Black Jack Soldiers Rewarded for Humanitarian Efforts in New Orleans

By Spc. Robert Yde
2^nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas – “In 22 years, I have not done anything more fulfilling than going to New Orleans and helping fellow citizens,” said Col. Bryan Roberts, commander of the   2^nd “Black Jack” Brigade Combat Team, while addressing a small crowd gathered in front of his brigade headquarters Feb. 10.

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Two NCOs Awarded Soldier’s Medal for Life-saving Actions

By Spc. Robert Yde
2^nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

         TULSA, Okla. – The call to duty can come at any moment.  The decision to answer it is what defines a Soldier.  For Master Sgt. Timothy Fitzsimons and Sgt 1^st Class Michael Miracle the call came Nov. 9, 2004.

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Memorial Progress Made  

Construction workers wait for a load of granite to be placed on a concrete patch, which is the groundwork for 1^st Cavalry Division’s Operation Iraqi Freedom II Memorial located on Cooper Field at Fort Hood on Feb. 13. According to Lt. Col. Lawrence Holmes, the division’s engineer, all the granite should be delivered by the first week of March. The project which started in September will be complete and dedicated in a ceremony April 4. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nicole Kojetin, 1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

Convoy Training Culminates with Live Fire Exercise

By Spc. Robert Yde
2^nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            FORT HOOD, Texas – Along a dusty road on North Fort Hood’s Lonestar training area, a five-vehicle convoy carrying Soldiers from 3^rd Battalion, 82^nd Field Artillery came to an abrupt halt.

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By Spc. Nicole Kojetin
1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

           FORT HOOD, Texas – The old west was full of turmoil, gun fights, saloons and dust, but few know much more than that.

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By Spc. Nicole Kojetin
1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

            Blood counts.

            Soldiers are getting injured nearly every day in Iraq and many need blood transfusions as soon as possible. But you cannot get what is not there, which is why giving blood is so important. Since redeploying, troops in the 1^st Cavalry Division have not been permitted to donate.

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By Pvt. Ben Fox
3^rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs           

The Operation Iraqi Freedom Memorial Dining Facility will be competing in the installation-level Philip A. Connelly Awards Program Feb. 28.

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           FORT HOOD, Texas – The 1^st Cavalry Division will welcome its new command sergeant major during a change of responsibility ceremony on the division’s parade field Mar. 2 at 4:30 p.m.

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Cavalry Aviators Depart for Pakistan    

By Sgt. Robert J. Strain
1^st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs

            FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Air Cavalry Brigade left Fort Hood Feb.13 for a second round of humanitarian aid missions in Pakistan.

            The mission, expected to be about six weeks long, will be to provide humanitarian support to the people of Pakistan. More than 100 troops from the 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment and the 615th Aviation Support Battalion are participating in the relief mission.

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3rd BCT Gets Taste of AA Ops    

By Pfc. Ryan Stroud
3^rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            After spending many long, cold and sometimes rainy nights executing the brigade’s month-long training exercise, Soldiers from the 3rd “Grey Wolf” Brigade Combat Team were ready to come home and begin the recovery process. What many Soldiers didn’t realize was recovery would be conducted much differently than those of the past.

            While past recovery missions focused solely on maintenance, the 3rd BCT Soldiers were introduced to Assembly Area Operations – a recovery process which includes more specific maintenance processes combined with training on battle command operations.

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Trust, Support Key to Family’s Success    

By Spc. Robert YdeBy Sgt. Serena Hayden
3^rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            KILLEEN, Texas – What the Chainey family thought to be a morning of basketball turned into an all-day affair as 11-year old Lauren Chainey competed for third place in a community basketball tournament at Killeen High School, Feb. 11.

            While she is the smallest player on the team, Sgt. Ernie Chainey, Lauren’s dad, said “Her heart makes up for her size.”

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Field Training Exercise Just What the Doctor Ordered    

By Spc. Robert Yde
2^nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            Establishing Level II Combat Health Support is the first task that a medical unit faces when operating in a field environment.

            The major goals of the Army combat health support are prevention of illness and injury, sustaining optimum military effectiveness and the treatment of casualties.

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One-Stop Shop for First Team Families    

By Spc. Colby Hauser
1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

            “The center is the vision of Maj. Gen. (Joseph) Fil, who several years ago thought it would be a wonderful thing to have a facility to assist Soldiers and their families through the deployment cycle,” said Chap. (Lt. Col.) Stephen Walsh, the division chaplain.

            The SFRC provides computers, fax machines and copy machines for troops and their families to check e-mail and conduct business.

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First Team Power Spouse Sets Sights on Nationals    

By Spc. Colby Hauser
1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

            FORT HOOD, Texas – Powerlifting is a sport of absolutes. The athlete either lifts the weight or doesn’t. But for one 1st Cavalry Division spouse, powerlifting is not just absolute, it’s life.

            Returning from her silver medal performance for Team USA – Powerlifting at the Pan American Games, Jonna “JoJo” Ocampo is on a quest to become one of the best in the world. She competes in the national championship meet in Denver Feb. 10-12.

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Former Troop-Turned-Author Shares Experiences in Trilogy of Books    

By Spc. Nicole Kojetin
1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

“I cannot believe that all those people are dead. People I never even knew, but shared something in common with them all. We shared the freedom that those who killed them never wanted. The truth is I know what this means as a Soldier, as I stand glued to the television. ‘This means war for sure.’ Someone stirred up the wrong hornets nest this time.” -- Diaries of a Soldier, Nightmares from within

            KILLEEN, Texas – The words of former Soldier-turned writer Thomas Schombert are from experience. The aftermath of attacks on September 11, 2001 brought his life into focus … his mission to the forefront.

            Schombert no longer serves his country, but the scars on his body and in his mind remain.

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Family Makes Serving Easier for Support Brigade Sergeant    

By Spc. Joshua McPhie
1^st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

            For the 26 newest “Wagonmaster” Brigade noncommissioned officers, their NCO induction ceremony Jan. 27 at Fort Hood’s Community Events Center was about their future as Army leaders. For one Soldier, it was also a time to remember the people who had helped him get there: his family.

            “I couldn’t do it without my family’s support,” said Sgt. Terry Aulabaugh, one of the inductees with the 15th Support Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. “Their support makes my job a whole lot easier.”

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Stability and Support Operations Highlighted; “Thunderhorse” Interacts with Media, Locals on the Battlefield    

Sgt. 1st Class Brian Sipp
4^th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            FORT BLISS, Texas – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment varied their standard training regimen of assault drills and house clearing to include a variable factor on the battlefield: the media.

            Troopers from the “Thunderhorse” Battalion received an “in your face” demonstration of how the media can influence operations during their SASO, or Stability and Support Operations training at Biggs Army Airfield Jan. 30.

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Command Says Valentine’s Day Can Be Just as Sweet 72 Hours Later    

By Maj. J.P. Smith
2^nd Brigade Combat Team PAO

            Most couples understand that Valentine’s Day has always been on the 14th of February. Soldiers sometime tend to miss Valentines Day due to our current commitments.

            This year the troops from the 2nd “Black Jack” Brigade Combat Team will miss Valentine’s Day, once again. Last year, Black Jack was still engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

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Tankers Get ‘Off Track’ in Urban Combat Setting    

By Staff Sgt. Kap Kim
2^nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            FORT HOOD, Texas – If one were to tell a proud tanker to get off his track to conduct a mission that would involve a close-quarter, room-by-room search, you’d have to ask a physician to surgically remove one of their tanker boots from your body.

            Yet, that is just what the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment’s leadership asked their tank company to do when the sent them into Fort Hood’s Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain mock city as a part of their platoon lanes training Feb. 2.

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First Attack Blasts ‘Enemy’ Forces in Modern Warfare Scenarios at NTC    

By Spc. Nathan J. Hoskins
1^st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs

            FORT IRWIN, Calif. – The AH-64D Apache helicopters fly low over the terrain towards their target. A well-known terrorist leader is holed up in a small village with an entourage of well-armed insurgents.

            On the other side of the village, U.S. Navy SEALs move in like a quiet storm with the joint terminal air controller communicating with the Apache pilots and the U.S. Air Force’s AC-130 Spectre Gunship high overhead.

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Engineer Troops Get Faster, Tougher, More Lethal Vehicles    

By Spc. Cheryl Ransford
1^st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            FORT HOOD, Texas – As engineer units become integrated with the infantry in the 1st Cavalry Division to become combined arms battalions, a primary focus of their training is changing from traditional engineer operations to conducting tactical operations and fighting as infantry troops.

            To improve their capabilities and meet the needs of their changing roles, engineer units are beginning to field M2A2 Operation Desert Storm Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

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Cavalry Makes a ‘Big Bang’ at Dona Ana    

By Sgt. Paula Taylor
4^th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

            FORT BLISS, Texas -- A loud boom echoed off the mountains, followed by a voice barking “GO, GO, GO!” as the four-man team charged in and searched a building.

            Squads from the 4th “Long Knife” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, enhanced their urban combat skills by performing small-arms marksmanship training Jan. 27 at the Dona Ana Range.

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