Team Knighthawk!

Rebecca, Gavin, Kellen and I

are extremely happy to be part

of the team. Since our arrival in

late April we have had the op-

portunity to begin to meet each

member of the Task Force and

your families. It has been a very

busy time with a high turnover

of folks across the Task Force to

include changes of command

within three of our Companies.

Welcome to CPT Chris Gage

coming over to the Pathfinders

as we said goodbye to CPT

Steve Hassink who is off to Har-

vard Law School. CPT Brian

and Casey Green assumed com-

mand of the reflagged Alpha

Company (formerly Golf Com-

pany) and said farewell to CPT

Jim Coker who is off the Har-

vard Business School. Most

recently CPT Dan and Sterling

Reep took the helm of Echo

Company from CPT Mattie

Howe, who is off to Fort Lee to

become an instructor at the Lo-

gistics schoolhouse. We will

continue to see a few more arri-

vals and departures as we solid-

ify the Team for JRTC and fu-

ture directed deployments.

We have been enjoying

the awesome spring and summer

weather and have been maxi-

mizing our outdoor time (while

it last!) here in the North Coun-

try! It has been a great back-

drop to the numerous activities

that have been going on re-

cently. Riverfest was highly

attended within the Task Force

this year and the local commu-

nity appreciated the continued

support from the 10th Mountain

Division ensuring its success.

For those who were not able to

make it out to the salute to the

nation parade during Mountain

Fest, you missed an awesome

display of combat power by TF

Knighthawk as we conducted

the Air Assault Demonstration.

Excellent performance by Alpha

and Charlie Company crew’s

who flew the demonstration, as

well as the rest of the Task

Force that supported it behind

the scenes. The Division Com-

mander said it was the best fly-

ing Demo the North Country

had seen in years!

As we all return from

Block Leave, the remainder of

the summer and fall will begin

to get very busy! As Charlie

Company finishes training on

the new UH-60 “Mike” Model

Blackhawk we as a Task Force

will begin our intensive training

cycle in preparation for a late

October rotation to the Joint

Readiness Training Center

(JRTC). Upon return for

Thanksgiving for most of us, we

again will send folks on the road

to Colorado for High Altitude

training before and after the

Christmas break.

As our Soldiers con-

tinue to train for our wartime

mission we will also begin to

prepare our families for future

deployments. The JRTC rota-

tion will be a good time to iden-

tify the needs of each family and

work through the company

FRGs to seek available support

both within the unit as well as

the installation support mecha-

nisms. I cannot highlight how

important it is to establish rela-

tionships at the company level

in order to form strong support

teams. For the seasoned veteran

families who have survived mul-

tiple deployments already,

please pass your experience’s

on. If deployments are new to

your family, this is the time to

begin preparing!

Again, it is a privileged for Re-

becca and me to be just two

more members of the Team!

Your Husbands, Wives, Sons

and Daughters who are assigned

to the Best Aviation Task Force

in the Army are doing a superb

job! Continue to be safe over

the summer months and get out

and enjoy the North Country!

Fly To Glory!

The Braman’s LTC Matthew Braman

Task Force Knighthawk Com-

mander

Commander’s Corner

Task Force

August 2012 Knighthawk News

Knighthawk News

Summer will soon be here…but with the rising

temperatures, so comes an upswing in our

training in preparation for future operations.

HHC continues to work hard and the Company

will be looking forward to a much deserved

block leave period this July.

Jennifer and I would like to take the opportu-

nity to welcome some new Families to the No-

mad formation. CW3 Ed Smith is the new

Task Force Tactical Operations Officer. CW3

Smith, his wife Jean, and Family are not new to

the Brigade, however. They were last assigned

with Task Force Phoenix during our most re-

cent deployment and he brings a wealth of ex-

perience to the team. Next, SSG Stephanie

Thomas and her Family come to us from Ko-

rea. SSG Thomas is a new addition to our S4

shop and will play a major role ensuring that

the Task Force is properly equipped. We have

also recently welcomed two Captains to our S3

section. CPT Jon Ryder, an Apache pilot, and

his wife, Courtney, come to us from the Avia-

tion Captain’s Career Course at Fort Rucker.

In addition, CPT Mark Axtell, a Blackhawk

pilot, and his wife, English, were last assigned

to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he attended

the Infantry Captain’s Career Course (we’ll try

not to hold that against him though). We

would also like to welcome SSG Shawn Cal-

vert, our new S2 NCOIC, and 1LT Meghan

Brower, our new S6. We are glad to have all

of these key players on board.

On 1 June, we were privileged to promote two

very deserving Soldiers. First, PFC Mark

Dunn from our S2 section was promoted to

SPC. In addition, CPL Rogelio Lamont is now

wearing Sergeant stripes. SGT Lamont has

proven himself from day one with the Nomads

and we are excited to officially have him as our

newest NCO. Last but not least, congratula-

tions are in order for SGT Jason Feltzer, who

retired this month after 20 years of military

service. Your presence in the S3 shop will cer-

tainly be missed, but you have earned every bit

of your newfound time off. We know that

Leanne and the girls are glad they’ll have you

home a bit more often.

In Little Nomad news, PFC Tyquannah Pace

recently gave birth to a baby girl, Harmony.

Harmony decided to enter the world a little

earlier than planned, but we are glad to report

that both she and Mom are doing very well.

Many of you may know that SSG Wolfe, our

Headquarters Platoon Sergeant, recently lost

his house due to a fire. While that is certainly

not good news, the outpouring of support and

assistance from the Nomad Family was truly

inspiring. Many of our Soldiers and Family

members gave of their time, money, or donated

belongings to help SSG Wolfe and his Family

get back on their feet. I would like to thank the

whole Company personally for their efforts in

helping one of our own in his time of need. In

case you haven’t heard, SSG Wolfe has already

begun the process of rebuilding his home and it

will hopefully be complete this Summer.

In closing, I hope everyone is enjoying the

change in weather and making plans to take

part in all the North Country has to offer. As

always, please be in touch if there’s anything

we can do for you.

Captain Wes and Jennifer Cannon

Nomad 06 Team

Nomads

Page 2

Knighthawk News

CPT W. Cannon

1SG Manuel Reyes

FRG Leader

Jennifer Cannon

The Summer Block Leave period could not be

more well-deserved or come at a better time.

Alpha Company has been working hard and

accomplishing more than expected recently, as

we are now knee-deep into our train-up that

will continue until we deploy in the spring of

2013. I encourage everyone to take advantage

of these two weeks off by resting up, spending

lots of time with family, and preparing for the

training that is coming up after the Leave pe-

riod ends.

I am proud of all we have accomplished so far:

We have been acing all of our inspections, and

we continue to fix the aircraft as soon as they

break, which is a daily occurrence. We made it

through the Aerial Gunnery exercise, and we

received glowing compliments from all who

attended the Mountain Fest Air Assault demon-

stration. Finally, we have been focusing on

physical fitness and coming together as a team.

Following Block Leave, we will be getting

right back into training with a Division-wide

event called Mountain Peak, where we will

provide Aviation support to Infantry companies

from 4-31 IN, 2-14 IN, and 1-89 CAV as they

go through platoon and company training

lanes, live fire exercises, and practice air as-

saults. In August, Alpha Company will, once

again, participate in an Aerial Gunnery exer-

cise. We have a lot of lessons learned from the

last Gunnery, so it will be a great opportunity

to train the pilots and maintainers who weren’t

able to participate last time, and those who did

participate last time will be able to see their

scores improve. In September, the focus will

be on Air Assault training, as we prepare for

our deployment to the Joint Readiness Training

Center, which will begin October 29th. As you

can tell, there is no sign of slowing down in our

immediate future, but I am confident that all

this training will pay off dividends come next

year.

In other company news: Congratulations to

Amanda and Delbert Conley for the birth of

their second son, Mason. Another congratula-

tions goes to Dan Misenhimer for graduating

from the Maintenance Test Pilot Course in Fort

Rucker. He will return to Fort Drum and fill

the position of Company Maintenance Officer,

a role that has been vacant for months. Alpha

Company is still very short on people, and we

should start to finally see some more new faces

around the company area. It will come as wel-

comed relief to those who have been working

overtime, sometimes filling the roles of two or

three people in order to accomplish the mis-

sions so far.

I want to thank all the families again

for their continued support. Enjoy your time

away from work, take advantage of the beauti-

ful weather, and remember to be safe.

Steve Lancianese

“Deathstalker 06”

Deathstalker

Page 3

Knighthawk News

CPT S Lancianese

1SG J Chilson

FRG Leaders

Becky Blanchard

Carole Barlow

Change is the one constant that everyone

can count on in the Army. Since the last

newsletter, there have been many changes

that have occurred within the Assault Com-

pany in Task Force Knighthawk. On May

11, 2012 the G/2-10 colors were cased and

G/2-10 was reflagged as C/2-10. During

that ceremony, a change of command also

took place between CPT James Coker and

CPT Brian Green.

I am very grateful to have the op-

portunity to write this column for the news-

letter. Since the change of command,

things have been very busy with the War-

lords. We have conducted an aerial gun-

nery qualification to qualify all of our pro-

gressed crewchiefs , we have started send-

ing our pilots and crewchiefs through the

UH-60M Model qualification course, and

have even begun conducting our planning

and rehearsals for the Mountain Fest Air

Assault demonstration. This is a busy first

month for a new command, but this com-

pany is definitely up to the task.

Our biggest training event coming

up is the Mountain Fest Air Assault dem-

onstration. On Thursday 28 June 2012, TF

Knighthawk will be flying the Air Assault

Demonstration during Mountain Fest. C/2-

10 was given the opportunity to conduct

the 4-ship Air Assault of 2-14IN. This is

going to be a great demonstration of the

capabilities of the UH-60 aircraft.

Things have been busy with the

Warlords and will continue to be busy;

however this is a company that is definitely

up for the challenge. I look forward to

keeping everyone up to date on what the

Warlords are doing and I am very excited

to be a part of the Knighthawk Team.

CPT Green

Warlords

Page 4

Knighthawk News

CPT Green

1SG B Boots

FRG Leaders

Casey Green

Heidi Woerheide

CPT David Fitzpatrick was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. He attended Niagara

University and graduated with a BA in Business Management. After college CPT Fitz-

patrick went to Flight School at Fort Rucer, AL. He graduated the UH-60 course in

April of 2010 and was assigned to Fort Drum in May of 2010. CPT Fitzpatrick was then

assigned to G Company 2-10 Aviation and deployed to JRTC and later to Afghanistan in

support of Operation Enduring Freedom XI. Upon redeployment from Afghanistan CPT

Fitzpatrick was reassigned to D Company 2-10 where he served as a Platoon Leader until

March of 2012, until taking command of D Company in March of 2012. CPT. Fitz-

patrick is excited in commanding the Dragonhawks and looks forward to the road ahead.

CPT David Fitzpatrick

Dragonhawks

Page 5

Knighthawk News

CPT Fitzpatrick

1SG L. Brown

FRG Leaders

Shaunna Fitzpatrick

Kimberly Perez

"Echo Company has undergone many

changes in the last several months

while supporting the Task Force train-

ing and conducting its own company

level training.

Echo Company would like to say

goodbye to Captain Mattie Howe and

welcome its new command team: First

Sergeant James Matlock and Captain-

Daniel Reep. Both are very excited to

prepare the Knightrider Soldiers and

Families for the upcoming deployment.

Echo Company supported the Task

Force gunnery in May and is preparing

to support the upcoming August gun-

nery as well as JRTC in October. We

had a great BBQ event during block

leave this month for the Soldiers who

did not take leave and would like to

say thank you to all the family mem-

bers who attended and participated in

the games.

We look forward to spending more

time with the Knight Rider families in

the

near future!"

V/r,

CPT Reep

My name is Sterling Reep, and I am

the new FRG leader. I am excited to

meet each of you. I very much appreci-

ate all of Kelly Daniel's hard work and

commitment, and I am looking forward

to continuing to grow and build the

FRG. I am available to you and your

families when you need me. Please do

not hesitate to contact me if you have

any questions, concerns, problems, or

suggestions that you would like to dis-

cuss. The FRG is in need of volunteers,

so if you are interested, please let me

know. Thank you so much for all that

you, your spouse, and your family do

for the Company and the Army every

single day.

Knight Riders

Knight Riders FRG Leader

Page 6

Knighthawk News

CPT D Reep

1SG Matlock

FRG Leader

Sterling Reep

05 June 2012, just moments before dusk,

Soldiers of Foxtrot ATS Company

(Firehawks) set forth on a journey not com-

monly traveled by members of the ATS

community. The challenge; navigate from

point to point through a dense unfamiliar

forest inhabited by wild turkeys and hun-

gry bears in the dead of the night using

only a map, a compass, and a red lens

flashlight. To make final preparations for

the event that lay ahead, Firehawks under-

went a series of refresher training that en-

compassed the basics of Land Navigation.

Spearheading this training were SSG (P)

Pizzuto, SSG Squires, and SSG Guetersloh

representing their respective platoon well

with quality training that fostered an excel-

lent opportunity for each Soldier to hone

their skills with a compass and a map.

These three skilled NCOs later served as

Observer/Controllers to ensure an element

of safety during the voyage through the

rugged terrain. CSM Parmer was present

during this preparation phase and gladly

provided senior experience and tricks of

the trade to Soldiers rotating through the

training stations. Three groups were

formed and endowed with knowledge and

the appropriate tools. They eagerly waited

to moment to put them to use. As the sun

set, they executed what they had learned

and put their skills to the test. Personnel

designated to keep pace for their group ac-

curately measured their steps, while the

rest of the team plotted the points on the

map and developed their game plan to ac-

complish the challenge at hand. With little

daylight left, an accurate pace count estab-

lished, and a marked map each team steps

off almost simultaneously to their first tar-

gets. Each team raced to the first point and

found it successfully as the sun finally set.

With the complete absence of the sun it

became increasingly difficult to move

about in the thick brush, let alone locate the

eye-level orange and white markers that

depicted each point. Fueled with their

competitive natures and marked by chemi-

cal lights, each team continued to drive on

seeking out their objectives. As the chal-

lenge continued Soldier safety became an

issue and the call was made to cease the

competitive effort.

Firehawks

Page 7

Knighthawk News

CPT J Sampsel

1SG Leavell

FRG Leader

Jamie Sampsel

Wendy Averett

Families and Friends of TF Knight-

hawk,

Greetings from the Pathfinder Team.

I am deeply humbled and honored to

join the Knighthawk’s as we prepare

for our next rotation in support of Op-

eration Enduring Freedom. In the past few months, we

have had a large turnover in both Soldiers and their leaders

within the company. Many of the past deployment’s veter-

ans have moved on to bigger and better things and we

are sad to see them go. However, we are fortunate to have

gained the experience of multiple seasoned Soldiers and

their families joining us from other units. I am already

overwhelmed by the progression we have made as a

“Team” in just a few short months of being together. I can

only anticipate this level of performance and motivation to

increase over the next few weeks as we continue to build

the Pathfinder Family.

As we come off block leave, the Pathfinder Company will

be rapidly progressing to the “run” phase of our training.

We have already completed numerous static weapon

ranges, Fire Team Live Fire Exercises, and even an off-post

training event in the mountainous terrain of the Adiron-

dacks. In addition, Soldiers from the company graduated

Pathfinder School and Air Assault School, earning the cov-

eted Pathfinder Torch and Air Assault Wings. Great work

men! With individual training almost complete, we will

continue to advance, challenging the company to come to-

gether as a tightly knit team to accomplish more complex

tasks, while incorporating additional military assets in the

twilight of night and the simulated fog of war.

Your Pathfinders will continue to maintain the training

tempo as we focus on preparation for our upcoming rota-

tion to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in No-

vember. In the next few weeks, we will be conducting

multiple Situational and Live Fire Training events at both

the squad and platoon level, hon-

ing the skills of our profession. There will even be Battal-

ion combined events and a culminating off-post training

event at Cranberry Lake, NY. Our concentration on small

unit tactics lends itself to leader development and individ-

ual soldier skills allowing each of us to become confident

in our warrior tasks and drills. This will lead to a company

that can function and adapt with little guidance or informa-

tion in an ever changing battle field.

Entering the heart of our training cycle, all I ask is for your

continued love and support in the coming weeks for our

Soldiers. The previous and future success in our training is

not only contributed to the Soldier’s hard work here in

Pathfinder Company, but also to the dedicated support they

receive from you. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed

and is greatly appreciated. Although your Soldiers are the

ones out training every week, you are just as much a part of

this team and I look forward to working with each and

every one of you.

Knighthawks!

First in Last Out!

Christopher Gage

CPT, IN

Pathfinders

Page 8

Knighthawk News

Page 9

Knighthawk News

Salute to the Nation

Page 10

Knighthawk News

Mountainfest 2012

Air Assault Demo

Knighthawks in Action

Knighthawks in Action

Page 11

Knighthawk News

Hello to the family and friends

of Task Force Knighthawk,

I would like this op-

portunity to introduce my wife,

Susanna, and myself to the

Task Force. We are coming

from Denver, Colorado and

this will be our first duty sta-

tion. Admittedly, we did not

ask for Fort Drum, but we are

constantly encouraged by the

supportive and friendly com-

munity that is the Fort Drum

Family. Thank you all for that.

We look forward to working

(and playing) with you as we

all support each other through

this upcoming deployment.

Let me take some

time to share what we bring to

the table as your Taskforce

Chaplain Couple. If you’re

interested in the degrees and

stuff, I have studied and been

certified in the areas of Family

Studies, Human Development,

Marital and Pre-Marital Coun-

seling, Stress Management,

Counseling, and (of course)

Religion. Susanna has studied

and been certified in the areas

of Communication, Sociology,

and Mediation. As you can

see, we both have a passion for

relationships and communica-

tion.

If you’re not inter-

ested in the degrees and want

to know what we are really

about, I could simply tell you

that we are about relationships.

We value and always seek to

develop authentic and suppor-

tive relationships because we

have found that there are times

in life when it’s just too hard

to get by on our own. Not only

that, but sometimes, life can be

brighter when you’re with peo-

ple that you truly know and

can trust.

We hope that you also

share in this passion, but

whether you’re passionate

about relationships or not, rela-

tionships are an unavoidable

aspect to life. As a result, our

vision for this segment is to

offer practical reflections on

relationships to the Knight-

hawk community. We do not

claim that these are expert re-

flections or that we know more

about relationships than you;

rather, we just want to share

some things that we’ve learned

along the way that could offer

some insight into your rela-

tionships.

Our ultimate goal is

that these reflections will serve

as a springboard for conversa-

tion and eventually lead to

deeper trusting relationships

that will hopefully support us

all through this deployment.

Chaplain’s Corner

Page 12

Knighthawk News

Ch (CPT) Daniel Werho and Suzanne

Werho

Military Family Life Consultant

Room

Easy as learning your A, B, C's

Talk to our MFLC to learn more...

A= Awareness to your current and future

situation. Learn about life as a process.

B= Balance of all your energies. Learn

about using your energy for success.

C= Control of what you care about. Learn

when to hold and when to fold.

Need to Talk? Need someone to listen?

For any issue such as adjustment, coping ,

loss/grief, separation, strengthening, par-

enting, resolution, communications, rela-

tionships, decisions, etc.

Call our own 10th CAB Military and Fam-

ily Life Consultant at 315-405-7449

Personal Finacial Counselor—MFLC

19933 MSR Tampa

HHC Room 108

Did you know that the MFLC Program in-

cludes Personal Financial Counseling to

help you and your family manage all your

financial needs.

Complete confidentiality

Guidance with specific issues or gen-

eral education for future use and plan-

ning

Just some of the topics are…

ROTH TSP

Spending plans

Saving and investing strategies

Retirement

College planning

Debt management

Free credit report & score– tips on how

to raise your credit score up

Transitioning to Civilian life

And so much more!

Call 315-523-3765 for an appointment or

more information.

MFLC

Page 13

Knighthawk News

“To catch the reader's

attention, place an

interesting sentence or

quote from the story

here.”

Clever Prince

Justin Sturm

Matthew Smith

Lee Hough

Matthew Cootware

Avonelle Brown

Ahmed Boyd

Adam Hook

Justin McBride

John Meier

Davis Devine

Yap

Hector Huertas

Charles Odle

James Coker

James Berge

Stephens

Chris Dickerson

Jacob Rhodes

Jessica Cioci

Aleth Toussaint

Courtenay Galvin

James Hart

John Kolodgy

Kaylee Laakso

Farewells

Page 14

Knighthawk News

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after

moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."

~ Richard Bach

Hails

Matthew Braman

Harold Browning

Henry Nanez

Eugene Walker

Andrew Bergquist

Kevin Lawistowski

Mark Axtell

Benjamin Schouwerwou

Ronald Scheuren

Travis Gordon

Mario Nunez

Daniel Reep

Shawn Calvert

Jared Snyder

Nathan Humbert

Bradley Campbell

Corey Kesty

Joseph Lancaster

Corey Konieczko

Kristopher Dendtler

Aaron Young

Scott Newhart

Cory Albertson

Dale Hughes

Orville Gross

Jesse Naputi

Daniel Werho

Kinyada Colbert

Chase Roe

Michael Holenchick

Manuel Reyes

Jennifer Gonzalez

Asaad Brown

Garrett Wood

Zealand Shouse

Taylor Hurd

Jared Casias

Robert Ibarra

Please take the time and extend a very special welcome to newest members of the Task Force team…

Brigade Soldier Spotlight—SPC Leonardo Sanchez

Page 15

Knighthawk News

Soldier Spotlight is on SPC Leonardo Sanchez,

a vehicle mechanic with E Company, 2nd Battalion,

10th Aviation Regiment, Task Force Knighthawk.

Despite the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade's aviation mission, there remains a real need for ground vehicles

which are used by aviation support staff such as Downed Aircraft Recovery Teams, fuel and armament spe-

cialists, maintainers, logistics, and food specialists. Each battalion has a platoon of ground vehicle mechanics.

Sanchez, a native of the Dominican Republic, has been in the Army for 20 months. He entered the Army with

an electrical engineering degree from the DR and hopes to improve his English so he can one day use his de-

gree in the U.S. He would like to one day attend Officers Candidate School.

His favorite part of being a mechanic is actually working on truck. His least favorite part is paperwork and all

the abbreviations the Army uses.

"For example, why do we say 'LMTV' when we could simply say 'truck'," asked Sanchez.

When he's not working, Sanchez says he likes to read books which help him improve his English. He looks

forward to reading novels in English eventually.

Living in the North Country is perfect for Sanchez since he has family who live in Canada and New York City.

"You can raise your family here," Sanchez said. "I could live here forever."

Lil Knighthawks

Page 16

Knighthawk News

Vivianna Grace Perez, born 14 Jan

Anna Reed born 13 March

Colton Andrew Reed, born 26 Mar

Charles Jeffrey Shouse, born 7April

Harmony Pace, born 22 May

Khaleesi Denise Averett, born 4 July

Savonn Roman Vanderpool, born 28 June

Nathaniel Nunez, born 4 June

Your new baby will bring you joy;

Your hearts will swell with love and pleasure;

Congratulations to both of you

And a welcome to your little treasure.

19912 MSR Tampa

Fort Drum NY 13619

315-774-1373

315-405-6783

Kelley.arnold@us.army.mil

TF Knighthawk

Government Organization

Free-lance journalist particpates in Pathfinders battle-focused physical training Peter Wayner, a free-lance journalist from Syracuse visited F Company, Pathfinders, 2nd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regi-

ment, Task Force Knighthawks, July 24, to experience battle-focused physical training. Wayner is researching what it

takes to be a 10th Mountain Division Soldier.

What does it take to be

a 10th Mountain

Division Warrior?

Peter Wayner, from

Syracuse visited the

10th CAB's Pathfinder

company to find out

for himself