DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY A BATTERY, 1 st BATTALION, 31 st FIELD ARTILLERY 5955 ROTHWELL ST. FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA 73503

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1 DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY A BATTERY, 1 st BATTALION, 31 st FIELD ARTILLERY 5955 ROTHWELL ST. FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA REPLY TO ATTENTION OF: 9 July 2018 Dear friends and family members, FROM THE COMMANDER: I am Captain (CPT) Gregory K. Minor, the Battery Commander of your Trainee s Initial Entry Training into the United States Army. Your Trainee arrived safely at the battery and has already begun Basic Combat Training (BCT). Over the next few months, your Trainee will learn the basic skills that are required to survive and win on today s battlefield. The training will be strenuous and demanding, but the tasks performed will aid each Trainee to develop the discipline and selfconfidence necessary to be the world s GREATEST SOLDIER in today s Army. The Cadre training your Trainee is a dedicated and an exceptional group of professionals who are genuinely concerned about the health, welfare, and training of each Trainee. We consider your Warrior to be the Army s most valuable asset and I will personally ensure that we will make your Trainee s experience challenging yet rewarding. COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR TRAINEE By now you should have already received a phone call from your Trainee. All Trainees are given the opportunity to make a phone call of their choosing within the first 72 hours upon arrival but NOT AGAIN until Around the fourth week of training. This is also contingent upon them meeting all their training requirements and do not have any issues with misconduct. Please understand their phone usage is a privilege and Trainees must earn it week to week through their motivation, performance, and discipline. I ask that you not attempt to contact your Trainee by phone. If there is anything you should be concerned with regarding the health and welfare of your Trainee, the 1SG and I will personally let you know. LETTERS/ PACKAGES If this is your Trainee s first time away from home, I am sure that your Trainee will miss you a great deal as you presumably will miss your Trainee, too. I strongly encourage you to write at every opportunity; you can be assured that your Trainee will have time to write you as well. When writing your Trainee use the following address:

2 Rank Last Name, First Name, MI Platoon, A Battery, 1-31 st FA 5955 Rothwell Street Fort Sill, OK For Platoon, write the Platoon number of your Trainee; 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, or 4 th. If you do not have the platoon number it is acceptable. However, it may take longer to sort. Ask your Trainee for their Platoon number! Packages are authorized but HIGHLY DISCOURAGED. Your Trainee is provided with everything he/she needs here at the local Post Exchange (Shopping Store). MAIL IN THE MILITARY TAKES LONGER THAN IN THE CIVILIAN POSTAL SERVICE. IT IS VERY COMMON FOR YOU TO RECEIVE SEVERAL LETTERS FROM YOUR TRAINEE BEFORE THEY RECEIVE ANY OF YOURS. When it arrives at the Fort Sill Post Office, the Army takes over, and any USPS tracking will stop. The mail will be sorted at each level from post all the way down to the Battery. This process can take several days. Rest assure, mail is never held from your Trainees as the law prohibits it and they do not do push-ups or any other physical training to receive their letter. Please observe the following guidelines when sending mail: No alcohol or products containing alcohol, tobacco, or narcotics No weapons No radios, TV s, cell phones, cameras, or other electronic devices No pornographic or morally questionable materials No magazines NO FOOD ITEMS DRILL SERGEANTS Today s Trainees are treated fairly, firmly, and with dignity and respect. Abuse, Hazing, Discrimination and Sexual Harassment of any kind by ANY Drill Sergeant are not tolerated. Drill Sergeants are selected from among the best Non- Commissioned Officers (NCOs) in the Army and are highly skilled and qualified to train recruits. IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES Should an emergency arise, the best means of notifying your Trainee is through your local American Red Cross. The field office in your area will contact the Lawton, Oklahoma field office who will, in turn, contact me. In extreme cases, such as severe injury or death, affecting IMMEDIATE family members only, an emergency leave of absence may be granted. Other leaves of absence during training are generally not authorized. TOWNHALL MEETING / FAMILY DAY / GRADUATION For those who arrive on Wednesday, the day before family day, there will be a TOWN- HALL Meeting with a question and answer session to help facilitate and ease your visit while attending family day and graduation. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to meet the Command Team. It is not required to attend. However, it is highly

3 encouraged for families to attend the meeting to understand the expectations and rules of engagement during Family Day and Graduation. Failing to follow to those expectation could jeopardize your stay and removal from the event. This meeting will be held at 6:00 pm on 12 September 2018 at a location TBD. Directions and additional information will be posted on the ASSASSINS FACEBOOK page that you can access below. Trainees will conduct a Family Day presentation, demonstrating the key events that occur during basic combat training. The presentation will begin at 09:00 am on 13 September 2018 at the Battery Area. After the ceremony, your Trainee will be released on a pass to you if they have earned it and must return for accountability at exactly 8:00 pm that evening. The next day 14 September 2018, your Trainee will graduate from the Cache Creek Chapel Complex at 10:00 am. More information regarding both events will be released on Facebook as the dates draw closer so you can make appropriate travel plans. Utilize the following Lawton, Oklahoma Chamber-of-Commerce website which lists all of the various hotels and motels in the area for your convenience. We understand that you will want to make travel plans early in order to get the best travel deals. However, please talk to your Trainee at every opportunity regarding their graduation status. We recommend that you DO NOT make any plans or travel arrangements which cannot be changed or canceled until you have received notice from your Trainee of their graduation status. Graduation is not guaranteed, I highly recommend you not make any arrangements until you receive notification from your Trainee. Trainees should know their graduation status by the end of the 8 th week of training. A month prior to graduation, we will post specific graduation information on our Facebook page. As per regular scheduling, your Trainee will ship to AIT beginning the morning after graduation via government-provided transportation. We will post more information about this process on our website in a few weeks. No Trainee is authorized to proceed to AIT by any method other than what is coordinated by the government. 13/ 14/ 94- series MOS Trainee who are attending AIT here at Fort Sill will ship to their gaining unit immediately after graduation. They will be given further instructions after they arrive at their AIT unit here on FT. Sill and may request a pass after in-processing there. Please keep in mind the pass is not always guaranteed. The Battery has a Facebook page where photos of your Trainees in training will be uploaded a few times a week. You will have the opportunity to communicate with Battery leadership as well as the Family Readiness Leader. Questions may be directed through the message service on the page, and we will answer them as our work allows. The Facebook Page is a privilege, not a right and is not required to be maintained. We do not condone unprofessional behavior or rude remarks on the page. Those who do not comply will be BANNED. The page is meant to give families a glimpse of what the Trainees are experiencing and disseminate pertinent information. We do our very best to ensure you all are informed. The Battery also has a webpage with the Welcome letter

4 posted to it. The Graduation letter will be published as the time gets closer. On the website, you will find additional general information about the Battery and Battalion. HOW DO I GET ON FORT SILL? DO NOT MAIL or ME THE ACCESS FORM 118A. IT WILL BE SHREDDED AND DISPOSED OF DUE TO PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION. THIS FORM IS TO BE HAND CARRIED TO THE VISITOR CONTROL CENTER ONCE YOU ARRIVE AT FORT SILL WITH YOUR STATE and/or PERSONAL ID or REQUESTS MUST BE FILLED OUT THROUGH THE ONLINE REGISTRATION NO EARLIER THAN 30 DAYS PRIOR TO THE REQUESTED DATES. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. I ASSURE YOU THIS INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. Due to security measures, access to Fort Sill is limited to Department of Defense card holders (The V.A.-issued identification card no longer meets the criteria for installation access). Individuals who do not carry a current, non-expired Department of Defense identification will be required to request access to Ft Sill. Detailed information will be posted on our social media outlet when the time nears. Do not submit any forms until told to do so. Failure to adhere to these instructions could result in your pass not being approved. Ensure you follow all directions closely that is posted on the Facebook page. Additionally, please circulate this information to other family and friends that could potentially be attending Family Day and Graduation activities. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. POINTS OF CONTACT If we can be of assistance to you in any matter relating to your Trainee, please feel free to contact any of the following people by phone or Battery Commander: CPT Minor, Gregory K Gregory.k.minor.mil@mail.mil Battery 1SG: 1SG Weaver, Michael C Michael.c.weaver.mil@mail.mil SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER WEB PAGES Follow us on Facebook. Here you will receive up to date information during your Trainees training and additional information for all events you may attend. Please like, follow, and share our page! Battery Facebook page: Battery Webpage:

5 Lawton, Oklahoma Chamber-of-Commerce: Always First Sincerely, GREGORY K. MINOR CPT, FA Commanding