Special troopS battalion, 1Sb baGraM airFielD, aFGHaniStan

BATTALION COMMANDER

reliable newSletter noVeMber 2012 – VoluMe ii

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STB

RELIABLE 6 Dear Reliable Soldiers and Family, It has been one month since our last newsletter. As we work hard in Afghanistan, it is incredible just how much we have accomplished in such little time. Along the way, we always take time to recognize outstanding performances by our Soldiers. I had the pleasure of seeing Soldiers get promoted, congratulated them on their birthdays, recognized Soldiers with Certificates of Achievement and Army Achievement Medals, and we have also reenlisted outstanding Soldiers. It is astonishing how our Soldiers selflessly reenlisted in the Army to continue supporting our great nation during our time of need. The call that our Soldiers answer is equally answered by the family members that support them. Recently, the Army was accepting charitable contributions from our Soldiers during the Combined Federal Campaign. This is a time where Soldiers can donate any amount to a variety of charities. The Reliable family collected over $22,000 in support of some very worthy charities. Needless to say, this is another example of our Soldiers service to our great nation. I would also like to take a moment to let you know that as super storm Sandy was getting ready to hit the east coast, the company First Sergeants contacted each and every Soldier that might have had family in that region. We wanted to ensure that every Soldier had an opportunity to call loved ones and family in those regions to ensure they were all right. Even though we are in Afghanistan, we continuously monitor events in the U.S. that might affect our Soldiers. Trust me when I tell you that our Soldiers and anything that might affect them while we are deployed are my number one concern and priority. I am amazed at how quickly our Soldiers have integrated themselves into the mission. The CSM and I have made our way to most of the locations we have Soldiers in order to see firsthand the amazing job our Reliable Soldiers do each and every day. Every location I have visited has exceeded my expectations and I will continue to visit our Soldiers until I get to every location. This month we celebrate Thanksgiving and I would like to ask that that the Reliable Family take a moment to reflect on what each and every one of us are thankful for. I am personally thankful for the hard work that every Reliable Soldier contributes to our mission in Afghanistan and for all of our Family members back at home that support us. Without the support of our Army Families, we would not be able to focus on our mission and assist the Afghan people. A special thank you to our Rear Detachment Cadre and Staff that continue to do an amazing job back at Fort Riley. Keep up the great work. From the Reliable Command Team, we wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving Holiday.

Respectfully, LTC Charles A. Stamm

“Reliable 6”

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Task Force Reliable takes first place in the Sword Challenge.

SPC Pilkington instructs during the TF Reliable Combatives class.

BATTALION COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR

REQUEST FOR THE NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL: jimmy.plata@afghan.swa.army.mil

RELIABLE 7

Dear Reliable Soldiers and Family Members, Let me start off by telling you that our Service Members are some of the best Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen that I have had the pleasure to work with. I am simply amazed as I reflect on our accomplishments over the past month. Our sister battalion, the 548th CSSB, held a competitive event known as the Sword Challenge. In this event, 4 person teams competed in various events in the two day challenge. An invitation was sent to me personally asking if I had any teams that wanted to compete, big mistake. As the new battalion in town, apparently they thought we wouldn’t be up to the challenge. I quickly passed the word and we came up with four Reliable teams to send to this challenge. We went into their home and smoked them! On the second day, the Reliable teams ended up placing in 1st (HHC, STB), 2nd (C/106th), and 4th (HHC, STB) place. Other accomplishments included promotions, awards ceremonies, reenlistments, and redeployment for some units. This month we celebrate Thanksgiving. For many Service Members it will be their first away from home, while for others it will be another holiday in a far away land. Regardless, I want everyone to know that we will celebrate Thanksgiving in Afghanistan as a Family. I will personally be serving turkey to our Service Members as I thank each and every one of them while they walk through our dining facility. I would ask that our Families and friends at home take a moment and think about our Soldiers as you and your families gather around the table to celebrate Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all the support you provide our Service Members every day. As I travel around the different bases, I enjoy speaking to Service Members. I have found that if I’m open and honest with them, they will tell me what is on their mind. This allows me to maintain an open line of communication with them and helps me identify issues that might need my involvement. Rest assured that if any Service Member has an issue, I will resolve it. Equally as important is for you to speak with your Service Member. Communication reassures both the Service Member and their Family that things are going well. Be sure to keep the lines of communication open. Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Respectfully, CSM Thomas R. Moore

“Reliable 7”

SFC Leon in the tire flips competition. “Always Reliable!” SFC Leon, CW2 Bridgham, SFC Lockhart and SPC Meyers ruck march to 1st place.

Family, Friends and Soldiers of HHC, first and foremost, your Soldiers are safe, secure and in good spirits. Much has taken place in the last month. The month started with HHC hosting a Brigade Combatives Training Course training 12 Soldiers. Other training at the company included a M16, M4, M9 Range an APFT, and Equal Opportunity Training. At the same time, while still performing their daily mission each section has been working hard to increase their own Soldiers individual proficiency within their Military Occupational Specialty. It is my honor to announce to you all that our Executive Officer 1LT Sam Weber was selected to become the International Security Assistance Forces G4 Aide-de-camp. This is a great honor for us and at the same time it saddens us to lose such a good officer within our formation. Sam took on the responsibility with the same energy and enthusiasm we all know him for; he will do a great job. We had two teams participate in the 548th CSSB Sword Challenge, Team 1 with SFC Lockhart, SFC Leon, SPC Meyers, & CW2 Bridgham, and Team 2 with CPT Yee, CPT Taylor, CPT Birkel and CPT Knyshev. This competition was designed to test the mental and physical toughness of our Soldiers and consisted of a tire flip, sand bag carry, mile run, pushup, sit up, two mile relay, six mile ruck march, and litter carry events. Our teams placed 1st and 4th out of 18 teams competing. Great job to both of our teams for their hard work and determination! One of the non-standard missions our Soldiers have embraced is that of running a Humanitarian Assistance Yard. This three acre yard is home to 162 containers filled with items to distribute to the local population. Just some of the items include sweaters, heating coal, vegetable oils, rice, flour, and school supplies. These items are an essential part in the Counter Insurgency Strategy and build the trust of the local population. Upon our arrival it was determined the yard needed much work and through the dedicated efforts of SFC Remily, SSG Lopez, SSG Dettmann and SGT Kiad they have managed to bring the yard up to standard in less than a month. To date, they have sent out more than $30,000 worth of much needed humanitarian supplies and equipment within our regions and will continue to increase their distribution volume in the months to come. Great work by some hard working HHC Soldiers! On the first of November we had an Awards and Promotion Marathon. 30 Soldiers received Certificates of Achievement for scoring 270 point on their last Army Physical Fitness Test at Ft Riley. We presented 12 Good Conduct Medals and promoted nine junior enlisted Soldiers. Additionally this month we had the honor of promoting Thomas Skinner to Sergeant First Class and Alicia Grados to Captain. Throughout the last month we also had 14 more Soldiers reenlist totaling 24 since deploying. Best Regards to you all,

“VAN” “TOP” C.P. VAN DELIST ROBERT P. MCELYEA

Captain, Logistics First Sergeant, U.S. Army COMMANDING FIRST SERGEANT

HHC, STB

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11TH QUARTERMASTER COMPANY

11th Quartermaster Detachment

Continuing to provide world class support this month, we rigged and dropped 1,001 Container Delivery Systems (CDS), low cost low altitude (LCLA), and Joint Precision Airdrop Systems weighing 1.3 million pounds which consisted of various supplies. We performed a total of 73 missions in support of 19 Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) throughout the Combined Joint Operations Area.

Always thriving for excellence, three NCOs

and five Soldiers received recognition by both certificates of achievement and coins from Brigadier General French (Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan Commanding General) for their devotion and dedication to mission success throughout the entire deployment. Newly promoted, CPL Foose immediately stepped up and filled the duty positions of Squad Leader and Lane Chief as he displayed his ability and desire to accept levels of greater responsibility. We also had SGT Apatang dedicate four more years of service to our Nation as she re-enlisted this month.

This month we maintained a high level of

motivation as we prepare to close out an extremely rewarding, memorable, and proud experience. We remain focused in preparation to receive 647th QM as they will be assuming responsibility of the Aerial Delivery mission next month.

“ALL THE WAY” 1LT Carrea Johnson Detachment Commander

General French presents awards to 8 well deserving Soldiers.

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October 31st can be a scary time or a really fun one. The 176th Financial Management Support Detachment (FMSD) decided to make it a little bit of both. Halloween 2012 started early with a 5K run at 0600 sponsored by the local USO.

After the run, daily operations began with one fun twist. Customers coming into the finance office

were greeted with fun costumes and festive Halloween decorations. Throughout the day pictures and jokes were the common theme amongst the soldiers of the 176th FMSD.

Mission readiness and completion has been the primary focus for the detachment since arriving in

August. However, being able to have fun awakens a newfound love for helping customers every day. Leaders aim to create a comfortable and fun atmosphere for every soldier serving with them.

According to SPC Michael Byrd, a Financial Management Support Team cashier with the 176th

FMSD, “The customers loved coming into our office. Customers forgot it was Halloween, and it was great seeing everyone participating. The customers had fun, we had fun, and it was a great day.”

The Soldiers of the 176th FMSD work hard every day. They have continued to push themselves and

their peers to be the best office, serving the best customers in Afghanistan. It seems that they are ahead of the game and continually pushing themselves to become the very best they can be.

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33RD FMSU

SPC Short, SPC Byrd, and SGT Hughes pose before running the Zombie 5K.

SPC Short, SSG Akers, SGT Hughes, and SPC Bartley take a break from work to pose for pictures.

With less than two months left in theatre most Soldiers from the 60th Ordnance Company are comfortable with their daily routines working in the yard of the ASP. Not so much for one young engineer, Private First Class Leady, whose mission has changed out here from week to week. Although he may be one the youngest Soldiers in the company, PFC Leady has gained valuable experience in his MOS while deployed with the 60th Ordnance Company at Bagram. He has performed horizontal engineering by helping with the construction of the solar shades in the In Bound/ Out Bound Yard. He has helped with a handful of carpentry projects, from building stair cases, to decks, to constructing a roof over the residue section. Most recently he has honed his skills specifically to his MOS which is horizontal construction by helping the Seabees re-build the berms out in the ASP. PFC Leady has also earned his Level I certification in Combatives and was even recognized by the instructor and BN CSM for his superior performance in the class and looks forward to taking Level II in Dec. PFC Leady said he joined the Army to become more efficient as an engineer, construction has always been a passion of his while growing up. He is excited to get out of his small hometown and see what the world has to offer.

60TH ORDNANCE COMPANY

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PFC Leady congratulating a fellow engineer on his AAM, an award they all received for constructing the solar shades in the ASP

PFC Leady donning his full battle rattle in an exercise to test ASP security.

It is with great pleasure that the 147th Human Resources Company, Headquarters element, was able to welcome our replacements, the 444th Human Resources Company, on 5 November 2012. They arrived in theater with 14 of their 19 personnel and the other five were not far behind, arriving on 12 November 2012. The Soldiers from the Headquarters element make up the team in Bagram and the team at FOB Fenty. It has been a long year and we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We were mobilized in Minnesota on 3 December 2011 and spent the next month training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. We arrived in Manas on 3 January 2012 and finally in Bagram on 7 January 2012. During command our team was comprised of Service Members at nineteen different locations from three different branches of Service: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, making us the only Joint Unit within the Brigade. We have overseen the RIP/TOA of five postal platoons, two Casualty Liaison Teams (CLTs), one Air Force Personnel Accountability Team (PAT), and the curtailing of a second Air Force PAT team. We processed over 300 awards, 150 leave packets, 27 demob packets, and over 20 PR&C packets, ensuring all FOBs had the required NTVs and MHEs needed to ensure mission accomplishment. The Bagram APO oversaw the generation of over $3.1 million in revenue and the processing of over 9 million pounds of retrograde mail (going back to the United States). The Regional Mail Distribution Center (RMDC) oversaw the movement of over 25 million pounds of prograde mail (coming in to theater) and over 7.5 million pounds of retrograde mail coming in from the outlying locations. The personnel at FOB Fenty APO oversaw the generation of over $685,000 in revenue, received over 3 million pounds of prograde mail, and pushed out over 1.4 million pounds of retrograde mail. All of this was accomplished successfully and without any backlog. The members of the 444th HR Company, Headquarters element, will do great things here. Not only do they come with a wealth of postal knowledge as most of them have prior deployment experience in a postal environment, but because they are also falling in on a great team. “Always Ready” MAJ Jackie Stenger Commander

Soldiers of the 444th HR CO zero their rifles during RSOI training after arriving in Bagram.

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147TH HUMAN RESOURCES COMMAND

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As the curtain falls upon our journey on Bagram, we take a moment and contemplate the summit of our long but exciting endeavour towards yet another milestone achieved by the 215th MP Det and their mighty Enforcers. During the last few weeks of wrapping things up, leaving strong foundations for the 396th MP Det., the Enforcers and its Operations Section have concentrated their efforts in guiding the RC-North and RC-South AOR’s Main Customs Operations under one cohesive standard and procedure. They were properly advised of SOP changes and recent modifications to the CCR 600-10. Our Operations NCOIC has provided purpose, direction and guidance to the newly graduated USDA agents stationed in FOB Sharana, where a new USDA program is currently being implemented. All Customs guidelines, SOPs, forms and regulations have been forwarded to this new team in order for them to be successful in the task at hand. All of this guidance provided and support efforts are part of the initiative spearheaded by the mighty 215th MP Det Enforcers and their constant desire to improve and build upon an already sensitive but vast Customs program that currently extends its reach along the entire CJOA. This has been our main goal since we arrived back in January 2012 and as our time comes to an end, we can only hope that this legacy will serve as a strong foundation for Units to come. It has been a pleasure and a real honor to be part of this unique mission whose main purpose is to safeguard the security of our great warriors and the safety of our homeland. Our Operational numbers for the year reflect upon the long and cumbersome path that now lays behind us shattering all previous records set by our predecessors: 1,200 Flights, 61,500 Passengers, 190,000 bags, 1,200 Connexes, 8,500 Containers, 2,400 Pallets, 22,000 contraband / prohibited items seized thru our Amnesty program and 4,500 Customers serviced thru our Customer Service Counter. All of this meeting the already thousands of pounds of equipment cleared to arrive back in CONUS, playing an important part of all Units’ re-deployment process.

On behalf of the entire 215th MP Det Family, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the 1STB

and all Units’ that have supported our mission during the last year. It has definitely been a great adventure but as all good things in life must come to an end, there is no real ending of our story but just another campaign in the long lineage of this great Unit history. We wish you all a safe time in Afghanistan and a Merry Christmas among your Brothers and Sisters in arms. GOD speed and good luck wherever life takes you from here.

SSG (P) Fabian Rodriguez Detachment Sergeant Unit Public Affairs Representative

215TH MILITARY POLICE

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SPC (P) Melendez, Luis from the 215th MP Det goes thru one of the many interactions required to graduate from Combatives Level I Course FOB Sharana.

CPL Ormaza successfully performs the side arm clinch on his opponent.

Another month in Afghanistan has passed, and the Warbirds have been working hard maintaining communications for their various sites. We have also had some changes in leadership this month. I want to bid farewell to SFC Donald Mays and welcome 1SG Michael Boswell to the team. Over the better part of the last year, SFC Mays dedicated his time to the Warbirds preparing us for deployment to Afghanistan. He was with the company during all of the pre-deployment training events and he pushed us out of Ft Riley to Afghanistan. SFC Mays enjoyed challenging the company during the morning PT sessions with quick runs and several sets of pushups. But most of all, he liked working with the Soldiers and mentoring the NCOs. We all want to say thank you for your service and best of luck on your future endeavors. As we say goodbye to a proven Signaleer, we welcome another proven Signaleer who comes to us with many years of signal experience, 1SG Boswell. Speaking for myself and the rest of the company, we are excited to work with you and want to welcome you and your Family to the Warbirds. Over the past month, the company has been occupied maintaining our fleet of vehicles, installing radio equipment, and training other units on their communications equipment. We sharpened our basic Soldier skills with weapon ranges, classes, drivers training, and physical training (PT) sessions. Training aside, we competed in a few events and broke up the usual routine of tower guard and equipment maintenance. The company competed in the 378th CSSB Soldier and NCO of the Month Boards, winning both boards. Congratulations to SGT Singleton and SPC Jacobson who won their respective board and will compete in the next quarterly boards. I am proud of both of them and anticipate more victories in the future. SGT Trowbridge, SGT Scott, SPC Fluker, and SPC Gardner reenlisted, and I was pleased to see each of these great Soldiers stay in the Army. Next week, the company will execute the PT Challenge event, which will consist of several calisthenic events with a battle buddy around a 1.2 mile course. The PT Challenge will test Soldiers’ fitness levels in addition to their ability to work as a team. After the challenge, we will have our Thanksgiving meal, give thanks, and reflect on all the things that are important in our lives. Thank you to the Families back in the States for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Oliver B. Highley Commander

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267TH SIGNAL COMPANY

Signal Soldiers qualifying at the 240B range.

Farewell for 1SG Mays.