guns attack feb 2014 newsletter

Guns Attack Team,

February’s newsletter is full of outstanding events and achievements

throughout our Battalion. January flew by as we trained hard and prepared Soldiers

and equipment for bilateral partnership missions in the United Arab Emirates. CSM

Hurst, CW4 Cosyns and I look forward to deploying Task Force Desert Talon (AH-

64Ds and UH-60s) to UAE for the partnered missions and overwater gunnery. We

will share our UAE experiences in the next newsletter. Needless to say, a lot of time

and effort has gone into preparing for the mission. Following UAE, we will send

several Soldiers and helicopters to Saudi Arabia as part of Operations Iron Hawk III.

Our pilots, crew chiefs and Soldiers are GUNS ATTACK ambassadors representing

the Army and the United States throughout the region. Our Soldiers carry the right

attitude and experience to execute this responsibility. Our Soldiers are disciplined

and dedicated to making every mission successful—I expect nothing less through our

re-deployment in April.

Continued on page 2

Gun 6 Notes

LTC Hank Perry

V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

FEB 2014

4-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion

The Guns Attack Newsletter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Bounty Hunters 5

Panthers 6

Diamondbacks 7

Snake Eyes 8

Unforgiven 9-10

Equalizers 11

Rear Detachment 12

SHARP 13

Chaplains Corner 14-16

Retention Corner 17

FRG Corner 18-19

Birthdays 20

Commander of 4-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion,

LTC Hank Perry

GUNS Poster 21

GUN Store 22

Calendar 23

We are at the point in our nine month deployment that we begin to plan our re-deployment to Fort Hood

and our reintegration with loved ones. CSM Hurst and I will lay out the entire process in the next two

successive newsletters as well as pass information through Rear-Detachment and the Company Family

Readiness Groups (FRGs). Keep in mind that we will not post specific dates and times on Social Media, but will

rely on phone calls and direct communication between FRG members.

As the commander, I make a point to be a “broken record” on several key leadership areas and

messages. From the beginning of our deployment I challenged Soldiers and Family members alike to remain

vigilant on four areas of concern--: Mental Toughness, Spiritual Fitness, Physical Fitness, and

Communication with Family. How are you doing? Please take a few minutes to evaluate how much or how

little you are focusing on these areas. Make communication and fitness (spiritual, physical, and mental) part of

your day—every day.

Our Battalion Rear-Detachment OIC and NCOIC (CW2 Hughes and SFC Velazquez) are doing a great

job working closely with our FRG volunteers and coordinating with COL Mendenhall and CSM Amagliani at

Fort Hood. We wish Bravo Company and 3-227th AHB a safe and successful mission at NTC in February.

For the remaining months of our deployment, I encourage everyone to STAY FOCUSSED, STAY

ENGAGED, and FINISH STRONG!

Enjoy this month’s edition of the Guns Attack Newsletter! The companies are doing a great job sharing

information about our Soldiers and showcasing their efforts while deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom-

Kuwait.

Thanks to our Families for all they do in support of our Army, their Soldier, and this Battalion!

As always, it is an honor to serve as your commander. Take an active role in making the Army and this

unit better every day!

GUNS ATTACK!

LTC Hank Perry

Gun 6 Notes

LTC Hank Perry

P AGE 2 4 -227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION

GUNS!!

Another month has quickly gone by and the Guns Team has spent the month bringing in the New Year

preparing for our bilateral partnership mission, Desert Talon II in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Soldiers from

the GSAB, 42nd CAB and Guns Attack have been busy coordinating, loading containers, prepping ground

support equipment, vehicles and aircraft to be transported for our upcoming training exercise. Every Soldier in

the Task Force will be ambassadors…from our FARP Soldiers to our Aviators—all should be proud to represent

the partnership between the United States and UAE.

Congratulation to the following Soldiers and NCOs on their promotion effective 1 February: SFC Parsons,

SFC Moore, SSG Marks, SSG Lankford, SGT Reed and SGT Fowler, great job and well deserved.

Continue to stay mentally and physically tough, CW2 Hughes and SFC Velazquez are both doing an

outstanding job in the rear; don’t hesitate to call either of them, if you need anything.

“GUNS ATTACK!”

V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2 4 -227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION

Command Sergeant Major of 4-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion,

CSM Zach Hurst

Gun 9 Notes

CSM Zach Hurst

2014 has gotten off to a good start for the GUNS Team. We are rapidly approaching February marking

the beginning of Desert Talon II; a Field Training Exercise hosted in the United Arab Emirates, between

elements of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade and the UAE’s Joint Aviation Command in order to strengthen

the US and UAE partnership. Each and every one of us should be proud to represent our nation, our ARMY and

our unit. Whether or not we realize it, we are all ambassadors. Seek out and share the knowledge that has been

learned over the years with our Emirati counterparts. Fuelers to fuelers, maintainers to maintainers, aviators to

aviators…every Soldier within the Task Force has an important part in this exercise. The end state is to walk

away a better unit, having made new friends and strengthened the partnership between us by having learned how

to work and fly side by side. There will be hurtles along the way, but all will be efficiently and safely solved in

order to accomplish the mission. Not an easy feat, but we will succeed!

Congratulations to SFC Nelson from C Co for being selected to attend Warrant Officer Candidate

School and continuing on to become an aviator. A new world has just opened up for you and you will do great!

CW3 Pfeifer, also from C Co, is our latest addition to the Senior Warrant Officer community. Another round of

applause for your promotion to CW3. You have done great things for the unit and I have no doubt you will

continue to excel and challenge yourself to bigger tasks and will succeed.

“GUNS ATTACK!”

Gun 10 Notes

CW4 Sebastien Cosyns


Battalion Senior Warrant Officer of 4-227th Attack Reconnaissance

Battalion, CW4 Sebastien Cosyns

V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

HHC Bounty Hunters

Bounty Hunters Family,

Another month has passed with the Bounty Hunters continuing to train and execute missions here in the

Middle East. January has gone by quickly, with the Soldiers preparing for a major training exercise and

continuing training in Kuwait. We have been quite busy supporting the GUNS ATTACK Battalion as well as

working with our new higher headquarters, the 42nd Combat Aviation

Brigade.

As you can tell from the photos, the Bounty Hunters were able

to celebrate New Years Eve by visiting the range and shooting our

primary weapons. The weather was excellent, and all personnel who

attended the range managed to successfully complete their required

tasks before our mandated cutoff time. After completing the range,

personnel turned in weapons and enjoyed their day off.

Since the

beginning of the year,

the Bounty Hunters

Soldiers have been working towards setting conditions to send the

Battalion forward to participate in an exercise with our Middle

Eastern partners. This has included conducting Joint Air Attack

Teaming with the Air Force, conducting our Final Planning

Conference with our partners, and of course packing containers so

that we have everything we need while on this operation. Our

aviators have also been out flying over the Arabian Gulf becoming

more proficient with their overwater attack capabilities and

integrating unmanned aerial surveillance systems into our fighting

capabilities. We also had some of our replacements from 3-159th come out to conduct overwater flights in

preparation for their arrival. This month, we had the privilege to promote

our legal clerk, SPC Wilkins, to Sergeant, which was well deserved.

We continue to count the days until our arrival back to Fort Hood.

We are finalizing our FRG Contact rosters to ensure we have the correct

contacts in order to inform you of our arrival, so remind your Soldier of

any changes in emails or phone numbers. Thank you for your support,

and I will talk to you again next month.

“BOUNTY HUNTERS!”

4-227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION

Commander: CPT David Lorange

First Sergeant: 1SG Bryan Oser


A CO Panthers

Commander: CPT Andrew Schwilk

First Sergeant: 1SG Kenneth Witmer

Family and Friends of the Panthers,

The pace has resumed and the excitement of what the year will

bring has been on everyone’s lips: bilateral partnership missions in the

United Arab Emirates, followed by Saudi Arabia, transfer of authority to

our replacing unit, redeployment and reuniting with Families; and that is

just the first half of the year.

During the excitement I’d like

to take the opportunity to express the

importance of the upcoming partnership

mission in UAE. The pilots and crew

chiefs who are participating will be

ambassadors of the unit, the Army and

most importantly for the United States. I know the manner, words and actions

of this Company will reflect the greatest traditions of American culture and

strengthen the strategic alliance with partnered forces. The stakes are high, but

I am confident in our team to meet the challenge.

Aside from preparation for bilateral partnership, there has been

outstanding work this month maintaining our fleet, and executing the joint air

attack mission. Alpha Company had an outstanding 88% operational

readiness rate over the last period while conducting the dust landings and

overwater flight. We also participated this month in another Joint Air Attack

Team (JAAT) with Kuwait Air Force F-18s, Air Force MQ-1 Predators and

JTACs, US Army Field Artillery, and USMC F-18s. A JAAT like this might

have been the training highlight of the year at Fort Hood. The company has

built the proficiency to accomplish the extraordinary as though it were

routine.

I would like to take this opportunity and congratulate SPC Jarred and

his wife on the birth of their first child, William Douglas Jarred, II born on

the 19th of January. SPC Jarred celebrated by going to the vehicle rollover

trainer and getting turned upside down a few times. Congratulations again!

Another congratulations is in order

for SGT Kim. He was promoted on 01 JAN 14.

1SG Witmer and I are extremely proud of the way Alpha

Company has persecuted its mission, and the outstanding support of

the friends and Family of these great Soldiers.

-CPT Andrew Schwilk

“PANTHER 06”

“PANTHERS!”

SGT Kim being promoted to Sergeant.

Congrats.

Panthers flying into the FARP.

1LT Baker reenlists SPC Perez on the flight line at

Camp Buehring.

CW2 Belle conducts a post flight

after completing his flight.


B Co Diamondbacks Commander: CPT Travis Clonch

First Sergeant: 1SG Bobby Lucas

Diamondbacks Families and Friends,

All of us would like to thank our brothers and sisters in arms over in Kuwait for their continued hard

work in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Kuwait, especially having to spend time away from their

Families over the Holidays.

We kicked off 2014 by promoting SSG (P) Haines to SFC

Haines. His hard work and dedication as a Diamondbacks Platoon

Sergeant was recognized as his wife Dana pinned him at the

promotion ceremony.

With 2014 kicking off, Diamondbacks started to charge

ahead in preparation for the National Training Center (NTC)

exercise in February. Our primary focus was on aircraft

maintenance and progressions for company and staff aviators in the

Brigade. On top of the

numerous pilots’ briefs in

preparation for NTC,

Diamondback aviators had

week long training on the MUM-T system by the company that

designed it. It was a good refresher for some and a first time

experience for many new aviators on the capabilities of the MUM-T

system and the vital role it may play in the battlefield in support of

both air and ground forces.

Diamondback aviators continued to hone their skills in

deliberate operations by conducting a screening mission in the

AVCATT simulator. Our AWTs learned to conduct area

reconnaissance and engaged enemy armored vehicles in the area of

operations. We also provided support for the Sabre Squadron, 3rd

Cavalry Regiment. We were able to utilize the MUM-T system and

integrate with UAS and ground artillery to search and destroy enemy

armored targets.

Lastly, we continued our support in the community

by sending our Soldiers to the annual blood drive at

Trimmier Elementary School. Our Soldiers helped the set-

up and the teardown of the event while manning the blood

drive stations for the registration process. PFC Portillo

suited up as the blood drive mascot to provide

entertainment for the Families who showed up to support

the blood drive.

“DIAMONDBACKS!”

f


Snake Eyes Family and Friends,

After enjoying some downtime during the holiday season, Charlie

Company is back at full speed conducting training and partnership missions.

This month we executed a week-long gunnery in which crews were able to

perform dust landings and joint air attack team exercises with Air Force and

artillery units. We have also continued to conduct our overwater missions

with the Navy and hope to be able to get more crews deck landing qualified

next month. Charlie Company has also been doing integrated training with

the Air Force assets here on Ali Al Salem every week and we have

established great working relationships between our services.

Throughout the

month we have been meeting with

our Kuwaiti partners to strengthen

our relationships and plan for future

training missions. The Kuwaitis

invited us to their coalition BBQ

where several Snake Eyes Soldiers

got to participate in everything from

camel rides to hawk demonstrations.

CPT Rogers even took part in a

traditional Kuwaiti dinner, where he

tried some lamb brain.

With over half of the deployment down and less than three months left,

Charlie Company is continuing to push forward to finish the deployment strong. All

the Snake Eyes Soldiers are looking forward to seeing their Family and friends again in

just a few months.

“SNAKE EYES!”

C CO Snake Eyes

Commander: CPT Kyle Rogers

First Sergeant: 1SG Joseph Mungin

P AGE 8

Snake Eyes crews conduct gunnery during the Joint Air

Attack Team Exercise.

A special congratulations to SGT Cochran, SFC Nelson and CW3 Pfeifer who were all promoted on the 1st of January!

SGT Cochran poses for a

new Facebook profile

picture with a Kuwaiti

falcon.

CPT Rogers braces himself for a mouth

full of delicious lamb brains.


D Co Unforgiven

Unforgiven Family and Friends,

The holidays now seem like a distant memory. Time sure is flying by with the company being

extremely busy with preparations to support Operation Desert Talon II with our partners in the United Arab

Emirates (UAE). Myself and 1SG Corr will be leading a contingent of 26 D Co Soldiers on the mission. The

rest of the formation will remain at Camp Buehring under the command of 1LT Payne. Communications on the

exercise should not be an issue. All the stops along the way have internet access, but please be prepared if we

are unable to call home. Y our loves ones will be well taken care of. The living conditions, food and gym are all

above standard and will serve as a nice change of pace for the Soldiers attending. We also just completed our

second field training exercise this month. The Unforgiven Team was tasked with establishing a tactical

command post, night vision goggles drivers training, a Jump FARP and weapons qualifications on 4 different

weapons systems. Every platoon and section participated in the event and our NCOs and Soldiers performed

with distinction. Our training plan for this deployment is winding

down. This last field exercise was our last major company event on the

calendar. We will soon shift towards preparation for redeployment

and reintegration. Music to all our ears!

Last newsletter I brought up one of LTC

Perry’s “big 4” items for the deployment;

nurturing of the family. This month and for the

next two months I will focus on the rest. As we

plan for reintegration with all of you, it is

important for us to ensure our physical fitness has increased since our departure from Fort Hood. Simply put,

most of us will be planning on taking block leave where physical fitness may or may not be of huge concern to

some. We will ensure that our fitness is at its peak when we depart here so that we are able to endure a block

leave period with little to no exercise. 100% of the company will take a record APFT beginning 1 APR. This

PT test will cover us until October 14, leaving plenty of time to endure the block leave period and to recover. I

challenged the company to a goal of an average of 260 points. I know our Soldiers will do their absolute best to

attain that goal.

Commander: CPT Greg Sterley

First Sergeant: 1SG Joseph Corr

Unforgiven Soldiers setup their tent during our Field Training Exercise

12-15 JAN 2014.

Continued on page 10

The Unforgiven Team conducting ranges for the

M9, M4, M249 and M2.

4-227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION P AGE 10

D Co Unforgiven

Our FRG is all recovered from the much needed holiday break. We are now planning for a Family day

at Boulders in Harker Heights. Look for that event sometime in March. We are also beginning to plan for a

homecoming party. Ideas are needed and the Battalion is leaning towards a social event at hanger. Our

company mascot, SGT Barry, will be sending out his sixth letter to the Unforgiven children at the end of the

month. He has been hard at work with the Headquarters Platoon. Please inquire with my wife & FRG Leader,

Jessica, or your key caller to have your child added to SGT Barry’s mailing list if they are not on there.

Thank you all for your sacrifice and unwavering patience. Three more newsletters to go and we will once again

be reunited.

Sincerely,

CPT Greg Sterley

Unforgiven 06

Jump FARP Operations.


E CO Equalizers

Commander: CPT Omar Villafane

First Sergeant: 1SG Jose Ventura

Equalizers Families and Friends,

Greetings again from your E Co Equalizers! This

month the Soldiers of Echo FSC have been busy preparing

for our BN partnership exercise in UAE while also keeping

with the FSC Commanders’ “Train Hard and Be Tactical”

philosophy. Your Soldiers took another trip to the range this

month for our M249 SAW, and M320 ranges. This month

was also big for “Partnership” as the FSC supported JAAT

operations as well as convoy support for a C Co/ Kuwaiti

escort training exercise. Our Maintainers and DISTRO Sol-

diers have been hard at work preparing equipment to move

to port for our BN exercise. Our Soldiers played a big part in

the equipment staging and movement to the port ensuring that

the BN is ready to train. The Equalizer Basketball team has taken its talents to the big leagues participating in the

Post B-Ball tournament. Our E Co “HOOD STARS” are crashing the bracket with a 5-1 record winning their last

two games 63-11 and 48-12. Our guys are poised to

make a serious run at the post title.

Congratulations to SGT McNeil (PLL Sec-

tion SGT) , SGT Young (Fuel section Team Leader),

SGT Roth (MAINT Team Chief) , and SPC Gabriel

(PLL clerk) for gaining their promotable status at this

months’ promotion board. We are extremely proud

of these Soldiers and can’t wait to tell you about their

promotion ceremonies. Speaking of Ceremonies,

PFC Palmer and Nguyen were both promoted to the

Rank of Specialist, and SPC Bryant and PFC Maria

both Reenlisted choosing to continue serving this

great nation.

Our FRG continues to run forward

with its events, “Battalion Walk to and From

Kuwait,” which encourages all spouses to log

all miles walked, ran, and/or biked over the

entire deployment time frame. The event pro-

motes health and fitness but focuses primarily

on morale support to all deployed service

members in the unit. The participants have

logged over 1650 miles towards our overall

goal of 7600 miles, which is the distance be-

tween Fort Hood and Kuwait. Again, I’d like

to thank all of the Spouses, family members,

and Equalizers supporters who are participating in this event and I welcome everyone else to join in on the fun.

Without you all we couldn’t do what we do. If interested in participating please contact our FRG leader Mrs.

Mandi Pfeil at [email protected] or myself at [email protected].

“EQUALIZERS!”


Rear Detachment

Commander: CW2 Michael Hughes

First Sergeant: SFC Luis Velazquez

Guns Team,

We are now in the new year and with it brings the

anticipation of redeployment as the unit continues operations

while shifting focus towards planning for the return. The Rear

Detachment and the FRSA have begun our preparations to ensure

it will be a smooth transition back to garrison.

The month of January has brought the Rear Detachment

a new addition to the team. Kaylen Aaliyah Nealy was born on 6

Jan 2014 at 1251 to PFC Ferica Nealy. She weighed in at 7lbs

11oz. and was 20.6 inches. PFC Nealy holds a crucial position

for the detachment as the S1 Clerk.

Additionally, on 16 January, 4-227th ARB and Trimmier

Elementary hosted the 3rd Annual Blood Drive in Killeen. The

Rear Detachment and Bravo Company teamed up once again to

support this life giving event.

To help bring in the New Year, 1 ACB hosted a New Years

Reception on 25 January to meet command teams and their

spouses. This was a great opportunity for the 1 ACB leadership to

foster teamwork within the brigade. It also allowed spouses to

connect and meet with the brigade leadership.

I believe this will be a great

year, especially with the return of

our team on the horizon. On behalf

of the Rear Detachment, I would

like to wish everyone a successful

and safe 2014.

“GUNS!”

4-227th ARB Command Team Spouses.

4-227th ARB Rear Detachment and Bravo Company

Command Teams.

PFC Nealy with her baby girl

Kaylen Aaliyah born on 6 Jan

2014.

4-227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

Guns Attack Family,

Starting in March there will be a pilot course for a Sharp Schoolhouse. The class will include the

current 80 hour Sharp certification course, instructions to develop leadership, negotiation, presentation and

communication skills. There will also be instructions from US Army Criminal Investigation Command, Office

of the Judge Advocate General, and Office of the Surgeon General. Having the opportunity to attend this class

will provide comprehensive tools for Sharp professionals to use in the performance of their critical duties. The

class is an 8 week course that will be available to full- time Sharps and SARCs.

Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention

BN SHARP: SFC LaCresha Riddle

BN SHARP ALT: VACANT

TITLE RANK FIRST LAST LOCATION EMAIL

4-227

BN SHARP PRI SFC LaCresha Riddle Camp Buehring [email protected]

BN SHARP ALT

HHC SHARP PRI SSG Yavel Pereiradiez Camp Buehring [email protected]

HHC SHARP ALT 1LT Jeremy Adams Camp Buehring [email protected]

A Co SHARP PRI 1LT Ward Baker Camp Buehring [email protected]

A Co SHARP ALT

B Co SHARP PRI CW2 James Alteffer Fort Hood [email protected]

B Co SHARP ALT SSG Joseph Smith Fort Hood [email protected]

C Co SHARP PRI CW2 Gregory Kilpatrick Ali Al Salem [email protected]

C Co SHARP ALT SSG Derek Nelson Ali Al Salem [email protected]

D Co SHARP PRI

D Co SHARP ALT

E Co SHARP PRI SSG Eric Moore Camp Buehring [email protected]

E Co SHARP ALT

Spiritual Mindfulness of Loneliness, Relationship, and Love

True love does not worry about the distance between,

for the heart and soul travels through one’s words.

~Anonymous

Dear Friends,

Happy Valentine’s Day! February is typically known as the month of love and relationships, so I thought

I would dedicate this article to the concept of “true love.” Deployment can cause a person to feel isolated;

partners in relationship can grow distant from each other, conflict and dissatisfaction occurs because both sides

no longer feel the loving security and closeness of the other. Skype and other means of face-to-face

communication become two-dimensional and artificial, which sometimes bring more aggravation and conflict

instead of intimate closeness and security between two lovers.

Deployment can challenge even the most stable of relationships! We can prepare for

deployment, but enduring the deployment inevitably puts stress on all relationships. That is to say, nobody is

impervious to the negative feelings of isolation and loneliness that is unique to the deployment experience. That

is why I stress in my counseling with married Soldiers to be gentle with their spouse back home. In turn, I invite

spouses to do the same with their Soldiers. Our needs for feeling love and intimacy is not so much about what

the other can do for us, but what we can do for the other. Indeed, marriage is at its core a mutual selfless giving

of one to the other. Each person seeks to meet the needs of the other in a sensuous dance of giving and receiving

love. There is a wholeness that is formed in a relationship of selflessness because each gives to the other love,

intimate security, and trust. This can only occur when each person values not only the other, but also one’s

self—genuine love of the other can only occur if one already has the self-esteem and love for one’s self, and this

comes from within. Selfless love of the other is not a dependency but a gift. Meaning, one does not depend on

the other for one’s self-worth and value; rather, it is one’s inner self-worth and value that gifts love to the other

selflessly and lavishly.

I found the article below by Ben Neal posted on Facebook. I resonated with his direct approach and

realism about the spirituality of relationships and “true love.” Neal’s message, I believe, indirectly speaks to the

unique feelings and experiences Soldiers and spouses go through relationally during a deployment. I invite you

to read the article, and hope that it helps your love grow stronger as we move closer to coming home.

Peace,

CH Caruso

Chaplains Corner Chaplain: CPT Robert Caruso

Chaplains Assistant: PVT Dezmon Worth


P AGE 16 4 -227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

The Truth About “True Love.”

By Ben Neal Do you believe in love?

I’m talking about that deep down, life changing, earth shaking, always-and-forever kind of love—the stuff of

poetry and legend.

Many people are skeptical, and for good reason. Today’s culture isn’t very fertile ground for romance. With

social media, text messaging and online dating, we’ve revolutionized communication but we’ve lost the art of

relationship. There are very few success stories. (Sometimes it seems like there are very few people having real,

face-to-face conversations anymore!)

But I believe. Scratch that. I know.

True love is real—deep, unconditional, lasting love. The reason it is so rare is because it is so misunderstood.

Most people’s idea of “true love” looks something like this: Mr. or Mrs. Right is waiting out there somewhere,

“the One” they are destined to be with. And that special someone is looking for them too, and it’s only a matter

of time before they meet each other—and of course, they’ll both live happily ever after.

Hogwash!

Happily ever after doesn’t exist. And God didn’t hand pick one special person just for you. In fact, the whole

idea of finding fulfillment in someone else is an illusion.

The truth is, love can only be found within.

Most people who are looking for love “out there” are actually just running away from loneliness. They

constantly settle for less than what they want, and less than what they deserve, because their greatest fear is to be

alone, grow old alone and die alone.

The fear of loneliness prevents us from experiencing real intimacy. True love lies beyond that fear. We have to

face what Louis C.K. call the “forever empty,” the unquenchable sadness deep within us; the ever present

knowledge of our own mortality, that in the end we all face death all alone.

The truth is that real love requires real inner work that most people just aren’t interested in. It requires that we

first be happy in our solitude; that we come to know ourselves, accept ourselves and love ourselves. We have to

find our peace of mind, find our purpose, our passion, our joie de vivre.

It requires that we lay down the ego’s defenses and be naked and vulnerable; that we give up our planning and

fantasizing about the future and live in the Now. Only then are we really ready to love. When you fully grasp

that tomorrow is not guaranteed—that this moment is truly all that we have—there is nothing to do but give

everything you’ve got, expecting nothing in return.

In fact, you know in advance that your heart will be broken. You will be lied to, you will be taken for granted;

you will be hurt and disappointed. Sooner or later, between here and your deathbed, you will have to say

goodbye. You know it, you accept it, and you love anyway.

Continued on page 16

Real love is divine. It comes from a relationship with God, a dance with emptiness which takes us beyond the

human self, beyond the ego’s petty games to know a timeless love; to taste the fullness of joy.

WHAT WE CALL “TRUE L OVE” IS THAT RARE AND SACRED UNION THAT

HAPPENS WHEN TWO PEOPLE JOIN IN THIS DANCE TOGETHER.

It is a friendship, a love affair and an act of worship. Passion, lust, affection, caring, trust, respect and devotion

all become part of an exquisite surrender. Lovers merge with each other and with the vast, wild universe.

Neither knows for sure if it will last a weekend or a lifetime. It doesn’t matter.

All that matters is this moment of oneness—holy and beautiful.

It contains eternity.

4 -227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION P AGE 16

Chaplains Corner

Retention Corner

GUNS,

As battalion operations continue Soldiers are still taking advantage of the wide range of reenlistment

opportunities as they become available. We broke in 2014 by reenlisting four Soldiers for a variety of

reenlistment options. No matter the reenlistment incentives they all decided to remain with the Army and

continue their great service to the nation. Starting 1 February 2014 the deployment bonus in Kuwait will be

reduced and the Army will begin making changes to current retention policies. No matter the changes the

command always wants to thank the Families for supporting your Soldier and being part of the team. Please

visit our Facebook page to view more reenlistment pictures.

-SSG LeFaire

“STAY GUNS”

4 -227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

P AGE 18

FRG Corner

4 -227TH ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION

Very soon, Guns Attack will be

returning from deployment, mission

accomplished! The Soldiers will have

received several briefings in theater in

preparation for their return to Family

and friends. The Rear Detachment will

conduct briefings for Family members

at Fort Hood, to ease the re-union

process. These briefing will take place

in late March. There will be several

dates/times to choose from, allowing

participants to attend a session suitable

to their schedule. Child care will be

available to those children enrolled in

CYSS. If you are not enrolled, now is

the perfect time to do so. Registration

can be accomplished at Parent Central

Services at Bldg 121, 761st Tank

Battalion Avenue. The phone number is

254-287-8029. Operating hours are

Mon-Tues, Thurs-Fri 7:30 am – 4:40

pm and Wed, 7:30 am – 3:30 pm.

Briefing dates, times, and locations will

be announced at a later date.

Coming Home

All stateside Tricare Service Centers will close on 1

April. All Tricare enrollments and information will be

done on the web. Enroll at www.tricare.mil/callus.

For Tricare Prime, use www.tricare.mil/enrollment

ACS Calendar of Events

http://hoodmwr.com/acs/iro_calendar.html

http://www.tricare.mil/callus

http://www.tricare.mil/enrollment

http://hoodmwr.com/acs/iro_calendar.html

FRG Corner


FAMILY READINESS SUPPORT ASSISTANT

Charles Lyons (4-227 ARB)

[email protected]

Office: 254-553-7486

Cell: 254-290-0730

Bldg 87016 Rose Bud

MILITARY FAMILY LIFE CONSULTANT

Eddie Rayford

Cell:254-317-3517

Bldg 87016 Rose Bud

FAMILY READINESS GROUP CONTACTS

As always, continue to stay engaged with your company FRG Leaders on upcoming events and useful

resources with the Battalion and local area. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, do not hesitate

to contact your company FRG Leader or our Battalion Senior Advisor, Mrs. Julia Perry at

[email protected]

TITLE FIRST LAST SPOUSE CELL EMAIL

4-227th ARB

BN SENIOR ADVISOR Julia Perry LTC Perry 254-319-2448 [email protected]

HHC Amber Goodwin 1LT Goodwin 864-328-6345 [email protected]

A COMPANY Ashton West SPC Benjamin 817-791-0872 [email protected]

B COMPANY Kim Clonch CPT Clonch 615-481-4689 [email protected]

C COMPANY Barbara Wade CW2 Wade 706-593-7862 [email protected]

D COMPANY Jessica Sterley CPT Sterley 716-830-1070 [email protected]

E COMPANY Amanda Pfeil SPC Pfeil 901-277-1608 [email protected]

FORT HOOD MWR TIME

Would you like Fort Hood Family and MWR information, news, events, facilities, maps, publications,

programs, services, social media and more, designed for access on your mobile device? Well, we have a free

app for that! Search "Fort Hood MWR Time" in Apple’s App Store or iTunes to download this great resource

right to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. iTunes.com/Apps/FortHoodMWRTIME

V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:sara.white4@

mailto:[email protected]


RANK LAST NAME FIRST NAME BIRTHDAY

SFC HINES JOHNATHON 2 FEB

SPC OATIS NEHEMIAH 2 FEB

SPC OUK DARA 2 FEB

CW4 LEIPOLD MICHAEL 4 FEB

SGT NOYOLA DAVID 5 FEB

PFC VOELCKER JASON 7 FEB

CPT JAZMIN CESAR 8 FEB

SGT STADELMAIER RYAN 8 FEB

1LT KIM TYLER 9 FEB

SPC MITCHELL JEFFREY 12 FEB

PFC ODEL JORDAN 12 FEB

SPC WILLIS JAMES 13 FEB

SGT DANIELS DUSTIN 14 FEB

MAJ MILLER MARY 15 FEB

SPC BRYANT WILLIE 16 FEB

PFC AGLA KOSSI 16 FEB

PFC COGDELL JONATHAN 16 FEB

SPC HENDRICKSON LANDEROS 17 FEB

CW2 CHESWORTH JEFFREY 18 FEB

CW2 GROVENSTEIN WHITNEY 19 FEB

SGT OGDEN CASEY 19 FEB

CW2 STUEBBE ANDREW 20 FEB

SPC RODRIGUEZMARTINEZ MANUEL 20 FEB

SPC ABIRASNIETTELOUIS CARLOS 22 FEB

CPT STERLEY GREGORY 25 FEB

SGT YOUNG SNEZHANA 25 FEB

SGT WILSON KEVIN 26 FEB

CPT VILLAFANE OMAR 28 FEB

PV2 CRESPO EMMALY 28 FEB

4-227th ARB February Birthdays

P AGE 20

GUNS Poster


4-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion

“Operation Enduring Freedom-Kuwait 13-14”

V OLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

The Gun Store is still accepting orders! Stickers, Velcro

patches, youth sizes, and supersizes are also available. Guns

Attack!!!



Au

gu

st 2

6

Mo

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19

20

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22

23

24

25

26

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Co

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Se

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FR

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form

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ou

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ng

e

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y h

ap

pe

nin

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or

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, T

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e

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org

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ll M

ark

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org

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Da

lla

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all C

ed

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nd

ay

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Sc

he

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st

(Sc

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Gru

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all M

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w B

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sto

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bo

r D

ay

Ev

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t

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re F

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n, T

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d

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po

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ke

wo

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mm

er

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s

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pe

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an

ds

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Au

tum

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t

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tle

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, T

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gu

in T

rad

e D

ay

s

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gu

in,

TX

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Pe

ca

n S

tre

et

Fa

ll F

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tiv

al

(Au

sti

n, T

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Blu

e M

oo

n E

xp

o P

sy

ch

ic

Fa

ir

(Da

lla

s, T

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Ge

m a

nd

Je

we

lry

Sh

ow

(Au

sti

n, T

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La

bo

r D

ay

Oct

ob

er

28

Mo

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Tu

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We

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Th

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Sa

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Su

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ay

29

30

31

No

vem

be

r 1

23

45

67

89

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

De

cem

be

r 1

No

ve

mb

er

13

Co

mm

un

ity

Ev

en

ts –

Blu

e

FR

G In

form

ati

on

– Y

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w

Ho

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ay

s –

Ora

ng

e

Arm

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nin

gs

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n

Th

an

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giv

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Da

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All S

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ts D

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Ve

tera

ns

’ D

ay

Ha

nu

kk

ah

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ris

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s M

ag

ic

(Wic

hit

a, T

ex

as

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ll M

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lac

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us

tin

(Au

sti

n, T

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as

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Ro

un

d R

oc

k H

olid

ay

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ex

as)

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lad

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ys

(Sa

lad

o, T

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as)

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n B

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(Au

sti

n, T

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as

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us

ton

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lle

t N

utc

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ke

r

Ma

rke

t

(Ho

us

ton

, T

ex

as

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Fu

n F

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st

(Au

sti

n, T

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as

)

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ll C

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nty

Cit

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Ga

rag

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Ho

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Ma

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t D

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org

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, T

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as)

Fre

de

ric

ks

bu

rg N

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be

r

Tra

de

Da

ys

(Fre

de

ric

ks

bu

rg, T

ex

as

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Bra

zos

Va

lle

y W

orl

dfe

st

(Co

lle

ge

Sta

tio

n, T

ex

as

)

Au

sti

n C

ho

co

late

Fe

sti

va

l

(Au

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n,

Te

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s)

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c H

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ay

Ba

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r

(Kille

en

, T

ex

as)

Ch

ris

tma

s M

err

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Ma

rke

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ce

Art

s a

nd

Cra

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Sh

ow

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din

gs

, T

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as

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A C

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as

Aff

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sti

n, T

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as

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Ba

str

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mi S

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sti

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sti

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Tra

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Ve

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Da

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lk

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. H

oo

d)

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ua

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7

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Th

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da

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turd

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Su

nd

ay

28

29

30

31

Fe

bru

ary

12

34

56

78

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Ma

rch

12

Fe

bru

ary

14

Co

mm

un

ity

Ev

en

ts –

Blu

e

FR

G In

form

ati

on

– Y

ello

w

Ho

lid

ay

s –

Ora

ng

e

Arm

y h

ap

pe

nin

gs

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ree

n

Tra

inin

g H

olid

ay

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sid

en

t’s

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y

22

ND A

nn

ua

l H

ill C

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ntr

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rau

nfe

ls, T

ex

as)

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erw

oo

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ore

st

Fa

ire

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sti

n,

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xa

s)

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de

ric

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rg S

pri

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Da

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bu

rg, T

ex

as

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len

tin

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Da

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art

s a

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op

ap

alo

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rt, T

ex

as)

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w B

rau

nfe

ls M

ark

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Da

ys

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w B

rau

nfe

ls, T

ex

as)

Tro

y W

inte

r F

arm

ers

Ma

rke

t

(Tro

y,

Te

xa

s)

Au

sti

n S

pri

ng

Ho

me

an

d

Ga

rde

n S

ho

w

(Au

sti

n, T

ex

as

)

UF

C 1

69

Fig

ht

Nig

ht

Wa

tch

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rty

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rt H

oo

d, T

ex

as)

Su

pe

r B

ow

l X

LV

III W

atc

h

Pa

rty

(Fo

rt H

oo

d,

Te

xa

s)

Ho

od

Ho

wd

y

(Fo

rt H

oo

d, T

ex

as)

As

ian

Fe

sti

va

l

(Sa

n A

no

tnio

, T

ex

as)

Sa

n A

nto

nio

Sto

ck

Sh

ow

an

d R

od

eo

(Sa

n A

nto

nio

, T

ex

as)

Co

llin

Co

un

ty H

om

e a

nd

Ga

rde

n S

ho

w

(Alle

n,

Te

xa

s)

Ab

ile

ne

Bri

da

l a

nd

Qu

inc

ea

ne

ra S

ho

wc

as

e

(Ab

ile

ne,

Te

xa

s)

Th

e P

rec

as

t S

ho

w

(Ho

us

ton

, T

ex

as

)

Fa

irfi

eld

Ma

rke

t D

ay

s

(Fa

irfi

eld

, T

ex

as

)

Sa

n A

nto

nio

Ho

me

an

d

Ga

rde

n S

ho

w

(Sa

n A

nto

nio

, T

ex

as

)

DF

W F

am

ily

Ex

po

(Da

lla

s, T

ex

as)

Ca

nto

n T

rad

e D

ay

s

(Ca

nto

n, T

ex

as)

guns attack feb 2014 newsletter

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