an incredible spread for

Thanksgiving and we

can only imagine what

the Christmas feast will

be like. We all miss our

home cooked meals

surrounded by our families. However the

food is always good

here and we are sur-

rounded by our military

family as we support

each other during this

season. I hope everyone

has a safe holiday sea-

son.

Dear Family and friends

of the 103rd,

We would like to thank

every one of you for

the support and gifts we

have received during

this holiday season.

The care packages have

overwhelmed our deliv-

ery system and our mail

room here at Camp

Virginia has told us they

have never seen such a

large quantity of boxes

and mail sent to any

unit in the past. That is

a testament to the care

and support of all of

you for our Soldiers. I

would also like to send

a personal thank you to

Dominion, Inc. ,Electric

Boat & the Warren

Bristol Schools for the

care packages they sent

to support our Soldiers.

Over 300 stockings were stuffed and deliv-

ered from Dominion

volunteers and shipped

to us so that we may

deliver them to the Sol-

diers. Volunteers at

Electric boat filled 200

care packages with use-

ful items for our Sol-

diers and the Warren/

Bristol Schools supplied

our Soldiers with cards,

letters, snacks & gifts.

We have delivered

these gifts to all of our

Soldiers across all areas

of operation and they

are truly appreciative of

these items. It is the

generosity of the volun-

teers and organizations

such as these that make

us feel special.

We are looking forward

to the holiday meal.

The personnel in our

mess hall put together

Happy Holidays from the Commander

December 2010 Volume 3

TF 1/103

News Special points of

interest:

Transfer of Authority

complete for Rhode

Island Units

Care Packages are

streaming in.

Inside this issue:

Notes from the

Command Ser-

geant Major

2

Transition of Au-

thority

2

1SG Cardinal 3

SSG Telus: New

Daddy for Crist-

mas

4

Commander’s

Corner

5

Greetings,

Here we are in Decem-

ber. It does seem, to

some anyway, that time is

flying by. Christmas is just

around the corner and

before you know, New

Years Day 2011.

We have been here in

Kuwait for about one

month now. Our prede-

cessors, the 53rd IBCT

have left the building and

the 103rd is in the

house!!! We have learned

much from the 53rd

while on our RIP (relief in

place). Of course we still

have much to learn but

we will be fine. Camp

Virginia isn’t such a bad

place when one considers

other alternatives.

All of your Soldiers here

are doing a great job in

their respective areas. It

is a testament to them

for having the willingness

and eagerness to learn

something new and learn

it well. The command

team is proud of them all.

I would personally like to

wish everyone a MERRY

CHRISTMAS & HAPPY

NEW YEAR.

v/r

CSM Richard H. LaFond

dom, and both National

Guards have a rich legacy

of combat service.

In the final draw down of

the OIF campaign, Camp

Virginia was recognized

as “the most secure camp

in all of (Kuwait)” be-

cause of the 53rd BSB’s

exceptional management,

said Maj. Gen. Kenneth

Dowd, commander of 1st

Sustainment Command

(Theater).

“They accomplished

much as they took own-

ership and pride

in every detail of Camp

Virginia,” he said. Over

the course of its 10

months at Camp Virginia,

BSB’s mission was to fa-

cilitate sustainment and

support operations, pro-

vide force protection and

coordinate the redeploy-

ment of forces.

Held on the anniversary

of the Japanese bombing

of Pearl Harbor in 1941,

the Transfer of Authority

ceremony at Camp Vir-

ginia, Kuwait, Dec. 7, was

a stark reminder that

peace is a temporary

state.

1st Battalion, 103rd Field

Artillery, Rhode Island

Army Guard assumed

command of base opera-

tions from Headquarters,

53rd Infantry Brigade

Combat Team, Florida

Army National Guard.

On this day, a new gen-

eration of Soldiers was

answering their Nation’s

call, symbolized by the

furling of the 53rd BSB

guidon and the unfurling

of the 103rd guidon.

Both units had served

previously in Operation

Iraqi and Enduring Free-

Notes from the Command Sergeant Major

Transition of Authority

Page 2 TF 1/103 News

It completed a $7 million

housing project, achieved

a 98 percent operational

readiness rating and dis-

tributed 1,000 pallets of

water and a million

pounds of ice, according

to Lt. Col. Thomas Can-

nington, the BSB com-

mander.

The 103rd will continue

to improve operations at

Camp Virginia, said com-

mander, LTC Philipp

Baumann Jr. “As artillery-

men, we are accustomed

to providing timely ser-

vice of accurate fire sup-

port, but we learned that

this mission requires a

different kind of cus-

tomer service.”

1SG Cardinal

ner loves his job on the tent

pads (where the transient

Soldiers stay) that he is al-

ready asking if he can stay

once we leave. We’ll have

to see how that plays out. We have already made our

mark on Camp Virginia; SPC

Michael Petrillo came in first

place in the Camp Fitness

Contest. CPT Peter Law-

rence came in first place in

the Bench Press (weight

lifting contest) and we had

two teams take the first and

second places in the Volley

Ball Tournament. 1st Place

team consisted of LT James

Sykora, CW3 Donald King,

SFC Donald Deslauriers,

and SSG Steven Allen. The

2nd place team consisted of

SGT Bryan Leveillee, SPC

Eric King, SPC Sean Murphy,

and SPC Milton Bass War-

ner. We had a Christmas tree

lighting on December 1st

along with the “Buffalo

Jill’s” (the cheerleaders for

the Buffalo Bills). We did

have a few issues however.

We were to light the trees

on all four camps at the

same time and it was sup-

posed to be video fed from

the other three camps, we

would get one camp then

try to get another and lose

that one. Then the Christ-

mas tree kept blowing the

fuse. Then while waiting for

the cheerleaders the troops

were restless and jumping

on the bleachers and they

collapsed. No one was hurt.

When the cheerleaders

were ready to start their

program the music wouldn’t

play. It finally all came to-

gether. All in all it was a

good night. We had Camel Rides here

yesterday afternoon. Things

were going along good until

CSM Richard Lafond

showed up and agitated the

camel and the camel bit him. Please watch out for one

another.

Happy Holidays

1SG Hubert Cardinal Task Force 1-103

Well we made it to Camp

Virginia Kuwait and things

are going well. We spent a

couple of weeks training

with the Soldiers we are

replacing. One week they

would show us how to do

their jobs and the second

week they would oversee us

doing their jobs. They were

very good at what they did,

and it will be hard to im-

prove what they did. I have

all the confidence in the

103rd that we will meet their

standards as well as exceed

them. This is a great place, no

grass to cut, no leaves to

rake, no snow to shovel, no

umbrella needed, the sun

has been shining since we

arrived, and the temps are

between 70 and 85 during

the day and between 40 and

60 at night. The dining facility is a great

place; it’s about the only

time that we run in to each

other. Otherwise everyone

is going their own way doing

their jobs, and doing them

well. SPC Milton Bass War-

Page 3 Volume 3

Volleyball Champs

Pictured from L to R:

CW3 Donald King, 1LT

James Sykora, SFC

Donald Deslories, SSG

Steven Allen

With eight days until Christ-

mas, CW2 Stack interviewed

the 1/103 Field Artillery Battal-

ion’s newest father, SSG Vladi-

mir Telus. SSG Telus is from

Bridgewater, MA and joined

Charlie Battery, 1/103 Field

Artillery Battalion, Rhode Is-

land National Guard on Sep-

tember 26, 2006. SSG Telus’s

military occupational specialty

(MOS) is 13B, which is a Can-

noneer. This is his third over-

seas deployment. His first

overseas deployment was to

Southeast Asia with the U.S.

Navy. His second deployment

was with Charlie Battery, 1/103

Field Artillery to Camp Victory,

Baghdad, Iraq between 2007

and 2008.

CW2 Stack: In the past

month, the biggest event in the

battalion was the birth of your

child! You are the first Soldier

in the battalion to have a new

child since we’ve arrived at

Camp Virginia, Kuwait. Is this

your first child?

SSG Telus: Yes. She was born on Monday, December 6,

2010 at 12:08 in the afternoon

at Good Samaritan Hospital in

Brockton, MA. Her name is

Nayah Jima Telus. Everything

was fine with the birth, and she

is healthy.

CW2 Stack: How is your

wife doing without your pres-

ence?

SSG Telus: She is doing

pretty well. She has her

mother and sister to help her

out. She misses me and I miss her a lot too. Given the cir-

cumstances, she is doing pretty

well. We talk to each other

every day by phone, and I write

her a lot. I call her from the

Camp Virginia USO and AT &

T phones.

CW2 Stack: A lot of people

back home are wondering what

life is like for the Soldiers of

the 1/103 here at Camp Vir-

ginia. Can you tell them your

overall impressions of life on

the base?

SSG Telus: Besides having

too much sand here, I like my

job and the people I work with.

My job title is Support and

Services Supervisor. My side-

kick, SSG Taylor, and I super-

vise 18 TCNs (third country

nationals), overseeing their

daily activities--their daily work.

So it is pretty exciting. We

have different projects on base

that we are doing, so it keeps

us very busy.

CW2 Stack: What types of

projects are you doing now on

base?

SSG Telus: Right now we

are working on a number of

force protection projects, in-

cluding reinforcing some bun-

kers with sand bags. We have

five to do, and so far we’ve

completed three out of the five

bunkers. We also just com-pleted removing the wooden

floor in the command cell patio

and replacing it with pavers, so

that was pretty good. We’re

looking forward to some new

challenges now…

CW2 Stack: What do you

want to tell people back home

what it is like living over here?

SSG Telus: Being away from

your family is very worrisome

no matter what, even if you are

living state-side. I want to tell them that, for the most part,

we are pretty safe. And the

Kuwaitis--the government-- are

friendly with us, so we are

pretty much safe. I want to tell

the families back home that

there is not much to worry

about. Of all of the bases in

Kuwait, Camp Virginia was

deemed one of the safest.

CW2 Stack: What is the

best thing about living on Camp

Virginia and what is the worst

thing?

SSG Telus: The worst is

being away from my family,

especially with having a new-

born child at home. I would

love to be at home with them.

Another bad thing about being

here is the sand, and the sand

storms. The sand is every-

where!

The best thing about being

here is doing my part as a

United States citizen, and mak-

ing sure our country is safe

back home. Another good

thing is the food. The dining

facility goes out of its way on

Thanksgiving and Christmas to

make us feel somewhat back at

home. Nothing is going to

replace being at home with a

real home-cooked meal, but

they are doing their best at the

dinning facility.

CW2 Stack: What are your

plans for your two-week leave

back home?

SSG Telus: During my two

weeks of leave I plan on spend-

New Daddy for Christmas

Page 4 Newsletter Title

ing as much time with my

daughter and wife as possible.

The priority, for me, is to hold

my daughter in my hands for

the first time.

CW2 Stack: What are your

plans after your 10-month de-

ployment is over? SSG Telus: My plan is to

continue my education, spend

time with my family, and get

back to my daily work. It’s

going to be different having an

addition to the family, but I see

it as a REAL blessing. I have an

electrical technology back-

ground. I work in the electrical

field right now at Naval Facility

Engineering at the Newport

Navy Base. My plan is to get a

degree in political science with

French as a secondary major,

but those are long term goals.

Right now, my most important

thing is making sure my family

is taken care of financially.

CW2 Stack: Anything else

you want to say to the folks

back home?

SSG Telus: I want to say

thank you to all the people

who have been supporting my

family while I am away, the

people from my Church, An-

nointed Baptist Church. I want

to thank every one of them for

the overwhelming support they

have given to my family. I want

to thank my mother, my step-

mother, my dad, and my sis-

ters. I want to thank my aunt

and my cousin for all the sup-

port they have provided my

family. They’ve made the bur-

den of my deployment to Ku-

wait so light on my family. I can’t express my thanks

enough. Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!!

Commander’s Corner

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1

Dear Family Members, It’s been just about a month since our arrival to Kuwait. The weather has been very warm with a bit of a chill in the air at night

(I’m sure you chuckled at that). We’re set up nicely in our permanent structures and we’re ready for the next nine months. The transition into our new roles went smoothly. We learned our jobs from our Florida counterparts and then took control of

Camp Virginia in a Transfer of Authority ceremony held on the 7th of December. Our responsibilities are quite important as we

are performing essential functions that ensure the smooth operations of the base. Most of us are out of our comfort zone, but

we’re flexible Soldiers and we will continue to do great things. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal and enjoyed a beautiful presentation at the dining facility. Many hours of hard work

went into its overall preparation. Please take a moment and check out the photos of the displays. CW2 Stack, SFC Deslauriers,

and his dining facility staff did a great job creating a memorable Thanksgiving Day 2010. Be assured that we’ll be home for our

next Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2011! Also, I would like to point out that our MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) personnel, 2LT Dias and MSG Taillon, are doing

a fantastic job ensuring your loved ones are taken care of with a variety of sporting events (yes, softball in December), entertain-

ment events (Camp Virginia Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on December 1st), and assorted recreational activities. During

the holiday season it is easy to dwell on the fact we’re away from home so I’m counting on the MWR folks to keep the Soldiers’

spirits high. I could easily recognize all of the sections individually for their accomplishments, but that would involve several more pages. I’ll

leave you with this comforting thought: although we are early into our deployment, the days pass quickly and days turn into

months.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!

Sincerely,

CPT DeCristoforo