Post on 09-Jun-2015
transcript
Mountain Eagle Families,
I just finish publishing my
command philosophy for the
battalion. This document shares
my command beliefs and also
identifies what my priorities are
going to be during my tenure.
Most new commanders come in
and publish this document based
on their own experience and val-
ues; however, I took two months
to get to know this battalion be-
fore publishing my philosophy. I
am very happy I did. I have
learned many things during that
time but what is most clear to me
now is that our Soldier‘s combat
readiness is predicated on three
fundamentals before he or she
can come to work ready to train
to go to combat. The first two
are individual and personal. Sol-
diers must possess the right disci-
pline and must be fit mentally
and physically before anything
else. However, the very next
priority is the need for family
readiness and caring. I believe
that our Soldiers need to feel like
their family is cared for and
ready should he or she have to
answer the call of duty. This
feeling extends to the Spouses of
those Soldiers who need to feel
loved, secured and cared by their
Soldier Spouse and an institution
that relies on their sacrifices to
achieve its mission. Extended
families of single Soldiers are
also just as critical to this feeling.
Single Soldiers have significant
others that deserve to know what
is going on with their loved ones
and may also need support. In
the end, we cannot forget that we
are all just one family.
I recognize the criticality of
these feelings and my obligation
as your Commander to care for
you and get you ready. My Com-
pany Commanders and I have a
plan to meet this obligation. One
of the first things they will do is
to make personal contact with all
the immediate families here in
the Drum community. This is
important to us because of two
reasons. First, I want to let you
know that we care and second we
need to ask for your help in
standing up our volunteer support
network. In the next couple of
months, I will hold my initial
family briefs laying out what the
next year will look like for the TF
Mountain Eagle Family. This is
an extremely important informa-
Eagle Commander’s Corner
T A S K F O R C E
M O U N T A I N E A G L E
2 7 7 T H A V I A T I O N
S U P P O R T B A T T A L I O N Liberty Times S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 . V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8
H O T T O P I C S
No Alpha FRG
Meeting.
No Bravo FRG
Meeting.
Charlie FRG Meet-
ing: Thursday,
September 13,
2012, 4:30pm,
Company Head-
quarters.
HSC FRG Meeting:
Thursday, Septem-
ber 13, 2012,
5:00pm at HSC
Classroom, 20345 Anaconda Rd
C O N T A C T S
B A T T A L I O N S T A F F
D U T Y D E S K
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 0
C H A P L A I N
( M A J ) J O H N S O N
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 7
F A M I L Y R E A D I N E S S
S U P P O R T
A S S I S T A N T ( F R S A )
M I C H E L E G A L L O W A Y
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 6
M I L I T A R Y F A M I L Y
L I F E C O N S U L T A N T
( M F L C )
3 1 5 - 4 0 5 - 7 4 4 9
3 1 5 - 2 1 2 - 6 9 1 9
A R M Y C O M M U N I T Y
S E R V I C E ( A C S )
I N F O R M A T I O N
A N D R E F E R R A L
3 1 5 - 7 7 2 - 6 5 5 7
1 - 8 0 0 - 8 2 6 - 0 8 8 6
M I L I T A R Y
O N E S O U R C E
1 - 8 0 0 - 3 4 2 - 9 6 4 7
By LTC Enrique Ortiz
Battalion Commander
tional brief which will lay out the road
we will face together for the next year.
It will also give me the opportunity to
describe the battalion‘s family readiness
framework and highlight the numerous
resources available to you, the Army
Family. You can also expect to see
many events populating the calendar.
You will see a Halloween Organiza-
tional Day, Thanksgiving food drives,
Christmas gift drives, and even an end
of year holiday event. You can also
expect a second battalion level meeting
in December to educate all the families
on our general deployment process and
procedures for family notifications, key
callers, go teams and care teams, social
media, etc. Next year is still open on
the calendar but we will plan more so-
cial events and also focus on scenario
based rehearsals of the procedures we
learned during this year‘s training.
There are so many moving pieces in
our organization, but caring for you and
getting you ready for contingencies are
two fundamental and permanent compo-
nents of our success. I believe we have
a good plan and with your help we can
make it a reality. Thank you for all you
do and give. I know you don‘t hear this
affirmation enough but never forget that
we (the Army, the Division, the Brigade
and Task Force Mountain Eagle) truly
appreciate your selfless sacrifices.
Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates
For the rest of the article, go to page 8.
B y D i a n a O r t i z
FRG Advisor
Mountain Eagle Soldiers &
Families,
we are starting to gear
up and welcoming volun-
teers to build each Company
team. I encourage everyone
to either speak to your single
soldier representative or the
FRG leader to find out how
you, your spouse or your
parents can support other
Soldiers and their families
within the Company. Please
keep in mind that your Com-
pany’s FRG is only as fun
and efficient as its members
make it. These coming months
will be training months for
P A G E 2
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
Headquarters & Support Company - Battle Penguins
Hello Families of HSC 277
ASB,
September will be flying by
before we know it. This month is
full of training throughout the
entire brigade. The FRG will
also begin stepping up their ac-
tivity by incorporating fundrais-
ers and events for single Soldiers
and families.
The company‘s organiza-
tional day on 27 July was a great
success. I would like to person-
ally thank all of the family mem-
bers and Soldiers that attended.
We had a great turnout of people
and it showed that people care
about our organization.
The next company FRG meet-
ing is on 13 September at the HSC,
277 ASB classroom, Building
20345, Anaconda Road (on the
airfield). If families would like free
child care, please contact Ms.
Michele Galloway, 774-1206.
HSC is in need of volunteers,
specifically for key callers. Key
callers are the people who have a
set amount of spouses/family mem-
bers that they are responsible for
calling when any information is
needed to be passed out. If anyone
is interested, please contact myself
or our FRG leader, Dawnmarie
Degrave.
Natalie Nissen
Talon 6
(315)774-1465
natalie.nissen@us.army.mil
By CPT Natalie Nissen
HSC Company Commander
Happy School Days, it's that
time of year when parents are
jumping up and down because
school is going to be right
around the corner.
Lets pray for a healthy school
year. Even though it is still sum-
mer, some bugs are playing hide
and seek. So pile on the soap,
anti-bacterial gel and so on so
we can have germ free kids
DawnMarie DeGrave
315-777-6152
Dawnmarie.Degrave
@us.army.mil
HSC Family Readiness Group Notes
Dawn Marie DeGrave
HSC FRG Leader
HSC FRG Leader Dawn-Marie DeGrave preparing to cut the cake for HSC Families/Soldiers at Org Day!
HSC Families/Soldiers at Remington Park enjoying Org Day!
HSC ORG DAY!!
P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8
Alpha Company Family Readiness Group Updates
Alpha Company - Atlas
hope that everybody had a great Block
Leave and enjoyed the fun filled sunny
days with the Family.
I would like to give a BIG Thank you
to all those who helped with the Alpha
ORG day. Family Members Candy
Kinne & Thelma Webb: you two are
awesome and I‘m so glad you were
there to help and keep me going. I could
not have made this day happen without
you. I know we had a few hiccups early
that morning, but we got everything
done and I hope that everybody enjoyed
the Day.
Thanks again everybody,
Alpha Family STRONG.
Former Alpha FRG Leader Sarah
Popp…Out.
Sarah Popp
A Company FRG Leader
Hello Alpha Eagle Family,
By the time that this newsletter is
published the Family and I will be well
on our way to Fort Polk, LA. So this
will be my last newsletter article. I will
miss you all dearly. When you have
been with the same group of people for
almost 5 years (that‘s a long time in the
Army Life) We build some really good
friendships, And those friendships are
what is making this move a little harder
than I thought it would be. I hope that
the support and the friendships continue
without me here. The Alpha Family is
Strong and I have faith that it will. I
By CPT Bryan Bolin
A Company Commander
Greetings Alpha Company fami-
lies!
The next couple of months are
going to be demanding on you Sol-
diers. We have several support
missions coming throughout Sep-
tember and October. We will be
sending information to the families
through the FRG so that you are
informed. Also, during our Sep-
tember FRG meeting we are invit-
ing LTC Ortiz to come and speak
to our families about the road
ahead and the road to war. We
will send out the dates and location
when details are finalized.
If anyone is interested in volun-
teering for the FRG feel free to
stop by the office and talk to me
about which position interests you.
We are looking for a new FRG
Leader as well as key callers. I
want to take this opportunity to
thank all of the families of Alpha
Company for all that you do and
all your support. We could not do
what we have to do if it weren‘t for
the families supporting us. I appreci-
ate all that you do and wish you the
best.
―On our shoulders!‖
Set up Crew
SGT Popp, SGT Smith, E.,SPC
Peeples, SPC Alcalde, SPC Vil-
chez, SPC Santos, PFC Dolan,
SPC Daniels, E., SPC McCarthy,
SPC Pezner, SPC Quiles
Grill Masters
SGT Popp
SGT Kinne
Clean up Crew
1st Squad SGT Kinne
SPC Webb
Thanks Alpha!
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
P A G E 4
Bravo Company - Hangar Rats By MAJ Del Boyer
B Company Commander
Bravo Company Family Readiness Group Updates
Karri Boyer
B Company FRG Leader
Charlie Company - Ravens
P A G E 5 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8
By CPT Matthew Thompson
C Company Commander
I hope everyone had a chance to
enjoy a couple of weeks off for block
leave at the beginning of July and
hopefully that was an enjoyable time
spent with loved ones. The Ravens
were immediately back at work the
week after block leave, preparing for
the 10th Mountain Division‘s major
summer exercise, dubbed Mountain
Peak. Charlie Company sent out
four of our Command Post Node
(CPN) teams to support the exercise
that took place over a two week period
on Fort Drum, NY‘s training area.
Each CPN team consists of four Ravens
and their computer and satellite equip-
ment that gives commanders access to
secure voice and data, essentially ac-
cess to the internet to communicate and
collaborate to complete their assigned
missions. It is an incredibly important
job and critical to the success of those
units. The four CPN teams provided
support to 2nd Brigade Combat Team‘s
B & C Troops, 1-89 Cavalry Squadron,
and A Company, 2-14 Infantry Battal-
ion, and our own Combat Aviation Bri-
gade‘s, 6-6 Cavalry Squadron. Each of
the teams did an outstanding job sup-
porting the units and we received much
kudos from the supported units on their
performance.
This month we also had a transition
in our first sergeant position. For those
of you who may not be familiar, the
first sergeant is the highest ranking
enlisted Soldier in the company and a
position of distinct honor within the
Army. Since December, 1SG Adelbert
Dunn had served in the position, guiding
and mentoring all of the Soldiers in the
company into an outstanding young or-
ganization. We welcome in 1SG John
Rogers and his family, joining us from a
tour in Korea, and we know that he will
take care of us and lead us on to even big-
ger and better accomplishments as we
prepare for the next fight. The next few
months will have the Ravens spreading
out all over the country to support major
training events to prepare the 10th Combat
Aviation Brigade for future combat opera-
tions. If you have been considering get-
ting more involved in the FRG, now is
definitely the time to get on board! Enjoy
the last couple weeks of summer, winter is
fast approaching!
CPT Matthew K. Thompson
315-774-1056
Matthew.k.thompson1@us.army.mil
Visit www.myarmyonesource.com
There are options to Login with your
username and password or Register if
you don‘t have a profile.
Fill out your information.
When you‘ve created a profile, click on
―Volunteer‖ on the top right section of
the page. This will take you to the Vol-
unteer Management Information System
(VMIS)
Click on ―Opportunity Locator‖
Select ―Fort Drum‖ under Military
Community and ―FRG: 10 AVN– 277‖
under the Organization and click Search.
Choose the volunteer position you‘d like
to apply for. When the new page loads,
click Apply.
Online VMIS FRG Volunteer Registration
Check out the FRSA Flash! The 277th ASB FRSA Flash has lots of
in-formation and is our Bi-weekly News-
letter for our Family Members and Sol-
diers. If you are not receiving the FRSA
Flash, please contact the 277th FRSA
Michele Galloway at 315-774-1206 or
Michele.e.galloway@us.army.mil.
Charlie Company First Sergeant By 1SG John D. Rogers
C Company First Sergeant
It brings me great pleasure
for my wife, Mison, my two sons,
and I to be a part of the Raven Fam-
ily. I would like to thank each of
you for welcoming me with open
arms into the Company, My family
will join me at the end of this month
and I know you will do the same for
them. It is definitely an honor and a
privilege to be serving amongst each
and every one of you. I look forward
to getting out and meeting all the Sol-
diers and Family members over the
next few weeks. I have heard nothing
but great things about Charlie Com-
pany. I know together we can con-
tinue to maintain the great reputation
that all of you have worked so hard to
build. Please know that my door is al-
ways open. Thank you all in advance
for your service, support, and sacrifice
you all have given to the unit, the Army,
and our fine Nation.
1SG John D. Rogers
315-774-1058
John.d.rogers32.mil@mail.mil
P A G E 6
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
D I D Y O U K N O W ?
Army Community Service
(ACS) has clinical Military
Family Life Consultants
(MFLCs) available for walk-
in confidential consults? If
you feel you need some-
one to talk to or are hav-
ing marital problems,
please call them at 315-212
-6919 or just stop by M-F
8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
ACS also has a Financial
Readiness Program that
provides free counseling or
advice on financial matters?
They can provide all types
of financial assistance: pull
credit reports, budgeting,
debt management, invest-
ing, etc. Call 772-0050 for
more info.
Behavioral Health Con-
tacts: Suicide Resources/
Hotlines Connor Clinic Appoint-
ment Line: 315-772-2778
After Hours Emergency
Services (Holidays and
Weekends) Before 9:00
pm: Acute Care Clinic,
315-772-5236
After 9:00 pm: Samaritan
Medical Center Emer-
gency Department: 315-
785-4100
Local 24-Hour Crisis Line:
315-785-4516
National Suicide Preven-
tion Lifeline: 1-800-273-
TALK
Suicide Prevention Action
Network (SPAN):
ww.spanusa.org
By CPT Steven Love
There is an appointed time for
everything. And there is a time
for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time
to die; A time to plant and a time
to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to
build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to
laugh; A time to mourn and a
time to dance. 5 A time to throw stones and a
time to gather stones; A time to
embrace and a time to shun em-
bracing. 6 A time to search and a time to
give up as lost; A time to keep
and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time
to sew together; A time to be
silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to
hate; A time for war and a time
for peace. Ecclesiastes 3
My time has come to move
on. For those in our community
of the Freedom and Liberty,
Mountain Eagle 277 battalion,
THANKS! You have supported me
in ways that have made my life
much richer. A man should not be
measured by the possessions he has
or the awards or accolades he ac-
quires but by the way he loves and
he is loved. 277 I have felt the
Love! Relationships have been a
great part of my ‗time‘ here and
that would not be possible without
you and those who have moved on.
As I move forward I do so remem-
bering what and who has helped me
be better and stronger for my next
chapter. I have benefitted im-
mensely from my time here, and
from the many people who have
helped me, far too many to mention
here.
What do I leave with you? Two
things I have spoken of often.
First, the 4 Pillars. We are made
Spiritually, Physically, Mentally
and Relationally. To Live well is to
take care of all these and to keep
them balanced. Secondly, I have
signed off on my letters with saying
Love Big, Live Well. I do not be-
lieve you will love life if you do
not live by loving people. Relation-
ships are where the greatest joys in
life will be experienced. Truly that
is where the greatest pain comes
from as well. To live life well is to
love life, to love life is to love and
be loved. You cannot do that if you
don‘t find strength, meaning and
joy that only God can give. My
faith has been my foundation, a
strength that settles me in the
storms and balances me in the emo-
tional times. From there I find the
ability to live well and to love oth-
ers and to love life. So may you
find in your time the ability to love
God, love others and love life. May
your time here be a season where
you look back and say in this time I
lived, I loved and I and others are
better for it!
God Bless the great people who
make up 277! Welcome to SPC
Chris Holle, 277‘s new BN Chap-
lain assistant. He will be assisting
the Soldiers and navigating people
in areas of ministry and the re-
sources that are available.
LOVE BIG, LIVE WELL!
Chaplain Love
There is a time for everything!!!
CONTACT INFORMATION BN Staff Duty 774-1200
24-hour BDE Staff Duty 774-1100
FRSA 774-1206 email michele.e.galloway.civ@mail.mil
FRG Leaders
HSC – Dawn Marie DeGrave cell: 315-777-6152; email
Dawnmarie.degrave@us.army.mil
A Co – TBA
B Co—Karri Boyer-cell: 315-767-6067, email Bco.277_frg@yahoo.com
C Co—Megan Wilson-cell: 818-279-3927, email M-MURDOCK@HOTMAIL.COM
FRG Advisors
Marion Harris - cell: 315-955-9106, email MISSA93DE@YAHOO.DE
Diana Ortiz – cell: 571-228-1962, email dianaortiz2410@gmail.com
Baby Safety Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Self Improvement Month
National Courtesy Month
Labor Day
SCHO
OL
BEG
INS!!!
V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 8
September 2012
P A G E 7
Super Sign-Up, September 6th, 9am-
3pm, Commons.
BOSS Beach Bash, September 7th,
11am-4pm, Remington Park.
In Her Shoes, September 7th, 9:30-
11:30am, Call 772-0593.
Teen Block Party, September
8th,Youth Center.
Family Night, September 11th, Com-
mons.
Teen Lock-In, September 14th, Youth
Center.
BOSS 5-K Run, September 15th, BOSS
NYC/Yankees Game Trip, September
15th, Parks and Recreation.
Community Events Need Help? Call or visit Military
OneSource to find infor-
mation about taxes, par-
enting, deployments,
finances, taxes, counsel-
ing, PCS moves & more!
Upcoming Key Caller
Class Dates: September 11th
All Classes are at ACS from
2-3:30 p.m. or 5-6:30p.m.
Call Mobilization and Deployment to
register at 315-772-0470.
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Training/Classes
FRG Suspenses
BDE/BN/CO FRG
Meetings/Training/
Events
1
2 3
HOLIDAY
4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 KEY
CALLER TRAIN-
ING @ ACS
12 13 FRG LDR
TRAINING IN-FORMAL FUNDS TRAIN-ING @ ACS
14 15
16 17 TREASURER
REPORT/NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION DUE
18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Personal Financial Counselor is avail-
able . Call him at 315-523-3765 to
help set up a budget, check your
credit, develop a plan to get out of
debt, get started investing, or what-
ever you need assistance with. You
can also always call Financial Readi-
ness at 772-0050 for this same type of
assistance.
SCHOOL STARTS!!!
Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates, continued
P A G E 8
Eye On The Eagle
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
volunteers and help to get to know
each other. Our goal is to build a
strong support system for each Com-
pany. There always is someone
somewhere caring about the Soldier
when he or she is deployed. Every-
one is welcome to participate in your
FRG. By everyone I mean your
spouse, parents, grandparents or girl-
friend. Training will be provided and
volunteering an hour or two a month
will make a difference for families
and Soldiers. I look forward to meet
all the great FRG volunteers in up-
coming events and trainings!
On a second note we are calling all
the photographers in the Battalion.
If you took a picture that best repre-
sents the Battalion, please email it to
our FRSA Michele Galloway. Pic-
tures that best represent your fellow
soldiers, the area and our great sol-
diers while they perform their daily
work. We will share those captured
images in our newsletter and once we
find the perfect picture, we will create
a new BN T-shirt. Ideas or designs can
be sent to our FRSA. The final choice
and the designer or photographer who
created that image will receive a price!
Submissions to: Michele.e.Galloway.
civ@mail.mil. We will offer a
monthly QUIZ! Lets see how well
you know Ft. Drum and the surround-
ing area. Send your answers via email
to our FRSA and she will hand out a
$25 gift card to one correct answer
each month. Winners will also be men-
tioned in our upcoming Newsletters.
This quiz is open for all 277 ASB sol-
diers and direct family members. En-
joy & have fun while getting to know
your community!
SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW – Quiz
You can win a $25 Gift Card! Send your correct answers to our FRSA: Michele.e.Galloway.civ@mail.mil.
She will draw one winner per month 5 days after the Newsletter is sent out. Hurry and Good luck!
September Quiz:
After a visit to the local Thompson Zoo in Watertown:
1- How many exhibits are sponsored by the 10th Mountain Division?
2- What are the three warning signs of a skunk before he sprays his special perfume?
3- How many gray wolfs are in the Zoo?
4- Name 5 common songbirds of northern New York
5- What are the other 4 colors that black bears can be?
6- Name a breakfast, lunch and dinner choice for Otters
Now to our wonderful Ft. Drum area:
7-How many islands can be found between Kingston and Brockville?
8- What is Tug Hill?
9- Fort Drum consists of how many acres?
Lets see who read the August FRSA Flash!
10- What must you do in order to learn life skills?
P A G E 9 PICTURES
The Ravens form up for the
Change of Responsibility
ceremony between 1SG
Adelbert Dunn and 1SG
John Rogers on August 3,
2012.
1SG Adelbert Dunn ad-
dresses the Ravens for the
last time during the Change
of Responsibility ceremony
on August 3, 2012.
SGT Aaron Kalinowski, SPC
Adela Lira, SPC Ramona
Gately, and PFC Shereena Mar-
tinek erect the 15 meter LOS
antenna mast during the divi-
sion’s Mountain Peak training
exercise.
P A G E 1 0 PICTURES CONTINUED
The CPN 533 team sets up a
15-meter LOS antenna to pro-
vide communications support to
6-6th Cavalry Squadron Head-
quarters during Mountain Peak.
277th Aviation Support Battalion History
In February 2006, the 277th Aviation Support Battalion
deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom VII, where it provided combat service and support
to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon.
The Unit redeployed in February of 2007 after earning the
Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker Award for best Aviation
Battalion in 2006 and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In October 2008, the 277th ASB deployed to Iraq in sup-
port of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-11, where it provided
support and combat services to the 10th CAB, Task Force
Lightning. The unit redeployed in October 2009 and earned
the Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker award for the Best
Combat Service Support Battalion for the work performed
during its 2008-2009 deployment.
20125 Hangar Access Road
Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield
Fort Drum, NY 13602
Phone: 315-774-1206
Fax: 315-774-1231
E-mail: michele.e.galloway.civ@mail.mil
277th Aviation Support Battalion
10th Combat Aviation Brigade
“Freedom and Liberty”
P A G E 1 1