culminating in the Brigade’s

warfighter exercise in No-

vember. In several cases, the

commander has integrated

his entire company into col-

lective training, making

more realistic the demands

he places on his analysts.

The Squadron continues to

set a new course with multi-

ple initiatives that are family

-focused, designed to build

and strengthen the Stryke-

horse Family. Our official

and public domain Web-

Pages are updated, we’ve

established a 2-14 CAV

FaceBook page, and will

continue to conduct our

monthly FRG Steering

committee meetings and

Troop/Company FRG Meet-

ings. Our next Town Hall

meeting is 24 November

at 6 PM at Smith Theater.

We will conduct our Squad-

ron Ball at the Prince Kuhio

Hilton on 22 January, and

will schedule our Spouses

Spur Ride and Children’s

Spur Ride soon after Christ-

mas block leave. We look

forward to seeing you at

these events.

STRYKEHORSE!

A special welcome to all of

our new arrivals and their

families. Welcome to Hawaii

and the Strykehorse family.

The Squadron recently com-

pleted its transition from reset

activities to retraining opera-

tions. In short, we now have

almost all of our equipment

back from post-combat main-

tenance, and we’re ready to

move back to training in ear-

nest. As we discussed at our

recent Town Hall meeting, this

transition will translate to a

few more nights on ranges or

conducting night time training,

and each troop or company

training schedule will include

this information six weeks

beforehand.

HHT, A, B, and C Troops will

deploy to India in October to

participate in operation Yud

Abhyas 09. “Yud Abhyas” is

Erdu for “train for war,” a fit-

ting name for this operation as

we conduct valuable collective

and live-fire training with the

Indian Army. It is a high

honor that the Squadron was

selected to participate in this

event, the first combined train-

ing opportunity with the In-

dian Army at the Squadron

level, complete with Strykers!

Our Troopers will be ambassa-

dors to the Indian Army Sol-

diers, Leaders, and their

families, and look forward to

sharing training techniques

with our Indian partners.

D Troop will continue its

retraining, including sending

the TUAS platoon to Fort

Huachuca where it will sup-

port JTF-N’s real-world mis-

sion of trafficking interdic-

tion along the US-Mexican

border. This is a fantastic

opportunity that will provide

the TAUS platoon with more

flight hours than they could

normally achieve here. The

SIGINT platoon continues to

train their valuable skills

here in Hawaii using a myr-

iad of techniques and sys-

tems, and the NBC-RV pla-

toon will soon begin its

training as it reintegrates the

complex NBC-RV Strykers,

back from post-combat

maintenance.

The MICO continues its re-

training, too, certifying the

35M HUMINTers through

consolidated training events.

The 35F all-source analysts

have established their SOPs

and reporting and analytical

procedures and will incorpo-

rate them into collective

training through the Fall,

S Q U A D R O N C O M M A N D E R

R E C E N T

P R O M O T I O N S

The following were promoted

to:

1LT Jonathan Goodman

1LT Joseph Lewandowski

CW3 Bryan Kirby

SSG Jeremy Cook

SSG Amilee Jorgensen

SSG Nicholas Mason

SSG Henry Starke

SPC Eric Buzzard

SPC Chase Rall

PFC Richard Forth

RECENT AWARDS

SFC Dustin Woeck: MSM for

outstanding performance as the

ACE NCOIC and Analysis

Platoon Sergeant over the last

three years.

PFC Chris Baker: AAM for

scoring over a 90% on Official

Installation Security Inspection

of unit Arms Room.

SGT Michelle Hughes: AAM

for providing Japanese Lin-

guist support to 1-27 IN BN in

support of their annual Holly

Family Home Japanese Or-

phans visit

WLC COMMANDANT’S

LIST

SGT Cockfield

SGT Saldano

SGT Michelle Hughes

SGT Michael Nincehelser

2 - 1 4 C A V

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 1

The Strykehorse Spur

The “Ace High” Troopers have been working extremely hard over the past few months con-ducting training designed to hone their combat skills. They have performed magnificently in all training to include marks-manship on individual weapons, qualifying 30% of the Troop as expert marksmen, crew-served weapons, drivers training, certi-fying all primary drivers on the HMMWV, LMTV and four dif-ferent variants of the Stryker vehicle to include the RV, MEV, FSV and MCV. I am impressed on a daily basis at the adaptive abilities of our Soldiers and their abilities to accomplish any as-

signed task.

The “Ace High” Family continues to build and strengthen its bonds. Over the past few months, we have had two FRG meetings, asked for Volunteers to fill key positions (thank you to those of you who have volunteered your time to fill those positions) and had a “Ladies Night Out”. We have planned a com-munity outreach program in the form of a beach cleanup at “Turtle Beach” on the North Shore and encourage every-one to come out and support the local community as well as the FRG in our efforts to clean up the beach. Along those lines, there are future community outreach programs in the planning

stages with the Fisher House, the Honowai Elementary School as well as several other community organi-

zations.

The “Ace High” Command Team is extremely proud to be a part of this great organization and we look for-ward to the opportunities to work

with and for you in the future.

Squadron. There were also a few Troop-ers who arrived at their End of Time in Service and took their memories of the unit home with them for a lifetime of reflection, but our Squadron’s and Troop’s turnover period is anything but

typical.

From the time that the new command team was in place in early June, we knew we had a mission. We have spent the last three months preparing for our long term mission of conducting combat operations in either Iraq or Afghanistan, which has assisted in our preparations for our near term mission , by focusing us on specific skill sets. That near term mission is Yudh Abhyas ’09. Yudh Ab-hyas in India provides our Troop a dress

Greetings from Comanche, over the past three months we have been involved in the typi-cal turnover that exists after a unit’s redeployment. We started with a Change of Com-mand followed shortly by a Change of Responsibility for both the Troop and the Squad-ron. On June 10th we saw a mass exodus of Comanche Troopers who PCS’d to numer-ous units throughout our Army and, in doing so, took with them their stories from Coman-che Troop and the Stykehorse

rehearsal for deployment operations, an opportunity to work with a foreign army and build partnerships, and an experi-ence of a lifetime to visit one of the

Wonders of the World, the Taj Majhal.

Although we may have lost a number of quality Troopers over the past few months, we have gained some in return. Our new Troopers bring with them their own set of talents and experiences. To-day, with our mix of old and new along with the team building sure to come from the rigorous training that is sure to come from Exercise Yudh Abhyas ’09, Comanche Troop stands poised and ready for any mission. Comanche,

Strykehorse, Tropic Lightening!

-CPT Rittenberg

Troop out for a few late nights on the machine gun qualification ranges. Every-one who shot on the range qualified as an expert on the .50 caliber machine gun which is the highest level of competence on a weapon system. This was followed by a week of driver’s train-ing where soldiers in the Troop, as well as throughout the Squadron, learned how to drive the Stryker as well as the Light Medium Tacti-

cal Vehicle, or LMTV.

These last few weeks have been

long with several days continu-

ing on well into the night. All

of us at Bountyhunter Troop

would like to take this opportu-

nity to thank our spouses and

families for their love and sup-

port during these rigorous

weeks of training. As we look

forward to future training, we

are grateful for those at home

enabling us to perform our jobs.

- CPT Digati

It has been a busy month for the soldiers of Bountyhunter Troop. It is the year of the NCO and the NCOs of the Troop performed with ex-cellence, demonstrating why they are the backbone of the U.S. Army. The Troop started things off this month by planning and running a rifle range for the entire squadron. We successfully qualified over 75% of all 2-14 CAV soldiers. The fol-lowing week brought the

Evac Team waits for Helicopter to

land so they can Air EVAC their

wounded during Bountyhunter’s

full scale exercise.

A C E H I G H

C O M M E N T S

CO

MM

AN

CH

E

P a g e 2

B O U N T Y H U N T E R

C O M M E N T S

T h e S t r y k e h o r s e S p u r

c o m m e n t s

MK19 Familiarization

with their brother scout platoons in

Ace High, Bounty Hunter, and Co-

manche. It has been nice for them

to cross train with their brothers

from across the quad. Several troop-

ers have distinguished themselves

over the past few months. SGT

Maldanado was the distinguished

honor graduate at the Warrior

Leader's Course while SGT Davis

and Specialist Lindsey were on the

Commandant's list. The following

individuals graduated from the Ba-

sic Noncommissioned Officer's

Course: SSG Gallardo, SSG Casto,

SSG Johnson, and SSG Bobe.

Along with our Distinguished

Honor Graduate and Commandant's

List Troopers, SGT Cockfield and

SGT Saldano were also graduates of

the Warrior Leader's Course. A spe-

cial congratulation goes out to SPC

Oscar and TeElle McConkie as they

celebrated the birth of the newest

Diamondback Trooper, Oscar Jr.,

who was born on the 8th of

September at Tripler. We look for-

ward to the challenging and exciting

training in the next couple of

months and we are especially ex-

cited about celebrating the upcom-

ing holiday season.

-CPT Tullius

the MI CO Master Driver quali-fied 25 Soldiers on the

HMMWV and LMTV.

The month of September should be very exciting. The entire MI CO will be at the Battle Com-mand Training Center (BCTC) for two weeks as we focus on performing our Military Intelli-gence duties as All Source Ana-lysts, Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Collectors, Com-mon Ground Station (CGS) Operators/Analysts, or Intelli-gence Systems Maintainers. The two week exercise is de-signed to test the All Source

The month of August has been pretty busy for the soldiers of the 185th Military Intelligence Company (MI CO). The Company started things off with two weeks of Weap-ons Ranges. The MI CO planned and ran a M9 Pistol range for the entire Squadron where the HUMINT Platoon qualified 98% of its fires. The MI CO also fired its M4 Rifles (qualified 62 Soldiers), the .50 Caliber Machine Gun (100% of the gun teams qualified Expert), and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (100% of the fires qualified Expert). The month ended with a focus on Driver’s Training where

Analysts and their abilities to Perform Analysis on enemy activities, the HUMINT Collectors and their ability to conduct Source meets and Detainee Interrogations, the CGS Analysts on their ability to detect and identify possible en-emy activity or movement, and the Systems Maintainers ability to keep all of our Intelligence

Assets up and running.

I would like to recognize the following soldiers: -SGT Michelle Hughes: WLC Commandants List - SPC(P) Michael Nincehelser: WLC Com- mandants List And bid Farewell to SFC Dustin Woeck. -CPT Awad

cussion about the upcoming

Troop events and activities.

We all look forward to the

Troop Hail and Farewell on

SEP 30th at 1800, when we

can get together again as a

Troop family, to welcome new

Soldiers to the unit and say

goodbye to those who have

worked so diligently.

-CPT Shain

First, I would like to express

how proud I am to be the com-

mander of Headhunter Troop

and to have the privilege to

lead such a diverse group of

Soldiers with many unique job

skills and personalities. The

BYOB (Bring Your Own Ba-

nana) FRG Meeting was a great

time, as the families in HHT

gathered at the Porter Commu-

nity Center for Ice Cream Sun-

daes, Banana Splits, and dis-

D I A M O N D B A C K S

M I C O C O M M E N T S

H E A D H U N T E R S C O M M E N T S

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

There has been quite a bit of change

in our Ohana since the last Squad-

ron newsletter. It has been bitter

sweet to see good friends and fami-

lies move on to new duty stations,

but it has also been exciting to wel-

come new families in. The Signals

Intelligence platoon has been the

first to go through reset training,

spending many long hours perfect-

ing their skills in the "tunnel". The

Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems

platoon just started

their reset training. It had been far

too long for some to not hear the all

too distinct purr of the shadow's

engine. Some of the operators

couldn't wait to fly again. The

Chemical, Biological, Radiological,

and Nuclear Reconnaissance pla-

toon has been conducting training

185th MI CO at USARPAC MI Ball

CO

MM

EN

TS

LT

Patel ru

nn

ing aro

und

MO

UT

site for W

arrior C

hallen

ge.

September is a busy month, there are all kinds of events going on. I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the spe-cial chaplain activities that you and or your family might want to participate

in.

First off, we have our squadron singe soldier re-treat Thursday through Sat-urday, 10-12 September at the Hilton Prince Kuhio Hotel down in Waikiki. As of 2 SEP 09 we still have room for five more soldiers to attend. Soldiers will need to show up at the hotel by 1000 on Thursday and the retreat will end with check-

out at 1100 on Saturday.

Secondly, we have our squadron marriage retreat Thursday through Saturday, 17-19 September, also at the Hilton Prince Kuhio

Hotel. We have 37 couples signed up for this retreat and unfortunately no addi-tional spots are available. The retreat times are the same as the single soldier retreat 1000 Thursday through 1100 Saturday. We will be providing childcare for children ages 5 and younger but parents of chil-dren 6 and older will need to make their own childcare

arrangements.

Across the brigade other battalions will also be con-ducting single soldier and marriage retreats in Sep-tember. I know we will be offered some open slots for the brigade’s single soldier retreat 14-16 SEP so, if you’d be interested in at-tending that retreat just contact CH Estes. We may also be offered some last minute slots for marriage

retreats on 11-13 SEP, 18-20 SEP, or 25-27 SEP but we won’t know until the week of each retreat based on availability. If you and your spouse would like to get on a stand-by list for one of these marriage re-treats offered by one of our sister battalions please

contact CH Estes.

Finally, the installation chaplains will be leading a 9/11 Remembrance Service Friday, 11 September 2009 at the Main Post Chapel

from 1130-1200.

I hope you will take advan-

tage of one or more of these

opportunities to enrich your

life and relationships! You

can contact CH Estes at 655

-9541 or

ray.estes@hawaii.army.mil.

and sign up!. Soldiers may register and invite anyone they wish to con-

nect with the unit (Mom, Dad, ect.)

The vFRG is where you can find information about resources, FRG’s, Squadron and local happenings. If you would like to share a special announcement, photo, birth, promo-tion, ECT please email me with your

name and troop.

My office is located on the 2nd floor, room 215 of the Squadron headquar-ters in building 155. Feel free to stop

by or contact me at any time.

Thank you for your support!

Elva Pantoja-Castro

~There’s strong, Army strong and

FRG strong!~

Aloha Soldiers & Strykehorse Families!

For those of you that do not know me, I am the Family Readiness Support Assis-tant (FRSA) for the squadron. I am part of the staff here at 2-14 CAV and I work with the Command team, Soldiers, FRG leaders and Families of this great unit. I am here to provide you with information and resources. If you are not receiving information from your FRG leader or not sure who your FRG leader is, please contact me at

elva.pantojacastro@us.army.mil.

If you haven’t visited our squadron vir-tual Family Readiness Group (vFRG) website, please go to www.armyfrg.org

Family members make banana splits at

HHT’s “Bring your own Banana” FRG

meeting.

C H A P L A I N R A Y E S T E S

P a g e 4

F R S A

Families participate in team

building activities during first

Leaders Retreat.

T h e S t r y k e h o r s e S p u r

leaders will have the first hand experi-

ence to assist them on encouraging their

soldiers to attend the various single

soldier and marriage retreats that will

occur periodically throughout the year.

cycle accidents and about 29

other non-fatal accidents oc-

curred involving soldiers. 5

HPD officers participated to

share their knowledge with the

riders and to escort our group

through North Shore to K-bay.

It ended up being a beautiful day

to go for a ride. Motorcyclists

can look forward to the next

Ride Safe Day in the coming

months,

In support of motorcycle safety,

(29) 2-14 CAV soldiers con-

ducted a group ride along North

Shore to K-Bay. Before going

for the ride, Bill Maxwell from

the post safety office, talked

with the soldiers about risks on

Oahu. He emphasized on the

importance of the rider them-

selves to be aware and cautious

as they ride. In the last two

years, 7 soldiers died in motor-

of the run, but as the run pro-

gressed, it ended up being a nice

day. Many booths were set up

on Sills field for soldiers and

spouses to obtain information on

facilities and options for help.

September 01, 2009

2-14 CAV participated in the

“RUN FOR LIFE” event held

on Schofield Barracks. The

event was conducted in support

of suicide awareness. Spouse

and children were invited to go

on the 2 mile run from Sills

field to the BCTC. Many

spouses from 2-14 showed up to

run as well as some of the sol-

diers’ kids who were old enough

to make the run. It rained for a

little bit during the initial part

L E A D E R ’ S R E T R E A T

R I D E S A F E D A Y

S e p t e m b e r 0 9 , 2 0 0 9

R U N F O R

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

Our quadroon held our first Leaders

Retreat, hosted by Chaplain CPT Estes.

The Squadron Leadership and families

had an opportunity to participate in vari-

ous team building activities. All partici-

pants stayed at the Prince Kuhio Hotel

in downtown Waikiki. This was con-

ducted for the leadership to understand

how useful and beneficial these retreats

are to their soldiers. By participating,

Everyone who attended the Leader’s Re-

treat stop to get a group photo.

ABOVE: Soldiers line up and get ready to ride. LEFT: HPD offi-cers take a rest after leading the ride

around North Oahu.

LI

FE

It’s time to get your “flu shot”

Flu is a serious contagious disease. Each year in the United States, on average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and 36,000 people die from seasonal flu complications. As the flu season fast approaches, the single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vacci-nated each year; but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. Here are few tips that may help reduce your chances of catching the flu: 1. Avoid close contact - Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick,

keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too. 2. Stay home when you are sick - If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness. 3. Cover your mouth and nose - Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. 4. Clean your hands - Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. 5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth - Germs are often spread when a person t ouches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. 6. Practice other good health habits - Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

Halloween Safety:

Costume Designs: Purchase or make costumes that are light and bright enough to be clearly

visible to motorists.

Flame Resistant Costumes: When purchasing a costume, masks, beards, and wigs, look for

the label Flame Resistant. Although this label does not mean these items won't catch fire, it

does indicate the items will resist burning and should extinguish quickly once removed from

the ignition source. To minimize the risk of contact with candles or other sources of ignition,

avoid costumes made with flimsy materials and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing

skirts.

Pedestrian Safety: Young children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older, responsible child. All children should WALK, not run from house to house and use the side-walk if available, rather than walk in the street. Children should be cautioned against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where ornaments, furniture, or clotheslines present dangers. Choosing Safe Houses: Children should go only to homes where the residents are known and have outside lights on as a sign of welcome. Treats: Warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering.

-LT Williams (MEDO)

S A F E T Y

M I N U T E

Influenza virus particle

CONNECT THE DOTS AND COLOR

O S E S R O H T T

E S L A E S S S A

E T I D K P R L E

T V E D Y U E M L

E C R L R R R R S

M S T E T S O N R

L A C I S Y H P R

E R E T E B R A P

H L O T B O O T S

HORSE SPURS SADDLE

STRYKER HELMET BOOTS

STETSON OBSERVE ALERT

PHYSICAL

FIND THE 6 DIFFERENCES IN THESE

STRYKERS.

1. What are prehistoric monsters called when they sleep?

2. What's big and grey and red?

3. Why did the elephant cross the road?

JOKE CENTER

Bending Water

Materials you will need:

• A Plastic Comb • Woolen Jumper • Running Tap (Water)

Steps:

1. Rub the plastic comb against your jumper or comb through your hair around ten times. 2. Turn the tap on so that it has a slow, steady stream of water. 3. Place the comb close to the water (don't let the comb touch the wa-

ter).

The water bends toward the comb. This is because the comb has been charged and pulls on the water; which is uncharged.

TRY THIS AT HOME!

Read and solve the Riddle or Brain Teaser. Send your answer on an index card with your name and age on it and a photo to Squadron S-7. Have the correct answer, and

get your name and photo printed in the next newsletter.

What letter is next in this sequence?

M, A, M, J, J, A, S, O,__

There seems to be something odd about this Elephant! Can you count

the legs on this largest land mammal?

1.DIFFERENT WEAPON.2.FRONT WIRE CUTTER.3.REAR GAS CAN.4.FRONT

BUMPER NUMBER.5.ANTENNA ON BACK.6.HOLES ON RACK

1. A Dinosnore. 2. A sun burnt Elephant. 3. Because the Chicken was Having the Day Off

Kaju Burfi

A burfi is a South Asian sweet or candy served at festive occasions and holidays. Several varieties of burfi can be prepared from sweetened,

condensed milk and nuts.

Kaju (cashew nut) Burfi, is

easy to prepare and is

traditionally served at Diwali.

Make this special treat with

the help of an adult.

CULTURAL COOKING

YOU WILL NEED

Raw cashew nuts to make 3 cups (1.5 pints)

1/2 cup (1/4 pint) water

2 cups (3 pints) sugar

Optional: Silver leaf (available in Indian grocery stores and gourmet

stores), candy thermometer, and coffee or nut grinder

HERE'S HOW 1. Grind the cashews to make 3 cups (1.5 pints) of powdered cashews nuts. 2. Mix sugar and water in a saucepan over medium-to-high heat to pre-pare sugar syrup. 3. Heat the syrup until it reaches the "thread" stage. When the syrup is dripped from a spoon it will have the thickness of about two threads. The syrup should reach 223-234ºF (106-112ºC) on the thermometer. 4. Remove from heat and dissolve the cashew powder in the syrup to make a thick mixture. 5. Spread the mixture on a plate and place silver leaf on top. 6. Allow the burfi to sit for 1-2 hours and then cut it into pieces and serve!

White represents peace, unity and truth.

Green stands for faith and fertility.

The blue symbolizes the sky and the ocean

Saffron stands for courage and sacrifice

Indian food is often eaten with the hands, however, this cus-tom is guided by some basic rules. For instance, it is consid-ered impolite to allow the food to pass the first joint of the fingers. The fingers should never touch the mouth directly. In addition, only the right hand may be used in eating. Since most Indian meals include a kind of flatbread, that is traditionally used to scoop or roll vegetables or rice. A spoon is provided for soup, but the bread may even be used to eat that! Meat, if served, may be eaten with a knife and fork, but it will more often be served pre-cut, so it may be easily man-aged by the fingers. Indians usually eat their largest meal at midday, preferring to end with a light evening meal. People either bring their mid-day meal to work or use a lunch packing service called "Tiffin" that delivers traditional hot meals to their workplace. If possible, many Indians like to come home for the midday

meal.

EATING STYLES

The Red Panda, also called the Firefox or Lesser

Panda (Latin name: Ailurus fulgens, "shining

cat"), is a mostly herbivorous (plant eating) mam-

mal, special-

ized as a bam-

boo feeder. It

is slightly lar-

ger than a do-

mestic cat.

The Red

Panda is

found only in

the Himala-

yas, ranging

from Nepal in

the west to

China in the

east. It is also

found in

northern In-

dia, Bhutan and northern Myanmar. There is an

estimated population of fewer than 2,500 mature

individuals. Their population continues to decline