Cobra SIGNET

CONTENTS

Page 2 …... From the Commander

and Detachment Sergeant

Page 3 …… Chaplains Corner

Page 4 …… Poems from our own

Page 5 …… Shout Outs

Page 6 …… Significant Actions

Page 7 - 9 …… Fitness Column

0 - 11 …… Note from the

Editor

Page 12 …… Contributors

Commitment:

“The freedom to be your best means nothing unless you are willing to do your best.”

General (Ret)Colin Powell

Charlie Detachment 106th Financial

Management Company

COBRA SIGNET

Volume 1 march - April

COBRA SIGNEt Volume 1

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From the Commander

I would like to heartily thank all my Soldiers for their support on the current

mission. Since we successfully completed the transfer of accountability with

C/101st FMCo last month, our Soldiers have remained focused on mission

fulfillment. My fellow Soldiers, I count on your ability and professionalism when it

comes to providing the best possible service to our customers. I am confident that

you will continue to uphold the esteemed reputation of the Charlie Cobras

throughout this deployment by providing superb service and support throughout

our area of operations. This detachment has truly grown together by always

looking after one another; let’s pass these same ideals of care and compassion on to

our customers. I genuinely believe we have what it takes to be the best finance

detachment in theater. I pray for the safety of each you every single day.

From the Detachment Sergeant

We have finally settled in to our area of operation, and have begun to demonstrate a

standard of excellence. I am proud of how quickly you have accepted responsibility of

the mission. As we begin to fully understand our duties and responsibilities, we will

begin to improve our work facilities and streamline the procedures we utilize to service

our customers. We are dispersed in three different locations but our commitment to

one another and to our mission has never been stronger. Over the next few months we

will have some hurdles to overcome both personally and professionally. We will

continue to fine tune our battle rhythm, we will search for the best times to reach our

loved ones back in the rear, and we will always be adjusting to the flow of operations

here in Afghanistan. As we have special events here we will keep the rear informed.

Thank your love ones for their dedication and support. Strive for Excellence!

CPT Khan Hossain Commander

SFC Terry Anderson Detachment

Sergeant


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Years ago I read an article in Sports Illustrated about football great Emmet Smith. The article probed

Smith on how he continued to be driven and push himself each and every season. Smith’s answer was

simple. Every year he sits down, thinks about his life and writes out ten goals he desires to achieve.

Then he spends the year pursuing those goals. He committed to his goals and shaped his life around

the milestones that would help him achieve them. We can see the effects of Smith’s commitment in

his being in the football Hall of Fame, holding rushing titles and his overall success at life. We can also

learn from how he approached commitment.

All worthwhile things in life require commitment. Serving America requires a commitment to defend

our country and serve where we are told to serve. If you are going to have the most intimate of

relationships it requires a commitment to love another in marriage. If you have children you must

commit to their education, emotional health and spiritual growth. We often fall in love with these

ideals: God, family and country. Then we struggle with the commitment to make the ideals work in

our life. Commitment is hard. It requires sacrifice and a willingness to do the hard thing. An Army

spouse once told me she always thought being married to a Soldier would be romantic. Then when

deployment came she said, “There is nothing romantic about being an Army wife. It is just hard at

times.” When we commit to something we obligate ourselves to accept the cost. That cost is what

makes the difference a life of goodness and a life of selfishness. We accept responsibility, separation,

and sadness. But the rewards of being committed are wonderful: reunion, celebration, honor and

character.

Have you ever thought about what you are willing to commit to? I think there are all kinds of things

you find yourself committed to without even thinking about it. You are probably committed to family,

church, groups, kids and work. If you want to thrive during a deployment instead of just survive, then

you might take a page out of Emmet Smith’s book. It is one thing to think about your commitments.

However, if you are going to attack life and be successful you have to move things from just thoughts

to action. Football legend Emmet Smith said, “It’s just a dream until you write it down.” Write down

the things you have given your heart to and think through how you can make those commitments

stronger. What goals can you set for this year that reflects your love of God, family and country?

Write them down. Make your dreams come true.

By: CH (CPT) Neal K. Hicks


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My Commitment

My commitment in life holds on strong

It’s real and loyal and flows so long

I’m more than proud, so motivated

And glad to be so dedicated

An army of one we serve together

A proud nation I’m apart of forever

I never ever think to fail

Where the mission goes, I’ll prevail

The bond, the support, the families made

Will always be here and grow each day

What my future hold is at no end

I will always hold on to this commitment

SPC Eiri Cohen


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SHOUT OUTS

Shout out to magnum PI over @ eggers I.E. Alex Thrift – Alvey

Shout out to my awesome family back in Vicenza – Alvey

This is a shout out to all my peeps in BAF SSG Mais, SGT Jolly, SPC Akani, all my peeps in

Eggers: LT, SSG Cortez, CPL Ojeda, SGT Davis, SPC Lord, SPC Alverez, SPC Ipili, SPC

Cheruiyot, and PFC Thrift......

Love ya; Miss ya...... 7 more months SFC Cruz

This is for my friends and family back home in Vicenza and for my Peeps in BAF and Eggers – SGT Herter

S/O to my daughter Asia Nicole, daddy loves you! PFC Williams

Shout out to SPC Ledo and PFC Williams form the CVS crew from BAF – SGT Mais


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PROMOTIONS

THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS HAS BEEN AWARDED THE FOLLOWING RANK EFFECTIVE MAY 1ST:

SGT MAIS – STAFF SERGEANT

SPC DAVIS – SERGEANT

RE ENLISTMENTS / EXTENSION

THE FOLLOWING SOLDIERS HAS CHOSEN TO CONTINUE THEIR SERVICE:

SFC TERRY ANDERSON

SFC ANTHONY CRUZ-DIAZ

SGT KENTON JOLLY

SPC MAGELA LEDO

SPC KEVIN ALVEY

BOARDS:

SPC ALICA DAVIS IS THE 33RD FINANCIAL MGMT COMPANY SOLDIER OF THE YEAR

SFC ANTHONY CRUZ-DIAZ IS THE 33RD FINANCIAL MGMT COMPANY NCO OF THE YEAR

SFC ANTHONY CRUZ-DIAZ IS THE 18TH FMC NCO OF THE YEAR

SPC ANTHONY ALVAREZ & PFC HASSAN WILLIAMS WILL BE REPRESENTING OUR DETACHMENT AT

THE 33RD SOM BOARD

SFC ANTHONY CRUZ-DIAZ WILL BE REPRESENTING 18TH FMC AT THE FINANCE NCO OF THE YEAR

BOARD AT FORT JACKSON, SC

Quarterly

Significant Actions


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WELCOME COBRAS TO YOUR FITNESS CORNER

By: SFC Anthony Cruz-Diaz & SPC Sarah Lord

I understand that many of us are skeptical about squats. You ask yourself; if I add weight are my knees

going to hurt? What happened if I hurt my back? These questions are a valid point, but like I always

say to my guys here….technique and form over anything else. If you have the proper technique you

will get the maximum effect of the exercise. I know how proud we are in our detachment and we have

a lot, a lot of trash talking people (starting with me), but when it is time to work out the intensity level

raise, the rush increase, but always, always exercise with the proper form and technique.

Here are some tips to help you with your squats:

First practice your squats without any weight. This will help you in your form. Remember

form and technique over weight and talk.

1. Bar placement is the most important piece of the puzzle, make sure the bar is on the

bottom of your rear shoulders not on the top of your shoulders.

2. Maintain your knee position and don’t let them drift over your toes. Keeping your

lower leg straight is the best way to protect your knees.

3. Tighten your whole body as you perform the exercise.

4. Rise up, keep your eyes towards the ceiling, if you look down or straight, you will

drop your chest and put all the weight in your lower back.

Remember to conduct the exercise to the best of your abilities. You don’t need to impress

anybody. You are doing this for yourself.

If you are starting with squats I advise you to start without the bar. These are some easy steps

to prepare you to the perfect squat.

1. Find a flat wall and position your back on the wall.

2. Lower your body keeping your back straight to assume the sitting position.

3. Hold the position for 45 seconds

4. Lift your right foot about 3 to 4 inches from the ground and straight the right leg.

Hold this position for 45 seconds

5. Alternate to the left leg and repeat step 4.

6. Go back to the sitting position and hold for 30 seconds.

7. Rise up straight. Take 30 seconds rest and repeat steps 1 through 6. You will

complete 5 sets for this exercise.

These steps will prepare your legs and will give you a good workout anywhere. When you

don’t have time to go to the gym, and you at work looking at the walls, get your legs a

workout.

SFC Anthony Cruz-Diaz


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Okay that is enough for the squats now let me share some of

my chest exercise for the week.

Focus for this week is MASS GAIN!!! I like to work out in

different levels every week. I like to have a heavy week, a

light week and a max out week. Our focus for this month

edition will be mass gain. The weight will be heavier, the

repetitions will be fewer, but the results will be amazing. You

can modify the workout as you please. I do not use the barbell

when I exercise the chest muscles.

Chest

1. Dumbbells Bench Press. Warm up with lightweight

dumbbells.

(3 sets 8/6/4 reps) (Burnout set with lighter weight)

2. Incline dumbbell Press. Warm up


3. Dumbbells bench flyes Warm up


4. Incline dumbbells flyes. Warm up


5. Bent-arm Dumbbell Pullover.


6. Cable crossovers. Warm up (three different positions.

Up/Middle/Down)


7. Dips chest variation.

(3 sets of 15)

8. Elevated pushups.

(3 Sets of 15)

SFC Anthony Cruz-Diaz


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Females typically don’t

like to have big bulky

muscles. Most women

desire the hourglass

shape. In order to lose

the arm jello and the

back boobs there are a

couple things that need to be worked on. As

for the lower part of the body, we want it

firm (not hard, that’s a bit much) and thick.

To lose the arm and back fat use

light weights and high reps to build lean, cut

muscle. Cardio before and after workouts

will burn more fat and will build more

muscle on legs while strengthening the

core. No one wants to look like they have

chicken legs, and doing sprints will cut

down run time as well as build bulk into the

thighs and gluteus. For those taking birth

control, more work is needed in order to

build muscle due to the high levels of

estrogen being pumped into the body.

Routine is the enemy, once the body

adjusts to a workout routine, the effects on

the body hit a plateau and the

improvement stops. Master the basics of

gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climbing,

push-ups, sit-ups, flips, splits, and holds.

Also bike, run, swim, row, any cardio, hard

and fast. Mix these elements into your

workout with as many combinations and

patterns as creativity will allow in order to

stay away from that dreaded plateau.

Do not starve yourself. Constantly

snacking on healthy foods and drinking

plenty of water will aid in a healthier

metabolism. We don’t want to look like

Paris Hilton so I recommend eating high

protein low fat meats in proper

proportions. Everything in excess is bad;

moderation is the key. Also consider any

medications you take and how they will

affect your body’s need for food and water.

The malaria pills (doxycycline) are a diuretic

and dehydrate your body faster. So beat the

heat and drink water and stay away from

drinking all the calories that should be

eaten.

SPC Sarah Lord


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Charlie Detachment,

I hope this message finds you all well. This being the first edition

of this publication I’d like to give you a quick public service

announcement about the Signet. Before that, however, I’d like to

thank SPC Kimbrough for all his time and effort putting the Signet

together. The formatting, topics, and layout are amazing and it’s

because of his hard work and dedication that this product is so

exceptional. Someday I’m sure his talents will be better utilized

creating and instituting domestic and foreign policy but until

then, we’re extremely fortunate to have his creativity and

enthusiasm as a part of our team.

Now for a bit of admin information. If there’s something you’d like to see added to

the Signet, whether it’s the forecast for the week, a Spanish lesson, a joke section,

anything at all, please let either me or SPC Kimbrough know. The Signet is truly

your publication. It is put together for the Cobra Soldiers and no one else. Other

people may read it, but this is all about you and putting some memories down on

paper for you to look back at later in life. So send us poems, songs, pictures,

drawings, ideas, your thoughts on current events, comics, anything at all and we’ll

find a way to get it in here. This is your chance to share what’s on your mind with

some close friends and colleagues.

We’ve had some incredible things go on in the short six weeks since we left

Vicenza! I trust everyone had fun during the two weeks in transit it took us to get

here…. Or at least enjoyed the free candy and Chocó Tacos in Manas! It was

especially fun living in a biohazard transient tent while every cold strain known to

man circulated between our 200 tent mates. Those of you that were able to avoid

the sickness, I’m proud of you, it’s an incredible feat. Those of you that got sick the

day we were getting on the C-17, I’m sorry. I was a primary suspect in spreading

the germs via the games of Spades. And for the females, the junior officers from

your tent called and they said TO QUIET DOWN, THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU AGAIN!

You know, a very, very small part of me was sad to have missed the opportunity to

deploy to Iraq. After spending the last nine or ten years hearing about the

scorching heat and miserable sandstorms it sounded like an interesting experience!

Well lucky for me, Afghanistan had a special treat in store for us on the flight line

trying to get from Bagram to Kabul! For many of us it was our first and (now that I

know what they’re like) hopefully last sand storm. I truly did not believe how sandy

you get from sitting outside during a sand storm. Those of you that deployed to

Iraq, Kuwait, and other likewise sandy locales… wow. I can’t imagine living with

that every day for 12 or 15 months. Unbelievable! I don’t even want to think about

how bad the sand would be with 130 degrees of heat piled on top.


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But, unfortunately, the sand storm was also the day after we had to say “hasta

luego” to our friends SSG Mais (congrats on the promotion!), SGT Jolly, and SPC

Akani. Hope you guys are doing well and making some new friends! We’ll see you

soon enough! Send us some BBQ from the barbecue tent, that place is delicious! All

in all, Bagram wasn’t so bad. We got some free pizzas from the Pizza Hut one night,

the showers were pretty nice, and the DFAC had some great desserts. But despite all

that, it was definitely nice to get on that CH-47 and head towards a more permanent

lifestyle.

The day we left Bagram was a long day for all of us. After we showed up at 0400,

our first flight got canceled. Then we got put on another flight. Then that flight got

canceled. Then we got on another flight. And we finally took off. I think we all

found it an interesting task carrying six bags each from Vicenza to Afghanistan and

everywhere in between. Lesson learned, pack light. The flight from Bagram to Kabul

was short and uneventful. The land between the two areas appeared to be

extremely barren so there wasn’t much to look at from the helicopters.

Once in Kabul it was time again to say goodbye as those of us going to Camp Eggers

left on the evening convoy. Since then we’ve successfully completed the RIP/TOA

and settled into our respective locations. The crew at BAF participated in an Easter

morning 5K. The Cobra basketball team at Camp Phoenix has been competing

regularly. SFC Cruz-Diaz and SPC Davis won the 33rd

FMCO NCO and Soldier of the

year. SFC Cruz-Diaz (and more than likely SPC Davis would have if not for being

disqualified because of her promotion) won the 18th

FMC NCO of the year and will

compete for the Finance Regimental NCO of the year. SGT Mais and SPC Davis will

very soon be SSG Mais and SGT Davis. SPC Cohen has participated in poetry

readings. Multiple Soldiers and NCOs have re-enlisted or extended. SPC Lord will

soon MC and dance in an Asian Heritage celebration. Multiple Soldiers will head to

BAF for the Soldier of the Month Board. And everyone has started to evaluate and

change their work processes to make our offices more efficient.

That’s a very brief summary of all that we’ve seen, done, and experienced since

making the 12 hour trek from Vicenza to Ramstein. Know that everyone is very

proud of you and the success you’ve seen thus far. It’s not uncommon for the

Commander, SFC Anderson, and I to get on the phone after the business day and

gloat about how lucky we are to have such amazing Soldiers in the detachment.

Keep up the good work! And shoot me an email when you do things at your

respective locations so I can write about them!

Stay safe,

LT Ulrey


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Contributors

CPT Khan Hossain – Commander

SFC Terry Anderson – Detachment Sergeant

1LT David Ulrey – Chief Editor

SPC Thomas Kimbrough – Creator

SSG Matthew Bailey – Photographer

PFC Alex Thrift - Photographer

CH (CPT) Neal Hicks – Chaplain Corner

SPC Eiri Cohen – Poems from Our Own

SFC Anthony Cruz-Diaz – Fitness Corner

SPC Sarah Lord – Fitness Corner

Cobra SIGNET

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