they gave us and then the

mission was ours. Al-

though we have been doing

the missions since we ar-

rived, it was always with the

knowledge that the 1-124 IN

was still here to make sure

we executed them properly.

With the TOA, that ends and

in many ways this is a relief

to the members of TF 3-197.

We came to Kuwait to con-

duct security for long haul

convoys in Iraq and now we

own the mission until we

conduct our TOA sometime

next summer and are re-

lieved. It will be a challeng-

ing mission but the months

of training we have com-

pleted has made us ready

and excited to execute this

mission on our own.

TF 3-197 completed its

Transfer Of Authority

(TOA ) on December 12th

after almost a full month of

training with the outgoing

unit the 1-124IN Florida

ARNG. This means that all

operations are now com-

pletely under the control of

TF 3-197 soldiers. The

TOA ceremony is signifi-

cant in military circles be-

cause the outgoing unit

cases their colors after

completing their mission

and the incoming unit un-

furls their colors to signify

the beginning of theirs.

Everything TF 3-197 has

accomplished up to this

point has been in prepara-

tion for this event. Major

General Dowd, 1st TSC

Commander, was in atten-

dance and challenged TF 3

-197 to do the job as well

as the 1-124IN. LTC David

Baker TF 3-197 Com-

mander expressed his

gratitude to the 1-124IN for

the outstanding training

The desert sun was setting on a cool evening, the ef-fects of our first sandstorm of the deployment still lin-gering in the air. About twenty-six Soldiers from TF 3-197

th gathered at the

“Armor of God” – a large metal pavilion used for pre-convoy inspections. Gear was checked, and checked again. After a few brief-ings, I heard the call: “Chaplain, we are ready for you!” As I stepped forward to offer prayer for a convoy

escort team ready to enter Iraq, I was reminded of the honor I have been given – to intercede before God for Soldiers. “If you are will-ing, please join me in prayer.” Most every head bowed. “Lord, I ask you to set your angels round about these Soldiers. Watch over them, and over each of their family mem-bers back home.” Using the centuries old Hebraic benediction, I then spoke words that have become

(unofficially) our battalion blessing. “And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you; may he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.” As heads lifted, sev-eral Soldiers made the sign of the cross. “Thank you, Chaplain,” I heard from many, as I slowly exited the Armor of (Cont. on back page)

LTC Baker and CSM May

uncase the BN colors at the

TOA ceremony.

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Chaplain 1

LTC Baker 2

CSM May 2

3-197 makes

contact with

enemy

3

Chaplain

Cont.

4

Contact

Information

4

Blessing troops before missions By: Chaplain Meher

TF 3-197 NEWSLETTER D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F I N -

T E R E S T :

3-197 Completes

TOA

Message from

Granite Steel 06

Message from

Granite Steel 09

Chaplain discusses

Prayer before

missions.

TF 3-197 Completes TOA By: CPT Brian Calhoun

P A G E 2

LTC Baker (2nd from left) gives

BN coins to 1-124 IN soldiers who

were on mission with him.

CSM May on Families and Soldiers

LTC Baker Reflects on our 1st Month

seat/right seat training

given us by our 1-124 In-

fantry brothers. As for our

families, none of this

would be possible without

their support. Our families

never cease to amaze me.

We as soldiers only have

one focus, this mission, our

families have to focus on

everything else. We have

an entire battalion of sol-

diers that live together and

watch each other’s backs.

That is not the case with

our families. However,

they do have many re-

sources to fall back on

such as the Family program,

Family Readiness Groups,

Easter Seals, and Care Coor-

dinators program (just to

name a few). We have all

come so far in just a month

that I can not wait to see what

we can accomplish during

this deployment. Along with

our assigned mission, I want

soldiers to try and take ad-

vantage of continuing educa-

tion offered here, including

NCOES. Let’s make this

deployment an opportunity to

grow in all areas of our lives.

Granite Steel!

I am so proud of my sol-

diers! This month has been

such a huge challenge. Every

soldier rose to the occasion.

This speaks highly of their

motivation, cooperation, and

desire to get our mission

accomplished. The maturity

of our younger soldiers made

the transition from Ft McCoy

to Camp Buehring Kuwait as

smooth as I have ever experi-

enced during my 28 years of

military service. The NCOs

in this battalion kept priori-

ties straight so we had mini-

mal down time, and have

taken to heart the joint left

CSM May Camp Buehring Kuwait

December 2010.

T F 3 - 1 9 7 N E W S L E T T E R

Hello soldiers and FRG

members! It is amazing

how quickly time can go by.

Our battalion left Ft McCoy

on November 15th, and after

flying 6000 miles we landed

in Kuwait on the 16th.

Lucky for us, we had a pit

stop in Leipzig Germany to

stretch our legs. The first

two days were a bit hectic,

as we moved north to Camp

Buehring. The unit we re-

placed, 1st Bn 124th Infantry

from the Florida National

Guard, were very gracious

to us by moving out of the

barracks into tents so we

could move right into the

barracks.

This small gesture let us

get established quickly so

we could start right into

our mission specific train-

ing. Over the next two

weeks we learned “how”

to perform our tasks as

efficiently and safely as

possible. I, as well as all

soldiers owe a great debt to

1-124 for a very detailed

training plan. We estab-

lished a great friendship

along the way. The official

transfer to 3-197 was per-

formed on December 12th,

and accepted by Major

General Dowd, our higher

headquarters.

In this short month, we have

driven over 160,000 miles

into Iraq, and moved 46,400

tons of equipment safely into

Kuwait for shipment. Our

success thus far is reflective

in the professionalism of all

soldiers in the battalion.

Granite Steel!

“we as soldiers only have one

focus, this mission, our families

have to focus on everything

else.”

CSM Victor May

3-197 Makes Contact with Enemy by: CPT Jason Lore

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

I spoke with Staff Sgt. Jimmy Hannan of 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery after a recent convoy escort mission. The job of a Convoy Escort Team or CET is to escort otherwise unprotected supply convoys into Iraq, where violence and danger are still very much a part of everyday life.

Hannan’s squad traveled unhindered to their destination through the night. However, dur-ing the CET’s return trip to Ku-wait, one of its vehicles was the target of an enemy explosive de-vice. None of the soldiers in Han-nan’s team were injured. And al-though their Caiman suffered ex-tensive damage, it withstood the force of the blast. “The equipment we have now has improved greatly compared to what we had during our first deployment,” said Hannan, adding that the design of the armored personnel carrier, with its V-hull shape and rein-forced armor was a primary rea-son it held up in the attack.

He also mentioned the vehicular intercom system or VIC. It includes a noise-canceling

headset and receiver, capable of establishing communications with not only everyone in his ve-hicle, but with everyone else in his CET. The ability to communi-cate effectively should be one of the first priorities of a well-trained crew, Hannan said. As far as training, Hannan said, “Our bat-tle drills definitely helped. Every-one knew what to do, so it helped maintain the calmness.”

Battle drills refer to a pre-established set of steps to take in the event of an emergency. For example, an infantry unit has battle drills for capturing a build-ing, going on a patrol, or defend-ing a piece of key terrain. In this case, the CET crews have had several opportunities to practice crew drills, in varying levels of reality. Sometimes the crews will engage simulated enemy on a range with live ammunition; sometimes they get into their vehicles without ammunition or weapons, drive onto a road and go through a notional exer-cise. They are also in the habit of using a sand-table to rehearse. They closely replicate the terrain, place model trucks in certain spots and war-game different scenarios. Each crew member is expected to vocalize what is re-quired of them upon any number of variables. It is also an opportu-nity for Hannan to individually quiz his soldiers, “What do we do here? What happens next?”

Hannan and his soldiers are patiently awaiting their next assignment. His CET was one of the first three from 3/197th FA to go out on mission since arriving

in Kuwait. And it was the first to see en-emy action.

**Editors note:

Since this story was written TF 3-197 has had further contact with the enemy and thanks to quality training and superb equipment in every instance everyone has walk away without injury.

Note: This article and many more articles on TF 3-197 and the rest of the 197th FIB can be found on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Granite-Thunder/109224655804175?v=wall

A CSC CET 07 The first 3-197

soldiers to see enemy action

Caiman MRAP (Mine Resistant Armor Pro-

tected) vehicle used on CET missions

God, moving on to my next appointment. On 40 occasions now, with over 800 Soldiers, I have prayed this prayer of blessing upon our men and woman ventur-ing “outside the wire.” It seemed fitting to also use these words at the TOA ceremony benediction. With both battal-ions standing still before a setting sun, we asked God to care for Soldiers going home – and for Soldiers and families with eight months between them and home. To be clear, in this Hebrew blessing, God does not promise ease – he does promise strength in hard times! God does not promise the absence of darkness – He does promise light to illumi-nate the darkness, even the light of His shining face! In short, He gives a promise of peace to those who notice his gaze, and dare look upon His shining countenance. To all – be strong! And, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Continued from page 1

PROMOTIONS

Chaplain Meher gives the bene-

diction closing the TOA cere-

mony

AWARDS

BRIAN.P.CALHOUN@kuwait.swa.army.mil

CPT Brian Calhoun

HHC TF 3-197 Camp Buerhing

KU APO AE 09330

T 3-197 Contact Information

SIUDUT, JASON AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

JOHNSON, THOMAS AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

RIVERA, JAVIER AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

LASHER, ANDREW AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

MOREL, DANIEL AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

RICHARDSON, ANDREW AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

GRASSIE, ANDREW AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

JOHNSON, KENT AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

HIGDON, JAMES AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

CHOURAMANIS, CHRISTO-PHER

AAM (ACHIEVEMENT)

TF 3-197 is made up of several units from NH

including 3rd BN 197th FA, 744th FSC, A & B

COs 3643rd support BN, and 372nd Signal

company. It has also been augmented by

members of B CO 1st BN 103rd FA RI ARNG

and soldiers from the 1-124th IN that decided

they wanted to stay on for another year.

If there is anything you would like to see in

our future issues please contact us and we will

try to oblige.

ANDERSON DEVIN JOHN PFC to SPC

BEECHER, DAVID MSG to SGM

BELIVEAU DANIEL MARCEL SSG to SFC

CARRIER JOSHUA PFC to SPC

CHAPMAN MICHAEL BRANDON PFC to SPC

CONNORS MICHAEL PATRICK SPC to SGT

CROWDER, ALEX PV2 to PFC

DUQUETTE CHRISTOPHER SGT to SSG

GHENT, RICHARD SPC to SGT

JENSEN, KEITH CW2 to CW3

NICHOLS DANIEL GREGORY PFC to SPC

OUELLET, DANIEL CPT to MAJ