volume 1, issue 6 the sustainer sentinel

March 2009

Volume 1, Issue 6

The Sustainer Sentinel

Sustain the Climb! LTC Dave Jones Gator 6 SBTB Battalion Commander Our focus contin-ues to be on operations in Iraq, Kuwait and Fort Drum in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This past quarter saw some exciting and busy months for the Gator

Team. We continue to excel in sustainment and force protection opera-tions. The team brought in the New Year with our Soldiers working hard, exceeding the standards and supporting efforts to improve the quality of life for the Iraqi people. The team was part of countless mis-sions all with great success. Our Financial Management Company in Iraq changed over this quarter. The 24th Financial Management Com-pany (FM CO) from Fort Stewart, GA having served 15 months in thea-ter changed over with the 208th FM CO from Mannheim, Germany. The 208th FM CO known as the “Roughnecks” are fully integrated into the battalion. We also changed over our Human Resources Company. The 510th HR CO from Fort Eustis, VA, serving a 15 month tour in theater, changed over with the 271st HR CO from Puerto Rico. The 271st HR CO known as “Primeros” are on board and ready to go.

HHC, B Co (Signal) and B Company, 949th BSB (Texas National Guard) continue to perform their missions well above standard. At Fort Drum, HQ Det, 33rd FM CO is preparing to deploy and did a great job with predeployment training and completed block leave. 620th MCT continues to conduct movement control operations, supporting 10th Mountain Division in Iraq.

Next quarter, the Gators will focus on continued Operations in Iraq, Kuwait and Fort Drum. C Det, 33rd FMCo will be holding down the Fort Drum finance mission. The Family Readiness Group (FRG) will plan for an Easter Egg Hunt and Spring Festival.

We will continue to keep Families updated with the newsletters as well as through the rear detachment chain of command and FRG.

I appreciate the outstanding work and service our Soldiers and Families provide everyday.

~ Gator 6

HHC 4

Signal Company 8

FMCo 10

620th MCT 12

Supporters Pages 14

Rear D Quick Reference Numbers 16

FRG Leader Contact List 16

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

10SBTB Spring Fun Day Easter Egg Hunt @ 3:00

2:00—4:30pm. Pine Plains Gym

APR 5

HHC, Signal & 620th—FRG Meet ‘n Greet Potluck. 5:30 PM@ Adirondack

Creek Community Center

APR 14

FMCo FRG Meeting, Clark Hall, 5:30 PM

APR 14

Battalion Luau JUN 13

HHD FMCo Deployment Ceremony, 1000, SBTB BN Classroom

MAR 30

FRG CALENDAR

The Sustainer Sentinel

Sustain the Climb! Go Gators! CSM Michael Mosier

March is here which means that we just started our fifth month of deployment — WOOHOO! It has been a busy couple of months and our Soldiers have done stellar jobs

since being here. I am proud of every one of them.

The Battalion conducted a NCO Induction Ceremony 13 Feb 09. 22 newly promoted noncommissioned officers were inducted. MSG Tracy Wood sang the National Anthem. SFC Jordan and SFC O’Leary were the sword bearers. CSM Tennant was the guest speaker. It was a great opportunity for our newest NCOs; all of them were proud to have had a chance to be Inducted into the NCO Corps.

On 14 Feb 09, the battalion participated in a 5K Valentine’s Day run. Approximately 50 of our Soldiers were up early to compete in the run. We had more participants than any other unit on Taji, so I guess instead of chocolate and flowers we enjoyed sweat and pain on Valentine’s Day.

We conducted two Reliefs in Place (RIPs), 24th Financial Management Company from Ft. Stewart, GA RIP’d with 208th Financial Management Company from Manheim, Ger-many on 8 Feb 09 and 510th Human Resources Company from Ft. Eustis, VA RIP’d with the 271st Human Resources Company from Puerto Rico on 2 Mar 09. The 24th FMCo and 510th HRC both served 15 month tours here in Iraq and have all made it home safe and sound. I want to thank them for their service to our country and continued success in all they do. As for the 208th FMCo and the 271st HRC, welcome to Iraq and to the bat-talion, I am sure that each of these units will take the bull by the horns and run with it. Both units have already done magnificent things in their short time here and will raise the bar during their tour.

We have had several promotions in the last couple of month; but I would like to point out three. SGT Kateri Erwin was promoted to SSG, CPL Mark Hanna and CPL Kyle Tobara were promoted to SGT. These three NCOs were recommended by their supervi-sors and 1SG for a Battlefield Promotion and they all received it. This just goes to show that our Soldiers are exceeding the standard in everything they do and are being recog-nized for it. Congratulations to these NCOs for a job well done!

Go Gators! ~ GATOR 7

Volunteers Completing

Training since Feb 2009

FRG Rear D Team Building:

Gerilynne Moore

Tonie Busby

Korynn Drake

Care Team Awareness:

Korynn Drake

AFTB Level 2

Roberta Murray

Volume 1, Issue 6

Congratulations!Congratulations!Congratulations!

SBTB Promotions

Since February 2009

We Are Proud of All Our Soldiers!

SPC Ackerman

PFC Coon

SSG Erwin

SPC Faltine

PV2 Garcia

PV2 Gibson

SGT Gillespie

SPC Griffin

PFC Hamlett

SGT Hanna

CW2 Henriquez

SGT R. Johnson

SPC Klukiewicz

MSG Koser

2LT McCoy

SPC Moss

SPC Murphy

SPC Nugent

SPC A. Powell

PV2 Pruitt

PV2 Rice

SPC Romero

SSG Ruatos

PFC Ugochukwu

PV2 Stephenson

SPC Taylor

SPC Thomas

SGT Tobara

PV2 Tobon

SPC Wiegand

SPC Wutke

PFC Ziegler

Headquarters & Headquarters Company

To the Top! HHC Families,

I would like to start off by saying that 1SG Alicea and I appreciate everything the FRG has done so far to support us and make the time away from family that much more bearable. You have done a great job in taking time out of your busy schedule to assist families when assistance is needed as well as keeping our families informed while we are defending freedom here in Iraq. Your Soldiers here are doing a mag-nificent job. All of the Soldiers in the different sections of our great company come to work each and every day know-ing that they are making a huge impact here in Iraq and will be able to share the stories with their families and friends of how they served their country admirably in 2009.

Since the publication of the last newsletter we have accomplished a number of great feats. We had many of our Sol-diers participate in the MLK and Valentine Day Run. The Battalion Commander presented the participants of this run with a Certificate of Achievement. For the month of January CPL Hanna and SPC Day were our Soldiers of the month and for February our winners were SGT Holland and SPC Johnson who made the cutoff score to Sergeant for March.

SGT Erwin was promoted to Staff Sergeant as a result of being nominated and selected for a battlefield promotion. 2LT Howard, Black History Month project Officer and her team did an awesome job with putting an awesome an

academy award worthy event that everyone is still talking about days after the event.

PFC Thomas who works in the HHC Wood Shop was selected as the Muleskinner of the Week during this month and received a BDE and BDE Command team coin for his hard work in com-pleting his many projects. We have a Sustainer team currently preparing to compete in the upcoming Sustainer Challenge. We have no doubt they will bring home the first place trophy. They have some stellar athletes on that team with CPT Arroyo, CPT Zerr, SPC Johnson, and SSG Kuiper to name a few.

Thanks goes to the HHC family back and rear detachment team at Fort Drum for your continued support and commitment to the company and each other as we near the one quarter mark of our

deployment. It's the bonds developed back in the rear that will sustain us through the rest of our time in country. Thank you all for providing us with the motivation to serve our nation and the people of Iraq as well.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for you are in ours.

God Bless You,

CPT Sherdrick Rankin

The following Gators prepare in their own way to navigate the complex driving course in hopes they can acquire a license to drive. Above: SGT Rue-Whitfield, Maurice(L) native from New Jersey and SSG Schofield, Craig (R) dis-cuss the fundamentals that must be passed in order to be scored a GO. Left: SPC Edwards (L) and SSG Weathersby (R) wait patiently for their turn to show their masterful driv-ing skills.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT SSG ROBLEDO, PAVEL, AND HHC 10TH SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE TROOP BATALION OPERATIONS: [email protected] OR DSN 318-834-3846.

SGT Rue-Whitfield and SPC Daniel Edwards from Long Island, New York, point out some to the vital parts to check during the PMCS of the M-Gator and Polaris Ranger.

Camp Taji 10th SBTB Motor Pool – SGT Maurice Rue-Whitfield, a native of Bordentown, NJ and Shop Foreman for the 10th Sustainment Brigade Troops Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, instructs the attending Soldiers on how to properly perform PMCS on a M-Gator and Polaris Ranger during his Driver’s Training Session. Thus far SFC Michael Ostrander, a Ballston Spa, NY native and SGT Rue-Whitfield in a combined effort have trained and licensed 41 Soldiers on these pieces of equipment.

HHC, 10TH Sustainment Brigade Troops Battalion Supply By SSG ROBLEDO, PAVEL

HHC, 10th SBTB, 10th SBDE

R&U Wood Shop With 11 jobs pending, and five completed jobs wait-

ing to be picked up, the woodshop has no shortage of work. PFC Thomas and SPC Peed have taken over the R & U Wood Shop, have made the transition very smooth and do a wonderful job. With the addition of 1st SBDE’s woodshop’s tools and materials, these Soldiers are in the process of reor-ganizing and rebuilding the wood shop to be more productive.

SPC Peed and PFC Thomas have also built a 7-foot

by 4-foot wooden replica of the 10th Sustainment patch to be hung at BDE Head Quarters; they are building another wooden replica of the 10th Sustainment patch. This one has a frame around it and is mounted to the wall in the Brigade Conference Room.

Already they have made 3 display placards, which were sanded, stained and lacquered, and just recently completed a framing project at the brigade TOC, where they built three walls and hung two doors, making two smaller offices within a larger one. More of their projects include 22 IOTV stands for various individuals throughout the unit, three weapons racks, with many more scheduled to be built, four tables and three book shelves.

Both SPC Peed and PFC Thomas have done an amazing job at everything they have been asked to do, and have helped to make everything run a little bit smoother for everyone here.

Who We Are

What We Do

SPC Thomas

SPC Peed

7ft by 4ft wooden replica of the 10th sustainment patch

Left: SPC Wells and SPC Pichette from 10th Sustainment Brigade CSSAMO, stands in front of the Freedom Call Center located at building 109. They ensure the Soldiers on Taji have access to free internet, telephone and video teleconferences services 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Since the TOA the FCC has served over 7,700 customers.

Right: CW2 Pullease, SSG Miller, SGT Chaconas , and SGT Willis from 10th Sustainment Brigade CSSAMO, are raising an antenna on the roof to improve the capability of customers communications via CAISI wireless net-work.

Above: The 10th Sustainment Brigade CSSAMO posses for a group photo after the Patch Ceremony.

Right: SSG Hodgson the CSSAMO Help Desk NCO teaches PFC Yakimyuk how to open and close work orders in the CSSAMO work order database. CSSAMO has open and closed over 126 jobs since the TOA.

CSSAMO

Greetings from Iraq! The Soldiers of Signal Company continue to do an outstanding job! There is never a mission to difficult or challenging for the Knights! I am proud of each and every Soldier as they have set the standard. From the Knights deployed, we would like to thank the families for their patience and support as we enter the fourth month of deployment. We would also like to give a special thanks to Ms. Tonie Busby for her outstanding support she provides for the families. Respectfully, Knight 6 ANDREW E LOVEJOY CPT, SC COMMANDING

Signal Company

Company XO 2LT Robert Busby & CSM Michael Mosier say CHEESE!

SPC Akeem Nugent PFCJames Ziegler

SPC Anthony Powell

SPC Klukiewicz has another cup of coffee!

SSG Chad Wood generously clean the office.

Finance Management Company

Training and Professional Development 29 JAN 09 SSG Carlson and PFC (P) Faltine represented B/33rd FMCO and 106th FMCO in the 287th STB NCO and Sol-dier of the quarter board (respectively). Congratulations were given to both SSG Carlson and PFC (P) Faltine as they both were close runner ups of each of their respective boards. We are all proud of their accomplishments and they both were awarded with a BN coin and a COA. SGT Daniels was the NCO sponsor for PFC (P) Faltine and SFC Jackson was the NCO sponsor for SSG Carlson.

Soldier Wellness Development

***NEWS FLASH***!!! On 5 FEB 09, SPC Barrera was awarded a 3rd ESC coin by CSM Tennant. SPC Barrera has displayed a continuous positive attitude and constant performance as a Milpay clerk.

Bravo Company Soldier Wins Camp Bucca Chess Tournament

B/33RD FMCO, has an official chess champion! On 27 JAN 09, SGT McDonald won all 4 games in the ad-vanced bracket of the monthly Camp Bucca chess tour-nament. SGT McDonald defeated WO1 McCallum, 42nd MP BDE. 1st prize was a certificate and $35.00 from MWR. SGT McDonald hopes the $35.00 is a cash voucher so he can spend it at Green Beans.

There are usually between 16-20 players — four rounds, with a 20-minute time limit per side, per game. In DEC 08, SGT McDonald also won the advance novice brack-ets and 1st prize was a chess board, but SGT McDonald generously donated it to another player. The Soldier in PT’s is 1LT Macaspac, 2-time defending ALL Army Chess Champion. He organizes and runs the tourna-ment.

Administrative/Logistics On 22 JAN 09, PFC Moss was pro-moted to the rank of SPC. Combined with a successful jingles run to Camp Bucca, CPT Taylor was honored to pro-mote SPC Moss. SPC Moss is truly deserving of his promotion and contin-ues to be the model Soldier of the de-tachment. SPC Moss also holds the position of the Gideon bearer for the detachment.

22 JAN 09, CPT Taylor made a jingles run/command visit to the CAMP Bucca’s finance team.

All smiles from the Ban-dits at Bucca.

620th Movement Control Team

FOB KALSU OPERATIONS FOB Kalsu, Iraq -“Da Zu” as it is affectionately called; FOB Kalsu is located about 30 miles south of the MND-C headquarters and is home to four Soldiers from the 620th MCT DST for 10th Mountain Division G-4. The Soldiers SSG Dewhirst, SSG Crowell, and CPL Smith will be receiving 2LT Hutchins who will replace 2LT Williams for the remaining of the mission.

TEAM BASRA BIAP, Iraq- With the current mis-sion changes taking place there will be a team of five Soldiers from 620th MCT heading out to Basra. The crew is set and ready for the new challenges. They will carry on a variety of different missions and serve as the advance party for the main MCT. Here they pose from top left SPC Soto, SSG Lohr-mann, SGT Walker, SPC Walz, and SPC Nitz.

BATTALION COIN Camp Victory, Iraq- January 2009, SFC Jefferds shows off one of 330th Transportation Battalion’s Coin received from CSM McKeller during one of his battlefield circulation visits to Camp Victory, Iraq. The coin was awarded for the hard work and dedications the Soldiers on ground con-tinue to provide during the deployment.

SAFETY STAND DOWN

Camp Victory, Iraq- 2 February 2009, SPC Nitz conducts a weapon safety class for the MCT during the Safety Stand down. This day was utilized to have NCOs and Soldiers brief impor-tant classes dealing from fire safety to yard operations.

OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS TOUR

Camp Victory, Iraq- January 2009, SPC Corretjer strikes a pose with Olympian Joey Cheek and his 2006 Olympic gold medal during an MWR visit at the 10th MTN DIV HQ.

To Our Family & Friends… Thanks for your support!

~ CPT Acuna

To Dr. Salvatore and the Students of Reed Intermediate School:

On behalf of our Soldiers, thanks so much for the letters you sent our Soldiers in Iraq. We are very thankful for them and the time you took out of your studies to do this for us.

It lifts the morale of our Soldiers as we continue to defend our great nation.

Respectfully,

CPT Sherdrick Rankin

“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from them-selves.”

~ James Matthew Barrie

The Warren Area Lacrosse Association

Supports Soldiers Past & Present

The 2008 Warren Blue Devils Lacrosse Team shows their support for our Soldiers and Families; not only by sending care packages to support 10th Sustainment Brigade Troops Battalion but by attending a luncheon with WWII 10th Mountain Division Veterans in honor of Mt. Belvedere Day.

The team took two parents and five players to the luncheon to meet the Midwest Chapter of the 10th Mountain Division, where they were treated to great Italian food in honor of the fighting in Italy, spent time the vets, and invited them to an upcoming Blue Devils game. The boys were im-pressed and excited to hear stories of how the veterans fought the Ger-mans when they were not much older than the players and what it took to be a “muleskinner” back during the war.

Three of the veterans made plans to attend the Blue Devils first home game and one gave $20 of his own money to purchase supplies for care packages to SBTB Soldiers in Iraq. ~ Thanks to Ray Weinstock for the submission.

St. Joes Lacrosse in Westport, CT held a team collection day in February 2009 and gener-ously filled and shipped 30 - 40 boxes for our SBTB troops .

Players autographed a jersey and each player submitted a letter as well. One supporter made a banner and all the parents who attended signed a note on it for the troops as well.

Due to the tremendous success of the event, the team plans to hold collection days at all their home games to encourage the entire community to get involved.

Thanks to Our

Supporters!

Family Readiness Group Leaders

FRG Advisor: Betty Jones, (315) 681-6227 [email protected] HHC: Kerry Coppini, (315) 955-8397 [email protected] Signal: Tonie Busby, (315) 629-8629 [email protected]

FMC: Gerilynne Moore, (315) 646-3606 [email protected] 620th MCT: Aja Hutchins, (423) 676-9319 [email protected] If you need a copy of your Chain of Concern or need to update your con-tact information, please contact your FRG Leader.

10SBTB REAR D QUICK REFERENCE NUMBERS (Area Code 315)

RD CDR

CPT Wray 772-2705 [email protected]

RD CSM

1SG Thomas 772-6802 [email protected]

FRSA Wendi Ackerman 772-9528 [email protected]

24 HRS.

Brigade Staff Duty 772-8254

Chap-lain

MAJ David Essells 772-6654 After Hours: 772-5647

Acute Care

Acute Care Clinic 772-5236

MP MP Desk 772-2677

ACS Army Comm. Ser-

vice 772-6557 1-800-826-0886

Red Cross

Mark Hooper 772-6561 1-877-272-7337

AER Diane Hupko 772-6560

This newsletter contains both official and unofficial information. The inclusion of some unofficial informa-tion in this newsletter has not increased the costs to the Government, in accordance with DoD 4542.8M

volume 1, issue 6 the sustainer sentinel

Documents