1. TASK FORCE
WO R K H O R S E
DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE The Workhorse Chronicle
V O L U ME 1, I S S UE 3 AP RI L 201 3
The Commander’s Corner by LTC Andy Gignilliat, TF Workhorse CDR
Workhorse Soldiers & Family Members, sustain yourself professionally, we must maintain
our personal and emotional well-being by deliber-
The 603rd ASB will remember the month of ately conducting physical exercise, eating prop-
March 2013 for the rest of our lives. Al- erly, and planning our sleep cycle. These pre-
though it gave us many opportunities to be planned actions will protect your long term health
proud of our Soldiers, we also experienced and personal performance as a critical member of
tremendous loss with the passing SSG the Workhorse Team.
Scialdo, CW5 Reagan, and five additional
INSIDE crewmembers from Blackhat 14 and Rath 55. Having observed our Battalion as its commander
THIS Please cherish their memory by honoring their for over 22 months, I can tell you I have never
lives through your daily actions, thoughts, and been more proud of our Soldiers or of their un-
ISSUE:
prayers; while especially honoring our Gold Star wavering support for the Brigade’s success. Over
Family Members. As we recover from these the next 120 days, I ask that you refocus on two
CDR’s 1 events, I’m reminded of the importance of valu- aspects that’ll support you through the remainder
Corner ing each of our fellow Soldiers with a perspec- of the deployment. First, I need you to value the
tive of respect and admiration. Our ability to friendships and relationships shared with your
CSM’s 2 recognize our teammates as treasured members fellow Soldiers because you will remember them
Forum of our Army family will only enhance teamwork the rest of your lives. Secondly, you must apply
while adding value to our lives and garnering purposeful effort in protecting long term perform-
Mustache 3 unit success regardless of our deployed or garri- ance by fostering personal fitness. Lastly, I am
son environment. particularly grateful for those Soldiers and Volun-
Madness teers who provided support to the families of our
As we approach the halfway point of our de- Fallen Heros through their compassionate and re-
HSC ployment, it’s critical we maintain our focus on spectful devotion of both time and effort.
safety and mission accomplishment through dis-
Distro 4-5 cipline in conducting routine tasks “to standard” Sincerely,
Platoon each and every day. We’ve clearly demon- LTC Andy Gignilliat
strated excellence across the Battalion and must NO MISSION DENIED!
C CO now prevent complacency. In your effort to
Pasab 6-7
Operations
DART 06 8-9
and 07
10-
Photos 12
Right: CW5 Reagan’s
Team Photo taken
after his Memorial
Ceremony.

2. PAGE 2
The Command Sergeant Major’s Forum
by CSM Grant Stange, TF Workhorse CSM
We will continue to honor I am proud of what the battal-
their memories as we continue ion has accomplished these last
to place the mission first and few months and amazed at the
commit ourselves to conduct- level of family within the unit.
ing the varied mission sets that Through commitment and soli-
Task Force WORKHORSE darity, we will complete the
has been given by the 3rd CAB. missions assigned to us and
“I am proud to be foster the environment that
I ask all members of the TF will highlight the triumphs of
the Command WORKHORSE team to re- all sections across the forma-
energize their focus on the task tion.
Sergeant Major for at hand and commit to a better
tomorrow.
this great Battalion. CSM Grant Stange
Greetings Workhorse Team, The weather has changed and
The Soldiers exhibit with that a new season has be-
This has been a very hard pe- gun, after the dampness of the Caption
pride in the unit as riod for the Workhorse family
rains subside, all need to be describing
and team. We honor the service
well as spirit de corps ready for the heat and dust. picture or
of CW5 Reagan and SSG
Prep your areas accordingly, graphic.
Scialdo and the time we got to
with each other.” enjoy them in our lives. As a and ensure safety is paramount
team, we will take a knee and in everything you do.
-CSM Grant Stange reflect on the experiences we
shared with these two great
men.
We will continue to honor their
memories as we continue to
place the mission first and com-
mit ourselves to conducting the
varied mission sets that
THE WORKHORSE CHRONICLE

3. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 PAGE 3
“Mustache Madness”
Coverage by SFC Patrick Donovan., Bravo Company HQ Platoon Sergeant
If you’ve walked around B co. their man-
these days you may have noticed hood by
a lot more hair sprouting above dawning a
the Soldier’s upper lips; in many Mouth
it provokes memories of Fire- Brow.
birds, mullets and flux-capacitors. The prize
For those who are old enough to for the
remember those days, the 80’s “Best
were a weird time in American Stache” is
history (especially for fashion and a prestig-
hair styles). In those days men ious
frequently sported Soup Strainers plaque and
on their upper lips. This trend entrance asked about the contest, SPC
extended to the silver screen; leg- into the “Pantheon of Great Cheatham said: “Go Bama!”
endary mustaches adorned the lips Face Furniture.” The Soldier Other front-runners mentioned
of Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds, with the worst stache will get a were SFC Ogden and SSG Lan-
and Alex Trebek. More recently, complementary membership to tier whom, so far, look like defi-
gentlemen such as Ron Burgandy the “Hair Club for Men (or nite contenders for the ultimate
and Borat have prominently dis- Women).” When
played Crumb Catchers. These asked about the
iconic figures have sparked reju- contest, Soldiers
venation in the eyes of the generally con-
Bulldawg Soldiers…this month firmed that it
has been declared Military Mus- raised morale
tache March Madness (better within the com-
known as the Quad M). pany. One Sol-
CW2 Lambert and SFC Ogden dier, PVT Allen,
were the creative geniuses behind stated that “it’s a
the epic contest among members good bonding ex-
of Bulldawg nation. It currently perience.” prize. Others, (both SFC Bels-
has 47 participants (including fe- SPC Cheatham has emerged as mas) have a steep hill to climb
males) whom are out to prove the current front-runner. When to catch those two “giants of the
mustache game.” Either way,
the contest will produce some
interesting results and I’m look-
ing forward to see who will win.

4. PAGE 4
“HSC Distro Platoon-The Life Blood of Aviation Operations”
by 2LT Stephen Lemler, III/V
400 aircraft. These Sol-
Soldiers from diers efforts provide an
the III/V Platoon unmatched capability to
the warfighters who
interacting with
strive, on a daily basis, to
Soldiers from make a notable impact
the United Arab on the current opera-
Emirates after tional picture within Re-
gional Command-South.
providing them
support during The Brigade’s unsung
an emergency heroes are perhaps the
select group of Soldiers
landing who provide unprece-
dented refueling support
Caption
to the CH-47 Chinook
describing
fleet on Mustang Ramp
picture or
The 603rd Aviation Support The two FARPs are logis- via the cold fuel mission.
graphic.
Battalion’s Distribution tically essential elements The team is charged with
Platoon provides the life which serve as locations the colossal task of refu-
blood – fuel and ammuni- for combat and mission eling the CH-47 Chinook
tion – for the 3rd Combat support aircraft to rapidly fleet upon mission com-
Aviation Brigade’s mission rearm and/or refuel, and pletion/shutdown in a
set in Regional Command- immediately return to the concerted effort to en-
South, Afghanistan. The operations across the bat- sure exponential cost
team provides split-based tlefield. Collectively, savings in the form of
operations at Mustang these FARPs issue in ex- reduced phase mainte-
Ramp, Kandahar Airfield cess of 200,000 gallons of nance and associate man-
(KAF) and Forward Oper- fuel each month to over hours.
An AH-64 Apache ating Base (FOB) Fronte-
nac. The platoon is respon-
landing to refuel sible for two Forward Arm-
and rearm at ing and Refueling Points
Forward Operating (FARP) (KAF and FOB
Frontenac), the Mustang
Base Frontenac Ramp cold fuel mission,
the Petroleum Quality
Analysis System-Enhanced
(fuel test lab), and ammuni-
tion distribution.
THE WORKHORSE

5. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 PAGE 5
This procedure may seem in- Command-West. Without their
consequential to most; how- continued efforts, offensive and
ever, these Soldiers efforts associated aviation operations in
minimize the amount of money
Regional Command-South
spent of scheduled mainte-
nance due to the reduced ex- would be severely degraded.
pended blade hours. The team The section facilitates the stor-
is on track to save in excess of age and issue of ammunition
5,400 CH-47 blade hours by ranging from 9mm rounds to
the end of this deployment, the infamous and unforgiving
saving tax-payers millions dol- Hellfire missiles. The section is
lars; a phenomenal feat during
projected to distribute over $8
times of fiscal uncertainty.
million worth (approximately
The Petroleum Quality Analy- 450 short tons) of ammunition
sis System-Enhanced is a vital throughout this deployment.
asset to aviation operations. Collectively, the Soldiers of the
This team of three shoulder the Distribution Platoon provide
mammoth task of ensuring the unprecedented support to a
quality of bulk fuel valued in
excess of $5 million utilized range of customers who execute
for aviation operations. These a myriad of missions in support
Soldiers test fuel samples on a of the war against terror here in
daily basis to ensure only top- southern Afghanistan.
grade fuel in support of numer-
ous aviation operations within
Regional Command-South to
include, kinetic, medical
evacuation, cargo and person-
nel transport to name a few.
Last, but certainly not least,
combat operations would not
be possible or effective without
the lethality of precision muni-
tions to effectively target the
enemy, and the Soldier of the
ammunition section effort-
lessly provide this capability to
the warfighters. These Sol-
diers coordinate and issue am- The fuel and armament team at Forward
munition throughout Regional Operating Base Frontenac
Command-South and Regional

6. PAGE 6
“Operations at Pasab”
by 1LT Donald Ingham, XO, Charlie Company
Charlie Company adds a have been sectioned off by the lowed these Soldiers to sign
unique variable to the typi- creative hanging of blankets, up for college classes. In
cal operations of Task offering the Soldiers a bit of their free time, these Soldiers
Force Workhorse. The na- privacy during their off time. have turned their burn-pit
ture of the Signal Corps, into a campfire of sorts. Off-
the main operational func- Their work area is shared with duty personnel can routinely
tionality of Charlie Com- the medics, and consists of a be found sitting around the
pany, necessitates the ma- long table next to their fire and telling each other
jority of the Soldiers be “stacks” (the cases that house stories and jokes.
pushed out to outlying ar- their electronic equipment). The
eas. At these locations, Soldiers spend their on-duty
Currently there are 3 Charlie
Charlie Company Soldiers hours monitoring their equip-
Company Soldiers located at
are counted on to be the ment remotely from the com-
Pasab (SPC Roberts, SPC
subject matter experts when puter terminals which are lo-
Moghab, and SPC Parmely),
“Charlie Company it comes to operating communi- cated on the table. Whenever
lead by SGT Lasseter. It is
cations equipment. One of the something goes wrong the ter-
adds a unique variable everyone’s opinion that this
many outlying areas that Char- minal gives them a good esti-
team has performed to the
to the typical opera- lie Company supports is Pasab. mation of where the error oc-
highest of standards during
tions of Task Force “ curs and then the team is off to
our time here, and theyare
The Charlie Company Soldiers troubleshoot their terminal.
expected to keep up the out-
at Pasab live out of a GP- Inevitably, there is a lot of
standing work.
Medium (large open tent) that is down time due to the nature of
adjacent to the building in Signal work.
which they conduct operations.
Upon entering their sleep-tent, When the network is fully op-
visitors are greeted with a long erational, the job focuses on
hallway down the middle of the monitoring the equipment and
structure. Individual rooms making sure it stays fully func-
tional. This free time has al-
THE WORKHORSE CHRONICLE

7. PAGE 7
“DART 06 and DART 07: In Memoriam”
by CPT Nick Kanakis, DART Officer-in-Charge
I write this with a heavy heart Staff Sergeant Marc A. way that caring leaders
“A Soldier lieth for our Workhorse Family Scialdo should. He never accepted
beneath the sod, and the families of two out- A ten year Army veteran, mediocrity and pushed his
standing men. While no Staff Sergeant Marc A. teams to greatness. Be-
Who many a field words could ever hope to ease Scialdo served overseas cause of his example, the
of battle trod: our sadness, let us remember tours in Korea and Hawaii DART executed real world
our Fallen for the giants they and deployed to Iraq and recoveries and the Black
When glory call’d, were. Afghanistan as a crew chief Hawk section has inspected
his breast he and mechanic on UH-60L and repaired over 20 heli-
Chief Warrant Officer Five Black Hawk helicopters. As copters in only four
bar’d, Curtis “Skinny” Reagan and a member of the Workhorse months.
And toil and want, Staff Sergeant Marc Scialdo Team, Sergeant Scialdo’s
served as the Downed Air- natural leadership shone What many loved about
and danger craft Recovery Team (DART) brightest as DART 07 and Sergeant Scialdo most was
Officer (06) and Non- the UH-60 Maintenance Sec- his witty humor and inces-
Caption
shar’d. sant love of pop music. If
Commissioned Officer (07) in tion Chiefs. describing
Like through all you heard Katie Perry or
picture or
Charge. With over 35 years of Carly Rae Jepson in the
graphic.
aviation experience between Marc could always be found hanger, Scialdo wouldn’t
thy duties go;
them, they forged a dynamic, where the work was the be far away, usually danc-
Waste not thy proactive helicopter recovery toughest; wrestling with a ing along. He’d be quick to
team capable of supporting all sling load or beating his share his new favorite pic-
strength in useless ture from theChive or shout
of Regional Command South. knuckles against an oil
woe, “Put that down anywhere!”
cooler mounting bracket.
when you dropped some-
Both were vibrant, charis- Sergeant Scialdo always thing. He is sorely missed.
Heave thou no
matic leaders who captivated took the time to teach, train,
sigh and shed no the hearts of everyone they and coach his Soldiers the KCCO Brother.
worked with. They were
tear,
coaches, mentors, friends,
A valiant Soldier teachers, and champions to
their Soldiers; and devoted
slumbers here.”
husbands, fathers, and sons to
their families.
Rest easy, Gentlemen.
THE WORKHORSE CHRONICLE

8. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 PAGE 8
Chief Warrant Officer 5 exercises, taught classes, coordi-
Curtis “Skinny” Reagan nated ranges, and drilled his
Few men can ever truly be called team like a coach until they ex-
a legend, but within the Army ceeded his expectations. His
Aviation community, CW5 Curtis commitment paid off in the hon-
“Skinny” Reagan was exactly orable and efficient recoveries
that. In the course of his 24 years of two Fallen Angles; one of
of aviation service, Skinny accu- which included the tragic loss of CW5 Curtis “Skinny” Reagan
mulated over 4,200 total flight his team’s own NCOIC, Staff
hours, 17 years of Maintenance Sergeant Scialdo.
Test Flight experience, and nearly
2,100 hours of combat flight time Chief Reagan had recently been
as an AH-64 Apache pilot. Yet, accepted into the University of
he wasn’t content to simply rest South Carolina Law School and
on his laurels and retire peace- was just a month away from
fully. returning home to Savannah to
retire. Skinny often boasted
Skinny fought to come on this that he would one day become
deployment and help accomplish governor of South Carolina, and
the mission one last time. He given his determination there’s
built, from the ground up, a world little doubt that he would have
class DART capable of support- served his state well.
ing operations anywhere in south-
ern Afghanistan. He led training Fair well Governor. Staff Sergeant Marc A. Scialdo

9. “How Deep Are Your Roots” PAGE 9
by Chaplain Michael Runschik
Growing up as a child every- thus were defenseless when Soldiers as they renew their
day on the way to school we exposed to the inevitable harsh life, heart and mind. Have
would drive by a huge forest elements of life. you tried to protect yourself
not too far from my home. It has been my pleas- from this deployment and
The trees were large, thriving, ure, as the Chaplain of TF stay in a warm, inner and
green and lush and quite the Workhorse Soldiers, to con- comfortable place? If you
site for a youngster to take in. tinually experience men and are brave enough and em-
However, while in high school, women allowing adversity and brace the “winds” of de-
they decided to increase the the “winds of deployment” to ployment, you, your family
amount of lanes and thus strengthen and mature them. and your children will be
needed to cut down the first Countless Soldiers have used forever changed. How deep
few layers of the tree line. this time to focus on intention- are your roots?
Two days later I was surprised ally searching their soul and
to see half of the forest wiped wrestling with who they really
out. The wind had knocked are and what is most precious
over half of these massively in this life. Each day five to
ancient tress. How? eight Soldiers sit on the couch
My father then edu- in my office and make the de-
cated me. The trees near the cision to grow, to own their
end of the forest had been ex- mistakes, to become the spouse
posed to wind their whole life. they haven’t been, to make
When wind blows the tree’s their children a priority, to heal
roots grow and reach down from past sleeping wounds, to
deeper into the soil. Adversity receive God into their life, to
had produced maturity and break an addiction and the list
strength. This is a “luxury” the goes on. It has been a joy to
inner trees never received and laugh, cry and celebrate with
TF Workhorse Deployed Contact 603rd ASB Home Detachment Contact
Information Information
BN CDR: LTC Andy Gignilliat CDR: CPT David Hernandez 912-315-2092
andrew.gignilliat@afghan.swa.army.mil
david.hernandez31.mil@mail.mil
BN CSM: CSM Grant Stange
grant.stange@afghan.swa.army.mil 1SG: 1SG Shane Latty 912-315-2094
shane.a.williams3.mil@mail.mil
BN XO: MAJ Curtis Perkins
curtis.perkins@afghan.swa.army.mil
XO: 1LT Denise Bernard 912-315-7970
BN Adjutant: 1LT Marisha McLean denise.bernard.mil@mail.mil
marisha.mclean@afghan.swa.army.mil
FRSA: Mrs. Celena Smith 912-315-2093

12. Some of the Soldiers bringing
pride to our Workhorse Team
March 2013: Battalion NCO and
Soldier of the Month were
SGT Manuel (HSC)
and SPC Brown (B Co).
The B Company
Powerplant Component
Repair Shop
April 2013: Battalion NCO and
Soldier of the Month were
SGT Bower (HSC)
and SPC Higginbotham (HSC).