bco

Dco

Eco

Chaplain’s Corner

Tarin Kowt is Seeing Stars

Sugar Bears and Phantoms

Soldier and NCO of the Month

This Army newsletter is an authorized publication for members of the Department of De-

fense. Contents of the Attack Sentinel are not necessarily official views of, or edited by, the

U.S. Government, Department of Defense, or the Department of the Army. The editorial con-

tent of this publication is the responsibility of the Task Force Attack Public Affairs Office,

APO AE 09380

Attack 6 Sends

Family, Friends and Soldiers of Task Force Attack: It is with a sense of ju-

bilation that I report we are officially past the ½ way mark of our deployment. It

is truly downhill from here. The Task Force continues to conduct “COIN

(Counter-Insurgency) at Altitude” operations at a blistering pace, making a dif-

ference supporting the trooper on the ground but also the Afghanistan people.

The addition of the CH-47 Sugarbears and C Co/ 3-159 ARB Phantoms has made

an immediate and significant contribution to the fight and we’re glad they are on

the team.

It is clear that autumn is in the air. And while we wait for the weather to

catch up, Soldiers are getting very excited about College and NFL Football. Fan-

tasy League participation is in full gear and the colors of Soldiers favorite Col-

lege Programs are populating our offices and workspaces.

I want to congratulate all our Volunteer award recipients to include Chap-

lain Cheney’s wife, Kristin, who received the Division Volunteer of the Month

Award. Our unit and community could not function without the support of these

selfless volunteers. I would also contend that the volunteers themselves gain a

great deal out of their efforts. I highly encourage you to get involved and volun-

teer what time you may have to an area of your interest or skill set. It is a great

way to stay connected. I also ask that you continue to stay connected with your

Company FRGs. The information flow and sense of belonging to a team cannot

be overemphasized during the time of a deployment and our FRGs provide that.

If you follow us on our Facebook page (and if you don’t please check it

out) you will have noticed we have started to serve, albeit on a limited basis,

Pizza in the DFAC. I want to personally thank our FRSA’s mother, Vicki McCaul-

ley, who donated the money to purchase the Pizza Pans. We continue to work

with our DFAC manager to expand their pizza making capability so all Task

Force Soldiers have an opportunity to enjoy.

Next month my Newsletter will be a reflection on serving in combat on the

10th

anniversary of 9/11. It continues to be an honor to command and serve

these great Soldiers of Task Force Attack…

“Attack….”

LTC Rod Hynes

Attack 7 Sends The month of August has been yet another fast pace months. Yes, we have

reached our halfway point of the rotation but we still have much to do. The past

few days I've been asking Soldiers about the goals that they had set for them-

selves at the beginning of the rotation. I've asked each to evaluate if they were

on course for meeting the goals that they set for themselves. Many have set

meaningful and realistic goals, such as saving money, increasing their physical

fitness level, working on college classes or just working on being a better Sol-

dier. I would say that the halfway point of the deployment is the perfect time to

determine if you are truly on course to reaching your personal goals.

As always the Task Force continues to perform at a level above the rest. The

battalion's S-1 shop was selected as the S-1 of the Quarter for the entire Combat

Aviation Brigade for their timely and accurate reporting. CPT Craft, SSG(P)Mason

and the rest of the team in the S-1 shop worked very hard this month to be one of

the 1st units in the Brigade to meet the submission timeline for service awards.

The S-1 shop is normally one of those sections that's not noticed until someone

has an administrative or financial problem. This is just one of many examples of

Soldiers of Task Force Attack making it happen day in and day out.

This month the Task Force has been dealing with the hardship of "WAR". The

hot water in our shower units were turned off as a means to conserve or reduce

the amount of water usage. The base itself doesn't have a water shortage but a

waste storage problem that's being worked through currently. The hot water

drama will soon be over, even with the cold showers life at TK is still pretty good

for a deployment. I'd also like to send a special thanks to the FRG Leaders for

providing our Dining Facility (DFAC) with the Pizza pans. To say that the pizza's

were a hit would be an understatement. The line for pizza was longer than it has

been on steak and lobster night. Our DFAC Manager will be preparing homemade

pizzas on Friday nights and on special events like College and NFL football

games.

As always please continue to keep us in your prayers,

"Attack 07"

CSM Green

Terminators

HHC

FAREWELLS

CPT Leppert

1LT Kraft

BIRTHDAYS

SPC Johnson

PROMOTIONS

SPC Copeland

PFC Wagner

We have finally reached the halfway point in the deployment and I have to say how proud I

am of all the HHC personnel. Deployments are hard for Soldiers and families, but we have

done a great job of finding ways to cope and continue to succeed in our mission. As we con-

tinue with the deployment, I ask that we continue to work hard and maintain good attitudes. It

takes effort from all of us to make this successful.

I‟d like to welcome our two new HHC Soldiers, CPT Gregory and 1LT Hamilton. CPT Greg-

ory comes to us from FOB Wolverine and has assumed the position of the Task Force Attack

S6. 1LT Hamilton recently came to us from Kandahar and is our newest Assistant S2. They

have already proven their value to HHC and the Task Force and we look forward to serving

with them.

Unfortunately we have to say goodbye to two fantastic Soldiers this month as well. CPT Lep-

pert was selected to take command of C/563rd. He served as the Task Force Attack S6 for

over 12 months and has made a huge impact on all those around him. 1LT Kraft established

himself as one of the finest Intelligence officers in the Brigade and due to his expertise and

exceptional performance he was chosen to move in order to share his talents with other

units. Both of these individuals will be missed and we wish them the best of luck in their new

positions.

Thank you for your continued support.

HAILS

CPT Gregory

1LT Hamilton

Question and Answer

Q: How many RTOs can you fit

in a TOC at one time?

A: Six

Q: Can you get hypothermia in

Afghanistan in August?

A: Yes, try the showers.

Q: Can you understand the S-2

brief?

A: No

Q: Can I get a weather update

from the SWO?

A: Roger logging you alpha at

this time.

Q: How did you know you were

inverted?

A: My **** were hitting me in

the face.

Moving up in the world

August has been a good month

for promotions in the Killerspade

community. Four of our warrant

officers have made the promotion

list this month. CW3 Grider, CW3

Taroli, CW2 Frye and CW2 Mc

caskey are all promotable to the

next highest rank. It’s always good

to see guys moving up the latter

and making a little more cabbage

for their hard work.

policy have agreed. They have

a driving desire to do their job

more now than ever, even on

the ground. Unfortunately,

there are drawbacks to this

technique. Water consumption

has increased since the mysti-

cal power of the f-ing cold

shower was discovered. TK

poop ponds are beginning to

Keeping your cool August is a hot time of

year in RC south Afghanistan.

Recently we have collectively

discovered that there is no

better way to keep cool than

taking an extremely cold

shower right before work.

Since implementing this phi-

losophy, moral and motiva-

tion have sky rocketed. All

attack pilots interviewed re-

garding the effects of this

Its August now, and a dim

amount of light is beginning

to show at the end of the tun-

nel. We’ve reached the half-

way point of our deployment

and the peak heat of the sum-

mer season here in Uruzgan.

Before long, the persistent

heat will begin to subside and

more temperate conditions

will be upon us. Great news if

you work outdoors.

―Mustacheadon‖ has been

declared in light of the locals

celebrating Ramadan and

huge child molesting mus-

taches proliferate the work

areas and flight lines of Tarin

Kowt. When possible, Air

crews have made it a point to

contribute to the local Rama-

dan festivities equipped with

big cheesy mustache laden

grins. Halfway through and

still going strong. No one is

going to let up on this side of

the fence any time soon.

Half

Baked

Killerspades of the Month

SPC Harris SPC Riggle

SKL grand master.

Former tanker

Favorite drink - Apple Martini

Kandahar Ambassador

Recently married.

Coppertone model

Lost 2:15 on run time with

new ball and chain.

Memorable quote, “All I

need is two shaved squir-

reach flood stage and no one

knows what to do with the ex-

cess schizer water. Ideas have

been thrown around, but there

is no real clear answer. Mean-

while, aggressive, motivated

cold shower taking attack pilots

roam the skies of RC south

scanning the ridges and valleys

for work.

"If men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail."

- Ulysses S. Grant "If men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail."

- Ulysses S. Grant

Killer Spades News Letter, August 2011

Greetings Kingsmen Family and Friends!

The company has officially passed the half-way point of the deployment, so I want to congratulate all of the Kingsmen families, friends, and Soldiers for en-during it thus far. I hope and wish the next six months move as swiftly, smoothly, and safely as the first six months. I encourage all of you to continue to provide your loved ones with the same support and enthusiasm that you have provided since the beginning of the deployment. Some of the most dif-ficult times of the deployment can be between the sixth and ninth month, so it’s important to focus and keep the lines of communication open between you and your loved one. As Soldiers and leaders, we fight complacency and monotony in the work envi-ronment on a daily basis because each day feels like the last. It is important to mix the days up, as best as possible, to avoid that “ground hog day” feeling. Some ways Soldiers do this in Tarin Kowt are by working out, taking cold showers, enjoying unit BBQs, water balloon fights, and watching the latest DVD from the Bazaar or Afghan PX. Fighting monot-ony and complacency is sometimes just as danger-ous as the environment and the enemy, so it is im-portant that leaders and families are aware of these times and remain focused until the very end.

New Born King-baby!

From the entire Kingsmen Family we would like to

Congratulate CW2 Bobby Escarciga and his wife

Brenna Escarciga on the birth of their new baby boy,

Xavier Michael. Xavier weighed a whopping 9

pounds, 9 ounces and measured 22 inches long. We

would like to welcome Xavier to the Kingsmen family

and wish him a happy and healthy life!

After a rigorous three to four day evaluation with the company standardization department, CW2 Co-penhaver earned the right to fly and lead the Kingsmen as a Pilot in Command, PIC or PC for short. More impressively, CW2 Copenhaver earned this status while having just over 400 total flight hours in the UH-60 Blackhawk. We are all proud of his ac-complishment and look forward to more great things from CW2 Copenhaver in the future. Job Well Done!

FRG Social On August 27th the Kingsmen Family Readiness Group had its first company event at the Chivers’ household. All that attended enjoyed ice cream on the hot August day while they made a banner for the deployed Kingsmen. It was a great event for all the spouses and children to get together on a leisurely Saturday afternoon to chat and get to enjoy each others company for a couple of hours. Thank you for all that attended and we look forward to seeing you at the next FRG event.

Final Thoughts…

In closing, I want to thank the family members back at Fort Campbell for all the care packages, letters, and continued support for the first six months of this deployment. I hope that all families are transi-tioning smoothly as the children begin the new school year. The Kingsmen here in Tarin Kowt are doing well and continue to provide world class sup-port to American, Australian, and Afghan National Forces. I wish you all the best in the final days of summer and will talk to you again in September. Take Care!

Opera Non Verba!

Air Assault!

Kingsmen Congrats!

Recently, at a Kingsmen Round Table meeting and a Pilot in Command selection board amongst the com-pany Instructor Pilots, Pilots in Command, Platoon Leaders, and Company Commander we nominated CW2 Nick Copenhaver for a Pilot in Command evaluation.

This past month has been steady

state as usual around Delta

Company. As we continue to

support the task force with all

things maintenance, we also

remain focused on enjoying the

time we have together as a unit.

It is never a dull moment in and

around the hangar as one practi-

cal joke leads to another. Delta

Company is notorious for main-

taining an amicable mood and

no one is safe from the devious

plans of our cunning jesters– not

even the commander.

On another note, R&R is in full

swing. Our Soldiers are travel-

ing to places all over the world

to take their well deserved

break. Some have returned to

the Ft. Campbell area while

others have gone to

places like Africa and Poland,

another has plans to travel to

eastern Asia. Wherever they

choose to spend their time we

wish them well and patiently

await their return. Pictured

here is SGT Mullenix riding in

the back of a Blackhawk on his

way to

Month At A Glance

Tiger Wins Soldier Of The Month

SGT Anthony Bolden distin-

guished himself as the Sol-

dier Of The Month for Task

Force Attack for the month of

July. SGT Bolden competed

against Soldiers representing

each of their respective com-

panies within the Task Force.

The grueling evaluation is

completed in front of a board

consisting of several Ser-

geant First Class and several

First Sergeants presiding. The

Soldier is asked a multitude of

questions testing his/her

knowledge on an array of top-

ics ranging from Army Regu-

lations to situation problems.

SGT Bolden’s superior per-

formance will again be tested

as he competes for the title of

Soldier Of The Quarter and

the opportunity to represent the

Task Force in Kandahar.

TIGER MAINTENANCE

AUGUST

Birthdays:

SPC Mills— 2nd

PFC Proctor—

9th

CW2 Saikemal—

9th

SPC Rojas—15th

SGT Jackson—

24th

SPC Bone—30th

Air Assault!

Kandahar to start his leave.

From Kandahar our Soldiers

travel to Kuwait and then on to

their final destination. R&R will

continue into December and for

those yet to go it is a much an-

ticipated vacation.

Commander’s Notes

Congratulations to all for

passing the halfway point

in the deployment! With

that in mind, everyone is

still remaining focused and

dedicated to their job and

our mission here. Many

Soldiers are going above

and beyond by choosing to

continue education and self

-development despite their

busy schedules. Great

work so far, keep it up!

Promotions:

SGT Oliver

TIGER MAINTENANCE

TIGER MAINTENANCE

August Birthdays

1 - PFC Lestienne

5 -PFC Jordan

8 -SPC Escalera

17 -CW2 Middleton

19 –PV2 Rowe

26 –CPL Schieffer

30 –SGT Soto-Pena

Significant Events

SPC Delerson and his wife

Bethanie had a 8 lb. 6 oz.

baby boy, Elijah Samuel

Scott on 3 August.

SPC Parker and his wife

Dustee had a 5 lb. 13 oz.

baby girl, Madison Marie

on 24 August.

Feel free to send any ques-

tions or “shout outs” for the

Warriors to chad.m.tyson@us.army.mil

You may find your ques-

tion in the next edition.

E CO

WARriors

Warriors Family and Friends,

It is official, we have made

it to the half way point of

this deployment. Echo

Company has not only

excelled at their mission,

but they have also made

many improvements over

the past six months. This

issue of the newsletter will

be spent sharing highlights

of just a few of the signifi-

cant improvements each

platoon in the company has

made.

Headquarters has taken

what was once a single of-

fice and organized it into an

orderly room, conference

room, and supply room. The

Class I yard has been trans-

formed into a functional area

where all Class I is usable

and accounted for.

The Maintenance platoon

has made three additional

working areas, built a haz-

ardous materials shed, inte-

grated additional office

space, a security gate, and

provided shade for all their

working areas.

The Distribution platoon’s big-

gest project has been building

an observation deck in order to

see incoming aircraft for refuel.

Other additions include: shelv-

ing, a weapons rack, and a place

to hang their protective vests.

In the past six months, The Sol-

diers of Echo Company have

definitely made a positive im-

pact on the mission. They have

also made their working areas

more comfortable for not only

themselves, but for the next unit

coming in behind them.

As always, thank you for your

continued support. We ap-

preciate your patience and un-

derstanding as we focus on the

mission here. Continue to keep

us in your thoughts and prayers.

Until next month…..

E Co. has also taken part in dif-

ferent activities to improve mo-

rale. Activities such as: volley-

ball, basketball, soccer, ping

pong, and corn hole. The most

recent event is the volleyball

rival between E Co and HHC.

There is nothing like releasing

the stress of the day by smashing

a volleyball over the net!

Every Friday night Task Force Attack has the opportunity to enjoy movie night and recently we viewed Soul Surfer the moving, autobiographical account of Bethany Hamilton. Bethany Hamilton, a Hawaiian native, has been surfing since she was 11 years old. By the time she was 13, she was so accomplished as an amateur that she was being considered by Rip Curl Surf Boards, Inc. as a sponsored professional. She came to national attention on October 31, 2003 when she was attacked by a Tiger Shark while surfing at a well known spot Kauai‟s Tunnels Beach. The shark‟s bite took off most of her left arm and left an almost 2 foot hole in her surfing board. On that tragic day Bethany almost died losing 60% of her blood. Miraculously, she survived the near-death experience and made a full recovery returning home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with her loving, supportive family. Less than a month removed from the shark attack Bethany returned to the ocean with surf board in hand deter-mined to surf again. When asked during an ABC 20/20 interview—“Will you surf again competi-tively?” Bethany responded, “It is not „If I will surf again‟; I know I will surf again.” Bethany was a young woman of her word. She not only returned to competitive surfing, in 2005 she took first place in the National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships and continues to surf around the world professionally to this day. Bethany Hamilton, a self-professing Christian, is a living lesson in perseverance. It would have been perfectly normal for her to be hesitant to return to the water. Certainly it would have been under-standable to give up her dreams of surfing competitively. Yet despite initially feeling confused and discouraged, even filtering this traumatic event through her faith in Christ, she never gave up hope. She never quit on herself. She was determined to persevere through her debilitating setback and embrace God‟s plan for her. In losing her left arm she has been quoted as saying, “I can‟t change it, that was God‟s plan for my life and I‟m going with it.” So here we are at the half-way mark of our rotation…all of us have professional and personal chal-lenges we are facing. Some of our Soldiers and Families are facing relationship stress, parenting challenges, financial strain, and the emotional ups and downs that come with being deployed. Have you taken the time to consider God‟s plan for you? I want to encourage you, like Bethany Hamilton, don‟t view your circumstances as a reason to quit. Don‟t give up; don‟t give in to discouragement or frustration. Embrace the adversity you are facing and entrust yourself to a faithful God who will see you through it. God eventually provided Bethany with perspective and I assure you if you “go with it” God will provide you perspective as well. Praying God‟s best for you.

A Lesson in Perseverance

By Chaplain (CPT) Todd Cheney

Task Force Attack is Seeing Stars

Task Force Attack was a very popular FOB during the month of August, especially when it came to VIP visits

from 2 star Generals. The first visit was from MG(P) Horohon who is going to be the first female Surgeon Gen-

eral. She stopped by the Aid Station on Camp Cole to visit with the soldiers who work there. As well as some

of our Australian Coalition Forces who’s medics often times are on the MEDEVAC birds. The second VIP visit

was from RC South Commander MG Terry. MG Terry came and presented four of the Killer Spades pilots with

Air Medals for their meritorious achievement in the skies of Afghanistan.

Task Force Attack welcomed Bravo Company 1-52 the Sugar Bears to Tarin Kowt earlier this

month. The company’s interesting name of ―Sugar Bears‖ started back in April of 1971, when

General Foods allowed the company to use their Post Sugar Crisp ―Sugar Bear‖ trademark.

Bravo Company 1-52 has kept the name Sugar Bears throughout a number of deployments in-

cluding to Pakistan and now Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.

Although they just arrived at Tarin Kowt, preparations for the Sugar Bears’ arrival have been in

the works for months. One of the major hurdles that was being tackled was the location for

their parking area. At a hover the massive Chinooks can produce winds up to 70 knots, which

have the potential to cause a lot of damage to nearby aircraft. Once the parking situation was

resolved it was onto building the CP and living accommodations for the new arrivals.

The Sugar Bears come to us from 1-52 Aviation Regiment stationed in Fort Wainwright,

Alaska. Needless to say the weather is a little different here in Tarin Kowt, but the Sugar Bears

know a lot about high altitude flying. They perform one of the most unique peace-time mis-

sions: High Altitude Rescue Team (HART) in Alaska. This knowledge is imperative for Af-

ghanistan’s harsh environment which is one of the most demanding to fly in, especially when

dealing with missions such as sling loads, passenger movement, and cargo loading. As soon as

the Sugar Bears landed at Tarin Kowt they were being put to work. Their first project was to

help Echo Company in establishing a new jump farp at one of the nearby FOBs. With the

large amount of power and lift capability of the Chinook, the jump farp project was completed

without a hitch.

The Sugar Bears have also been flying daily passenger and cargo movements with the

Kingsmen Blackhawks. Having the Chinooks at Tarin Kowt has already shown to be a great

asset. On behalf of Task Force Attack we wish the best

of luck to the Sugar Bears and their deployment here at

Tarin Kowt.

The Sugar Bears Have Arrived at

Tarin Kowt

SPC McGuirk hard at work building the CP

In late July of this year the Phantoms of

3-159 arrived here in FOB Tarin Kowt. Their

much awaited arrival was preceded by six

battle hardened AH-64Ds from Task Force

Dragoon. The Phantoms will nearly double

the attack capabilities in the Uruzgan prov-

ince and place even more pressure on the

already stressed insurgency in the area.

To assist in their arrival and provide a

smooth transition into combat operations A

co Killerspades renovated a pilots office,

safety stands office, and command office.

This helped to minimize the impact of the

settling in and organization period. Stands

provided sixteen smart books containing the

most current information available regarding

local FOBs, FARPS, COPs, and ISAF com-

pounds to serve as an in flight reference tool

to crews unfamiliar with the AO. Phantom

crews are quickly becoming familiar with the

AO while undergoing LAO,CCT, and left

seat / right seat rides with the Killerspades.

Now train up complete, the Phantoms are

conducting operations on their own and tak-

ing the fight to the enemy.

The Phantoms Are

Here

U.S. Army 3-159 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB),

Task Force Quickstrike, camp Bazra Iraq.

3-159 Phantoms

Congratulations to the following

Soldiers:

SPC Glover was named Soldier of the Month SPC Glover is from HHC

and works in FUOPS. He is married and has one child.

SGT Bolden won NCO of the month. SGT Bolden is from Dco,

Shops Platoon where he works as an Aircraft Hydraulics Re-

pair Squad leader. SGT Bolden is married with three children.