Warhorse pride vol 2 issue 8 20140412

Serving the Soldiers, Civilians and Families of 2nd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div. Vol. 2, Issue 8 April 11, 2014

Combat engineers, Co. C, 2nd STB launch an M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC) to breach and obsticle during a MICLIC live fire at the Udairi Range Complex, Camp Buehring Kuwait, March 12.

A Desert PartnershipPg. 2

MIneClearingLIneCharge

U.S. Soldiers, 1st Bn., 67th Ar. Reg., and Saudi Arabian Soldiers salute their colors to open Friendship III and Iron Hawk III, in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, April 5. The two-week exercise enables U.S. and Saudi forces the opportunity to share capabilities while enhancing levels of cooperation and interoperability between the two partner nations.

Photos by: Sgt. Marcus Fichtl, 2nd ABCT PAO

Friendship III

Photo by: Staff Sgt. Andrew Porch, 2nd ABCT PAO

Warhorse PridePage 2 Vol. 2, Issue 8 April 11, 2014

“Alert, Alert, alpha, two-eight, Atlanta, alert alert, alpha, two-eight, Atlanta,” blasted Camp Buehring’s sirens as they activated Co. A, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg. for a noncombatant

evacuation exercise, March 26, 2014.The NEO exercise tested the ability of U.S. forces partnered with

the 94th Brigade, Kuwaiti Land Forces to safely evacuate American civilians under the threat of local populace protests, indirect fire and roaming enemy insurgent groups, said Christopher Bookout, noncommissioned officer in charge of the NEO exercise, 2nd ABCT.

An emergency deployment readiness exercise kicked off the operation.

“The alarm went off for Atanta,” said Sgt. Andreas Bellos, infantry team leader, Co. A. “We had to get all our equipment staged by our company, get our Soldiers ready, we got into our Bradley Fighting

Vehicles and took off for Forward Operating Base Gerber.”When the unit arrived at FOB Gerber, they began evacuating

American citizens who had been escorted into the base by Kuwaiti Soldiers from the 94th Bde., KLF.

Bellos and his Soldier Pfc. Eric Gogart, infantrymen, Co. A, assisted the contractors manning the entry control point.

“When we arrived at the gate, a giant mob came and harassed the contractors,” said Bellos. “It started getting hostile, the contractors fired warning shots and the crowd dispersed.”

Bellos and Golgart held the gate with the contractors when direct and indirect enemy fire caused increased stress on the gate, and another mob took the opening to rush the gate.

“We stood our ground until we were overwhelmed,” said Bellos. “I went through my rules of engagement procedure I shouted showed

Story and Photos by Sgt. Marcus Fichtl2nd ABCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

Noncombatant Evacuation Operations

Bradley Fighting Vehicles prepare to move out to FOB Gerber during the emergency deployment readiness exercise.

Soldiers stack rucksacks and dufflebags during the emergency deployment readiness exercise.

Sgt. Andreas Bellos, infantryman, Co. A, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg., shoves a protester away, as a mob swarms the entry point to Forward Operating Base Gerber, Camp Buehring, Kuwait, March 26. Bellos used the shout, show, shove and shoot technique to engage the belligerent mob.


Noncombatant Evacuation Operationsshoved, shot a warning shot.”

A massive unarmed mob posed a dilemma for the U.S. Soldiers; on one hand they were unarmed civilians, and other they may have been infiltrated with backpack bombs and suicide bombers.

“There’s not much you can do with unarmed civilians; you don’t want to use lethal force, but if they are showing aggression you have to do what you do, you don’t want people with backpacks coming into the base. “We’re here to protect military equipment, military personnel, Kuwaiti personnel, American civilians and we are trying exfiltrate out.”

Other Soldiers from the company came to support Bellos and pushed the mob out.

While all the Americans were safely evacuated during the scenario, in case of an actual emergency where noncombatants need to be

evacuated out of Kuwait, Bookout emphasized that partnership with the Kuwaitis is the key to a successful operation.

“The most important thing Soldiers need to take out of this is that the Kuwaiti Military is a professional force, and by partnering together, they can put their faith and conference in their partnered units,” said Bookout. “And if something were to happen, side-by-side we can accomplish the task together.”

For Bellos and his team, the necessity of the operation was why he raised his right hand when he first joined the Army.

“We have an obligation to protect those that have put their trust in us and if a NEO were to happen, make sure everyone comes home safe,” said Bellos.

Sgt. Andreas Bellos, infantryman, Co. A, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg., shoves a protester away, as a mob swarms the entry point to Forward Operating Base Gerber, Camp Buehring, Kuwait, March 26. Bellos used the shout, show, shove and shoot technique to engage the belligerent mob.

Protestors storm the gate as Soldiers try to secure it.

Pfc. Eric Golgart, infantryman, Co. A, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg., secures the entrance to Forward Operating Base Gerber.

A Soldier gives a confined protestor water.

Over the past seven months, dozens of Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, competed in battalion and brigade level boards spanning from

the United States to three countries in the Middle East, with six having the distinction of competing in the Brigade’s Noncommissioned Officer or Soldier of the Year competition April 23 to 26.

For the six Soldiers to get to this point, they were required to win one of the three brigade level NCO or Soldier of the quarter boards, which are formal evaluations where senior enlisted leaders of the brigade grade each Soldier on their presence, military bearing and ability to articulate the Army’s wealth of knowledge.

“A Soldier needs to read the reference guides, the study guides, understand (memorandum of instruction), read (field manuals), and know (Army regulations),” said Sgt. Matthew Miller, cannon crewmember, Battery B, 3rd Bn., 16th FAR. “There are a million questions they can ask you. It’s impossible to know them all, but you need to be ready and confident enough to answer what you know.”

The common emotion before knocking three times to enter the board room is a mix between anxiety and confidence.

Even, Sgt. Danielle Welsh, petroleum supply specialist, HHC, 204th BSB, who is working on her second masters, maxed her Army Physical Fitness Test and previously reached the top rungs in similar competitions across the Army, felt the effects of 20 minutes alone in front of the senior leadership.

“I am so nervous every time before I go to a board, each board is like the very first board,” said Welsh. “But I tell myself it’s going to be over soon and the nervousness focuses me through the board.”

To combat tension before a board, Soldiers know preparation is key.Spc. Elizabeth Laskey, military analyst, Co. A, 2nd STB, with little

more than a year in the Army, is going through the process for the first time.

“The first board was really hard, it broke me down,” said Laskey. “Then I realized no board can be this bad. I kept motivating myself to learn more so I wouldn’t embarrass myself next board.”

Leading WarhorseStory and photo by Sgt. Marcus FIchtl2nd ABCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

Spc. Elizabeth Laskey, intelligence analyst, Co. A, 2nd STB poses in front of the brigade’s tactical operations center, Mar. 30 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The TOC is where Laskey conducts intel briefs for brigade leadership.


Laskey went to her NCOs and tapped them for their expertise and spent her free time absorbing their knowledge while also pushing herself in the gym.

She said falling out wasn’t an option and pushing herself past the quitting point was the only way to move forward.

“Whatever I do now, will help me tomorrow,” said Laskey. The winner of the NCO and Soldier of the Year competitions will

travel to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait and compete in the U.S. Army Central’s Best Warrior Competition this coming May.

Welsh reflected on the value of her military service, including participating in the brigade’s boards.

“The military is an image of freedom to our county, sometimes we don’t see small scale what we are doing, but the presence and relationships we build is what makes what we are doing important.”

Soldier/NCO of the Year Competitors

Spc. Elizabeth Laskey, intelligence analyst, Company A, 2nd Special Troops Battalion

Spc. Brandon Bordner, infantryman, Company A, 2nd Battalion 8th Infantry Regiment

Sgt. Timothy Martin, wheeled vehicle mechanic, Company B, 204th Brigade Support Battalion,

Sgt. Danielle Welsh, petroleum supply specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 204th Brigade Support Battalion

Sgt. Matthew Miller, gunner crewmember, Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment

Sgt. Tyree Kitchen, power generation equipment repairer, Company B, 204th Brigade Support Battalion

3 a.m. is a time when most Soldiers are fast asleep, but for the few providing the daily energy for Soldiers to accomplish the mission, it is time to go to work.

Feeding their fellow Soldiers drives two Soldiers assigned to the FSC, 1st Bn., 67th Armor Reg., to be better cooks as they support the brigade during a military-to-military cooperation exercise in the U.S. Army Central area of operations April 1 to 16.

“We give that motivation for them to wake up and say, yea, I’m going to get some good breakfast and some good dinner,” said Spc. Otis Brown, food service specialist, FSC, 1st Bn., 67th Armor Reg., “We give Soldiers something to look forward to.”

Spc. Ashley Rosenfeld, food service specialist, FSC, 1st Bn., 67th Armor Reg., knows what accomplishing her job means to some Soldiers.

“Not everyone likes waking up at (4 a.m. or 5 a.m.) in the morning to go do (physical training), but to come in and have that cup of coffee is like the icing on the cake,” said Rosenfeld.

Brown, a native of Durant, Okla., and Rosenfeld, a native of Miami, Fla., have taken different paths to end up where they are, but both have worked hard and their leadership knows it.

“We have a really great food service team,” said Sgt. Brent Thomas, food service supply specialist, FSC, 1st Bn., 67th Armor Reg.

Brown, who went to Afghanistan straight out of initial training, learned on the go with imminent danger around him at all times.

“He got to the unit and immediately deployed to Afghanistan and had to support (a command observation post),” said Thomas. “He was immediately thrown to the wolves.”

As for Rosenfeld, she became very familiar with the Mobile Kitchen Trailer during month-long training events at Pinon Canyon, Colo., and The National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.

“I think it was instrumental in her development,” said Thomas. “We have decided lately to give her the responsibility of being in charge of something out here.”

Brown and Rosenfeld know why feeding a force of roughly 700 Soldiers is important.

“Number one, it is motivation and other than that, it is a morale booster,” said Rosenfeld.

“I’d say the best part is when someone comes to you and says this meal was really good or this is the best meal I have ever had,” said Brown. “The compliments are well worth it.”

The cooks will continue to support Soldiers conducting the military-to-military cooperation exercise that is geared toward strengthening relations and improving interoperability in the region.

Fueling the ForceStory and photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Porch2nd ABCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

Spc. Ashley Rosenfeld, food service specialist, FSC, 1st Bn., 67th Armor Reg, pours a bag of turkey wings into a pan for dinner during Friendship III, Tobak, Saudi Arabia April 5.


Making the cutTop Ten Percent

Newly inducted Soldiers from the brigade’s Top 10% Club cut a cermonial cake with Col. Omar Jones, commander, 2nd ABCT during an induction ceremony at the Oasis Stage, Camp Buehring, Kuwait, April 1. The program recognizes Soldiers who scored at the top of the Army Physical Fitness Test and marksmanship qualifications, are enrolled in college courses, are certified on a five-mile run and a 20km ruck march and exemplify the Army values.

Battery B Paladin Tables

M109A6 Paladins arrive to the gunnery range for Table qualifications, April 2, at the Udairi Range Complex, Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The crews conducted tables VI-XII.

An M109A6 Paladin fires a round during a gunnery table, April 2 at the Udairi Range Complex, Camp Buehring, Kuwait.


Photo by: Sgt. Marcus Fichtl, 2nd ABCT PAO

Photos by: Sgt. Marcus Fichtl, 2nd ABCT PAO


Shots across the AO

The Warhorse Pride is produced in the interest of the Soldiers of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The Warhorse Pide is an Army-funded news-letter authorized under provision of AR 360-1. Contents of the Warhorse Pride are not necessarily the view of, nor endorsed by the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 4th Infantry Division. All editorial content of The Warhorse Pride is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team

Public Affairs Office. The Warhorse Pride welcomes articles, commentary and photos from readers. The Warhorse Pride reserves the right to edit submissions selected for the publication. All issues of The Warhorse Pride can be viewed online from your home computer at www.facebook.com/2bct4id Submissions should be e-mailed to the editor:[email protected]

Col. Omar Jones IV......................2nd ABCT CommanderCommand Sgt. Maj. Robert Lehtonen 2nd ABCT CSMMaj. Chris Maestas.................................................PAO OICStaff Sgt. Andrew Porch..................................PAO NCOICSgt. Marcus Fichtl...............................Layout and DesignStaff Sgt. Andrew Porch............................................Editor

Warhorse Pride

U.S. Soldiers, 1st Bn., 67th Armor Reg., and Saudi Arabian Soldiers dance together during a cultural exchange at Tobuk, Saudi Arabia, April 4.

A Soldier attempts to go in for a clench during combatives training on Camp Buehring, Kuwait, April 5. The training, instructed by volunteers, certified Soldiers on level 1 combatives.

A Soldier, 1st Bn., 10th Cav. Reg., low crawls through mud to earn his spurs, during the unit’s spur ride, March 30 at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar.

Mechanics, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg. conduct maintanence on a humvee motor, April 3.

Courtesy Photo Photo by: Staff Sgt. Andrew Porch, 2nd ABCT PAO

Courtesy PhotoPhoto by: Sgt. Marcus Fichtl, 2nd ABCT PAO

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Warhorse pride vol 2 issue 8 20140412