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Happy New Year!

It is my goal to publish a monthly newsletter, outlining our successes and to recognize our deployed troops.   It is hard to be away from home, family and loved ones, especially during the holidays. I know it is also hard on families that are left behind. My heartfelt appreciation and thanks goes out to our Family Readiness Group, the USO, AOL, Soldier's Angels, Wawa Convenience Stores, and each person (too many to name) who sent packages, and messages over the holidays.  Your simple act of kindness has earned a special place in the hearts of us deployed.

Best wishes for 2012!

Happy New Year from Viper 6 Major Michael Smith

Colonel William McRae and Captain Jordan Swears review a Dari Fire Support Guide during a visit by Railgunner 6 to Multinational Base Tarin Kowt.

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Captain David Clayton and Sergeant First Class Chad Burns developing a plan for gunline training.

Lieutenant Jake Taitano gives instructions to an ANA Fire Direction team.

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The Soldiers of Artillery-Mobile Education and Training Team 1 pose for a group photo with Australian Soldiers from the Operational Mentoring and Liason Team in Multinational Baes Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

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Happy Holidays from Tarin KowtCaptain Ryan Greening

Colonel McRae meets with ANA Lieutenant Colonel Aziz Ullah, who is attending Fire Support classes with TF 1-21.

December was a significant month for Artillery-Mobile Education and Training Team 1, which hosted two distinguished visitors. The first, 41st Fires Brigade commander Colonel William McRae, visited Tarin Kowt over Christmas. The second, Brigadier Stevenson of the British Army, currently serving as deputy commander, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, visited a few days later. We received high accolades and distinction for setting the standards for all mentoring teams to follow.   Every visitor we have received so far from the US Army, Australian Army, and our Afghan allies h a v e b e e n i m p r e s s e d b y t h e professionalism of our Soldiers and the enthusiasm of our students.We have been working diligently since our arrival at Tarin Kowt, and we continue to train the Afghan Artillery Battery and Staff of the 4th Kandak, 4th Brigade,

205th ‘Atal’ (Hero) Corps, Afghan National Army. The team is working hard every day to ensure their Afghan students are trained and ready to go out into operations defending Afghanistan from insurgents who seek to destabilize the country.January and February will be the culminating months for training with the Afghan Battery as we prepare to certify their cannon and fire directioncrews and conduct a joint live fire exercise with American instructors and Afghan

students. This will be the first live fire exercise focused on indirect fire completed by this unit, and the students are as excited as we are to demonstrate the skills they have learned. The high level of c o m m i t m e n t and eagerness to learn shown by the A N A h a v e c o m e a s a we l c o m e surprise to the team, and has contr ibuted greatly to the b l o s s oming t e a m w o r k b e t w e e n Soldiers from t h e t w o armies, and is an sign of great things yet to come for Task Force 1-21.

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Gunline

Captain David Clayton

A team of eight 41st Fires Brigade Soldiers are teaching over forty Afghan National Army troops the skills needed for artillery offensive and defensive operations in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.  “The main focus of the training is getting the ANA converted from a 6,000 mil artillery targeting system to the NATO standard of 6,400 mils,” said Army 1LT Daniel Underwood, gunline instructor.  The gunline team is working side-by-side with Australian Field Artillery mentors to develop 4/4/205th Kandak into the most proficient ANA battery in theater.  According to SFC Chad Burns, “Our training has been so successful the Afghan Field Artillery School in Kabul has adopted a lot of our training program.”  Over the next few weeks, the gunline instructors plan to transition the training over to the ANA themselves, with the instructors filling a purely mentorship role. “The goal is to empower the ANA noncommissioned officers and to develop their skills to train incoming personnel,” said SSG Timothy Fournier.       

Fire SupportCaptain Jordan Swears

The Fire Support instruction team spent the month of December building on their students’ ability to act as forward observers. The class, composed of sixteen Afghan officers from the kandak (battalion) and brigade staff, started the class with a limited knowledge of map reading. The dedicated instruction provided by the fire support team has taught them how to navigate, locate their position on a map, locate a target, and call the fire direction center to engage the target with artillery. The skills they have learned are then refined using an artillery computer simulator, where hits on target result in rounds of cheering and applause from students and instructors alike.In addition to improving the skills of Afghan students, the instructors have developed a friendly relationship with the Afghans. Breaks in class now usually involve instructors laughing and joking with students instead of the two groups clustering separately. This improved relationship is already showing benefits in the classroom and in the overall effectiveness of the team.

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Lieutenant Shannon Killian checks firing data calculated by Afghan National Army Fire Direction students.

Sergeant First Class William Lett reviews the Call for Fire process with a class of Afghan Fire Support Officers.

Fire DirectionCaptain John Noyes

December was an excellent month for the Fire Direction team. Though it is hard to be away from family and friends during the Holiday Season we worked hard and accomplished many things that were previously thought to be impossible. Our primary goal has been teaching ANA Fire Direction teams to process fire missions in under thirty minutes. We are proud to say that we have taught them to do it in under twenty-five. We hope to have them processing fire missions in under fifteen minutes, but that goal will take more practice. The ANA have come to know and trust us over the last few months and have often surprised us with their willingness to learn not only about Fire Direction, but also about us. In fact they have come to respect 1LT Killian so much that they actually showed up to class on her birthday this month with a gift and then sang “Happy Birthday,” to her in english. The relationship we have developed here will make a great impact not only on the 4th Kandak, but also the lives of these Afghan Soldiers.

Artillery-Mobile Education and Training Team 1, Task Force 1-21Fire Support

CPT Jordan Swears, OICSFC James Cookman, NCOIC

1LT Scarlett Woodruff1LT Robert DerbySFC William LettSGT Michael SparrowSPC Steven Fritz

Fire Direction

CPT John Noyes, OICSFC Farrin Kerr, NCOIC

1LT Shannon Killian1LT Jake Taitano1LT John ColletteSFC Steve RobitailleSGT Micah Fuson

Gunline

CPT David Clayton, OICSFC Reginald Kennedy, NCOIC

1LT Dan Underwood1LT Jeff GamezSFC Chad BurnsSSG Timothy FournierSGT Jeremy WolffPFC Nicholas Strauch

Headquarters

MAJ Mike SmithCPT Ryan Greening1SG Jose Barajas1SG Robert Jarzynkowski