Mountain Eagle Families,

This is a month to re-

flect and give thanks. As

I reflect on five months of

command, I am extremely

thankful to the great Sol-

diers that I have in this

battalion. They are work-

ing long hours and self-

lessly putting the needs of

our unit and higher head-

quarters above their own.

I am thankful for the fam-

ily oriented command we

have here in Fort Drum. I

attend many meetings

with senior leader here on

post and I can assure you

that they are committed to

caring for families here in

North Country. I am

even more thankful to

you the Families. With-

out your sacrifices our

efforts to be ready would

not be possible. Thank

you.

Please remember to

enjoy the holiday. These

are the times to have

quality time at home.

Next year’s training

schedule is busy and time

will go by very fast. I

appreciate all that you do

every day and count my

blessings for this battal-

ion.

Vr

ME6

Eagle Commander’s Corner

T A S K F O R C E

M O U N T A I N E A G L E

2 7 7 T H A V I A T I O N

S U P P O R T B A T T A L I O N Liberty Times D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 . V O L U M E I , I S S U E 3 1

H O T T O P I C S

Alpha FRG Meet-

ing: Friday, Decem-

ber 14, 2012,

11:30am at SSA

Warehouse.

Bravo FRG Meet-

ing: Wednesday,

December 12, 2012

3:00pm, at Bravo

Hanger.

Charlie FRG Meet-

ing: Thursday,

December 13,

2012, 4:30pm, at

Charlie Company.

HSC FRG Meeting:

Friday, December

14, 2012, 6pm at

Rhicard Commu-

nity Center.

C O N T A C T S

B A T T A L I O N S T A F F

D U T Y D E S K

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 0

C H A P L A I N

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 7

F A M I L Y R E A D I N E S S

S U P P O R T

A S S I S T A N T ( F R S A )

M I C H E L E G A L L O W A Y

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 6

M I L I T A R Y F A M I L Y

L I F E C O N S U L T A N T

( M F L C )

3 1 5 - 4 0 5 - 7 4 4 9

3 1 5 - 2 1 2 - 6 9 1 9

A R M Y C O M M U N I T Y

S E R V I C E ( A C S )

I N F O R M A T I O N

A N D R E F E R R A L

3 1 5 - 7 7 2 - 6 5 5 7

1 - 8 0 0 - 8 2 6 - 0 8 8 6

M I L I T A R Y

O N E S O U R C E

1 - 8 0 0 - 3 4 2 - 9 6 4 7

By LTC Enrique Ortiz

Battalion Commander

Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates

For the rest of the article, go to page 8.

Happy Thanksgiving to

all Mountain Eagle Mem-

bers!

In these days I am re-

minded to be Thankful to so

many every day actions that

happen right next to or

around us. First of all let me

start by saying thank you to

the professional work our Soldiers

do every day. We are proud to

know that some of our Soldiers

were recently in New Jersey as-

sisting the Hurricane Sandy Re-

lief.

By Diana Ortiz

FRG Advisor

P A G E 2

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

Headquarters & Support Company - Talons

Hello Families of HSC

277 ASB, December came

quick as everyone is getting

ready for the holiday season.

I’m sure it was a welcome

relief spending many days at

home during November. De-

cember brings the 277 ASB

Field Training Exercise that

will place limited Soldiers in

the field from 3 to 11 Decem-

ber. The remaining Soldiers in

the company will act as rear de-

tachment in preparation for the

upcoming deployment. We will

also take this opportunity to ini-

tiate the call roster to ensure we

have the proper information to

contact all family members.

I would like to welcome the

following Soldiers and their

families, PV2 Emisael Avila,

PFC Jordan Devlieger, SGT Ian

Fleming and SPC Jay Mendoza.

Now its time to say goodbye to

SPC Joshua Seal as he moves

on to another unit.

The next company gathering

will be on 14 December at Rhi-

card Hills Community Center

for HSC’s Holiday party. It is a

potluck event so please call in

to the orderly room (315-774-

1466) and let SPC Alford know

what you will be bringing for

food. There will be a raffle and

presents for the younger kids.

We look forward to seeing eve-

ryone there.

Natalie Nissen

Talon 6

(315)774-1465

natalie.nissen@us.army.mil

By CPT Natalie Nissen

HSC Company Commander

Happy Holiday's HSC Families,

A US holiday held on the

fourth Thursday in November,

commemorating a harvest festi-

val celebrated by the Pilgrims in

1621. It's that time of year when

families all get together and en-

joy some yummy food. Thanks-

giving is a time to be thankful,

not only for what we have, but

also for each Soldier deployed or

here at home. As we all sit and

watch our football games, or go

hunting on Thanksgiving day.

We should remember what that

day really means.

As the FRG continues to

grow, as we welcome new fami-

lies,and say goodbye to the old

ones, I am thankful to have met

and worked with them. We should

all get together with someone for

the holidays. Some soldiers, single

or with families are not able to re-

turn home and have big holidays

with their families and so on. This

holiday season find it in your heart

to help a soldier. Single soldiers

especially. Invite a soldier to your

home so they can enjoy the holi-

day's instead of being alone.

The cold weather is soon ap-

proaching, Please make sure your

ready and have an emergency kit

inside your vehicle to include:

flash light, extra batteries, blan-

kets, and small snacks for little

ones, and a small shovel, also start

your car every so often as to main-

tain heat especially if you have

little one. Also make sure you

have a cell phone with a full

charge.

Happy Holidays

HSC 277th ASB

Dawn Marie DeGrave

315-777-6152

dawnmarie.degrave@us.army.mil

HSC Family Readiness Group Notes

Dawn Marie DeGrave

HSC FRG Leader

P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 3 1

Alpha Company Family Readiness Group Updates

Alpha Company - Atlas

gle soldiers as well as our Alpha

families. We hope that all Alpha

families had a wonderful Thanksgiv-

ing and wish everyone a blessed

holiday season.

Our Soldiers, Our Family, On Our

Shoulders

Jennifer Mulder

423-506-0034

jenblossom1981@yahoo.com

Jennifer Mulder

A Company FRG Leader

Hello Alpha FRG members!

Alpha Company is working hard to

support our families and soldiers. We

have our next meeting scheduled for

Wednesday November 28th. A guest

speaker from ACS will be there to

talk with our families about positive

thinking in our daily military and

family lives. Alpha Company is also

looking forward to fundraising in the

month of December, and organizing

a community assistance project for

the New Year. We will also be par-

ticipating in various activities during

the holiday season to support our sin-

By CPT Bryan Bolin

A Company Commander

Greetings Alpha Company

families!

We have been tremendously

busy keeping up with the high

tempo lately. We had the privi-

lege of supporting the first re-

sponders in the wake of Hurri-

cane/Superstorm Sandy. Our

Soldiers were doing great things

down where the storm had the

most impact. Not only were

they supporting those in need,

but we still had missions going

on back home. During this time

I learned how Alpha Company

can come together in times of

need and get the job done.

We have an FRG meeting

scheduled for November 28 and

we hope to have another great

turnout. We will continue to

expand and improve our FRG

program. FRG has welcomed

SGT Smith as its TAFP; he will

act as a liaison between the FRG

and the single Soldiers of Alpha

Company. FRG is not only for

Families but will continue to and

build stronger bonds with the sin-

gle Soldiers of Alpha Company.

If anyone is interested in vol-

unteering for the FRG feel free to

stop by the office and talk to me

about which position(s) interest

you. We are looking various FRG

positions as well as key callers. I

want to take this opportunity to

thank all of the Families and Sol-

diers of Alpha Company for all

that you do and all of your sup-

port.

―On our shoulders!‖

C P T B y r o n M u l d e r

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 0 4 1

Byron.w.mulder2.mil@mail.mil

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

P A G E 4

Bravo Company - Hangar Rats By MAJ Del Boyer

B Company Commander

Greetings Hanger Rat

Families: Bravo Company

News: Well, we all made it

back from Colorado. It

was some great training for

all of our Soldiers as we

conducted aircraft mainte-

nance on 18 airframes over

a 40 day period. Our

downed aircraft recovery

team (DART) was also util-

ized on the top of a 9000

foot mountain. This train-

ing proved to be very bene-

ficial to everyone involved

as it included several rides

for our Soldiers on a UH-

60 and CH-47. Team work

played an integral role as

our Team found out work-

ing on a hilltop at 9000 feet

has several challenges, to

include: resupply of food

and water for the security

element, navigation to the

site, cold weather training

and some combat focused

Physical training. All to-

gether, it was an incredible

month and a half in Colorado

and the weather was abso-

lutely beautiful. Hopefully

next time we can get some

down time to enjoy the area

that we were in. Thanksgiv-

ing came upon us so fast that

I’m not sure the reality of the

situation is setting in, this

unit will deploy in about six

months. That means that we

have a lot of work to do to

get our Soldiers up to speed

with tactics and procedural

courses of action. Our phase

teams are plugging away in

the hangar on a daily basis

and will continue to do so

through the beginning of the

year. We are

still planning

on getting a

DART train-

ing exercise

incorporated

in the Battalion December

FTX as well as another train-

ing event in March. Our Sol-

diers will remain busy, but I

know that they are up for the

challenge. I am truly thank-

ful for their service and I’m

continually humbled by the

dedication that I witness on a

daily basis.

ARMY STRONG-

.

Bravo Company Family Readiness Group Updates

Karri Boyer

B Company FRG Leader

Bravo Company Happenings!!!

We would like to take this

time to let everyone know how

very thankful we are to be a

part of the 277 family that

makes Ft. Drum such a won-

derful place to be. We want to

wish everyone a wonderful

start to their holiday season

and a quick reminder to be

careful on the roads as the

weather turns cooler. May you

have safe travel wherever your

holiday plans may take you.

We care about you all and

wish you the BEST in all you

do!

I hope to see you at our

next FRG meeting on 27NOV

@ 1800 at the Monument

Ridge Community Center.

Everyone is welcome to come

out! Please let me, Karri

Boyer, know if you plan to

bring your craft/business/or

hobby to show off & sell at

our meeting. It is going to be

F U N !

Bco277_frg@yahoo.com. Fin-

ger foods of any kind are wel-

come if you can make some-

thing, but are not necessary. If

we have enough people, we

will also have a bunco game or

two. I hope to see as many

Bravo spouses as can fit it

into their schedules.

9 DEC we are meeting other

FRGs at our DFAC to make

cookies together @ 1000--I

hope those of you with culi-

nary talent will rescue me, as

I am not gifted in the baking

department. Ha! We will be

making cookies and packing

up some holiday cheer for all

277th single soldiers.

Respectfully submitted,

Mrs. Karri Boyer.

MAJ Del P. Boyer

Hangar Rat 6

(315) 772-4239

del.p.boyer.mil@mail.mil

Charlie Company - Ravens

P A G E 5 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 3 1

By CPT Matthew Thompson

C Company Commander

November was a hectic month for

the Ravens but hopefully everyone

enjoyed the breaks for Veteran’s Day

and had a great Thanksgiving with

friends and family. We spent the

month upgrading our Warfighter In-

formation Network-Tactical (WIN-

T) communications equipment. The

upgrade involved two weeks of train-

ing on the expanded capabilities of

the upgrade and involved most of the

company. Once the upgrade was

completed, we validated the systems

to ensure they were all performing as

expected.

We also sent a team of our radio

operators out to the field to support

Task Force Tigershark’s aerial gun-

nery exercise. 2LT Negron, SPC

Cortese, SPC Martinek, SPC Elkhill,

and PFC Catlin spent the week oper-

ating a radio retransmission site to

extend radio communications for the

training exercise. We also welcomed

back our CPN team we sent to the

Joint Readiness Training Center

(JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana. SGT

Loaiza, SPC Dever, and PFC Martin

spent the month supporting Task

Force Knighthawk’s training rota-

tion.

Charlie Company has been under-

going some changes to our mission

and organization, so over the next

month you might hear about some

changes to the Raven’s structure of

the company and some elements as

we refocus our training on radio

transmission and retransmission opera-

tions in our Combat Net Radio special-

ties.

December will be a short month for

the Ravens as we take a break or the

holidays during our block leave period

but we will be fully involved in sup-

porting Task Force Mountain Eagle’s

battalion field training exercise and the

brigade’s convoy live fire exercise with

our TF Mountain Eagle CPN team lead

by SGT Ellis.

We are still planning to have an

FRG meeting at the company on Thurs-

day, the 13th of December at 1630 (4:30

PM) to put out information regarding

training in the new year, so I hope to

see all of you that can make it! Be safe

on the roads once the North Country

weather hits!

CPT Matthew Thompson

(315) 774-1056

Matthew.k.thompson1.mil@mail.mil

Visit www.myarmyonesource.com

There are options to Login with your

username and password or Register if

you don’t have a profile.

Fill out your information.

When you’ve created a profile, click on

―Volunteer‖ on the top right section of

the page. This will take you to the Vol-

unteer Management Information System

(VMIS)

Click on ―Opportunity Locator‖

Select ―Fort Drum‖ under Military

Community and ―FRG: 10 AVN– 277‖

under the Organization and click Search.

Choose the volunteer position you’d like

to apply for. When the new page loads,

click Apply.

Online VMIS FRG Volunteer Registration

Check out the FRSA Flash! The 277th ASB FRSA Flash has lots of

in-formation and is our Bi-weekly News-

letter for our Family Members and Sol-

diers. If you are not receiving the FRSA

Flash, please contact the 277th FRSA

Michele Galloway at 315-774-1206 or

Michele.e.galloway@us.army.mil.

Charlie Company Family Readiness Group Updates

By Sarah Ellis

C Company FRG Leader

November has been a very busy

month with ranges and training – and

December is going to be just as busy,

but crammed into 2 weeks. I wanted

to say thank you to everyone who

showed up to the FRG meeting on 14

November. I mentioned that if there

is ever a specific topic that you would

like to discuss at the FRG meeting,

please let me, CPT Thompson, or

SGT Ellis know. There are plenty of

programs on base that can send peo-

ple out to speak to the company and

families, like we had at our October

meeting. We are currently trying to get a

fun, relaxed meeting planned for De-

cember, so keep your eyes and ears

open for details. Also congratulations

are in order for the Wilsons who wel-

comed their daughter, Taylor Elizabeth,

into the world on 8 November at 2130.

She weighed 6lb 5oz. That is all from

the FRG for this month – I hope every-

one enjoys their holidays!

Sarah Ellis

865-621-2621

sjanee11@gmail.com

P A G E 6

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

D I D Y O U K N O W ?

Army Community Service

(ACS) has clinical Military

Family Life Consultants

(MFLCs) available for walk-

in confidential consults? If

you feel you need some-

one to talk to or are hav-

ing marital problems,

please call them at 315-212

-6919 or just stop by M-F

8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

ACS also has a Financial

Readiness Program that

provides free counseling or

advice on financial matters?

They can provide all types

of financial assistance: pull

credit reports, budgeting,

debt management, invest-

ing, etc. Call 772-0050 for

more info.

Behavioral Health Con-

tacts: Suicide Resources/

Hotlines Connor Clinic Appoint-

ment Line: 315-772-2778

After Hours Emergency

Services (Holidays and

Weekends) Before 9:00

pm: Acute Care Clinic,

315-772-5236

After 9:00 pm: Samaritan

Medical Center Emer-

gency Department: 315-

785-4100

Local 24-Hour Crisis Line:

315-785-4516

National Suicide Preven-

tion Lifeline: 1-800-273-

TALK

Suicide Prevention Action

Network (SPAN):

ww.spanusa.org

By MAJ Jerry Johnson

10th CAB Chaplain

Greetings to everyone from

here at the Brigade offices.

I will now add to the intro-

duction I gave last month.

Willard Harley teaches

these five basic needs men

and women have, subject to

adjustment, but true in at

least 80% of marriages.

We will look at the top two

of each His Needs and Her

Needs.

Two of the top five most

important needs for men:

Sexual Fulfillment – men

in general have a stronger

desire for the physical part

of the sexual relationship.

Recreational Companion-

ship – men desire for their

wife to be a ―playmate‖ in

a sense when it comes to

doing activities. Of course

many women want their hus-

bands to do things like go

shopping, take part in their

hobbies, and engage in con-

versation. Men tend to like

adventurous outdoor activi-

ties or have their wife enjoy

watching games with them,

etc.

Two of the top five most

important needs for women:

Affection – Women are more

relationally-oriented than

men, and the intimate part of

the relationship is not based

so much on physical pleasure

as it is on developing a bond-

ing, an oneness with their

husband. So men, if you

want sexual fulfillment you

better show affection toward

your wife non-stop.

Conversation – According to

Les and Leslie Parrot, men

usually speak to get a report

(i.e. just the facts), whereas

their wife wants rapport (to

build a relationship). Men

often need to work on eye

contact, body language, and

removing distractions like the

television to give their wife

undivided attention.

Just like some of the other

marriage materials we chap-

lains have presented and will

present, Harley speaks of the

―emotional love tank‖ that

needs to have regular deposits

and rare withdrawals to create

a strong marriage, with an

irresistible love. So as we are

about five to six months out,

husbands and wives ask your-

selves and your spouse how

you can meet each others

emotional needs. Have a

great beginning of North

Country Winter and Happy

Holidays!

THE CHAPLAIN’S CORNER: PART TWO

CONTACT INFORMATION BN Staff Duty 774-1200

24-hour BDE Staff Duty 774-1100

FRSA 774-1206 email michele.e.galloway.civ@mail.mil

FRG Leaders

HSC – Dawn Marie DeGrave cell: 315-777-6152; Dawnmarie.degrave@us.army.mil

A Co – Jennifer Mulder, cell 423-506-0034, JENBLOSSOM1981@YAHOO.COM

B Co—Karri Boyer-cell: 315-767-6067, Bco.277_frg@yahoo.com

C Co—Sarah Ellis-cell: 865-621-262, sjanee11@gmail.com

FRG Advisors

Diana Ortiz – cell: 571-228-1962, email dianaortiz2410@gmail.com Marion Harris - cell: 315-955-9106; MISSA93DE@YAHOO.DE

WRITE A FRIEND MONTH

BINGO MONTH

HOLIDAY SEASON

WINTER BEGINS AND MAYBE SNOW WILL FALL

ENJOY BLOCK LEAVE BE SAFE

V O L U M E I , I S S U E 3 1

December 2012

P A G E 7

Annual Holiday Celebration , Tuesday,

4 Dec 12, 5-7pm, at the Commons.

Holiday Ham Buffet Luncheon, Thurs-

day, 6 Dec 12, 11:30am - 1:30pm, at

the Commons.

Fort Drum Tree Lighting, Thursday, 6

Dec 12, 5pm, at Post Chapel.

Waterloo Shopping Outlet Trip, Sat., *

Dec 12, 8am-6pm, Parks & Recreation.

Teen Middle School Holiday Dance,

Sat., 8 Dec 12, 7-10pm, Youth Center.

Community Events Need Help? Call or visit Military

OneSource to find infor-

mation about taxes, par-

enting, deployments,

finances, taxes, counsel-

ing, PCS moves & more!

Upcoming Key Caller

Class Dates: December 12th

All Classes are at ACS from

10-11:30am. or 2-3:30pm

Call Mobilization and Deployment to

register at 315-772-0470.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Training/Classes

FRG Suspenses

BDE/BN/CO FRG

Meetings/Training/

Events

1

2 3 4 5 6 Care Team

Training 7 8

9 10 OPSEC

Safety Class 11 12 Key Caller

Class 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Personal Financial Counselor is avail-

able . Call him at 315-523-3765 to

help set up a budget, check your

credit, develop a plan to get out of

debt, get started investing, or what-

ever you need assistance with. You

can also always call Financial Readi-

ness at 772-0050 for this same type of

assistance.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND NEW YEARS! BE SAFE AND ENJOY

YOUR BLOCK LEAVE AND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!!!

Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates, continued

P A G E 8

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

Thank you to all the great volun-

teers in our Battalion who took the

selfless step and donate their time

every day and energy in assisting the

Family Readiness Group in essential

needed positions. Thank you to all

the provided systems created by the

U.S. Army or other entities that sup-

port our families and military today.

By this I mean positions like the

Family Readiness Support Assistant

– our FRSA Michele. This position

was created in the past four years and

it offers an extra set of hands to sup-

port Company Commanders and

their FRG Team. The FRSA is the

perfect connection between soldiers

in their work environment and the

Family Readiness Volunteers.

I am also mesmerized by the

wonderful ACS building and its end-

less free courses that families can

enjoy each and every day. Finally

the many provided sports and venues

that we do have today for our families

on post. Having moved and seen many

garrisons and lived in various countries

I can truly say that what is offered in

Ft. Drum is a wonderful palette of op-

tions for Soldiers and their Families.

Please look around and discover the

many and easy to reach options we

have in this area. The ACS can assist

you on places to go and things to do

even in the coming winter months.

Sure we can always find a corner to

make improvements but take a minute

consider and compare (or ask a mili-

tary spouse who was here some time

ago) what the daily options where in

this area fifteen years ago and you will

discover how grateful we ought to be!

Thank you to all the resilient military

families in our Battalion. Your support

and love to the Soldier helps shape his

or her everyday work. Thank you for

what you do and what you will do in

the coming months. May you all en-

joy a wonderful, safe and special

Thanksgiving!

Please take a minute and partici-

pate in the 277 ASB Family Readi-

ness Survey. Share with us your

thoughts and needs and know that

we do listen and support every mem-

ber of our Battalion. Looking for-

ward to hearing from you!

Diana Ortiz

FRG Advisor

TF ME

GREETINGS FROM Chaplain (CPT) Steven Rindahl, 277th ASB Chaplain (Incoming)

Greetings from the Chaplain Captain Career Course, Ft Jackson. Let me introduce myself. I am Chaplain

Steve Rindahl and once this course is complete I will be en route to Ft Drum and the 277th. This will be

my first assignment in Aviation and I am very excited to have this opportunity to serve such a specialized

field. Prior to becoming a chaplain I served as an enlisted Soldier for 17 years. Since returning to the

Army as a chaplain I have served with Armor and Infantry as well as at one of our fine Army hospitals

working with Soldiers recovering from wounds and injuries. As I prepare for this move to the 277th, I look

forward to meeting everyone and getting to know you. I have had opportunity to see the schedule of terri-

fic events CH (MAJ) Johnson has laid on for strengthening marital and family bonds – if you have not al-

ready done so, I encourage you to take full advantage of these opportunities to build your relationship skills

which will be so vital during upcoming times of separation. Check with CH (MAJ) Johnson as to what

events still have slots available.

P A G E 9 BRAVO PICTURES

Photos taken by Vincent Boyer Bravo Leadership serving Thanksgiving

Dinner on 20 NOV 2012 to our

wonderful 277th soldiers, families, and civilians.

P A G E 1 0 CHARLIE PICTURES

CHARLIE ON THE MOVE ( RE-TRANS training, WIN-T Inc1B training, and at the last Raven FRG Meeting ). NEVER A DULL MOMENT!!!

277th Aviation Support Battalion History

In February 2006, the 277th Aviation Support Battalion

deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring

Freedom VII, where it provided combat service and support

to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon.

The Unit redeployed in February of 2007 after earning the

Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker Award for best Aviation

Battalion in 2006 and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

In October 2008, the 277th ASB deployed to Iraq in sup-

port of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-11, where it provided

support and combat services to the 10th CAB, Task Force

Lightning. The unit redeployed in October 2009 and earned

the Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker award for the Best

Combat Service Support Battalion for the work performed

during its 2008-2009 deployment.

20125 Hangar Access Road

Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield

Fort Drum, NY 13602

Phone: 315-774-1206

Fax: 315-774-1231

E-mail: michele.e.galloway.civ@mail.mil

277th Aviation Support Battalion

10th Combat Aviation Brigade

“Freedom and Liberty”

P A G E 1 1