tachment is the versatile work-horse of the group, flying a great variety of missions daily. Mean-while, Bluemax is doing an excep-tional job of helping to provide security for our supported ground forces day and night. None of these missions could happen with-out the never-ending maintenance support from our Delta Company Dragons and they have certainly been up to the task. I want to thank all of you for your unending support to our Soldiers here at Bagram. Your notes, pack-ages, thoughts, and prayers keep us going. We fly and fight for you. Thank you and Air Assault!

-Lift 6 & 7

Friends and Families of Task Force Ea-gle Lift, The great Soldiers of Task Force Lift are upholding the proud and long legacy of the 10st Airborne Division here in Afghanistan. For the past two months the men and women of this multi-functional aviation battalion have been working tirelessly ensure we al-ways safely complete our missions across the eastern portion of this country. Every day I am amazed by their devotion and professionalism. Headquarters and Headquarters Com-pany is the brain of this organization - planning and tracking flight missions, administration, and logistics day in and day out to take care of the team. The Rude Dogs and Black Widows are on their toes every day ensuring the safe and efficient movement of key leaders across the battlefield. Our Varsity de-

BATTALLION COMMAND GROUP’S CORNER

CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! https://www.facebook.com/EagleLift7101?ref=hl#!/EagleLift7101

EAGLE LIFT NEWSLETTER FEBURARY 2014 BAGRAM AIRFIELD

LTC Halter and CSM Soliz pose for a picture with BG Lewis (Deputy Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)) on his visit to TF Lift.

Since arriving in late December through early January, the Rude Dogs have been working hard to meet the demanding mission of flying key leaders between the most important bases and cities in Afghanistan. After receiving an outstanding handoff from the War Angels (A/3-10) lead by CPT Erin Foley, we assumed the mission in stride and with re-markable success. From the maintainers turning wrenches and crewing, to the pilots flying and planning: it has only been possible by coming together and working as a team. The Rude Dogs welcomed SGT Cletius Meaders to the family after he joined the company in country, and he has already proven a valuable asset with his wealth of experience and work

ethic. Additionally, PFC Rivera recently transferred from C/7-101, and will begin to serve as a 15E console operator after his initial training is complete. None of the missions we ac-complish, or the hard work that gets done every day would be possible without the support from our families and loved ones back home. Whether it is care packages with delicious snacks, or kind messages and words of support: it all helps to energize and motivate our Sol-diers and serves as a reminder for that which we are fighting. Also, a hearty thanks goes out to the FRG leadership for taking care of our families while we are away. CW3 Chino has contributed his immense photographic talent to

uploading pictures of Soldiers as we work to make the mission happen.

If you would like to stay plugged into the daily life of the com-pany, and your Rude Dog, Thanks again for the love and support! -The Rude Dogs Connecting to our Facebook

page at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/A-Co-7-101-Rude-Dogs/156935874369084

A 7-101 RUDE DOGS

Page 2 EAGLE LIFT NEWSLETTER

The soldiers of the Bagram Varsity detach-ment continue to make mission happen day in and day out. We are proud to announce the promotion of PFC Michael Pledger to Specialist at the beginning of the month. We are also pleased to confirm the re-enlistment of two of our door gunners. SPC Christopher Mogan who managed to get himself no less than three years station time in the island paradise of Hawaii, and SPC Siddartha Sherpa who is re-enlisting in or-der to re-branch into counter intelligence or perhaps drop his Green to Gold packet. The Varsity Soldiers would like to express their tremendous gratitude to the Varsity FRG as

well as the Class of Mrs. Gamboa for the lovely Valentine's day cards and candy. You can be sure the candy lasted all of a few moments.

B 7-101 (DETACHMENT) VARSITY

Page 3 EAGLE LIFT NEWSLETTER

Happy Valentine’s Day from Bagram Varsity

As the only Attack/Scout com-pany in the brigade, Blue Max has done a great job of protect-ing Bagram Airfield and sup-porting ground units throughout the region. The company hit the ground running and assumed the mission as soon as it ar-rived. I was amazed to see the positivity and perseverance of the company as they started the deployment. Every Soldier in the company has worked hard to improve the footprint

and make the company area a temporary home away from home. The missions the com-pany supports takes them all over the region and their per-formance has been nothing short of exemplary. The crew chiefs of both aircraft have truly been instrumental in sup-porting the company’s mission in an arduous environ-ment. Even with the work being done, Blue Max personnel have taken classes, enrolled in pro-

fessional development pro-grams, and greatly improved their ping pong skills. Recently, the NCOs of the company planned and executed a 9mm range for the company with great success. All personnel qualified and it was a great way to get out of the office for a while. They are truly a disci-plined group of Soldiers who’s commitment to the Joint fight has reflected in the way they do business thus far.

We will continue to keep our families in our thoughts. Thank you for all the support.

B 3-101 BLUEMAX

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Above: PFC Smith receives Thunder CSM’s coin Left: Bluemax con-ducts a 9mm Range

For Eagle DUSTOFF, the past few months have afforded us the opportunity finally establish the footprint we will be working in for the remainder of the de-ployment. While we are spread across RC-E, we have tremen-dous support not only from TF LIFT but also TF WINGS and TF ATTACK. It has been very nice to see the relationships built, during the last 18 months of training, pay dividends in com-bat. We have been training a lot

to become more and more fa-miliar with the environment and area. Despite all of the conver-sations about the size of the mountains in Afghanistan, there is no way I could have appreci-ated them without seeing them for myself, they are truly ma-jestic. Keeping busy is not a difficult thing to do here and we have been working very well together as a Task Force to effectively accomplish our mis-sion. The learning curve has

been steep but I feel confident the lessons we have learned during the first part of this deployment will carry us through until the end. As al-ways, we miss home, families, children, friends, pets, and free time but in the end we know this is all worth it. We are making a difference here and will execute our mission until it is complete. DUSTOFF!

C 7-101 DUSTOFF

Page 5 EAGLE LIFT NEWSLETTER

The first 45 days have gone by quickly for the Blackwidows. Since arriving in Afghanistan the we have hit the ground run-ning. Thus far we have com-pleted over 250 missions, transporting troops, cargo, and VIPs across Afghanistan. Twenty one of our first time deployers received the coveted combat patch which they proudly wear on their right shoulder. Black-

widows welcomed two new indi-viduals to its ranks. 1LT Trump, Jason from 563rd ASB will be the new XO come early March. We also welcomed the birth of daughter Kylie Clark to Brittany and SPC Joshua Clark the new-est addition to the Blackwidow family.

C 4-101 BLACKWIDOWS

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Hello from Bagram, Afghanistan. Some of us have been on ground in this lovely country for almost a 3 months, others a little less, but we are all happy, healthy, and settling into the daily grind. The company is conducting 100% of the mission having picked up all responsi-bilities from our predecessors in Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 10th Mountain Division (Damage Inc.). We were thankful for the time to settle in and the sharing of responsibilities while it oc-curred, but we are now more than happy to be working

autonomously. The UH-60 team has already inducted its first aircraft into phase and they are working diligently around the clock to ensure its back in the fight and ready to fly on mis-sion. Shops have been tasked out since arrival working across 5 MDSs and fixing prob-lems across the fleet. Every Soldier is covering down on a 12-hour shift in some nice work-ing areas. There are plenty of amenities to keep Soldiers busy during their on and off hours. There are numerous gyms, MWRs, and dining facilities

across the FOB that help pass the hours away from home when Soldiers aren’t working. Thank you for your continued support – it is the catalyst for our success.

D 7-101 DRAGONS

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The HHC Griffins are proud to say that we have settled into our mission here at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan very well and continue to do great things for TF Lift and the Soldiers across Afghanistan. Since ar-riving we have seen the pro-gression of our Soldiers ca-reers and their Families. We had the great honor to have re-enlisted SPC Brown, SPC Bar-nes, SPC Plascencia, SSG Aulet, and SSG Cox. We have also

promoted the following Sol-diers: 1LT Wilson, SPC Kim, and PFC Tang. One of our very own Griffins was chosen by TF Thun-der to be the Brigade Soldier of the week, congratulations to SPC Kim from the DFAC. Back at home our FRG is meeting regu-larly and conducting many fun and beneficial events for our Griffin Families.

HHC GRIFFINS

Page 8 EAGLE LIFT NEWSLETTER

PVT Holmes and PFC Jackson show off their combat patches

SSG Cox reenlists