April edition of The Rail Gunner Monthly

Inside this

issue

Message from

RG6/RG9

2

41st Fires Brigade

Change of Responsibility

3

Welterweight Champion 4

Philip A. Connelly Award

Program

6

Promotions and Re-up 14

The Rail Gunner

Monthly Staff

Commander

COL William E. McRae

Command Sgt. Maj.

CSM Antonio Dunston

Rail Gunner PAO

NCOIC

SSG Kyle J. Richardson

41st Fires Brigade

“Rail Gunners!!”

Story and photos by

Staff Sgt. Kyle J. Richardson

41st Fires Brigade, PAO

VOLUME 3 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY ISSUE 3

See CHANGE on Page 3

change of responsibility ceremony on a bright Texas day. Hughes, a Haynesville, La. na-tive, crossed the threshold of the 41st Fires BDE footprint in June 2003 as the Command Sgt. Maj. for the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment. He served several years as First Strike’s battalion command sergeant major before being se-lected as the brigade command ser-

FORT HOOD, Texas—After 10 years with the 41st Fires Brigade, Command Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes passed the guidon to Command Sgt. Maj. Antonio Dunston at Cooper Field on March 27. The legendary figure said good-bye to the Rail Gunners one last time during the

Command Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes fires his last round during the 41st Fires BDE change of responsibility ceremony held at

Cooper Field, March 27. Hughes was big on education for Soldiers and he was the first unit on Fort Hood to implement an

internal program to help Soldiers to raise their GT scores.

Rail Gunner 6 & 9 Send sion. CSM Dunston brings a wealth of experience to our soldiers and we look forward to his leader-ship in our pursuit of excellence.

In the weeks to come, our Soldiers will find themselves ac-tively engaged in unit level training events as well as supporting garri-son activities. Events like Spring Cleanup from 10-13 April, Fleet Synthetic Training – Joint from 9-19 April, and the Corps Warfighter Simulation Exercise that spans from now through mid-June will en-gage our leaders and Soldiers in unique and essential training op-portunities. There are also Soldier-focused team based events here at Fort Hood, like the Ride to Recov-ery on 19 April, which will honor and support our wounded veterans, and Earth Fest, on 27 April, that will help educate Soldiers and families alike in conservation and good stewardship of our bountiful natural resources available at the Great Place.

As the summer quickly ap-proaches, it is essential to focus on safety – from travel to recreation to training – especially with the Texas heat. Soldiers and families should remain vigilant when participating in well-deserved recreation activi-ties both on water and land. I would also like to emphasize safety as related to vehicles, whether they are motorcycles, personally owned vehicles, or boats. It is necessary to remain alert and situationally aware as we enjoy the wonderful weather. We need each and every one of our Soldiers to achieve vic-tory! Together, we can continue to do our part in making the Great

Colonel

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY APRIL 2012

William E. McRae

41st Fires Brigade

Command Sergeant Major

Dear Rail Gunner Family,

On behalf of Railgunner Officers, NCOs and Soldiers, I’d like to welcome CSM Antonio Dunston to the Railgunner family! As most of you know, we executed the Change of Responsibility on 27 March, and bade farewell to CSM Hughes. Thank you, CSM Hughes for your 32 years of dedi-cated service to our Soldiers and our Nation. We wish you all the best in the future, and hope to see you running on Battalion Avenue! The 27

th was a perfect Fort Hood

Day, and with the command teams from 1

st Cavalry Division and 3

rd

Corps in attendance, and the Rail-gunner Brigade looked proud and amazing on Cooper Field. CSM Dunston arrives from Fort Bliss, where he was the Command Ser-geant Major for 2

nd Heavy Brigade

Combat Team, 1st Armored Divi-

The “Rail Gunner Monthly” is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army. Contents of the

“Rail Gunner Monthly” are not necessarily official views of or endorsed by the U.S. Government, Depart-

ment of Defense, Department of the Army or the 41st Fires Brigade. All editorial content of this publication

is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 41st Fires Brigade Public Affairs Office. If you have any

questions, comments, concerns or suggestions contact the 41st Fires Brigade PAO office at 254-287-0739 or

email [email protected]. Check out the unit’s Website at http://www.hood.army.mil/41stFires

or on Facebook for additional information.

Antonio Dunston

41st Fires Brigade CSM

Place the safest place. Again, thanks for all that

you do to support our goal of mak-ing the 41

st Fires Brigade the best

unit it can possibly be! Remember “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast!” I expect all Railgunners to be relentless in their pursuit of ex-cellence. Your efforts are critical, and will determine if we are to be a part of the type of elite unit that others aspire to emulate.

Rail Gunner Strong!

CHANGE cont. from Page 1

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY PAGE 3

provement program. “At this day and age, there is no reason for a Soldier not to have an edu-cation,” said Hughes. “Every Sol-dier is not going to stay in the Army 20 or 30 years, so he or she should

be prepared for the civilian world. And having a strong edu-cational background is one step toward being successful outside the Army.” Hughes witnessed many changes within the Army but he was able to adapt with the times and develop into a non-commissioned officer re-spected and admired by many. “It was clearly an honor to be able to serve with Com-mand Sgt. Maj. Hughes,” said Col. William McRae, Cleveland native, commander for the 41st Fires BDE “His vast experi-ence with Soldiers and Soldier-ing is something that we all can learn from; I’ve learned a great deal from him. It’s very encouraging to know for the last 32 years Command Sgt. Maj. Hughes has been en-trusted with the care of our Soldiers. He has done an out-standing job throughout his career.” Although Hughes is retiring after over 32 years of service, he will be missed by the Rail Gunner family. Fortunately,

geant major for the Rail Gun-ners. During Hughes’ tenure in the 41st Fires BDE he participated in many operations spanning both garrison and deployment environments. Hughes said that he doesn’t take much credit for the success of the brigade be-cause it was leaders and Sol-diers who successfully accom-plished each mission. He feels that his greatest achievement was deploying to Iraq for 15 months and returning with all of his Soldiers. “The brigade’s accomplish-ments weren’t about me,” said Hughes. “I was there to hold the leaders accountable. The lead-ers that I appointed to various task executed [the mission] flaw-lessly and above the standard. It’s been a pleasure serving alongside the Soldiers and lead-ers within the 41st Fires”. In addition to exceeding the standard, Hughes believed in Soldiers furthering their educa-tion. He implemented a plan to make the 41st Fires the first bri-gade to have an internal GT im-

left the brigade in a more than capable pair of hands. “There are two constants in any organization; those are the colors and the Soldiers that stand behind the colors,” said McRae. “Command Sgt. Maj. Dunston brings in a career’s worth of experience to the bri-gade and we will continue to strive to exceed the standards. I look forward to serving with him and any new ideas he brings to this organization.” As Dunston gets settled in, he says he is ready to except the challenge of leading the Rail Gunners. “ I was overjoyed when I was selected as

Command Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes receives the final round from

the cannon he fired from Staff Sgt. James Reddick, the salute

battery noncommissioned officer in charge, 2nd Battalion, 20th

Field Artillery, 41st Fires BDE, during the Rail Gunners change

of responsibility ceremony. Hughes was the battalion command

sergeant major for the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery

Regiment, 41st Fires BDE when he first arrived to the brigade.

Command Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes salutes Col. William McRae, after they reviewed the

troops with Command Sgt. Maj. Antonio Dunston during the Rail Gunners change of

responsibility ceremony. Hughes will retire after serving 32 years in the Army.

See CHANGE on Page 4


Cole earns welterweight champion

FORT HOOD, Texas—The fighter stands—waiting for his cue; his heart beats with anticipation. Fog from smoke machines bellow across the platform. Multi-color lights flicker on and off. The cheers that resonate throughout Abrams Gyms increase with force as Spc. Richard Cole’s song, “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor, begins to play announc-ing his entrance. At this moment, Cole pushes any doubt or fear out of his mind as he makes his way to the cage. The air horn goes off commenc-ing the start of the Welterweight Championship bout at the 2012 Fort Hood Combatives Tournament, Feb. 16. Cole, assigned to the Headquar-ters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regi-ment, 41st Fires Brigade squares off with 1st Lt. Michael Williams, as-signed to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Divi-

sion. With an explosive energy, Cole jumps at the opportunity for the first strike. Williams steadies himself and remains focused. The two welterweights trade blows and transition be-tween techniques be-fore Cole rocks Williams and gains the advan-tage with an uppercut. After several minutes into the first round, Cole rains down a flurry of punches on Williams, knocking him out, and earning the title of Wel-terweight Champion. While the 41st Fires BDE supporters stood to cheer Cole on, many were not surprised by his victory. “Cole is a southpaw and a standup fighter,” said 1st Sgt. Edgar

Story and photos by



the new command sergeant major for the 41st Fires BDE,” said Dunston, a Spring Hope, N.C. native. “Not only do I get to stay in Texas, but I get a chance to be in the 1st Cavalry Division. I also get a chance to serve with one of the most elite brigades in the Army. It’s a great feeling to be able to serve in the best of the seven fires brigades in the Army; that is an honor in itself.” Dunston said that he initially entered into the Army to serve his country. However, he eventually found a new passion

“My future plans for the 41st Fires BDE is to continue on with excellence,” said Dunston. “This brigade runs synonymous with the hallmark of excellence. I will continue those traditions as we move forward with our daily operations.” Every legacy has a start and an end. For Hughes, he closes a chapter in a legacy that he has helped to forge and preserve. Where Hughes has left off, Dunston will pick up the reins and begin the next chapter in Rail Gunner history.

in leading and mentoring Soldiers. “It’s necessary to be able to lead Soldiers, but I like to focus more on the total development of a Soldier,” said Dunston. “It’s a great feeling to see a young Soldier transform into a leader and take on extra responsibilities; being a part of or the reason for that transformation is what makes serving all worthwhile.” While Dunston continues to make his way around the brigade, his current plans for the Rail Gunners are simple.

CHANGE cont. from Page 3

Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr., commanding general of Fort Hood

and III Corps, shakes the hand of Spc. Richard Cole, while

Command Sgt. Maj. Arthur L. Coleman Jr., the command sergeant

major for Fort Hood and III Corps, wraps the Welterweight

Championship belt around Cole’s waist during the Fort Hood

Combatives Tournament.

See COLE on Page 5


COLE cont. from Page 4

have done it alone. He ex-pressed extreme gratitude for his peers and coaching staff. “I trained long and hard with my teammates and the guys running the Fort Hood Combat-ives Facility,” said Cole. “You can’t train with just anybody. I also train on what I’m going to use. I don’t train a 1,000 tech-niques one time, I train one technique a 1,000 times before I move on to the next move.” After securing the Welter-weight Championship, Cole will now train with the III Corps and Fort Hood Combatives Team in preparation for the All-Army Combatives Tournament in June.

Fuentes, first sergeant for the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 41st Fires BDE and head coach for the Rail Gunner Combatives team. “I knew if he could keep the match on his feet against a wrestler, he would do well. He landed some nice clean punches and took the guy down.” As the new Welterweight Champion, Cole’s first act was to walk over to Williams, help him up, and then give him a hug. “Most people forget that we’re Soldiers first in these tour-naments,” said Cole. “I’m usually cool, calm and collected when I enter the ring, I’m never mad and I’m not really trying to take my opponent’s head off. Plus my opponents are not my enemies. We’re not fighting in the UFC [Ultimate Fighting Champion-

ship], we do not get paid to do this. Yes, there’s some enter-tainment and show involved but overall, we’re like students in a class. Combat-ives is about more than just tourna-ments. It’s a tool, it’s almost a neces-sity. We’re here to learn what to do and what not to do in close-quarters combat. Cole’s skills con-tinue to increase since his introduc-tion to combatives training two years ago. “Cole is a great guy,” said Sgt. Brad

Cannon, senior combatives instructor for the Fort Hood Combatives Training Facility and chief of referees for the tournament. When Cole first came to us, he was a very unorthodox fighter. He fought like he watched one too many Kung Fu mov-ies. He was easy to work with, which made it that much easier to teach him the fundamentals. Cole has grown tre-mendously since he’s been working with us.” Cole said that he was grateful for his win but he could not

Spc. Richard Cole slaps his opponent during the Fort Hood Combatives

Tournament. For winning the Welterweight Championship, Cole will compete

in the All-Army Combatives Tournament with the III Corps and Fort Hood

Combatives Team in June.

Spc. Richard Cole punches 1st Lt. Michael Williams in the ribs during the

Fort Hood Combatives Tournament.


Field tested, Rail Gunner approved

See AWARD on Page 7

competition that provides recogni-tion, promotes pro-fessionalism, and excellence through-out the Army food service corps The program is sepa-rated into field and garrison categories. This year, four bri-gades will compete in the field category with hopes of repre-senting Fort Hood at the FORSCOM level evaluations. “Today III Corps is evaluating us for the Philip A. Con-nelly Award to see if we have what it takes to advance to the FORSCOM level to represent the 41st Fires BDE and Fort Hood,” said Sgt. 1st Class Angelo Stewart, Newark,

N.J., native, a senior food ser-vice operations sergeant, 575th Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires BDE “Even though we’re here for a competi-tion, it’s good to be able to pro-vide the Soldiers with a hot meal so they don’t have to eat MREs all day.” The Rail Gunner food service team is comprised of Soldiers with various skill-levels. Stewart said that he wanted Soldiers on the team that loved what they did on a regular basis but also wanted to train and learn. “Our team is an all volunteer team,” said Stewart. “We chose Soldiers who wanted to partici-

FORT HOOD, Texas—After many long hours and several days of showerless nights in the field, the Soldiers from the 589th Brigade Support Battalion began feeling the effects of the on-going tactical operations. The Iron Caisson Soldiers received a small reprieve from their 24-hour operations as food service specialist set-up a mo-bile kitchen trailer and prepared to serve hot meals to 125 Sol-diers. A combined team of 10 food service specialist from various units throughout the 41st Fires Brigade prepared breakfast and lunch for the Iron Caisson Sol-diers in the field during a Corps-level evaluation of the Philip A. Connelly Awards Program, March 28. The Philip A. Connelly Awards Program is an annual

Story and photos by



Pfc. Felix Escarraman, Bronx native, a food service specialist, 67th Forward

Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery, 41st Fires Brigade,

mixes up a batch of Rail Dawg punch during the Philip A. Connelly Awards

Program Corps-level evaluation, March 28. The Rail Gunners’ food service team

will compete against three other brigades on Fort Hood for the Corps-level

evaluations.

Soldiers with the 589th Brigade Support Battalion walk through the Rail Gunner mobile kitchen trailer to

receive a hot breakfast during the Philip A. Connelly Award Program evaluation. The Iron Caisson Soldiers

would also receive a hot lunch later on in the day.


AWARD cont. from Page 6

service support super-visor, 67th Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires BDE “Even though the food ser-vice specialty is often overlooked, I don’t ask for any thanks in what I do.” Although the results of the first evaluations will be announced at the end of the month, Soldiers are confident in their ability to pro-vide forward food ser-vice. It’s about more than an award for Staff Sergeant Sippy: “I get a sense of gratitude when a tired Soldier comes through my line and smiles when he receives a hot meal.”

pate and help bring a little rec-ognition to the food service members throughout the bri-gade. It makes me feel good to see the Soldiers excited and motivated to participate in the Philip A. Connelly competition.” One of the unique factors to the competition is that menu does not affect the outcome of the competition. “The meal doesn’t have any effect on the outcome of the score,” said Chief Warrant Offi-cer 3 Jason Hicks, Chicago na-tive, a food advisor for III Corps. “The teams can choose any meal in accordance with the Army menus. The meal itself is-n’t a deciding factor, it’s more about how well the team exe-cutes during the competition.” During the competition, Hicks will watch the food service per-sonnel execute in their field functions accordance to regula-tions. Hicks said, he’s not there to make on the spot corrections and that a unit’s determination will help them pull ahead of the other teams competing. “This is a friendly competition at the end of the day, but what makes units stand out is that hunger factor,” said Hicks. “It’s really about who wants it the most; what team is the hungri-est.” That hunger factor that Hicks talked about is found on both sides of the competition and it is sometimes used to help moti-vate food service Soldiers to help their fellow Soldiers. “I’m proud to serve Soldiers because food is fuel for them in the field,” said Staff Sgt. Mi-chelle Sippy, Detroit native, food

Spc. Jorge Muñoz, a food service specialist, 67th Forward Support

Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires

Brigade, prepares some hash browns during the Philip A. Connelly

Awards Program Corps-level evaluation, March 28. The Rail Gunners’

food service team was comprised of 10 volunteer Soldiers from units

throughout the 41st Fires BDE

Soldiers with the 589th Brigade Support Battalion, 41st Fires Brigade, line up at the Rail Dawg Field Café

during the Philip A. Connelly Awards Program Corps-level evaluation, March 28. The Rail Gunners’ food

service team served 125 Soldiers in the field.

First Sergeant leads his team to victory Story and photos by



FORT HOOD, Texas—Once a dream and now a reality, 1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes stands in the center ring with his team, arms raised, holding an object that signifies hard work and dedication—he holds up a tro-phy as the team circles around him, celebrating in the 41st Fires Brigade first place finish at the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament, Feb. 16. Fuentes, first sergeant for the Headquarters and Head-quarters Battery, 41st Fires BDE, has been with the Rail Gunners for seven years. He has been a significant factor in developing the brigade’s com-


“It was good having the ex-perience on the team this year,” said Fuentes. “The more ex-perienced fighters were able to help show the newer fighters what to expect.” The team put in countless hours training with coaches in a multitude of styles and tech-niques to help give the fighters an advantage over some of the other contenders. Fuentes, who is an avid boxer, coached the team on their stand-up tech-niques. He made sure his team was well rounded and that his fighters knew what it took to make it through three-physical rounds of combatives. “The 41st Fires Brigade Combatives Team is comprised of a lot of Soldiers with heart because it takes heart and courage to do what they did,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes, command sergeant 1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes, instructs Pfc. Gregory Langarcia

during his championship bout for the Bantamweight

Division. Fuentes initiated the combatives program

throughout the 41st Fires Brigade.

batives program. Fuentes has worked hard to help develop many Soldiers and officers into well trained fighters. Last year the Rail Gunners’ combatives team had an overall second place finish in the tournament. Fuentes was grateful for the help he had to make sure the combatives pro-gram was a success. “Since 2005, my dream was to take first place in the Fort Hood Combatives Tour-nament,” said Fuentes. “I’m blessed because of the commanders and sergeant majors [that] gave me the support that I needed to get the program started and to continue running it.” Many fighters from last year’s team returned to fight on the team and to help with some of the less experi-

enced recruits. See FUENTES on Page 7

1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes, stand-up coach for the 41st Fires Brigade Combatives Team, 41st Fires BDE, gives 1st Lt. Daniel Sloan

some final words of advice before entering his match for third and fourth places in the Welterweight Division. The 41st Fires BDE

Combatives team took second place in last year’s tournament and first place this year.

brigade, he always made time for the combatives team. He instilled discipline, strong will, and that desire to be great

in the fighters that fought under him. “We trained day in and day out, from early in the morning to late at night,” said Pfc. Andrew Csog, with HHB, 41st Fires BDE “Sometimes we continued to train after our train-


FUENTES cont. from Page 6

major for the 41st Fires BDE “This wasn’t an overnight vic-tory.” As Fuentes rotated through several positions throughout the

ing sessions were over. 1st Sgt. helped to develop us over time; physically and mentally. To me, 1st Sgt. went that extra mile. Not only did he help to develop our skills, he helped us come up with our own game plans.” Winning the Fort Hood Com-batives Tournament is almost like a fairy tale ending for Fuentes. He leaves behind a strong and competitive, and win-ning force as he departs the 41st Fires BDE in July for the Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas.

1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes, stand-up coach for the 41st Fires Brigade Combatives Team, 41st Fires

BDE, stands instructs 1st Lt. Daniel Sloan during the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament. Sloan

took fourth-place in the Welterweight Division.

1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes, stand-up coach for the 41st Fires Brigade Combatives Team, 41st Fires

BDE, stands in the center of the ring surrounded by the 41st Fires BDE Combatives team,

holding up the first place trophy during the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament. The 41st Fires

BDE entered the tournament with seven finalist.

The 41st Fires Brigade Combatives Team gather around for a pep talk before the

finals in the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament. The Rail Gunners’ team took

first place with a total score of 485 points.

Deep Strike Soldiers celebrate reading Story and photos by



FORT HOOD, Texas—One student, then another, waves their flags as they eagerly await a Soldier to read to them. “Read, read, read!”, the chil-dren plead, and show the story-book page to their attending Soldier. As the creativeness of Dr. Seuss travels across Cen-tral Texas and throughout the nation, the Soldiers and Lead-ers with the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery, 41st Fires Bri-gade departed the gates of the Great Place known as Fort Hood, crossed through


Seussville themes. Approximately 30 Deep Strike Soldiers jumped into Dr. Seuss filled worlds and read some of their favorite stories to the chil-dren. “I read the Fox in Socks and the Lorax,” said Capt. Peter Crosthwaite, Marysville, Ohio native, commander of Battery C, 2nd Bn., 20th FA Regt., 41st Fires BDE “I enjoyed reading to the children at Meadows Ele-mentary School. Fox in Socks used to be my favorite Dr. Seuss story when I was a kid. I forgot how much of a tongue twister it was though.” Through the twist and turns of the some of the fun-to-read words in the Dr. Seuss books flowed through the Soldiers to get the children hooked. During the event, the teachers and staff made sure to focus on the importance of reading, but they also remembered that the day

Capt. Peter Crosthwaite, Marysville, Ohio native,

commander for Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field

Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade, reads to a

classroom during the National Education Association’s,

Read Across America Day in honor of the late Dr. Seuss,

held at Meadows Elementary School on Fort Hood, Texas,

Whoville, took a quick break in Theedville, and eventually resurfaced in the classrooms of the Meadows Elementary School to participate in the National Education Association’s program, Read Across America Day. Soldiers helped spread the importance of reading to the students, March, 2nd, 2012. The Read Across Amer-ica Day program falls on the birthday of the chil-dren’s author, Dr. Seuss, because of his literary contributions to young readers. The program has been running since March 1998. The Dr. Seuss books inspired the children and faculty mem-bers to dress up as

Seuss-like characters and decorate the school’s halls with

See READING on Page 11

Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade reads to some of the

students attending the Meadows Elementary School during the National Education Association’s, Read Across

America Day in honor of the late Dr. Seuss, March 2. The children were able to pick Soldiers to sit with and

have the Soldiers read to them or read to the Soldiers.

their own, they felt honored to celebrate with the school. “It’s a privi-lege to come out and read to pos-sibly some of our future leaders,” said Col. William McRae, com-mander of the 41st Fires BDE “I believe that our children need to see us read, so they will build their own desire to read, and then they can grow up open and willing to learn.” McRae read several books throughout the day, but he said his favorite story was “One


READING cont. from Page 10

was a birthday celebration. “This day [Read Across America Day] was set aside for reading and celebrating a great author’s birthday,” said Sibyl Sheppard, a kindergar-ten teacher at Meadows Ele-mentary School. “I’m happy that a lot of our volunteers came over to celebrate with us and to help get the chil-dren excited about reading. It’s very important for the children to know that you can learn through reading.” Even though a lot of the Sol-diers who volunteered did not have any children of

Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” “It’s a very special feeling

when you’re in that chair reading

to the students,” said McRae.

“When you’re up there reading,

for a brief moment everyone can

see you for who you are; a per-

son, a citizen within a commu-

nity, and it feels like we’re all

part of one big family.”

Although Read Across

America Day and Dr. Seuss’

birthday is once a year, the

Deep Strike Soldiers pledged to

continue to volunteer at Mead-

ows Elementary School when-

ever school is in session: “With

a fox or packed away in a box,

up TJ Mills Blvd. and down a

few blocks.”

Col. William McRae, Cleveland native, commander of the 41st Fires Brigade samples a plate

of green eggs and ham during the National Education Association’s, Read Across America Day

in honor of the late Dr. Seuss, held at Meadows Elementary School on Fort Hood, Texas,

March 2. Although McRae preferred not to eat his green eggs and ham with a fox or out of a

box, he did try some and enjoyed the Seuss delicacy.

Cpl. Joshua Stang reads a Dr. Seuss book to a first-grade class at Meadow Elementary School for Read Across America Day.

Rail Gunners win first place in tournament Story and photos by



FORT HOOD, Texas—The offi-cials lowered the house lights and members of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club presented the colors to kick off the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament, Feb. 16. More than 350 contestants entered into the tournament with high expectations of com-ing out as victors in one of the various weight divisions and one unit claiming the overall number spot in the tournament. For some, the dreams of win-ning will be postponed until the next tournament. But for the fighters of the 41st Fires Bri-gade, many dreams came true in the ring that night. The Rail Gunners initially entered the tournament with 24 fighters. Seven fighters pre-vailed and advanced to the final


“We put in a lot of hard work and it paid off today,” said Pfc. Gregory Langracia Company A, 589th Brigade Support Battal-ion, 41st Fires BDE “I’m grate-ful for having this opportunity and be a part of a great team. We couldn’t have done this alone, our victory was com-pletely a team effort. Plus we had some amazing coaches.” Langracia was the Flyweight champion during the tourna-ment. The Rail Gunners Combat-ives team had a simple strat-egy: master the basic tech-niques and let their opponents defeat themselves. “Eighty percent of the com-petitors operate using basic skills,” said 1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes, the stand-up coach for the 41st Fires Combatives team. “Once we took out that first 80 percent, we could con-

round. After countless hours of training, aches, bruises, blood, and sweat, the 41st Fires BDE secured the first place victory in the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament.

See CHAMPS on Page 13

Spc. Richard Cole raises his hand after defeating 1st Lt. Michael for the Welterweight Division champion

during the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament. Cole knocked Williams out in the first round to claim the title.

Spc. Jimmy Chavez unloads a flurry of punches on his opponent during the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament.

Chavez took second place in last years tournament and third place this year.

knew they could possibly face broken limbs, bruises, scrapes and scratches. To be able to have the heart and the courage to train up to this point and end


CHAMPS cont. from Page 12

centrate on the other 20 percent that operate at higher levels in the finals. We went out there and stayed calm and relied on our training. After that, every-thing fell into place.” While the Rail Gunner fight-ers enter the finals down in points, the team transitioned be-tween arm bars, collar chokes, and good old-fashion flurries of punches. The Rail Gunners team created a lead and finished the tournament off with 485 points. “The 41st Fires BDE Com-batives Team is comprised of a lot of Soldiers with heart be-cause it takes heart and courage to do what they did,” said Com-mand Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes, command sergeant major for the 41st Fires BDE “They have been training for this for a period of time knowing what they were going to face. These Soldiers

up with the number one posi-tion up to this point is a great success story for this bri-gade.” Individual winners for the 41st Fires Bde include: three fourth-place finishes: Fly-weight Division-Pfc. Jorge Horta; Lightweight Division-Pfc. Micha Barro; Welter-weight Division-1st Lt. Daniel Sloan—two third-place fin-ishes: Cruiserweight Division-Spc. Jimmy Chavez and Bantamweight Division-Sgt. Simon Pequeno—two first-place finishes: Bantamweight Champion-Pfc. Gregory Lan-garica and Welterweight Champion-Spc. Richard Cole. The Rail Gunners wowed

the crowd with finesse and tech-nique and at the end of the night, the team held up a trophy in the center of the ring signify-ing their first place finish.

1st Sgt. Edgar Fuentes, stand-up coach for the 41st Fires Brigade Combatives Team, 41st Fires BDE, stands in the center of the ring with

Command Sgt. Maj. Kelvin Hughes, Col. William McRae, commander for the 41st Fires BDE, and the rest of the combatives team, holding

up the first place trophy during the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament. The 41st Fires BDE team won the tournament with 485 points.

Pfc. Gregory Langarcia, mounts his opponent during the Fort Hood Combatives Tournament, and begins to

unload punches on her. Langarcia defeated his opponent in the second round to become the Bantamweight

Champion.



VOLUME 3 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY ISSUE 3

SPC Higginbotham, Michael

SPC Tatum, Rickey Allen Jr

SPC Hooten, Curtis Wade

SPC Moore, Bryant Deyong

SPC Mcdaniel, Allan Leroy III

SPC Fritz, Steven Lynn

SPC Pieper, Corey Kendall

SPC Detwiler, Andrew Lee

SPC Gomesrodriguez, Melissa

SPC Belizaire, Marc Charles

SPC Martin, Matthew Brian

SPC Ramos, Joseph Michael

SPC Castillo, Adrian

SPC Martini, Amanda Joy

SPC Newcomb, Ryan Anthony

SPC Wylie, Wesley Warren

SPC Duval, Eric Paul

SPC Spear, Jamanda Raqueal

SPC Jones, James Ethan

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To SPC

SPC Alexius, Ren

SPC Casillas, Alejandra

SPC Chavez, Moises

SPC Garcia, Alexis

SPC Gastelum, Rudy

SPC Gordon, Zachary

SPC Groves, Adrian

SPC Gruber, Dane

SPC Horta, Jorge

SPC Jewell, Arthur

SPC Kompass, David

SPC Matthews, Dennis

SPC Orr, Aaron

SPC Pendleton, Dalton

SPC RamosRojas, Guillermo

SPC Rodriguez, Antonio

SPC Sullivan, John

To SSG

SSG Briseno, Jesse

To SFC

SFC Solis, Carlos

SPC Tomlinson, Matthew

SPC Valentine, Anthony

SPC Vaughan, Russell

SPC Wallace, John

To SGT

SGT Lamyuen, Fonotaga

SGT Smith, Michael

SGT Struble, Drick

APRIL:

1-21

Mrs. Maria Hodge

2-20

Mrs. Madonna Ramirez

Volunteers for April will be recog-

nized at the Phantom Warrior Cen-

ter May 8th at 1000 .

SPC Rocha, Erika Elisa

SPC Springer, Raymond

SPC Webster, Jason Ranalda

SPC Irizarrylopez, Edniel

SPC Little, Freddie Lee Jr

SPC Fultzmeyer, Angel Kay

SGT Schlereth, James Joseph

SGT Jeffries, Timothy Curtis

SGT Lewis, Kyle Van

SGT Navatorres, Jesus

SGT Lara, William Kenneth

SGT Ard, Thomas Joe

SGT Putnam, Morgan Samuel

SGT Tyree, Octavius Nmn

SGT Lister, Kevin Latray

SGT Davies, Edward III

SGT Hill, Anthony Leon

SGT Vasquez, Mario

SGT Williams, Zahra

SGT Mccarthy, Samantha Jo

SGT Watts, Richard Oliver

SGT Matthews, Kimberly

SGT Cardon, Raymond Chris

SGT Moliga, Laufau Jr

SGT Wilson, Antwan Joseph

SSG Edwards, Dewayne

SSG Fournier, Timothy

SSG Hunter, Noel Marie

SSG Lozanoospina, Ernest

SSG Ferrer, Ernesto L

SSG Moore, Jerry Glen

SFC Massey, Rhett Daniel

SFC Hunter, John Bryan

SFC Embrey, James Alan

Documents

April edition of The Rail Gunner Monthly