Wolfpack Howler - May 2013

Greetings from Camp Covington, Guam! April has been a whirlwind

month, but that just confirms that 643rd soldiers are spread far-and-wide

making a difference in the world.

I started the month traveling to the Zambales Province of the Philippines to visit our Roughnecks. 1st Platoon was building a cable-suspension

bridge across a small stream connecting farmers to their fields. This project was one of several engineering efforts in support of Balikatan 13—a joint exercise involving the Army, Navy, Marines and Filipino Army.

After a long trip from Hawaii to Masinloc—it took us two days by plane, bus and car—1SG McKinney and I found our troops working hard along-side host nation counterparts deep in the Filipino countryside. We crossed the existing rickety bridge (that was almost washed away in a flood!), and

made our way to the project site. This was my first visit to a project site as a commander, and, needless to say, I was impressed. Every soldier from 1st Platoon was contributing to the mission and the Roughnecks made it happen. Your loved ones may have been gone for over a month, but you should be proud of

the noble cause their efforts support. They made life a little easier for those less fortunate than us. Job well done!

I barely had enough time to unpack my bags from the Philippines before I was packing them for Guam. On the 14 th, a small operations cell and I deployed to Camp Covington. We joined up with the Mighty Rhinos of 4th Platoon and part of 3rd Platoon, who have been here for two months. Everyone is doing great and we are excited to be here. Our first

Construction Civic Action Detail (CCAD) mission begins at the end of April when 4th Platoon flies to Kosrae. In addi-

tion, soon we will welcome 1SG McKinney and the trail party from Schofield. These are busy times, but our team is up

to it. Recently, we read Patrick Henry’s ―Give me Liberty or Give me Death‖ speech, which he gave in the days leading up to

the Revolutionary War when many colonists were unsure whether they should stand up against the British. To that, he

said: “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what

course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Henry’s words remind us that there are some things—the most important things—are worth fighting for. I believe that

the Wolfpack carries on that spirit of service to the cause; that idea that we are a part of something bigger than our-

selves—because we are! As always, thank you for your service and endless support.

Honor the Service

Wolfpack 6

From the Commander

PROMOTIONS

Congratulations to the following

soldiers for being promoted:

SSG Williams, Nathaniel

PFC Earlena Evans

1 MAY 2013 Issue 3

Wolfpack Howler

Inside this

issue:

1ST PLATOON

3RD PLATOON

4TH PLATOON

CAT PALAU

MAINTENANCE

OPERATIONS

Happy Birthday to the following:

SPC Noe Warthon, 21 May (32)

SSG Loren Pino, 30 May (40)

BIRTHDAYS

Congratulations to the following soldiers and their spouses on cele-

brating their anniversary!

SPC Noe and Fiorella Warthon

-7 May, 3 years

ANNIVERSARIES

SPC Dameg inspects the bridge 1st

Platoon is replacing during Operation

Balikatan, 2013 in the Philippines

Page 2 Wolfpack Howler

1ST PLATOON Roughnecks

Roughnecks return from the Philippines, gain new Soldiers, prepare for new

missions: After spending nearly thirty days in the Philippines, the Roughnecks returned

on April 18th to Hawaii. The project was a challenge for the 1st Platoon Soldiers, who overcame limited logistics support, long supply routes to the project site, and 100 degree

heat to bring this capability to the Tapuac community. During the last weeks of the project, Roughnecks completed several small side

projects; placing armor rock to prevent erosion of the river bed, installing a culvert and locally aesthetic retaining walls to improve a commonly traveled footpath in the village, and re-decking a nearby bridge to make the bridge safe for travel. The roughnecks also

had the opportunity to visit the Shrine of Valor, a memorial to the Bataan death march, standing atop Mount Samat in Bataan, Philippines. After completing construction on the 15th of April; 1st Platoon, along with Alpha Company - 522nd Engineer Construction Bat-talion, the local community, the Mayor of Masinloc, and Commodore Moore of the 30th

Naval Construction Regiment (NCR) dedicated the project site and cut the ribbon to the

newly constructed bridge.

Having now returned to Hawaii, the Roughnecks are recovering from their

missions and preparing themselves for any possible follow-on missions. Not currently slated for any off-island missions until July, the Platoon will be

enjoying some much-needed time in Hawaii. Being the only vertical platoon left in Hawaii, the Roughnecks have already and will continue to welcome

a steady stream of new Soldiers over the next couple months to the company.

PV2 Cepeda poses for a picture at the bridge re-

decking site during his lunch break.

Roughnecks get some help from the locals during Balika-

tan 2013: Shortly after the arrival of the Mainbody of Soldiers to

the Philippines at the beginning of April, the Roughnecks began construction on several side-projects near the Tapuac bridge site. One of these projects was the re-decking of a bridge used daily by

the Soldiers and Civilians to get to the village where the new bridge was being constructed. The existing bridge was constructed had partially collapsed ten years ago but had been strengthened

against any further collapse. The decking was in a bad state of repair, several boards having ripped loose, boards badly spaced creating gaps in the bridge, and the railing all but fallen off the bridge all-together. SGT George Marshall immediately volun-

teered to plan, design, and execute the complicated mission of re-

decking this high traffic area. After just one day of construction great progress had

already been made across the bridge. At the beginning of day two

the Baranguay Captain showed up with ten local laborers. He offered his thanks, many time already given by the local populous for the efforts to fix the bridge. Stating that the locals appreciated

the efforts to make their daily lives safer, they had showed up to

assist in the project, to lend a hand and complete the project as quickly as possible, that they may be able to enjoy the project.

Only just a few days before a woman had fallen through one of the broken boards, requiring medical attention, so the safety of the

new decking was immediately appreciated by the community.

By the end of day two the bridge was over ninety per-

cent complete, with day three applying the finishing touches to the

bridge re-decking micro-encap.

Soldiers of the 1st Platoon ―Roughnecks‖ pose for a

photo with Commodore Rodney Moore of 30th NCR,

after the ribbon cutting ceremony

WO1 Allen catches a

Frisbee near the mate-

rials yard. The Pla-

toon would often play

Frisbee while awaiting

the supply truck’s

return at the end of

each work-day.

Page 3 Issue 3

3RD PLATOON We Ready

April seemed to fly by for many of the members of 3rd Platoon as we con-

ducted our final preparations for deploying to Guam. However, conducting

Platoon level inventories, closing out barracks rooms, storing POVs, finalizing

GTC and passport statuses, and ensuring final medical readiness were all only

part of what the We Ready Platoon spent time on this past month. Continu-

ing to prepare for the capstone Pacific Partnership 2013 Project in the Mar-

shall Islands, the Platoon completed a four week exercise on pre-engineered

buildings and the essential tasks for their construction. The training proved to

be an enormous boost to the understanding of the difficulties of the project

and will certainly prove to be essential once construction is started on 27

June. After completing the exercise on PEBs, the Platoon made a quick turn

around in order to conduct a change of hand receipt holder inventory for the

Platoon’s equipment. Demonstrating exceptional flexibility and understanding

of supply discipline, the Platoon was able to inventory 100% of their equip-

ment, load into new containers according to the load plans, then seal those

containers in less than three days. Always a mountain of a task, the We Ready

Platoon lived up to their motto by completing the inventories on time and

with 100% accountability of all items! Displaying the kind of confidence and

competence that made the training and the inventories so successful, both

SGT Justin Nation and SPC Michael Quirindongo passed their promo-

tion boards with flying colors. We look forward to promoting them and their continued service!

The beginning of May sees the We Ready Platoon deploy to Guam to begin support of the company mission in

the Pacific. While sorry to say goodbye to their homes and families, the members of the Platoon are excited to finally get

their teeth into the mission and some construction projects that they can see from start to finish. Over the next month

the Platoon will be working on a CMU MOUT site on Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. In addition they will spend time

finalizing equipment and material shipments to the Marshall Islands for their projects beginning at the end of June. The We

Ready Platoon has truly never been more prepared and excited for the mission!

LT Lennox carries just a little bit of

documents for the platoon’s 100%

inventory.


4th PLATOON Mighty Rhinos

4th Platoon finished its second full month in Guam main-

taining a fast pace that hasn’t let up for a second. Early in the

month the platoon finished up its planning phase for its upcoming

mission to Kosrae and received briefings from the Battalion staff as

well as NCIS to better prepare for the mission ahead. Addition-

ally, the Platoon participated in driver’s training and had members

of the team licensed on MTVRs, Fork Lifts, and BHL’s. Construc-

tion remained a key task for the Platoon as it finished up its work

at the Anderson MOUT site and completed a project turnover to

incoming Wolf pack 3rd Platoon as well as a 523rd Platoon. The crew leaders also completed an ORI inspection by the Seabees

visiting Guam. During the inspection, the Seabees stated that 4th

Platoon had the best project packages they had seen so far in the

Battalion and they light-heartedly requested that 4th Platoon remain

on Guam to continue their top-notch work. Next, we completed

our final inventories for Kosrae and saw our containers sent to the

port where they will soon be well on their way to the project

sites. Keeping up with the recent focus on warrior tasks, 4th

Platoon had a chance to improve its combat engineer skills as the

team dropped their construction hard hats and picked up their

warrior ACH’s to lay mile upon mile of concertina wire. Soon

after, the team completed its quarterly and annual training for Sui-

cide Prevention, SHARP, Equal Opportunity, Resiliency, UCMJ,

Financial readiness, and Professionalism. Once that was finished,

we completed M16 weapons qualification with over 40% of the

team shooting expert and nearly 90% of the team shooting either

expert or sharpshooter. The team also knocked out its record

APFT with an impressive average exceeding 260. The platoon

looks forward to continuing its progress in these vital areas of our

trade through the Platoon’s own NCO led weekly warrior training

program in Kosrae.

MOS: 12N

Age: Old enough

Fun Fact: Recently passed the board to get promoted

to E-6

Hobbies: Zumba instructing, Pilates, Tai Bo, Brazilian

Butt lift or anything to get to that next level

SOLDIER OF THE ISSUE:

SGT Bryan Boyd

The Mighty Rhinos would like to congratulate SPC Archibald Simangan as well as SGT

Bryan Boyd on passing the promotion board this month. Their hard work and dedication to learning and im-

proving paid off and provide good examples for our next crop of Soldiers ready to make the next rank. They

continue a trend of perfection at the boards with the Platoon having a 100% success rate on the last 6 Soldiers

sent to the board. Towards the end of the month, 1LT Leedham and CW2 Hackley arrived in Kosrae and have been

preparing the life support and project sites for the main body’s arrival. The two will pick up three remaining

members of the ADVON and the main body by early May. Prior to their departure, the team was lucky enough

to be addressed by Admiral Payne himself prior to being sent off to Kosrae. May is the month we have all been waiting for as it marks the beginning of construction at Malem Ele-

mentary School and Kosrae High School Gymnasium. The skills transfer program as well as ASVAB tutoring and

other Community Relations events are also planned to begin at this time. Be sure to check out next month’s

issue of the Wolfpack Howler to get updates on all of these projects and events!

Page 5 Issue 3

CAT PALAU

The Civic Action Team 84

-01 is a team composed of diverse

trades. For proof, just look at how

the team completed a 1600sq ft pre

engineered building on 15 APR 13,

which will be occupied as a Fire and

Police Sub-station in Ngardmau

State, Palau. The project was spear-

headed by SSG Justin Vegafria,

who is a carpenter by trade, along with his Soldier SPC William

Hall. Assisting with this project was

SGT Arnoldo Terrazas, who is a

plumber by trade. SPC Joeseph

Rew, the team’s electrician, shad-

owed him. Although carpentry is

not his trade, SPC Marco Gon-

zalez , the team’s welder, jumped

in the fight and assisted in the con-

struction of the pre engineered

building. Also contributing to this

project was SSG Dionisio Darang.

With all of these Soldiers’ efforts put

together, they were able to complete this project two months ahead of schedule with no mishaps. The team

started construction on 8 March and completed the project on 15 APR 13. The project was completed over a

span of seven Civic Action Team rotations. CAT 84-01 had the honor of completing this long project and

opened the building with a ribbon cutting ceremony on 17 APR 13. Joining the team in the celebration was US

Ambassador to the Republic of Palau, Madam Helen Reed-Rowe, US Defense Representative to the Republic

of Palau, RADM Tilghman Payne , Vice President to the Republic of Palau, among many more distinguished

guests. While constructing the Ngardmau fire and police station, SSG Justin Vegafria and SPC William Hall also

worked to construct the Palau National Olympic Committee exercise stations. The exercise stations are con-

structed in three different locations. These exercise stations were built to promote health and fitness to the

people of Palau. The stations include pull-up bars, dip bars, and sit-up benches. The creative mind and artwork

of these two gentlemen resulted in the exercise station being painted in our national flag colors and the Palau

national flag colors. The team opened the exercise station with a ribbon cutting ceremony on 25 APR 13.

Joining them in the celebration was the US Ambassador to the Republic of Palau, Madam Helen Reed-Rowe, the President of the Republic of Palau and many more officials of the host nation. To close out the ceremony,

SPC Marco Gonzalez and SPC Joseph Rew demonstrated how to use the exercise stations. Among many things the CAT 84-01 completed, they managed to graduate an apprentice, Mr. Jason

Adienaro, who was under the close supervision of SSG Loren Pino and SPC Donna Moya. With their

close mentorship and guidance, Mr. Adienaro graduated as a mechanic during the ribbon cutting ceremony

and can now find employment as a certified mechanic. The team continues to build relations with the Host Nation and to provide support in any way that

they possibly can.

CAT Mission takes off in full throttle.

Palau residents show their gratitude and excitement at the ribbon

cutting ceremony for the Ngardmau Fire and Police Sub-Station.


Maintenance The Backbone

During the month of April, 643rd Maintenance, the Backbone of the company, reorganized in order to say bon voyage to a

outstanding NCO and welcome in a few hard working engineers. Early in April, SGT Rutledge departed with the Commander

and others to assist in maintenance operations with the company forward in Guam. During the send off, the majority of the Back-

bone showed up to make sure that he had a proper goodbye and that we would all miss his leadership and mentorship. Further-

more, because of the deployment and departure of many soldiers within the Backbone, the company command team saw fit to lend

us several of its hardworking Engineers who are going to PCS by the fall of 2013. These soldiers have been a great addition to the

Backbone, and have all showed a desire to learn and assist in maintenance operations wherever possible. SSG Baptiste, SGT

Watson, SPC Herrera, SPC Hood, and SPC Edwards are among the few that have already been a great help to the Back-

bone and we look forward to learning more about them and building our team throughout the summer. However, coming just around the corner in May are many more changes for the Backbone. SPC Cheeseboro will be

leaving on the 29th of April in order to assist SGT Rutledge and the company in maintaining all of its equipment overseas throughout

the summer and early fall. We will also be bidding farewell to two very hard working mechanics as they PCS in late May. First to

leave will be SPC Taylor heading over to Vilseck, Germany. He says that he is looking forward to experiencing the new culture

and the new people. Second to leave will be SPC Grzibovski heading over to Ft Meade, Maryland in order to take up his new

post in his new branch, as a linguist for Military Intelligence. Furthermore, on May 3rd, the Backbone is looking forward to conducting its physical training on the beaches of Kaena

Point. In regards to the rest of our PT program, SGT Thao and SSG Baptiste are working together to make a stronger program

that works on the strength and endurance of the upper and lower body. This PT program may be built of the basic PRT manuals;

however, it left all members of the Backbone sore for two straight days, only to be followed by a company ruck march that Friday.

Also, when it comes to maintenance, the Backbone is going to be assisting our unit Armorer, SPC Sexton, with his quarterly ser-

vices while still maintaining the rest of the rolling stock fleet. For the month of May, the Backbone family wants to congratulate SPC Warthon and his wife Fiorella for their wedding

anniversary on the 7th of May. Even though they will not be able to spend it together, as she is out of the states, we would like to

thank her for her support of her husband during the long hours of the day that he tirelessly works. We know that without her, his

work would not be as driven or focused. Furthermore, the Backbone wishes a happy birthday to SPC Warthon who will be turning

32 on the 21st of May. We would also like to say happy birth-

day to our deployed Motor Sergeant, SSG Pino who will be

turning the grand age of 40 on the 30th of May. SOLDIERS OF THE ISSUE:

SPC Robert Taylor and SPC Paul Grzibovski

SPC Paul Grzibovski

Age: 25

Hometown: From Russia, lived in Chicago, IL when he moved to the US PCS Assignment: Training at Goodfellow AFB, TX, followed by Assign-

ment at Ft Meade, MD. Goals: Finish his Bachelor’s Degree, and when the time is right submit an

OCS packet.

Hobbies: Hiking on the weekends, solo skydiving, and changing tires on

an LMTV.

SPC Robert Taylor

Age: 29

Hometown: Rockford, IL

PCS Assignment: Vilseck, Germany Goals: Further his college education, learn as much as possible about

Germany, and become an NCO

Hobbies: Sketching, and experiencing new cultures.

Page 7 Issue 3

Operations

Aloha! Another month of excellence in company operations has passed. April has been a busy month in 643rd and Op-

erations has done an amazing job of making the Wolfpack’s accomplishments possible. Many would be overwhelmed at

the task of supporting missions in places as far apart as Hawaii, Guam, Palau, and the Philippines, but the 643rd Operations

team took it in stride. Whether it was facilitating training, creating orders to send Soldiers wherever their missions might

lead them, or keeping our communications equipment or chemical equipment ready to use, Operations made it happen!

April has definitely been a month of change for the front office. The team saw CPT Mainwaring, SSG Hagar, and PV2

Bradley off to Guam halfway through the month and will say goodbye to 1SG McKinney on the 29th as he heads over

to join them. We have welcomed a few new members to the team. SPC Sexton has taken the reins as the company

armorer and is already doing a fantastic job. PVT Strickland is quickly learning his new job of the Defense Travel Sys-

tem clerk, already excelling in the difficult task of preparing travel vouchers for the team that returned from Balikatan

2013 in the Philippines this month. We are also happy to welcome SGT Won, our new Commo NCO who comes to us

from Fort Drum. We are eager to see all of the great things that he will bring to the table!

Congratulations to PFC Edman and his wife Kristin! Kristin just gave birth to a beautiful son, Liam. Also, we would

like to wish a happy birthday to the members of the Ops team that are celebrating their birthdays this month – SGT Ha-

ley and PVT Strickland. And the next time you see SSG Reyes or SSG Hagar, wish them congratulations - they will

soon be promoted to the rank of Sergeant First Class! Way to go!

We have a few members of the team moving on to bigger and better things. SPC Aquiningoc and SPC Thompson

will be leaving the Army, so please thank them for their service. SPC Herrera and SPC Kiel will be moving to new duty

stations. Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavors! You will be missed.

SPC AQ is returning to her home in Guam after her ser-

vice in the Army. Her hard work and dedication allowed

for all of the company’s travel orders and vouchers to be

completed successfully! Thanks for your hard work and

best of luck in the future!

SOLDIER OF THE ISSUE:

SPC Jamie Rose Aquiningoc


1st PLATOON


The Wolfpack team enjoys pizza and fellowship as part of

CH McCorkle’s Spiritual Fitness Luncheon at the COF!

LT Kantner leads 1st Platoon on a morning

stroll

Wolfpack Events

SGT Terrazas of the CAT Palau team finishes

the 5k Walkathon


4th Platoon Soldiers

completing the last

stretch of concertina

wire in Guam. The

month was filled with

various warrior tasks

including combat

engineer training,

required quarterly

training, M16 qualifi-

cation and the re-

cord APFT.

4th PLATOON

PFC Tran and SGT Snead finishing off the

final bags of cement prior to the project

turnover at Anderson AF Base MOUT

site.


Headquarters

CAT PALAU

SPC Marco Gonzalez and SPC Joseph Rew provided the people

of Palau with top-notch exercise stations and instruction on their

favorite part of Physical Readiness Training, Climbing Drill 1.

SGT Petscher, SPC Sexton, SPC Bakholdin, SGT

Won, and SPC Gaeta enjoy a platoon ruck march.

Congratulations on your reenlistment, SGT

Njuguna!

Visit us on FaceBook!

643rd EN CO—Wolfpack!

FRG NEWS!

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Army Community Services: (808) 655-4227

Army Substance Abuse Programs: (808) 655-8700

Battalion Chaplain: (808) 655-1297

Military Family Life Consultant: (808) 226-7307

Military One Source: 1-800-342-9647

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Tripler Trolley: (808) 433-1200

Tripler Trolley: (808) 433-1200

FRG Training with ACS

Volunteer Orientation (BLDG 647 next to Theatre) – May 7 @ 1330-1430

Master Resiliency Training – May 7 @ 0900-1100

FRG Essentials (FRG 101, Key Caller, Fundraising) – May 14 @ 0900-1300

FRG Essential (FRG 101, Key Caller) – May 28 @ 1800-2000

FRG Essential (Fundraising) – May 29 @ 1800-1930

FRG Committee Contacts:

FRG Leader: Traci Kendall (253)720-2033, [email protected] or [email protected] Secretary: Gabrielle Johnson

Treasurers: Kristina Spohn and Beatrice Marshall Activities Coordinator: Vacant

Fundraising Chair people: Deanna Zulkoski

Hospitality Chairperson: Kristina Spohn Points of Contact/Key Callers: Deanna Zulkoski (570) 472-8262 deanna [email protected]

Kristina Spohn (810)5 516 1550 [email protected] Soldier Liaison POC: SPC Fernando Gaeta

Headlines:

FRG Meeting: The next FRG Meeting will be Wednesday May 15th at 5:00pm in the Battal-

ion Classroom! Come find out about the upcoming activities and what is going on in Guam

and the surrounding project sites!

Documents

Wolfpack Howler - May 2013