The Centaur Roll Call 3-6 Field Artillery

Preparation for a deployment takes more than just pre-

paring the Soldier for the mission. Spouses, children, and

parents need time and help understanding what the effects

of a deployment means to them. For a spouse and child,

this event can mean a parent relying on themselves to ac-

complish things around the house and the day to day

events of the family. For a parent it may be not talking to

their Soldier daily or weekly. One way or another in relation

to that Soldier, deployments can take a change on a per-

sons psyche.

Anyone who’s been through multiple deployments will

tell you that each deployment is different; different mission,

different place, different ways of communicating back

home. However, sitting down with your spouse or loved

ones prior to deployment and going through things can

make a difference. First, attend the Predeployment Brief for

your unit. 3-6 Field Artillery will conduct our brief on the 7th

of Nov at 10am & 6pm at the Main Post Auditorium (Post

Theater). Now, no one wants to go to a meeting to hear

about what you already know is coming up; a deployment.

But, there is good information that can help make that Sol-

dier and their families life a little bit easier. Commanders

brief on what they know about the deployment, conditions,

mail, communication and so on to ease the families’ minds

and know that their Soldier is in good hands with their Com-

mand. Agencies brief what they can provide, financial plan-

ning, where to find help and assistance, or someone to talk

to. Scenarios are brought up for your benefit to realize the

importance of getting things together, having a plan, and

then having a contingency plan for when plan A falls

through. Don’t be that Soldier who leaves their family unpre-

pared for something that could have easily been prevented.

I cannot stress enough the importance of attending, no mat-

ter how many deployments you have been through.

Things get rough around the house and at times it feels

like things are falling apart. From personal experience, my

husband deployed and things just happened. The garage

doors quit opening, my car started making noises that

sounded like it was going to croak over at any minute, loss

of a dog, the lawn mower wouldn’t start, when it did start

the self propel belt tore off, and the list goes on. As spouses

and family members of Soldiers, we all go through events

that feels like they will break us, but in reality can make us

stronger in the end. We all are tested, but it is how we buck

up and face these tests that makes us stronger. They hurt to

the core, and even anger you that you are dealing with this

alone. But, remember you are not alone. Many before you

have gone through their own set of tests. It is about reach-

ing out to that person; that battle buddy at 2AM and know-

ing everything will be fine and you will make it through this

hurdle.

Spouses and parents, please get involved in your Soldier’s

unit. Find out who the FRG Leader is, when there are FRG

Meetings, and go to them or get the information from those

meetings. Being active is a great way to meet new people

whether you are local or far away. Meet other family mem-

bers going through what you are about to go through, be

that voice to suggest meetings with other mommies or

forming a group to exercise together. Parents can volunteer

with the FRG as a key Caller or organizing morale packages

to send to the troops. The FRG is here to help provide ad-

vice, support, and referral on a problem you may have.

Kimberley Williams, FRSA

OCTOBER 2012 Page 1

Headquarters & Headquarters Battery Gladiators

SPCs Meneses, Spearman, and Tiner being pro-moted to Corporal.

OCTOBER 2012

A Huge thanks to the HHB FRG Volunteers: Mindy Thompson, Cindy Aldana, Ruthie Van Orman, Kathryn

Peacock, Myndee Ellis, Christina Hackler, Emily Smith, Amy Tiner, Kelly Hecker, Brenda Bejar.

Swift and Bold Soldiers and Families, I want to

start out by telling you how immensely awesome

the Gladiator Soldiers are. In the last two months

they have supported the first Division Field

Training Exercise that has occurred in the last

ten years. Not only did they support it, but they

set the bar for other Battalions to aim for. Then

less than a month later we deployed to the Na-

tional Training Center in Ft Irwin California. Most

units have 6 months to a year to plan for this

mission; well the Swift and Bold Battalion did it

in 4 weeks. Not only that but we got there and

accomplished the mission with excellence. The

Battery actually made the job of the Observer/

Controllers (O/Cs) more difficult because they

did such a good job in the field that it was harder

for the O/Cs to find something for us to improve

on. Then we redeployed to Ft Drum and haven’t

missed a beat. These Soldiers are awesome, and

I don’t get to tell them that enough.

Things in the future are not slowing down

though. A decent amount of us are preparing to

go to Afghanistan next year and that requires a

lot of training. We have identified the team that

will deploy and now we are preparing. While that

means a lot of training there is also a lot of time

off on the calendar. I encourage all of you to

make the most of this time off, because the time

you have with family now is extremely valuable

when you consider that we will be gone for nine

months. We will have a lot of briefings also that I

encourage families to attend. Some of you have

never had your husband deploy, or you weren’t

married during his last deployment. There is a lot

to know. I also encourage you to prepare for the

winter. If you have never experienced a winter in

Northern NY or last winter was your only experi-

ence, then you may be in for a surprise. Make

sure the kids are prepared as well.

In closing I would like to stress that if you

ever need anything from me or the commander,

our phones are always on, and our doors are al-

ways open. I would like to say a final thank you

to the Gladiator Families for all that you do. I

know we ask a lot of you, but your support for

your Soldier is amazing.

GLADIATOR 7

Page 2

OCTOBER 2012

Over the past couple of months, the Sons of

Alpha trained more than most units train in an

entire year and did it with panache. The men of

Alpha Battery vindicated their already well

wrought reputation as empirically best battery in

the Division through their hard work, flexibility,

and outstanding performance over a multitude

of short notice and momentous training exer-

cises.

On 15 JUL 2012, the battery returned from

block leave and hit the ground running. After a

week of rigorous preparations and certifications,

the battery took to the field once again as the

premiere firing battery in support of Operation

Mountain Peak, which was the largest division

exercise in 11 years. Over the 10 day exercise,

the men of Alpha Battery performed flawlessly,

masterfully firing 1707 rounds in support of five

simultaneous infantry maneuver lanes, receiving

praise from the Commanding General and Dep-

uty Commanding General of Operations for its

exemplary performance. During the operation,

the battery received fidelity that it would be tak-

ing part in a National Training Center (NTC) rota-

tion in Fort Irwin, California, in August, and that

half the battery would transition to the M777A2

weapon system.

Immediately coming off of Mountain Peak, the

battery immediately jumped into simultaneous

recovery operations, NTC preparation and con-

tainer outload, and M777A2 transition training.

Alpha Battery Sons of Alpha

The men of Alpha Battery displayed remarkable

resilience in this tumultuous period. Sections

transitioned from a light M119A2 105mm howit-

zer to medium M777A2 155mm howitzer. In a pe-

riod of two weeks, the sections took on the com-

pletely new and complex weapon system that

they have never seen before and mastered the

crew drills, culminating with a 54 round live fire

exercise that went off without a hitch. All the

while, sections were inventorying, packing, and

shipping out their containers to NTC, which is

onerous task in its own right.

With barely enough time to blink an eye, our

men were on a plane destined Fort Irwin, Califor-

nia, where the plane ride itself provided a wel-

comed five hour respite from the chaos. Once

the entire battery had arrived, the training en-

sued. The men of Alpha Battery geared up for the

“box,” conducting a panoply of logistical tasks

and prepatory training in the staging area, rightly

known as the Dust Bowl. Upon entering the box,

the battery performed exceedingly well, firing

over 100 105mm rounds and over 600 155mm

rounds in support of STX lanes and during Force

on Force operations. Additionally, the battery

was lauded by the NTC trainers as being the best

battery they have seen in years.

The Sons of Alpha continue on its historic

journey, transitioning the battery in its entirety to

M777A2s in preparation for an impending de-

ployment in support of OEF. In late October the

battery will conduct a three-day LFX, where the

battery will certify its new M777A2s sections and

conduct air assault sling load operations.

Continued on page 4

A Huge thanks to the Alpha Battery FRG Volunteers: Jill Burke, Genessee Brinker, Katie Parker,

Michelle Johnson, & Stephanie Holcombe.

Page 3

Most of you probably can’t remember when

you were enjoying uninterrupted time with your

Service member. Since returning from some

time off after NTC the Sons of Alpha went right

into section certification for Mountain Peak

where all your Soldiers excelled beyond expec-

tations. This was about the same time most of

you heard about the upcoming mission to Af-

ghanistan and the more recent time spent apart

while your Soldier was in California. Busy isn’t

even the word for our current OPTEMPO. The

Soldiers of Alpha Battery are currently conduct-

ing inventories for upcoming Change of Com-

mand while attending classes on the different

communication platforms, conducting weapons

qualifications, and preparing to go to the field

for the week of 22 October. That’s a mammoth

task, however all of your Soldier’s are taking it in

stride and continuing to perform at the highest

level. All is not lost; there is plenty of time off

coming in the near future, multiple four day

weekends and block leave. We will have a family

readiness group meeting today and I highly en-

courage all and any family members or friends

of Alpha to attend. We will discuss the upcom-

ing deployment and the numerous training

events.

I would like to take this time not to recognize

any one Soldier, but to recognize the battery and

the Soldiers in the battalion for all the resiliency

they have shown over the past couple months.

All -

ROCK 7

OCTOBER 2012

2nd

Platoon, Alpha Battery, conducts a training

AIR MEDEVAC during NTC Rotation 12-10 at Fort

Irwin, California.

Continued

I just want to say thank you to families,

friends, and FRG of the Sons of Alpha for all

their support during the high operational tempo

that we have endured. There is a method to

madness, and the bottom line is that winning

happens in practice. Our goal is to prepare the

battery to the utmost, so that it is combat ready

and will win in combat once it is called upon to

do so. We couldn’t do it without your support.

“The strength of our families, is the strength of

our Soldiers, is the strength of our nation.” The

good news is that there is substantial time off in

the near future, and your Soldiers will be avail-

able for some quality time, so plan accordingly. I

appreciate what you do! ROCK SOLID!

-Rock 6

SSG Diaz of 1st

Pla-

toon, Alpha Battery,

motivates his sec-

tion during STX live

fire exercise at Fort

Irwin, CA

Page 4

OCTOBER 2012

Welcome to the Rock:

PV2 Baker

PFC Bertram

PV2 Bolds

SPC Boyle

PFC Breene

SPC Brown

PFC Cash

PFC Day

PFC Deforest

PV2 Dixon

PV2 Duarte

PV2 Galbraith

SSG Garant

PV2 Garcia

SPC Garibay

PFC Gomez

SSG Graham

PVT Hall

SSG Hall

SPC Haughton

SGT Hernandez

SPC Herring

PFC Hibbard

PFC Holcombe

SGT Howard

PVT Jones

PFC Kundert

PFC Kwasnik

PV2 Mcqueen

CPL Meneses

PVT Mevissen

PFC Miles

Alpha Continued...

2nd PLT, Alpha Battery, conducts M777A2 live fire

training at FDNY in Aug 2012, marking the first time in

the Centaur Battalion’s history that it has fired

M777A2s.

SFC Newton

PVT Owens

SSG Pennington

1LT Rinaldi

SGT Stevens

PFC Walston

PV2 Whittaker

Congratulations to the

following Soldiers on

their awards:

SSG Rhodus

SSG Rose

SPC Johnson

SPC Frechette

SPC Benson

PFC Hughes

PV2 Owens

Congratulations to the

following families for

their new additions to

Sons of Alpha:

SPC Brandon

SPC McFarland

SPC Towzen

2nd PLT Prepares to fire the Excalibur Round at

Fort Irwin, CA.

2nd PLT prepares to fire high angle during

M777A2 transition live fire training in AUG

2012 at FDNY.

Page 5

fires, firing over 300 rounds in close coordina-

tion with dismounted Soldiers and aircraft. The

Battery was commended by the trainers at NTC

for its performance as one of the best firing

units they have seen.

The Battery has also undergone a lot of

changes in the past few months. The Battalion

has changed its task organization in order to

support the upcoming deployment. As a result,

the Battery has lost 25 Soldiers as they are now

spread out between HHB and A Battery. I would

like to thank those who have joined other Batter-

ies for the deployment for all their hard work in

making Bravo what it is today and wish them the

best of luck during their upcoming mission. The

remainder of the Battery will continue to train on

key artillery skills in order to maintain profi-

ciency and prepare for future operations. The

Battery will remain busy in the coming months

with supporting pre-deployment training for the

BCT and Battalion, to include a field exercise

from 05 – 09 November. The Battery will be firing

in support of the Brigade’s Security Force Assis-

tance Teams as well as certifying new section

chiefs in the fire direction center and on the

gunline.

Finally, there will be a change of command

ceremony on 01 November as CPT Rodney Bun-

yan will take over as the new commander of

Bravo Battery. Although it is difficult to leave

such an outstanding unit, I know that this Bat-

tery will continue to excel in accomplishing its

mission and that CPT Bunyan will be successful.

It has truly been an honor to command this or-

ganization and I wish all the Soldiers and fami-

lies good luck in all their future endeavors.

Ryan W. Graf

Bulls Deep!

OCTOBER 2012

A Huge thanks to the Bravo Battery FRG Volunteers: Tessa Conaway, Chelsey Dingbaum,

& Brittney York.

It has been a busy few months for the Sol-

diers of Bravo Battery. Since our past newsletter

in June, the Battery commenced its busy sum-

mer schedule by supporting the Cadet Summer

Training Program at the United States Military

Academy (USMA) in West Point, NY. The Battery

performed flawlessly as they trained over 1,400

Sophomore cadets in fire mission processing,

advanced party procedures and howitzer crew

drills. The Bulls of Bravo supervised and as-

sisted cadets as they fired 7,700 rounds without

incident. The Soldiers of the Battery were com-

mended on their performance by the Deputy

Commanding General of Operations for 10th

Mountain Division, the Commandant of Cadets at

USMA, the Commander of 4th BCT 10th Mountain

Division and the fire support cadre at USMA.

They represented not only 3-6 FA, but the 10th

Mountain Division proudly and I could not be

more pleased with their performance.

The Battery was also tasked to support a Na-

tional Training Center (NTC) Rotation at Fort Ir-

win, CA in August and September. The Soldiers

performed above expectations during the rota-

tion given the short notice of the deployment and

minimum manning throughout the sections. The

Battery supported maneuver Situational Training

Exercises (STX) for the Brigade with indirect

Bravo Battery Bulls

SGT Featherston super-vising cadets as they load a 105mm round.

Page 6

OCTOBER 2012

The Soldiers of Bravo Battery participated in two

big events over the Summer, from the United

States Military Academy (USMA) summer train-

ing at West Point NY to the National Training

center (NTC) rotation at Fort Irwin, CA. The Sol-

diers performed superbly during both events

and proved once again that they are well trained

to perform their wartime duties if and when

called upon. I am proud and confident in the Sol-

diers of Bravo Battery and looking forward to

continue building on this Battery already great

reputation.

Farewell

SSG Roy -Recruiting

SGT Abbate- Recruiting

SGT Peterson- ETS

SGT Lester- PCS to Fort Benning

Thank you for your service to our great nation

and especially to the BULLS, you will be missed.

Hails

As we say farewell to these outstanding Sol-

diers, I would like to welcome the newly as-

signed members of our team. I have no doubt

that they will be an asset to our team.

SFC Mullin, SSG Leiter, SPC Wolosyzn

The following Soldiers have been a part of the

Swift and Bold Battalion for a little while, but

FIRST SERGEANT CORNER

have recently joined the Bulls team and are wel-

come with open arms.

SSG Odell, SGT Barilani, SGT Griffith, SGT

Glass, SGT Estep, SGT Bostwick, SPC Brandon,

SPC Dray, PFC Paiz

Promotion

1 August 2012 we had the honor and privilege to

promote SPC Alcantara to the rank of Sergeant.

Getting promoted is a great accomplishment es-

pecially to the Ranks of an NCO. It not only dis-

tinguishes the individual from their peers, but it

comes with the responsibilities to teach, coach

and mentor our nation’s greatest resource; an

American Soldier. With these newly given re-

sponsibilities, I have no doubt that SGT Alcan-

tara will accomplishment them all and even ex-

ceed expectations. Congratulations.

SPC Alvarez training a cadet on fire direction center operations at West Point.

Page 7

pany. I am very fortunate to be a part of such an

outstanding organization and am thankful to all

the Soldiers and their families who make this

Company the best Forward Support Company in

the Brigade!

“Strength through Support!”

CPT Keith Carroll

Guardian 7

From the First Sergeant:

Over the past couple months Golf Company

have had new Soldiers come into the Guardian

family and Soldiers that have been recognized

for overall duty performance by means of

awards and promotions. We welcome PFC

Pereida, PV2 McQueen, and PV2 Gracia to Golf

Company. We also had 2 babies born into the

Guardian Family: SPC Acevedo son (Stephen

Thomas) and SSG Hibbert daughter (Nyssa

Naomi) Soldiers have received awards for their

contribution to the mission of 3-6 FA during NTC

10-12: SSG Southern, CPL Mahaffey, SPC For-

rester, and SPC Robinson. The following Sol-

diers have been promoted to the rank of Special-

ist: PFC Mitchell and PFC Marzett .

“Strength through Support!”

1SG Toby Gibson

Guardian 7

OCTOBER 2012

From the Commander:

The Soldiers of Golf Company have been

working hard to support the greatest battalion in

the Army. The majority of the Company deployed

to the National Training Center in September in

support of the Battalion and during our time in

beautiful Southern California, we supported the

Battalion with timely delivery of ammunition,

fuel, and other supplies in less than ideal condi-

tions. The distribution platoon had zero safety

incidents in delivering ammunition to the firing

batteries over a two week period to include driv-

ing at night with no white light and with the use

of Night Vision Devices. The Maintenance Pla-

toon supported the fight at the National Training

Center by working countless hours keeping the

Battalion’s vehicles and howitzers in full mission

capable condition. Our cooks worked tirelessly

preparing and serving thousands of meals to the

Brigade during the NTC rotation. Our Soldiers

who stayed at Fort Drum worked just as hard

keeping the Battalion’s rear detachment operat-

ing flawlessly. Over the past couple of weeks,

the Company have enjoyed some well deserved

time off with friends and family. The next coming

weeks will have the Company supporting the

Battalion in various field exercises to include

small arms ranges and Battery live fire exercises

and anything else that is required to support the

Battalion. The months of November and Decem-

ber will have the Company continuing support of

the Battalion as we prepare for the Battalion’s

upcoming deployment in January. The Guardi-

ans have lost some great Soldiers either due to

PCS or end of army service recently but are ex-

cited about the new Guardians joining the Com-

Golf Guardians

A Huge thanks to the Golf Company FRG Volunteers: Rachel Hirons, Patricia Navarro,

Kisha Elliot, Lisa Carroll, Shawna Robinson, Carol Natarelli, & Amanda Van Heel

Page 8