ABU MARCH FRG NEWSLETTER

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1 ABU Actus quos triumphi. Only those who act will triumph. Inside this issue: Springtime in Afghanistan! FOB Connolly Morale Activities 1 1 Highlights from 2 Meet an ABU Monster! March Photos 3 Commander s Comments First Sergeant s Comments Irish Prayer Volume I, Issue III ABU MARCH FRG NEWSLETTER A COMPANY, INFANTRY, FOB CONNOLLY, AFGHANISTAN The Afghan people have a saying, Pasarlay shoew, which is similar to our way of saying, Spring comes in like a lion, out like a lamb. Recently the weather in our region of Afghanistan started to change bringing in warmer weather and some heavy rains. Although the warmer weather is a change many of the soldier s welcome with open arms, the rain seems to track mud from the Afghan moon-dust everywhere soldier s walk. The changing seasons has brought an explosion While we are deployed, training can sometimes get repetitive. ABU strives to provide the best possible training for it s soldiers and training is conducted no matter the occasion including birthdays celebrated in Afghanistan. Here, our chain of March 15th, 2013 Springtime in Afghanistan! The local wadi, or river, that cuts through the Khogyani District of activity across our area of operations. There are more locals tending their fields, workers building irrigation ditches, and children out playing cricket. The rain, melting snow and warm weather even brought life to the once dry river bed in the local district where we ve also witnessed a few camels travelling through! FOB Connolly Morale Activities command practices different medical backboarding procedures on the day battle captain, CPT Joseph Pitt. He was a good sport about the training and it just so happened that he celebrated a special birthday that day. Soldier s look on As we continue with our mission here in Afghanistan, the warm weather is just another indication of how important these next few months are in order to build a solid foundation for the Afghan government. as instruction is given on how to properly care for someone with a back injury:

2 Page 2 Highlights from Second Platoon 1LT Richard Blank, Platoon Leader of 2nd Platoon May your blessings outnumber The shamrocks that grow, And may trouble avoid you Wherever you go. -Unknown Hello All, Just checking in with all of you back home; we are all doing well here, same old same old if you will. Our mission is going well and everyone here is in good spirits. This month marks our fourth month deployed and officially puts us closer to being home rather than being away. PFC West went to the soldier of the month board and we are proud to say PFC West is this month s soldier of the month. PVT Canavan and PVT Starks are now officially PV2 Starks and Canavan. SSG Redd reenlisted this month and the Army is lucky to Members of PRT: have him. Hopefully next month we will have even more promotions. Other than that we just simply keep on keepin on. We all hope this note finds you well, we appreciate your continued support and we will all be home soon. -1LT Richard Blank Above are members of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, to include Second Platoon. Meet an ABU Monster! 1LT Patrick Watts hard at work at his desk? Or looking up cats videos? We decided that we would interview another lucky ABU soldier for the newsletter after the last interview got such great reviews. This month, 1LT Patrick Watts: ABU FRG Team (AFT): So where are you from? Watts: I m originally from Washington, not from a litter box. AFT: Ok, noted, how about a little bit about yourself? Watts: I love property and accounting for all of our company stuff. And cats. I guess that s where I got the nickname Meercat. Even though I have two dogs, I m hoping I can convince my wife to get a cat when we get back. AFT: Interesting, well how about some favorite activities? Watts: Well after Tokyo Drift came out, I became obsessed with working on my Audi and began drifting it on the weekends. AFT: There you have it, 1LT Patrick Watts!

3 Volume I, Issue III MARCH PICTURES OF ABU Page 3 ABU soldiers from 1st Platoon out on patrol early in the morning ABU soldiers are on patrol to a local ridgeline. Here leadership is giving guidance to a young soldier. Notice the moon rocks. What do you think of our camouflage? How many soldiers can you count... These are the mountains to the south of our FOB. You can tell the weather is getting warmer with the snow receding. SPCs Denman and Grindle and SSG Griffiths take a moment to reflect on their patrol. Judging by the grins, SPC Grindle probably had a mob of children following him. ABU snipers, PFC Nguyen and SGT Smith take up a hasty fighting position while a curious local national approaches

4 Page 4 COMMANDER S COMMENTS ABU Commander, CPT Justin Liesen ABU Family, We have reached the halfway mark for the deployment and are looking forward to the number of days left progressively getting smaller than the number of days we have been here. As we look back at the first half of the deployment, we have seen some difficult times; but, most of all I am reminded of all of the great efforts our Company made. We have put in a lot of hard work initially trying to improve our living locations and then branching out to improve the security situation in Western Nangarhar. Each meeting I attend, I am thanked for the sacrifices and hard work of our Soldiers. Each Afghan, from the young farmer to the powerful elders, recognizes the advancements we have made in the past four and a half months. I continue to be impressed with the tremendous Soldiers of ABU Company. In addition, we are all overwhelmed with the support from our family and friends. Thank you all for your help in our mission and know that it has not gone unnoticed. I look forward to the upcoming months and the great achievements that lie ahead for ABU Company. ABU 6 ABU First Sergeant SFC Michael Stainback FIRST SERGEANT S COMMENTS Families, We are now just past the half way point of the deployment. The men of ABU company have been doing great things on mission as well as operations on the FOB to improve living conditions. All the hard work that the Soldiers have put in has made FOB Connolly a more enjoyable and safe place to live and work. I would like to thank the families and friends of ABU for the support during this deployment. Each day that we get closer to rede- ployment, please continue to support your Soldier and the families of those who are deployed. Thank you, ABU 7

5 Page 5 A Company, IN FOB Connolly APO AE Editor POC: Evan Cumming First Lieutenant Fire Support Officer/Night BTL CPT evan.cumming@afghan.swa.army.mil ABU MISSION STATEMENT Combat Advisory Group Khogyani (ABU, IN), advises, assists, and enables Afghan National Security Forces and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan efforts in Western Nangarhar in order to strengthen the foundation for continued Afghan progress in governance, development, and security. You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. -Aristotle IRISH PRAYER FOR SOLDIERS Brave warriors, Should fate find us in battle, May our cause be just. May our leaders have clear vision. May our courage not falter. May we be triumphant an earn victory As we show mercy to our enemies. May our efforts bring lasting peace. May our sacrifice be always Appreciated by those we serve. May we return to our loved ones unharmed. Should we be harmed, may our wounds heal. Should we perish in the struggle, May God embrace us and find for us A place in His Kingdom. SSG Robert Horner takes copious notes, or doodles, during a FOB leadership conference.