June 2012 Apache Post Newsletter

1-1 ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION

22 June 2012

Volume 1, Issue 5

THE APACHE POST

Gunfighters, Families, and Friends,
The Gunfighters have been up to our typical re-
cord setting ways, and being the “First” in every-
thing that we do! This last one was a tremendous
amount of work, but was recognized across the
Army as this battalion being the best in the world
on a major Aviation Inspection conducted by the
United States Army Forces Command (a 4 Star
General Headquarters!). This inspection looked at
every aspect of Aviation Operations and Mainte-
nance and it was determined that no one in the
world does it better than the Soldiers in this bat-
talion. Truly a remarkable achievement that
earned the Soldiers and Families of this unit an-
other well deserved 4 day weekend.
As we slow some of our operations this summer
Above: Gunfighters running proud in the 1ID Division Run which kicked off
(with the exception of F Company, who will be
sprinting) it is an opportunity for Soldiers and the Victory Week events on 11 JUN 2012. (Photo by SPC Davis, C CO)
Families to take some much needed Leave/
vacation. We will not hold any battalion level events or battalion level Family Readiness meetings between now and the be-
ginning August. But we will start training hard again in late July/early August as we ramp up to do a Helicopter Gunnery in
September.
We have a couple of Battalion level events that will be taking place in August: On 10 August we will have a Battalion Casino
Night. C Company is in charge of planning this event and more information will be forth coming. This will not be in formal
attire but we will have some traditions recognized (aka Grog Bowl), and we will also farewell and welcome some of our key
leaders. On 30 August we will have a Newcomers Welcome and Volunteer Kickoff at the USO on Fort Riley from 1300-
1530. This will be mandatory for new Soldiers and highly encouraged for Family members that have arrived in the last 90 days
prior to 30 Aug. We will have Army Community Services, Manhattan Military Relations, Pioneer Services, the Spouse’s Club,
and MWR available for briefings and information. The Chain of Command will also brief the calendar for the next year. On 22
September we will have our Family Day at the Gunnery Range, which was a huge success last year, and we plan for it to be
even better this year!
Thanks for what you all do each and every day in support of our country, our Soldiers, and our Families. Have a great summer!

LTC Ed Vedder
1SG Clifford Bell
CW4 Ron Porter

The Chaplain’s Corner by Chaplain (CPT) Kevin Trimble
Upcoming
WHO IS THE NEW CHAPLAIN? IS HE
HERE YET? WHAT IS HE LIKE? Those are Ministry Events
no doubt the questions you have asked and  A Single Soldier
others have been asking as you have Strong Bonds Retreat
waited on someone to provide spiritual will be held 27—29
leadership to this great Battalion. I am glad JUL in Kansas City.
to answer your questions and get to know To register, contact
each of you. SPC Marlena Du-
I am a regular guy. Nothing special Plessis, BN Chaplain
Assistant at (785)240-
….nothing fancy…what you see is what you
0749 or email her at
get. I am in love with my wife of nearly 27
Marlena.r.duplessis.
years, Darla and we are loving life together.
mil @mail.mil
I am the father of two great young adults,
Above: Chaplain Kevin Trimble, far left , Nathan who is 23 and a 2Lt headed to Fort  Get your children
and his family: From Left- Wife Darla, son Hood. He is married to Delaney and they registered for Vaca-
Nathan, daughter-in-law Delaney, and will celebrate their first Anniversary on La- tion Bible School!
daughter Rachel, front. bor Day. Our daughter Rachel graduated This year’s theme is
from college in May and lives in Nashville. “Everything is Possi-
She will be visiting us over the week of the 4th of July. ble with God.” VBS
will take place 6 — 10
We have a dog named Duke who is a lovable, social, mischievous Basset Hound who
AUG at Morris Hill
loves to ride in the truck and Darla says ‘yes’ to him all the time. Chapel on post. To
It is a pleasure to serve with you. I come from Fort Campbell, have deployed to volunteer or to regis-
Southern Afghanistan and look forward to serving, training and deploying with the ter a child, contact
Gunfighters. Each Soldier and Family have needs that are personal to them and I 240-1443 or 239-0979.
stand ready to give you the tools that you need to be successful. The time we will  Are you in need of a
spend together will focus on building your resilience, your spiritual formation and Chaplain? You have
training that will enable your Family to withstand the days of change. a few options. CH
I will be working in one of the post chapels and will look forward to ministering to Trimble can be
each of you from that perspective. I will develop a weekly devotional that you can reached at (785) 307-
have sent to your inbox, and will be looking for those to help in worship as we head 9398. If for whatever
downrange. reason you cannot
reach CH Trimble,
When you ask the question; ‘what is the chaplain like?’ I hope you will find me to be you may also contact
concerned, personable, confident, involved and someone who is leading the way in the Emergency Chap-
the arena of spirituality. Regardless of your faith, I am here to help you; please come lain on duty for Fort
see me. Riley at (785) 239-
Yes, I’m here and look forward to meeting each of you. HELP (4357).

KEVIN W. TRIMBLE
CPT, Chaplain
1-1 ARB

THE APACHE POST

Bounty Hunters, Friends and Family,

AB3 Fielded, Check! OVS Complete, Check! Arms inspection Complete,
Check! It should not be a shock to anyone reading this article that your
Bounty Hunters have been exceptionally busy these past few months.
Their efforts have been noticed at the Battalion level and much higher
and are about to enter a recovery period! As you read this, the R3 period
(Recovery, Resiliency, Re-training) should be in full swing! The idea be-
hind the R3 period is to re-train basic Soldier skills that have been over-
looked these last few months, as well as recover equipment and HHC
Family units. This means opportunity for HHC Families to be together.
We are encouraging all members of the team to take at least one week
of leave from the 1st of July to the 15th of July. I urge all Families to con-
sider leave during these times, as the OPTEMPO will increase this com-
ing fall as we make our way into Gunnery this September.

Since the last article there has been a big change in company leadership.
Above: Newly promoted SPC Thomas Cano re-
1SG Williams has moved on to take responsibility of 1-6 Cavalry’s Opera-
ceives the Army Achievement medal and the
tions cell. She will undoubtedly serve them with the distinction and lead-
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
ership that she did with the Bounty Hunter team. With her departure we
from CPT Rose at the recent BBQ that HHC held.
welcome 1SG Jeffrey Schafer as our new First Sergeant. First Sergeant
Schafer has recently PCS’ed here from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has already proven to be a deeply caring
and considerate First Sergeant whom I am proud to call my Battle Buddy.

HHC recently had a Barbeque to recognize the great ef-
forts of our previous few months. This was a great event
which was autonomously and expertly executed by our
FRG Leader Michele Clay! Thanks so much for the Great
Job Michele. Our FRG is a crucial element of readiness,
unit cohesion and esprit de corps, and something that my
FRG Leader (Michele Clay), my First Sergeant (1SG
Schafer) and I take very seriously. We are looking to re
build our ranks and foster a team atmosphere. HHC will
also be welcoming SPC Bacoats and his wife Alicia who
recently gave birth to a baby boy.

Bountyhunters!
Above: Former Bountyhunter 7, 1SG Shawnette Williams, receives a
—CPT Wilford Rose guidon award from CPT Rose in recognition of her outstanding service
Bounty Hunter 6 to HHC 1-1 ARB.

Greetings from the Devils! We hope everyone is enjoying time with your Families. The Soldiers in Alpha Company
have been working non-stop for several months now. We made it through multiple inspections with flying colors,
supported the BN effort at NTC and have begun training personnel in the Block III Apache.

We’ve had a high turnover in personnel in the last few months. Although we miss those who left, we are excited to
work with the new members of A Co. They have integrated quickly and are proving to be a great addition to the
Company.

Aside from Block III courses, we have minimal events going on over the next few months. We have a short Field
Training Exercise in AUG to help prepare for our NTC rotation OCT-NOV. BN Gunnery begins in SEP, where A Co
will be very busy qualifying our aircrews on live fire
exercises. Once Gunnery is complete we will have a
short break before leaving for NTC late OCT. We
encourage our Soldiers and Families to take the
opportunity in the summer months to spend time
with your Families.

We recognize the tremendous support from our
Families and thank all of you very much! Have a
great summer. Devils!

-LT Tim Brown

Devil 16

Announcements Some Devil wives took a moment to pose with “Chris Daughtry”
during the recently Daughtry Concert Fundraiser that the Battalion
 We farewelled SPC Hillery, SPC Boarts and their participated in on 10 JUN. Pictured from A CO are, Sarah Curry (far
Families as they PCS to Korea left), Kelly Bolton (2nd from left) and Ashley Newman (middle). Also
pictured are spouses from E CO and B CO.
 We farewelled SPC Faura as he ETS’d

 A Co Hails SGT West, SPC Schreiner, PFC San Pedro, PFC Gonzalez and PFC Blasingame as they come
from D Co

 A Co Hails CW2 Spence and CW2 Senn from C Co

 We welcome CW2 Hammond and his family from 3ID

THE APACHE POST

Summer is definitely here! The temperatures are soaring, the kids are out of school,
and summer sports have kicked off. It seems like just yesterday I took command of
Bravo Company and we were busy packing up all of our equipment to depart for the Joint Readiness
Training Center at Fort Polk. Now it is time for me to say goodbye, change command, and welcome
CPT Leo Amoling to the Wolfpack team. I truly want to thank each and everyone of you for your sup-
port throughout my command with the Wolfpack, I have had a blast and enjoyed getting to know
you all. I am grateful for your strength and sacri-
fice as you support your loved ones defending our
freedom.
Some key events that have happened over the
past couple of months: We welcomed SFC Ra-
coma and his wife from Fort Rucker, SPC Phillips
and his wife Tavala delivered their healthy baby
girl Olivia, CW2 Stephen Dickson is getting pro-
moted to CW3 on July 1st, and a few people got a
year older, “Happy Birthday” CW2 Justice, CW2
Langill, and SPC Phillips.
Above: CW2 Mike Harris and his wife, Mandi, work the
crowd selling cool beverages during the Daughtry Concert CPT Leslie R Shafer, Wolf 6
Fundraiser.

Find us on Facebook®!
1-1 ARB Facebook® page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gunfighters/113862645304342
1-1 Desperados (Delta Company):
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/1-1-Desperados/257632690914290

Summer Has Started! It’s been
another solid month for the
Ghostrider team! To kick off the
summer right, the Company has
worked hard and played hard, by
taken full advantage of spending
some quality time home includ-
ing the company organizational
day, Memorial Day weekend, the
Daughtry concert and our bonus
four day weekend after finishing
up with outstanding remarks in
the ARMS inspection. The op-
portunity has come our way to
The Battalion was able to uniquely participate in Victory Week by having two AH-
have Cadet Cowell from West
64Ds as part of the display at the carnival and the parade field. Above: Crew
Point do a CTLT rotation with us chiefs and Pilots were around to share the Apaches with the community. Photo
for a few weeks which is an out- taken by SPC Davis (C Co)
standing chance to share with him
good work ethic and what it is like day to day in the Active Army.

There has been a lot of change happening in Charlie Company after coming back from the Mo-
jave Desert. In concert with that change over, we will be having a Charlie Company Hail and
Farewell to properly say thank you to everyone on this team that has worked so hard, and wel-
come with open arms those just joining the team! We have been hard at work resetting to unit
and the aircraft, performing individual and team training, while supporting flight missions and
taskings from higher, with less than a full crew. We did all that and continue to become profi-
cient on the only Apache Block IIIs in the Army! There is no way this work could have been ac-
complished without the extreme professionalism from every member of Charlie Company. For
that I say THANK YOU to the Soldiers, Spouses, Families and Community.

-1LT Cameron Martin
Ghostrider 16

THE APACHE POST

Family and Friends of the Desperados,

As always, our company has been extremely busy lately. I’d
like to thank the Soldiers and Families who attended our com-
pany Organizational Day on May 4th. Also, special recognition
is deserved for those who cooked chili for our first Desperado
Chili Cook-off fundraiser. The competition raised over $250
towards the Org Day and CW2 Fernando Ortiz won the coveted
title of “Desperado Chili Master”. During our Org Day we were
able to enjoy flag football, volleyball, horseshoes and a dizzy
bat competition. The brats and sausages for the barbeque
were graciously donated by the Johnsonville Sausage Com-
pany. I hope everyone had a wonderful time.

In addition, we had an FRG meeting on June 5th. At the meet- CPT Dan O’Donnell and 1SG Matthew McLeod take their rightful
ing we promoted the FRG email list and the “1-1 Desperados” places as grill masters at the company organizational day held on
FRG Facebook page. Those in attendance also received the 4 MAY.

campaign plan for training over the next year. If you could not
make the meeting but would like a copy of the upcoming calendar, please contact me or have your Soldier request a
calendar through the chain of command.

The Desperados spent much time in May preparing for an Aviation Resource Management Survey (ARMS) inspection.
Delta Company is responsible for many areas that were in-
spected and every one of our Soldiers did spectacular things.
There were a few Soldiers whose efforts stood out from the
rest such as SPC Bharathy, PFC Lewis, SGT Minlletes, CW3 Ho-
gan and all of our Platoon Sergeants. For their outstanding
preparation, our Soldiers earned a well-deserved 4-day week-
end from the battalion commander.

Lastly, thank you to our friends and Families for your support.
Our many accomplishments and accolades are not possible
without you. I wish every Soldier and Family member a happy
Army Birthday and a happy 4th of July. DESPERADOS!

CPT Dan O’Donnell
Desperado 6
daniel.odonnell@us.army.mil Some Desperado Soldiers doing their thing at the recent Organ-
izational Day held in May. Actually, we aren’t really sure what
785-307-9368
they are doing, but it is nice to see our Soldiers getting a chance
to relax!

Greetings to all the Outlaws!

With the month of June almost over it’s hard to believe that so much has happened in such a short period of time. CPT
Richard Trahan has been named as the new Echo Company Commander and has begun his Change of Command inven-
tories and is still going strong. It saddens me to know that this will be my last article, but I look forward to seeing what
CPT Trahan has to bring to the Company and how the Outlaws will grow as they continue on their path to deployment.

Over the course of the month the Outlaws have been able to keep the battalion going by always providing first class fuel
and maintenance support. As well as keeping the battalion running, some of them took the opportunity this week to par-
ticipate in the 1st Infantry Division’s Victory Week. Since the 5th of June Fort Riley has brought the Division back from Ft.
Sill and Ft. Knox to participate in a week’s worth of sporting events to prove which battalion has the best sports teams.
We had several Soldiers compete in the Flag Football, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, and Bowling tournaments. They all
did a phenomenal job, and I’m proud of all of their accomplishments. This is the first year Echo Company has really par-
ticipated in Victory Week and now has an azimuth check on what they need to do to prepare for next year.

Looking forward to the future your Soldiers have a lot coming up and even more to prepare for. We have six ranges left to
run and support in the month of June and even more in July. CPT Trahan and I will be performing our Change of Com-
mand Ceremony on the 2nd of July ,and following that we will go into the 4th of July weekend. During this time your Sol-
diers will begin preparing for our 20 day Gunnery exercise coming up in September. This is the beginning of the culminat-
ing exercises 1-1 ARB has to complete to be ready for deployment. Over 95% of the company will be comprised of new
Officers, NCOs and Soldiers who have never performed gunnery with this battalion. I know they will excel and will be
praised for their hard work and dedication.

To close I would like to thank everyone for the phenomenal experience you all have given me. Over the past 21 months
both my Family and I have grown so much because of the experiences we have had with all of you. You have taught me
what it is to truly be a leader and I am honored and blessed to have been a part of your team. We have all suffered
through some hard times and have rejoiced with each other during good times. This honestly has been an amazing bless-
ing to be a part of this team and I am grateful for every Outlaw who has helped shaped me into the Commander I am to-
day.

Please over the course of the next several months take time to relax with one another and enjoy b0 being in each other’s
company. This is the last of the down periods we will have has the battalion prepares to ramp up for the upcoming de-
ployment. Every member of the Outlaw Family is a vital key to it’s success and we need all of you. Take time to fill your-
selves with positive energy and then go forth and show this Brigade what this company can truly do. Thank you once
again for everything and I wish blessings upon all in your upcoming year!

Sincerely,
CPT Robert J. Pugh III
Outlaw 6

THE APACHE POST

Gunfighters and Fenix Family,

Being the first news-letter after the brief hiatus, there is plenty document
from the past two months. This being the first newsletter I’ve written, I’d
like to introduce myself. I am CPT Joseph DiFrancesco, the F Co, 1st Avia-
tion Regiment Commander. Most of you I have met at the FRG/Org day
fishing competition and at the Pre-Rotation Brief at the Fenix Hangar.
The Org day at Milford Lake, planned by CW2 Scott Kuhn, was a great
opportunity to teach practical safety classes (including an unplanned tire
changing exercise), get the company together for a fishing competition
and incorporate the Families into a relaxing day of work. The road ahead
A Fenix Soldier admires the fruits of his labor during the fishing
is pretty fast and we, as the chain of command, want to take care of the
competition that was held at the 4 MAY organizational day.
Fenix Soldiers to the best of our ability.

In the coming months, F Co has the privilege and responsibility of participating in a testing program to validate a future purchase agree-
ment of the Gray Eagle UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) for the Army. In short, your Soldiers are working to add a new and powerful
weapon system to the Army inventory. Our 15W Operators are already hard at work at Edwards Air Force Base conducting a rigorous
Readiness Level progression where they are tested every day for over three weeks on their aircraft knowledge and situational awareness.
The 15E UAS maintainers just completed a Logistics Demonstration requiring them to conduct every procedure in the maintenance manu-
als, in front of a bevy of engineers, technicians and authors as they rewrote the manuals based on input from our maintainers. The influx
and care of over 40 vehicles and 30 towed pieces of equipment is a formidable task. Our current heroes of the battle are the maintainers
servicing the generators, a never ending battle against coolant, oil, fuel and the 100 degree heat. All of these Soldiers who have been
working out here for over 3 months have set a high standard for the company. The professionalism, intelligence and never quit attitude
has received praise from all visitors and contractors supporting this testing process.

Most importantly, I would like to recognize the newest additions to the Fenix Family; Charles John Sippel III was born at 0452 on 12 June
2012 weighing 5lbs 8 oz and 18” long. We also have several hails to the company to include W01 Vankampen, CW2 Story and CW4 Good,
PV2 King, PFC Beekman, CW3 Crable, SFC Boehning, SPC Cousins, SGT Morales, SGT Richards, SPC Mahoney and SGT Jefferson. We
look forward to including these Soldiers and Family members into our or-
ganization. Lisa McCoy, our FRG Leader is extremely active in fundraising
and organizing events for the company. Please contact her if you would
like to help plan or volunteer for the next Fenix get together.

Thank you for all of your support to the Soldiers of Fenix Company. Your
care and dedication drive this company to excellence. This will be a busy
few months, but the sense of accomplishment for all of us will be para-
mount to none. These Soldiers employing the Grey Eagle will bring an-
other layer of protection and capability to our Armed Forces overseas.
Please take care and have a great summer!
Grey Eagles in the hangar at Edwards Air Force Base.
Respectfully,

CPT Joseph C DiFrancesco
Fenix 6

It’s Time for Your Annual Financial Checkup!

1-1 ARB traces its roots to the formation of the 1st Aviation Company, 1st
1-1 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion ID, constituted on 15 February 1957 at Fort Riley, KS. Later redesignated
Battalion Headquarters as 1st Aviation Battalion, one of the first aviation units to employ helicop-
BLDG 802 Marshall Avenue
Fort Riley, Kansas 66442 ter gunships and reconnaissance helicopters in unison to conduct search
and destroy teams, commonly referred to as "hunter/killer" teams. Cur-
Find us on Facebook(r) at http:// rently stationed at Fort Riley, the Gunfighters continue to provide invalu-
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/
Gunfighters/113862645304342 able reconnaissance and lethal attack helicopters fires for the Soldiers of
the Big Red One.

Gunfighters!
The Gunfighters are commanded by LTC Edward M. Vedder.

This is the informational newsletter of 1-1 Attack Reconnaissance Battal-
ion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division that contains both
official and unofficial information. The inclusion of non-official informa-
tion in this newsletter has not increased the cost to the United States Gov-
ernment in accordance with DoD 425.8-M.

June 2012 Apache Post Newsletter

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