The Main Effort Newsletter of ARSIC-South

Col. Thomas J. McGrath, Commanding

Task Force 2/7 Dedicates Camp After MoH Recipient Article and photos by Cpl. Ray Lewis

Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine

Regiment, 1st Marine Division

CAMP BARBER, Afghanistan—

Marines now have a place to call

their own.

On May 11, Task Force

2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment,

1st Marine Division (MarDiv) dedi-

cated its camp here as Camp Barber

in honor of Col. William E. Barber,

a Medal of Honor recipient serving

with 2/7 during the Korean War.

“We’re proud of our heri-

tage; we’re proud of being Ma-

rines,” said Battalion Sgt. Maj.

Matthew B. Brookshire, adding the

camp was named after an out-

standing and well-deserving Ma-

rine from the battalion’s heritage.

Colonel Barber was a

captain when he earned the Medal

of Honor -- the nation’s highest

military award for combat hero-

ism. He led his company in a

desperate five-day defense of a

frozen mountain pass vital to the

1st MarDiv's breakout to the sea,

according to the award citation.

Though wounded while

fighting sub-zero temperatures

against overwhelming odds, he

refused evacuation and remained

in command.

His actions merited the

Medal of Honor presented to him

by President Harry S. Truman at

the White House on August 20,

1952. He passed away April 19,

2002.

In his honor, the Marines

unveiled a marquee that dons the

camp’s heroic name. It rests at the

camp’s front entrance, which also

features both an American flag and

a Marine Corps flag that are raised each

morning at dawn and lowered at dusk.

Task Force Commander Lt. Col.

Richard Hall and Sgt. Maj. Brookshire

presided over the dedication ceremony,

which reflected the pride and ownership

Marines are traditionally proud of display-

ing.

“It’s one of those motivating

things,” Sgt. Maj. Brookshire said. “It

adds the Marine flavor to the overall

camp itself… we fly our flags high

here as you can see.”

Lieutenant Gen. Samuel T. Hel-

land, commander of Marine Corps

Forces Central Command

(MARCENT) and commanding gen-

eral of I Marine Expeditionary Force,

was the ceremony’s guest speaker.

The MARCENT commander

highlighted the ceremony when he

combat meritoriously promoted Cpl.

Peter R. Villanueva of Weapons Com-

pany, and Lance Corporals Jason L.

Claunch and James D. Doherty, both

of Company F, to their current ranks.

“I felt honored because here’s a

general taking his time to promote a

lance corporal,” said Lance Cpl. James

D. Doherty, who admitted to being a

little nervous to have the three-star

general pin on his new rank insignia.

Among the first to be promoted

here, these Marines joined the Devil

Dogs who were promoted May 1 be-

fore the camp’s official dedication.

The honor of being promoted in com-

bat was also bestowed upon Lance

Corporals German A. Hoyos and Mark

W. Richardson, Corporal Brandon W.

Dion, and Sergeants Victor M. Perez,

Donald O. Critchlow and Mackenzie

P. Thompson.

“It’s something big for a Marine

to be promoted on a camp just prior to

its dedication ceremony,” said Head-

quarters and Service Company 1st Sgt.

James A. Colon. “I want it to be

known that they, too, are a part of the

Marine Corps’ history.

“How often can you say that you

were one of the first Marines promoted

at Camp Barber?” he asked.

The Main Effort — page 1 May 31, 2008

Issue No. 2 of the 27th BCT

Marines and sailors of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine

Regiment, 1st Marine Division, stand in formation during

the dedication ceremony held here in honor of Korean War

Medal of Honor recipient Col. William E. Barber.

Lance Cpl. German A. Hoyos, radio operator, Headquarters

and Service Company, Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine

Regiment, 1st Marine Division, is pinned by Company 1stSgt.

James A. Colon and Company Commander Capt. Carlos R.

Cuevas during a promotion ceremony held here. Hoyos is

the first Marine of TF 2/7 to be promoted here.

The Main Effort May 31, 2008

Issue No. 2 of the 27th BCT

‘Our Mission Success Depends on You’

It is imperative that I take a moment

in this issue of The Main Effort to thank

each and every one of you who are pre-

paring to depart ARSIC-South for your

home stations. Many of you have been

here for anywhere between six and

twelve months ‘boots-on-the-ground’ in

southern Afghanistan. I want to thank

you for your hard work and efforts that

have helped to make our mission so

successful.

It is equally important that I welcome the soldiers from

the New York's 27th Brigade Combat Team and all of our

war fighters from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines

who have entered the theater running at full pace and fo-

cusing on mission accomplishment. We have a mission that

encompasses a lot of moving pieces- the 2/7 Marines, the

Focus District Development (FDD) program for the Af-

ghan National Police (ANP), our continued mentorship and

training of the Afghan National Army that requires hands

on leadership to make tough decisions in order to win.

During wartime, mission orders are necessary to ensure

flexibility and will require decisions to be made by junior

officers and NCOs and I want you to know that you have

my full confidence and support.

We are aggressively moving forward to train and men-

tor the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The suc-

cess is due to the hard work and dedication of all ARSIC-

South war fighters who work so hard to get the job done.

The ANSF are rapidly becoming a professional, adaptable

forces, ready to take on the Taliban and defeat them. Due to

the blood and sweat of our Embedded Training Teams and

Police Mentor Teams within our area of operations, the

Afghan National Security Forces are rising to new levels of

combat effectiveness.

Congratulations on your great work! HOOAH

A Tribute to: Sgt. First Class Davy Weaver On May 18, 2008, ARSIC-South lost one of their own; Sgt. First Class Davy Weaver, a soldier from the Georgia Army National Guard who was a member of an Embedded Training Team in southern Afghanistan. The vehi-cle Sgt. First Class Weaver was in struck an Improvised Explo-sive Device (IED) early in the morning. Sgt. First Class Weaver will al-ways be remembered for his love of NASCAR race driving and was jokingly referred to as ‘Boomhower’ by his fellow teammates, which was a cartoon character for his slow southern drawl. Sgt. First Class Weaver loved his family dearly and loved his job and mission in Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Davy Nathaniel Weaver was born 8 February 1969 in Georgia the son of Patsy Rabuck and Emory Weaver. SFC Weaver enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard on 25 March 1987 as a an Infantry Soldier, 11M. Private Weaver completed Basic Training (BT) and Ad-vanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Benning, Geor-gia. On 11 May 2005, SFC Weaver was ordered into Active Federal Service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He was stationed in Kuwait and Iraq and spent a year supporting that mission. SFC Weaver was returned to state control on 16 May 2006. In May 2007, SFC Weaver was sent with members of the 48th Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the support and fight against the Global War on Terrorism as a team member of the 2nd Kandak, 2nd Bri-

gade, Regional Corps Advisory Command (RCAC). SFC Weaver had been involved in two Improvised Explo-sive Device (IED) attacks less than two weeks apart and still took the missions assigned to him. SFC Weaver was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge in September 2007 for his actions under enemy fire and rocket attack in Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Weaver is survived by his wife, Susan Weaver and his children Bradley, Malachi, and Elleanor Weaver, step-daughters Jennifer Morris, Mary Ann Morris. Sgt. First Class Weaver will forever be remembered as a true, professional warrior and hero. May we always cherish his memory and sacrifice always.

Story & photos by 1st Lt. Amy Bonanno, PAO, ARSIC-S

Kandahar Airfield— Over twenty Air Force

personnel were awarded with Meritorious Ser-

vice Medals (MSM), Army Commendation Med-als (ARCOM), and certificates of appreciation

during the Memorial Day gathering held here on

Monday. Two Air Force personnel received the MSM for

their hard work and constant dedication to the

mission of Afghan Regional Security Integration Command – South (ARSIC-S). "Throughout the

past year I made a conscience effort daily to have

a positive impact on the people I encountered whether U.S., Coalition or local-national. My

receiving the MSM was validation from my

superiors of reaching my goal and of a job well

done," said Master Sgt. Ola Harris, Logistics

Non-Commissioned Officer In-Charge.

Four personnel were awarded the ARCOM and

seven Air Force personnel were awarded certifi-

cates of appreciation.

Eleven members of an Air Force contingent who

work directly for ARSIC-S have been ‘boots-on-the-ground’ for almost twelve months, having

arrived in Kandahar in June 2007. More than

forty members of another Air Force group ar-rived in Kandahar in January 2008, having com-

pleted six months of ‘boots-on-the-ground’.

Lt. Col. Shawn Karvelis, of the Joint Force Headquarters, Connecticut Army National Guard

and Lt. Col. Nick Bruce-Jones, who has recently

been appointed as Commanding Officer of the Commando Training Centre, Royal Marines,

received awards for their dedication to the mis-

sion and hard work in ARSIC-South. Both will redeploy back to their homes in Connecticut and

the United Kingdom respectively, shortly after

the Air Force personnel redeploy back to the States.

The award ceremony included a poignant reminder of what Memorial Day truly means to

Americans. Memorial Day is an emotional

reminder for many of those soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who give their lives for

the freedoms of our country. For ARSIC-

South, who have lost eight fellow warriors in this past year alone, it was an especially sad

reminder of the cost of freedom. The ceremony

was marked with a sober reminder of the recent death of Sgt. First Class Davy Weaver, a member

of an Embedded Training Team in Zabul Prov-

ince who was killed in action by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

After the award and memorial ceremony, mem-bers of ARSIC-S were given the rest of the day

to enjoy a barbeque, play sports and card games,

and to take the day off from the office; to refit as Command Sgt. Maj. Corey Cush said when he

released them for the afternoon activities.

“It’s important to take the time to reorganize and

take part in some team building exercises and to

say good-bye to our Air Force personnel who have worked so hard for ARSIC-S,” said 1st Lt.

Andre Lloyd of the day’s afternoon activities. Many of the staff added that it is also important

to remember our fallen comrades who have given

their lives to the global war on terror.

Chaplain’s Corner: The Good Word By Chaplain Behling

ARSIC-South

Selfless Service – Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army, and

your soldiers before your own. This is one of the Army values

and one that is especially appropriate as we celebrate Memorial

Day.

In the Apostle John’s first letter, he says; “This is how we know

what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we

ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has

material possessions and sees his brother in need but has not

pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children,

let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in

truth” (1 John 3:16-18).

As we celebrate Memorial Day, we are reminded of those who

gave us the ultimate demonstration of selfless service; those

who demonstrated their love for their country and their fellow

warriors not by their words but by their actions. Even in our

midst, we are reminded of those who did in fact lay

down their lives for their brothers and sisters in

arms. We remember SSG Roy Lewsader, CPT Joshua Steele,

SFC Christopher Henderson, SFC John Hennen, SGT Edward

Philpot, SSG James Bullard, SFC Johnny Walls, and SFC Davy

Weaver. We thank them for their selfless service and look to

them for inspiration to accomplish the mission we have before

us.

Being a former cavalry officer, I appreciated the phrase that the

cavalry of old used to use; “the horse, the saddle, the man.”

The point of this saying is that we need to keep our priorities in

order as warriors. We need to fulfill our duties before our own

comfort. But even more than that, we need to recognize that we

are serving a cause much greater than our individual selves.

This is selfless service.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so bluntly put it: “If a man hasn't

discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.”

Air Force Personnel Awarded for Service on Memorial Day

The Main Effort — page 3 May 31, 2008

Issue No. 2 of the 27th BCT

Lt. Col Nick Bruce-Jones, of the Royal Marines,

stands at attention while Col. Thomas McGrath,

Commander of ARSIC-South, pins the Army

Commendation Medal on his uniform.

SSgt. Russell Oswalt salutes Col. Thomas

McGrath, the ARSIC-South Commander,

after receiving the Army Commendation

Medal on Memorial Day.

Story and photos by

1st Lt. Amy Bonanno

PAO, ARSIC-South

KANDAHAR-- On Sunday, May 4th,

Brig. Gen. Gul Aqa Naibi, Commander

of the 205th ANA Corps and Brig. Gen.

Ghulam Ali Wahdat, Regional Chief of

Police held a press conference at the

Joint Regional Coordination Center (JRCC) to discuss their latest operations.

In all, seven journalists,

representing television,

newspaper, and radio at-

tended the press conference.

The press conference began

with an introductory state-

ment by Brig. Gen. Naibi

who spoke about the latest

assessment of the Afghan

National Army (ANA).

“The ANA has been suc-

cessfully trained and work-

ing excellent in all over the

parts of Afghanistan. The

205th Corps has taken the

responsibility to control the

stability and bring strong security to protect the people of Af-

ghanistan from the enemy,” said Naibi.

Currently the Taliban are not able to

fight the ANA face to face directly, they

try to demolish the country and make

battle hidden, Naibi added.

“I can strongly say that our police of

today are not police of yesterday, they

are stronger, better, and more capable,” said Brig. Gen. Wahdat during his open-

ing statement.

Brig. Gen. Wahdat gave an example of

how the Afghan National Police arrested

two suicide bombers a few weeks ago in

Greshk district of Helmand province,

thwarting a possible attack before it

could occur. There are many examples

of this type of action by the police,

Wahdat added, “which shows the police

of today are not the police of yesterday.

The enemy has weakened and can not

fight directly so they are putting mines

and doing suicide attacks.”

During the question and answer session,

both Naibi and Wahdat spoke about the

intelligence they use to thwart possible

attacks and what to expect for future

operations- getting better

and working harder.

Following the press confer-

ence, media were invited to

attend a swearing-in cere-

mony for the newly in-

ducted Afghan National

Police. The police officers

swear on the Koran and

their weapons that in the

future they will do a good

job for the people of Af-

ghanistan.

The joint ANA and ANP

press conferences are tai-

lored to get their news out

to the Afghan media on a

regular basis. These press

events are held on the first Sunday of

every month. May’s press conference

was the second time the ANA and ANP

held a joint media event.

ANA and ANP Hold Joint Press Conference

The Main Effort — page 4 May 31, 2008

Issue No. 2 of the 27th BCT

Command Sergeant Major’s Corner

Brig. Gen. Ghulam Ali Wahdat, the Regional Police Chief,

listens while Brig. Gen. Gul Aqa Naibi, Commander of the

205th ANA Corps, speaks during a joint press conference

recently.

By Command Sgt. Maj. Corey Cush

Greetings ARSIC South Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines! ARSIC-South

In this month’s CSM corner my two themes will be the Uniform policy and informational support for the troops. First let me start with the obvious;

whenever any tactical vehicle goes outside of the wire, the MINIMUM for all troops should be wearing is the following; Individual Body Armor (IBA –

w/throat guard) or Individual Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV), the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH), Ballistic Eyewear, Nomex gloves and hearing protec-

tion (if not wearing CVC ear set). If you are missing any of these items you should not be rolling out of the gate. Leaders please ensure that you are

conducting PCC’s and PCI’s which are to include checking your soldiers’ equipment before leaving on any mission.

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Former Wartime Service (SSI-FWTS). I understand that this is big issue in field. However wearing an unauthorized patch is

like wearing an unauthorized medal. Here is the guidance in regards to the patches; if you have had a previous deployment with another unit you have

the option of wearing that former unit patch on your right shoulder or the 27th BCT patch. If you have not previously served in a combat zone with an-

other unit then the patch you wear on your right shoulder is the 27th BCT patch. All Soldiers whether they mobilized out of Fort Riley or Fort Bragg will

wear the 27th BCT patch on their left shoulder because this is the unit that you are OPCON to. I have already gotten clarification on this issue from the

G1 of the Army, and this is the SOP we will follow. Done all the research that needs to be done by going directly to the G1 of the Army to get clarifica-

tion. Take pride in the unit that you are serving with and wear the authorized patch!

There is a lot of free stuff available to deployed troops and their families. that is available to all Soldiers that are deployed on this mission. I frequently

forward this information out via email but understand that not everyone has access to email and/or has the time to check it. Below are services and items

that are available for our troops. Please get the word out. Some of these services, like mowing your yard for free will definitely help your spouse, are

incredible:http://www.operationhomelink.org - Computers for spouses or parents of deployed soldier in ranks E1 – E5.

https://www.operationuplink.org - Phone cards. http://anysoldier.com/ForSoldiersOnly.cfm - To sign up for sponsoring soldier care packages for theater.

http://bluestarmoms.org/airfare.html - Lowest airfare available. http://bluestarmoms.org/care.html - Care packages. http://www.heromiles.org - Air travel

for Emergency Leave and for the family members of injured soldiers to travel to Medical facility. http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/forum/index.php -

Books, DVD’s, CD’s. http://www.projectevergreen.com/ Green Care for Troops (helps families of deployed troops maintain their green space)

Story and Photos by Lt. Kevin T. Davis

Navy Garrison Food Service Expert

F OB L INDSEY - - R e c e n t l y , L t . K e v i n D a v i s , a f o o d s e r v i c e e x p e r t w i t h t h e N a v y G a r r i s o n u n i t o n F o r -w a r d O p e r a t i n g B a s e ( F O B ) L i n d s e y i m p l e -m e n t e d a s i x - w e e k s a n i -t a t i o n p r o g r a m t o s e -l e c t e d A f g h a n N a t i o n a l A r m y ( A N A ) s o l d i e r s . “ T h e t r a i n i n g w a s v e r y i n t e n s e , ” s a i d L t . D a v i s . T h e c o m p r e h e n -s i v e p r o g r a m f e a t u r e d t o p i c s w h i c h c o v e r e d a d v a n c e d h a n d w a s h -i n g , p e r s o n a l h y g i e n e , f o o d s e r v i c e s a n i t a -t i o n a w a r e n e s s s t a n -d a r d s , f o o d s e r v i c e e q u i pm e n t c l e a n i n g s t a n d a r d s , f o o d - b o r n e i l l n e s s p r e v e n t i o n , p r o p e r s e r v i n g o f f o o d s , f o o d s e r v i c e c l e a n i n g f a -c i l i t i e s a n d m o r e . D u r i n g t h e l a s t w e e k o f t r a i n i n g , t o u r s w e r e c o n d u c t e d a t K a n d a h a r A i r f i e l d w i t h t h e C h e f i n C h a r g e o f t h e S u -p r e m e d i n i n g f a c i l i t i e s , C h e f J a m e s V a n B i l j o n . C h e f B i l j o n g r a c i o u s l y c o n d u c t e d t h e t o u r w i t h h i s a d v a n c e f o o d s e r -v i c e e x p e r i e n c e a n d p r a c t i c a l s a n i t a t i o n k n o w l e d g e .

“ T h e t r a i n i n g w a s v i t a l f o r t h e A f g h a n N a t i o n a l A r m y s o l d i e r s w h o a t -t e n d e d t h i s t o u r , ” a d d e d D a v i s . O n e o f t h e s o l d i e r s ’ a t -t e n d i n g t h e p r o g r am c o mm e n t e d t h a t t o “ v i s u a l l y s e e h o w t h e s a n i t a t i o n w a s o n a f u l l s e r v i c e d i n i n g f a c i l i t y o p e r a t e a n d c o n d u c t b u s i n e s s o n a d a i l y b a -s i s w a s i n v a l u a b l e t o u s . I w a n t t o v i s i t t h i s p l a c e e v e r y w e e k ! ” “ W h a t t h e y t o o k f r o m t h e t o u r a n d t r a i n i n g I w a n t t h e m t o s t a r t t o i m p l e m e n t i n t h e i r o w n d i n i n g f a c i l i t i e s . I t ’ s i m p o r t a n t t h a t w e r e s p e c t t h e i r t r a d i -

t i o n s a n d c u l t u r e a n d t a k e b a b y s t e p s d u r i n g t h i s n e w t r a n s i t i o n , e x -p l a i n i n g i n d e t a i l w h y w e d o i t t h i s w a y s o t h e y c a n u n d e r s t a n d t h e p r o c e s s , ” D a v i s s a i d . T h e e n d o f t h e f o o d s a n i t a t i o n c o u r s e p r o -v i d e d a n e x a m b y w h i c h a l l t r a i n e d s o l d i e r s p a s s e d w i t h h i g h r e -m a r k s . A f t e r t h e e x a m w a s c o m p l e t e d a n a w a r d s c e r e m o n y w a s p r o v i d e d t o r e c o g n i z e t h e d i l i g e n t e f f o r t s a n d

a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r t h e s o l d i e r s ’ h a r d w o r k .

Navy Lieutenant Teaches the ANA Food Sanitation

Lt. Davis hands a certificate to an ANA soldier who

recently participated and graduated from the Food

Sanitation Program which lasted for six weeks.

The Main Effort is the official publication of the Afghanistan Regional Security Integration Command– South, authorized under the provi-sions of AR 360-1. The views and opinions expressed in The Main Effort are not necessarily those of, or endorsed by, the U.S. govern-ment, or the departments of the Army, Air Force, or Navy. The Main Effort is a monthly publication distributed to deployed servicemen

and women throughout Afghanistan via the Internet on our Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix (CJTF) VII official web site at www.taskforcephoenix.com. All questions, comments and suggestions should be submitted via e-mail to:

amy.f.bonanno@afghan.swa.army.mil. Editor-in-Chief - 1st Lt. Amy F. Bonanno - PAO, ARSIC-S, Kandahar Airfield

The Main Effort — page 5 May 31, 2008

Issue No. 2 of the 27th BCT

ANA Soldiers learn valuable lessons at the

Supreme Dining Facility at Kandahar Air-

field during the recent food sanitation course

provided by Lt. Kevin Davis

The Main Effort May 31, 2008

Issue No. 2 of the 27th BCT

Photos from May 2008