The “Rail Gunner Monthly” is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army. Contents of the “Rail Gunner Monthly” are not necessarily official views of or endorsed by the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 41st Fires Brigade. All editorial content of this publication is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 41st Fires Brigade Public Affairs Office. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or suggestions contact the 41st Fires Brigade PAO office at 254-287-0739 or email [email protected]. Check out the unit’s Website at http://www.hood.army.mil/41stFires or on Facebook for additional information.
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Inside this issue Message from RG6/RG9 2 Table VI 3 Phoenix Mile 4 A/26 Air Assault cont. 6 Promotions and Re-up 10 The Rail Gunner Monthly Staff Commander COL John C. Thomson, III Command Sgt. Maj. CSM Kelvin A. Hughes Rail Gunner PAO NCOIC SSG Kyle Richardson Rail Gunner Journalists SGT Lucas Hoskins SPC Dalinda Salazar 41st Fires Brigade “Rail Gunners!!” FORT HOOD, Texas—Hours before sunrise and with a temperature of 12 -degrees including the wind-chill fac- tor, Battery B, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade accepted the cold weather conditions, lined their vehicles up in motorpool and headed out to face their task at hand. The First Strike Soldiers con- voyed to a training area located at North Fort Hood to conduct their Ta- ble VI section certifications and training, Jan. 11. ―Table VI certification is an artil- lery table certification used to qualify MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Sys- Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Kyle J. Richardson 41st Fires Brigade, PAO VOLUME 2 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY ISSUE 5 Photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle J. Richardson, 41st Fires Brigade PAO See TABL VI on Page 3 FORT HOOD, Texas—Battery B, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment conducted its Table VI crew certifications on North Fort Hood. All the launcher crews qualified on their launchers. The teams went through at least three missions, When Ready, Time-on-Target, and At My Command.
Transcript
Inside this
issue
Message from
RG6/RG9
2
Table VI 3
Phoenix Mile 4
A/26 Air Assault cont. 6
Promotions and Re-up 10
The Rail Gunner
Monthly Staff
Commander
COL John C. Thomson, III
Command Sgt. Maj.
CSM Kelvin A. Hughes
Rail Gunner PAO
NCOIC
SSG Kyle Richardson
Rail Gunner Journalists
SGT Lucas Hoskins
SPC Dalinda Salazar
41st Fires Brigade
“Rail Gunners!!”
FORT HOOD, Texas—Hours before sunrise and with a temperature of 12-degrees including the wind-chill fac-tor, Battery B, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade accepted the cold weather conditions, lined their vehicles up in
motorpool and headed out to face their task at hand. The First Strike Soldiers con-voyed to a training area located at North Fort Hood to conduct their Ta-ble VI section certifications and training, Jan. 11. ―Table VI certification is an artil-lery table certification used to qualify MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Sys-
Story and photos by
Staff Sgt. Kyle J. Richardson
41st Fires Brigade, PAO
VOLUME 2 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY ISSUE 5
Photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle J. Richardson, 41st Fires Brigade PAO
See TABL VI on Page 3
FORT HOOD, Texas—Battery B, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment conducted its Table VI crew certifications on
North Fort Hood. All the launcher crews qualified on their launchers. The teams went through at least three missions, When
Ready, Time-on-Target, and At My Command.
Rail Gunner 6 & 9 Sends
(HHB/41st Fires Brigade), SFC Shane Waite (HHB/41st Fires Bri-gade), SFC Floyd Harris (1-21st FA), SFC Torland Edwards (2-20th FA), and SFC Marie Taylor (589th BSB) were all selected on this year’s list. We also congratulate the Rail Gunner team for earning second place at the recent Fort Hood Com-batives Tournament held in Abrams Gym on January 28th. Our 60 fight-ers, under the leadership of 1SG Edgar Fuentes (HHB/2-20th FA) performed magnificently and dis-played phenomenal physical and mental toughness. SFC Ryan Hunt (B/589th BSB) took 3rd place in the Welterweight division. PFC Jimmy Chavez (HHB/41st Fires Brigade) took 3rd place in the Light Heavy-weight division. SPC Simon Flores-Pequeno (B/2-20th FA) took 1st place in the Bantamweight division and SPC Brandon Minor (HHB/41st Fires Brigade) took 1st place in the Heavyweight division. Our Warriors put it all on the line in the ―cage‖ and made us proud. Thank you to the wonderful, spirited fan support from all of you! Looking ahead to February, re-member your loved ones on Valen-tine’s Day on February 14th and en-joy a safe, relaxing four-day Presi-dent’s Day Weekend over February 18th-21st. These are both great opportunities to thank the special people in our lives to whom we owe so much. Not a day goes by that we are not amazed by the wonderful volunteerism of our family members. We are indebted to you and thank you for your selflessness and genu-ine care. In April, a Brigade Volun-teer Appreciation ceremony will for-mally recognize and thank our many
Colonel
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2011
John C. Thomson, III
41st Fires Brigade
Command Sergeant Major
February We are happy to report that the Rail Gunners are off to a great start in 2011 as we successfully com-pleted our one year in the Army Force Generation model’s Train/Ready phase. As of February 1st, 2011, the brigade officially enters the ―available‖ pool and we are ab-solutely confident in our ability to answer our Nation’s call – any-where, anytime. This was su-premely exemplified during January as the brigade conducted live fire exercises, expertly qualifying all of Multiple Launch Rocket System crews, fire direction centers, radar crews, and ammunition crews. It was great to send rockets down range again after an intensive three month sequence of command post exercises, and CSM Hughes and I commend everyone for their hard work and dedication. Congratulations are in order for several of our outstanding NCOs on their recent selection to Master Sergeant. SFC Jeremy Hall
The “Rail Gunner Monthly” is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army. Contents of the
“Rail Gunner Monthly” are not necessarily official views of or endorsed by the U.S. Government, Depart-
ment of Defense, Department of the Army or the 41st Fires Brigade. All editorial content of this publication
is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 41st Fires Brigade Public Affairs Office. If you have any
questions, comments, concerns or suggestions contact the 41st Fires Brigade PAO office at 254-287-0739 or
email [email protected]. Check out the unit’s Website at http://www.hood.army.mil/41stFires
or on Facebook for additional information.
Kelvin Hughes
41st Fires Brigade CSM
volunteers, to include Family Readiness Group staffs. If you know of someone who has given precious time to support the Bri-gade, the community, our schools, or other endeavors, please take a few minutes to nominate them by notifying your unit commander, First Sergeant, or Family Readi-ness Support Assistant. In closing, we highlight four Strong Bonds retreats being offered during February for the brigade’s couples. This is a unique opportu-nity to spend two days with fellow Army couples to relax and strengthen relationships. There is no cost, child care is available, and it is held during the duty week. If you are interested, please speak with your chain of command or your unit chaplain. Thank you for all you do, each and every day – you are the strength of our great Nation! Rail Gunner Strong!
RG6 and RG9
equipment is highly important. ―Our timing and communica-tion has to be precise,‖ said Staff Sgt. Monty Morrow, Lawton, Okla. native, a launcher chief for Btry. B, 1st Bat., 21st FA Regt. ―We don’t have eyes on our targets, so we rely on others to send us accurate infor-mation. This is why we’re out here. We train on a regular basis to prepare and help us to remain at a constant state of readiness.‖ The Table VI qualification not only helps to successfully fire rockets but it also gives Soldiers the chance to trouble shoot problems that may occur. ―Being off by the slightest incre-ment could cause injury or dam-age the launcher,‖ said Spc. Christopher Burke, Cabot, Ark. Native and a Multiple Launch Rocket System gunner for the Btry. B, 1st Bat., 21st FA Regt. It’s important that we understand our individual missions, the fire missions, and the equipment we operate.‖ One of the crews even had a chance to test out their newest crew chief. ―It makes me feel good to know that I’ve been chosen as a crew chief,‖ Sgt. Alex Pathoum-machith, Euless, Texas native and a launcher chief for Btry B, 1st Bat. 21st FA Regt., 41st Fires Bde. ―This is a position that everyone will not be able to hold. You have to be the ―cream of the crop‖ to hold this position. I just want to be able to do my job and not let my team down.‖ The chilling wind persisted, but Btry. B, 1st Bat., 21st FA Regt., prevailed against nature and qualified its crews during the Table VI section qualifica-tions.
TABLE VI cont. from Page 1
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY PAGE 3
tem) crews,‖ said Capt. Jeffrey Harris, Sandy, Utah native and
commander for Btry. B, 1st Bat., 21st FA Regt. ―Our goal is to
send rockets down range accurately, effec-tively, and safely. We had five MLRS crews who fired a total of 25 rockets.‖ Each platoon in the battery conducts at least three missions; When-Ready, Time-on-Target, and At My Command. ―It is important that my guys are able to get each fire mission down,‖ said Harris. ―Different scenarios will call for dif-ferent techniques. It’s important that my bat-tery is locked and synched as a single en-tity.‖ Timing becomes a key element in the com-pletion of a successful mission and the safety of each crew and their
Spc. Christopher Burke, Cabot, Ark. native, Multiple Launch Rocket System gunner, runs a system’s test during
the Table VI crew certification exercise.
Sgt. Alex Pathoummachith, Euless, Texas native, a launcher chief,
heads back to the battery operations center after completing the team’s
three fire missions during the Table VI crew certification exercise.
Pathoummachith was recently awarded a crew chief position the
previous week.
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2011
Phoenix Soldiers go the extra mile for fitness
FORT HOOD, Texas—The cold morning did not stop the Sol-diers with the 324th Network Support Company, 41st Fires Brigade, as they prepared them-selves mentally and physically with their casualty training dummy, Randy, in preparation for the Phoenix Mile obstacle course located at Fort Hood, Texas, Jan 11. The Phoenix Mile is the 324th NSC challenge testing the physical and mental capabilities between the line platoon and the joint network node platoon. The rivalry could be seen at the first formation as the Soldiers from each platoon, wearing full battle gear, boasted about who would win. The competition, occurring
See PHOENIX on Page 5
the second Tuesday of every month, was started in 2007 by
1st Sgt. Jo-seph Bruno, native of La-fayette, La., first sergeant for the 324th NSC, who wanted a way to keep his Soldiers combat ready. ―The pur-pose of the Phoenix Mile is to conduct battle fo-cused physi-cal training, where you incorporate what the Sol-diers would
typically incorporate in a nor-mal routine as they were mov-ing on the battlefield,‖ said Bruno. ―The objective is to simulate actions they would take to com-bat.‖ Capt. Eric Robert-son, native of Lake Jackson, Texas, com-mander of the 324th NSC, partici-pated along with his Sol-diers and says that competitions like the
Phoenix Mile motivates him and makes him want to compete harder. ―We have the Phoenix Mile as a commendatory, team build-ing event, but it also promotes competition among the com-pany,‖ said Robertson. ―We do it platoon versus platoon, and it also builds confidence and fo-cuses on functional fitness.‖ This month’s competition consisted of a tractor tire flip re-lay, eight-count push-ups using a four person team, sit-ups us-ing a three person team, pull-ups, a water jug relay, and a Skedco pull with weapons. A Skedco is a lightweight, casualty stretcher that wraps around the casualty and pulled for quick evacuation. The Soldiers were in for a surprise during this month’s Phoenix Mile when Bruno se-lected several Soldiers from each group to participate in an unknown event. The mystery event changes every month with different goals to attain in order
Capt. Eric Robertson (right), commanding officer for the 324th Network Support
Company, and a Lake Jackson, Texas native, helps his team carry “Randy,” a prosthetic
casualty, during the company’s monthly Phoenix Mile competition.
Story and photos by
Spc. Dalinda Hanna
41st Fires Brigade, PAO
Staff Sgt. Jerry Moore, the line platoon sergeant for 324th Network Support Company,
and a native of Mountainview, Ark., does push-ups during the company’s monthly
Phoenix Mile competition.
location and convoy back to friendly territory during a training mission on Fort Hood, Texas, Jan. 5.
The Target Acqui-sition Battery artillery-men participated in a mission readiness ex-ercise to help aviators from the 171st Avia-tion Battalion, Geor-gia National Guard, prepare for their up-coming deployment. ―Through connec-tions at Division West, we found out about the 171st Avia-tion Battalion MRX and we assisted them as the offensive force,‖ said Capt.
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY PAGE 5
Story and photos by
Staff Sgt. Kyle Richardson
41st Fires Brigade, PAO
Battery), 41st Fires Brigade, air assaulted into the dark of the night to secure an area, protect their cargo, find their current grid
PHOENIX cont. from Page 4
FORT HOOD, Texas—While the sunset in the West, Wolf-pack Soldiers rose in the north. Three teams equipped with night vision goggles were inserted into an ―enemy‖ area by CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Once the helicopters touched the ground, the Soldiers unloaded their special cargo, along with three HMMWVs and Operation Tracker Strike com-menced. Soldiers with Battery A, 26th Field Artillery Regi-ment (Target Acquisition
to keep the Soldiers guessing. For this month’s Phoenix Mile, the Soldiers competed in an equipment run where each group had a casualty on a lit-ter, two mortar rounds, M16-A2 rifles, and two five-gallon water jugs to be carried along the mile course. ―The competition today was different,‖ said Spc. Michael Bell, a Pittsburgh native and signal support specialist for the 324th NSC. ―I like how no one knew what was going to hap-pen next and I thought that brought a new level to the Phoenix Mile.‖
Spc. Louis McElhinney, from Cochranton, Pa., a satellite op-erator specialist for the 324th NSC, said that a friendly rivalry brings the unit together and at the same time gives the Soldiers a different physical training chal-lenge. ―The competition was a lot of fun and different than our usual PT,‖ said McElhinney. ―It also brings a sense of knowing you can count on your battle buddies during wartime.‖ After all the tasks were com-pleted to standard and Randy was given the aid he needed, the line platoon won the compe-tition. The Soldiers will receive cer-tificates of achievement and bragging rights for the month.
Sgt. John Hayes, the operations noncommissioned officer for the 324th Network Support Company, originally from Long Island, N.Y. competes in the water jug relay during the company’s monthly Phoenix Mile competition. The Phoenix Mile is a functional fitness obstacle course competition that is conducted on the second Tuesday of every month.
A/26 goes lights out for air assault training
See LIGHTS on Page 6
Cpl. Michael Shirk, Moorefield, W.V. native, radar repairman for Battery A, 26th Field
onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a cold loading class at the Lone Star Airfield,
Fort Hood, Texas. The Soldiers assisted the 171st Aviation Battalion with the Georgia
National Guard in a joint operation training mission.
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2011
Dashiell Ballarta, a Pflugerville, Texas native, commander for the Btry. A, 26th FA Regt. (TAB). ―Operation Tracker Strike had dual purpose. First, the aviation battalion was able to insert a small team into position according to their mission plan. Second, we got experience moving internal loads in CH-47s, traveling across longer dis-tances, conducting night mounted land navigation, and convoy operations.‖ As the Chinook took off, Team A and C secured the pe-rimeter as point man, Sgt. Luis Garcia, an Oakland, Calif. na-
tive, made quick work of locating Wolfpack’s location. ―I’m fortunate to be in a unit that prides itself with good training,‖ said Garcia. ―I’m even comfortable using the night vision goggles because a lot of units rarely do night training.‖ Once Garcia de-termined his grid co-ordinates, he was able to plot a convoy route back home. ―Nighttime brings
a whole new perspective to land naviga-tion,‖ said Garcia. ―Land navigation is difficult when the sun is up, but I’m just glad that this isn’t my first training at night. It takes time working under limited visibility.‖ ―It’s pretty para-mount that every unit conducts night training; refining our ability to own the night using special thermal equip-ment or night vision goggles that we have at our disposal to ex-tend our operational and tactical abilities,‖ said Ballarta. Before beginning the last half of their training, the Wolfpack
Sgt. Luis Garcia, Oakland, Calif. native, and supply sergeant for Battery
A, 26th Field Artillery Regiment (Target Acquisition Battery), 41st Fires
Brigade, checks his map to find the unit’s current eight-digit grid
coordinate during a training mission while assisting the 171st Aviation
Battalion with the Georgia National Guard during operation Tracker
Strike at Fort Hood.
LIGHTS cont. from Page 5
Cpl. Michael Shirk, a Moorefield, W.V. native, Battery A, 26th Field
backs up a HMMWV during a cold loading class at the Lone Star
Airfield, Fort Hood, Texas. The cold load training is designed to help
Soldiers become familiar with the aircraft prior to the start of their
mission.
Soldiers conducted a quick after action review to discuss the positive aspects and areas to improve. ―It’s very important to train at all hours of the day, you never know when or at what time a situation calls you to duty,‖ said Spc. Blake Essex, from Carmel, Ind. ―So it’s important to always be prepared. Unfortunately, war doesn’t live on a time table.‖ This training mission further prepares TAB Soldiers for their upcoming non-firing radar quali-fication exercise, where they will operate, maintain, and employ a radar in a contingency operation in support of the 41st Fires Bde.
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY PAGE 7
Soldiers from the 575th For-ward Support Company, 1st Bat-talion, 21st Field Artillery Regi-ment, volunteered their time to help move a local charity to a new location to better support the Central Texas community, Jan 12. The God’s Word Ministries is a non-profit organization that works in conjunction with the Habitat for Humanity and helps more than 100 people a month. For over six years, the organiza-tion offered counseling, educa-tion, household goods, and food
services to the local commu-nity. The Rail Gunner Sol-diers often help the minis-try with volun-teers to help counsel vic-tims and pro-vide general services to better support the local com-munity. ―Today we are moving out of our
storehouse to our of-fice,‖ said Angela Davis, di-rector for the Killeen office for the God’s Word Ministries. ―This is going to be a great move and we will better be able to serve the community. The 41st Fires Bde. helps us with volun-teers with and whatever we need during the holiday sea-sons. I appreciate them helping.‖ The Soldiers in the 575th FSC heard about the or-ganization through the As-sociation of the United States Army. Even though the battalion was in the process of crew certifica-tions in the field, Soldiers throughout the brigade were still able to offer time, money, or donate items.
First Strike relocates local charity Story and photos by
Spc. Dalinda Hanna
41st Fires Brigade, PAO
The Sol-diers carried boxes and loaded up their personal vehicles to help with the move. Pfc. Kiswendsida Koanda, a power gen-erator equip-ment repair specialist for the 575th FSC, origi-nally from Burkina Faso, West Africa, offered his time because
he wanted to help the local population. ―I like to
help and serve the community. Whenever my brigade asks for volunteers, I always volun-teer,‖ said Koanda. ―I believe every Soldier should be in-volved in any kind of activity that helps his community.‖ Spc. Cesar Navarrette, a Phoenix native and an allied trade specialist for the 575th FSC, was offered the chance to volunteer. He wanted to of-fer his time to support the or-ganization. ―I volunteer because I like to work and if it helps some-one else out it’s a good thing,‖ said Navarrette. ―It is not easy to move from one place to an-other, so getting more hands to help will make it easier.‖
Pfc. Kiswendsida Koanda, originally from Burkina Faso, West
Africa, a power generator equipment repair specialist for the
575th Forward Support Company, 41st Fires Brigade, carries a
box of window treatments to help move the God’s Word
Ministries, a non-profit organization, from their storage house to
their permanent location.
Spc. Cesar Navarrette, a Phoenix native and an allied
trade specialist for the 575th Forward Support Company,
41st Fires Brigade, carries a box of household goods to
help move the God’s Word Ministries, a non-profit
organization, from their storage house to a permanent
building.
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY FEBRURARY 2011
