Check out the December 505th Engineer Battalion newsletter "From the Ground Up"

1. From the Ground Up
505th Engineer Combat Battalion DECEMBER 2012
“Essayons” ing the Udari project, renovating to FT Carson. They will be heavily
trailers, blue bricks, the fuel farm, engaged not only in completing mis-
Our Regiment’s motto is French for connex yards, tent pads, etc. This sions but also in inventories, load-
“Let us strive”; or more often said: spirit doesn’t only apply to the engi- outs, and with the relief in place with
“Let us try”. This goes way back to neers in the 505th, but also to those their replacements. They are great
the Continental Army which was who support them; the logisticians, engineers and we have been lucky to
supported by French subject matter administrative staff, fuelers, design- have these companies assigned to the
experts; and is why we still use ers, surveyors, mechanics, cooks, etc. 505th.
French terminology such as “abates”, The whole 505th comes together in
“pontoons”, “gabions”, and this spirit to get the missions accom- As for the rest of us, we will con-
“fascines”, in our work. Our Regi- plished. We figure out what needs to tinue to push forward with engineer
mental Medal, the “De Fleury”, is be done, by when it needs to be done, missions. We will be integrating the
named for one of the subject matter how to get it done, and what it will 377th and 232nd Engineer Companies
experts François-Louis Teissèdre de take to get it done. This deployment, and be transitioning the Afghanistan
Fleury, a French Engineer in the the battalion has conducted hundreds mission. Soon, the organic units of
Continental Army. of mission, worked hundreds of thou- the Battalion will be preparing to
sands of labor hours, and has saved redeploy.
Many of you are subject matter ex- the US Government Millions of dol-
perts as well. The spirit of lars in construction costs. Please stays focused on safety, mis-
“Essayons” applies to YOU. You sion accomplishment, and continue
who left your mark, and are leaving The next three months will be busy. to demonstrate the spirit of
your mark here; in building Camp The 497th and 544th Engineer Com- “Essayons”.
John Pratt in Afghanistan, complet- panies are preparing to redeploy back Castle 6
François-Louis Teissèdre de Fleury
François-Louis Teissèdre de columns at Stony Point in July 1779,
Fleury (1749–1799) was a French Fleury won an award for being the
Content PG
nobleman who joined the Royal first attacker to enter the British bas-
BN CDR 1 Army in 1768 and later volunteered tion. Granted leave to return to
FSC 2-3 to fight in the Continental Army dur- France later that year, he returned to
ing the American Revolutionary fight at Yorktown in October 1781.
HHC 4-5 War. In America he demonstrated his Back in the French army, he held
882 EN CO 5-7 bravery at Piscataway in May 1777 commands in India and the Indian
after which he was appointed an offi- Ocean until 1790 when he returned
544 EN CO 8-12
cer of engineers. He fought at the to France. In the early part of the
497 EN CO 13- Brandywine in September and was French Revolutionary War he was
16 wounded at Germantown in early badly wounded and later resigned
Birthdays/ 17 October. He served capably during from the army. He received a pen-
Promotion the Siege of Fort Mifflin where he sion in June 1796 and died in 1799.
was wounded again in November. The De Fleury Medal, named for
927th S&D 18
George Washington made him an Fleury, is awarded to outstanding
assistant to Friedrich Wilhelm von members of the United States Corps
Parting Shot 18 Steuben at Valley Forge in the spring of Engineers.
of 1778. He served during the Mon- fought in Rhode Island in August. (Ref. Wikipedia)
mouth Campaign in June 1778 and While leading one of the attacking

2. 2
Engineers: From the Ground UP! FSC Alpha-Dawgs
Fsc Alpha-Dawgs
CDR: CPT Rodney
Woody FROM THE COMMANDER: BEST!! General Austin (From North
Carolina) was the host for a
1SG: Morris Lee As the FSC ended November I personally want to say cake cutting ceremony where
and started the month of De- thanks to our FRG ladies (Mrs. SFC Jarman helped cut the
cember, we realized that our James, Mrs. Parker, and Mrs. cake (he got the honors be-
“Over the Hump” was on the Woody) for the wonderful sup- cause he is the “oldest” in the
horizon and we can now see port they’ve given to make this FSC).
the light at the end of the tun- deployment so much easier.
nel for our return home. As You ladies are doing so much The Recovery Section had
we prepare for the Holidays; for us and I want to make sure several missions this month
Christmas and New Years everyone knows it! and our SAMS-E clerks pre-
pared for an Integrated Logis-
The events, training and tics Analysis Program (ILAP)
highlights this month were Readiness Review.
many. We started it off by
getting 4 of our Mainte- SPC Garner assisted in teach-
nance Soldiers back from ing the Level 1 Combatives
Afghanistan safe and course, 4 Soldiers completed
sound and going to the the 30 hour Hazmat class, 1
M4/M16 Individual Qualifi- Soldier completed Network
cation range. We had 80 plus training, and 2 completed
Soldiers go to the range, the 40 hour Microsoft Office
and 80 Soldiers qualified. class.
The FSC not only main-
tains transports and feeds FIELD FEEDING SECTION:
the troops; they can shoot
and Soldier-up with the Our 92G’s (Food Service Spe-
best of them. cialist) were also all first time
“GO”s in qualifying their as-
MAINTENANCE PLATOON: signed weapons. At DFAC VI,
the Hick-a-Billy’s Band per-
The Maintenance Platoon formed several times (Starring
organized a Christmas our own SFC “Dave” Parker).
shopping trip to the Ku- SSG Lake and SPC Reid are
waiti Navel Base to get their back managing the SPOD
brings a closer time of togeth- shopping done in time to a DFAC after a short break.
erness for all of us, because mail the present’s home for
we are so blessed and thank- Christmas. This past month, SPC Timberlake is doing an
ful to have the support from outstanding job working for
they also began a Driver’s
back home and people around ASG-KU, and even with her
Training Program to make
the globe. There have been sure every Soldier was familiar busy schedule, she enrolled in
so many organizations and
and licensed on vehicles and Combative Level I where she
great people sending boxes, is being slammed, slapped
equipment that’s organic to
packages, letter’s and gifts, Engineer operations. and punched each night until
that it’s truly overwhelming. mid-night. She is enjoying the
On the 13th of December, the class so much after her
We as the FSC can’t send National Guard celebrated its graduation on DEC. 14; she
enough gratitude and thanks
376th Birthday where many of hopes to enroll in Combative
for all the support we’ve gotten
the Maintenance Platoon Sol- Level II to further her training
while deployed. AMERICA… diers participated in the 5K in hand to hand combat.
NORTH CAROLINA…FAMILY Fun Run/Walk. Brigadier
& FRIENDS…you are the
2

3. 3
Engineers: From the Ground UP! FSC Alpha-Dawgs
Fsc Alpha-Dawgs
DISTRIBUTION PLATOON: Hero of the Quarter; where he Platoon finished support op-
received the Army Achieve- erations at the Udari Range
These gals & guys have ment Medal for his profession- Complex in Northern Kuwait
driven over 4000 miles this alism and dedication to duty. and are ready for the next big
month and have went on over All four of our Afghan Fuelers mission.
25 missions to make sure received a memorable Coin As you can see, the FSC is
th
fuel, engineer material and big from the 557 Engineer “Red rolling along and ready for any
items such as bulldozers/ Horse” Happy New Year. Support Operations that need
trucks are where they need to Continue your support as we to be done. From CPT
be so that operations for the Woody, 1SG Lee and the en-
Battalion run smooth. The
continue the fight. We’ll be tire FSC, we want to wish
Fuelers in Afghanistan have
surpassed distributing home before you know each of you a very Merry
100,000 gallons of fuel for Squadron, USAF for their out- Christmas and a Happy New
their operations over there. standing job. Four Soldiers Year
SGT James Gibson began the attended the Advanced Safe
Warrior Leaders Course Drivers Training at Kuwait
ALPHA DAWGS…
(WLC) at Camp Buehring and Naval Base. SGT Coleson
graduated the Commandant’s completed Heavy Equipment
List. SGT Gibson also was Transporter System (HETS) WE DELIVER!
th
named the 505 EN BN’s Drivers Training. The Distro
LTC Gilbert recognizing SGT Gibson for his out stand-
ing service.
FSC Maintenance keeps the equipment oparational
3

4. 4
November Issue November Issue
CDR: CPT Clifton Gauldin What’s All the Hype about Resiliency?
1SG: Randall Rogers
The term “resiliency” has by resilience naturally, these volved in your community,
become a new buzz word behaviors can be learned as growing in your spirituality,
that is becoming ever more well. Characteristics of resil- or participating in activities
popular throughout the mili- ience include awareness of that are meaningful to you.
tary and civilian populations. the situation while maintain- 3. Develop a strong social
Resiliency is defined as an ing control and thinking of network with people you can
occurrence of rebounding or new ways to tackle prob- confide in and can help you
springing back or the ability lems; an understanding that come up with possible solu-
to recover readily from ill- setbacks are a part of life; tions to your problems.
ness, depression, adversity, belief that actions one take 4. Embrace change as flexi-
or the like. Over the years, will affect the outcome of an bility is an essential part of
Army leaders have become event; strong problem- resilience, enabling individu-
increasingly concerned with solving skills that lead to a als to adapt and thrive.
Soldiers’ ability to cope with successful solution; having 5. Be optimistic by main-
problems that are being asso- strong social connections taining a hopeful outlook and
ciated with the long wars in with people who can offer understanding setbacks are
Iraq and Afghanistan. As a support; identifying as a sur- temporary.
result, the Army launched vivor, not a victim while 6. Nurture yourself by mak-
the Comprehensive Soldier staying focused on a positive ing time for activities that
Fitness (CSF) Program you enjoy, which can
in October 2009. The boost your overall health
vision of the program is to and resilience.
create an Army of bal- 7. Develop your problem-
anced, healthy, self- solving skills by practic-
confident Soldiers, fami- ing, so you will be better
lies and Army civilians prepared to cope when
whose resilience and total serious challenges arise.
fitness enables them to 8. Establish goals in a
thrive in an era of high realistic manner and break
operational tempo and them down into manage-
persistent conflict. The able steps.
five dimensions of the 9. Take steps to solve
program are physical, problems and don’t wait
emotional, social, family and outcome; and knowing when for them to go away. Take
spiritual, focusing on identi- to ask for help. Help can steps toward making your
fication of the 5 dimensions come in a variety of forms, situation better and less
and strengthening a Soldier’s to include books, online mes- stressful and focus on the
general resilience by work- sage boards, support groups progress that you have made
ing on them. As part of the and consulting with qualified thus far.
program, the Master Resil- mental health professionals. 10. Keep working on your
ience Training (MRT) Pro- Possessing these characteris- skills as resilience may take
gram was developed, in tics can aid your ability to time to build. Most impor-
2009 as well, to develop re- deal with life’s setbacks. tant, remember to build upon
siliency experts in the mili- your existing strengths.
tary with the goal of having 10 Ways to Become More
MRT experts in every com- Resilient: Achieving maximum output
If you voluntarily quit pany to help monitor and 1. Build positive beliefs in from us, as Soldiers, requires
in the face of adversity, develop the 5 dimensions of your abilities by becoming that we receive adequate
you'll wonder about it CSF. more confident about your sleep, maintain physical fit-
for the rest of your life.” Many people confuse resil- own ability to deal with ness and engage in activities
iency as a trait that individu- problems. away from work that pro-
-- Former President Bill als are born with. While 2. Find a sense of purpose in mote the building of resil-
Clinton some people seem to come your life by becoming in- ience in all five dimensions
4

5. November Issue
5
of CSF. Mission requirements important part of our well be- your battle buddies and become “People who soar are those
know no timelines or cycles ing and we must constantly involved in their lives. Re-
who refuse to sit back, sigh
and will be ever-present. This seek to refine and apply the member, one of the key charac- and wish things would
can lead to Soldiers developing resiliency skills we learn. teristics of resiliency is estab- change. They neither com-
a “burn-out” pace of activity to lishing social connections with
plain of their lot nor pas-
stay on top of mission require- Resiliency plays an important others in order to share life’s
sively dream of some distant
ments. Leaders must ensure role during the holiday season, experiences with. We are over ship coming in. Rather, they
that time is dedicated for ade- as well. I pray that everyone halfway through the deploy-
visualize in their minds that
quate rest and resilience- had a blessed Christmas and ment and it won’t be long until they are not quitters; they
building activities. We are a you will have a blessed coming we get home to our patiently will not allow life's circum-
resilient Army, and we are New Year. Holidays are a dif- awaiting loved ones. stances to push them down
committed to building our indi- ficult time for some Soldiers
and hold them under.”
vidual and collective strength and we need to ensure that we ---Titan 6 Out!
to build resiliency across the are taking care of each other --- Charles Swindoll
force. Resiliency should be an during these times. Check on
"SSG Kopczinsky extends his current enlistment this month for 6
more years. Once completed his enlistment is completed, he will
have 18 years of service. Congrats SSG Kopczinsky!"
Recent WLC Graduates at Camp Buehring
"MSG Smith extends his current
enlistment this month for 4
years. Once his enlistment is com-
5 pleted, he will retire with 34 years of
service. Congrats MSG Smith!"

6. 6
From The Ground Up! November Issue 882nd EN CO.
Spc. James Benefield
Public Affairs Officer Thanksgiving has look absolutely fantastic; a Some highlights included SPC
882nd En Co. come and gone and the bonds true testament to the skill and So continually pushing back
between the Pirates have only experience of the carpenters, the line with her precision rush
grown stronger as another electricians, and plumbers of techniques, SPC Naylor with
month has passed and we all the Mocksville-based unit. over 50 yards and 3 receptions.
remain focused on the mission SPC Edwards stone-walled the
at hand. Already, December Meanwhile, 2nd Pla- 705th players with a game-
has started off as a very busy toon has been spear-heading changing interception in the
month for the 882nd Engineers the total demo and renovation red zone and 1LT Estheimer
in Kuwait. With a number of of a number of trailers that came through under pressure
projects underway and even were, before, out of commis- to score the winning touch-
more coming up in the near sion. The most important of down for the Pirates. Tonight,
future, the Pirates are these is a 2,240 square foot they will be up against “The
moving ahead with building at LSA that will soon Lightning”; keep your ears
even more vigor and house an entire aviation battal- open for further news as the
tenacity as the holiday ion providing a much-needed playoffs progress.
season quickly ap- facility for both U.S. and Ku-
proaches. waiti military aircraft. As the Christmas
holiday approaches, spirits
The first half In other recent news, remain high, though the fami-
of the Blue Brick the Pirates intramural flag lies and friends we have left
Building Project led by LT football team has continued to behind for a short while are
Pelusi and SFC Moreno is trample the competition and never far from our thoughts.
already near completion as 3rd fought their way to the Camp We sincerely appreciate the
Platoon continues to work tire- Arifjan playoffs. Just last thoughts, prayers, and kind
lessly on completing the total night, Coach Stephen Casey gestures of friends, families,
renovation in preparation for and Quarterback SFC parents, siblings and children
training exercises to take place Lewczyk lead the team to vic- as you patiently wait for our
next year. tory in the second match upcoming return to the States.
against the 705th. While some We wish every one of you the
With the help of 1LT Melott, minor injuries were sustained, best in the upcoming holiday
SFC Barker and the 1st Platoon the team shook it off and season and we look forward to
engineers, the Blue Brick crushed their competition with hearing from you soon.
Buildings have been progress- numerous plays that left their
ing with break-neck speed and rivals stunned and confused.
Left, Top:
Pirates hard at work on the
35th CAB project
Right:
CPT Day is visited by a special
VIP!
6

7. 7
December Issue 875th Engineers
1st Platoon Working Straight Through The Holidays
1st Platoon has been busy working 10 hour days digging drainage ditches and preparing earth pads on four differ-
ent sites. As a platoon, they have laid rock and base on over 21 acres in the last month. Their completion of the 110
-acre project site will allow for contractors to open the CRSP yard, Retrosort yard, wash racks, and the Sterile yard.
As 1st Platoon continues to work tirelessly on all of their assigned projects, they would like to wish everyone back
home a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As always, we look forward to the Spring and returning home to
our families and friends.
SFC Wilmoth and SGT Tate laying culverts
for a driveway.
SPC Hudnall getting ready to go to work in her Benz.
2nd Platoon Completing The Storm Water Retention Pond
2nd Platoon continued to work 10 hour days throughout the
month of December in efforts to complete the Camp John
Pratt Storm Water Retention pond. All together, they exca-
vated an average of 1,500 cubic yards of earth per day with
only three scrapers! The retention pond, which is already
47% complete, is currently being utilized to collect all the
runoff water and prevent flooding of CJP and Camp Marmal.
As 2nd continues to drive on with the mission, making their
unmistakable mark in Afghanistan, they are wishing everyone
a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
(Left to Right) SPC Dover, SGT Fre-
chette, and SGT Hardenberger pulling
dozers from the mud hole in the Reten-
tion Pond
7

8. 8
Page 8
Maintenance Making The Missions Possible
Maintenance has been working 11 hour
days, servicing and repairing 94 pieces of
wheeled and construction equipment. This
month maintenance platoon relocated the
entire maintenance operation into a new
facility, sheltering them from the harsh
winter weather as they do repairs. The
overall mission is to keep the operational
readiness status of equipment full mission
capable, thus allowing all the horizontal
platoons the equipment to work on their
projects sites. Maintenance would like to
recognize the following Soldiers on their
achievements: SGT Mazyck and PFC
Brooks who both received Certificates of
Achievement and SPC Slater who was
awarded Hero of the Battlefield from the
RC-North TAC. Maintenance is always
thinking of their loved ones back home as
they send a special thanks for all their sup-
The Maintenance Platoon taking their Holiday Portrait! port during the holiday season.
3rd Platoon, Onto The Next Mission
3rd Platoon has been working sun up to sundown trying to beat the clock with the upcoming rainy season. They completed
the 15.6 acre entry control point and then moved seamlessly onto their next project, a 23.5 acre mission sustainment area
that has to be completed before the New Year. This LOGCAP project site will create a contractor living area and multiple
Soldier sustainment areas for Camp John Pratt. They have also started stockpiling the rock and base materials required for
their current and future projects trying to beat the contract expiration dates at the end of
the year, a total of 18,200 cubic meters of material. As the year comes to an end, 3rd
Platoon is keeping warm and looking forward to the upcoming holiday season knowing
they will be home as soon as possible.
Commander’s Comments
I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Many thanks to every-
one that sent packages to us. Your support makes the separa-
tion from our friends and families that much easier. The Work-
horses had a productive December and are poised to bring in
the new year with a bang as we begin to wind down
our operations in Afghanistan. This month, third platoon com-
pleted a new Entry Control Point for Camp John Pratt. They
spent long hours moving dirt, emplacing barriers, pouring con-
crete and building fences in order to complete their project. As
a result of their efforts, the amount of traffic that can enter the
base has doubled. First Platoon completed a 110 acre equip-
ment retrograde facility that included everything from motor
pools to earth pads and culverts and ditches. This month, they
will move on to building a large tent living area that will even-
tually house 1,600 Soldiers. Second Platoon completed grading
a ten acre parking facility and continued to excavate a massive
storm water retention pond. As the rain begins to fall, their SPC Lyons fueling a Grader
project has become the most important one on Camp John
Pratt. Again, I'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts and
A special thanks from
prayers and on behalf of the Soldiers and NCOs of the 875th, the 875th to SPC Den-
wish everyone a Happy New Year! nison for her contribu-
CPT Dudley "Workhorse!" tion of the 875th pho-
tos.
8

9. 9
From The Ground Up!
1st Platoon tween the U.S. and Kuwait. their hard work.
1LT Bridget Bentley After we finish the building, the We all wish we
It was another busy month for platoon will go right into pack- were at home to
us here in Kuwait. Everyone ing our containers for ship- celebrate the
has been working extremely ment, an important step that holidays with
hard on the Blue Brick Building gets us a little bit closer to you, but will of course make
at the Kuwaiti Naval Base, and redeployment. the most of spending this time 1LT Bridget Bentley
they are very excited to finally SSG Falcon and SPC Otieno with our Army family. We Spartan 1-6
finish them and hand them made the decision to extend hope that all of you at home
over to the Kuwaiti military. their commitment to serve the have a wonderful holiday sea-
This was a long, tedious pro- United States as they re- son as we continue to look
ject but the platoon worked enlisted. PFC Barr and PFC forward to seeing all of you
hard each day to get it done. Hughes were promoted this again.
Its completion is very impor- month, an important step in Spartan 1-6
tant to the relationship be- their careers and reflective of
“SPC Murcia wiring an electrical outlet on a renovation “
2nd Platoon port behind us! month. SPC(P) Polena passed (Above)“A courtyard
1LT Tony Palocaren This past month, we have been the NCO board, and is also view of the ‘blue brick
The 2nd Platoon family would busy and accomplished a lot. ready to take the leap and be- building’ 1st Platoon has
like to wish all of you the hap- Amid our busy day-to-day come an NCO. We welcome been working on for
piest of holidays. Words can- schedule, we have had a few SGT Switzer, an electrician the past five weeks”
not express our thankfulness platoon members who have from Indiana, to our family.
for the love, support, and gifts decided to extend their service We have been extremely pro-
that we received from all of to the country by re-enlisting. ductive this month renovating a
you. Nothing brings up morale We would like to recognize “blue brick building” at the
like letters and packages, and it and congratulate SSG Jach, SGT Kuwaiti Naval Base, putting in
means a lot to us to be able to Stewart, SGT Dearman, SGT over 10,000 man-hours and will
see how much thought you’ve Boyer, SPC Beaty, SPC Diaz, complete construction by the
put into the contents of your SPC Alampiev, SPC Jones, SPC end of December, just in time
boxes. It is that support and Hazzard, and SPC Duff. In addi- to celebrate the New Year
letters that fuel us every day tion to the re-enlistments, join holiday and begin packing for 2LT Tony Palocaren
and keep us motivated. The us in congratulating SPC redeployment! Spartan 2-6
challenges that lay ahead of us Sweeney and PFC Royal for Spartan 2-6
are never as great as the sup- getting promoted this past
9

10. 10
From The Ground Up! November Issue 544th EN CO
Happy Holidays
from 2nd
Platoon
“CW2 Bourque hands SGT Boyer a certificate in exchange “CW2 Fleck re-enlists SPC Duff and SPC Hazzard”
for a few more years of service”
(Left)“1LT Meintel
re-enlists a group of
3rd Platoon Soldiers
on the beach at the
naval base”
Please join me in time to enjoy good
congratulating SGT food and catch up
Abbot, SGT Govin, with loved ones. Af-
1LT SGT Jenkins, SGT ter the holidays, the
Stephanie Roof, SGT Urguhart, CPL Brefeld, ments to the building, to include platoon will be preparing to rede-
Garcia CPL Simmons, SPC Gidley, SPC painting all the rooms, installing new ploy back to Fort Carson.
Spartan 3- Horne, SPC Lawhon, SPC Mussel- light fixtures, fixing the existing I would like to take a moment to
man, SPC Palmer, SPC Sanchez, and plumbing, and re-installing drop ceil- introduce myself, 1LT Stephanie
SPC Wade. All of these Soldiers ing. This project has allowed all the Garcia. I am looking forward to
have made the decision to extend Soldiers an opportunity to utilize working with 3rd Platoon, the best
their service in the Army by choos- their specialties due to the large platoon in the company. I have
ing to re-enlist this past month. number of plumbing, electrical, and been immediately impressed by the
Your Soldiers have been working carpentry needs. amount of work that 3rd Platoon’s
hard. They are currently located at On behalf of the Platoon, I would Soldiers have completed at the Ku-
the Kuwaiti Naval Base finishing like to wish all a Merry Christmas waiti Naval Base, and it’s a privilege
refurbishments on a 10,000 square- and a Happy New Year. The Pla- to have the opportunity to lead
foot barracks building. The platoon toon is looking forward to a well them.
has made noteworthy improve- deserved break for the holidays: Spartan 3-6
10

11. 11
544th EN CO From The Ground Up!
CPT Tyler J. Scheidt
Commander’s Corner Spartan 6
Happy New Year! extensive barracks renovations and countability prior to packing for rede-
have now returned to the main camp ployment. This can be a very lengthy
I hope everyone enjoyed some time as we prepare to receive our replace- process but I think everyone is moti-
with friends and family even if it ments. This was a challenging pro- vated to complete it and get that
meant you had to eat all of their ject for everyone as we pushed much closer to getting home.
amazing cookies, brownies and other through material delays and the
holiday treats. To everyone who sent buildings’ poor conditions but the Thanks again for all of your support
a note, care package, or gift to the end product looks great and is some- and best of luck with your New
Soldiers of the 544 EN CO, I would thing we are proud to put our names
th
Year’s Resolutions!
like to say “Thank You” for your on.
support. Your thoughtfulness is
much appreciated and keeps us going. Our next major hurdle is to in-
ventory all tools and equipment
All three platoons have finished their to ensure we have 100% ac-
“SPC Estevez painting ceilings
during the platoon’s renovation”
“Operations Soldiers still smiling after running a half-marathon”
Operations, Maintenance, and away at the critical equipment records ward in Kuwait, and SPC Pitts received an
Supply keeping involved in the upcoming move- AAM for his support to the 505th Engineer
ment back stateside. The effort they put in Battalion S1 staff.
CPT Pete Friedewald on a daily basis makes the company suc- Thank you for your continued sup-
Happy New Year to the family and cessful in all we do. port and encouragement. We are eagerly
friends of the 544th operations, mainte- There have been a number of per- counting the days until we see you all
nance, and supply Soldiers. We greatly sonal achievements over the past month. again!
appreciate your support throughout the SGT Lamay received a much-deserved Spartan 5
holiday season as we enjoyed all of the promotion and was welcomed into the
cookies, candy, and decorations. We will NCO Corps. SGT Zimmerman graduated
be working hard over the coming weeks to from the Warrior
do lots of PT and try to lose all the weight Leader Course and
distinguished her- Promotion ceremony for CPT Friedewald and SGT Lamay”
we gained eating those treats!
Your Soldiers have done an amazing self by making the
C o m ma n d a n t ’ s
job supporting the company throughout
the past month. The operations crew kept List. SFC Orloski
all the weapons, communications, and was awarded an
mission command functions running Army Achieve-
smoothly. The field maintenance team has ment Medal
(AAM) for win-
done great work performing final services
on our equipment to prepare for redeploy- ning the
ment. The supply section has been slaving Marin e C orps
Marathon For-
11

12. 12
Engineers: From the Ground UP! 497th EN CO
deployment when we must do more Mr. and Mrs. Petro, Jenn, and to the
with less, as more of our equipment is rest of my entire family - Merry Christ-
put away in order to make a smooth mas!
transition back to Fort Carson.
From CPT Makar: To my wife Lauren From SPC Stevens: To my wife Chris-
and daughter Danielle - Merry Christ- tina and my son Joshua, I miss you, I
mas, Happy New Year, and Happy love you, Merry Christmas, and I will
Wow – what a month! Between going Birthday to you both! To my friends see you soon!
to the firing range, the sporting events and family: Happy Holidays! From SGT Becker: To my wife Tiffany
From SFC Collins: To my
wife Anika, and my wonder-
ful children Corey, Haylee,
Carley, and Hannah - Merry
Christmas and Happy New
Year - See you soon!
From PV2 Hampton: To my
friends and family - Merry
Christmas and Happy New
Year!
From LT Shepard: To my
fiancée Brittany, my family,
and all the families of the
soldiers who I am deployed
with; thank you for your
support, Happy Holidays,
and God bless!
of the Commanders Cup, the return From SPC Wilcox: To Hannah, and and my children - Merry Christmas!
from the UDARI Range mission as well Malakai - Merry Christmas and Daddy From SPC Cho: To my parents, my
as our regular training; this month Loves you! brothers, and all of my friends back
seems to be flying by! From SPC Bays: To my wife Wendy, my home - Merry Christmas and I miss you
daughters Brittany and Abigail, my son all, and I’ll be home soon!
As we begin preparation for redeploy- Kaleb, my parents and siblings, and the From SSG Costanzo: To Beth, Colleen,
ment, we would like to take a tactical rest of my family - Merry Christmas and Dominic (and tiny Tim, too) – Merry
pause and send some holiday wishes to Happy New Year from Kuwait! Christmas and Happy New Year!
our loved ones. The pace is rapidly From SGT Petro:
increasing as we start the portion of our To my parents,
SGT Fielding taking a picture with the Platoon
2nd Platoon Christmas Tree
Hello Family and Friends of 2nd Our platoon is
PLT/497th EN CO! keeping busy at
work even as we
The holidays are upon us, and even in count down the
Kuwait, we have found a way to partake days until we re-
in some winter holiday cheer. SGT turn. We are cur-
Bogacki recently setup a platoon Christ- rently working a
mas tree for the office – though it is BOM haul delivery
“Renegades” small in size, it has not disappointed in mission, running
2nd PLT increasing morale and helping us re- getch and gravel
member that in just a few months, we material into the
497th EN CO will be coming home to our family and camp for use on
By 1LT Suh friends. projects, as well as
Mii YI Thanks to 1SG Limas, the platoon also working on two
received multiple care packages from tent pad projects. We are also spending outstanding job qualifying on their as-
Healdsburg SOS (http:// time at the motor pool taking care of signed weapons. And, as expected, 2nd
www.healdsburgsos.org) containing our equipment and our facilities in
Platoon continues to dominate all things
home-baked goods, granola, blankets, preparation for follow-on missions. We
beanies, and other candy and personal have already made contact with our flag football. Our platoon flag football
hygiene items. Thank you to Healdsburg follow-on unit and cannot wait to teach team took another first place finish in
SOS as well as all the spouses, parents, them all we know and set them up for the camp-wide flag football tournament,
friends, and volunteers that continue to success. beating out ten other teams to take
think about us and send their love In other news, our platoon also ran a home the gold medal. Congratulations
throughout this deployment. We could company M4/M16 range this past month to the team and their coach, SPC Hunt,
not do what we do without your sup-
and the Soldiers of 497 th EN CO did an on a job well done!
port!
12

13. 13
Engineers: From the Ground UP! 497th EN CO
SPC Arvich hard at work at the range
on ammo duty
Pushing Dirt at Udairi Range
Opening care
packages
Working at Udairi Range
3rd Platoon
Harmony McCoy
rd
Hello families of 3 Platoon, I have been working hard on the Fort Carson in a few short 2LT, EN
am the new Platoon Leader, last several months! Two park- months! This month we would 3rd Platoon Leader
2LT Harmony McCoy, taking ing lots, four helipads, and a like to express our congratula-
over for 1LT Mossman this half mile of road network were tions to SPC Hallas, SSG
month. I have been here getting successfully built thanks to the Knoeck, and SPC Ells on their
to know the Soldiers of 3rd pla- Soldiers’ hard work and dedica- reenlistments. We would also
toon for a couple of weeks and tion. A lot was learned about like congratulate SPC Clark on
have been really impressed with construction and everyone was his promotion.
how skilled they are at their able to increase their skills in Lastly, third platoon
jobs. They have already taught horizontal engineering through- would like to wish “Happy
me a lot. I am really looking out the duration of the project. Holidays” to all of our family
forward to spending the next With the closeout of and friends back home and
year or so working with them this project, we will be looking thank you for your support
and getting to know each of forward to, and preparing our throughout the deployment.
them and their families. equipment for, future projects. We look forward to seeing eve-
Third platoon has We are also beginning the pack- ryone soon!
completed the project that they ing process for the trip back to
13

14. 14
Engineers: From the Ground UP! 497th EN CO
ENGINEERS! From The Ground Up
Maintenance, 497th EN CO sure all the equipment was main- cleaning and inventorying all our
“Black Sheep” tained and repaired to keep the tool boxes and testing kits prior
Dear Maintenance Family and project moving. It’s a testament to packing them into the con-
Friends, the month of December to their skills as mechanics how tainers. It’s going to require
is quickly coming to an end. The they were able to keep things some long days, but we are all
most eventful news is the suc- running so well. Now that the willing to do what it takes to get
cessful completion the com- project is complete, we are be- home safely with all our equip-
pany’s large scale construction ginning the painstakingly tedious ment. Christmas is quickly ap-
project. We have been working job of inspecting and servicing all proaching, and as a result the
on it for over two months, and the equipment before we hand it care packages have started to
it’s finally complete. The me- over. On top of all the inspec- pour in. Spending Christmas in
chanics did a superb job making tions, we are beginning to start the desert of Kuwait is not ideal,
1st Platoon
1st Platoon, 497th EN CO Let me first tell you a little about that position for 12 months I was
Greetings from the desk of the myself and what I have done. My moved to my current position. I
Platoon Leader! First off let me name is Thomas Jay Fite, I hail am excited and ready to take on
introduce myself; my name is LT from a small farm town in South- the new role and learn new
Fite and I am taking over 1 st Pla- east Iowa. I graduated college at things from the NCOs that sur-
toon from LT Krause. He has the University of Iowa, BEST round me.
been an excellent leader for the SCHOOL IN THE BIG TEN, The first part of the month the
platoon and one who has cre- where I got a BA in Political platoon focused on change of
ated big shoes to fill. However, Science. I went on to EBOLC at command inventories, an outgo-
LT Krause has set me up for Fort Leonard Wood and wound ing fuel berm project, as well as
success by leading me through up in Fort Carson Colorado. My completing a drainage ditch for
the daily tasks and showing past, first assignment was to take over the MWR Oasis building
current and future projects. I am FSC Maintenance Platoon and
up for the challenge! the role of MCO. After holding
14

15. 15
Engineers: From the Ground UP! 497th EN CO
Soldiers of the 497th at the Range, on
projects and in Kuwait City
Additionally, the NCOs of the platoon organized
a MWR trip around the middle of December.
They got the opportunity to travel into the heart
of Kuwait and see one of the Grand Mosques
and shop at local vendors. This trip was very
beneficial to all the NCOs as it let them relax
and bond stronger to fellow battle buddies!
Time is beginning to dwindle down and we
are approaching the final few months, not like anyone here is counting or anything! The Sol-
diers here are highly motivated and always looking for that next challenge or project. We will
be finishing our main project here very soon and then who knows what. From the desk of the
new Platoon Leader, Best wishes and Happy holidays to all the families!
15

16. Engineers: From the Ground UP!
16
(Right) The 497th at the
range
(Bottom left and right)
Soldiers in formation at
Camp Arifjan
Commander’s Corner: Many of our projects have been packages that are coming our way.
Season’s Greetings to the Devasta- finishing up, which is a good feeling. Although it can’t come close to
tor friends and family from Kuwait. We have been working on our vehi- being home with our friends and
It has been getting cooler over here cles that just came back from work- family, it is nice that people are
lately. It is not uncommon to see ing on our big project we finished thinking of us and are providing us
most people in winter PT uniforms up. Spending some time maintaining with some holiday cheer.
conducting PT in the mornings. We these vehicles will help us keep I hope all of you have a great holiday
are all excited about the holidays them running, and will help us pro- season, and look forward to seeing
here…..and not just because it vide the unit replacing us with equip- you all in person soon.
means a few days off. It also means ment that will work for us. Devastator 6 OUT!
that we will be coming home soon. We appreciate all of the holiday care
Wishing you a
Happy Holiday
by the TOC
Christmas Tree
16

17. 17
HALSTEAD, JODY A BEAVER, ROBBIE O GHOTRA, AMANDEEP
HUTCHINS, JAY A BENNETT, NATHAN R HAMMONDS, MATTHEW
LEE, SHANNON C BROWN, GREGORY J HOWARD, JOVAN
MOTE, DONNIE R COCKERHAM, HEREMIAH L JOBSON, JOHNATHON
NIEMYER, RUSSELL S MIMA, NAKIA
SIGMON, KEVIN D ORME, MORGAN
SWAIN, BRITTANY H POPE, ANDREW
TOBIN, BARBARA A SNYDER, NATHANIEL
DUNCAN, JESSICA C WRIGHT, JAY
HARRIS, BRITTNIE BOWIE) ABBOTT, COREY
HOYLE, JARED T ACHEAMPONG ,PAUL
LEE, MORRIS B BEATY, JR DAVID
SWEENEY, MICHAEL D COUILLARD, MICHAEL
ZAVALA, JESUS A COURNOYER, TROY
BEAL, JOHN CASEY COURVILLE, CHAD
COLPITTS, MICHAEL R COLLADO, STEPHEN L CRUZBONILLA, CARLOS
DULA, CHRIS A GALLEGOS, EDUARDO DANNY, CARLA
ELDRIDGE, DEMES Z GRIFFIN, JOHN R FALCONMOLINA, JOSE
GALLOWAY, JARED J GRIFFIN, SAMUEL A FORD, JR RONALD
JOHNSON, WILLIE T MCMILLIAN, JARMAUD T INMAN, CHARLES
KEENE, JUSTIN D ROYALL, LARRY D OLIVEIRA, JR JERRY
MAYS, MICHEAL L TOMLINSON, NICHOLAS T PALMER, MARY
MORRISON, TODD R YATES, THOMAS E ROWE, JR ROBERT
ROBISON, WESLEY W SCHOENFELDER, KENNETH SCHEIDT, TYLER
WILMOTH, CORY H CANNON, ALFRED SINGER, CRAIG
WILSON, ERIC L CHARBONEAU, CHRISTO- STEWART, JR STANLEY
WINCHESTER, CRISTINE L PHER SWEENEY, KEVIN
BARKER, CHAD L DYE, JIMMY TAYLOR, III CLYDE
Also, several soldiers were promoted this month and congratulations go out to the
following individuals on their accomplishments;
497th 544th
SPC Reid, N SPC Sweeney, K 882nd
SPC Watson, M PFC Royal, S SGT Mitchell, N
PV2 Wilson, D PFC Barr, C SGT Samiento, A
SGT Lamay, G SGT So, G
HHC CPT Friedewald, P
SGT Deese, M
875th FSC MOVING
SGT Turner, M SPC Do, D
SGT Mitchell, V SPC Alexander, M ON UP!
CPT Gauldin shakes SGT Dees
hand at his promotion
17

18. 18
Engineers: From the Ground UP!
927th Article by This has been the first a great year, we aren’t too sad to included large parking lots, heli-
SGT deployment for the 927th Survey see it go. 2013 is upon us and it pads, and a turnabout.
Antonmarchi and Design Team in its short, three feels like we have cleared another In Afghanistan, SGT
year history, but 2012 has been an hur- Andy Kennedy’s team has worked
unforgettable year for the team. dle on and completed nearly 60 differ-
There have been some great learn- o n ent projects to include large pads,
ing experiences and challenging the Engineer Compounds, and an En-
projects along with some great try Control Point (ECP). Work has
memories that have made us a slowed down from the 16 hour
better unit. SPC Ryan Meins com- days from when they initially ar-
mented “From when we first ar- rived in country and is anticipating
rived to Kuwait to where I am a steady workflow until departure.
now, my knowledge and skill in Christmas is right around
working with AutoCAD and Trim- the corner and it’s extremely diffi-
ble Business Center have in- cult this time of year to be away
creased exponentially.” downhill road to getting back
from family, but all of us here
Having NCO’s that have home. The team is still working
numerous deployments as a 12T projects throughout Kuwait and from the 927th want to wish every-
and also a senior NCO that works Afghanistan with new projects one a Merry Christmas and a
on the civilian side as a surveyor coming up nearly every week. Happy New Year! We will all see
are SSG Stephen Smith’s team re- you soon!
valuable assets which have cently completed a high-priority
made our deployment a success project near Camp Buehring that
thus far. Although 2012 has been was nearly 40 acres in size that
SFC Harris, SGT
Kennedy, SGT Bell-
man, & PFC Tyler
Kasuske pose for a
picture near a job
site in Afghanistan
It snowed!
CPT Sigmon (S4) and Santa
18