Greetings again! Another month almost in the bag! I hope August has been good to you and the families back in the States. I enjoy seeing pictures of the kids heading back to school and all the new cloths and stories. My two girls were very excited to head back to school to see all their friends again. I’ve been reading about the weather back at Fort Sill, and not a whole lot of relief in the temperatures. The weather is slowly changing here as we’ve reached the peak temperature season. We have nicer cooler weather to look forward to now. The last couple of weeks are known to the Muslim community as Rama-zan or Ramadan. It is the holiest of times in the religion. It’s a time of fast-ing all day and prayer. As you can imagine not eating or drinking anything all day would make anyone irritable, and still having to do your job all day. These Afghans are dedicated people! At the end of Ramadan, they have a three day celebration, which is where we are right now. Imagine Christmas vacation time where there are limited people at work. Same situation here. Once all the ANCOP are back, we will resume the Amber Cycle training. As the ANCOP are executing the Amber training we put together, we are also planning our movement back into a new area. This move won’t take place for another several weeks, but we have to plan all the little moving pieces to ensure we don’t forget anything. Kudos to the staff (CPT Martin, CW2 Johnson, LT’s Horvath, Schwen and Ostruske) for developing the plan to get us back out to the field. And yes, being the solid NCO’s that they are, SFC Darrow and Caldwell are making sure we don’t formulate plans to take over the world! They are keeping us straight! We are not alone in our mission. There are other teams sharing Mentor Village too. See page 3: “MWR in the works”

SFAT TEAM 33

NEWSLETTER Special points of interest:

Each Page.

Team Leader

“Rest and Recovery vs. Amber Cycle Train-ing”

NCO’s

“Train the Trainer”

Your Soldiers Pics

1 September 2012

Volume 1, Issue 4

Operation Enduring

Freedom

2012-2013

BUSHMASTERS

Amber Cycle Training &

future SFAT MWR

MAJ Crooks prepares to

drive some nails into the

plywood flooring of the future

ANCOP outdoor training class-

room “I have my hammer”

MAJ Crooks sits with CPT Martin,

and SFC Caldwell at ANCOP dinner.

1LT Schwen, 1LT Horvath, and

CW2 Johnson enjoying...

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To the Friends and Family of SFAT Team # 33. As we

draw to the end of another month here in Afghanistan we

can definitely tell that fall is around the corner as the days

are getting shorter and the evening temperatures are get-

ting cooler. It has been another busy month for all of us as

our ANCOP counterparts returned from their leave and we

started the Amber “Training” cycle prior to our joint up-

coming deployment. Our Afghan counterparts completed

Ramazon with an Ede luncheon on the 20th to end their

month of fasting during day light hours.

While our counterparts have been on leave the Team has

been busy accomplishing multiple tasks to stay Vigilant,

some of the Soldiers completed the “Police Training

Course” with the civilian contractors to sharpen their skills

and prepare them to mentor our ANCOP counterparts on

their duties and responsibilities when they deploy, which

included a Live Fire range conducted on the 23rd. The

entire team got the opportunity to do a transition Live Fire

range on the 17th where we all got the chance to do some

shooting which included the transition from firing our ri-

fles to our pistols. An exceptional training event, as many

have never had the opportunity to fire their weapons in

this type of situation. Many improvements have been made

to “Mentor Village” as well, soldiers got to move into better

living areas and we also implemented a 24 hour duty to

improve our own security at all times, with a surveillance

system and other improvements, and we also rehearsed

Battle Drills in the event a Real World situation arises.

There are continuous improvements to our “footprint” here

with the ANCOP as we build on our relationships daily to

ensure that our counterparts have all the Tools needed to

sustain a free Afghanistan.

NCO’s: Training the Trainer

SFAT TEAM 33 Page 2

SGT Hooper allowing the ANCOP Students to review their

books on Drivers Training before Questions are asked.

SFC Darrow

Assisting

with the

building of

the ANCOP

outdoor

classroom

and SPC

Rodriguez

helping

move sheets

of plywood

We also were given the task to actually “Build” an outdoor

classroom that will be a tremendous advantage not just for

our counterparts, but for all the ANCOP on FOB JRAC to

utilize during their Amber cycle training. The classroom

along with the counter IED (Improvised Exploding Device)

training lane will help improve our counterparts and teach

them the knowledge that they will be able to share and use

when needed to save lives.

We were fortunate enough to have General Anderson (4th

Infantry Division Commander) come to FOB JRAC and visit

with the Soldiers and Officers of the ANCOP SFAT teams.

He expressed his appreciation and the importance of our

mission here in Afghanistan. He was even willing to promote

some people and re-enlist SPC Rodriguez at the outdoor

classroom that we had constructed.

As we prepare our counterparts for their upcoming deploy-

ment we as well are looking ahead, and even though our re-

turn home is still months away there is the planning process

which is already in motion, so that we are able to support

our counterparts and set our replacements up for success

upon their arrival here in Afghanistan.

We all appreciate the support we get from home, with the

cards, letters, and care packages. You are not forgotten in

our lives, and we all look forward to being home once again.

Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated, and we send

ours to the people back home. We could not do our Mission

without your support. God Bless

SFC Richard E. Darrow

SFAT NCOIC

Train the

Trainer:

CPL Johnson

teaching First

Aid Training

to the

ANCOP

SPC Buckland and SPC Rani play some

X-Box for some Rest and Relaxation time.

Your Soldiers PICS

MWR in the works

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 4

SPC Rodriguez checking

the oil levels on his

assigned vehicle.

PFC Page, PFC Morris,

and PFC Ford

conducting the

“Police Training Course”

Major Crooks: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1:

The Mentor Village team: CPT Mann’s Team and the Navy SFAT Team, have been hard at work building the soon-to-be Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) center. We’ve coordinate for some Spawar computers and telephones for all to call home. The other teams have built the facilities and now waiting for the equipment. CPT Mann’s team also added the movie lounge, complete with “coming soon” AFN and an Xbox 360. Our Sol-diers built the satellite stand on top of a building for the Spawar to receive its signals. It’s definitely a team effort here and every-one is pitching in to improve the quality of life here. The spirits are high just watching things take shape around here! As things continue to progress in this deployment, we are see-ing a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. Next month I will pass some tips regarding mail and other items which will help facilitate redeploying. We will ask in mid October to hold off on sending any other mail to your Soldier as we prepare to transi-tion back to the States. Information like this will be passed to the Soldier as well as forums like this. As always, please feel free to send comments or recommenda-tions to Kevin.crooks@us.army.mil . Until next time! Thanks again and have a Steel Warrior day! Kevin Crooks Major, United States Army Team Leader

PFC Ford, and PFC Guerrerovazquez

giving their thumbs up.

1LT Schwen with

care boxes from

family and friends.

SGT McWilliams:

“Raisin Cookies...

my favorite!!”

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Your Soldiers PICS

H a v e a B o x o r M a i l f o r yo u r So l d i e r ?

First Name, Last

SFAT TEAM 33

FOB JRAC

APO-AE 09355

1LT

Ostruske

waiting at

the Supply

yard while

holding one

of the many

boxes.

“There is

No Room!”

SFAT 33 and the PSD conduct M4 Rifle and M9

Pistol Transition Range to perfect their weapon

handling skills and individual marksmanship.

CPL

Johnson

helping

with the

building

of the AN-

COP

classroom.

SPC Rani and PFC Ford

eating their meal.

CW2 Johnson calls home

on the SPAWAR phones.

SGT Bashant conducting a class for the

Soldiers on the Principles of Army Lead-

ership and its valued importance.

SFC Caldwell and CW2

Johnson “Cookie Monster”

PFC Morris, PFC Ford, SGT Hooper and SPC

Buckland walking to Brigade to eat Chow.

PFC Page checking the

engine on his vehicle.

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SPC

Buckland

waiting

in

the

vehicle.

To CPT Martin “29 Years Old!!”