Mountain Eagle Families,

I just finish publishing my

command philosophy for the

battalion. This document shares

my command beliefs and also

identifies what my priorities are

going to be during my tenure.

Most new commanders come in

and publish this document based

on their own experience and val-

ues; however, I took two months

to get to know this battalion be-

fore publishing my philosophy. I

am very happy I did. I have

learned many things during that

time but what is most clear to me

now is that our Soldier‘s combat

readiness is predicated on three

fundamentals before he or she

can come to work ready to train

to go to combat. The first two

are individual and personal. Sol-

diers must possess the right disci-

pline and must be fit mentally

and physically before anything

else. However, the very next

priority is the need for family

readiness and caring. I believe

that our Soldiers need to feel like

their family is cared for and

ready should he or she have to

answer the call of duty. This

feeling extends to the Spouses of

those Soldiers who need to feel

loved, secured and cared by their

Soldier Spouse and an institution

that relies on their sacrifices to

achieve its mission. Extended

families of single Soldiers are

also just as critical to this feeling.

Single Soldiers have significant

others that deserve to know what

is going on with their loved ones

and may also need support. In

the end, we cannot forget that we

are all just one family.

I recognize the criticality of

these feelings and my obligation

as your Commander to care for

you and get you ready. My Com-

pany Commanders and I have a

plan to meet this obligation. One

of the first things they will do is

to make personal contact with all

the immediate families here in

the Drum community. This is

important to us because of two

reasons. First, I want to let you

know that we care and second we

need to ask for your help in

standing up our volunteer support

network. In the next couple of

months, I will hold my initial

family briefs laying out what the

next year will look like for the TF

Mountain Eagle Family. This is

an extremely important informa-

Eagle Commander’s Corner

T A S K F O R C E

M O U N T A I N E A G L E

2 7 7 T H A V I A T I O N

S U P P O R T B A T T A L I O N Liberty Times S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 . V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8

H O T T O P I C S

No Alpha FRG

Meeting.

No Bravo FRG

Meeting.

Charlie FRG Meet-

ing: Thursday,

September 13,

2012, 4:30pm,

Company Head-

quarters.

HSC FRG Meeting:

Thursday, Septem-

ber 13, 2012,

5:00pm at HSC

Classroom, 20345 Anaconda Rd

C O N T A C T S

B A T T A L I O N S T A F F

D U T Y D E S K

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 0

C H A P L A I N

( M A J ) J O H N S O N

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 7

F A M I L Y R E A D I N E S S

S U P P O R T

A S S I S T A N T ( F R S A )

M I C H E L E G A L L O W A Y

3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 6

M I L I T A R Y F A M I L Y

L I F E C O N S U L T A N T

( M F L C )

3 1 5 - 4 0 5 - 7 4 4 9

3 1 5 - 2 1 2 - 6 9 1 9

A R M Y C O M M U N I T Y

S E R V I C E ( A C S )

I N F O R M A T I O N

A N D R E F E R R A L

3 1 5 - 7 7 2 - 6 5 5 7

1 - 8 0 0 - 8 2 6 - 0 8 8 6

M I L I T A R Y

O N E S O U R C E

1 - 8 0 0 - 3 4 2 - 9 6 4 7

By LTC Enrique Ortiz

Battalion Commander

tional brief which will lay out the road

we will face together for the next year.

It will also give me the opportunity to

describe the battalion‘s family readiness

framework and highlight the numerous

resources available to you, the Army

Family. You can also expect to see

many events populating the calendar.

You will see a Halloween Organiza-

tional Day, Thanksgiving food drives,

Christmas gift drives, and even an end

of year holiday event. You can also

expect a second battalion level meeting

in December to educate all the families

on our general deployment process and

procedures for family notifications, key

callers, go teams and care teams, social

media, etc. Next year is still open on

the calendar but we will plan more so-

cial events and also focus on scenario

based rehearsals of the procedures we

learned during this year‘s training.

There are so many moving pieces in

our organization, but caring for you and

getting you ready for contingencies are

two fundamental and permanent compo-

nents of our success. I believe we have

a good plan and with your help we can

make it a reality. Thank you for all you

do and give. I know you don‘t hear this

affirmation enough but never forget that

we (the Army, the Division, the Brigade

and Task Force Mountain Eagle) truly

appreciate your selfless sacrifices.

Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates

For the rest of the article, go to page 8.

B y D i a n a O r t i z

FRG Advisor

Mountain Eagle Soldiers &

Families,

we are starting to gear

up and welcoming volun-

teers to build each Company

team. I encourage everyone

to either speak to your single

soldier representative or the

FRG leader to find out how

you, your spouse or your

parents can support other

Soldiers and their families

within the Company. Please

keep in mind that your Com-

pany’s FRG is only as fun

and efficient as its members

make it. These coming months

will be training months for

P A G E 2

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

Headquarters & Support Company - Battle Penguins

Hello Families of HSC 277

ASB,

September will be flying by

before we know it. This month is

full of training throughout the

entire brigade. The FRG will

also begin stepping up their ac-

tivity by incorporating fundrais-

ers and events for single Soldiers

and families.

The company‘s organiza-

tional day on 27 July was a great

success. I would like to person-

ally thank all of the family mem-

bers and Soldiers that attended.

We had a great turnout of people

and it showed that people care

about our organization.

The next company FRG meet-

ing is on 13 September at the HSC,

277 ASB classroom, Building

20345, Anaconda Road (on the

airfield). If families would like free

child care, please contact Ms.

Michele Galloway, 774-1206.

HSC is in need of volunteers,

specifically for key callers. Key

callers are the people who have a

set amount of spouses/family mem-

bers that they are responsible for

calling when any information is

needed to be passed out. If anyone

is interested, please contact myself

or our FRG leader, Dawnmarie

Degrave.

Natalie Nissen

Talon 6

(315)774-1465

natalie.nissen@us.army.mil

By CPT Natalie Nissen

HSC Company Commander

Happy School Days, it's that

time of year when parents are

jumping up and down because

school is going to be right

around the corner.

Lets pray for a healthy school

year. Even though it is still sum-

mer, some bugs are playing hide

and seek. So pile on the soap,

anti-bacterial gel and so on so

we can have germ free kids

DawnMarie DeGrave

315-777-6152

Dawnmarie.Degrave

@us.army.mil

HSC Family Readiness Group Notes

Dawn Marie DeGrave

HSC FRG Leader

HSC FRG Leader Dawn-Marie DeGrave preparing to cut the cake for HSC Families/Soldiers at Org Day!

HSC Families/Soldiers at Remington Park enjoying Org Day!

HSC ORG DAY!!

P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8

Alpha Company Family Readiness Group Updates

Alpha Company - Atlas

hope that everybody had a great Block

Leave and enjoyed the fun filled sunny

days with the Family.

I would like to give a BIG Thank you

to all those who helped with the Alpha

ORG day. Family Members Candy

Kinne & Thelma Webb: you two are

awesome and I‘m so glad you were

there to help and keep me going. I could

not have made this day happen without

you. I know we had a few hiccups early

that morning, but we got everything

done and I hope that everybody enjoyed

the Day.

Thanks again everybody,

Alpha Family STRONG.

Former Alpha FRG Leader Sarah

Popp…Out.

Sarah Popp

A Company FRG Leader

Hello Alpha Eagle Family,

By the time that this newsletter is

published the Family and I will be well

on our way to Fort Polk, LA. So this

will be my last newsletter article. I will

miss you all dearly. When you have

been with the same group of people for

almost 5 years (that‘s a long time in the

Army Life) We build some really good

friendships, And those friendships are

what is making this move a little harder

than I thought it would be. I hope that

the support and the friendships continue

without me here. The Alpha Family is

Strong and I have faith that it will. I

By CPT Bryan Bolin

A Company Commander

Greetings Alpha Company fami-

lies!

The next couple of months are

going to be demanding on you Sol-

diers. We have several support

missions coming throughout Sep-

tember and October. We will be

sending information to the families

through the FRG so that you are

informed. Also, during our Sep-

tember FRG meeting we are invit-

ing LTC Ortiz to come and speak

to our families about the road

ahead and the road to war. We

will send out the dates and location

when details are finalized.

If anyone is interested in volun-

teering for the FRG feel free to

stop by the office and talk to me

about which position interests you.

We are looking for a new FRG

Leader as well as key callers. I

want to take this opportunity to

thank all of the families of Alpha

Company for all that you do and

all your support. We could not do

what we have to do if it weren‘t for

the families supporting us. I appreci-

ate all that you do and wish you the

best.

―On our shoulders!‖

Set up Crew

SGT Popp, SGT Smith, E.,SPC

Peeples, SPC Alcalde, SPC Vil-

chez, SPC Santos, PFC Dolan,

SPC Daniels, E., SPC McCarthy,

SPC Pezner, SPC Quiles

Grill Masters

SGT Popp

SGT Kinne

Clean up Crew

1st Squad SGT Kinne

SPC Webb

Thanks Alpha!

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

P A G E 4

Bravo Company - Hangar Rats By MAJ Del Boyer

B Company Commander

Bravo Company Family Readiness Group Updates

Karri Boyer

B Company FRG Leader

Charlie Company - Ravens

P A G E 5 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8

By CPT Matthew Thompson

C Company Commander

I hope everyone had a chance to

enjoy a couple of weeks off for block

leave at the beginning of July and

hopefully that was an enjoyable time

spent with loved ones. The Ravens

were immediately back at work the

week after block leave, preparing for

the 10th Mountain Division‘s major

summer exercise, dubbed Mountain

Peak. Charlie Company sent out

four of our Command Post Node

(CPN) teams to support the exercise

that took place over a two week period

on Fort Drum, NY‘s training area.

Each CPN team consists of four Ravens

and their computer and satellite equip-

ment that gives commanders access to

secure voice and data, essentially ac-

cess to the internet to communicate and

collaborate to complete their assigned

missions. It is an incredibly important

job and critical to the success of those

units. The four CPN teams provided

support to 2nd Brigade Combat Team‘s

B & C Troops, 1-89 Cavalry Squadron,

and A Company, 2-14 Infantry Battal-

ion, and our own Combat Aviation Bri-

gade‘s, 6-6 Cavalry Squadron. Each of

the teams did an outstanding job sup-

porting the units and we received much

kudos from the supported units on their

performance.

This month we also had a transition

in our first sergeant position. For those

of you who may not be familiar, the

first sergeant is the highest ranking

enlisted Soldier in the company and a

position of distinct honor within the

Army. Since December, 1SG Adelbert

Dunn had served in the position, guiding

and mentoring all of the Soldiers in the

company into an outstanding young or-

ganization. We welcome in 1SG John

Rogers and his family, joining us from a

tour in Korea, and we know that he will

take care of us and lead us on to even big-

ger and better accomplishments as we

prepare for the next fight. The next few

months will have the Ravens spreading

out all over the country to support major

training events to prepare the 10th Combat

Aviation Brigade for future combat opera-

tions. If you have been considering get-

ting more involved in the FRG, now is

definitely the time to get on board! Enjoy

the last couple weeks of summer, winter is

fast approaching!

CPT Matthew K. Thompson

315-774-1056

Matthew.k.thompson1@us.army.mil

Visit www.myarmyonesource.com

There are options to Login with your

username and password or Register if

you don‘t have a profile.

Fill out your information.

When you‘ve created a profile, click on

―Volunteer‖ on the top right section of

the page. This will take you to the Vol-

unteer Management Information System

(VMIS)

Click on ―Opportunity Locator‖

Select ―Fort Drum‖ under Military

Community and ―FRG: 10 AVN– 277‖

under the Organization and click Search.

Choose the volunteer position you‘d like

to apply for. When the new page loads,

click Apply.

Online VMIS FRG Volunteer Registration

Check out the FRSA Flash! The 277th ASB FRSA Flash has lots of

in-formation and is our Bi-weekly News-

letter for our Family Members and Sol-

diers. If you are not receiving the FRSA

Flash, please contact the 277th FRSA

Michele Galloway at 315-774-1206 or

Michele.e.galloway@us.army.mil.

Charlie Company First Sergeant By 1SG John D. Rogers

C Company First Sergeant

It brings me great pleasure

for my wife, Mison, my two sons,

and I to be a part of the Raven Fam-

ily. I would like to thank each of

you for welcoming me with open

arms into the Company, My family

will join me at the end of this month

and I know you will do the same for

them. It is definitely an honor and a

privilege to be serving amongst each

and every one of you. I look forward

to getting out and meeting all the Sol-

diers and Family members over the

next few weeks. I have heard nothing

but great things about Charlie Com-

pany. I know together we can con-

tinue to maintain the great reputation

that all of you have worked so hard to

build. Please know that my door is al-

ways open. Thank you all in advance

for your service, support, and sacrifice

you all have given to the unit, the Army,

and our fine Nation.

1SG John D. Rogers

315-774-1058

John.d.rogers32.mil@mail.mil

P A G E 6

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

D I D Y O U K N O W ?

Army Community Service

(ACS) has clinical Military

Family Life Consultants

(MFLCs) available for walk-

in confidential consults? If

you feel you need some-

one to talk to or are hav-

ing marital problems,

please call them at 315-212

-6919 or just stop by M-F

8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

ACS also has a Financial

Readiness Program that

provides free counseling or

advice on financial matters?

They can provide all types

of financial assistance: pull

credit reports, budgeting,

debt management, invest-

ing, etc. Call 772-0050 for

more info.

Behavioral Health Con-

tacts: Suicide Resources/

Hotlines Connor Clinic Appoint-

ment Line: 315-772-2778

After Hours Emergency

Services (Holidays and

Weekends) Before 9:00

pm: Acute Care Clinic,

315-772-5236

After 9:00 pm: Samaritan

Medical Center Emer-

gency Department: 315-

785-4100

Local 24-Hour Crisis Line:

315-785-4516

National Suicide Preven-

tion Lifeline: 1-800-273-

TALK

Suicide Prevention Action

Network (SPAN):

ww.spanusa.org

By CPT Steven Love

There is an appointed time for

everything. And there is a time

for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time

to die; A time to plant and a time

to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to

build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to

laugh; A time to mourn and a

time to dance. 5 A time to throw stones and a

time to gather stones; A time to

embrace and a time to shun em-

bracing. 6 A time to search and a time to

give up as lost; A time to keep

and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time

to sew together; A time to be

silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to

hate; A time for war and a time

for peace. Ecclesiastes 3

My time has come to move

on. For those in our community

of the Freedom and Liberty,

Mountain Eagle 277 battalion,

THANKS! You have supported me

in ways that have made my life

much richer. A man should not be

measured by the possessions he has

or the awards or accolades he ac-

quires but by the way he loves and

he is loved. 277 I have felt the

Love! Relationships have been a

great part of my ‗time‘ here and

that would not be possible without

you and those who have moved on.

As I move forward I do so remem-

bering what and who has helped me

be better and stronger for my next

chapter. I have benefitted im-

mensely from my time here, and

from the many people who have

helped me, far too many to mention

here.

What do I leave with you? Two

things I have spoken of often.

First, the 4 Pillars. We are made

Spiritually, Physically, Mentally

and Relationally. To Live well is to

take care of all these and to keep

them balanced. Secondly, I have

signed off on my letters with saying

Love Big, Live Well. I do not be-

lieve you will love life if you do

not live by loving people. Relation-

ships are where the greatest joys in

life will be experienced. Truly that

is where the greatest pain comes

from as well. To live life well is to

love life, to love life is to love and

be loved. You cannot do that if you

don‘t find strength, meaning and

joy that only God can give. My

faith has been my foundation, a

strength that settles me in the

storms and balances me in the emo-

tional times. From there I find the

ability to live well and to love oth-

ers and to love life. So may you

find in your time the ability to love

God, love others and love life. May

your time here be a season where

you look back and say in this time I

lived, I loved and I and others are

better for it!

God Bless the great people who

make up 277! Welcome to SPC

Chris Holle, 277‘s new BN Chap-

lain assistant. He will be assisting

the Soldiers and navigating people

in areas of ministry and the re-

sources that are available.

LOVE BIG, LIVE WELL!

Chaplain Love

There is a time for everything!!!

CONTACT INFORMATION BN Staff Duty 774-1200

24-hour BDE Staff Duty 774-1100

FRSA 774-1206 email michele.e.galloway.civ@mail.mil

FRG Leaders

HSC – Dawn Marie DeGrave cell: 315-777-6152; email

Dawnmarie.degrave@us.army.mil

A Co – TBA

B Co—Karri Boyer-cell: 315-767-6067, email Bco.277_frg@yahoo.com

C Co—Megan Wilson-cell: 818-279-3927, email M-MURDOCK@HOTMAIL.COM

FRG Advisors

Marion Harris - cell: 315-955-9106, email MISSA93DE@YAHOO.DE

Diana Ortiz – cell: 571-228-1962, email dianaortiz2410@gmail.com

Baby Safety Month

Hispanic Heritage Month

Self Improvement Month

National Courtesy Month

Labor Day

SCHO

OL

BEG

INS!!!

V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8

September 2012

P A G E 7

Super Sign-Up, September 6th, 9am-

3pm, Commons.

BOSS Beach Bash, September 7th,

11am-4pm, Remington Park.

In Her Shoes, September 7th, 9:30-

11:30am, Call 772-0593.

Teen Block Party, September

8th,Youth Center.

Family Night, September 11th, Com-

mons.

Teen Lock-In, September 14th, Youth

Center.

BOSS 5-K Run, September 15th, BOSS

NYC/Yankees Game Trip, September

15th, Parks and Recreation.

Community Events Need Help? Call or visit Military

OneSource to find infor-

mation about taxes, par-

enting, deployments,

finances, taxes, counsel-

ing, PCS moves & more!

Upcoming Key Caller

Class Dates: September 11th

All Classes are at ACS from

2-3:30 p.m. or 5-6:30p.m.

Call Mobilization and Deployment to

register at 315-772-0470.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Training/Classes

FRG Suspenses

BDE/BN/CO FRG

Meetings/Training/

Events

1

2 3

HOLIDAY

4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 KEY

CALLER TRAIN-

ING @ ACS

12 13 FRG LDR

TRAINING IN-FORMAL FUNDS TRAIN-ING @ ACS

14 15

16 17 TREASURER

REPORT/NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION DUE

18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Personal Financial Counselor is avail-

able . Call him at 315-523-3765 to

help set up a budget, check your

credit, develop a plan to get out of

debt, get started investing, or what-

ever you need assistance with. You

can also always call Financial Readi-

ness at 772-0050 for this same type of

assistance.

SCHOOL STARTS!!!

Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates, continued

P A G E 8

Eye On The Eagle

L I B E R T Y T I M E S

volunteers and help to get to know

each other. Our goal is to build a

strong support system for each Com-

pany. There always is someone

somewhere caring about the Soldier

when he or she is deployed. Every-

one is welcome to participate in your

FRG. By everyone I mean your

spouse, parents, grandparents or girl-

friend. Training will be provided and

volunteering an hour or two a month

will make a difference for families

and Soldiers. I look forward to meet

all the great FRG volunteers in up-

coming events and trainings!

On a second note we are calling all

the photographers in the Battalion.

If you took a picture that best repre-

sents the Battalion, please email it to

our FRSA Michele Galloway. Pic-

tures that best represent your fellow

soldiers, the area and our great sol-

diers while they perform their daily

work. We will share those captured

images in our newsletter and once we

find the perfect picture, we will create

a new BN T-shirt. Ideas or designs can

be sent to our FRSA. The final choice

and the designer or photographer who

created that image will receive a price!

Submissions to: Michele.e.Galloway.

civ@mail.mil. We will offer a

monthly QUIZ! Lets see how well

you know Ft. Drum and the surround-

ing area. Send your answers via email

to our FRSA and she will hand out a

$25 gift card to one correct answer

each month. Winners will also be men-

tioned in our upcoming Newsletters.

This quiz is open for all 277 ASB sol-

diers and direct family members. En-

joy & have fun while getting to know

your community!

SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW – Quiz

You can win a $25 Gift Card! Send your correct answers to our FRSA: Michele.e.Galloway.civ@mail.mil.

She will draw one winner per month 5 days after the Newsletter is sent out. Hurry and Good luck!

September Quiz:

After a visit to the local Thompson Zoo in Watertown:

1- How many exhibits are sponsored by the 10th Mountain Division?

2- What are the three warning signs of a skunk before he sprays his special perfume?

3- How many gray wolfs are in the Zoo?

4- Name 5 common songbirds of northern New York

5- What are the other 4 colors that black bears can be?

6- Name a breakfast, lunch and dinner choice for Otters

Now to our wonderful Ft. Drum area:

7-How many islands can be found between Kingston and Brockville?

8- What is Tug Hill?

9- Fort Drum consists of how many acres?

Lets see who read the August FRSA Flash!

10- What must you do in order to learn life skills?

P A G E 9 PICTURES

The Ravens form up for the

Change of Responsibility

ceremony between 1SG

Adelbert Dunn and 1SG

John Rogers on August 3,

2012.

1SG Adelbert Dunn ad-

dresses the Ravens for the

last time during the Change

of Responsibility ceremony

on August 3, 2012.

SGT Aaron Kalinowski, SPC

Adela Lira, SPC Ramona

Gately, and PFC Shereena Mar-

tinek erect the 15 meter LOS

antenna mast during the divi-

sion’s Mountain Peak training

exercise.

P A G E 1 0 PICTURES CONTINUED

The CPN 533 team sets up a

15-meter LOS antenna to pro-

vide communications support to

6-6th Cavalry Squadron Head-

quarters during Mountain Peak.

277th Aviation Support Battalion History

In February 2006, the 277th Aviation Support Battalion

deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring

Freedom VII, where it provided combat service and support

to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon.

The Unit redeployed in February of 2007 after earning the

Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker Award for best Aviation

Battalion in 2006 and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

In October 2008, the 277th ASB deployed to Iraq in sup-

port of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-11, where it provided

support and combat services to the 10th CAB, Task Force

Lightning. The unit redeployed in October 2009 and earned

the Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker award for the Best

Combat Service Support Battalion for the work performed

during its 2008-2009 deployment.

20125 Hangar Access Road

Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield

Fort Drum, NY 13602

Phone: 315-774-1206

Fax: 315-774-1231

E-mail: michele.e.galloway.civ@mail.mil

277th Aviation Support Battalion

10th Combat Aviation Brigade

“Freedom and Liberty”

P A G E 1 1