to carry on the tradition of

making Michigan Proud of their

Army National Guard Soldiers!

Two Michigan Engineer Battal-

ion representatives standing

“Shona Ba Shona”, means

“Shoulder to Shoulder” exem-

plifying the phrase we use :

One Army, One Fight!

HOOAH!

FOB PASAB, Afghanistan. Popu-

lation approximately 2200, sits

in the Zharay District near the

banks of the Arghandab river

valley. A fertile farmland mixed

with the abundance of grape

vineyards and sunflower fields.

Although war torn and some

areas dissipated by the act of

violence inflicted by the Taliban,

the area continues to thrive.

We, at the 1433rd/1432nd will

do our absolute best in order to

keep the roads clear of IEDs, so

the people of Afghanistan can

have the freedom of movement

in a safe environment.

Although the threat remains,

the “ROCKHOUND” sense of

sniffing out the threat and ac-

complishment of their missions

is always foremost on their

minds. Through the rigors of

training and schooling, the

“ROCKHOUNDS” have the skill, and knowledge to conduct

their mission in the safest and

most effective manner there is.

One thing is for sure though,

the 1433rd/1432nd will continue

FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN

223rd Engineer Battalion– TF Knight

1433rd/1432nd Engineer Com-

pany currently falls under the

direction of Task Force Knight,

which is the 223rd Engineer

Battalion, from the Mississippi

Army National Guard based out

of West Point, MS.

The tradition of hard work is

recognized on the Battalion

Crest with the phrase “Crescit Labore,” which is literally trans-

lated as “It Grows With Labor”.

The heritage of the 223rd Engi-

neer Battalion runs deep with a

rich history, and continues to be

known for hard work, service

and commitment to excellence.

1433RD/1432ND

ENGINEER

CLEARANCE

COMPANY

JULY 1 2012 TOA PICTURES

ROCKHOUND REVIEW

IN THIS ISSUE:

We have arrived

At the Peak, CPT Falor

1SG Rye’s Blast Window

Misfits

Hogslayers

Honey Badgers

Night Crawlers

FMT/HQ

Soldier of the Month

At the Peak 2

Blast Window 3

Misfits 4

Hog slayers 4

Honey Badgers 5

Night Crawlers 5

FMT/HQ 6

Soldier of the

Month

7

“WE SHALL

REVEAL”

FROM THE PEAK CPT TODD FALOR

BLAST WINDOW 1SG DAVID RYE

Greeting from FOB PASAB,

As the realization for some of the younger soldiers set it, I see our seasoned veterans taking them

under their wings and giving the needed guidance to adapt in this type of environment. The mix of

experience and eagerness is developing our unit into becoming a well balanced team. The younger

guys that have attended all the specialized training are able to teach some of the older guys a few

things or two on the technical side, while the experience on tactical knowledge is spread out

through the teams by the more seasoned soldiers. The performance thus far has exceeded the

expectations put forth by the commander and myself which will only get better as we move for-

ward.

All this can be only attributed to the support they have received from family and friends in the last

18 months as we prepared to perform this mission assigned to us. With that said, a Huge Thank

You to all the Families and Friends out there for the support you have shown these true American

Soldiers.

ESSAYONS!

1SG Rye

“ROCKHOUND 7”

Military Humor:

Mr. and Mrs. Braithwaite Backus,

Bald Buzzard Ridge

Mountainville, KY

Dear Ma and Pa:

Am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and

Brother Elmer the Army beats working for old

man Minch. Tell them to join up quick before all

the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you got to stay in

bed till nearly 6 a.m.( but am getting so I like to

sleep late. All you do before breakfast is smooth

your cot and shine some things -- no hogs to

slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split,

fire to lay. Practically nothing. You got to shave,

but it is not bad in warm water.

Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice,

cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on

chops, potatoes, beef, ham steak, fried eggplant,

pie and regular food, but you can always sit

between two city boys that live on coffee. Their

food plus yours holds you till noon, when you

get fed.

It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on "route marches," which, the Sgt. says,

are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is

not my place to tell him different. A "route

march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home.

Then the city guys all get sore feet and we ride

back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful

flat.

The Sgt. is like a schoolteacher. He nags some.

The Capt. is like the school board. Cols. and

Gens. just ride around and frown. They don't

bother you none.

I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know

why, the bull's-eye is near big as a chipmonk and

don't move and it ain't shooting at you, like the

Higsett boys at home. All you got to do is lie

there all comfortable and hit it, you don't even

load your own cartridges they come in boxes.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join

before other fellows get onto this setup and

come stampeding in.

Your loving son,

Zeb

P.S. Speaking of shooting, enclosed is $200 for

barn roof and ma's teeth. The city boys shoot

craps, but not very good.

Page 2 AS WE SEE IT

I would like to start by personally thanking the 1432nd/1433rd friends and families for all the

support that you have shown over the last several months. Without you, our soldiers would not be

at the readiness level they are at today. After several flights and layovers we are now in Afghanistan

and ready to begin our mission here. We have trained hard and we are ready for the challenges that

lie ahead. I know you are all worried about what the coming months will bring, and I assure you that

your soldier has received the best training and has the best equipment of any Army in the world. Just

because we are now deployed does not mean our training ends. We will continue to train everyday

to make ourselves better. I know I can speak for everybody in the unit when I say let the count-

down begin and in about nine short months we will see you all again. Again thank you for supporting

your soldier and I look forward to providing you with updates every month on our deployment,

Godspeed.

CPT Todd Falor

“ROCKHOUND 6”

Specialist Jarrett Zimmer Cleans and

performs checks on his individually

assigned weapons before a combat

mission as part of pre combat checks

and inspections. Specialist Zimmer is

assigned to 1st Route Clearance Pack-

age with the 1433rd Sapper Engineer

Company.

1ST PLATOON “MISFITS”

2nd PLATOON “HOGSLAYERS”

Second RCP would also like to

recognize SPC Jacob Lomoro.

SPC Lomoro left Fort Bliss

early so that he could receive

specialized training at KAAF.

He has been on multiple mis-

sions already and has helped

train others in the platoon on

what he has learned. The pla-

toon counts on him to accom-plish multiple tasks above his

grade and they are always com-

pleted to a very high standard.

His dedication to the success of

the platoon sets the standard

for others to follow.

SFC Palacios

Knight 7-2 “Hogslayers”

SSG Drebenstedt with SPC

Lomoro make last minute

checks prior to mission.

From Second Platoon, It has been a hectic and ex-

hausting few weeks since leav-

ing Fort Bliss. It seems like it

has been forever since our

pass. Thank you to all the

families that were able to come

and we missed anyone that

could not. The family’s support

of second platoon has been

second to none. We left Fort

Bliss and took a very long flight

to Manas. After Manas we

arrived in Afghanistan and

started our last bits of training

and movement to FOB Pasab.

Second platoon is now at Pasab

and slowly getting moved in.

We have been getting valuable

training and mentorship from

the unit we are replacing and

are quickly moving into taking

their place to get them home.

The platoon is doing great and

we look forward to updating

our families on the progress we

are making. Thank you for

everyone’s support and

prayers.

“EXPERTS

OFTEN

POSSESS

MORE DATA

THAN

JUDGEMENT”

Colin Powell

Page 3 TOA PICTURES

Recently, shortly after leaving FOB PASAB, on a routine mission,

3rd Platoon witnessed a vehicle accident involving a Afghanistan

citizen on a motorcycle and a civilian pickup truck. The driver of

the motorcycle who was injured received medical treatment by

3rd Platoon’s Medic SPC Dull which consisted of a broken ankle

and multiple abrasions. This display of humanitarian treatment and

kindness from the 1433rd brings respect and trust to the local

Afghan populace.

3RD PLATOON “HONEY BADGERS”

4TH PLATOON “NIGHT CRAWLERS”

Hello from FOB Pasab,

4th platoon just finished their first rotation of missions. It was an amazing experience. We were fortunate

to see so much of the area here we will be operating in for the coming months. The platoon was able to

learn a ton in its first week here. The experiences we had will be tantamount to our mission success

here, giving us a snapshot of what we are already strong on and what we can begin to improve on. As a

platoon we are growing closer together. Of course you all know our company was originally two com-

panies from all different areas of Michigan. The backgrounds from soldier to soldier are vastly different

giving us such a diverse company and more specifically platoon. These differences have been and will

continue to be a source of so much of our strength and success here. Every soldier is able to bring a not

only their experience as a combat engineer to the table but also has a wealth of knowledge from the

civilian life too. We are learning more and more about one another and ourselves everyday as we move

forward on this deployment.

Page 4 ROCKHOUND REVIEW

3rd Platoon assisting

Local National citizens

after arriving at the

scene of an auto acci-

dent.

Spirits here are high, thanks to the support of one another and all of you back home we are

able to from bounds that will last forever. We all know how hard it is to say good bye to a loved one

for a year. We want you all to know how much we appreciate what you do for us. Your strength and

resolve back states side feeds the strength and drive of your soldiers here. The military defines a Com-

bat Multiplier as; supporting and subsidiary means that significantly increase the relative combat

strength (power) of a force while actual force ratios remain constant. The families and loved ones we

left behind is arguably the most significant combat multiplier any of us could have with us while we

endure these times. So from all us Nightcrawlers (4th platoon), thank you for what you do and God

bless. Until next month, Essayons.

Cont. 4TH PLATOON “NIGHTCRAWLERS”

Page 5 Newsletter Title

SFC O’ Callaghan has

been appointed as the

ANA (Afghanistan Na-

tional Army) Training

Liaison for the 1433rd.

His duties include; coor-

dination of training the

ANA partnered with the

1433rd, scheduling of

ANA missions with the

RCPs, and oversight of

the ANA maintenance

program. SFC O’Cal-

laghan’s team also in-

cludes, SGT Pyles, SGT

Rose and SPC Schiller.

Already their team has

made a huge difference in

developing a rapport with

the ANA counterparts,

showing dedication to

their assigned mission

moving forward.

ANA LIASION, SFC O’ CALLAGHAN

SFC O’Callaghan 1433rd ANA Liaison and

SFC Grimes from the 223rd EN BN discuss

ANA involvement prior to mission.

Transfer of Authority (TOA) 11July2012

Page 6 Newsletter Title

Transfer of Authority. Transfer of authority of forces is the formal transfer of

a specified degree of authority over designated forces both between nations

and NATO Commanders, and between any two NATO Commanders.

In this case it was the transfer of authority between the outgoing unit, the 22nd

Engineer Clearance Company (ECC) from Fort Lewis and the 1433rd Engineer

Clearance Company (ECC) from the Michigan Army National Guard.

A process of the outgoing unit (22nd ECC) brings their guidon to attention and

is rolled and put into a sleeve indicating mission complete. While the incoming

unit (1433rd ECC) brings their guidon to attention and is uncased representing

assumption of assigned mission.

Page 7

TOA PICTURES

CPT Wolf and 1SG Brinkley of the 22nd ECC roll and incase

the unit guidon, indicating mission complete and turn over the

mission to the 1433rd ECC.

CPT Falor and 1SG Rye

uncase the unit guidon

signifying assumption of

authority of assigned

mission.

Battalion Commander LTC

Cleveland of the 223rd EN

BN, displays the

1433rd/1432nd Unit Guidon.

SPC Brantly LaFave from 3rd Platoon has been se-

lected as June’s Soldier of the Month for the 1433rd

Engineer Clearance Company.

SPC LaFave was selected by his peers to be part of the

ADVON that went early to Afghanistan to attend ad-

vanced training on specialized equipment used by the

company. His ability to comprehend the language and

technical aspects of the equipment made him a valu-

able asset in training other soldiers within the company

on that piece of equipment. SPC LaFave was also able

to impress the active duty component we have re-

placed with his knowledge of the equipment and ability

to operate it with such high proficiency.

CONGRATULATIONS!

SOLDIER OF THE MONTH