1st BSTB - 1st BCT Camp Ar Ramadi Iraq

CONTACT INFORMATION

REAR DETACHMENT

CPT MIKE RICCITIELLO

michael.riccitiello@us.army.mil

SSG ANTONIO ESPARZA

tony.esparza@conus.army.mil

FRG LEADERS

Family Readiness Support Assistant

Crystal Cavalier

Office: 910-396-5812

crystal.cavalier@conus.army.mil

HHC FRG LDR: JESSICA BURT

hhc1bstbfrg@gmail.com

A CO FRG LDR: ROCHELLE HALL

a1bstbfrg@gmail.com

B CO FRG LDR: LAURA FUSZ

b1bstbfrg@gmail.com

C CO FRG LDR: TAM BELLOMY

c1bstbfrg@gmail.com

Devil Strike Dispatch

Devil Strike Family and Friends, Greetings from Al Anbar and Happy Thanksgiving to all. The Devil Strike team continues on as the mission evolves and our partnership activity and missions increase. As I write this note we are in an intensive planning cycle to enhance our partnership with Iraqi Secu-rity Force ele-ments here in Al Anbar. We have a communica-tions training team comprised of Paratroopers from the Coyo-tes of C Com-pany and our Battalion S6 conducting joint training with the 7th Iraqi Army signal battalion. I anticipate that we will only continue to foster stronger ties and bonds with ISF units in all of our specialties and unique skill sets within the Devil Strike team. As we continue to ex-pand our partnership role I want to highlight the Devil Strike mainte-nance team. From or-dering parts, conducting convoys, to picking up parts and then installing and repairing vehi-cles requires a level of intensity and enthusi-asm that this entire team brings to work each and every day. The leadership of CW2 Dawkins, SFC Radebaugh, SSG Herr, SSG Miller, SGT Battle, SGT Buchanan, SGT Cur-rie, SGT Smithson, SGT Lesperance SGT Boone, SGT Jones, SGT Sutherland and a superb team of Specialists—Pheil, Boyce,

Woods, Fleming, Allman, Sutphin, Nunez, Morse, Topolioski, and Chapman is awe-some! The team of PFCs Rodriguez, Jimenez, Pisczc and Wolmart keep it all to-gether. The swing shift of SPC Syverson, and PFCs Clyde, Whitmore, Willbanks and Menzies make it happen. Our ―parts depart-

ment‖ of SGTs Lucius Reynolds and Laio, SPC Larkins, SPC Aguilera and PFCs Anderson and Diverno en-sure we have the required parts for all our vehicles. Their b e h i n d t h e scenes work, effort and dedi-cation is not un-noticed. Great

job and thank you for all you do. We continue to refine and tweak each aspect of our mission and one significant adjustment was in Alpha Company where the Sappers cre-ated a 3rd platoon from within their ranks. Sap-per 3 welcomes LT Ber-reth and SFC Butler to the team and Sapper 3 is already out on the

roads of Al Anbar. We appreciate the contin-ued efforts of our Family Readiness Group and thanks to all of our volunteers who as-sisted in the Trunk or Treat and bingo night. I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our fam-ily and friends at home. Thank You! ATW! LTC Douglas Stitt DS6

From the Commander’s Desk

"The DEVIL STRIKE FRG is for the benefit of the FRG members only and is established exclusively for charitable purposes and to provide support to Sol-diers and family member as the Soldiers and families adapt to Army life. It is not a business and is not being run to generate profits. It is not an instrumentality of the United States Government." "The inclusion of some unofficial information in this FRG newsletter has not increased the costs to the Government, in accordance with DOD 4525.8-M."

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INSIDE

THE ISSUE

Command Team 1-2

Headquarters Co 2-3

Alpha Company 3-4

Bravo Company 5-6

Charlie Company 6-8

Miscellaneous

Pictures

9

Two of our mechanics, SGT Buchanan and SPC Sutherland, give a course of instruction to members of the Iraqi Army on the Standard Automotive Tools Systems.

HEADQUARTERS AND HEADQUARTERS COMPANY H a p p y Thanksgiving and greetings from Ramadi. As the h o l i d a y a p -proaches, the Troopers of HHC continue to work diligently to sup-port the battalion and brigade ef-forts throughout Al Anbar and eagerly anticipate the deli-cious Thanksgiving meal we’ll receive in the chow hall. The company continues to have operations all over the province and is beginning a determined effort to part-ner with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Support Platoon continues to conduct logistical patrols and has been sup-porting Bravo Company with the move of their Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems (TUAS) platoon from Al Taqqadum to Al Asad Air Base. The Maintenance section is hard at work repairing the equipment that the rest of us keep breaking; CW2 Dawkins and SFC Radebaugh run a motor pool without peer and literally keeps the battalion running. This past month we had three outstanding Soldiers join the ranks of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps: SGT Nicholas Bailey from the Personal Security Detach-ment, SGT Jeremy Sisk from S1 and SGT Joshua Suther-land from the Maintenance Section. These three Troopers are an inspiration to the Soldiers and leaders they work with and we expect more great things from them in the future. On the 25

th of October, SFC Jason Bruch, the MP

Platoon Sergeant, ran in the Marine Corps Marathon plac-

ing 4th out of more

than 250 runners. Immediately follow-ing the marathon SFC Bruch re-enlisted in the Army, guaranteeing an-other 10 years of service. The First Sergeant and I would like to thank Jessica Burt for volunteering as the new Family

Readiness Group leader and thank Christina Chavez for the outstanding job that she has done in her tenure. We are truly grateful for all that you and all the families do every day in support of the company and the Paratroopers of HHC.

ATW! CPT Bob Yerkey HHC Commander

Members of our motorpool stand and receive their instructions for the day.

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Left: Language is a challenge in partnership. Here, our interpreter translates a block of instruction to the class. Right: Captain Mutar Fallah Mazhoor and Lieutenant Hussein Fadhil Hameed pose for a picture with our 2LT Pope during a break

SFC Burks reenlists after running a 26.2 mile marathon in Al Assad!

Partnership involves hands on training. Here, our mechanics are instructing their Iraqi counterparts on generator use and maintaince.

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My name is PFC Myers. I work in the Battalion S-1 shop with promotions and mail being my main point of focus. My favorite part about being part of the S-1 shop is getting to see new and differ-ent people on an everyday ba-sis. I love helping people in whatever way I can. Iraq so far has been alright. It’s actually easier to do my job here than in the rear because I have so much extra time on my hands in the office than I did in the rear. Mail here can be a pain, but I like it because I am the first to see who received pack-ages and letters. Promotions is a good job to have. I learned so much about my

MOS in the past few months. The only thing with promo-tions is precision and ensuring Soldier points are correct,

or else. I make my fair share of mistakes as a 42A and I’ll be the first to admit it. The only thing I really don’t like about Iraq is not being able to see my family, but I know eve-ryone is in the same boat as me. My goal for this deploy-ment is to return safely to Fort Bragg with every other Soldier in 1BSTB. AIRBORNE!!! ATW! PFC Chandra Myers S1 NCOIC

Helicopters make most soldiers nauseous, but not my soldier. PFC Ryan Morris is excited to be on his first ride.

HHC “From the Foxhole” Article—Strike Personnel (S1) Shop

Greetings to everyone back home. As many of you are starting to feel the full effects of winter, the weather here is beginning to change as well. The nights and early mornings are getting chilly and as I sit here and type this, I’m wearing my winter PT jacket and hat! The entire com-pany continues to stay busy now that both Platoons have swung into high gear on their missions. And, before I go any further, I need to cor-rect myself as I can no longer say ―both‖ platoons because we now have three. Sapper 3 was activated on November 8

th just one day after

their new platoon leader, 2LT Andrew Berreth, arrived to the unit. In just one short week, Sapper 3 has already proved that they are a disci-plined and competent platoon. We haven’t seen Sapper 2 around Ramadi over the past month. They have been traveling to other FOBs in the Al Anbar Province familiarizing themselves with those areas in preparation for our route clearance area of responsibility expanding. They spent one week at Al Taqaddam and a second at Al Asad Air

Base stopping back at Ramadi only for a few short days in between. The Sappers were happy to get to Al Asad and experience a new base and much better food in the dining facility. Al Asad also has some nice amenities like a Cinnabon and a movie theatre. Addi-tionally, Sapper 1 returned tonight from their familiarization of the Al Taqad-dam area of responsibility. In addition to conducting missions, our Soldiers are receiving great training opportunities while deployed. Seven Paratroopers recently completed a ―Blow in Place‖ class taught by EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) utiliz-ing live demolitions. Six Paratroopers were selected to go to Victory Base Camp and learn how to use the CROW system that we have mounted on several of our vehicles. The CROW system is used to control a weapon systems mounted on a vehicle utilizing a computer system on the inside of the vehicle with a controller and monitor. SGT Franks was the top gunner in the class and received a coin after the training. We also sent approxi-mately 40 of our Paratroopers to a range that was planned and ran by LT Plutt where they were able to conduct many different advance marksman-

ALPHA COMPANY NEWSLETTER— “ROCK STEADY!”

I am specialist Christopher Ray Upshaw of Alpha Company, 1st BSTB, 1st BCT, 82

nd Airborne Division. I

am currently a member of 4th Squad, 1st platoon (beast platoon).I am a heavy construction equipment operator in a Sapper (combat engineer) company. We are a route clear-ance package that clears the roads of all IED's, possible IED's, and anything that could be used to conceal IED's. We clear the routes so that all coali-tion and Iraqi citizens can move freely and without fear along the roads of Iraq. I feel our job is important because it saves lives. I also want everyone at home to know that we have been trained extremely well for our current mission. We also have the latest and greatest equipment so that we can conduct our mission safely. We have been in country 2 1/2 months and quickly transformed our barracks in to a home away from home. We have built shelves, entertainment centers, and benches just to name a few things. It is truly amazing to see my fellow engineers in action. I personally have a few amenities: my laptop, a television, a playstation 3, and as many books as I could possibly want to read thanks to Operation Paperback. We have a small gym adjacent to our barracks. I have heard remarks from the other com-panies of BSTB that, "Alpha Company just stays in the gym". We are lean, mean, and fit to fight. I personally am in the best shape of my life.

Since being at Camp Ramadi, I have had the privilege of working with a few of the Marine Corps Engineers. We had a joint mission to dig up the contaminated soil from our fuel point. We would load the dirt on to dump trucks

and it would then be trans-ported to a "fuel farm". After the dirt was dumped, I used a bull-dozer to level the piles of con-taminated soil. An EPA repre-sentative then came to the fuel farm, and brought a chemical that would "eat" the hydrocar-bons left in the soil. The soil would have to be turned so that the chemical could work its full-est potential. We are all settled in, and know the area well. We have been trained well, and are led even better to complete our

mission while here in Iraq. Morale is high and we have great Americans re-enlisting every day to continue their service to our great nation. Specialists Michael Baker, James Wilde, and Cushman Doster along with myself, are just a few of the guys from Alpha Company that have taken another step in our Army careers. Every day could bring something new and unexpected, but Alpha Rock will always be there to meet and defeat the challenge head on! Rock steady! SPC Christopher Ray Upshaw

Alpha Company “From the Foxhole” Article Written by SPC Christopher Upshaw

ship drills and fire weapons that we don’t get to fire very often such as our grenade launchers, shotguns and the CROW systems mentioned earlier. I would like to point out that in between missions, our Soldiers to find ways to relax and enjoy themselves. Organized sports are a great way for many of the Soldiers to do that. Alpha Company recently participated in a Battalion Basketball tournament and Camp Ramadi flag football tournament. Like always, your Sappers were the Champions of both tournaments. Events like these create great morale and sense of pride in unit. And, on that note, one of the biggest ways our Soldiers chose to display their willing-ness to serve and the pride they have is to reenlist. Since the fiscal year began in Octo-ber, 11 of our Sappers have chosen to extend their service to our great nation. One of them, SPC Upshaw, is highlighted in our Soldier of the Month article. We also had two more much deserved promotions this month: SGT Ryan Johnson and PFC Vincent Cur-rent. Congratulations to these two Sappers. Lastly, thank you all for you continued support. We have built a pseudo home away

from home over here, but it is only bearable because of all the packages, letters, phone calls, and emails we receive from each of you. We are able to continue our mission and do it with pride because we are making a difference and there are people back home who love, care for us and eagerly await our return. God Bless! ―Sappers lead the way, all the way!‖ CPT Brandon Perdue A Co Commanding

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Bravo Company: The Black Dagger Bulletin 14 NOV 09: Ar Ramadi, Iraq. B Company’s third month in Iraq ended on a good note, as across Al Anbar we celebrated the US Marine Corps Birthday with the II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). The company accomplished a great deal over the last month in sup-port of II MEF, the brigade, and the battalion. The SIGINT platoon has contin-ued their awesome efforts, under their new platoon leader, LT Ken Poplar, and continue to prepare for sole responsibility in the prov-ince when the Marines leave. PFC Amsbary writes more about their ventures below, and how they are embracing the deployment. The TUAS platoon has had an especially busy month. Longtime platoon leader, LT Nichole Corum, has moved on to the battalion’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, where she is serving as Executive Officer. Re-placing her is CW3 Eric Eberlein. Eric and his family joined the B Company team during the last deployment. Chief Eberlein got right into action, working on the move-ment of the entire TUAS platoon from one base to an-other. The HUMINT Platoon has been busy as well, and not just on their normal wartime mission. PFC Anaya also had the opportunity to go on a mission to pay and interact with members of the Daughters of Iraq program. Like the Sons of Iraq, the Daughters of Iraq are a community or-ganization that stood up the last few years in Anbar to en-hance security. By all accounts, these brave Iraqi women were excited to meet and talk to PFC Anaya. The last month has seen a lot of exciting moments for our paratroopers, personally and professionally as well.

SGT Shaeffer, SPC Summers, SPC Mianzo, and SPC Amsbary all got promoted this month and are to be con-gratulated. 1SG Thomas reenlisted on November 7

th, in-

definitely. We also wel-comed a new trooper, PFC Rivera, to the B Company team, where he will be serving as an intelligence and electronic warfare tech-nician. From the commander and 1SG, thank you once again to the friends and family of Bravo Company back home, and thanks for the support that you provide our paratroopers every day. Whether by mail, email, or phone, we see every day how much that support means to them, and know that they are missed and

loved back there. All the best to you, from here at Ramadi. ATW! CPT Bill Fusz and 1SG Dallas Thomas Bravo Company Command Team

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Jambo (Swahili for Hello), well another month down and closer to coming home to you all again. November has been particular interesting; there have been so many moving pieces this month. The company is about a month out of receiving a new company commander, which means there are about 100 inventories that have to be accomplished before he takes command and he looks at every single piece of equipment down to the smallest tool. So to ensure the inventories go smoothly we do pre-change of command inventories and ensure there is nothing missing or in-correct in our accountability. The good news is that all is accounted for and there are no issues, the bad thing is that we have to do it again for the incoming Charlie Company Commander. There has been great news as well, the re-enlistment window and options for the new fiscal year opened on 4 November. This means all our troopers who were eligible to re-enlist and continue to serve in the Army had the opportunity to begin working contracts to get the options they wanted. Many of our troopers jumped at the chance to get a little monetary bonus, others chose to ask for the duty assign-ment of their choice. Our troopers really pushed hard to ensure Charlie Company completed their re-enlistment goal first in the Brigade. This is such a big deal to all in this company because our troopers have such a marketable skill and they still made the tuff decision to continue to proudly serve in our great Army, most in our beloved 82

nd Airborne Division.

Over the past week or so, we have also been focusing more on partnering with the Iraqi Army. We are trying to get more involved with our Iraqi Army counterparts to conduct communications and net-

SIGINT Platoon Update – SPC Amsbary Marahaban from Camp Ramadi. Well, the first two months have come and passed us by quicker than ex-pected. Hard work and de-votion to mission critical op-erations and analysis help to pass the time, as well as helping aid our efforts to pro-vide our Brigade Combat Team with time sensitive in-telligence to fulfill the mission of advising and assisting the Multi-National Forces here in the Al-Anbar province. Al-though our SIGINTers are scattered throughout the province we maintain con-stant communications with our counterparts to make SIGINT operations run smoothly. Here, in Ramadi, our SIGINTers get the opportunity to work in a diverse inter-service shop with Army, Navy and Marine personnel alike. This provides a chance to see how each branch operates in the constantly expand-ing SIGINT world, and also gives us a chance to share techniques for gathering SIGINT intelligence. The SIGINTers have been hard at work since we first arrived due to the nature of our work. However, even though our work as SIGINTers is mentally demanding we also focus

our physical training and fitness, such as our weekly Army-Marine Sunday football game. Prior to our SIGINT platoon moving out to our re-

spective locations, we shared a morning of fun-filled volley-ball together to help with mo-rale, but also to help build platoon cohesion. Now, due to the breakdown of our work shifts and our locations, we spend our down time doing what we, as individuals, love doing. SGT Easton enjoys cross-fit training and has in-troduced it to those that are with him at his location. SGT Kirk takes advantage of the inexpensive movies at the Friends Shop. SGT Hinsch watches the hit TV series ―Six Feet Under,‖ and looks for-

ward to the new weekly hookah smoking tradition. Over all, we will continue accomplishing our mission, providing accurate, punctual intelligence to the advisors of the Brigade Combat Team. Now that the initial issues that accompany large movements over great distances are resolved, we are settled in and prepared to face any ob-stacle we may encounter on this deployment. SIGINT Platoon, SPC Amsbary

BRAVO COMPANY—SIGINT PLATOON UPDATE

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Charlie Company— “Coyote Chronicles”

SPC Charpentier re-enlisting for a cushy job in Japan, he

is looking to sale his car now if anyone is interested.

V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 5

Welcome new Charlie Company Paratroopers

PV2 Onuffer and PFC Hudson Promotions

PV2 Casey and Rodriguez to PFC

2LT Nadeau and Pope to 1LT Birthdays

PFC Herrera (13 Nov), SGT LaFlamme (24 Nov), PFC

Correa (27 Nov) Reenlistments

SSG Farrar, SSG Kelly, SGT Daniels, SGT Kramer,

SGT Hancock, SGT Hiatt, SGT LaFlamme, CPL Giles,

SPC Charpentier, SPC Madecky, SPC Negron, PFC

Dixon Congratulations

To PFC Schwartz for winning the BN Trooper of the

month board!

To the newlyweds, SGT Fields and his lovely wife,

Kelsey

P A G E 7

work training, with an endstate of conducting partnered op-erations; it is a great opportunity for all.

We look forward to next month’s letter. I want everyone to sleep well at night and have peace of mind because the Paratoopers, NCO’s and Officers of this unit are doing great things in this country and they are doing it day in and day out They are truly dedicated to not only their profession but also to each other. We are proud to serve with your BSTB Paratrooper. I would like to thank the spouses and family members across the United States who have sacrificed their time, energy, patience, and resources to support our for-wardly deployed Paratroopers. We can never truly repay you for your dedication and support. Please have a great Thanksgiving; talk to you around Christmas time.

Airborne! All The Way! CPT Rodney Lipscomb and 1SG Bill Bellomy

Charlie Company Commander and First Sergeant

Above: PFC Christen made a ―thinking cap‖ for PFC Schwartz to use while she wrote her

Foxhole article. Below:2LT Oglesbee congratulating SGT Kramer for re-enlisting to stay on Ft. Bragg; thanks so

much for your support SGT Kramer, best of luck with your new assignment.

Since the first of July I have proudly been a part of

the Charlie Company. As you can probably guess, I

deployed on very short notice to Iraq. Fresh out of AIT/

Jump school, I felt like I wasn’t prepared. I was scared,

nervous, and I felt alone. I didn’t feel like a paratrooper

should feel this way, but I didn’t for long! Shortly after

arriving to Charlie Company, I was introduced to so

many great people. There was so much that had to be

done and so much to learn in such a short time, I was

taught by so many great junior NCOs and told to begin

working and studying for the NCO board. Not once was I

left behind or felt deprived from everyone else. Behind

every action was a lesson to learn and I tried to learn

something from it.

Four months later; we are de-

ployed, doing what we joined the

Army to do and I still feel the same

motivation, enthusiasm, energy,

inspiration and expertise from eve-

ryone one and myself. There is

ALWAYS something to learn in

Charlie Company. Whether it’s

working down at the tactical com-

munications site operating satellite

systems, working at the helicopter

pad, or training with radio commu-

nications equipment to prepare for partnership training

with the Iraqi Army. The NCOs are consistently ensuring

troopers get the education they need, whether college or

military by teaching classes, Charlie Company always

gets the job done. Never once have I doubted my com-

pany, and never once have they doubted me. With new

people arriving one after the other, I make sure I lead

them in the same direction I was lead when I first ar-

rived. I find myself surrounded by experts, who possess

more knowledge and do not pass judgment on us, and

because of that I am not afraid to ask as many questions

as I want, so I can learn and retain more information.

Lately it has been pretty hectic around the company

prepping for the change of command because is it only

34 days away – as I write this. Making sure everything

runs as smoothly as possible is always the priority. The

Change of Command is a time honored tradition which

formally symbolizes the continuity of authority as the

command is passed from one individual to another. It is

a transfer of responsibility, authority, and accountability

from one individual to another. Captain Lipscomb de-

serves to leave on the best note, and we are doing the

best we can as a company to make that possible for him

so he is able to do bigger and better things. He is leav-

ing us with great memories that will never be forgotten

and goals that someday the rest of us who have limited

time in the military can achieve the same honors, recog-

nition, and accomplishments that our leaders have

taught us to go after. He has shown me how to have the

confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough

decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of

others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes

one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his

intent. These are the kind of individuals that inspire me

to stay in the military, and broaden my horizon to want

more for myself.

I’m not the only one who has

been thinking of staying in. Re-

enlistment has also been a big

topic this month. While monetary

bonuses may be a great perk, the

Army is also offering other re-

enlistment options for soldiers. For

many, bonus money is only a sec-

ondary consideration when it

comes to re-enlistment; another

popular option has been the duty

assignment of your choice. Re-

enlistment can sometimes be a

hard sell, especially while we are deployed and away

from our loved ones, but anything we need to know can

be learned from SGT. LaFlamme who has been working

tirelessly as Charlie Company’s re-enlistment NCO. The

company’s goal was to make our re-enlistment mission

while meeting all the requirements and needs of our sol-

diers. We send our best regards and congratulations to,

to SGT. Daniels, SSG. Farrar, SGT. Hancock, SGT.

Hiatt, SSG. Kelly, SGT. Kramer, SGT. LaFlamme, CPL.

Giles, SPC. Negron, SPC. Charpentier, SPC. Madecky,

for their dedication to the Army, commitment to soldiers,

desire to support and serve, and their willingness to

shoulder responsibility and drive on. The retention proc-

ess is so much more then getting a number on a board,

it’s about taking care of soldiers. That’s what we do!

These soldiers, along with the rest of Charlie Company,

are the results of preparation, hard work, and always

reminding me that we all have so much still to learn and

that you can even learn from your failures, hence the

famous quote; ―Our greatest glory is not in never falling,

but in rising every time we fall.‖

ATW!

PFC Schwartz

Charlie Company “From the Foxhole” Article Written by PFC Schwartz

PFC Schwartz wearing her ―thinking hat.‖ I think it worked, maybe I need one.

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