From the Battalion Commander:
November 2004
As we celebrate
Thanksgiving this year each of us in 1-171st Aviation Regiment will
have our thoughts on home as we mark another holiday away. As depressing as
that may seem, in actuality we have much to be thankful for this year. One
obvious blessing is that we have entered into the last quarter of our
deployment. At times it has seemed that this year would never end, however the
comment I keep hearing from most soldiers is that they can’t believe we have
been here 9 months already. A second blessing is that we have lost no soldier
to enemy action or the environment. In part this is due to the outstanding
soldiers we have who professionally and safely carry out this difficult
mission. However, it is also due to the prayers that you as family members
and friends have offered on our behalf, as well as the support you give us
through your letters, emails, and packages.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving
this year our thoughts will be with the family of SGT Dennis J. Boles who passed
away 24 October 2004 while participating in the Camp Buehring Army 10 miler.
SGT Boles left a very positive mark on our Battalion as he is remembered for his
outstanding work ethic, winning smile and wonderfully positive attitude. He set
an example we all should strive to live by.
Once again, in
recognition of Thanksgiving I want to thank the soldiers of 1-171st for a job
well done, the family members and friends for their support, and God for His
continued protection of our Battalion.
October 2004
Hard to believe that October will mark the completion of 2/3’s of our one-year tour! The families and friends of 1-171 Aviation have much to be proud of, as your loved ones that make up this unit are representing the Army Guard, the United States, and your family is such a glorious manner. I’m reminded, on almost a weekly basis, of what a great job they are performing by the comments I receive from the General Officers and soldiers we are supporting.
The excellent safety record of no soldier being seriously hurt, with anything other than sports injuries, along with the stellar record of repeatedly completing all missions assigned, is no accident. Tribute and praise rightfully goes to your loved one who on a daily basis, make this dangerous but important job look easy. I also know that our record of success is a blessing from God as a result of your continual prayers on our behalf. We will proudly continue the mission here as we start the last 4 months of this tour of duty.
September 2004
Big news this month is that a few members of the unit that is scheduled to replace us, will travel to Camp Buehring (formally known as Camp Udairi) for a fact-finding trip. But please do not jump to the conclusion that we will be leaving Kuwait anytime sooner than our scheduled return. The purpose of this trip is for our follow on unit to learn as much about the mission here, before they actually have to come over here and perform it. We unfortunately did not get to do this before our deployment, because by the time we discovered where our destination was, we did have time to send over a reconnaissance team. The important thing about this visit is that it means that a unit has been identified to replace us, that unit is busy and eager to come over here, and we should be right on our time line to redeploy back home!
This month I would like to pay recognition to some great National Guard Soldiers who are often over looked, but never the less are heroes in their own right. Those soldiers are the ones back home right now both in 1-171 and in other units throughout the state. Because they are not deployed, they are often over looked when “pats on the back” and “at-a-boys” are being passed out by the public. However their love and devotion to our country and their unit, as well as their dedication to serve and always do their very best is the same as any soldier that is deployed. They are performing an important mission right where they are. One of the reasons the U.S. has the most powerful military force in the world is because we can field an Army and still get enough volunteer soldiers, at home in reserve training for a day in which their services may be called upon. Thank you soldiers at home.
August 2004
Big events are happening both at home and here the month of August. Of course at home school will be starting up again, and here on 15 August, we will be celebrating our half way point for this deployment. Looking at how far we’ve come makes it a little easier to face how far we still have to go before we return home.
As summer ends and school starts back, we here salute you back home as the real heroes of this deployment for maintaining the homes and families while we are away. We appreciate your support with the letters, emails, and packages you send. The spouses here, really thank the mothers and fathers that are back home doing the work of two parents, as school year begins again. We realize all the hard work you are dedicating to the children helping them get school supplies, complete homework and get to all those after school activities.
As I’ve already mentioned we have 6 months to go. However considering we left Dobbins almost 8 months ago, and remembering all the uncertainties we faced then, the road we still have left to travel is not as long nor as rocky as the one we have already been down. However this journey would be much tougher if not for your support from home. Again we thank you.
Ann and I talk daily, so if you have a particular question about what we are doing here, give her a call and she can pass it on to me. We want you to stay informed.
July 2004
As this month we celebrate our county's independence, soldiers will be recognized for their sacrifices over our nation's history. In addition to this I want to recognize the sacrifices being made by our families. This July the 4th 2004 should be a little more precious to each of you. Probably no other time in you or your family's life have you been more affected or more involved with defending your country's freedom and security. You should each feel a close kinship with your ancestors who sacrificed much in order that we can enjoy the quality of life we do today.
Whether you are soldier or family member you are involved in this fight and you are giving much to your country. I often say that it is our family members who pay the biggest price, as they have to go on in our absence, often time being both Mom and Dad. In our absence, the family member at home is holding down all the household affairs, i.e. paying the bills, and repairing all that seems to break at once. Not to mention the hours of worry and concern you may spend thinking of your loved one deployed.
Hold you head a little higher the next time you hear the National Anthem, or see an American Flag flying. You as a family member are sacrificing for your country, and you should share in the honor you so deserve. We could not be here, doing what we do without your support.
Finally on behalf of the Battalion, I want to thank everyone and every organization that has donated gifts, care packages, time, and talents to the Dragon Masters and their families. Unfortunately I can't keep up with everything that has been donated. If you will email me who you are and what you did, etc. I will be honored to recognize your thoughtfulness with a Dragon Master Certificate of Appreciation. My email address is: ATF_KU_CDR@tb12.arfor.army.mil
March 2004
We have now been in country almost four weeks and we are starting to settle in. We knew that life would be hectic for us as we deployed to this theater and all our expectations have been recognized. The logistics of moving a little over a 130,000 soldiers out of theater and moving the same amount into theater challenges the best systems. The Army system has been no exception and the Dragon Masters have endured a little punishment due to it.
After leaving our barracks at Fort Knox at 10:00 PM Friday night, we arrived in country 10:30 PM Saturday night (Eastern Standard Time). We were greeted with high winds and a sand storm as we stepped off the plane in Kuwait International Airport. It was then another 7 hours of sitting around, before we boarded buses to take a 3 hour trip to Camp Udairi. After another couple hours of unloading bags the Dragon Masters finally could put up there cots, and get some well deserved sleep. It had been about 36 hours since any of us had laid down for rest.
Our new home is a tent city, set up literally in the middle of the desert. It is a transitional home to over 10,000 soldiers and marines at any given time as they move in and out of theater. The tents have a wooden floor, electric lights, and an environmental control unit for heat or air conditioning. Of course we share the tent with 57 to 60 other soldiers so we never get lonely or find ourselves with no one to talk with.
The chow hall is good. Food is plentiful, and it can feed about 6000 soldiers in about 2 hours. If you like chicken or pork, then you would love our dinning facility as those two show up on the menu a lot. However we also have a Burger King, Sub Way, and a coffee shop, all served out of a trailer and all marked by an incredibly long line so they are easy to locate. However, I don’t see many soldiers losing weight (other than the ones who have adopted a fitness program) so obviously the food is good! Speaking of the fitness program, there is a weight lifting gym set up in a tent which I see many of the Dragon Masters in daily.
As expected the Dragon Masters are excelling at learning their new mission as well as they excelled at completing mobilization training at Fort Knox. The train up tends to go as such: the unit we are replacing first shows us the mission, next we do the mission, and soon we will take over the mission. So far, all is going as planned due to hard work by both the outgoing unit and the Dragon Masters.
Our Camp also has a brand new Chapel, moving it from a tent into a nice hard building. Our Chaplain, MAJ Don McDaniels has already integrated himself into the Camp Chaplain Program and he even helped lead services the first Sunday in the new building. Again, the Dragon Masters were well represented as I saw many of them in the service which was filled to capacity.
The Dragon Masters know they are serving a noble cause and that God is with us. Thank you for the prayers. To Ann, Tator, Cassba, Bana, and Bre, I do this for you. Remember Hebrews 3:1 and keep your eyes on Him.
(Any errors in this message were placed there after JT proofed it)
January 2004
Today is 27 Jan 04 and marks three weeks since the Dragon Masters left its home in Dobbins Air Reserve Base to come to Fort Knox for mobilization training and validation for operations in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM 2 (OIF2). Before I go further, I would like to thank some individuals for their hard work and support in making our going away ceremony on 7 January 04 very special. Mr. Joe Sims (Junior Vice Commander) The American Legion of Kennesaw, Georgia was a key player in putting together a wonderful breakfast for both soldiers and family members along with the help and contributions of the following great Americans;
Ms. Elaine Boring, (Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A at Marietta Trade Center) donated over 250 Chick-fil-A salad sandwiches, tea
and lemonade.
Ms. Wendy Brown, (Manager Sunbean, Baking Company Thrift Store of Marietta) donated bread to make over 400 sandwiches.
American Legion Post 294, donated $100.00 to purchase food items
American Legion Post 29, donated $75.00, fruit and Ms Henrietti Fountain donated labor in preparation of sandwiches.
American Legion Auxiliary 264, donated $50.00 to purchase food items.
American Legion Post 264, donated 75 American flags
American Legion Auxiliary 145, donated $50.00 to purchase food items.
American Legion Auxiliary 304 members prepared the sandwiches.
American Legion Post 304 coordinated preparation of food by veterans and auxiliary members to completion and delivery.
The soldiers and family members of the Dragon Masters thank you for your time, gifts and caring concern you each demonstrated to us at our going away ceremony.
In the past three weeks the Dragon Masters have had a very busy schedule under some of the coldest conditions any of us Georgia and Florida residents normally endure. Temperatures have routinely dropped to freezing and below with a wind chill factor that has pushed the mercury even lower. Unfortunately our training demanded that we be outside from early morning to late evening.
The typical day has the soldiers leaving their barracks around 5 o’clock AM and not returning until around 6 o’clock in the evening. Although we are only training for combat, the soldiers are already getting use to eating the famous Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) because often the training day does not allow time for the soldiers to go to a Mess Hall for a hot meal. I’ve watched our soldiers eat their cold MRE’s “on the run” standing in snow or a frozen street while they demonstrated their new learned ability to correctly man check points, search detainees, react to an ambush or bomb explosion, cordon off a city block and do a room-to-room search of a house. I’ve seen them watch the sun come up on a M16 zero range, watch the sun go down on the M16 range, and then watch the moon rise on the M16 night qualification range all in the same day. That makes for about a 16-hour day, all spent outside, below freezing temperatures, sometimes shooting while lying in the mud, snow and/or ice filled “fox hole”.
On top of all of this they have had to make dental and medical screening appointments, sit through hours of training and endure on an average 6 to 8 vaccinations which leaves the arms sore and the physical body challenged. When they do get a hot meal they are guaranteed at least a 20 to 30 minute wait on average due to getting to share their mess hall with another few hundred soldiers.
However, I don’t tell you any of this to get you to feel sorry for a single Dragon Master. They don’t feel sorry for themselves. In fact I haven’t heard any of them complaining. They are all volunteers, proud to be serving their country, and seldom let anything pull their spirits down. The amazing thing about the soldiers, that not only I’ve noticed, but all who have helped train the Dragon Masters is that their sense of humor, motivation to learn and excel, and pride that they take in being a soldier never diminishes, no matter how long the day or cold the temperatures.
Our training for combat is almost complete. If we maintain our present course, the Dragon Masters will have completed this task in under a month! Another tribute to the quality and spirit of the great soldiers in this unit.
I love you and miss you Ann, ‘Tay’, ‘Cass’, ‘Breda’ and ‘Bana’. I do this mission for you. Remember Psalm 91:2.
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