TOP DUSTOFF AVIATOR Shadow DUSTOFF Instructor Pilot CW3 Adam Stratton has been selected as the DUSTOFF Association Aviator of the Year for 2012. This annual award is presented to recognize excellence in service either for one mission or for an aviator s career. Tremendous performance by an inspiring aviator. V I S I T S H A D O W D U S T O F F O N F A C E B O O K The company also unveiled the C/6-101 Shadow Dustoff Facebook Page in January. You can find the page at http:// www.facebook.com/ ShadowDustoff. We look forward to providing our families current information regarding their Soldiers achievements as well as upcoming events for the Family Readiness Group on the page. The page was also created with the intent of documenting the heritage and 69-year legacy of this great organization and all of its previous Soldiers. C/6-1 0 1 M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R THE 9-LINE 15 February 2013 Volume 1, Issue 6 1ST STILL FIGHTING FIGHT Above, CW3 Josh Williams discusses a mission prior to launch. At left, CPT John Keutmann, left, promotes Specialist Stephen Adams, right, to Sergeant as Sergeants Cory McElhatton and Andrew Six hold the flag during a promotion ceremony. D U S T O F F 6 C O R N E R U N I T K E E P S F O C U S N E A R T H E E N D W e would like to thank all of the support that you provided from the homefront that enabled our unit to maintain focus while celebrating the winter holidays and welcoming the New Year during this deployment. Our families and friends are truly the foundation of this great organization and all of the individual and collective achievements that your Soldiers By CPT John Keutmann 1 st Platoon Leader January has been another busy month for 1 st Platoon. Our missions continue to keep us on our toes with new challenges still to overcome. The platoon has been attending small arms ranges to keep our skills sharp at Ghazni and Warrior. We were fortunate to knock out a lot of good flight training for our crewmembers in progression (SPC Ryan Lawrence and SGT Carlos Morales earlier in the month), which benefits the pilots and back-seaters alike. Towards the end of the month we ve had a lot of winter weather. The weather has delayed training and mission load, but is a welcome break for the Soldiers in the platoon who have been working tirelessly for the last six months. Specialist Shelton Killingsworth, SGT Walter Sanders, SGT Alex Marcum, (See FIGHT on page 4) continue to produce here in Afghanistan. The unit continues to provide first-rate MEDEVAC support to our coalition and Afghan National Security Forces across eastern Afghanistan. As we are now in the final third of our deployment our Soldiers understand the need for heightened mission focus and emphasis on safety. The aviation standardization section reinforced (See: FOCUS on page 5)
T H E 9 - L I N E Page Page 2 2 T O P S T I M E SOLDIERS BUSY WITH RE D E PLOYMENT PREP A nother month has come and gone in the blink of an eye, and, here we are in February. The MEDEVAC mission may have slowed down but our Soldiers have not as we are busy with our preparations for our replacements to arrive. Although it is easy to sit and dream of family reunions, trips to Disney Land, Lego Land or just a day not having to be in uniform, we must remind ourselves to remain focused on the task at hand and like the Commander likes to say Finish Strong. As operations in Jalalabad come to an end for our 4 th Platoon Soldiers, it s just one more step in the drawdown here in Afghanistan. It reminds us the landscape that we will leave behind will be vastly different than the one we fell in on. The Commander and I were able to close out the month of January by getting away from BAF and out to each of the sites for a day or two. We were able to sit down with all the Soldiers and talk to them about what a great job they have done and listen to their concerns and address (See PREP on page 3) DUSTOFF SOLDIERS PROMOTED Several unit Soldiers tabbed for sergeant By CPT Dave Behrmann 3 rd Platoon Leader Hello, again, from the Soldiers of Bagram DUSTOFF. We find ourselves in the twilight of our deployment as our upcoming redeployment looms in the near future. While we are all very excited to return home again to our family and friends, we still maintain a mission-focused attitude while beginning preparations for our upcoming relief in place by C Company, 3 rd Battalion, 10 th Combat Aviation Brigade. Although our flight time has decreased as the winter months continue, we have still had many notable events that shape our Company as a whole. We are continually greeted by our Jalalabad colleagues as they transition to Bagram after handing over their operations with the members of a National Guard MEDEVAC unit. It is always a welcome sight to see familiar faces that some haven t seen since we deployed and have their company around to assist in our mission here at Bagram. The majority of the JAF team arrived in time for the Super Bowl, which, while early in the morning, still attracted a crowd to partake in well received rivalries and good natured banter. Deer sausage donated by CPT David Riggs, one of our Enroute Critical Care Providers, was grilled to celebrate the event. This month also brought about the promotion of Sergeant Dereck Bible, a crew chief in 3 rd Platoon. His accomplishments have been apparent throughout this deployment, both in missions and maintenance and his promotion is long overdue. Establishing himself in the corps of Non-Commissioned Officers, SGT Bible will surely make a fine addition to the leadership of Charlie Company. Congratulations, SGT Bible! Recently we were paid a visit by none other than Magnus, the Air Force working dog. Unlike his prior visits though, this visit was more serious in nature. His handler greeted us and asked for a volunteer to practice Magnus attack skills. Without a beat, Sergeant Dereck Bible, left, is congratulated by longtime friend, Specialist Marcus Barton, after Bible s recent promotion to Sergeant. A number of Shadow DUSTOFF Soldiers were promoted to Sergeant in January. everyone in the group immediately pointed at SFC Chad Neal. After being fitted in a protective jacket, he was instructed on several training scenarios. When Magnus was led into the hangar, his demeanor was visibly different from his other visits. Instead of the happy-go-lucky attitude, he imparted a steely -eyed stare down with SFC Neal, never taking him out of his sight. After a quick command from his handler, Magnus jumped onto SFC Neal, clamping down on his arm as he attempted to run away. As quickly as Mangus had latched himself to SFC Neal though, he released him with a simple Out! command from the handler. This demonstration (See PROMOTED Continued on page 3)
Page 3 V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 6 4TH PLATOON SIGNS OFF FROM JAF Some Shadow DUSTOFF Soldiers to redeploy early By CPT Jared Brynildsen 4 th Platoon Leader Hello for the last time from 4 th Platoon. For those that have not yet heard the news, 4 th Platoon has received orders to return home early along with the Task Force Saber, which it has been supporting throughout the deployment. Due to several realignments and mission changes it was deemed necessary to send TF Saber back after successful mission completion. Needless to say there are very few complaints coming from our Soldiers. Though it is bittersweet that we are leaving our DUSTOFF brothers and sisters early, everyone is happy to be returning home to friends and family after a job well done. Families can rest assured that every 4 th Platoon Soldier contributed tremendously to the overall success of the DUSTOFF and TF Saber missions. During the deployment, your Soldiers completed 107 life-saving missions, many of which were completed under extreme circumstances. The lives of more than 150 American, Afghan, and Coalition Force members were saved as a direct result of your loved ones work ethic, dedication, and heroic actions. Aside from missions, your Soldiers completed more than 100 credit hours towards upperlevel degrees, and as a direct result of the high quality of Non- Commissioned Officers in the platoon, eight Soldiers received promotable status, two of whom have already been promoted. This deployment, though shorter than normal, has been a very successful one. The platoon definitely had spurts of cabin fever, but in the end everyone acted as a family. It was with great pride that SFC Ramos and I led this platoon through Operation Enduring Freedom XII-XIII and it is with gratitude that we return every Soldier of 4 th Platoon to their families and friends. PROMOTED (Continued from page 2) continued until the exercise was complete and we were all allowed to pet Magnus who, like a light switch, went from attack mode, to friendly mode. As we prepare to head home, one cannot help but look back at all the accomplishments we ve made throughout this deployment and not feel a heightened level of pride in ourselves, both as individuals and as an organization. I am immensely proud of each and every one of my Soldiers and their family members who have sacrificed so much these past eight months and given their sweat, tears and blood to accomplishing the MEDEVAC mission. I look forward to seeing everyone re-united with their loved ones when we step off the plane and seeing them get the well deserved rest they will receive. Sergeant First Class Chad Neal, above right, squares off against Mangus, an Air Force Working Dog, during a recent training event at Shadow DUSTOFF s hangar. PREP (Continued from page 2) any rumors that may be lurking around. At all the sites the Soldiers seemed to be in high spirits and each site had their own way of passing time between missions. At JAF, there was Monopoly Deal; at Ghazni, it was classic Monopoly; at Shank there were videos; at Warrior there were episodes and talk about Top Gear and The Stig (the British version). And here at BAF it is ping pong. However, there is one common game among all the sites, and that is Call of Duty. Congratulations to all of the Soldiers promoted this month. Former Specialists Stephen Adams, Dereck Bible, Javier Coromac, Jermaine McKenney, Walt Sanders, and Kevin Wright have now joined the ranks of the NCO Corps. Making Sergeant is a giant step and I know each of them has been well prepared by their leadership. It is your time to train those who will come after you and prepare them. -- 1SG Bailey
T H E 9 - L I N E Page 4 Newly promoted SGT Walter Sanders, Specialists Shelton Killingsworth and Kyle Lamont and SGT Alex Marcum were recently awarded the Polish Army Medal for their work during a mission to save a wounded Polish Soldier. FIGHT (Continued from page 1) and SPC Kyle Lamont were awarded the Polish Army Medal by our Polish brothers in arms at Ghazni for actions taken during a MEDEVAC mission to save one of their Soldiers. We continue to build our relationship with our ISAF partners to provide the best service possible. We had the pleasure of promoting Sanders, Jermaine McKenney, Javier Coromac, and Stephen Adams to the rank of Sergeant. We welcome all of them to the Non- Commissioned Officer Corps and we are expecting great things from them in the future. SPC Billy Taylor went to the promotion board this month and received his promotable status. Soon he will be joining the ranks of the other fine NCOs in C Company. The weather was pleasant most of the month, but it s been snowing on a regular basis the last couple of weeks. This has given the platoon the opportunity to practice close quarters combat snowball tactics. Outnumbered and out-flanked, 1LT Matthew Perry and I still managed to put a hurtin on our crew chiefs and medics. They quickly learned that accurate, superior fire power can be achieved by a lesser number and overwhelm a much larger force when coupled with the desire and will to win. At the end of the day, the only real damage done was the damage done to their pride. We stand ready for any who challenge on the field of battle (the flight-line) come next snowfall. We had the pleasure of sending our first Soldiers back to the States to their families this month. It is an exciting time to be able to send some of our Soldiers home to be with their families and not expect them back since the end is so near. Chief Warrant Officer Twos Stephen King and Ashley Weber, thank you for all you ve done during this deployment, and we can t wait to join you back in the States soon. Meanwhile, we remain focused and vigilant in our duty. We will continue to fight on until our very last day in country and thank you for your support in this difficult task. It is because of your support that we are able to continue to give our support to the Soldiers we serve in harm s way.
T H E 9 - L I N E Page 5 JANUARY THE BUSIEST FOR HQ By Captain Bryan Mathena Headquarters Platoon Leader January has been, without question, the busiest month so far for Headquarters Platoon. In the past few weeks, all Headquarters personnel augmenting our 4 th Platoon had to pack up and leave Jalalabad. At any given time, roughly one quarter of Headquarters Platoon was assigned to Jalalabad, most for several months at a time, others for most of the deployment. After being a part of the mission in that region for so long, it s been a challenge to adjust to our new home at Bagram, a new routine and most of all, the colder weather. Despite the movements, two Headquarters Soldiers assigned to augment 4 th Platoon and train with them at Jalalabad attended a promotion board on 31 January to become eligible for promotion to Sergeant. It s my pleasure to announce that Specialists Brandon Eddinger and Jacob Hurst FOCUS (Continued from page 1) environmental training to hone the techniques required to continue safe operation in this environment, the maintainers provided the skills and expertise required to maintain the aircraft under challenging environmental conditions, and the flight medics and enroute critical care providers seized the opportunity to conduct required medical training to maintain their medical readiness. This collective teamwork has been essential in sustaining a mission -ready MEDEVAC organization. During the upcoming months, the unit faces the challenge of continued Headquarters Soldiers from JAF are enjoying some colder weather. are now promotable. I also want to thank our hosts for all of their hard work preparing these two Soldiers for the board. Without their help and dedication, this wouldn t have been possible. Chief Warrant Officer Two Eric Radford, SSG Brandon Shaw and SGT Andrew Six have begun preparing the company for redeployment in several ways. mission accomplishment and setting the conditions for the successful replacement from our inbound counterparts. All Soldiers and leaders are identifying the systems that have been established during our tenure and creating the products that will enable the continuity of MEDEVAC operations after we depart. Fourth Platoon, led by CPT Jared Brynildsen and SFC Audrey Ramos, conducted the first reliefin-place operations for the company at Jalalabad Airfield. This great team developed outstanding training plans and a professional handover to a platoon from Charlie Company, 2 nd Battalion, 149 th Aviation Regiment who relocated from an existing area within Regional Command-East (RC-E) as a part of the changing environment and operations in Afghanistan. Their first-rate transfer of authority is a testament to the outstanding performance of this MEDEVAC platoon and their exceptional actions in support of our wounded Soldiers in the Nuristan, Nangahar, Laghman, and Kunar regions of RC-East. We promoted CW3 Justin Horton and SGT Ryan Drahman during the month of January with more to follow in the coming month. Specialists Stephen Adams, Dereck Bible, Kevin Wright, Jermaine McKenney, Javier Coromac, and Walter Sanders were also promoted to the rank of Sergeant on February 1 st. It is encouraging and motivating to see the growth of these Soldiers during the past year and previous deployments as they continue to demonstrate the increased potential for greater leadership positions and responsibility. As we approach the period of redeployment of equipment, aircraft, and personnel, the chain of command will provide the Family Readiness Group information regarding projected dates and times With dozens of award submissions, the trio has been swamped with awards, which is a good thing. However, reviewing them to ensure all award packets are checked and ready for submission to our Task Force, is a time consuming process. As we move closer to returning home, the time has come to look at professional development, which means schools and training. The Admin shop has been receiving requests and mapping out windows for Soldiers, Non-commissioned officers, Warrant and Commissioned officers to attend various professional development courses like the Warrior Leader s Course, which prepares Specialists and newly promoted Sergeants to function as NCOs. Chief Warrant Officer Four Joe Callaway, CW3 Michael Nielson and SFC Chad Neal have been working to set the company up for success by identifying aircraft and equipment that needs to be refurbished after our return home. This process involves identifying what equipment needs to be inventoried and packed. A time consuming process, this will ensure that we re prepared to turn the appropriate equipment and set the stage to resume flying at Fort Campbell. for these movements. To ensure we maintain operational security, this information will be sent to our Brigade and Battalion Rear-Detachments as they are responsible for notification of families and official movement dates and times. Soldiers have been informed to refrain from publishing this information on social media or email to prevent misinformation due to constantly changing movement windows and requirements. We will work to ensure that all families receive information in a timely manner. Thanks again for all of your continued support! Air Assault! MAJ Chris Chung
Page 6 V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 6 KEEP INFORMED ON FORT C A M P B E L L W E B P A G E F riends and Family of Shadow DUSTOFF! Your support during this deployment continues to be outstanding and extremely helpful! As our Soldiers continue to work hard and remain focused on the MEDEVAC mission down range, the unit s redeployment grows closer. With the redeployment of our Soldiers comes the importance for positive information flow to our families and friends so that they can be prepared for their Soldier s return. Visit http:// www.campbell.army.mil, scroll over the Families tab and select the lowest option on the drop down menu listed as Welcome For information on Shadow DUSTOFF Welcome Home Ceremonies, visit www.campbell.army.mil and click on the Families drop-down menu. Click on Welcome Home Ceremonies for the latest information on each unit s arrival times. Home Ceremonies. On the Welcome Home Ceremony Page, Fort Campbell provides information in the form of a Ceremony #/Unit/Date/ Time. Ceremony times are subject to change at any time, based on flight arrivals. Also listed on this page are the directions to and operating hours of the installation Visitors Center, what to expect at the welcome home ceremony, and what not to bring to the ceremony. Unit points of contact are also listed as well. Information regarding the return of your Soldier will be provided by the 101 CAB through the Immediate Response Information System, a prerecorded message sent to selected personnel based on the manifests provided by the redeploying units to the Brigade. If you receive the message it will contain the Ceremony# for your Soldier that you can look up on the Fort Campbell website. Please remain in contact with your Soldier for their projected return dates. As a reminder, we recommend no more packages/mail be sent after 15 February to ensure your items do not get lost in the shuffle when the unit begins to change out with their incoming counterparts. Also, we were looking at our next spouses night out on 23 Feb 13 at the Blackhorse Pub in Clarksville, TN. Please email me (Kathy.chung@us.army.m il) if you are interested! Thanks again for all your support! -Kathy Chung