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A collection of news and information from the Rough Rider Battalion
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2 0 4 T H B R I G A D E
S U P P O R T B A T T A L I O N
S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F
I N T E R E S T :
A Message from the
Alpha Company Com-
mand Team
Language Skills Applied
by Alpha Company
656 TC Soldier Collects
Can Tabs for Cancer
Bravo Company’s 92A’s
Testing the Water
Female Cultural Support
FOB Walton’s HLZ
NCOIC
NEWSLETTER STAFF:
CPT Ashlea Cleveland
1LT Betsy Arndt
Rough Rider Connection J U L Y 2 0 1 1 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4
From the Office of Assassin 6From the Office of Assassin 6From the Office of Assassin 6
Greetings Rough Rider Families,
It is my pleasure to write to all of you and let you know about the phenomenal
job that the Assassins are doing across various locations in Kandahar Province, Afghani-
stan. As it stands right now, members of Alpha Company are scattered across three differ-
ent locations: Camp Nathan Smith, Kandahar Airfield (KAF), and FOB Walton. Each
Soldier has a specific task and purpose (whether their Military Occupational Specialty or
not) at their specific location, thus making the time pass by very quickly.
Along with our normal mission of supporting the Warhorse Brigade, members of
the Assassin Team are doing a variety of things they never thought they would be doing;
SPC Abbas is charged with ensuring the water at Camp Nathan Smith is up to code, SPC
Davenport uses his Afghan language skills to converse with Host Nation Truck Drivers,
SSG Colon uses his expert knowledge of supply operations to expedite parts from Kanda-
har Airfield (KAF) to the Supply Support Activity (SSA), SGT Peyton ensures that every-
one on FOB Walton has enough food to eat, SGT Ponce works tirelessly to ensure that the
customer is getting th right load, SPC Sharp gets a lot of sun working on the flight line
directing all of the helicopters that land at FOB Walton, and SPC Soto, SPC Dwello, and
PFC Frakes are running the Clean Sweep Yard for the Brigade, just to name a few. Each
and every Soldier of Alpha Company is doing just as much, if not more, than the previ-
ously mentioned Soldiers and it is my pleasure to serve with each and every one of them
every day.
Finally, I would like to thank each and every family member of the Assassin
Team, young or old, big or little, and furry or not. Your thoughts, prayers, and constant
support to your Soldier has been instrumental in the great start that we have had as a com-
pany in the two short months that we have been here. Thank you for everything that you
do in allowing your Soldier to focus on the task at hand.
Roll Hard!
This newsletter contains official and unofficial information. The inclusion of some unofficial information in this
newsletter has not increased the cost to the Government, in accordance with DOD 4525.8-M
P A G E 2
Alpha Company Soldier Applies Language Skills
Kandahar Airfield (KAF) to
work with the A CO Load Team
responsible for moving all
equipment forward in support of
Combined Task Force War-
horse.
SPC Davenport’s language
training immediately paid off as
he was deemed the host nation
truck (HNT) non-commissioned
officer in charge (NCOIC). His
impeccable language skills have
broken many language barriers
for the A CO, 204th BSB load
team at KAF. Much of the load
team’s success can be attributed
to SPC Davenport’s ability to
communicate HNT drivers, thus
cutting the upload and download
time of equipment in half.
Not only have SPC Daven-
port’s language skills been phe-
nomenal, but SPC Davenport
has really taken to the relation-
ships that he has established
with many of the HNT drivers.
He is directly responsible for
receiving the host nation drivers
at the Entry Control Point (ECP)
and for their total care until they
K A N D A H A R ,
Afghanistan—
There is no bet-
ter way to ac-
complish a lo-
gistics mission
involving Local
Nationals than
by speaking the
native language
of said locals.
SPC Thomas
Davenport of A
CO, 204th BSB
understands that
principle just as
much as anyone. While back at
Fort Carson, prior to deployment
to Afghanistan, SPC Thomas
Davenport put aside his normal
duties as a 92F, Fuel Specialist,
in order to attend a 16-week Dari
language course. Never knowing
the impact that he was going to
have on A CO’s mission, SPC
Davenport completed the de-
manding Dari course focused on
speaking, grammar, and culture.
Upon arrival to Afghanistan,
SPC Davenport was positioned at
exit the gates of Kandahar Air-
field. On several occasions,
SPC Davenport has been the
liaison between US Soldiers and
the Host Nation drivers. He
communicates very well with
them and provides them with
clear instructions on what they
will be hauling and how to tie
down the loads effectively.
In addition to providing di-
rection, guidance, and purpose
for every mission, SPC Daven-
port has taken it upon himself to
provide food, cold water, shel-
ter, fuel, and friendship for all of
the Host Nation drivers. As we
know, the Host Nation drivers
are very proud to be working
with US Soldiers and are
equally as proud of the jobs and
mission that we provide. With-
out individuals like SPC Daven-
port that help bridge the gap
between American Soldiers and
Afghan truck drivers, we would
not be nearly as successful in
supporting the Warhorse Bri-
gade.
R O U G H R I D E R C O N N E C T I O N
cancer. One Soldier from the 656
Transportation Company is doing
what he can to help children with
cancer all the way from Afghani-
stan.
SPC Brad Sanders, from Belle-
ville, Illinois has set up boxes in
the Dining Facility on FOB
Walton to collect can tabs that he
will send to a friend’s 11 year-old
daughter back in Indiana who’s
collecting them for her school.
“I’m asking for your help,” says
SPC Sanders is a 88M, Heavy
By 1LT Betsy
Arndt, 204th
BSB Public
Affairs Officer
KANDAHAR,
Afghanistan—
Many people
feel helpless
when they hear
about the fami-
lies and chil-
dren who are
suffering from
Equipment Operator with the
656 Transportation Company, a
U.S. Army Reserve unit from
Hobart, Indiana. “I’m placing a
box at both exits of the chow hall
to place soda can pull tabs. To
most they are little bits of alumi-
num, but to others, that little bit
of aluminum can help kids with
cancer. All the pull tabs col-
lected are going to the Ronald
McDonald House and the Na-
tional Cancer Institute and every
tab we collect counts.”
FOB Walton Soldier Collects Can Tabs for Cancer
SPC Thomas Davenport, a Fuel Specialist
with A Co, 204th BSB poses with two host
nation truck drivers before a mission.
(Photo by SFC Adell Jones)
By CPT Austin Luher, A Company Commander
SPC Brad
Sanders from the
656 Trans-
portation
Company, an
Army Reserve
Company
from Hobart,
Indiana
is collecting can
tabs for cancer.
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4
Bravo Company’s Hard Working Logistical Specialists By SPC Natasha Gaskins, B Com-
pany Unit Public Affairs Represen-
tative
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan—The
Army operates by completing mis-
sions, ensuring that those missions can
be executed is imperative, especially
while deployed. Bravo Company Sol-
diers work extra hard every day to
make sure that each mission is never
compromised. There are many differ-
ent aspects that go into making a mis-
sion successful, including the vehicles,
generators and tools that are used
every day. However, any human made
machine is apt to breakdown and parts
need to be replaced. That is where
PLL comes into play.
PLL (Prescribed Load List), is a
section operated by 92A's, Automated
Logistical Specialists, who focus on
supply within a maintenance shop.
PLL is responsible for maintaining
records of services performed, order-
ing and managing repair parts, dis-
patching vehicles and equipment, and
maintaining operator licensing re-
cords. Bravo Company's PLL section
is comprised of three hard working
92A's, SGT Leonardo Ochoa, CPL
Shayla Ellis and SPC Jeanene Jackson.
SGT Ochoa is a former Marine
who has worked as a 92A for the past
five years. He originates from Ecuador
and arrived at Basic Training for the
Marines, not knowing any English. He
graduated from the Universal Techni-
cal Institute in Houston Texas with an
Associate’s Degree in Industrial Die-
sel.
CPL Ellis is the mother of a two year
old little girl named Khayla. She has
been in the Army for four years and has
been with Bravo Company for a year.
Her first duty station was at Camp
Humphreys, Korea. This is her first
deployment. Upon return to Fort Car-
son, CO she plans on enrolling into
college and getting promoted to SGT, E
-5.
SPC Jackson has been in the Army
for three years, Camp Casey, Korea was
her first duty station where she worked
in the warehouse, receiving, storing and
issuing parts. She has been with Bravo
Company for one year. In the near fu-
ture, SPC Jackson plans on getting a
Department of Defense job as a con-
tractor overseas.
PLL's day usually starts at 0730,
where they turn in fifty different parts
to include, but not limited to vehicle
parts. Bravo PLL not only orders parts
for Bravo Company, but also for the
entire Warhorse Brigade. Their job is
very intricate and involves a lot of
knowledge about military vehicles and
the parts that make those vehicles oper-
ate. Without PLL ordering the parts
accurately and in a timely manner, the
rest of the sections including Mech
(Maintenance), GSE (Ground Support
Equipment), C&E (Communications
and Electronics), S&R (Service and
Recovery), and Armament would not be
able to do their jobs. The PLL Section
is not just responsible for ordering the
parts, but also for making sure that
those parts are picked up from the SSA
(Supply Support Activity), a warehouse
where supplies and parts are stored after
delivery.
The section must make a minimum
of one trip per day to the SSA, where
they pick up the parts that they have
ordered. The civilians have just recently
taken over operations of the warehouse.
"The civilians are great to work with
and are always ready and willing to
assist us when we come to the SSA,"
Says SPC Jackson. It is essential that all
military personnel have a copasetic
working relationship with the civilians.
The civilians contracted on FOB
Walton are assigned to help military
personnel with their day to day tasks.
Even though it is the civilians’ job to
help military personnel, they do it
with the utmost fortitude.
Once they have picked up the
parts and returned to the PLL Shop,
they process and issue them to dif-
ferent units and sections. Having so
many parts ordered daily can be-
come hectic when they bring the
parts back to the shop, but with great
organizational skills, the Bravo
Company PLL Shop makes the proc-
ess simple. “You have to stay organ-
ized or it can become very chaotic,
with all the parts and people coming
in and out of the shop,” says SGT
Ochoa. Soldiers from the entire
204th BSB come in everyday to the
PLL shop to have vehicles dis-
patched, vehicles dead-lined and
parts ordered so that vehicles can be
fixed.
Not only does PLL order parts,
they are also responsible for issuing
out license records to the entire bat-
talion. Without PLL creating and
issuing the licenses it would be ille-
gal for Soldiers to operate certain
vehicles which are essential in com-
pleting many missions. "Typing up
licenses can seem repetitive and time
consuming, but it is very important
that our Soldiers have the correct
license when driving any military
vehicle," says Corporal Ellis. Mili
CPL Ellis helps a customer with
vehicle maintenance paperwork.
SGT Ochoa thanks a civilian worker
from the Supply Support Activity (SSA)
for helping him load and deliver parts.
P A G E 4
SPC Baraa Abbas, a Wa-
ter Treatment Specialist
with Alpha Company
tests the water at the
Camp Nathan Smith swimming
pool and poses with a local na-
tional worker that works there.
Testing the Water (fire points), healthy living
(water pumps), and morale
(pool) for the Soldiers at
CNS. It is a big job to han-
dle for the man from Bagh-
dad, Iraq but he is certainly
up to the challenge and en-
joying every minute of it.
Only arriving to A CO a few
short months before deploy-
ment, SPC Abbas has already
made a big impact on the
company and battalion due to
his educational background.
SPC Abbas holds a Bache-
lor’s Degree in Microbiology
from Baghdad University
and graduated as the Distin-
guished Honor Grad in his
92W, Water Treatment Spe-
cialist, AIT class at Fort Lee.
SPC Abbas’ main con-
cerns in ensuring a clean,
clear swimming pool, he
concentrates his efforts in
two major areas: maintaining
or adjusting the chemical
balance of the pool water,
and removing the unwanted
dirt and foreign particles
from the swimming pool. In
addition, the chemical bal-
ance of the swimming pool
water cannot be maintained by
adding pool chemicals on de-
mand. SPC Abbas needs to
regularly test the pool water
and adjust the levels, by add-
ing pool chemicals, according
to the results of the pool water
tests. SPC Abbas states that
“A regular swimming pool
maintenance program can help
to prevent swimming pool
problems and avoid pool wa-
ter problems. Prevention is
better than cure, and makes
for much easier pool mainte-
nance.” SPC Abbas checks
the pH everyday and makes
sure the pH remains at 7.5
which keeps the chlorine 50-
60% active. Keeping the pH
in check allows the full poten-
tial of the chlorine to work in
keeping the pool clean.
SPC Baraa Abbas’ job of
maintaining all of the fire
points and water pumps on
Camp Nathan Smith is just as
critical as the pool. His job
often goes unnoticed but one
can debate that it is one of the
most important jobs on CNS
in supporting the 204th BSB
Mayor Cell and the Warhorse
Brigade.
KANDA-
H A R ,
Afghani-
stan—
Yes, the
pool at
C a m p
N a t h a n
S m i t h
(CNS) is
one of the main things that
people from other FOBs talk
about most. However, what
is not talked about is how the
pool is maintained. Some
may think it is contracted out
or local nationals are the
ones cleaning the pool.
Well, the answer is neither.
SPC Baraa Abbas from A
CO, 204th BSB, 2-4ID is the
man behind the scenes that is
keeping the pool at CNS
clean and able to swim in. In
addition to his pool cleaning
duties at CNS, more impor-
tantly, SPC Abbas is in
charge of maintaining all of
the fire points and water
pumps on all of Camp Na-
than Smith.
SPC Abbas’ job at CNS is
critical to ensuring safety
R O U G H R I D E R C O N N E C T I O N
(From Logistical Specialists)
-tary Licenses list all the dif-
ferent types of military vehi-
cles that a Soldier can drive.
It is very essential that the
military vehicles driven by
military personnel are in good
standing condition and have
had the required maintenance
checks. PLL keeps record of
how much mileage each vehi-
cle has and how much longer
it can be driven before a main-
tenance check is needed.
"Keeping track of the main-
tenance records for a vehicle
is one of our top priorities,“
says SPC Jackson. Ensuring
that the vehicle is in good
operating condition is to
help ensure the safety of the
Soldier driving the vehicle.
There are many facets to
the overall job of a PLL
shop. SGT Ochoa, CPL Ellis
and SPC Jackson work
many hours a day to ensure
that the rest of the sections
in Bravo Company and the
Battalion can accomplish
their individual missions.
The PLL Shop takes their
job very seriously, because
they know that without
parts to help things run
many vehicles would not
function. They know that
deployed missions are very
important, and they strive
to do what they can to
make sure missions are not
jeopardized.
By CPT Austin Luher, A Company Commander
“Prevention is better
than cure.”
SPC Jackson processes paper-
work to ensure the proper parts
get to the right customers.
P A G E 5
By CPT Jessica
Maxim, Charlie Com-
pany Commander
KANDAHAR, Af-
ghanistan—
In the past month, the
females of Charlie
Company, 204th Bri-
gade Support Battalion
(BSB), 2nd Brigade
Combat Team (BCT),
4th Infantry Division
(ID) have provided
cultural support for
Combined Task Force
(TF) Spartan with the
10th Mountain Divi-
sion and TF Bison from 2BCT
4ID through twenty-seven mis-
sions. During these missions, the
female Soldier patrols with units
comprised of male Soldiers to
locations in and around Kandahar
City, Afghanistan. The female
Soldier aids in providing security
for and conducting searches of the
local women for items of potential
interest. She is ultimately respon-
sible for the safety of the women
and children if the situation would
become dangerous.
SPC Jessica Malbrough, a
68W, Combat Medic with Charlie
Company explains her experience
of providing support during pa-
trols, “I get to interact with the
local population and directly con-
tribute to detaining HVTs (high
value targets) that will eventually
aid in the safety of the people of
Afghanistan. These patrols are
the highlight of my deployment!”
SPC Luana Cruz adds her ex-
perience, “Tracking HVTs through
the city is a huge rush. I love being
able to execute Warrior Tasks and
Drills in a combat environment and
applying all the training we have
received.” SPC Cruz is a 74D,
Charlie Company’s Nuclear, Bio-
logical and Chemical (NBC) Spe-
cialist.
More recently, SGT Katyusck
DeBlanc and SGT Michelle Grace
have been selected from Charlie
Company to provide cultural sup-
port to TF Spartan located at Kan-
dahar Airfield (KAF). Other fe-
male Soldiers of Charlie Company
provide cultural support for mis-
sions originating at Camp Nathan
Smith (CNS) with TF Bison.
By SGT Harold Self, Helicopter
Landing Zone NCOIC
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan—
In accordance with the standard op-
erating procedures (SOP), this is a
four-man operation with two NCO’s
and two Soldiers. For the past
month and a half, the helicopter
landing zone (HLZ) has been run by
two Rough Riders, SGT Harold Self
from Headquarters and Headquar-
ters Company (HHC) and SPC
David Sharp from Alpha Company,
on call 24-hours a day. Besides the
scheduled flights, they man the HLZ
f o r m e d i c a l e v a c u a t i o n s
(MEDEVACs) and VIP visits that
may arrive to FOB Walton (such as
the recent visit by Secretary of De-
fense Robert Gates). The overall
mission is safety and speed.
On a regular day at the HLZ,
they arrive before dawn and start
with radio checks with the main
radios in the tactical operations cen-
ter (TOC) where they maintain com-
munication throughout the opera-
tion. They then walk the HLZ and
pick up any trash that may have
blown onto it to ensure the rotors
don’t spin up and injure anyone in
the area. After they police the area,
they do a roll call and have all the po-
tential passengers line up with their
gear. The passengers then receive a
brief on required personal protective
equipment and how to safely enter the
aircraft, as well as the emergency pro-
cedures should an accident occur.
It is important that the crew and
passengers do not delay the mission.
The arriving passengers sign in with
the HLZ crew and are assisted in their
link-up with respective personnel on
FOB Walton.
Some of the more notable missions
were not only for the Secretary of De-
fense Robert Gates, but also some Af-
ghan Army Generals. The HLZ crew
also pulled security on Mr. Secretary’s
aircraft while he spoke to the Soldiers
on the FOB.
To date, the crew has assisted over
1,230 passengers during more than
125 touch downs.
SPC Luana Cruz poses next to Afghan children during a patrol.
Female Cultural Support from Charlie Company
FOB Walton’s Helicopter Landing Zone Crew
V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4
SGT Self goes over the flight schedule with Mr.
Lionel Duckworth, an Army Veteran that works
for DynCorps on FOB Walton, while SPC
Sharp monitors the radio for an incoming flight.