PAGE 4

given an opportunity to eat Mansaf, the national dish. It was also a chance for leaders to become acquainted with each other and share their standards and expectations of the mission. During the ceremony the outgoing and incoming Commanders perform the “casing” and “uncasing” of their perspective Units Colors and have an opportunity to speak to the Unit’s affected by this transfer of authority.

JORDAN- (February 20, 2013) – 1st Bn 623d Field Artillery officially took the reins of their mission with the departure of the transfer of authority (TOA) ceremony and the departure of 181st Field Artillery Regiment. After the transfer, 1st Bn 623d FA took charge of the camp as well as operations and training of their Jordanian counterparts. The formal ceremony between the outgoing and the incoming units was followed by a local, but formal, luncheon in which the Soldiers were

TTHHEE VVIIDDEETTTTEE 1sT Bn 623D FIElD ArTIllEry

Individual Highlights:

Cover Story 1

Commander 2

Sergeant Major 2

Law & Order 3

Rear Support Team 3

S3 3

Chaplain’s Corner 4

Top Secret 4

First Aid Station 5

Motor Pool 5

Genius Bar 5

Cover Story Cont. 6

Captain Carter 7

Military Child 8

Mil Ch Registration 9

TSP APP 10

Post 911 G.I. Bill 11

01 APr 2013 Vol. 1 IssuE 4

Morgan’s Men Take Control of the Reins

Photos

Layout/Design/Photographer LT Gordon Deming

Writer/Photographer SGT Bryan Ploughe

Editor in Chief MAJ John Holmes

Continued on Page 6

CSM Neathery, 1-623d FA Command Sergeant Major, assists Lt. Col. Fanter, 1-623d FA Commander, with the uncasing of the Regimental colors as SPC Dennis, a paralegal specialist, diligently holds the Colors for the unveiling during the transfer of authority ceremony (TOA).

PAGE 2

COMMANDER’S WORDS LTC Timothy Fanter

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”

- Arnold H. Glasow

COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR CSM Robert Neathery

Greetings to our Soldiers, families, friends, and supporters of Morgan’s

Men. As you read this message, many of the Morgan’s Men Leadership and our partnered brothers of Task Force 222 India and Task Force 240 Bravo Leadership are conducting our Pre Deployment Site Survey (PDSS). Our training and validation of the Jordanian Armed Forces is progressing and the next phase of our deployment will be here soon.

Our Soldiers are continuing to receive weekly mail shipments from our support cell and it is a great morale booster. I encourage everyone to continue the open communication of letters and care packages…your Soldier greatly appreciates it. I will close with a few words on position improvement. CSM Neathery and I have seen constant improvements at the Joint Training Center, especially in the maintenance area. We are very pleased with what has been accomplished, but we know we have not achieved the end-state we desire and have a long-term calendar of tasks and events that will be completed in the upcoming months. As a team, we will continue to work toward that goal. Morgan 6

I would like to take this chance to thank all of our family and friends back in Kentucky for all of their support for the soldiers of the 623d. To this point, we have received many care packages and they are greatly appreciated by everyone here. I know everyone here looks forward to mail call. The Soldiers of this battalion could not do this mission without the love and support that they receive from home. I would also like to thank all of the employers that support our Soldiers as well. We appreciate every one's support greatly.

PAGE 3

MARCH SELF-DEVELOPMENT The Doctrinal Network- Promoting understanding, training, and education in the joint doctrine of the Armed Forces of the United States http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/docnet/index.htm RECOMMENDED COURSES

• JP 2-0 Joint Intelligence

• JP 4-0 Joint Logistics

• 3-16 Multinational Operations

• 3-09 Joint Fire Support

• 3-09.6 Close Air Support

• 3-06 Urban Operations

• 3-57 Civil-Military Operations

• 3-60 Joint Targeting

LAW & ORDER Since arriving in Jordan, many Soldiers have needed a Power of

Attorney (POA) to allow someone stateside to act as their Attorney-in-Fact to handle transactions. During July and December ATs, legal briefs were given about the risks of POAs. Steps can be taken to reduce those risks.

Name two people who your trust and require both to sign any transaction. With two Attorney-in-Facts there’s a greater chance for reasonable actions. A POA can limit the Attorney-in-Fact’s ability. Many only allow the Attorney-in-Fact to pay certain bills or specific payments.

S3 CPT Jimmie Warinner

Others only allow the Attorney-in-Fact to buy or sale a house or car. Naming one Attorney-in-Fact and giving them free rein over all your money is dangerous. They can take all your money and it would be completely legal. I recommend naming two people you trust, and require both to sign any transaction. Also limit what the POA allows them to do.

CPT Nicholas Carter

PAGE 4 CHAPLAIN’S CORNER CH (CPT) W. Ryan Steenburg A Quiet Place

Community living can be grand, at times. The memories that are created through a band of brothers are irreplaceable. There does come a time, however, that we need to find a quiet place. In a recent Sunday night Chapel Service we examined Mark 1:35 where it reads, “And rising very early in the morning , while it was still dark, he (Jesus) departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” The surrounding context of this verse demonstrates that Jesus was busy with his mission. He was often crowded by people; strangers and disciples alike. He knew that in order to refresh and revitalize he must find a quiet place. I think it is interesting and important to recognize that the quiet place did not just happen for Jesus; he had to go find it. And while he was there he engaged in something peaceful. Have you found your quiet place? Have you been looking for it? It will not necessarily be easy to find your quiet place while living so close to your brothers and sisters in arms, but I believe it is of extreme importance. So, for your own sake as well as the sake of others, strive to find a quiet place where you can go to refresh and revitalize, to pray, read a book, or quietly enjoy the rolling hills of Jordan.

. As we begin our spring season,

the S2 section has over came some struggles to get fully operational. Although when getting boots on ground our section had many questions; we are finally starting to make our connections and answers are beginning to flow our direction. Many of our tasks have come before us over the last month and we are working long hours to achieve all requests assigned; while assisting with the training. From preparations for Commander's Update Brief and covering multiple boundaries across southern Asia, we have also been working on physical security and spinning up on military intelligence tactics. As the situation and operation may or may not change, we continue to spearhead operations on the battle field as well as protection of our location.

S2

SGT Jeremy Jordan

Transportation and Sustainment Team SGT Cody Zimmerman

The TST continues to provide top notch support for our world class Soldiers. The late days or super early mornings, depending on how you look at them, have been paying off in big ways for us. Our big push is US Mail because everyone loves to get mail. Of course, that will be slowing down with new APO but that doesn’t mean that we will be slowing down anytime soon. Besides our normal jobs, we have been keeping busy with some cool opportunities like attending Modern Army Combatives (MAC) level one (1) course. We are looking for the second phase after recovering. Plus, we have educational opportunities here. A couple of us are taking a General Mathematics class.

PAGE 5

“Combat medics never stand taller than when they kneel to treat the

wounded saving lives in the midst of utter chaos.”

-Unknown

FIRST AID STATION

MOTOR POOL

S6

Every Soldier and dependant needs to know how the Tricare Overseas process works and why it is so important to them.

Soldiers with medical issues (sniffles, aches, pains, etc.) are seen at the

Battalion Aid Station (BAS) and treated by CPT Hayden. If “Doc” cannot fix it with his skills and credentials, the Soldier has to be treated somewhere else. This is why Tricare Overseas is so important. We have a great medical team but they cannot do it all. When “Doc” needs to send a Soldier to a hospital for treatment, he starts the referral process by having the Soldier enroll in Tricare Overseas (no changes are made to family’s coverage). The referral, itself, generally takes four days to get approved. After we receive the approved referral, we call the hospital schedule the appointment and then take you to your appointment. All the Soldier has to do is digitally sign (that is ID card signing) the forms.

Emergencies are done completely different just like at home. Just think of

the Emergency Room at home.

2LT Gordon Deming

The Maintenance Section continues to run and we are gaining momentum. Some of the equipment here is new to us but that hasn’t stopped our team from conquering the challenge of keeping our equipment operational and taking care of our Soldiers. If you didn’t know, the US Army doesn’t give units “extra stuff;” so, we have to make certain all of our “stuff” is working all the time. The Soldiers care about their equipment, ranging from individual assigned gear to vehicles, and each Battery’s leadership support the maintenance effort during weekly Command Maintenance. Our Soldiers equipment is always mission ready and we are improving the time it takes to fix equipment. MSG Young, SFC Long, SSG Boller, SGT Johnson, SGT Fox, SPC Nichols, and SPC Masden are the best maintainers of the KYARNG. I am confident that the experience and dedication of our maintenance crew along with great PMCS practices will yield a safe and successful maintenance mission.

WO1 Melissa Propes

The Signal Section is hard at work maintaining the network and

constantly improving our infrastructure and wiring. We’ve re-wired the TOC and supported other units that work with us. We’ve been standing up an entire domain with Sharepoint, McAfee, and a webfilter to help maintain bandwidth with so many users. You can talk about us, but you can’t talk without us!

1LT Matthew Speer

PAGE 6

Each Commander also addressed the Jordanian leadership to reiterate their sense of accomplishment and satisfaction (from the outgoing Commander) and the eagerness and desire to get started (by the incoming Commander). The Kentucky State flag as well as the 1- 623d FA Regimental Colors will be displayed for the duration of the deployment. Kentucky’s 1-623d FA will continue the same mission that the 181st performed, and will look to continually improve upon it.

The Transfer of Authority (TOA) ceremony and uncasing of the Colors was conducted on 20 February with MG Cheek (ARCENT Deputy Commander), COL Johnson (3-3 ABCT Commander), COL Tyler (1-4 ABCT Commander), BG Hussein, BG Basca, and BG Bosher (JAF) in attendance. The Colors of 1-623d FA have been home in Kentucky for more than 20 years since the Battalion deployment of Desert Shield/Storm and now fly proudly overseas again.

Transfer of Authority Cont.

Photo by SGT Bryan Ploughe

Lt. Col. Stewart, the outgoing Commander of the 1-181st, and Lt. Col. Fanter, the incoming Commander of the 1-623d, share the honors of cutting the first pieces of the cake that was a part of the transfer of authority ceremony.

PAGE 7

Jordan. (March 5, 2013)- Often times our Citizen Soldiers are required to place their civilian occupations or careers on hold while they perform their military duties that they have been called upon to do.

This is also the case for CPT Nick Carter of the 1-623d Field Artillery, who is currently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, to Jordan. CPT Carter has been able to find a “work around” to be able to perform both duties. You see, CPT Carter owns and operates his own private law practice in his hometown and serves as a Judge Advocate General for the Kentucky Army National Guard.

Although conducting business as a private

attorney and performing JAG duties are very different, they are somewhat closely related. On the military side of things, the JAG has a responsibility to inform and protect American Soldiers from conducting activities that can potentially be detrimental to their careers or possibly even their lives, in the foreign land in which they are conducting their missions. And on the civilian side he educates and defends his clients on civilian laws. Although military and civilian laws are different, many of them are the same.” It is my responsibility to make these differences in law, very distinct and clear for our Soldiers.”

CPT Carter went on to say, “On the other side of the coin, I own and maintain a professional, private practice. I have a paralegal and she is important to me, and I have a responsibility to provide a secure environment for her and her family as well. So, in order to do so, I still work some special cases and perform certain procedures from my current duty location, thanks to technology.”

Personal Obligations Cross Paths with Professional Responsibilities

SGT Bryan Ploughe

Recently, CPT Carter was able to make an appearance in a courtroom thanks to Face Time. Carter was able to speak with the Judge and consult with other professionals during that time and was able to represent his law practice from a half a world away. “Right now, my first priority and focus is on the Soldiers that I represent; but, I take great pride in knowing that I can still be accessed and called upon from the civilian sector as well and will be able to fulfill their needs and wants as well.” Carter stated.

1LT Michael Dubree, resides in the same community as CPT Carter and said, “I think it is terrific that we have competent young men who are capable of performing multiple roles in serving their community. He is such an intelligent young man.”

Captain Nick Carter, Judge Advocate for the 1st Bn 623d FA, owns his own law firm and is able to perform his civilian duties while deployed thanks to modern technology. Pictured- CPT Carter utilizes the Face Time application to consult with a Judge in a civilian court room.

Photo By SGT Bryan Ploughe

PAGE 8

1LT A. Jaggers proudly awards First Lieutenant J. Simpson a combat patch for duty that has been performed in a combat zone for over 30 days.

CPT M. Allen presents SGT H. Lay with his first combat patch, for his period of more than 30 days served in a combat zone, during a ceremonial formation.

SPC K. DeWolf takes special care while searching a vehicle that desires to come onto the Units area of operation at their ECP.

CPT K. Shingledecker proudly presents SGT J. Carter, during a ceremonial formation, with his combat patch for serving in a combat zone for over 30 days.

SPC D. Dixon and SGT R. Thompson take great care and pride when sorting the mail for the Soldiers of the 623d.

Photo By 1LT Shannon Price

PAGE 9

This is the original site where Jesus was baptized by the Jordan River, a site that was visited by several members of the Unit on Good Friday.

A solemn view, on Good Friday, of a cross on a hill, looking through the same type of thorns that were placed on the head of Jesus during his crucifixion.

MSG A. Young extended a hand to congratulate SSG R. Long whom was just promoted to Sergeant First Class.

Photo By CPT Kevin Massengill

Photo By SGT Bryan Ploughe

Photo By SGT Bryan Ploughe

Photo By SGT Bryan Ploughe

A large group gathered by the Jordan River to take part in a service and to witness several individuals getting baptized on Good Friday.

PAGE 10

PAGE 11

REGISTRATION Military Child Appreciation Day

April 27, 2013 American Legion Post 34

725 West Broadway Lawrenceburg KY 40342

First name: ___________ Last name: ___________ Street address: ____________________________ City: __________________State: ___ Zip: _______ Home phone: __________ Cell Phone: __________ E-mail address: ____________________________

Service member/Unit assigned: ________________ Number of children: _________

Name: _______________ Age: _____ Gender: _____ Name: _______________ Age: _____ Gender: _____ Name: _______________ Age: _____ Gender: _____ Name: _______________ Age: _____ Gender: _____ Name: _______________ Age: _____ Gender: _____ Name: _______________ Age: _____ Gender: _____

Deadline to apply: April 15, 2013

Applications can be faxed or e-mailed at the contacts listed below:

Cindy Culver at cynthia.r.culver.ctr@mail.mil or 502-607-1751 Linda Jones at linda.s.jones36.ctr@mail.mil or 502-607-1593

Fax number: 502-607-1570

PAGE 12

Warning: Third-Party Mobile Applications —

There are a number of mobile applications that reference the Thrift Savings Plan and may prompt you for your TSP account credentials.

These applications are NOT sponsored by the TSP.

The TSP cannot endorse any information or advice provided by third-party applications. More important, providing your TSP account credentials to third-party applications may jeopardize the security of your account.

For more information on keeping your account safe, see the Security Center on the TSP website or contact the ThriftLine at 1-TSP-YOU-FRST (1-877-968-3778)

WARNING

PAGE 13 EDUCATION AND TRAINING POST-9/11 GI BILL: TRANSFERABILITY Disabilities determined by VA to be related to your military service can lead to monthly non-taxable compensation, enrollment in the VA health care system, a 10-point hiring preference for federal employment and other important benefits. Ask your VA representative or Veterans Service Organization representative about Disability Compensation, Pension, Health Care, Caregiver Program, Career Services, Educational Assistance, Home Loan Guaranty, Insurance and/or Dependents and Survivors’ Benefits.

WHAT IS TRANSFERABILITY? The Post-9/11 GI Bill allows service members (officer or enlisted, Active Duty or Selected Reserve), on or after August 1, 2009, to transfer unused education benefits to immediate family members (spouse and children). The service member must have at least six years of service, and commit to an additional four years of service in order to transfer benefits to a spouse or child. Because of the potential impact of this benefit on recruiting and retention, transferability policy is determined by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the military services.

The following DoD Fact Sheet on Post9/11 GI Bill can be found by clicking this link.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FACT SHEET ON POST-9/11 GI BILL TRANSFERABILITY While the Post-9/11 GI Bill offers a very generous post-service education benefit, a special provision of the program allows career service members the opportunity to share their education benefits with immediate family members.

The department has established the policies and procedures for this important program. These policies and procedures are described below:

APPLICATION PROCEDURES The effective date of any transfer will be no earlier than August 1, 2009, regardless of application date. All applications will be submitted through the milConnect website, located here .

Service members will be able to securely access this site with a Common Access Card, a DoD Self Service User ID, or a DFAS PIN.

ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS Any member of the Armed Forces (Active Duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) on or after August 1, 2009, who is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and:

· Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election.

· Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (Active Duty and/or Selected Reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (service or DoD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or

· Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of Active Duty or 20 qualifying years of reserve service.

ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS

PAGE 14 An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual’s entitlement to: · The individual’s spouse.

· One or more of the individual’s children.

· Any combination of spouse and child.

· A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for benefits, at the time of transfer to receive transferred educational benefits.

· A child’s subsequent marriage will not affect his or her eligibility to receive the educational benefit; however, after an individual has designated a child as a transferee under this section, the individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.

· A subsequent divorce will not affect the transferee’s eligibility to receive educational benefits; however, after an individual has designated a spouse as a transferee under this section, the eligible individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.

NATURE OF TRANSFER

An eligible Service member may transfer up to the total months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, or the entire 36 months if the member has used none. Family member use of transferred educational benefits is subject to the following:

· Spouse:

o May start to use the benefit immediately.

o May use the benefit while the member remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from Active Duty.

o Is not eligible for the monthly housing allowance or books and supplies stipend while the member is serving on Active Duty.

o Can use the benefit for up to 15 years after the service member’s last separation from Active Duty.

· Child:

o May start to use the benefit only after the individual making the transfer has completed at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces.

o May use the benefit while the eligible individual remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from Active Duty.

o May not use the benefit until they have attained a secondary school diploma, or equivalency certificate, or reached 18 years of age.

o Is entitled to the monthly housing allowance and books and supplies stipend even though the eligible individual is on Active Duty.

o Isn’t subject to the 15-year ending date, but may not use the benefit after 26 years of age.

For more information, call toll-free 1-888-442-4551 (1-888-GI BILL 1) or visit our website at http://www.gibill.va.gov

PAGE 15

Submitting a Transfer Request 1. Use your CAC card, DoD Self-Service Logon, or DFAS pin (myPay) to log on to the DoD

Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) Web application: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/TEB/. When the Submit Transfer Request (Home) page displays, your family members are listedinthe table under the List of Family Members section. 2. If a family member is not eligible for DEERS benefits, and thus is not eligible to receive transferred benefits, an N/A instead of a Yes link appears in the Transfer column for that family member.

3. To transfer benefit months to a family member, locate the name of the appropriate family member in the table and click Yes in the Transfer column. The Transfer Months page displays. On the Transfer Months page, specify a Transfer Begin Date, an optional Transfer End Date, and the number of Transfer Months, then click OK. Repeat this process for each of your family members. Spouses can use their benefit for 15 years after the member separates/retires; children can use their benefits until their 26

th birthdays.

4. Once you have transfer months assigned to each family member, you must submit your transfer request for approval by doing the following in the Submit Transfer Request (Home) page: Select the “Post-9/11 GI Bill Chapter 33” check box in the Education Benefit Program section. Select all the boxes in the Transferability of Education Benefits section to indicate that you have read and understand each statement. Click the Submit Request button. If the submission is successful, a Submit Confirmation page displays. Click the Return to Editing button in this page to return to the Submit Transfer Request (Home) page.

After you have submitted your transfer request, the Information section at the top of the Submit Transfer Request (Home) page updates to show that the Status is now ‘Submitted’. The Status Date is blank and will remain blank until a Service Representative approves, rejects or sets your request to a pending status.

How to Transfer to Post 9/11 G.I. Bill

PAGE 16 5. To track the status of your request, you will need to return to the TEB Web Application to check the ‘Status’ in the Information section. Once your request is approved, the status will be updated to ‘Request Approved’ and the approval Status Date will be set to the date the Service Representative approved the request. An Approval Form also becomes available once your request is approved:

Click Approval Form to view or print the approval confirmation. 6. Once your transfer request is approved, your request data is sent to the Department of

Veterans Affairs (DVA). Each family member must first apply for a certificate of eligibility from the DVA before they can use their transferred benefits. Once the DVA receives the request data and VA Form 22-1990E, they will be able to process your family members’ requests to use their benefits. The application for the certificate of eligibility (VA Form 22-1990E) can be found through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ VONAPP Web Site (http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp). A paper form is also available at http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-22-1990e-ARE.pdf. Or you can call the DVA for Education Benefits information at 1-888-GIBILL1.

7. After receiving their certificates of eligibility from the DVA, your family members must

provide the certificates to the school.

8. If your family members do not receive their certificates of eligibility from the DVA before they enroll in school, they should ask the veterans’ certifying official at the school to submit to the DVA an enrollment certification for the academic term.

Tuition funds will be sent direct from the DVA to the school. Children using months of transferred benefit will receive the monthly living stipend and the books and supplies stipend. A spouse using a transferred benefit will only receive the monthly living stipend. A spouse may also be eligible for the books and supplies stipend if he/she uses the benefit after you separate from active duty.