MO ADT IV Newsletter 6 MT

H ello families

and friends of

A D T I V .

Wel l , i t h as

been just over 100 days

since ADT IV took the

guidon from ADT III and

began our mission here in

Nangarhar province.

Sometimes it seems like

a whole lifetime ago since

we arrived and other times

I feel as though it was just

last week.

Just to give you some

idea of what we've been

doing for these 100+ days,

consider the following:

w e ' v e c o n d u c t e d a

multitude of convoys to

Nangarhar's "key terrain

districts", we've attended

meetings at the governor's

p a l a c e o n s e v e r a l

occasions, we've initiated

p ro j ec t s i n nu merous

Afghan villages, we've

manned observation posts

here on the FOB, and

we 'v e a c t u a l l y f i l l e d

sandbags!?

Our Ag Team has done

a lot of paperwork - what

we call Trip Reports and

Storyboards - sometimes to

the i r d i smay, and my

deputy, LTC Charles, has

done everyth ing f rom

writing our campaign plan

to arranging Transfer of

A u t h o r i t y , 9 / 1 1

R e m e m b r a n c e , a n d

Veterans Day ceremonies.

W e ' v e r e c e i v e d

excellent marksmanship

training on both our rifle

a n d p i s t o l f r o m CP T

Huenink, we've learned all

about crew served weapons

from various members of

the SECFOR platoon, and

all of us are now able to

e f f e c t i ve l y o p e r a t e a

number of radios, thanks to

s o m e o u t s t a n d i n g

ins t ruc t ion f rom SGT

Bunch and SSG Beydler.

We've also survived

five earthquakes, a flood of

our own living area, a

couple sand storms and a

number of minor injuries

such as busted knuckles,

scraped and bruised elbows

and knees, chipped teeth

and pulled muscles. And

many of us have since

recovered from various

illnesses brought about by

food, seasonal allergies, or

bugs passing around the

FOB.

The team seems to have

settled into a comfortable

routine without becoming

complacent, and our efforts

appear to be having a

posit ive impact on the

Agricul ture Extension

A g e n t s - t h e Af g h a n

government officials who

are responsible for training

the farmers of Nangarhar.

During our next 100

days, we plan to issue a

n u m b e r o f T r a i n i n g

Support Packages to the

AEAs so they can more

effectively train farmers in

their districts.

We also intend to work

w i t h t h e D i r e c t o r o f

Agriculture, Irrigation, and

Livestock for Nangarhar

province to develop a

number of public service

announcements intended to

motivate the Afghans to

come together as a team

and take charge of their

own development.

Finally, thank you for

all of the support you have

provided us from back

home ... our mail truck

always seems to be loaded

t o t h e b r i m a n d o u r

network bandwidth stays

full as well!

Message from the Commander

I N S I D E T H I S

S E C T I O N :

Senior’s Space 2

Holiday Mail 3

Teachers,

Warriors,

Medics

4

Meet the Team 6

Pictures From

the Field

11

Back at the

Homestead

13

Contact us 14

The Muleskinner Team Mo Agri-business Development Team IV

N O V E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 0 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 6

D R I V I N G

T H E T E A M

Commander

Col. Fortune

Deputy

Commander

Lt. Col. Charles

Senior Enlisted

Advisor

Senior Master

Sgt. Blankenship

www.facebook.com/

MONG.ADTIV

P A G E 2

Who’s counting?

H ello everyone,

i t is the old

guy they call

“Senior.”

I, along with 64 other

Soldiers and Airmen left

my home in late May,

headed to a place call

Camp Clark. This would

be the first stop of our

long journey as Missouri

ADT IV, as we headed to

FOB Finley Shields ,

Afghanistan. In case you

forgot, Camp Clark was

the place where we did

PT every morning at

“O”500.

Robin Williams once

said: “What does the „O‟

stand for? … Oh my god

it‟s early!” That was 5

months ago and is seems

like yesterday.

Despite the intensive

training and the long

days, there are 61 of us

still going strong, Army

strong. Where do we get

t h i s s t r e n g t h …

Diversi ty! We have

Soldiers and Airmen that

come from all walks of

life who work together

T h e y w o r k h a r d

together everyday to

ensure that at the end of

the day they can say

“mission complete.”

They say that strength

comes in numbers. From

an ADT perspective, that

number would be 19. We

had 19 members of this

t e a m t h a t h a d a n

unacceptable PT score

when we started this

adventure. That is, just

under one-third of the

team could not perform

enough push-ups or sit-

ups, or run two miles fast

enough to meet military

standards.

Well, let me tell you

… “OMG it‟s early,”

paid off. We are hoping

that on the first Friday in

December, we will have

passed everyone on our

team.

Not only have they

worked hard to pass, 14

members of our team

have f ini shed a ha lf

marathon s ince their

arrival in Afghanistan.

That‟s 13.1 miles or

33.25 laps around the

motor pool … now that

calls for an OMG. Five

months ago they had no

i d e a w h a t a h a l f

marathon was and now

t h e y o w n a m e d a l

proving they‟ve finished

one.

We igh t a mi nu te ,

that‟s not all. Yes …

weight … and lack of it.

There are three members

of our team that have lost

over 40 pounds. Not

because they don‟t like

the food but because of a

lot of hard work and

discipline on their part.

We actually have a

biggest loser count to see

how much weight we

will lose by the end of

our tour. Next month is

the half-way point and

we will be weighing in

for the results. But you

will have to stay tuned

until next month to see

where we are.

(Continued on page 5)

T H E M U L E S K I N N E R T E A M

By Senior Master Sgt. Jerry

Blankenship

October

Board

NCO of the

month:

SGT Lackey

Soldier of

the month:

SPC Brown

I n last month’s news letter we found out how we get the mail to our Soldiers and Airmen here at

the Forward Operating Base. Now let’s take a look at what it takes for our Soldiers and Airmen to get the Christmas presents home to their families.

Some Soldiers and Airmen shop on the internet. This has its own difficulties. Do you have it delivered straight to our homes? That doesn’t work very well, so the Soldiers and Airmen find someone to send it to. Then how do we get them wrapped and deliv-ered to the correct person. Most of them have a friend or family member help us.

For example, one Soldier sent his daughter’s gift to his wife to wrap and put under the tree. He sent his wife’s gift to his daughter to do the same. Nei-ther knows about the other. Another sent the fami-ly’s gifts to his parents. Still others have someone in the states shop for them, wrap them and take them to the recipient.

Others choose to buy the gifts locally. Until re-cently, a bazaar was held here every other Friday. Venders from the local area and Kabul brought goods in to the FOB and try sell what they can. The prices are very high at the start, but if one haggles, you may get a deal. They offered a local variety of everything from jewelry, knifes , scarves for the ladies, Persian rugs, and Afghan clothing.

Here at the FOB we have three shops, including a jewelry shop with locally made products, and a cou-ple shops that have a little of everything. Mostly they sell movies, cheap watches, marble tea sets, locally carved boxes and wood curios, and electronic devices and accessories .

Still others go over to FOB Fenty and shop within the rows of shops there; they have a greater selec-tion. FOB Fenty also has a small post exchange/base

exchange operated by the Army and Air Force exchange service or AAFES.

Once the gifts are purchased we have to send them home. First the previous problem still exists, who do I send it to? They still cannot wrap them due to postal regulations and lack of wrapping paper.

They also have to find a box; not the easiest thing to do. Usually they recycle boxes sent from home or from supply. Then they have to ship them.

Some Soldiers and Airmen load the gifts and boxes up and take them on a convoy to FOB Fenty directly to a post office. Once at the post office they have to wait in line to have them inspected for contraband. Then they wait in another line to have them weighed and pay for shipment.

The other option is to ship them from FOB Finley-Shields. They don’t have to load everything up and convoy, which takes several hours, but the post office only comes here once a month. The process is the same but the wait can be up to three or four hours for the inspection. Then the wait is about the same for weighing and payment. Both can be ex-tremely frustrating and timely.

Finally the unwrapped gifts are on the way to someone that assists us by wrapping and delivering the gifts.

We thank all the people who help make this possi-ble. This is truly a group effort.

No matter what the Soldiers and Airmen decided to do, this all had to be accomplished by the 12th of November to insure delivery by Christmas.

So on Christmas morning when the gifts are opened, please take the time to remember the thoughtful planning and effort your Soldiers and Air-men took to get the packages to their loved ones.

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 6

P A G E 3


By Master Sgt. Steven Bradley

To: you

From: Me

HOLIDAY MAIL

P A G E 4

T he combat medic

of today is the

most technically

advanced ever produced

by the United States Ar-

my. The ability to save

lives in war, conflicts,

and humanitarian inter-

ventions requires a spe-

cific skill set. The com-

bat medic must be an

expert in emergency

me d i c a l c a r e , f o r ce

health protection, limited

primary care, evacuation,

and warrior skills.

The history of the

combat medic is rich in

pride and tradition. The

Grand Armee of Napole-

an was the first to use

trained and equipped sol-

diers to aid those on the

battlefield. During the

American Civil War sur-

geon Jonathon Letter-

man, Medical Director of

the Army of the Poto-

mac, developed an inte-

grated medical and evac-

uation system. This sys-

tem with its own dedicat-

ed vehicles, organiza-

tions, facilities, and per-

sonnel was first used at

the battle of Antietam.

However, it wasn‟t until

World War I that medics

fought alongside of fel-

low sold iers . Af ter

World War I medics re-

ceived medical advanced

training. Soldiers in

World War II had a survival

rate over three times that of

World War I.

The Korean War saw the

advent of mobile surgical

hospitals. The Vietnam War

was the first time medics

rode a lo n g s id e o f t he

wounded and gave birth to

the flight medic. Today

evacuation of the wounded is

p e r f o r m e d t h r o u g h

H M M W V a m b u l a n c e s ,

MRAPs, armored tracked

vehicles, and Blackhawk hel-

icopters.

The purpose of the ADT

medics is to carry on this

tradition. We are equipped

with three medics (Sgt. Jason

C r a p p s , S p e c . T h o ma s

Lohmann, Spec. Thomas

Brown) on our ADT mission

and we have at least one

medic on every mission.

“Being a medic is a stress-

ful yet rewarding job. It real-

ly feels good to be able to

make a difference. When I

see my treatment help one of

my soldiers or one of the lo-

cal children, it gives me a

real sense of pride in what I

do,” says Brown.

Our job is to preserve the

fighting strength. We accom-

plish this with training in ad-

vanced airway techniques,

bandages, dressings, and co-

agulants that slow down or

completely stop bleeding.

Other skills include training

in intravenous fluids and

medications, treatment of

burns, musculoskeletal inju-

ries, abdominal and head in-

juries , and t reatment of

shock.

Lt. Col. Charles, ADT

deputy commander says,

"The ADT medics are highly-

skilled, extremely profession-

al Soldiers who make signifi-

cant contributions to each

mission. They're trained and

equipped for the entire range

(Continued on page 5)


“The combat

medic must be

an expert in

emergency

medical care,

force health

protection,

evacuation,

and warrior

skills.”

By Spec. Thomas Lohmann and

Spec. Thomas Brown

Spec. Thomas

Brown places a

bandage on a

young boy in

Achin on Nov.

14. The child had

a wound loosely

wrapped in

plastic and

doctored with a

traditional

Afghan remedy

of black paste,

which is believed

to fight infection.

The boy’s hand

was oozing and

swollen.

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 6

of medical requirements. They are capable of

bandaging an Afghan child's scrapped-up

knee one minute or saving a Soldier's life the

next minute."

The job also includes training fellow sol-

diers in combat lifesaver skills. This includes

use of tourniquets, pressure dressings, basic

splinting, chest needle decompression, and

litter carries. One of our biggest concerns is

environmental injuries, heat injuries in partic-

ular. Heat injuries include heat cramps, heat

exhaustion, and heat stroke.

We often have to wear many hats. We

may need to be doctor, psychologist, teacher,

and fighting soldier. Our mission is summed

up best in the medic prayer:

Oh Lord, I ask for your divine strength to

meet the demands of my profession. Help me

to be the finest medic, both technically and

tactically. If I am called to the battlefield,

give me the courage to conserve our fighting

forces by providing medical care to all who

are in need. If I am called to a mission of

peace, give me the strength to lead by caring

for those who need my assistance. Finally,

Lord, help me take care of my own spiritual,

physical, and emotional needs. Teach me to

trust in your presence and never failing love.

The deadline to send mail holiday packages to troops in Afghanistan was Nov. 12 for

Christmas delivery but it‟s not too late to drop off a last minute package.

Letters and cards should be sent by early December and Express Mail Military Service

packages should be sent by Dec. 18 for Christmas delivery. Mail sent to APO addresses is

only charged the domestic rate.

Furthermore, a special rate of $12.50 is in effect from USPS for large Priority Mail flat-

rate boxes sent to servicemembers.

For more information on military shipping and dates, visit www.usps.com.

Holiday mail– you still have time

By the way, where exactly are we, where

have we been, and where are we going? The

team has had 14 half marathoners, 9 soldiers

promoted to a higher rank, 3 Soldier/Airman

and NCO of-the-month winners, 3 members

who have lost over 40 lbs, and 23 teammates

enrolled in classes to further their education.

We‟ve also formed Bob‟s Construction

Crew, Big E and T‟s Pizzaria, Dana‟s

Delights, and a Muleskinner‟s Facebook page.

In December, we expect 100% passing

scores for PT at which point the team will

have run over 3000 miles and conducted 100+

missions.

We a l so ha ve wa s he r t ou rn a me n t

champions, a Halloween costume contest

winner, a child born (back home), and two

Soldiers getting married while home on leave.

And by the way, I‟ve eaten over 14,000 pieces

of red licorice.

The Muleskiners are kicking it up. Army

says “Hooah!” Air Force says “Hilton!” and

we all say “Muleskinners!”

P A G E 6

ADT Civil Engineer

T h e M i s s o u r i

Agri-Business

Development

Team engineer

officer in charge is an

example of a Missouri

Soldier using civilian

acquired skills to support

the ADT mission.

1st Lt . J eremy D.

Berendzen has been an

active duty cavalry scout

and a military policeman

as an enlisted Soldier.

He was commissioned

through the Reserve

Officers‟ Training Corps

over fou r yea rs ago

through the University of

M i s s o u r i - C o l u m b i a

where he graduated with

a c i v i l e n g i n e e r i n g

degree.

For the past year and

ha l f , as an engineer

officer, he has been able

t o p u t h i s c i v i l i a n

education into play for

the National Guard.

He is assigned to the

Training Site Command

at Ft. Leonard Wood as a

des ign engineer and

works full-time for the

Missouri National Guard

as a design and projects

ma na ge r . Now, h i s

education and experience

are utilized to support the

management of ADT

projects and his input is

critical when reviewing

project proposals.

H e s a y s , “ I a m

enjoying my position as a

project manager and civil

engineer. My goal is to

ensure the U.S. taxpayer

is getting their money‟s

worth on projects and the

Afghans are getting the

safest , most rel iable

products”.

This is Berendzen‟s

second mobilization. He

deployed in 2001-2002

as a military policeman

wi th the 1138th MP

company as a part of

Operation Noble Eagle.

Berendzen is from

M a r y s H o m e a n d

graduated high school

from Blair Oaks. He is

married to Tori and they

have two children. His

parents, Dan and Carol,

live in Wardsville.

He says he enjoys

spending time with his

family. He also likes

outdoor activities like

g o i n g t o t h e r i v e r ,

hunting, shooting, and

especially archery.

He recently returned

from his mid-tour leave

and says he spent some

of his time away at the

MU homecoming game

and visiting the Corner

Market in Marys Home

for dinner and some beer.

He and Tori are also

very happy to learn that

another baby Berendzen

i s d u e i n J u l y .

Congratulations to you

both!


By Capt. Marie Orlando

1st. Lt. Jeremy Berendzen discusses a solar well project in Achin district

with a village elder on Oct. 9.

P A G E 7

Gates: Paving the way for the next ADT

In most units

there is a person so

critical, that without

them, a unit cannot

f u n c t i o n a n d t h e

commander will be the

first to point out the

supp ly se rgean t a s

being that key player.

Every Soldier and

Airman understands

tha t a good supply

sergeant not only keeps

t h e m c l o t h e d a n d

equipped, but makes

their lives better under

t h e w o r s t o f

circumstances. That

role is filled by Sgt. 1st

Class Damon Gates, the

l o g i s t i c s n o n

commissioned officer

i n c h a r g e f o r t h e

M i s s o u r i N a t i o n a l

Guard Agri-Business

Development Team IV.

Gates says , “My

g o a l s f o r t h i s

d e p l o y me n t a r e t o

supply the members of

A D T w i t h a l l t h e

equipment they need,

ensure that I leave the

property book in as

good or better condition

than when I received it

and take care of the

soldiers appointed to me.

I want to hand off to the

next team‟s S-4 NCOIC a

good logistics program

s o t h e y c a n h i t t h e

ground running.”

Gates served in the

Marine Corps prior to

joining the MONG ten

yea r s a go . He i s a

member of the Active

G u a r d a n d R e s e r v e

program and works as a

recruiter for the 27th

Recruiting Command,

Area 3 based a t the

Warrensburg Store Front.

He deployed with the

M a r i n e s i n 1 9 9 8 i n

support of the Kosovo

C a m p a i g n w i t h t h e

Battalion Landing Team

1st Bn, 6th Marines, 24th

Marine Expeditionary

Unit.

Gates graduated from

the University of Central

M i s s o u r i w i t h a

bachelor‟s in economics

and earned his masters in

business administration

from Webster University.

Gates likes to hunt

and go trout fishing along

with hanging out with the

family. He intends to

spend t ime wi th h i s

family during R&R.

H e h a s p l a n s f o r

everyone. He intends to

take his wife Cassie to

the cabin at Bennet t

Springs for a couple of

days. He and his son are

going to the movies and

he said he will hold his

little girl and read her a

book at bedtime.

He is originally from

Texas City, Texas where

h i s parents Ron and

Darlene Gates both still

live.


“I want to

hand off to

the next

team’s S-4

NCOIC a good

logistics

program so

they can hit

the ground

running.”

P A G E 8

She can do it!

Third time is a charm S pec. John D. Buell

joined the Missouri

Agri-Business Develop-

ment Team as a gunner

for the Security Force

Platoon. His home unit

is Det. 1, 1438th Engi-

neer Company (Multi

Role Bridge Company),

where he is assigned as a

bridge crewmember.

He has been in the


for 11 years. This is his

third time serving with

the Missouri National

Guard on a mobilization.

In 2004 he mobilized

for Operation Noble Ea-

gle to Dugway Proving

G r o u n d , U t a h a s a

S E C F O R m e m b e r .

Then, two years later he

served with Operation

Jumpstart in Yuma, Ariz.

on the Mexican border as

part of an entry identifi-

cation team.

Buell works for Tri-

umph Foods as a quality

assurance technician. He

lives in Milan where his

parents also live.

He likes to spend time

with family and friends,

hunting, fishing and rid-

ing ATVs. He is looking

forward to seeing his

daughter when he returns

to Missouri for his mid-

tour leave.

D e v e l o p m e n t T e a m

Security Force Platoon.

S p e c . V i r g i n i a

Fletcher is one of three

women assigned to the

SECFOR platoon. She

j o ined t he Mi s so ur i

National Guard three and

h a l f ye a r s a go a s a

welder with the 1438th

E n g i n e e r C o m p a n y

( M u l t i Ro l e B r i d g e

Company), Macon.

“This deployment has

taught me a lot about

myself and what I want

to do with my life. It has

brought me closer to my

family,” she said.

She has worked for

R o s i e t h e

Riveter was a

fictional icon

representing

the generation of women

that took up the jobs left

by men during WWII.

The famous poster by

J. Howard Miller titled

We Ca n Do I t ! wa s

rediscovered by a new

generation of women

seeking to join the male-

dominated workforce-

and the U.S. Army.

This spirit of progress

a n d b r a v e r y i s

represented today, not by

popular icons, but by real

women working for the

Missouri Agri-Business

the Missouri Military

Funeral Honors Program

for a year as a team

member.

Fletcher has a four

year old son, Hunter, and

has promised to take him

to Pizza Hut as soon as

she gets back. He turns

five in January and hopes

to make it home for his

birthday.

She is also looking

forward to spending time

wi th t he r es t of her

family and friends during

her R&R.

She is from Kingdom

City and graduated high

s c h o o l f r o m N o r t h

Callaway R-1.


P A G E 9

S taff Sgt. Robert C.

Taggart, Missouri Air

National Guard, is a

member of the Security

Force Platoon.

Taggart has 17 years

total in the military and

has a varied background.

He served with the U.S.

Mar ine Corps a s an

infantryman. Then he

joined the Army for four

y e a r s a s a r e c o r d ‟ s

specialist. He has also

served as a mi l i t ary

p o l i c e m a n f o r t h e

Missouri Army National

Guard. When his unit

was moved to St. Louis

he considered getting

out; but instead chose to

join the Air National

Guard and s tayed in

Jefferson City.

He said, “I knew what

I was getting into when I

volunteered. I thought it

was a perfect fit, since I

was in the Army before.

I spoke both languages

[Army and Air Force]

and thought I could be of

help. With my infantry

experience, I knew that

part wouldn‟t be any

problem.”

The ADT mission in

Nangarhar allows him to

enjoy the rugged Army

lifestyle, complete with

arcane rules and policies

that defy any logic, yet

secure in the knowledge

that upon his return to

Missouri he will once

aga in be Ai r Force ,

pampered and under the

loose rule of those that

trust in the sanity of their

membership.

Taggart said, “I love

my job here and the

people I work with”.

Taggart is assigned as

a security manager with

the Air National Guard

Headquar t e r s a t Ike

Skelton Training Site,

Jefferson City. He has

worked the past seven

years at ISTS full time as

a classification specialist

with Human Resources.

He enjoys hunting

when he has time. When

h e g o e s h o m e t o

Jefferson City for his mid

-tour break he is looking

forward to breathing the

clean air of Missouri and

seeing his family.

He is married to Lorri

and they have t hree

children, Bailey, Kyle

and Jeffery.


T H E M U L E S K I N N E R R E P O R T

Bi-lingual SECFOR member

“I knew what I

was getting

into when I

volunteered. I

thought it was

a perfect fit,

since I was in

the Army

before.”

1Lt. Miciah Pyatt and Staff Sgt. Robert Taggart, SECFOR. It is believed by

some that it is good luck to have these two together and they are photo-

graphed together on missions.

P A G E 1 0

Doing extra duty

T here are jobs

w i t h t h e


A g r i - B u s i n e s s

Development Team that

d o n o t h a v e

corresponding positions

back in the U.S. within

traditional units. 1st Lt.

Jody McCall, in addition

t o w o r k i n g a s a n

agriculture specialist,

performs a couple of

those extra duties.

McCall is the manager

of the Commander‟s

Emergency Response

Program. CERP funds

a r e u s e d b y t h e

a g r i c u l t u r e t e a m t o

p r o v i d e s h o r t t e r m

injections of funds into a

region to allow Afghans

to perform community

improvement projects.

The training started

back at Camp Clark, but

it required McCall to

pick up the regulations

and policies and study

them on his own to really

understand the legal

minutiae required to meet

the commander‟s intent

while also protecting the

unit from unknowingly

misusing the funds.

McCall is also the

officer-in- charge of the

forward operating base

PX, which is ran by the

ADT members as part of

t h e i r F O B

responsibi l i t ies . He

ensu res t he s to r e i s

stocked, manned and

operated according to the

regulations.

“My goal is to leave

this place better than

when we arrived” he

says.

McCall joined the

ADT from HHC, 35th

Engineer Brigade, Ft.

Leonard Wood where he

i s a s s i g n e d a s t h e

c o m p a n y e x e c u t i v e

officer. He has been in

the military for over eight

years and served in the

Navy prior to joining the

National Guard.

He deployed with the

Navy to South Korea as a

mine countermeasure air

crewman aboard MH-

5 3 E S e a d r a g o n

he l icopters wi th the

H e l i c o p t e r M i n e

C o u n t e r m e a s u r e

Squadron 15.

He works for Aerofil

Tech Inc. in Sullivan as

a n e n v i r o n m e n t a l

e n g i n e e r . M c C a l l

a t t e n d e d W e b s t e r

University and earned a

ma s t e r ‟ s o f s c i e nc e

degree.

He l ives in Dixon

where his parents, Joseph

and Barbara McCall also

reside. McCall is married

to Jennifer and they have

two children.


T H E M U L E S K I N N E R R E P O R T


1st Lt. Jody McCall is an agricul-

ture specialist and LNO for Surkh

Rod district.

P A G E 1 1

Pictures from the field

For more photographs of our activities and some video clips, visit us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MONG.ADTIV


COL Fortune helps unload tools being inventoried

by the AEA at for use on a Cash-for-Work project.

CPT Paluczak shakes hands with the AEA at

Dih Bala that was captured by the Taliban and

released after hours of fighting by hundreds of

angry villagers demanding his release.

Group shot of sandbag detail. Hundreds of

bags were filled for ADT FOB

Improvement Day.

The ADT goes to the firing range on a

regular basis.

MSG Dana Squires is promoted by COL

Fortune and SMSgt changes out her hat.

Unit members take an operational pause to

get a group shot during a mission.

Workers clean and repair a karize in Bati

Kot district.

SSG Maloney, SGT Runyon, SPC

Brown and MSG Weber move out on

a dismounted security mission.

SPC Berryman ties a sandbag for the ADT

FOB Improvement Day.

P A G E 1 2

In the spirit of the holidays


SMSgt Blankenship prepares for the

Halloween Race.

SPC Lane had two costumes–

but he sported a bald head in

both! Here is poses next to his

inspiration, MSG Weber.

SPC Lane or is it MSG Weber?? He

gave everyone a big shock, but after

the laughter, he won the Halloween

costume contest.

ADT gathers for a Veteran’s Day

Remembrance ceremony.

1LT Pyatt was a close runner-

up for the Halloween costume

contest.

SSG Colson and SSG Reynolds

are guilty, not sure of what, but

definitely guilty.

Runners line up for the Ft. Benning Infantry

10K and Half Marathon

Thanksgiving– looks like CPT Huenink is giving more

than he got.

Thanksgiving and a BBQ the following Sunday! SFC Gates serves up steaks to MSG Weber and SFC Travis. MSG Squires baked desserts both days.

Name (NO RANK)

MONG ADT IV

FOB Finley-Shields

APO, AE 09310

A HEARTY THANKS TO ALL

THE FOLKS THAT HAVE SENT

DONATIONS TO THE UNIT

MEMBERS AND AFGHAN

CHILDREN:

Angela Lanaker

Hero Hugs

Missouri 4-H

USO

Maloney Family

Jim and Katie Roberson

Dennis O’Leary, Local 136 Fenton

Rick and Mary Rutledge

James Tinder

Holly Cronk

Alice Howard

Dr. James Maxwell and Staff. Crestwood

Dental Group

Michelle Paluczak

Operation Gratitude

Give us a holler!

MONG

ADT IV

Celebrating Birthdays in December

Anniversaries

● Eli and Amber Colson

● William and Laura Fox

● Johnnie and Gina Sims

SPC Cronk MSG Squires 1LT Wischmeyer Michael Garcia

SFC Gates TSgt Taggart Cayla Chapman Natalie Huenink

SGT Rios SGT Walker Amanda Clouse

www.facebook.com/MONG.ADTIV

The Muleskinner Team provides a

monthly update for families and

friends of the Nangarhar Missouri

National Guard Development Team.

The Muleskinner Report provides

insights and analysis on the

Nangarhar Missouri National Guard

Development Team’s mission. If you

have questions or comments on the

Muleskinner Report, please contact

Col. Mike Fortune at

[email protected]

The Muleskinner is an unofficial publication au-

thorized by AR 360-1. It is published monthly

by the Missouri Agribusiness Development

Team IV to provide important information re-

lated to their deployment for the Soldiers and

Airmen, their Families, units and commands,

the Army, DOD and the public.

Views and opinions expressed in the

Muleskinner are not necessarily those of the

Department of the Army or DOD.

If you would like to receive this publication to

your email or have questions or comments

concerning ADT IV please contact:

[email protected]

Public Affairs Officer

Capt. Marie Orlando

ADT IV

MONG

ADT IV

• Family Readiness Group Leader Paula Ann Maloney

417.250.1703 or 417.683.3711

• ArmyOne Source 800.342.9647

• Family Program Office 800.299.9603

• Family Assistance Center 877.236.4168

• Deployed Pay Issues 877.276.4729

• Employer Support of Guard and Reserve

573.638.9500 ext. 7730

• 131st Fighter Wing Coord. 314.527.6362

• 139th Fighter Air Lift Wing Coord. 816.236.3511

• Military Family Life Consultants

- Child/Youth (Amy Bledsoe) 573.418.3588

- Adult (Phil Pringle) 573.418.3588

• JFHQ-MO Chaplain 573.638.9618

Back at the homestead

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Documents

MO ADT IV Newsletter 6 MT