The Red Warrior Path / 2014 Issue 2

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It is a hot mid-afternoon here at Kandahar Airfield, and your Red Warriors are attacking!

With the hugely successful Afghan National Elections be-hind us, and a likely national run-off in front of us, your Red Warriors are busier than ever. We are securing Dand and Daman Districts, Kandahar Province, every day. Through combined patrols with the 4th Kandak, 2nd Mobile Strike Force Brigade, Afghan National Army, along with the District Police and with National Directorate of Security Agents, our patrols are making a huge difference. Our partnered operations allow us flexibility to search com-pounds of interest in the pletho-ra of villages surrounding us, as well as understand “the Afghan Street.” The ANA Soldiers and

AUP Policemen gain confidence from our training and reinforce-ment of their security initiatives. Our Soldiers also model good habits and best practices so that our ANSF brothers can, in turn, professionally grow and eventu-ally replace us as we transition to Operation Resolute Support from OEF in December. Com-bine this dynamic twenty-four hours a day, and seven days per week mission, and you get out-standing disruptive effects on the Taliban insurgents that threaten our airfield’s security and Kandahar City.

Comanche, Arrowhead and Beast Companies are all battle-space owners. Captains Kruck, Anderson and Rella manage community relations, public policing and the security focus every day for their associated

areas. This includes integration with a Romanian Company, 1st Company, 26th Romanian Infan-try (Red Scorpions), A/2-504 Parachute Infantry Regiment from the Theater Reaction Force and synchronization with a 45-man Slovak SFAT Team. Our Security Force (SECFOR) Platoons continually guard the lives of four separate Security Force Assistance Teams and ensure their mission success. Captain Manis and Dog Compa-ny are doing the heavy lifting with their Combined Arms Breach Team operations, clear-ing long-distance travel in sup-port of retrograde operations, while ensuring freedom of ma-neuver for coalition forces. Our Aerial Reaction Force has been busy both at KAF and FOB Apache: both the Mortar Pla-toon and 2nd PLT/A/1-12 IN have executed multiple real-world MEDEVAC chase mis-sions and recovery operations. CPT Hooker has both platoons invested with pathfinder and small arms training to keep their

(Continued on page 3)

Attacking by LTC Dave Voorhies

With the hugely

successful Afghan

National Elections

behind us, and a

likely nation runoff

in front of us, your

Red Warriors are

busier than ever.

THE RED WARRIOR PATH

THE RED WARRIOR PATH is published by 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment (Light) for the families and friends of Red Warrior Soldiers. 1-12 Infantry (L) is part of Task Force Mountain Warrior (4 IBCT, 4 ID). The task force is currently deployed to Afghanistan, Regional Command South, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Contents of THE RED WARRIOR PATH are not necessarily the official view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government or the Department of Defense. Please send all questions or comments about THE RED WARRIOR PATH to CH (CPT) Jeremie Vore at [email protected].

ON THE FRONT AND BACK COVERS: (FRONT) Task Force 1-12IN Company Commanders and their guidons in formation at the Transfer of Authority Ceremony between Sabre and Red Warrior. (BACK) At the same ceremony, Red Warrior 6 and 7 uncase the battalion colors.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Attacking (continued)

We will see to it

that our part of the

OEF mission is

successful, as I truly

believe we can and

will be “securing a

win” for our

comrades, our

Families and our

Nation.

skills sharp! Our staff manages geography and relationships normally afforded to a brigade combat team, as well as provid-ing LNO responsibilities to the Air Force OSI, the Commander of Kandahar Airfield and Moun-tain Warrior Headquarters.

(Continued from page 2)

RW6 visits with A6, B6, C6 and E6 prior to the TOA ceremony.

CSM Marble and I are extremely proud of our Soldiers!

We recently celebrated our first 30 days in combat with the 4th Infantry Division Patch Cer-emony. All 660 Red Warriors are official combat veterans of OEF XV, with 309 of them as “first time vets.” We are also extremely thankful to the efforts of our sponsors. We have re-ceived over 250 care packages from the Gonzaga College High School Boys Lacrosse team this past Easter Sunday - a huge treat for us all! I am also particularly grateful for the efforts of Tom Torres and Richard “Dirty” Sanchez for their home-station support of our families and Rear-Detachment Soldier through FOB Colorado.

I am please to offer con-gratulations to CSM Tim Marble for his CSL selection to serve as the Brigade CSM for the 8th Cadet Command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. This is a bitter-sweet announcement, as it is great for the Army but we will lose CSM Marble in August.

Please know that we are extraordinarily busy, making a difference and honoring the sacrifices of those that came before us. We will see to it that our part of the OEF mission is successful, as I truly believe we can and will be “securing a win” for our comrades, our Families and our Nation. Our loved ones are always in the forefront of our minds.

Thank you all for your con-tinued love and support – We will Make it Matter!

Led by Love of Country,

LTC William D. Voorhies

RW6

L RW6 visits with the Romanian “Red Scorpions,” an integral part of the team.

Alpha Company—Arrowhead is on Point by CPT Erik Anderson

Please continue to

reach out to the

FRG for anything

you may need

during this

deployment and

know that we’ll be

home before you

know it.


Friends and Families of Arrowhead Company,

Greetings from Kandahar Airfield (KAF) and Forward Operating Base (FOB) Apache! Your Soldiers have been incredi-bly busy during the initial weeks of deployment and I am ex-tremely proud of everything this company has accomplished in such a short time. On March 25th we officially assumed all responsibilities for our Area of Operations (AO) and all associ-ated tasks from Nemesis and Palehorse Troops of 4/2 Calva-ry Regiment. Below is just a small sampling of what each platoon in Arrowhead Company experiences on a daily basis. In the coming months we look forward to sharing our stories and most importantly, our pic-tures, with you.

1st platoon, led by 1LT Andrew Nieminski and SFC Johnny Weaver, is responsible for the security of two Security Force Advisor Teams (SFATs). SFATs are small, focused groups of senior Army leaders responsi-ble for advising their Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) partners. 1st platoon is responsi-ble for securing the advisors to the 2nd Mobile Strike Force (MSF) and 1/205 Afghan Na-tional Army (ANA). They con-

duct daily mounted and dis-mounted patrols to the nearby ANA base. This allows the advi-sors to focus on partnership while 1st Platoon focuses on ensuring the safety of the advi-sors. 1st platoon is the unsung hero of the critical advising mis-sion that is paving the way for the ANSF to assume full con-trol of security in Afghanistan.

2nd platoon, led by 2LT Nicholas Sullivan and SFC Todd Honaker, is responsible for the Division Aerial Reaction Force (ARF). They are currently stationed with 2-12IN on FOB Apache, and although they won’t admit it, I secretly think they enjoy being away from the flag pole. Their primary mission is to maintain a constant state of preparedness in order to react and assist anywhere in Regional Command (RC) South within fifteen minutes. They conduct daily mission rehearsal exercises with the assistance of their avia-tion partners and have become experts in medical evacuation procedures, air assault tech-niques, and dismounted maneu-ver. They have maintained their weapons proficiency through an extensive training plan which has allowed them to re-validate everything from individual weapons qualification to com-

pleting a platoon level live fire exercise. Since their arrival to Afghanistan in early February, 2nd platoon has done an incred-ible job keeping everyone in RC-South safe and secure.

3rd Platoon, led by 1LT Joseph Perez and SSG Robert Kramarik, is responsible for securing the area immediately surrounding KAF. Working alongside their International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners, 3rd platoon conducts daily mounted and dismounted patrols to ensure that all residents (civilian, con-tractor, and military) on KAF are protected and unhindered by threats on the other side of the wire. 3rd platoon spends the majority of their time conduct-ing missions focused on denying the enemy the ability to occupy key terrain and engaging with the local populace to build stronger relationships between the locals of Afghanistan and the Afghan Uniform Police (AUP). Both LT Perez and SSG Kramarik will agree when I tell you that this is no easy task. They have had many long days and many short nights, but their efforts are not going unnoticed. They are the reason everyone on KAF remains safe and able to go about their daily business without disruption from the enemy.

From all of us in Arrow-head Company, thank you for all of the letters, emails, and pack-ages (the mailroom is never empty)! The first few months are always the most difficult as we attempt to learn our daily tasks, understand our AO, and get our feet underneath us to develop a rhythm. Please con-tinue to reach out to the FRG for anything you may need dur-ing this deployment and know that we’ll be home before you know it. —ARROWHEAD 6

LTC Voorhies affirms the Oath of Office for Andrew Nieminski and Joseph Perez as a part of their promotion to First Lieutenant.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

2nd Platoon during a recent Air Assault Operation.

1SG O’Neil addresses Arrowhead Company during the patch ceremony.

It is mid April and all members of the company have been on the Afghan ground for 1 month. But what do we now call ourselves?

Many first knew us as the Blackfoot Company prior to deployment. But after arriving, we were informed that someone else has the same mighty name as us and therefore we must change.

The next name that came was Blackhawk. But it was quickly shed from us after some expressed the negative reputa-tion from a certain movie bear-ing the same name. We then moved on to a less glamorous name used for an illegitimate child (It rhymes with mastered). This succeeded as our name and was uniformly accepted by all until the inappropriateness of the word was pointed out by our communications branch.

We then attempted to as-sume a general name such as Bravo from the phonetic alpha-bet but were told that this would be confusing when spelling anything on the radio.

So we paused. Then thought. And thought some more until it was noted that there are many largely built Sol-diers in the unit and it was sug-gested that we all appeared to be a hodgepodge of variable sized Beasts. It was then that the alter ego of the Blackfoot emerged as the Beast. And so we call ourselves today.

The company has been very busy since arriving. Many say we hit the ground running once we landed. This writer says that we began to pedal our feet one over the other before we even touched Afghan soil. Now it is one month later and we have accomplished so much.

We own a District Battle

Space known as Dand and are pleased to work and patrol with professional Afghan govern-mental organizations such as the Afghan Uniform Police, the National Defense Service and the Afghan National Army.

Beast Company has now aided in the secure election of the Afghan people, truly unfor-gettable day in the history of this country that marks a very large step forward in the contin-uance of their young democracy. Furthermore, we have accom-plished our first company sized operation, and as a result, fur-thered the security and the pro-tection of the people in our area.

SPC Viketgit took the oath and swore to protect and defend the United states for a further three years by reenlisting . The company was later formed to participate in a combat patch ceremony. This ceremony al-lows each individual to proudly wear the unit that he has de-ployed with on the right shoul-der. This signifies that he is no longer an every day Soldier, but instead now wears the proud distinction of being a veteran of a foreign war. Those who accept this title, such as PFC Mcneil, PFC Kieth, 1LT Teruel and SPC Hennings, are now a part of an elite collection of men

known as combat veterans. This is truly a title that should never be taken lightly and a title that will soon be rarely given. Finally, both SPC Finn and SPC Delgado earned the proud rank of corporal. They have now become noncommissioned of-ficers, the first rank of leader-ship.

The Soldiers are very well supported by great coordina-tion from home and organiza-tions like Operations Second Chance and ADOPT-A-BATTALION with packages, phone calls and updates from Fort Carson. Additionally the living arrangements as well as the food provided is so much more than could have been ex-pected. We feel like men by patrolling in the dusty fields of Kandahar and then come back to hot meals, ice cream, hot showers and soft beds. We are truly blessed.

And so all the men of Beast company/1-12 Infantry thank those of you at home who hold down our homesteads, take care of us from afar and patient-ly wait for our return knowing what we do here is good, and why we do it is honorable. The Legend of the Blackfoot Beast has now begun.

—-BLACKFOOT 6

Bravo Company—The Legend of the Black-footed Beast by CPT Luke Rella


We feel like men

by patrolling in

the dusty fields of

Kandahar and

then come back to

hot meals, ice

cream, hot

showers and soft

beds. We are truly

blessed.

SPC Viketgit reenlists for a further 3 years.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Men of Beast Company patrol a local village in the Dand District.

Beast Company assembles in preparation for the patching ceremony. Vehicles secure the area in the first Company sized operation of Beast.


Charlie Company—Proud and Thankful by CPT Jason Kruck

Our schedule

remains rigorous,

and the Soldiers

stay busy

patrolling,

conducting

equipment

maintenance and

getting much

deserved rest.

As the month of April con-tinues, the men of Comanche Company have finally settled in to their new home at Kandahar Airfield for the coming months.

We’ve spent countless hours preparing our equipment, making some renovations to our Company command post build-ing, and going through troop leading procedures to ensure our Soldiers are ready for any mis-sion.

All three platoons stayed busy during the beginning of the month as Comanche Company ran 24 hour operations through-out the Afghan Presidential Election. Their hard work en-sured that the Company area of

operation stayed safe during the election cycle.

As the deployment quickly approaches the two month mark, the Company has finally gotten accustomed to the daily battle rhythm. Our schedule remains rigorous, and the Sol-diers stay busy patrolling, con-ducting equipment maintenance and getting much deserved rest.

The Company conducted a shoulder sleeve insignia for war-time service ceremony on April 10th. The ‘patching’ ceremony recognized Soldiers for serving for 30 consecutive days of over-seas ground combat operations against hostile forces. All the Soldiers in the Company can

now proudly wear the 4th Infan-try Division ‘combat patch’ on the right sleeve of their uniform.

We want to thank you for all the support coming from home. The Soldiers eagerly wait for the daily mail drop of care packages and letters from home. Your support has kept our mo-rale high and reminds us of all we have to look forward to when we come home.

Sincerely,

CPT Jason Kruck

Commander, Charlie Company 1-12IN

SSG Berrena (3rd Platoon) shows his “muscles” to some local children.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

SPC Ogea and SPC Smilak with local children.

Comanche Soldiers in formation to receive their combat patches. 2LT Jenkins receives his combat patch from his platoon.


Finally, I would like to pass along my e-mail address while I am here in Afghanistan should any of you have questions spe-cifically about your Soldiers or generally about the deployment. That address is:

[email protected].

Please don’t hesitate to con-tact me.

Led by love of Country,

CPT Gabriel C. Manis

Delta Company—Dogs on the Move by CPT Gabe Manis

The D Co FRG did a

particularly great

job in their

participation wit

hthe 1-12IN FRG

Care Package Night

earlier last month

that sent packages

forward to D Co.

D Company Families,

Thank you for the over-whelming support over the first two months of our deployment. It shows in the Soldiers when they receive care packages on a daily basis and maintain high morale. The D Co FRG did a particularly great job in their participation with the 1-12IN FRG Care Package Night earlier last month that sent packages forward to D Co. As the weath-er starts to heat up and summer break starts for the school aged kids, I would recommend that you continue to stay involved with the FRG events and other MWR opportunities available at Fort Carson.

I currently have 4 platoons doing three separate Combat Missions across Kandahar Prov-ince. 1SG Edling and I have

visited 4th Platoon up at FOB Walton several times and plan to visit them a few more in the weeks to come. They are doing well with great living conditions, the best chow-hall in Kandahar, and a unique and challenging mission set. 1st Platoon is work-ing with our sister Company, B Co, 1-12IN. They are also doing great and keeping busy.

HQ, 2nd and 3rd Platoons remain with me at KAF and continue to exceed my expecta-tions daily. Recently, we were fortunate enough to have all four of my platoons and head-quarters present at KAF and took our first Company Picture, shown on the following page. I am extremely proud to be the Commander of D Co and par-ticularly proud to command these fine Soldiers in combat.

A Dog Company vehicle on patrol with an OH-58D Scout Helicopter flying in support. This OH-58D’s crew, call-sign “Bandit,” was flying its last mission in Afghanistan.

mailto:[email protected]

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

CPT Gabriel Manis (Dog 6) and 1SG James Edling (Dog 7) carry the guidon on all Dog Company missions. 3rd Platoon established this Observation Post on a hill overwatching a village during a recent mission.

Dog Company on 24 April 2014

LTC Voorhies recognizes SGT Solis and PVT Green for their great performance immediately after the D Co Patch Ceremony. During the ceremony, Dog Company Soldiers received their 4ID combat patches.


Echo Company—Eagles Soaring High by CPT Matt Howard

I have never bene

more proud of a

company or happier

to work with any

other Soldiers than

those of Eagle

Company.

Eagle Company poses for a company picture as a part of the patch ceremony.

PFC Barthel. Everyone is per-forming above and beyond ex-pectations and are more than prepared for the current mis-sion. The days are flying by and it will not be long before your Soldiers will return home safely.

Distro Platoon has transi-tioned to its new home almost effortlessly. Their daily routine includes: morning physical train-ing, daily inspections of personal equipment, vehicle inspections, mission preparation, and pla-toon meetings which cover training opportunities that are not available at our home sta-tion. The platoon has surpassed the expectation of everyone coming into the deployment and has continued to work hard on being even more efficient. All the hard work and training done at Fort Carson has definitely paid dividends.

Distro platoon has become familiar with the surrounding areas and has served as the Bat-talion primary Quick Reaction Force on numerous occasions enhancing the maneuver assets

(Continued on page 13)

Greetings family and friends of Eagle Company,

Our first month here at Kandahar has definitely flown by, but not boring or slow by any means. The company as-sumed this mission and began striving and working right away. Our Maintenance Platoon has been relentless and continues to set a standard that exceeds ex-pectations of any unit. Our Dis-tro Platoon enables the battalion to complete any mission or task given and is definitely a force multiplier in every facet. Our HQ Platoon continues to sustain the company and monitor day to day tasks and mission. I have never been more proud of a company or happier to work with any other Soldiers than those of Eagle Company. The camaraderie within the company is more than anyone could ask for and everyone is part of a family. The Company continues to Set The Standard within the brigade and accomplishes any mission given. We all look for-ward to hearing from you and especially look forward to reu-niting with our families once again.

Maintenance Platoon has been working hard and doing a remarkable job ever since arriv-ing here on Kandahar Airfield (KAF). The motor pool facili-ties are in good shape and are more than suitable for our mis-sion to maintain the battalion fleet. The equipment that the battalion fell in on was not in the best shape and the mechan-ics have done an outstanding job getting the vehicles up and run-ning. Our recovery section has been called on numerous times to recover vehicles that have been stuck in the muddy terrain that surrounds KAF. Their te-nacity and urgency has undoubt-edly enhanced the operation

readiness of the battalion.

Starting on April 14th, the majority of the Soldiers will work the day shift from 0900 to no later than 2100, mission de-pendent. This will allow Sol-diers to talk to family in the morning or in the evening here, during times that families are awake back in the States. The only exception will be the mini-mal crew that will work over-night. Also, Soldiers will get a minimum of two days a month completely off to relax, talk to friends and family, and to work on furthering their careers through correspondence cours-es. This has raised morale in the platoon, especially considering the consecutive days we have worked here thus far.

Within the first couple of weeks of being here, the Battal-ion Commander recognized several Soldiers for their hard work by handing out battalion coins to Soldiers from every maintenance section. The Sol-diers recognized were: PFC Bo-zell, PFC Fowler, SPC Driz, PFC Wiliams, PFC Flores, and

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Eagles Soaring High (continued)

within the battalion. Soon, the platoon will assist the Brigade by conducting retrograde opera-tions allowing for smaller bases to close down and allow units to depart country and head home. The platoon continues to drive forward and knows that without the support and love from back home the mission would not be going as well as it has been so far. Continue to send care pack-ages and keep us in your pray-ers. The platoon will be home in no time.

HQ platoon has been ex-tremely busy setting up the com-mand and control center for all of the company's operations. Soldiers have been diligently working on improving the com-mand post (CP) both in form and function. The CP has been revamped to facilitate a Forward Support Company mission. The Soldiers operating in the CP have trained on multiple radio systems, reporting procedures and battle tracking of our Sol-diers out in the battle space.

The supply section has greatly improved our CP and office. They've been accounting for property and ordering office supplies to get the company up and running. HQ platoon is also responsible for collecting and distributing everyone's mail. Getting mail from home is a huge morale boost for the Sol-diers of Eagle Company and the mail clerks are happy to hand care packages to individuals. Keep the mail coming, our Sol-diers appreciate the thought and love put into them.

—-EAGLE 6

(Continued from page 12)

Getting mail from

home is a huge

morale boost for the

Soldiers of Eagle

Company and the

mail clerks are

happy to hand care

packages to

individuals.

PFC Davis stands in front of the company bearing the Guidon.

Maintenance working hard on an MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle.

SOLDIERS AT KANDAHAR AIR-

FIELD (KAF)

NAME (NO RANK)

TF RED WARRIOR

PLT/COMPANY/1-12IN

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD

APO, AE 09355

UNIT ADDRESS LIST


SOLDIERS IN ZABUL

NAME (NO RANK)

ARF, TF RED WARRIOR

2/A/1-12IN

FOB APACHE, ZABUL

APO, AE 09383

MAIL SERVICE IS AVERAGING 10-12 DAYS

WHEN SENDING MAIL TO AFGHAN-ISTSAN, FILL IN THE BOLD SECTIONS WITH INFOR-MATION SPECIFIC

TO YOUR SOLDIER.

NEVER INCLUDE RANK FOR SECURITY

REASONS

We are now almost two months into our deployment in Kandahar and while you, our family and friends, are still bat-tling the indecisiveness that is Colorado Springs weather, we are reaching warmer tempera-tures day by day.

First off, I can’t begin to tell you how much your support has meant to the Soldiers of Hatchet Company through all the care packages, letters, emails, and prayers.

Hatchet Company and the Red Warrior Battalion were very fortunate to replace a great unit. Our Relief in Place (RIP) of 4/2 CR was extremely busy for all Soldiers. Everybody spent countless hours in a given day trying to learn more and more about the area in and around Kandahar Airfield that we are now responsible for defending.

There are many perks about living on a large base such as KAF – the DFACs are plentiful, a different gym for each day of the week, and WiFi is available at the touch of a button. How-ever, the disadvantage of such a large installation is that it takes time to go from gym to DFAC or DFAC to DFAC, unless of course, you have a means of transportation. This could be a pickup truck (comparable to a Toyota Tacoma), a Polaris gator, or even a death defying bicycle.

HHC—Hatchet is Hacking Away by 1LT Tyler Cline

We will need your

support over the

next seven months

as we continue to

work and partner

with our Afghan

counterparts to

ensure the safety of

the Americans and

Afghans alike.

The Scout and PSD pla-toons are constantly working as they continue to actively patrol throughout the Red Warriors’ Area of Operations (AO). Scouts and PSD have both trav-elled across the AO more than any other platoon in the battal-ion, becoming extremely famil-iar with the area and its resi-dents. If not patrolling, you can find the platoons planning, con-ducting maintenance, or doing pull ups outside the Company Command Post.

The staff section did a tre-mendous job in setting the con-ditions for a successful Afghan election. The staff understood

the importance of such a signifi-cant moment in Afghan history and treated it as such. They con-tinue to plan for future Red Warrior operations while at the same time supporting Hatchet Soldiers by distributing hun-dreds of K-Cups and cookies from care packages.

Again, I cannot say enough about your continued support for the Soldiers of Hatchet Company. We will need that support over the next seven months as we continue to work and partner with our Afghan counterparts to ensure the safety of Americans and Afghans alike.

SOLDIERS AT WALTON

NAME (NO RANK)

TF RED WARRIOR

4/D/1-12IN

FOB WALTON, KANDAHAR

APO, AE 09637

SFC Tucker and SGT Lussier load 1LT Poist into a vehicle during medical training.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Two First Sergeants and the CSM fight for a bicycle.

CPL Finn (center) and PFC Gwiasdowski (right) provide aid to B Co’s XO, 1LT Weed (left) for a traumatic paper cut.

CPT Eric Martin briefs during a rock drill prior to Afghan elections. 2LT Graham Custar and CPT David Michelson prepare for a daily briefing.

ARF Team Leaders train their fire commands.

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The Red Warrior Path / 2014 Issue 2

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Transcript of The Red Warrior Path / 2014 Issue 2