Much has happened since the publication

of our last news letter this past summer.

Since then, we deployed elements of B/2-

4 FA and C/2-4 FA to Afghanistan and wel-

comed home several B/2-4 FA elements

redeploying from both Iraq and Afghani-

stan. I can tell you that CSM Poindexter

and I are in close with the B/2-4 FA and

C/2-4 FA command teams and both units

continue to excel in theater. We should

all be extremely proud of what our de-

ployed units are doing in support of their

nation.

On the home front here at Fort Sill, we

conducted two Battalion FTXs and a Bat-

talion Range Week in the fall as we at-

tempt to hone our MLRS skills in order to

remain ready to deploy if called to do so.

All officers got to go through the Brigade

Commander’s “Leader Gauntlet” in Sep-

tember which was a test of individual

toughness and perseverance. I’m happy

to announce that Outlaw 6 (CPT Frank

Messina) took the Top Performer award

(Go Outlaws!). Enlisted Soldiers will have

the opportunity to compete in a similar

event (“Leader Gut Check”) in early De-

cember as each Battery will field a 4 x

person team for the competition.

In early November, the Commanding Gen-

eral recognized five of our FRG volunteers

for outstanding service. Congratulations

to these individuals!

We planned and resourced a Holiday Run/

Walk (23 November) with the purpose of

raising money for charity and less fortu-

nate Soldiers within our formation. In

December, we will execute a Holiday Party

for the Battalion (9 Dec) and then enjoy a

well deserved ½ day and block leave pe-

riod. Coming out of the Holidays, we will

have a short period in Garrison and then

roll to the field in mid January to execute a

two week Battalion FTX. In early February,

we will celebrate Saint Barbara’s Day and

then in late February, the majority of the

Battalion will deploy to the National Train-

ing Center located at Fort Irwin, California.

I am also happy to announce that we have

a new Family Readiness Support Assistant

(Ms Danika Florence) who is now on board

and doing great work for the Battalion.

In closing, I just want to wish all of you a

Happy Holidays and I cannot emphasize

enough how proud we are to be serving

with such an outstanding group of men

and women who make up the Deep Attack

Battalion. They are a very special group of

individuals who are committed to the lar-

ger Team.

Battalion Commander Greeting 1

Headquarters Battery 2

Alpha Battery Live Fire 2

Bravo Battery Deployment 3-4

Charlie Battery Deployment 5-6

696 Forward Support Company 7

Greetings from the new FRSA 7

Inside this issue:

DEEP ATTACK Family And Friends

DEEP ATTACK

Newsletter

2 December 2011 Volume 1, Issue 1

FRSA Updates 8

National Training Center 8

Battalion Command Sergeant Major Greeting

9

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 2

After re-task organization and months of

reintegration reset, Alpha Battery trained,

certified and qualified two MLRS Launcher

crews and one Fire Direction Center crew

which resulted in a successful completion

of MLRS firing tables. This occurred during

the Battalion Live Fire Exercise in Septem-

ber. The Exercise occurred during the burn

ban so special precautions took place. The

firing point was covered with gravel and

the

morning of the event personnel from

168 BSB saturated the firing point with

water to reduce the risk of a brush fire.

The two launchers each shot an At My

Command, When Ready and Time on

Target mission. This Live Fire Shoot was

unique in that Alpha Battery’s Platoon

Operation Center was able to command

and control every aspect of the live fire.

On November 02, 2011 Alpha Battery

participated in another MLRS Live Fire

Shoot during Operation Daring Warrior.

Daring Warrior was a 214th Fires Brigade

Operation that involved Members of the

Singapore Armed Forces. This was the

third year in a row that Fort Sill has

hosted Singapore to train on their HI-

MARS launchers. Alpha Battery also

trained and certified a new launcher

crew during this exercise led by SSG

Dewitt who just redeployed from Af-

ghanistan in Operation Enduring Free-

dom on August 6, 2011. Members of

Texas Christian University were with Al-

pha on the Firing Point videotaping the

Battery’s Launcher, Fire Direction Cen-

ter and their respective crews during

the event. TCU will display this media

on the big screen during the halftime

show when they face Colorado State on

November 19, 2011.

Alpha Battery Live Fire By: 1LT James Jenning

Headquarter Battery

By: Cpt. Applebaum

The past few months were an exciting

and trying time for HHB. In September

the Battery participated in Operation

Arracourt, a BN FTX designed to test out

systems, procedures, and the abilities of

your Soldiers. The Battery was very suc-

cessful fulfilling the mission of ensuring

that the BN was able to C2 and certify

the Alpha Battery live fire. October saw

the Hard Chargers exercise their land

navigation skills on a very challenging

course for the monthly Battery FTX. Sev-

voyed out to Quanah range and trained

on High Intensity Conflict tactics in

preparation for the NTC rotation in FEB/

March. December promises one last Bat-

tery FTX before the Holiday Block Leave

period begins. Following the new year

the Hard Chargers can look forward to an

increased OP Tempo with another BN

FTX in January followed by the NTC rota-

tion in late February early March.

eral Soldiers found all their points in both

the day and night, while others realized

why their spouses make fun of them

when they have a map! October also saw

the Hard Chargers qualify on both indi-

vidual and crew served weapons. Addi-

tionally the Battery ran the M16 qualifi-

cation range for the rest of the BN, facili-

tating the rest of the Deep Attack BN’s

qualification. In November HHB rolled

out as part of the BN’s in support of op-

eration Daring Warrior. The Battery con-

Page 3 DEEP ATTACK Newsletter

Bravo Battery Deployment

Your Soldiers here in Afghanistan continue to do great things. We have just redeployed the last section from Iraq, who made it just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving in Lawton. The HQ element is hitting the half way point and the radar sections are getting close to their half way points. I visited with SSG Deaton’s section for Thanksgiving. His crew is doing great things. The Bat-talion Commander at that camp told me they were amongst the most professional Soldiers on his camp. 1SG took care of the Sol-diers on KAF for Thanksgiving, eating with a group in the dining facility, and attending SSG Soper’s section group dinner at their radar site. We are entering the Holiday Season. We will have a Holiday Party here for all the Soldiers. Myself and 1SG will get out to see the Soldiers on the other camps to share some holiday cheer. I would like to extend a congratulations to SGT Sachs, SGT Towner and SGT Hill, SPC Garcia and their families. These four great leaders will be promoted on the 1st of December. 1SG Ball and myself continue to be here for all the battery’s families. CPT Frank Messina and SFC Alan Muilenburg continue to do an out-standing job of taking care of Bravo in the rear and are also available if you have any concerns.

1SG Ball

The Bulldogs are at it again. The month of November was a huge success for our Charity runs. Between SFC Collazo’s Breast Cancer Awareness and SGT Paul’s Run for the Fallen on Veteran’s Day, we raised just over $10,000. Numerous hours of vo l-unteering are involved in making these events successful and the Bulldog Soldiers are raking in the hours every month. SGT Black’s hard work and dedication to excellence will pay off on 9 December as he will be inducted into the prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. When he started studying with other candidates, there were over twenty-five NCOs competing with him. One by one they either dropped because of the mental strain or eliminated at one of the three board appearances. He did not falter and he did not fail. We are all proud to call him a Bulldog! The push for education and knowledge are finally starting to show the positive outcomes. SPC Whalen was promoted to Sergeant effective 1 November and now we hear that SGT Hill, SGT Towner, and SGT Sachs just made the points cut off and selected for the rank of Staff Sergeant effective 1 December. To add to that, SPC Garcia made the Bulldog presence known at the promotion board earlier this month and received huge props from the 82nd Airborne CSM for crushing every other attendee. SPC Garcia also made the points cut off and will be promoted to Sergeant effective 1 December.

CPT Barnett

Bravo Deployment

Continue

Page 4 Newsletter Title

Section 2

Section 5

Section 1

Section 8 Section 6 Section 7

Section 4 Section 3

This month is has been another busy one. We are have lost a valuable mem-ber of the team SSG Soto, and welcome another one SGT Carney. Everyone passed their APFT and met the challenge of the leadership with flying colors. SPC Johnson and SPC Bullock will be attending the DEC promotion board, SGT Pineau and SGT Carney are working hard to ensure they do well. CW2 (P) Car-gill celebrated his 33rd birthday. SFC Escoffery “Esco”, SGT Pineau and SPC Bullock were recognized by Research Development Engineer Command (RDECOM) OIC and NCOIC with Certificates of Achievement for outstanding support of their mission.

Charlie Battery deployment

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

Charlie Battery, 2-4 FAR (214 FiB) has represented Fort Sill/Team Sill, Okla-homa with great pride. Though proud Red Legs, and trained to be proficient in our METL task of shooting, moving, and com-municating within the realms of MLRS, “The Rock” as we call ourselves, relished the opportunity to prove that we are the most versatile MOS in the entire army. In a remarkable amount of time we re-classed and trained up as a mechanized infantry unit to deploy in support of OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom- Afghani-stan). Becoming the first Battery at Fort Sill to train on MRAPS and MATVS; Charlie Battery proved that an artillery man can become as fine an infantry man as any in the United States Army— executing Battle Drill 1A (Infantry Squad Battle Lane) and Battle Drill 6A (Entering and Clearing a building) flawlessly.

It was a rigorous train up, with many hours spent in the field building con-fidence in our junior enlisted soldiers, NCO’s, and officers-- becoming a cohesive team of leaders that could accomplish any mission. With the mindset that “hard is the road and pain is the way” we surged forward to be the hardest most physically and mentally tough fighting force on the battlefield, one that the enemy would con-sider to be an ardent foe.

Since our touchdown in-country at the end of the summer, we hit the ground running to complete our RSOI (Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration) requirements so we could push out to our respected locations and begin our mission with ROLFF-A (Rule of Law Field Force-Afghanistan). ROLFF-A’s primary mission is to help provide essential field capabilities and security to partnered Afghan and coalition and mili-tary rule of law project teams in order to build Afghan criminal justice capacity, increase access to dispute resolution ser-vices, fight corruption, and promote le-gitimacy of the Afghan government. It was our job to provide that invaluable security piece so that together we could establish a legitimate government in some of the more remote parts of Af-ghanistan. With our RSOI training com-plete and our flights scheduled to sepa-rate our Battery of 141 men into seven separate locations, we were poised for success.

In a short period of time the pla-toons began to do what they were trained to do, accomplishing the mission across the country—as far as Kandahar in the south, Herat and Badghis in the west, Khowst in the east, and Mazar-I-Sharif in the North; while small in numbers we were having a big impact. Each platoon operated autonomously under the lead-ership of their platoon leader and pla-toon sergeant always maintaining “The Rock” standard. We reported daily to our Commander to give him a full-spectrum operational view and to provide essential intelligence to further the success of the mission.

Although our mission was pri-marily the security piece, our undertak-ings were none the less rewarding. Working alongside Department of State personnel and Afghan national leaders-- both military and civilian, we toiled to better the justice system across the coun-

try. Improving detention and prison facilities, implementing dialogue and courses furthering women’s rights through local universities, and providing local police forces with better forensic technology were just a few of the projects we were in-volved with. We also worked with the chief of police at both the dis-trict and provincial levels teaching them how to track criminals and keep proper records, and alongside chief prosecutors and appellate court judges assessing their infra-structure needs and following im-portant trials and cases that could set precedence for the future judi-cial system in Afghanistan. Though we were having an impact and had begun to develop a battle rhythm, our flexibility was about to be put to the test once again.

The Green Machine called us back to our starting point at Ba-gram Airfield for re-assignment. Arriving in stages and warn out from our journey, we maintained high morale, recognizing that it was our duty to accomplish the needs of the Army. We were tasked to replace our Navy and Army MP counter-parts with the assignment of Force Protection and Base Defense for a LSA (Life Support Area) with over 7000 personnel. More specifically safe-guarding the perimeter with QRF (Quick Reaction Force) ele-ments, controlling the ECP (Entry Control Point) that provides access to thousands of Local Nationals and ANA (Afghan National Army) per-sonnel on a daily basis, and main-taining security within the perime-ter at all times.

DEEP ATTACK Newsletter Page 6

Charlie Battery deployment Continue:

Afghan National Army) per-sonnel on a daily basis, and main-taining security within the perime-ter at all times. Working alongside our new counter-parts we continue to set the stan-dard, quickly winning over the trust of our higher elements. Vigilantly we look for ways to maximize our capabilities and add to the fight. Most recently we were given con-trol of “Operation Pencil” whose purpose is to provide local schools with supplies. We are also in the process of becoming the security element that escorts key players and VIPs throughout Parwan prov-ince. Though we are far from home and are fulfilling a very dynamic mis-sion; we want it to be known that Charlie Battery, as Artillerymen or not, can accomplish any mission.

Though we are far from home and are fulfilling a very dynamic mission; we want it to be known that Charlie Battery, as Artillerymen or not, can accomplish any mission. “Rock Steady”.

Greeting From the New FRSA

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 7

Hi, I am Ms. Florence, the new 2-4 BN FRSA. I am excited about being here and be-

coming a part of such a wonderful staff. I have been in the military for 11 years and recently

decided that although the army has been good to me, it was time for me to move onto my

next destination. I’ve accomplished so much during that time and ultimately have proven to

myself that I could in fact succeed as a Soldier and serve my country. Since then, I have

moved on to accomplish many other goals and dreams, to include being able to continue my

service by assisting and supporting the soldiers and their families. I truly care about what

families endure when their loved ones are deployed. The fact that I am a soldier at heart and

have traveled those roads myself helps me to do this job with passion. You can be confident

in the fact that our soldiers and their families are guided and provided with the tools and re-

sources they will need in order to manage these very difficult times. I look forward to meet-

ing all of you in the near future. In closing, I often hear that some people view the FRG Pro-

gram as unnecessary and try to steer clear of any involvement. However, I plan to be a criti-

cal piece as to why your opinion will change over time into a more positive outlook on the

program. The need for FRSA’s and the FRG Leadership is great in demand. It is critical that

your families have this support system in place. Therefore, I am here for you and together as

a team we can improve on how we can best communicate with each other and most impor-

tantly, how we can best serve our soldiers and their families.

696 Forward Support Company

By: Cpt. Reasoner

The 696 FSC FRG of 2-4 Field Artillery Battalion has been very busy lately trying to make the holiday season extra special. We recently participated in the post wide Haunted Trail event held on OCT 28 in order to raise money and let others in the community know who we were and what the FRG program is about. The FRG did a bake sale in conjunction with free activities for children 10 and under. 696 FSC FRG will also be participating in the upcoming Battalion Christmas Party on Dec. 9 and we are also doing gift wrapping at the PX on post during the holiday season in order to raise money for our program on 8 Dec. The last event for the year will be an FRG meeting held on Dec. 13 at 1630 in order to introduce the incoming commander CPT Jeremy Wulf and his family to the company.

The “Deep Attack” Battalion

will conduct operations in the

Mojave Desert at the National

Training Center (NTC) at Fort

Irwin, CA between the 26th of

February to the 27th of March

2012. During the NTC Rotation

12-05, the Battalion will rein-

force the 1st Battalion, 10th

Field Artillery Regiment of 3rd

Brigade Combat Team, 3rd In-

fantry Division out of Fort Ben-

ning, GA. Out of all the Battal-

ions in the 214th Fires Brigade,

the “Deep Attack” Battalion was specifi-

cally chosen due to the Battalion’s high

level of readiness and ability to handle

the challenges of

a NTC rota-

tion.Since the fall

of 2011, the Bat-

talion has pre-

pared for the up-

coming rotation

by conducting

multiple field and

live fire exercises.

In January, the

Battalion will go

through a 10 day

culminating train-

ing exercise at Fort Sill. According to the

Battalion Assistant S3; Captain Stires, the

goal of the field exercise is to “stress all of

the Battalion systems and test the endur-

ance of each individual Soldier in a mock

NTC scenario.” Immediately following

the January field exercise the Battalion

will shift focus from training the unit to

preparing for operations and the move-

ment of approximately 150 Soldiers to

Fort Irwin. The Battalion is looking for-

ward to proving the competence and

commitment of our Soldiers with 3-3 ID

against the nation’s premier training cen-

ter.

National Training Center Deployment

By: 1LT Tyler Walls

FRSA Update

By: Danika Florence

Page 8 DEEP ATTACK Newsletter

2-4 Family Readiness Meeting

Alpha/Bravo BTRY:

12 Dec 11 Barbecue Fundraiser @ Motorpool

14 Dec 11 (Gift Wrapping )at the PX (9am-1pm)

14 Dec 11 FRG meeting/Family Fun Night Bowling

(Alpha/Bravo) 1800-2000

Charlie BTRY:

No FRG meeting in Dec

26 Nov 11 (Gift Wrapping) at the PX (5pm-9pm)

23 Dec 11 (Gift Wrapping) at the PX (1pm-5pm)

696 FSC:

8 Dec 11 (Gift Wrapping) at the PX (9am-1pm)

13 Dec FRG meeting at 1600 (BDE FRG Rm)

HHB:

14 Dec 11 (Gift wrapping) at the PX (9am-

1pm)

Birthdays: December

SFC Martinez

24 Dec

Page 9 Volume 1, Issue 1

DEEP ATTACK Family And Friends

As the year closes out, I would like to wish all the “Deep Attack” Family a Happy Holiday. This year has been a busy year

for the battalion through training and preparing our Soldiers to deploy in support of Operation New Dawn and Operation Endur-

ing Freedom. Early this year the battalion executed a robust training plan which culminated in an off-post exercise at White

Sands, New Mexico which honed our skills as Artillerymen and prepared our Soldiers for any non-standard mission the Army may

ask of us. Upon receiving our missions of supporting Radar operations and a Motorized Rifle Company, the tempo of the training

accelerated to make sure that we certified and qualified in all tasks necessary for our Soldiers to be successful during their de-

ployment. It took the entire efforts of this battalion to make that happen. Shortly after the Soldiers from Bravo and Charlie de-

ployed, HHB, Alpha and FSC got after certifying and qualifying in their core competencies so that we could create combat power

with the Soldiers we had remaining in the battalion. It wasn’t easy, but your Soldiers did a phenomenal job of pulling it together,

assessing their units, employing their capabilities and accomplishing the mission.

In just the last few months, we have had over 60 Soldiers return from deployments. We were very happy that they all returned

home safe and are looking forward to getting them reintegrated so we can put them back to work. It is always good for us to

have newly deployed Soldiers return from combat so that we can use their knowledge and skills as we prepare our Soldiers for

future missions. The reintegration process assist in developing consistency and normal routines which really help Soldiers get

accustom to life back to normal. Most of these Soldiers have returned home to a new unit, so the reintegration process will be

good for them and the change will give them new challenges to look forward to. The key to their successful integration is devel-

oping relationships that have been placed on hold for a year as they move back into the normal functionality of their families.

As we close in on the end of the year, let’s all keep all of our deployed Soldiers and their Families in our thoughts and prayers.

Being away from family and friends during this time of the year is always difficult, but luckily enough for our Soldiers deployed,

they have each other to rely on. God bless you all, and may you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Attack 7