SoldierS protect freedom of movement in northern koSovo

practice & applicationoperation riSing Star finalS

The official magazine of Multinational Battle Group East

September 2011, Special Edition

gUardianeast

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Soldiers from Task Force Aviation and the operations section of Camp Bondsteel trained Greek soldiers, Hellas Contingency, on Sept. 23 at Camp Rigas Feraios, Kosovo.

The Kosovo Forces 14 Soldiers taught their fellow KFOR soldiers the proper way to load casualties into UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, how to use a stretcher correctly and how to call in a nine line medical evacuation request.

Operations noncommissioned officer, Staff Sgt. Miguel Robles, showed the Greek medical special-ists the correct way to call in a nine line medical evacuation request for emergency. He gave the four medics present a quick test to see how they would perform. Robles, who had taught foreign soldiers in Afghanistan as well, said they performed extremely well given the fact it was their first time and Eng-lish is their second language.

Sgt. Jason Kling, a medic with 1-169th General Support Aviation Battalion based in Johnstown, Pa., also provided hands-on training. He showed the soldiers how to properly apply a cervical spine col-lar, how to secure a patient for transport and how to load the patient onto the waiting Blackhawk, in addition to other tasks associated with emergency care.

The Greek medics appreciated the training and were comforted by the fact they could call on the U.S. to pick up their casualties. The Hellas Contin-

gency doctor, 1st Lt. Evangelos Solakis, said they would like to do more medical training with U.S. KFOR and they believed the training they covered was very useful.

The day after instructing his fellow KFOR sol-diers, Kling was called up to put his training into practice when KFOR acted at the Jarinje gate to remove illegal roadblocks.

When one German soldier needed to be evacu-ated by helicopter, Kling was there. He arrived via air, met German medics and worked with them to prepare the soldier for transport.

Kling applied the life saving skills that he has acquired over the years, starting an IV for fluids and wrapping the soldier to protect him from hypo-thermia. He and the German medics then moved the soldier onto a collapsible stretcher and secured him on the Blackhawk, exactly as Kling had been practicing the day before.

Several Kosovo Forces soldiers received injuries at Jarinje that day and medics like Kling were ready to patch them up and transport them to definitive care facilities.

With hands-on training like the courses that Kling and Robles provided, all the medical staff working on medical evacuations knew exactly what to do and worked together professionally as a team.

story and photos by Spc. John A. Montoya & Spc. Evan V. Lane

Train today, use tomorrow

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Sgt. Jason Kling instructs Greek KFOR soldiers in the proper use of the stretcher carousel on medically equipped UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters at Camp Rigas Feraios on Sept. 26. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. John A. Montoya)

Sgt. Jason Cling and German medics lift a German soldier in need of medical evacua-

tion into a waitingUH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Jarinje gate in northern Kosovo on Sept. 27.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Evan V. Lane)

Training:

Applying:

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Camp Bondsteel has wrapped up its Opera-tion Rising Star competition and chosen the soldier who will represent Kosovo Forces 14 in the main competition in the U.S. 1st

Lt. Eboni Sherrer, an intelligence officer with the 221st Military Intelligence Company based in Fort Gillam, Ga., won over Bondsteel by singing hits like

“At Last” by Etta James and Tina Turner’s version of “Proud Mary.”

Since the competition began in early August the soldiers on Bondsteel had the opportunity to watch it live and vote for their favorite singer to represent them in the main competition held in the U.S. in October. The competition began with eight vocal-ists and Sherrer was chosen after several rounds of voting. Each round had the singers perform different musical genres such as country, oldies, Broadway and classic rock.

Sherrer said the most difficult part of the com-petition was choosing songs in genres she was not familiar with. She said, “Anything gospel or soul, Christian music or anything on the contemporary side I’m comfortable with. When we got to the week where we had to sing a country song, I had no idea. ‘What do I sing?’”

As well as learning new genres of music, Sherrer was able to make new friends through the competi-

tion. Many times deployed soldiers may only spend time with soldiers in their individual sections, but this competition gave the contestants a chance to mingle over shared interests. “It gave me the opportunity to know some of the people from other sections and it broadened my friendship spectrum,” said Sherrer.

Operation Rising Star

1st Lt. Eboni Sherrer, middle, displays her prize for winning first place in the Operation Rising Star singing competition. Fellow contestants Spc. Candace Heishman, left, and Sgt. Sherri Burch, right, show their support for the winner. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. John A. Montoya)

story by Spc. John A. Montoya

Spc. Wesley Esser sings “YMCA” during a special performance at Operation Rising Star. (Photo by Spc. Evan V. Lane)

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Another unique part of this competition is the fact that Bondsteel is the only deployed environ-ment where soldiers compete in Operation Rising Star. That can add another layer of difficulty in two different ways. First, the soldiers must perform their duties above all else to keep the mission going, and second, they now compete against soldiers and their families in garrison.

“The things you want, you make time for,” said Sherrer. “Yes I’ve lost some sleep, because I still have to work. I still have tasks and things I have to complete and it’s always mission first.”

Renee Favors, the Moral, Welfare and Recreation program specialist for Camp Bondsteel, said, “It’s difficult when you’re in a deployed area. Garrison is so much easier, because you have so many more people to pull from, plus you also have family mem-bers and such in garrison, whereas we just have our soldiers here.”

In addition to winning the competition Sherrer also won a $500 gift card to the Post Exchange. The runner up, Sgt. Mario Montoya, won a $250 gift card and the third place contest, Capt. Kellie Whittlinger, won a $100 gift card.

Even though the competition is complete on Bondsteel, the excitement and anticipation is only beginning for Sherrer. If the past is any indication of the future, Sherrer has a lot to look forward to. Previous contestants who’ve won at the Bondsteel competition have also done well in the U.S.

“The last two years we’ve actually gotten to the first round in D.C., so we’re hoping for a third year. The third time’s the charm,” said Favors.

Although hopes are high, the rest of the com-petition is still very daunting for Sherrer. Favors and Sherrer are submitting a video package to the judges in D.C. which highlights Sherrer’s singing abilities. But for the one video Bondsteel sends to the capitol, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of submissions from service members and their fami-lies worldwide. After the judges go through all the videos only 12 contestants are chosen for the next phase of the competition, said Favors.

Despite the odds Sherrer holds out hope for a chance to represent Kosovo Forces 14. “Me person-ally, I believe in prayer, and I’m going to pray over my envelope, cover it with a special blessing and make sure when they open it, it has that special glow that comes from within,” said Sherrer.

Although she is a natural singer, Sherrer wouldn’t have signed up for the contest without being persuaded by her fellow contestant Sgt. Sherry

Burch, who brought her the application. “I’m thank-ful for Sergeant Burch, because she’s the one who said, ‘Hey ma’am! You should do this!’,” said Sherrer.

“Without someone like her, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Even with the joy of her personal triumph, Sher-rer has a lot of respect for her fellow singers and she gained some deep and meaningful friendships with the other soldiers in the competition.

“It’s not easy, whether you have a great voice or a not so great voice, the courage to stand before people is worthy of an applause,” said Sherrer.

With the Bondsteel competition behind her all she can do is wait until the 12 contestants are cho-sen from the different worldwide contests on Oct. 13. The winner of the entire 2011 Operation Rising Star wins a trip to Los Angeles, where they record a three track demo compact disc.

The trip also includes air fare, lodging, $1,000 spending money and three days and nights of stu-dio time with the support of top-rate musicians and recording technicians.

1st Lt. Eboni Sherrer sang “Because You Love Me” by Celine Dion as her last performance for Camp Bond-steel’s Operation Rising Star. Sherrer won the singing competition on Bondsteel and will represent Kosovo Forces 14 for main competition. (Photo by Spc. John A. Montoya)

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Operation Rising Star, Cont.

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Kosovo Forces soldiers, in cooperation with the European Union Rule of Law mission in Kosovo,

removed road blocks near the Jarinje gate, also known as Gate 1, Sept. 26 and barred illegal bypass traffic the following day. The large earthworks blocking legal traffic through the gate were cleared by KFOR in order to rees-tablish freedom of movement.

In the days and weeks follow-ing July 21, locals living in the north of Kosovo firebombed the gate itself and established road-blocks along major roads in the north. Those roadblocks have obstructed freedom of movement for civilians and military mem-bers.

“The decision was made on Sunday [Sept. 25] to open Gate 1 by clearing it of the civilian [built] rock piles,” said Lt. Col. Michael Horry, Company C., 1-200th Infan-try Brigade commander.

German and American sol-diers provided security for Greek KFOR earthmoving equipment to remove the large mounds of

gravel and rock Monday night.

During the night’s operation a crowd of approximately 50 locals gathered to demonstrate. Within an hour of KFOR clearing the road block, locals operating dump trucks had built new barricades nearby.

“Our multinational team did an excellent job and cooperated to successfully accomplish the mission,” said Horry. He went on

to note that no soldiers or civil-ians were injured during the two operations despite the inherent risk associated with KFOR’s tasks.

KFOR is tasked by U.N. Secu-rity Council Resolution 1244 with

“ensuring public safety and order” in Kosovo. The NATO-led peace-keeping force which is carrying out that resolution is “focused on building a secure environment for all citizens, irrespective of their ethnic origins.” Th

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KFOR removes road blocksstory and photos by Spc. Evan V. Lane

German Kosovo Forces soldiers stand ready to provide crowd and riot control support during road clearing operations near the Jarinje gate on the administrative boundary line between Kosovo and Serbia.

Master Sgt. Jesus Holguin, noncommissioned officer in charge of the Combat Arms Training Company, prepares Soldiers attached to Multinational Battle Group East for a security mission at Jarinje gate in northern Kosovo Sept. 26. The Soldiers provided security for a Greek engineering element of Kosovo Forces tasked with clearing illegal road blocks erected near the gate.

Greek KFOR engineering soldiers clear the gravel obstruction blocking access to Jarinje gate on the admin-istrative boundary line.

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