dedication of the Black

Knights and their Iraqi and

US partners. Every com-

pany deserves recognition

as they are all integral to

the fight. I am especially

pleased that they seem to

seek out new ways to con-

tribute to the mission. Be-

lieve me; it is easy to com-

mand an organization

where people are trying to

find ways to contribute.

Please continue to pray for

our mission and the pro-

tection of our Soldiers and

Families.

The next few

months will be a period of

transition and turbulence.

Of course, we are all still

waiting on what the

Hello, folks. I

hope all of you are well. As

the tenth anniversary of

9/11 comes upon us, I find

it is helpful to reflect on

what has happened in the

last ten years. Wow, how

our lives have been

changed. This war has

deeply impacted those of us

in the Army the most, with

the frequent and long de-

ployments. We have seen

success over the past year,

though, with the death of

Osama Bin Laden, the Arab

Spring, and developments

in Afghanistan. I wanted to

take a minute to bring you

up to speed on a few devel-

opments here in Iraq as

well.

First, the Black

Knights are doing a fantas-

tic job. I believe that we

have hit our stride and are

really taking it to the en-

emy. Our mission is to

essentially secure the major

road networks that pass

through northern Salah ah

Din province. US forces

travel these roads back and

forth to various bases here

in Iraq. I am proud to re-

port that attacks against US

forces and ISF are down

27% since our arrival.

As usual, many

people were concerned that

we would experience an

increase in attacks during

the Muslim holy month of

Ramadan. That simply did

not happen and I attribute

that to the hard work and

Knight 6 Headlines

US Army

The Black Knights

1 September Issue 3

Knight 9 News Hello Black Knight Family,

This month I want to con-

gratulate 1SG Stephen (HHC) on his

selection to Sergeant Major and SFC

Pellet (HHC) on his well deserved

promotion to Sergeant First Class.

These two NCO’s are the epitome of

leadership and army values. SPC Fra-

zier (E FSC) earned Battalion Soldier

of the Month by demonstrating he

possesses the attributes that we are

looking for in our future leaders. I

know that the families of these three

Soldiers are just as proud of them as

we are.

Like you, our Soldiers did not

let the 100 plus degree heat stand in

their way or prevent them from their

mission of finding caches or preventing

indirect fire attacks. They continued to

work hard making Salah Ad Din prov-

ince safe for Iraqi’s and American Sol-

diers.

As always thank you for the

love and support you give us. It makes

our jobs so much easier.

-Black Knight 9

Black Knights

1-5 CAV/2HBCT/1CD

COB SPEICHER

APO AE 09393

K6 Column 1

CSM 1

A Co 2

B Co 3

C Co 4

D Co 5

HHC 6

EFSC 7

Chaplain’s Corner 9

BLACK KNIGHT 6

LTC DANIELS

BLACK KNIGHT 9

CSM LOWERY

-AUG 2011 COB Speicher

-see Knight 6 on pg 8

Annihilator Action

On 21 August 2011

at 0400, the temperature was

already over 90 degrees when

25 Soldiers from TM A, 1-5

CAV participated in an eight

mile road march. It was a

race to the finish and a test of

these Soldiers’ war spirit.

The Annihilators wore their

summer physical fitness uni-

form and comfortable boots

while carrying 40 pound ruck-

sacks.

As the Commander

explained the task, conditions

and standards, the Soldiers

displayed their motivation by

fist pumping and yelling who

is going to win. They maneu-

vered as quickly as possible on

smooth black top, gravel, and

dirt roads. While navigating

the course TM A’s com-

mander, First Sergeant, and

two of the medics drove

around the course to ensure

the Soldiers’ safety and moti-

vated them to push through

the course.

1LT Keilty (Platoon

Leader) who is attached from

C CO, 1-5 CAV came in first.

He motored through the

course in one hour thirty min-

utes. SSG Gross, Squad

Leader/Master Gunner,

closed the distance, but it was

a little too late. He finished

second by a few seconds. He

believes if his legs were longer

he would have won. SGT

Maurer, the senior line medic,

finished third. Yelling, ―Ahh,

this is crazy,‖ the 6’4‖ medic

was disappointed that he did

not finish first.

Showing the heart of

a champion, SSG Norwood

limped through the course.

He sustained leg cramps ap-

proximately half way through

the course. The seasoned

Squad Leader refused to get in

a vehicle and pushed his way

to the finish line. Living the

Warrior Ethos and not leaving

a fallen comrade, 2LT Pegues,

stayed with SSG Norwood.

Although this was an individ-

ual event, the two war fight-

ers finished as a team.

This ruck march is

part of the Annihilators order

of merit schools list. Soldiers

who display mental and physi-

cal toughness will be placed at

the top of the schools list.

The two covenant schools are

Ranger School at Fort Ben-

ning, GA and Air Assault

School at Fort Hood, TX.

.– 1LT FOREMAN

Page 2 The Black Knights

The top three finishers, SSG Gross, 1LT Keilty, SGT Maurer

pose after completing the daunting ruck march

ANNIHILATOR 6

CPT VANCE

ANNIHILATOR 9

1SG EDWARDS

Soldiers from Alpha Com-

pany make their final

checks and adjustments

before the ruck march

Bushmaster Beat

Page 3 Issue 3

August has been a busy

month for the Bushmasters. The

operations tempo has remained

steady, with daily missions into

our Area of Operations (AO) in

and around Tikrit. We continue

to collaborate with local Iraqi Se-

curity Forces, participating in

training, as well as providing secu-

also took a trip to the Bayji Oil

Refinery to visit Charlie Company

and assist with a foot patrol of the

city’s market areas.

Though the pace has been

strenuous and the heat continues

to rise, the Bushmasters remain

well-trained and resilient profes-

sionals. We are grateful for the

staunch support of our friends

and family, and of course, the

FRG. That support becomes

even more crucial as many ser-

vices on COB Speicher are be-

ing shut down at the end of Au-

gust and beginning of Septem-

ber.

As always, we are fo-

cused on the successful comple-

tion of our mission so that we

may return home safely to our

loved ones.

rity for the Black Knight Transi-

tion Team while they perform

vital liaison operations with Iraqi

military and law enforcement offi-

cials. The Bushmasters have also

begun security patrols to ensure

that logistical convoys have safe

passage through our AO. This is

essential to our successful with-

drawal from Iraq.

In addition to the normal

workload, the Third Platoon Pun-

ishers have conducted several

ranges this month to maintain

combat readiness. These included

a rifle range to practice team and

squad live-fire movement tech-

niques, a Bradley range, and a

mounted range to improve on

tactics for engaging various targets

in our MRAPs. The Punishers

BUSHMASTER 6

CPT JACK

BUSHMASTER 9

1SG BASHORE

SGT Ogburn and members of 1st Platoon demonstrate room

clearing procedures to the 4th IA Commandos .

Headquarters

Platoon posing

with a flag made

from the FRG

sent from Fort

Hood, TX

1st Platoon returning from a hard day of

training the 4th IA Commandos

Page 4 The Black Knights

Chargin’ Chatter

Hello from the Bayji Oil

Refinery,

August is coming to a

close and it’s another month

closer to home. On behalf of all

the soldiers here, we want to

thank all the families of Chargin’

Charlie for all their continued

love and support. Every week

letters and packages come flow-

ing in contributing to the high

level of motivation of all the

soldiers here.

Unit pride is growing

each day as we continue to de-

velop as a company combined

with tankers and infantrymen.

We are all proud to be the only

forward deployed company in

the battalion. All the men are

continuing their individual devel-

opment in their down time and

earning more points toward pro-

motion by completing

correspondence courses daily.

We are also continuing to send

soldiers to the NCO promotion

board every month.

We’ve hailed quite a

few new NCOs to the Army and

it looks as though we will con-

tinue to do so every month. Each

soldier deserves praise for their

hard work and efforts during

these first three months of de-

ployment.

This month we say fare-

well to our fire support officer,

1LT Brian Degen. He has

worked hard as the lead officer

in developing our company in-

telligence support team. His

efforts have no doubt contrib-

uted to the success of all com-

pany missions. He will be

headed back to 3-82 FA to be-

come a platoon leader. We await

the arrival of our new FSO, 1LT

O’Donnell.

Once again, thank you

for all the support you give us

out here and all that you do

while we are gone. We all hope

to be home soon!

―When in doubt…Charge!‖

Sending all our thanks and love

from Charlie Company,

1LT Scott Senerius

CHARGIN’ 6

CPT SMITH

CHARGIN’ 9

1SG TERRY

2nd Platoon of Chargin Charlie prepare for

a mission in the motor pool

2nd Platoon of Chargin Charlie rehearsing

Urban Operations

Page 5 Issue 3

Mad Dawg Matters

In honor of her father,

Delta Company spouse, Lori

Briggs, is hosting a blood drive at

the Robertson Blood Center on

Fort Hood.

Her father, Ken

Thayer, was an avid blood donor

his entire life, and on his 50th

birthday in 2002, he began host-

ing his own blood drive in Or-

ange, Texas, aiming to get his

age in pints. Since his birthday

happens to be on Halloween, he

would dress as Dracula.

―My dad was always a

very quiet person, never really

drawing attention to himself,

which is what blood donation is

all about,‖ said Briggs. ―You

never see the lives you save, but

you know you do.‖

Unfortunately, Thayer

died from a rare blood disease in

February 2010, but his family

has continued forward with his

Halloween-themed blood drive.

Through his own donations and

the blood drive, Thayer is di-

rectly responsible for the dona-

tion of more than 500 pints of

blood.

The drive, ―Out for

Blood,‖ takes place in Orange,

and Briggs wanted to share her

dad’s memory with others, so

this year, she’s hosting her own

expansion of the drive at Robert-

son Blood Center.

―When you watch a

family member dying in the hos-

pital, you feel so helpless,‖

Briggs said. ―This is something I

can do and I know my dad would

be proud.‖

The Fort Hood Out for

Blood Ken Thayer Memorial

Blood Drive will be October 28

at the Robertson Blood Center,

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Childcare will

be provided.

For more information about

donating or volunteering contact

Lori at

loribriggs27@gmail.com

2LT DONALDSON

MAD DAWG 6

CPT NIEDERAURER

MAD DAWG 9

1SG BUENO

Lori Briggs and her father,

who she is honoring by con-

tinuing his tradition of

donating blood

Flyer used to promote the

Ken Thayer Memorial

Blood Drive

Page 6 The Black Knights

Knight Stalker News

Greeting Knight Stalk-ers! Hope this finds all of our wonderful family members stay-ing cool indoors amidst the heat wave back home. I suppose we all have adjusted to the heat here, although some days it’s just downright HOT! As you know, we have been working hard pre-paring for the impending transi-tion of this place to the Iraqi Gov-ernment, so I would like to just take a moment to say just how proud I am of all the Knight Stalker Soldiers and commend each and every one for the long hours, attention to detail, and commitment to excellence that they each put forth to accomplish the mission. This is indeed a his-toric time to be here as we will eventually depart with honor.

I’d like to personally thank the FRG and our families, to include many extended family members and friends for purchas-ing a Knight Stalker t-shirt. Some of the proceeds from that has funded the creation of a Knight Stalker company coin. Each Sol-dier assigned to the company, to include our brothers attached down to other companies will receive one. The FRG is also working on a Knight Stalker cook

book, which will include recipes submitted from many of our Knight Stalker ladies, family and friends. The T-shirt will go to order on 2 September, the Coin is in the works now and just waiting on the list of names and call signs to be engraved on each coin. Yup, every coin will come personalized with name and call sign (if you have one). Mia is currently putting the final touches on the cookbook and orders will be taken for that, then it will be sent out for pub-lishing. I really can’t say it enough…our FRG, families and friend are AWESOME!!! Thanks you so much for all of the great support. Reminder, the mailing address will change as of 5 Sep-tember. The only thing that really changes is the location (was COB Speicher, will now be JBB) and the Zip Code (was 09393 will now be 09391). Mail will be shipped to JBB and then brought to us here at COB Spei-cher. Then theoretically, when we leave here, the mail will be forwarded to Kuwait from JBB.

It will look like this and remem-ber, it is effective 5 September

Rank, First Name, Last Name

HHC, 1-5CAV, 2BCT, 1CD

JBB, APO AE 09391

Knight Stalker Ham-mer Platoon (Mortars) wel-comes CPT Phillip Edmondson as its new platoon leader. I look forward to working closely with Phillip and assisting with his professional development. With that, there are also goodbyes. A

very sad goodbye to CPT Ron Pawalk as he has headed back to Ft Hood main to assume duties as the Rear-D XO. It has been an honor and a privilege Ron to work with you. Good luck to you and your family in the fu-ture and remember, I am always just a phone call or status update away! We’ll see you when we get home Ron. Kristin, Mia and I appreciate all you have done with the FRG and Key callers. You set a wonderful example as a military spouse. Thank you!

We also welcome CPT Beau Butts as the new Adjutant. Beau, you came highly recom-mended and your record speaks for itself. We are fortunate to bring such a talented officer aboard the Knight Stalker Team. CPT Matthew Liebal, the for-mer Adjutant has shifted to the transition cell where his talent will greatly assist the battalion in its move from theatre.

August has been a great month. The time seems to be sweeping by (well, for me any-way) and the entire Knight Stalker Team is on glide path to accomplishing really great things here. The weather is getting a bit cooler, we are getting in great shape and we miss you all very much and can’t wait to see you!

Knight Stalkers!

KS6

KNIGHTSTALKER 6

CPT EMERSON

KNIGHTSTALKER 9

1SG STEPHEN

SPC Fritzshall, PV2 Sullins

and SPC Voelzow are awarded

the Combat Action Badge by

the HHC Company Com-

mander, CPT Roy Emerson

for their actions during an

enemy indirect fire attack.

This is the new HHC coin, which will

go to mint soon. Pretty spiffy Eh?

Page 7 Issue 3

Executioner Events

Echo Executioners

continue to lead the way for

1-5 CAV in supporting Op-

eration New Dawn. This

month has been no exception.

Distro Platoon boasts some of

the best NCOs and soldiers in

the battalion. This is ever so

evident in their extremely

efficient execution of the

company’s resupply mission

to FOB Sommerall and the

Bayji Oil Refinery. Distro

Platoon has also accepted the

lion’s share of the battalion’s

recovery escort responsibili-

ties. Echo Executioners as-

sumed recovery escort duties

last month and has already

conducted two such missions.

The first of these missions was

providing recovery support to

362nd Engineers who were

travelling from Balad to FOB

Warrior along Main Supply

Route Tampa. They re-

quested recovery support

after a flat tire halted their

convoy. Within a moment’s

notice Echo FSC’s recovery

assets were on site to recover

that vehicle and escorted

362nd Engineers back to COB

Speicher for a pit stop. The

second mission has so far been

the highlight of our recovery

efforts. This recovery mission

was unique because not only

did we have to recover the

downed vehicle, we also had

to recover one of our own

recovery vehicles. There were

numerous challenges that

came up on this particular

occasion but Echo Execution-

ers adapted, overcame and

completed the mission.

This month has been

extremely busy to say the

least for the entire company.

The training room has been

tracking and processing nu-

merous awards submitted for

our outstanding soldiers.

Maintenance Platoon has be-

gun their 24 hour operations

in order to conduct much

needed services on the battal-

ion’s fleet of vehicles. All this

activity has created a new set

of challenges for our company

but this is business as usual.

We adapt and we overcome.

EXECUTIONERS!!!!

HET and MRAP brought into FOB for maintenance after recovery operations

E/1-5 CAV tows HET with

MRAP loaded on trailer

EXECUTIONER 6

CPT MOHUNDRO

EXECUTIONER 9

1SG WHEATLEY

We regularly post informa-

tion there from both stateside

and here in Iraq. Chaplain

Wallace and SGT Hodnett,

our Unit Ministry Team, fre-

quently post pictures and

videos of life here in Iraq.

They are simply excellent.

The links to the Facebook

page and YouTube page are

below.

Thanks again for all

you do!

Facebook: Search for: 1-5 CAV ―Black Knights‖ or go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/1-5-CAV-Black-Knights/107944962580850 YouTube: Search for: 15CA-VUMT or go to www.youtube.com/user/15CAVUMT

word to you as soon as we

know what will happen. I fully

realize that what I ask of you is

difficult. However, I also know

that you are Army wives and

spouses, Army mothers and

fathers, and Army children.

That means you aren’t normal;

you are exceptional. You are

the rock upon which our fami-

lies, and nation, are built. I

know you can weather this

storm of uncertainty.

Two of the transitions

we will experience are the

changes of command in both

Chargin’ Charlie and the Mad

Dogs. On 01 SEP, newly-

promoted MAJ David Nied-

erauer turned over the D/1-5

guidon to CPT Kyle Hatzinger

here at COB Speicher. I want

to personally thank David and

his wife, Candace, for their ser-

vice to the Black Knights, Mad

Dogs, and our nation. I wish

-Knight 6 continued…

US government and Iraqi gov-

ernment will decide in terms of

a future US presence here. As

best as I can tell, there are three

primary possibilities for the

Black Knights. One, we deploy

to Kuwait after transitioning

COB Speicher and stay there as

a reserve force until May 2012.

Two, we move to another part

of Iraq and conduct operations

until the post-2011 decision is

made. Finally, it is possible that

we could move to Kuwait and

redeploy back home earlier than

expected. Consequently, I

strongly recommend that you

plan for the worst case in each

scenario. For example, plan for

a 12-month deployment but

don’t count on 12 months of

extra deployment pay.

I know it is frustrating

but I ask, once again, that you

be patient. We will get the

them the best in their future

endeavors. I also want to wel-

come Kyle and his wife, Brit-

tany, to the team. I have com-

plete confidence that they know

how to lead our Soldiers.

MAJ Jay Smith will

soon turn over C/1-5 to CPT

Greg Hope at the compound at

the Bayji Oil Refinery. I also

want to wish Jay and Jodi luck

and good fortune and I want to

also thank them for their service

to the Black Knights, Chargin’

Charlie, and the Fort Hood

community. Greg and his wife,

Lauren, are no strangers to the

battalion, having been part of

the team since April of 2010.

They’ll be a fantastic team, I am

sure.

Finally, if you are a

Facebook user and have not

―liked‖ our battalion Facebook

page, I encourage you to do so.

Page 8 The Black Knights

LTC Daniels presenting the BN S1 CPT David

Chapman with a Combat Action Badge

LTC Daniels and CSM Lowery pose with the 1-5 CAV

All-Stars, the champions of the SPEICHER Basketball

Tournament

-Knight 6

Black Knight Rear D Contacts

Rear D CMDR A Co D Co

CPT Kashmiri—254-288-0456 Sandra—alphacompanyfrg@yahoo.com Candace—maddogfrg@hotmail.com

Omar.kashmiri@us.army.mil Annihilators Facebook MadDawg Facebook

Rear D 1SG B Co HHC

SFC Gould—254-288-0469 Lisa—bushmastersfrg@gmail.com Mia—HHC.FRG.Emerson@gmail.com

David.gould@us.army.mil Bushmasters Facebook Knight Stalkers Facebook

FRSA C Co EFSC

Sharon Floyd—254-287-8883 Jodie—chargin.charlie@yahoo.com Jena—efsc.frg@gmail.com

Sharon.l.floyd@us.army.mil Chargin Facebook Executioners Facebook

Black Knight’s Facebook 2nd BDE Black Jack Facebook

Currently the econ-omy is up one day and down the next. We live in uncertain times. Many have lost money in their retirements and other in-vestments. The unemployment rate is high and it has caused a great distress among most Americans. Many Soldiers do not know if they should stay in the service or get out and face the issues that America is deal-ing with. Times are uncertain.

We as humans often face discouragement throughout our lives. Many of us grew up not having anyone believing in us. Many of us have not lived to our full potential. There is a lot of potential in humans, yet many have a hard time unlock-ing their very own treasures.

We will never know how much value we have if we never received a strong nurtur-ing. Nurturing is the invest-ment necessary to stimulate the potential that we have within our bodies. If we take nurtur-ing out of our lives, we will miss out in our inner strengths.

People are the greatest investments in the whole wide world. When a person invests into another person, a sense of strong ties and bonds are devel-oped. The bond is not an outer bond but rather an inner bond that derives from emotions, soul and heart.

God is the major stockholder in our lives. The proof of the investment is on

what He has done for us. His primary investment was the unthinkable price of redemption that He paid. No one else would have invested in that manner for you and me. The decision that God made to in-vest in you and in me is beyond the human mind.

Every morning when we wake up and every night when we fall asleep; God has invested in us. He doesn’t ex-pect monetary means in return. He only expects to hear from you and me. There is nothing we have that can ever repay the investment that God has given us. God is the true nurturer and His market never goes down. Your future is safe with Him.

Chaplain’s Corner

US Army Page 9

BATTALION CHAPLAIN

CH WALLACE

Eddie’s

Adventures

Well ladies and gentle-men, another month down and another month closer to the jour-ney home, but not until the mis-sion is complete.

This last month saw the

presentation of 23 Combat Ac-tion Badges and 11 Combat In-fantry Badges throughout the staff for combat operations dur-ing the month of June.

A special congratula-tions to the 1-5 CAV All-Stars, the champions of the SPEICHER Basketball Tournament with a decisive 46-39 victory over the 4 ID Mercy Rule. Thank you for

representing and bringing the championship home to the Black Knights.

I know that myself and the rest of the Black Knights are proud to serve. We miss you all and thank you for your support.