1. 2ND BRIGADE SPECIAL
TROOPS BATTALION,
2ND BRIGADE
COMBAT TEAM,
10TH MTN DIV
(LIGHT INFANTRY)
BATTALION NEWS 27 April 2012
Helpful Phone Headquarters, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion
Numbers: 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
 HHC Company Commander
CPT McCall
10120 North Riva Ridge Loop
HHC Company 1SG Fort Drum NY 13602
1SG Ward
772-4509
 A. Company Commander 24 April 2012
CPT Boyles
Alpha Company 1SG
1SG Volz Letter to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion Family and Friends:
772-7410
 B. Company Commander
CPT Keay I would like to thank everyone for their support during our Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC)
Bravo Company 1SG Rotation in March. Our Soldiers performed better than any Brigade Special Troops Battalion in
1SG Pasol
772-7412 recent past. They could not have done it without the support of their Families and friends.
 C. Company Commander
CPT Remillard
Additionally, thank Family,everyone that came out to support our Annual Spring Gladiator Games
Highlander you to
Charlie Company 1SG on 5 April. Although the weather did not cooperate, it was a great reward for the hard work
SFC Gruby
772-7429
accomplished at JRTC and a chance to spend some time with Family and friends. If you haven’t
 HHC BDE Company alreadySincerely,please take some time to look at the photos of the event on our facebook page.
done so
Commander Thanks to all of the Family members that donated food items for the FRG breakfast and for the
CPT Freeburg
HHC BDE Company 1SG kids’ games. Ibanez
Ruddie
1SG Maciag Captain, Field Artillery
772-2492
 Battalion Staff Duty: Company Commander
May is right around the corner and the Battalion will be “Red Cycle” during the month. The focus is
772-5100 to execute tasks in support of the Brigade and Division. Some of these tasks include color guards
 Brigade Staff Duty:
774-2199 and parades for community events; support to on post schools; and a large list of supporting tasks
 FRSA: that rotate to units assigned to red cycle. Our red cycle period ends at the conclusion of Memorial
Decima Chiasson
772-9166 Day weekend.
May is the start of many transitions in the Battalion. Our first transition is the company change of
Who’s Who command for Charlie Company on 18 May. CPT Remillard is departing our formation after two
In the outstanding years in command. The Battalion will miss Frank and Terri Remillard–Thank you for
FRG
everything you have done to take care of the Cobras and their Families. We will welcome CPT
Advisors Andres Tapia and his wife Kimberlee to the team.
Amy Cox
HHC FRG Leaders Our transitions will continue in the month of June with Bravo, HHC/2BSTB, and HHC/2BCT all
Lori Bogutskie changing command by the month’s end. Riverfest is scheduled for June 21 st and at the end of
Alpha FRG Leaders June, Fort Drum will host its annual Mountain Fest Activities. The Commando Brigade will follow
Kim Boyles
suit and augment this event with Commando Fest on the 25th and 26th June – more details as the
Bravo FRG Leaders
Jennifer Limerick
events for both of these activities are forthcoming. Please mark the dates on your calendar so you
Charlie FRG Leader can join us. The Battalion will take a much needed break with our Block Leave starting on 30 June
Teri Remillard and ending on 15 July.
HHC 2BCT FRG
Leader The Battalion Change of Command Ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 18 July. Immediately
Sarah Freeburg following this, we will participate in the 10th Mountain Division’s Mountain Peak exercise from the
You can make a middle of June to the middle of August. After this exercise, the Battalion prepares and deploys in
difference in your September to Fort Irwin, California for the National Training Center (NTC).
FRG!
Call your FRG Leader As always thank you to all the Family members for your steadfast support of our Soldiers, your
to volunteer or for dedication is appreciated!
more information.
Strength and Honor!
Please let the FRG
know if you have
moved or changed
phone numbers so we RHETT R. COX
can keep our LTC, MI
records up to date!
Thank You! Commanding

2. ALPHA COMPANY Page 2
25 April 2012
Dear Sapper Families and Friends,
First of all, it is good to be home. Since our last newsletter the Soldiers and Families of Alpha Company have
accomplished a great deal, beginning with a month long JRTC rotation at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and culminating in a
company small arms weapons range here at Fort Drum. Of course, none of this could have been possible without the
tremendous support from our families and friends back home. We are truly grateful for your encouragement and
understanding during our time deployed.
During JRTC Alpha Company Soldiers received several accolades for their outstanding achievements, most notably,
SPC Mark Blackwell. He was recognized by the Brigade Commander, COL Dennis Sullivan, and the JRTC Operations
Group as one of the Brigade’s “Heroes of the Battle.” SPC Blackwell served as a Team Leader in 1 st Platoon and was
responsible for finding two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) during training. Overall, the entire company helped
reduce the number of IED casualties by over 50% through their efforts during route clearance missions.
In addition to JRTC, Soldiers from Alpha Company also represented the
unit with distinction at the Advanced Leader’s Course (ALC) and the
2012 Best Sapper Competition, in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. SSG
Trevin Sparks was recognized as the Honor Graduate for ALC Class
003-12 for maintaining the highest average test score in his class.
Additionally, two teams from Alpha Company, Lieutenants Doug Mize
and Ian Ensley and SFC
Josh Moffit and SSG Matt
Goduco competed in the
Best Sapper Competition with
37 other teams from across
the Engineer Regiment.
CHESTER D. BOYLES
CPT, EN
Commanding

3. Page 3 BRAVO COMPANY
20 April 2012
To the Badger’s and their families,
JRTC rotation 12-05 was, as predicted, a truly great, distraction free training opportunity for our unit. The
Soldiers within the Company who attended JRTC learned a significant amount in a short span of time. Since
we have been back, recovery has been under way as well as leaders relooking where we left off training
wise. In addition to all this, our Company received numerous new Soldiers while we were away. We
currently reside at 112 Soldiers in our organization. So there is still much that we have to do in order to get
these Soldiers caught up on our training glide path as a Company. Getting all these Soldiers integrated into
the Company properly has been difficult at best thus far and so I ask any of you that see something that
doesn’t seem right or doesn’t make much sense to just please mention to the appropriate individual or chain
of command so we can welcome and integrate all new Soldiers as efficiently as possible. Most of them
showed up to this unit while we were away at JRTC so they are starting out behind the power curve but they
will learn quickly.
While the focus for the Company continues to revolve around 100% inventories and recovery we still have a
good amount of our formation that has already started training. We currently have several Soldiers scattered
across the country – FT Huachuca, FT Bragg and Texarkana, Texas to name a few – training on imagery,
new Army vehicles, and many of the linguist, increasing their proficiency in their respective languages. The
Company as a whole continues recovering what’s left soon we will become consumed once again with
training.
Congratulations to all the Soldiers accomplishing great things lately, to name a few
SPC Jered Dominey and SGT Chase Downey were the BDE Soldier of the month and NCO of the month
1LT Baxter received her first officer promotion
SPC Ryan Yoeman re-enlisted
Mr. Limerick was selected to attend ASOC (Advanced Source Operations Course) from 27APR-28JUL. To
help understand how difficult/rare this is only two Army Soldiers from FORSCOM (United States Army Forces
Command) are attending this class. FORSCOM is comprised of right around 750,000 Service members.
Great thanks goes out to the five Service members from 1st BSTB MICO and DIV HQ BN who contributed to
our successes at JRTC. It was a good experience for both us and them to help connect the linkages
between the units here at FT Drum. We currently have our next Company FRG meeting planned for 9MAY.
I know Jen Limerick is planning another location other than the Company classroom. I look forward to seeing
most of you then and seeing a lot of new faces as well. Until next write up.
V/R,
CPT Keay, Barclay
Commanding
B Co/2 BSTB

4. CHARLIE COMPANY Page 4
25 April 2012
Hello Families and Friends,
April was a great month not only for the Gladiator Battalion, but also for the Charlie Company Cobras. Since the last
newsletter, the Cobras have deployed to the Joint Readiness Training Center for an excellent rotation and recently
have been conducting inventories in preparation for the company change of command next month. Lastly, Charlie
Company participated in the Gladiator Spring Games and it was a great event that lifted the morale of everyone
involved. Thank you to all of the spouses who came to enjoy our day with us.
In the upcoming weeks you can expect your Soldier to be gainfully employed conducting even more inventories as well
as Brigade’s Signal Low Density Training during the first two weeks of June. It is here where they will continue to hone
their skills and continue to produce exciting results. Thank you for your continued support.
I would like to take this time to thank each and every one of you for all of the hard work you have done since returning
from deployment. The time has come for me to hand over the company to the very capable CPT Andres Tapia. I only
hope you continue to support him as you have me over the last two years. Thank you for everything you do.
Thank you again,
Frank Remillard
CPT, SC
Commanding
A Word from the Chaplain
24 February 2012
Hello All,
Over the last few weeks the importance of mothers has been the subject of political firestorm in the media. It just so
happens that during that same period my wife had surgery and I took leave to take care of my family. I am not writing
this to gain sympathy for her, rather, selfishly to gain sympathy for me. After providing lame meals, not doing the
laundry, allowing the house to become a disaster, and basically just barely keeping my family alive (My daughter set the
microwave on fire while I was taking a nap), I want to share my heartfelt appreciation for those who do it everyday. My
dad, when I was growing up, was a single father for a number of years. He worked full-time and raised me. I couldn’t
imagine. Many women who work outside of the home and have children find themselves with the lion’s share of the
work to do at home. I say this now from a place of condemnation myself: MEN STEP IT UP! I know you are tired when
you get home, and you need a break, some down time. Do not allow your down time to dominate the home. You can
take five minutes to vacuum a room or twenty minutes to do the dishes. Fathers, you can change diapers and wipe
down counters. We are counseled in scripture to treat our wives even as Jesus treated the church. If you recall, he gave
everything for the church and we need to be willing and prepared to give everything for our wives. Now, women should
not use housework as a bartering tool for intimacy because it breeds resentment and hard feelings. However, I have
found a direct correlation to the amount of love’n a man receives and the amount of work he does around the house. It
is just natural to be more affectionate in a clean environment with someone that your heart goes out to because they
have treated you so well. Now a word for the women who stay home with the children. When your husband comes
home from work and he sees a thousand things to be done, it can be overwhelming and he won’t know where to direct
his main effort because he has not been in the battle over the course of the day. He will need some loving direction and
understanding guidance after he regroups from the day. He is likely not going to want a massive list of things to do the
minute he walks in the door. I have found an approach that can work for many is greeting each other with a hug and a
kiss no matter the chaos. Then, when the time is right, let him know a few things that you would like him to over the
course of the evening. Many men like to plan out their evening and have no problem fitting in housework as long as
they know what is expected of them in advance. Men, do not wait until you are going to bed to do those few things.
Your wives want to enjoy the quiet clean house before they go to bed. God bless you mothers and may God help us all.
Godspeed,
Chaplain James Willis

5. HHC 2BSTB
27 April 2012 Page 5
Hello Again to Avenger Family and Friends,
It’s great to be back from a great month of training at the Joint Readiness Training Center! The Avengers stayed
extremely busy during this month supporting the battalion and brigade. Avengers worked in the dining facility, manned
the gates, fixed trucks, ran the mayor’s cell, ran the detention center for captured “Geronimo,” and a host of other
critical tasks. We learned a lot from our successes and mistakes, and carefully reviewed our actions to ensure we
continue to improve.
Since we’ve returned, we’ve spent this month cleaning weapons and equipment, inventorying personal gear, receiving
our vehicles back, and getting back to training here at Fort Drum. We’ve conducted a rifle range, M320 grenade
launcher range, and a pistol range. The MP Platoon is currently in training to get ready for their time working the roads
of Fort Drum next month. The CBRNE platoon is preparing for next month’s FTX, and the infantry security section is
preparing for the Expert Infantryman’s Badge testing and training in May. Maintenance continues to ensure the
readiness of our equipment, and the support platoon continues to support training across the battalion.
Next month the unit is in “Red Cycle,” our rotation to provide Soldiers to support various requirements such as parades,
range cleaning details, etc. It’s not very glamorous but it’s part of sustaining the force, and a short break from training
and ranges.
Also, the Avengers movie is released on May 4, and the trailers make it look amazing. Unfortunately, no members of
the HHC/2BSTB Avengers appear in the movie.
Very Respectfully,
CPT McCall
Commanding
HHC 2BSTB
HHC BRIGADE COMPANY
27 April 2012
HHC/2BCT Soldiers and Families,
As April comes to a close, we continue to recover from our rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC). Your
soldiers conducted themselves phenomenally down in Louisiana! The motivation and discipline they exhibited made me
proud, and should make all of you proud as well. Thanks in part to the hard work and dedication of your Havoc
Soldiers, our Brigade rotation was hailed by the JRTC Cadre as one of the most successful they’d seen in years. I’d
also like to thank everyone who contributed to the distribution of the goodie bags to our Soldiers as they headed to
JRTC. The bags were much appreciated by our Havoc Soldiers. Also, thanks to all who supported the Gladiator Spring
Games. The event was quiet a success. The Company took home the win in the Football Tournament. My hat’s off to
our team.
In addition to JRTC recovery, we are also preparing for my Change of Command in June. Captain Byler will be my
replacement. More to follow on that as the time draws closer. That’s it for this month.
V/R,
MATTHEW W. FREEBURG
CPT, AD
Commanding

6. WHAT IS HAPPENING: