Serving the Soldiers, Civilians and Families of 2nd BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

Since the Civil War, Soldiers have enjoyed Thanksgiving away from friends and family. For some this is the first time sharing Thanksgiving away from home. We follow a long line of Americans who have served our Nation during a time of war. Thanksgiving was actually established as the last Thursday in November during the American Civil War. In 1863 President Lincoln made what was a tradition into a national holiday for “the whole of the American people”. Civic organizations in the North and South gathered money and donations to feed their militaries. During World War II, the food famously got worse the closer

one got to the front lines. However, on Thanksgiving the military made extraordinary efforts to replace the normal canned food, dehydrated fruits, and powdered eggs with all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving feast. By the Korean War, c-rations were all the rage. Again, the military took pains to feed service members a traditional meal. One Marine recalls that the gravy froze first, then the mashed potatoes, but the turkey was a little warm in the center if you ate really fast. With the ability in the Vietnam War to move service members around the battlefield more quickly, troops were often rotated off the front lines so they

Issue 79 Nov. 26, 2011

could enjoy a full, hot meal in relative security. War and food have certainly changed over the years. Today CSM Delosa and I are thankful to all the service members who came before us. We are thankful to our families for their sacrifices, love and support; to the Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines for raising your hand; to our government civilian teammates for choosing to serve here; to all the contractors who provide technical expertise, maintain our equipment, move our supplies, and care for the team. Finally, we are thankful to our Afghan military and government partners. Our success is defined

by theirs. We are blessed to work with proud, dedicated, steadfast Afghans who share the vision of a peaceful, stable Afghanistan. We have much work ahead of us and many opportunities to find new things for which to be thankful. We hope you take the time today to reflect on what you are thankful for. We thank all of you for your service to a grateful nation.

A Thankful Note

Warhorse PridePage 2 Issue 79 Nov. 26, 2011

The Warhorse Pride is produced in the interest of the Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The Warhorse Pide is an Army-funded news-letter authorized under provision of AR 360-1. Contents of the Warhorse Pride are not necessarily the view of, nor endorsed by the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 4th Infantry Division. All editorial content of The Warhorse Pride is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public

Affairs Office. The Warhorse Pride welcomes articles, commentary and photos from readers. The Warhorse Pride reserves the right to edit submissions selected for the publication. All issues of The Warhorse Pride can be viewed online from your home computer at www.facebook.com/2bct4id Submissions should be e-mailed to the editor:seth.barham@afghan.swa.army.mil

Col. John S. Kolasheski...................2nd BCT CommanderCommand Sgt. Maj. Ralph Delosa..............2nd BCT CSMMaj. Kevin Toner................................................2nd BCT PAOSgt. Seth Barham..................................................PAO NCOICSgt. Ruth Pagan......................................Layout and DesignSpc. April York.........................................Layout and Design

Warhorse Pride

Golf FSC, ANA conduct 20 day convoyStory by Sgt. Ruth Pagan2nd BCT, 4th Inf. Div., PAO

The Soldiers with Forward Support Company G, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field

Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, partnered with Afghan National Army to complete a 20-day convoy.

The convoy consisted of over 80 vehicles driven by Soldiers, ANA soldiers, local Af-ghans and Spanish soldiers.

As part of the transition in Regional Com-mand West, small camps have been closing or transferring, and the equipment and vehicles needed to be transported to Camp Stone, said Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hibbert, distribution platoon sergeant with FSC G.

For a mission of this magnitude it took about three months of planning and coordi-nating.

“When we leave (Camp Stone) we are a self-sustaining element,” Hibbert said. “We provide our own security, maintenance, fuel

and food. We are equipped with everything we need to sustain ourselves for the 20-day trip.”

A major consideration during the planning of the mission was the timing of the convoy.

“In the next couple of weeks the route between Camp Stone and Qual-e-naw will be impassable due to weather conditions,” Hib-

bert said. “We can only do this type of mission twice

a year,” said Sgt. Thomas Pruski, recovery noncommissioned officer in charge with FSC G. “Because of the terrain, getting up and over the mountain is no easy task.”

“The terrain is very interesting-- there is no road, it’s mountainous and there is a

lot of moon dust to navigate through,” Hibbert said. “One of the days the actual trip was only seven miles but took 14 hours to get through because of the sand traps. Not all the vehicles can make it through unassisted.”

Although timing and planning were a big a part in the success of this mission, it could not have been accomplished with-out communication.

“This was my first time doing something like this, but we had really good

communication and that’s what got us through a lot of the more difficult situa-tions,” said Cpl. Vangalina Money, truck commander with FSC G.

Communication was essential but also physically getting out of the truck and walking in front to guide the truck through was very important, Pruski said.

A Soldier with Forward Support Company G, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, sets off a flare to alert a helicopter for a medical evacuation.

Soldiers with Forward Support Company G, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and Afghan National Army Soldiers carry a wounded ANA soldier to a waiting helicopter.

Security was also a factor in this mission’s success.

“We had the ANA in the front and the back of the convoy,” Hibbert said. “They provided route clearance; also, when we got stopped they would kick out dismounts and provide over watch security for us.”

The partnering between the Soldiers and ANA went beyond just security.

“One big thing was the amount of advising and mentoring we were able to do,”

Hibbert said. “They have something similar to our

wrecker but never used it so we taught them how to tow their own stuff,” Pruski said.

“We taught the ANA the whole process of towing,” said Staff Sgt. Jose Ashby, assistant convoy commander, FSC G. “We also showed them how to work on their vehicles when they have malfunctions, so they can keep the mission going.”

“We try to make the best of it; not just accomplishing the mission, but also building that rapport with the ANA,” Hibbert said. “So they can get a sense of what our culture is like, and we in turn get a sense of their culture

A Soldier with Forward Support Company G, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, directs trucks how to maneuver through some difficult terrain.