This newsletter from the 2/138th FAR discusses Kentucky Guardsmen preserving the artillery heritage in Africa by painting two historic cannons on display at their base in Djibouti, highlights include the CPT reminding soldiers to stay focused until their return to Kentucky in May and soldiers are encouraged to take advantage of education benefits.

1. LONGRIFLEs WEEKLY
A publication of the 2/138th FAR January 4, 2013
Volume 1, Issue 12
CPT’s Corner Kentucky Guardsmen
Happy New Year! This should be an
outstanding year since 2013 will be
preseve artillery heritage in
the year in which the battalion returns Africa
to Kentucky! Time may start to drag Story and photos by 1st Lt. Mike Lowry
for some of you now that you have
sufficiently mastered a majority of the
skills needed for your force protection duties.
I challenge you to keep yourself occupied and not
waste the remaining months of this tour. As LTC
Elliott stated in the previous newsletter we are a
third of the way thru and it will be late May before
you know it.
I recommend creating a list of short-term and
long-term goals detailing what you still want to
accomplish. This approach can help you keep focus
as we get closer to the end of this deployment.
See how much you can accomplish before you leave DJIBOUTI - Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 2-138th Field Artillery, work on the final
Africa and continue to excel and strive for greatness touches of painting the two M3 cannons that are displayed on a prominent corner of Camp
Lemonnier, Djibouti.
upon your return to Kentucky.
CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - Deploying to Africa
~Capt. Christopher Fitzwater has been full of new, unfamiliar sights for most Kentucky
Soldiers. For many in the Kentucky Artillery Regiment,
1SG Thoughts comfort of a familiar sight was found in the display of
two historic artillery pieces, but their condition didn’t
Happy New Year! Make sure to start the sit well with Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 2-138th
year off right by maintaining your fitness Field Artillery Regiment, based out of Carrollton, Ky.
routine and healthy eating habits. If you
haven’t started either of these, now is a The unkempt cannons immediately drew the attention of
great time to do so. The new year gives you Sgt. 1st Class Ricky Sacra, of La Grange, Ky. and Staff Sgt.
a fresh start to work on areas that need Ken Wininger, of Dry Ridge, Ky. The two developed a plan,
improvement. in coordination with Navy Seabees, other Soldiers
Make sure to be taking advantage of the education benefits in the regiment and
that are available to you. Remember that most of us are even a few local
entitled to $4,500 per fiscal year for college classes. Don’t nationals to paint
waste your time by playing video games in your CLU all day the cannons,
and being a ‘cluser’ or sitting around doing nothing at 11 improve the
Degrees every night. grounds where they
Use your extra time to better yourself, take some college are displayed, and
classes. If you have any education questions, visit the camp create signage that
education office which is located behind the Green Bean. explains the history
of the artillery
There are also many different programs available here to p i e c e s .
learn a foreign language, whether it be distance learning or
going to a class here on camp. Knowing a foreign language “As soon as we [arrived in] Djibouti, we realized
can open many doors for people, especially for Soldiers. they needed improvement,” Sacra said. “Since we
Keep working toward accomplishing your goals and stay are an artillery unit, we couldn’t possibly leave
positive.
~1SG Ray Fortier CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 > > >

2. KENTUCKY GUARDS- CONTINUED FROM P. 1 > > >
Photo of the Week
the cannons in the condition that they were in.”
On a prominent corner of the 2-138th Field Artillery
Regiment’s area on Camp Lemonnier, now sit two
M3 cannons, which are two of the roughly 2,500
manufactured toward the end of World War II.
Soldiers from Charlie Battery, 1-161st Field Artillery, a Kansas
Army National Guard unit, originally found them discarded
during their deployment to Djibouti in 2011, and displayed
DJIBOUTI - Task Force Longrifles Soldiers practice Juu-Kempo, a form of
them. The harsh African sun and heat degraded the appearance
martial arts, at Camp Narasino with Japanese Self-Defense Force Soldiers
of the cannons, and made them appear as though they had on Dec. 28, 2012. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Toru Takenaka of the
not been cared for since before they were put on display. Japanese Martime Self-Defense Force)
“They looked like they were salvaged from the Kansas unit,
but [not much was done] to them. We wanted to preserve Tip of the Week
the history of the cannons, and give Camp Lemonnier more
Portion control is a an important concept when you’re trying to
insight in to the history of the Field Artillery”, Wininger said.
lose weight and keep it off. When eating a typical serving size of
In keeping with age old artillery traditions, the meat, it should be about 3 ounces or the size of a deck of cards. A
two even named the cannons, Pain and Agony. standard serving of grains or raw vegetables is about the size of a
tennis ball or fist.
People who eat 5 to 6 small meals a day are much more likely to
maintain portion control because they never become too hungry.
Chaplain Reflections
The first line of the 2-138th Field Artillery Lineage
and Honors reads: “Constituted 21 January 1839 in the
Kentucky Militia as the Louisville Legion and organized at
Louisville, Kentucky.”
The Lineage and Honors is impressive reading material. As
you read through the list of campaigns you will discover
some of the places the 2-138th has served overseas, here are
DJIBOUTI - Soldiers from Task Force Longrifles paint an M3 cannon on Camp Lemonnier,
a few: Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, New Guinea, Algeria-
Djibouti. This and one other M3 cannon had been originally found by a Kansas National French Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, France, Korea, Vietnam,
Guard Unit and had been put on display.
Afghanistan, and Iraq. In a matter of months, the countries
of Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Tanzania,
Soldier to Soldier Mauritius, and Comoros will be added to the unit’s
• Any Soldier interested in participating in a shout- distinguished history.
out should stop by the Public Affairs office located The 2-138th FA will be celebrating its 174th birthday on
in building 150, Monday through Friday from 1300- January 21st. Your family, friends, and the rest of the 138th
1600. POC is Capt. Van Horn, ext. 4807. FiB family look forward to celebrating the 175th birthday
with you in person in January 2014. Until then, fight the
• Any Soldier interested in volunteering for Troops
good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2 Timothy
and Teachers on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings, 4:7).
contact 1st Lt. Weiler in building 150 or ext. 5031
~Chaplain Jay Padgett
• The Chaplain’s Office will be collecting donations
of 550 Cord from now until further notice. Any *Task Force Longrifles would like to thank Chaplain Jay
Soldiers interested in making donations can stop by Padgett for providing this weeks Chaplains Reflections from
building 150 between 0900-1600. Kentucky.
Longrifles Weekly
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