2 34 august

Dreadnaught Newsletter

Family and Friends of the Dreadnaughts,

Fear God and Dreadnaught!!

LTC Chris Kidd

Dreadnaught 6

Friends and Family of 2-34 AR,

I certainly hope this newsletter finds everyone well – the Battalion continues to excel out here in

Maiwand and it is clear that we have “hit our stride” now with over 100 days deployed. So far,

this is what we have accomplished in the first 100 days:

C Company (Fighting Aces) – providing a nearly lost sense of security to the people of Hutal,

best exemplified by Aces’ Soldiers and Afghan Police presence in the town’s bazaar. When we

arrived, this bazaar was believed to be controlled by the Taliban and all you could see was fear

in the eyes of the people – not anymore as C Company has taken back this critical hub and given

visible hope to the people.

FSC (Two Gun aka Fox) – Unrelenting support to the battalion. This company has taken on

every challenge imaginable – from securing safe passageways for our logistics to move out to the

Combat Outposts to providing playground equipment for kids to cooking hundreds of meals to

thousands of Soldiers to securing our Entry Control Point (ECP) for our main base to repairing

dozens of broken vehicles (as well as every other piece of equipment imaginable) across the bat-

talion.

B Company (Black Dragon aka Bulldogs) – Operating away from their supporting headquarters

here at FOB Ramrod, B Co has had to adapt to a new FOB, new battalion, new area of opera-

tions, new task organization (they lost an infantry platoon and gained an artillery platoon) and

new type of terrain (their terrain looks more like Ft. Polk while ours looks like Ft. Irwin). They

are also battling D Co for the most number of completed air assault operations!

A Company (Orphans) – Operating geographically close to B Company but still within Maiwand

district, A Company has had to operate on the outskirts of our area with true independence. No

other unit is as far away from resupply as A Company but you would never know it when you

visit and talk to Soldiers. They love living far from the flagpole and have proven their light-

fighter abilities by executing the most number of dismounted patrols – they walk everywhere as

it is the only way to connect to the people.

D Company (Dauntless) – The mighty tankers and Scouts of D Company have developed into

expert “jugglers” of every tactical task from air assaults to serving as the primary trainers of the

Afghan Army. They own the largest battlespace in the battalion and have begun expanding

their knowledge base by actively seeking out the people in the smallest of villages dotting the

vast landscape here.

CSM McDwyer and I are exceptionally proud of everything the Battalion is doing. Thanks for all

the pictures and packages from home as they are truly well received.

Fear God, Dreadnaught!!

LTC Chris Kidd

Company

Articles

Pg 2 -

Pg 9

TRICARE Pg 11

Community

News

Pg 12 -

Pg 15

Monthly

Calendars

Pg 16-

Pg 17

Pictures for

the Homefront

Pg 18

Inside this issue:

Battalion Commander

AUGUST 2011 Volume 4, Issue 6

2-34 Armor CAB

7104C Desert Storm Drive

Fort Riley, KS 66442

Headquarters & Headquarters Company - HOPLITE


COMMANDER’S CORNER

Greetings Hoplite Nation!

I would like to address the many “re-deployment rumors” out there. Any fam-ily who has ever been through a deploy-ment will

tell you that the rumors come often and generally aren’t true. Many families experience what I like to call the “Yo-Yo” effect.

They hear a rumor, pre-pare for the rumor only to find out the rumor was totally incorrect or another rumor has replaced it.

The emotional ups and downs of this can be quite traumatic, especially for young children. You can be rest assured that Com-

manders at all levels

will share official information as soon as it is con-firmed! In fact, the last time I received official de-ployment information back

at Fort Riley, I held a company briefing within 15 minutes of the official news! Right now there is still no change from when

your Hoplite Soldier first deployed; we are scheduled for a 12 month deployment. I ask that families keep this in mind and if it

didn’t come from myself, the rumor or information could be incorrect. I ask

that families remain ready for any-thing.

Captain Benjamin Ryder “Hoplite 6”

[email protected]

1SG’s CORNER

Families and friends of Hoplite Company, hello from Afghanistan. The Hop-

lite Company continues to march forward and make significant impacts on

the region of Southern Afghanistan. Our mark is definitely being left every-

where we operate, and with every mission we execute. The success stories

go on and on. On top of operations we are also conducting some out-

standing training and making improvements across the Company in order to

keep our skills sharp and stay on top of "our game". Some of these training

events will include more marksmanship, medical, and communications train-

ing, along with an increased focus on inspections. These types of events are critical to ensure our success throughout our

deployment. In other news, some highlights of the Company include Soldier promotions as well as attendance to the promo-

tion boards. Deployments are where Soldiers really have a chance to "show off" how good they are when put "in the game"

and it pays off. Although I do not have enough paper to share all the success stories, some of honorable mention are the SSG

Kirks awesome performance as a Medical Platoon Leader as well as SSG Henagar's performance as his Platoon Sergeant

and SSG Mason's performance as the new TAC SEC Platoon Leader. Congratulations also go to LTs Abaldo, Toft, Grisdale,

Pierce and Walker as they are now promoted to the rank of Captain. Much deserved promotions for a few of the Battalions

best officers. I want to thank you all for your continuous support of HHC and take this time to thank the International Club of

Arbor View High School from Las Vegas, NV. They sent many care

packages for our Soldiers that I distributed, and made a box for the

Soldiers that work daily on base defense. Thanks again to all. I look

forward to writing again soon.

1SG Matthew Peterson

“HOPLITE 7”

ABOVE: 1LTs, Abaldo, Grisdale, Pierce, and Toft

are all promoted to the rank of CPT by LTC Kidd

LEFT: 1LT Walker being promoted to CPT by LTC

Kidd

TAC SEC visiting a local market

Volume 4, Issue 6

Soldiers, Family Members, and Supporters of the Orphans,

Greetings! I can hardly believe that as I am writing you that it is nearly the end of July. The days are long here but the weeks

seem to fly by. The company continues to excel in all we do here whether it be patrolling, interacting with the local populous,

working to improve force protection, or maintaining our basic Soldier skills. Although this last month saw our first wounded Soldier,

PFC Musolino is doing well and recovering back in the states. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him

when we return. As we move past our first three months deployed, the majority of the members of the Com-pany are reaching a

point where they have adjust to the rhythm and cycle of things here which always helps to relieve the anxiety of initially deploying

to a new area. Additionally, we welcomed new Afghan Partners this month, 4/3 ANCOP, who replaced our previous partners, 3/4

ANCOP. This new group of Afghan Soldiers are eager to learn from us which in turn motivates our Soldiers to teach them. As we

move forward and work towards improving our area for the local civilians and defeating the local Taliban, I have the utmost confi-

dence in the skills and dedication of our men to handle the task before them. Until next time, I wish everyone back home the best

and know that you are always in our thoughts as we work towards a brighter future for the Afghan people.

-CPT Donald E. Sedivy, “Orphan 6

Orphan 6 facilitating in-brief of new ANCOP Orphan 6 conferring with local leader to work though water

irrigation issues

Orphan Families and Friends,

Another month has come and gone, hope everyone is doing well. First, I would like to thank all the spouses who put together the

4th of July boxes for all the Soldiers here; great, innovative idea. I took pictures by platoons since I couldn’t do it by company as a

whole. That was a busy day for us, but we all got to enjoy some BBQ in the 110 degree heat. Hope you all are enjoying time with

your spouse as they return for 15 days of R&R; remember don’t make plans until your spouse is home. A lot of dates change,

flights get cancelled and emergency leave takes priority. The care packages have been non-stop, keep it going, every Soldier is

receiving mail every other day which is the biggest morale booster here. It’s painful sometimes separating a container full of mail,

but it’s normally always worth it. A lot of Soldiers are asking about more company t-shirts, maybe that’s something you could sur-

prise them within one of the many packages you send. I know there’s a lot of rumors lingering out there, PNN (Private Network

News) is not the official channels on receiving accurate information on our deployment. If you have not done

so, I en-courage you to sign up on the BN vFRG website for updates. Continue to push forward from the

rear and we will do the same from our end- Orphan 7 out.

-1SG Tony Reese “Orphan 7”

Alpha Company - ORPHANS

Bravo Company - BLACK DRAGONS


Greetings Black Dragon Families, It’s been another fast month here in Afghanistan for the Black Dragons, and the Solider of this unit continue to bring credit to themselves and the Wolfpack with every operations they execute and every afghan civilian they help. It’s amazing to be part of such an awesome organization. Part of being part of such a great organizations is sharing the talent the team has with other units in 2-34AR. To then end, we has to say goodbye this month to two longtime Black Dragons. First, 1LT Steven Iacovo has moved from our Company Fires Support Officer to work the Fires Support position at Battalion in Sarkari Kariz. Steve is the best Artillery officer I have every worked with and his knowledge and experience was too much for us to keep in Bravo forever. Both Steven and his secondary personality of Oscar the Observer will be missed in the Black Dragon. A few weeks after Steve left, our Executive Officer, CPT David Marold was replaced so that the could take the Scout Platoon at Sarkari Kariz as well. David truly carried the spirit of the Dragons and his hard work was what put the Dragons in theatre several months ago. Both David and Steven will be truly missed but fret not for we plan a “Back in Black” reunion when we return to Fort Riley. It’s hard to ill the holes both in capability and soul that Steven and David have left but, again, the Black Dragons are fortu-nate. We’ve added to our team 1LT Carl Brown to replace 1LT Iacovo and he has quickly caught up on the many aspects of the fob. Also new to the Black Dragon Family is 1LT Adam Schoffstall. Along with Adam we’d like to welcome his wife Darcy to the team. Adam to is making amazing strides in a tough and demanding job. Welcome both to the team. Along with all the hard work the ladies are doing back at Fort Riley and from places far removed from Kansas, the FRG team for 4-25FA Wolfpack are also working just as hard. They would like to invite our Soldier’s families to visit their FRG site and the Facebook page for the Wolfpack. Also, we continue to receive support from our Lacrosse friends in Illinois. Thank you to the Blue Devils for their support and we hope the season ended well this year. The summer heat doesn’t seem to be letting up, but neither are the Black Dragons. With two Air Assault operations suc-cessfully completed we are committed to keeping after the job at hand and then getting back home to the ones we love. Thanks for all your support. Lastly we want to say thank you and wish a speedy recovery to both SPC Kyle Nichols and SPC Troy Tow. From the Soldiers over here you are both our heroes and you will remain in our thoughts and prayers. We’ll see you again when we get back to For Riley, gentlemen. Tace et Face! CPT Matthew Fechter DRAGON 6

Family and friends of the Fighting Aces,

I hope this news letter finds you doing well. Over the last three months your Soldier has been giving

100% effort in accomplishing the mission each and every day. We have over 100 Dreadnaught Soldiers liv-

ing on Combat Outpost (COP) Hutal. A vast majority of them are Soldiers of the Fighting Aces. The city of

Hutal is located in the Maywand District of the Kandahar Provence of Afghanistan. It is the central hub for

everything in the Maywand district. Its security, governance and people are the central focus of the Fighting

Aces and the main mission of the Dreadnaught Battalion. We are building schools, soccer fields, govern-

ment centers, mosques and shops all in a effort to improve the lives of the people of Maywand. Along with

structure building, your Soldier is building professional relationships with local Afghan National Police. That

relationship is improving the security of Hutal and the Maywand District. You should be very proud of your

Soldier’s hard work and dedication in winning the Nations War on Terrorism.

Your sacrifices on the home front do not go unnoticed. I and your Soldier wake up every day with a

renewed since pride in the hardships you too face and your ability to adapt and overcome. We as an Army

fight with bullets and bombs. You also fight with your love and support. Both are equally important in win-

ning our nation’s wars. I appreciate the time and effort you take in sending your Soldier a piece of home. On

a typical mail run, I see at least 40 care packages and hands full of letters come through our mail room.

Keep them coming as that is one of our biggest moral boosters! If you find yourself running out of things to

send your Soldier, get his Battle Buddy’s name and send him something.

We will be busier than ever as we get out there and get after our missions and accomplish our goals.

As we continue to accomplish the mission through the next month, we ask that you continue your love and

support. Fighting Aces!

First Sergeant Yuen

Aces 7

Charlie Company - FIGHTING ACES

Volume 4, Issue 6

Friends and Family of DAUNTLESS,

Well, we are at the point in the deployment when we expect most units to settle into a rhythm and our opera-

tions to become routine. However, as I’m sure you would agree, Dauntless is quite superior to most

units! Instead of becoming complacent and falling back on routine patrolling, Dauntless has been work-

ing very hard to train our ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) counterparts, and shape our area of op-

erations.

The month of July brought some interesting changes for Dauntless. Although it may seem relatively

minor, we have further established habitual working relation-ships between our US platoons and the Afghan

units we are partnered with. As you may recall, Dauntless is partnered with 6/3/205 ANA (Afghan Na-

tional Army), a battalion element consisting of five companies, and 3rd Company, 1/3 ANCOP (Afghan Na-

tional Civil Order Police.) Originally, I had all three Dauntless platoons rotating through training cycles

with each of these companies. In order to foster a better partnership climate, we have gone to a more con-

sistent model where 1st Platoon is partnered with 1st and 2nd ANA Tolays (companies), 2nd Platoon is part-

nered with 3rd and 4th ANA Tolays, and the Scout Platoon is partnered with the ANA Weapons Tolay and

3/1/3 AN-COP. We have already seen positive results from the

“permanent” partnership model, and our ANA counterparts are thrilled to have men they can call their

“shohnas.” Shohna is the Afghan word for “shoulder” which comes from the phrase “working shohna ba shohna” (working shoulder to shoulder.)

The company of AN-COP that we were partnered with has finished its rotation. The ANCOP deploy for 90 days at a time, and their last day of

patrols happened on July 24th. Our Scout Platoon had the lion’s share of responsibility for partnering with and training the AN-COP company, and

I can say without a doubt that this unit is more professional and better prepared as a result of the Scout’s efforts. To be fair, all Dauntless

platoons had some hand in training these Soldiers, and all should be proud of their progress.

Additionally, the ANA Weapons Tolay has picked up responsibility for securing High-way 1, and even more importantly, moved from FOB Sarkari

Karez to Hutal. You may recall that Hutal is the center of gravity for the Maiwand district, and ensuring its security is of the utmost importance to

our counterinsurgency fight. There are multiple other ANSF units al-ready located in Hutal, but the addition of the Weapons Tolay completes the

full spectrum of security forces. Partnership for this unit also falls to the Scout Platoon, and I have complete confidence that the Scouts will have

the Weapons Tolay trained up and conducting security patrols in no time.

The remainder of 6th Kandak has been conducting patrols in a rural village called Galangkesh. During these patrols they have been gathering

census data, which is the first time anyone has truly interacted with the locals. Almost all of the people in Galangkesh have ex-pressed gratitude

for the in-creased ANSF presence and security. I am hopeful that we can get this village (which represents almost 50 square kilometers of our

area of operations) to participate in the governance process.

Finally, we experienced some key personnel changes this month. CPT Dave Grisdale (that’s right, he got promoted) will be leav ing the Scout

Platoon to take over as the company executive officer. With this move we welcome CPT Dave Marold as the new Scout Platoon leader, and say

farewell to CPT Shawn Elkin as he assumes the role of battle captain in the battalion TOC (Tactical Operations Center.) All three of these officers

are first rate men, so while I am happy to have CPT Marold as a new member of team Dauntless, we will all miss CPT Elkin as he leaves the

company.

With that, I will close this portion of my monthly up-date. I hope this finds you well as you put the first 25% of

the deployment behind you.

Sincerely,

Timmy

Dauntless 6

Hello DAUNTLESS family,

It has been a busy month for us. We have taken on a new mission as an Air Assault company and it

has been an experience. I doubt than any of your Tankers ever thought they would be doing Air As-

saults and dismounted clearing operations when they became Tankers. For the Infantrymen in the com-

pany this is not really anything new. These missions have been physically challenging and leave us

exhausted. But it is one hell of a weight loss program. By the end of this thing all of your Soldiers will be coming home much thinner I

think. The pace here will continue to be fast and furious for some time to come. Keep us all in your thoughts and

prayers and we will keep working hard to make sure we bring everyone home

safely.

Best wishes,

DAUNTLESS 7

Delta Company - DAUNTLESS


The company leadership farewells EOD

Team 4.

From left to right: SSGT Goedde, 1SG

Mosher, CPT Decker, SrA Lail, and SSGT

Weber.

SSG Zerwig and SGT Petrides take a break

during strong point operations on Opera-

tion Emporia IV.

1SG Mosher shares some chai tea with an

ANA Soldier and some locals in the village

of Chashmeh.

COMMANDER

Greetings to all the Fox family and friends. Time continues to fly by here at SK. Our Soldiers are in the groove as most of our systems for operations are now in place. Not only are Fox Company Soldiers supporting the Dreadnaught Battalion, they are also supporting the Afghan people as well. Much of the battal-ion focus is on the local government in Hutal. Our Soldiers have supported and continue to support that effort in many ways. Plans are being made to make a soccer field at the school in Hutal for the Afghan children. Our welding team de-signed and built two soccer goals and they have been transported to Hutal. These goals will be used by children for many years to come and is another ex-ample of Fox Company Soldiers making a positive contribution to the local people here. The diversity of Fox Company is what makes this company so special. The Soldiers are continuously challenged with new tasks outside of what they may have expected prior to deployment. As always, thank you for all of your support!

CPT Jeff Swinford Company Commander HQ PLATOON During the month of July, HQ Platoon has made drastic improvements to FOB Sarkari Karez. We emplaced gravel around the living areas and walkways to bet-ter prepare ourselves for the up and coming rainy season. The “deadhook” ele-ment has emplaced t-wall barriers around the battalion, thus improving the safety and protection of the Soldiers who work here. HQ also took the lead in remodeling and refitting the gym. Es-sentially we took 1 crowded gym and created two separate gyms here at SK. One gym is considered the weight room and the second gym is the cardio gym. Working with contractors, we have been able to fix old treadmills and install new ones. Physical fitness has been a priority and a great stress reliever for our Soldiers. We are continu-ing to improve the FOB with the limited assets that we have.

DISTRO PLATOON Hello family and friends of Distro Platoon! It has been another busy month. We have now been on over 50 missions covering more than 2000 miles support-ing the battalion. Our primary mission is to deliver food, water, fuel, ammunition and other miscellaneous equipment and supplies the battalion needs to continue missions. We also celebrated the Fourth of July with a barbecue in the newly set up SSA yard. The DFAC Soldiers provided a 4th of July cake, dinner and re-freshments. The Soldiers had several hours to relax, listen to music and play games such as volleyball and horseshoes.

AUTO PLATOON/MAINTENANCE Time has gone by quicker than anyone thought with countless projects, vehi-cle services, and the support we’re giving our Afghanistan National Army part-ners. The barren motor pool we were given upon arrival is now constantly busy. We are outfitting the Battalion’s vehicles with the latest protective equipment, conducting quality assurance and quality control checks and responding to any problem or task thrown our way. When our mechanics are not turning wrenches, they are busy building offices and storage areas inside the motor pool bay. Our welders have worked count-less hours on the construction of range targets that will be used by the entire Battalion to train with. Our commo section is constantly busy supporting the internet challenges and connectivity issues we have here at SK.

Forward Support Company - TWO GUN

Volume 4, Issue 6

2-34 MORTARS The Marauders have been extremely busy during the past few months, continuing to support Butcher Troop with awesome indirect fires. We have had multiple engagements, where all of our mortars proved to be one of the most valuable assets here in Afghanistan. Providing units with the special support like the Marauders do enables our comrades to be safer and more pro-tected. With more than half of the deployment over, the Marauders have excelled in many aspects and have never stopped improving the mortar pit. We have added a lot of features to increase security and safety. The endless work that the Marauders constantly put in everything they do does not go unnoticed by anyone. We often have VIP’s come to our mortar to pit to show off the profession-alism of our work. There has also been news on redeployment for the Marauders. Since we fall under 6-4 CAV, we will redeploy with them back home. Nothing is set in stone, but we are supposed to return home mid to late December. We will keep you updated as soon as more information comes out. Thanks again to everyone who has supported the Marauders along our journey. We all look forward to making our way back to loved ones, but in the mean time I want to again thank you for everything you do to give us unending support. Sincerely, CPT Chris Wonsettler Mortar Platoon Leader

Raider Review

Mortars Platoon attached to 6-4 CAV - MARAUDERS

Volume 4, Issue 6 Dreadnaught Newsletter

Friends and Families of the Dreadnaught Battalion,

Friends and Families of the Dreadnaught Battalion,

It is now August! Almost 4 months down with the deployment already! This month is a bitter-

sweet one however. We are forced to say farewell to our long-term Family Readiness Support

Assistant (FRSA), Melissa Valdez, as her and her family move on to the next assignment at Ari-

zona State University in Arizona. This is a great opportunity for her and her family and she

will definitely be missed. Melissa practically built the entire Family Readiness Group program

in the Battalion as the unit transitioned from the MTT Team mission to stand up as a Com-

bined Arms Battalion. Melissa has been the organizing force behind making sure our families

were prepared for this deployment as they have shown they are through their resiliency and

volunteerism.

It is sweet though because we get to welcome a new member to the Dreadnaught team. We get

to welcome our new FRSA, Jennifer Farinosi. Jennifer came highly recommended with many

years of experience as an FRSA during her family’s previous assignment in Germany. Like

Melissa, Jennifer was one of the original FRSA’s and helped define what that position was going

to be. Her experience and expertise in this role is going to be very helpful in the Battalion’s

next step as we begin to anxiously look forward to the redeployment and the joy, jubilation, and

hardships that come with that.

August is also going to mark the start of the school year and I personally hope this means the

return of a lot of families who went home for the summer to be with their families. Get the kids

back into school and get back here with the unit. We have some great events scheduled for the

fall to include a Haunted House event at the new Battalion Headquarters in October. It would

be great to see as many Dreadnaught Family Members there as possible.

I know it’s been a hot summer and I hope everyone has been able to beat the heat!

Fear God and Dreadnaught!

CPT RICKY BROWN

Sentinel 6

Rear Detachment - SENTINELS

Volume 4, Issue 6

Dreadnaught Soldiers, Families, and friends,

As most of you know this is my last week with the Dread-naughts and the last publication of the Dreadnaught Newslet-ter that I will be doing. With the Army changes are always happening and now I will be PCSing with my Soldier to a new

location and adventure in our military life.

I want to thank you all for the great 3+ years I have been the Family Readiness Support Assistant (FRSA) for the Dread-naughts. I have made countless friends being with you all and will miss each and everyone of you. I am proud to be a

Dreadnaught and will continue to be one till the every end.

Even though I will be going on to a new adventure in my life I will do my best to stay in touch through the facebook page. Not sure what will be around this new corner for me, but I will

always be there for the Dreadnaughts.

Please be safe out there Dread-naughts! I will be thinking of you all

when you return from deployment.

FEAR GOD, DREADNAUGHT!

MELISSA VALDEZ

2-34 AR FRSA

Rear Detachment - SENTINELS

FRSA Dreadnaught Newsletter

PICTURES FOR THE HOMEFRONT


2 34 august

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