277th may 2012 newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
TF Mountain Eagle,
Another month gone by…
winter is gone and spring is
upon us. We have morning
light for PT and the sun is
still out when most of us are
getting home. The trees are
budding, the birds are restless
and the Aviation Support
Battalion continues to support
the Combat Aviation Brigade
on a daily basis.
In mid April, we had a
battalion hail and farewell
where we formally hailed
CSM Carlos Escalera; it‘s
great to have him visiting the
training being conducted by
our Soldiers (ranges, PT,
maintenance). We also for-
mally hailed CPT Bolin our
new A Co commander – who
again came to us from the
brigade S4. Unfortunately
we had to say goodbye to
MSG Pagan who will retire
very soon. MSG Pagan met
us in OEF and jumped right
in as the S3 Operations
NCOIC . We are lucky to
have pulled up SFC Harnage
from A Co to replace MSG
Pagan. ..welcome. The S3
shop also hailed CPT Kevin
Kane as the new S3 who
came to us from Knighthawk.
Our final farewell was for
CPT Lucas Lease who most
of us remember as our Rear
Detachment Commander;
however, he spent his last
months providing continuity
in the S3 shop.
In the beginning of April,
the Brigade went through an
Aviation Resource Manage-
ment Survey (ARMS) inspec-
tion. We did extremely well
in most areas and have a cou-
ple of areas that need atten-
tion. Like I told all of the
command teams – these in-
spections are crucial as they
ensure our processes and pro-
cedures are in place. I know
that by the end of the inspec-
tions we are focusing on the
areas that need improvement;
Eagle Commander’s Corner
T A S K F O R C E
M O U N T A I N E A G L E
2 7 7 T H A V I A T I O N
S U P P O R T B A T T A L I O N Liberty Times M A Y 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 5
H O T T O P I C S
Alpha FRG Meet-
ing: Thursday, May
10, 2012, 5:30pm at
Rhicard Commu-
nity Center.
Bravo FRG Meet-
ing: Thursday, May
10, 2012, 5:30pm at
Adirondack Creek
Community Center.
Charlie FRG Meet-
ing - Thursday,
May 10, 2012,
4:30pm at the Char-
lie Company Build-
ing.
HSC FRG Meeting:
Thursday, May 10,
2012, 5:30pm at
Parks & Recreation
11115 Iraqi Free-
dom Drive
C O N T A C T S
B A T T A L I O N S T A F F
D U T Y D E S K
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 0
C H A P L A I N
( C P T ) L O V E
3 1 5 - 6 8 1 - 0 8 8 3
F A M I L Y R E A D I N E S S
S U P P O R T
A S S I S T A N T ( F R S A )
M I C H E L E G A L L O W A Y
3 1 5 - 7 7 4 - 1 2 0 6
M I L I T A R Y F A M I L Y
L I F E C O N S U L T A N T
( M F L C )
3 1 5 - 4 0 5 - 7 4 4 9
3 1 5 - 2 1 2 - 6 9 1 9
A R M Y C O M M U N I T Y
S E R V I C E ( A C S )
I N F O R M A T I O N
A N D R E F E R R A L
3 1 5 - 7 7 2 - 6 5 5 7
1 - 8 0 0 - 8 2 6 - 0 8 8 6
M I L I T A R Y
O N E S O U R C E
1 - 8 0 0 - 3 4 2 - 9 6 4 7
By LTC Albert H. Stiller
Battalion Commander
however, I also know that each
‗green‘ took a lot of effort –
and I thank each and every one
of you that worked so hard in
preparation for this inspection.
Department of the Army G4
chose HSC, 277th ASB as one
of two units to represent the
Army in the Department of
Defense Phoenix Joint Award –
what a great honor to represent
the Army. A Co is getting
ready to provide gunnery sup-
port; they will run the forward
refueling points at the airfield
and draw, store and move all
ammunition. B Co will pro-
vide maintenance and arma-
ment support. C Co will estab-
lish communication connec-
tivity as the other task forces
go through gunnery.
Finally it was our pleasure
to present CW5 Gifford, CW4
Leikam and SGM Harris the
Order of Saint Michael Bronze
Award in front of their peers.
Each one of these leaders pro-
vided many years of dedicated
service to their units, the avia-
tion branch and the United
States Army. (Please see picture on page 8)
Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates
For the rest of the article, go to page 8.
By Melissa Stiller
FRG Advisor
Happy May Soldiers
and Families of 277th! I
hope you are all getting
out and enjoying some of
the beautiful days we‘ve
been having. I think we
can actually go ahead and
store those snow blowers
away for the season. Yea!
Well the PCS season is
upon us. There are a couple
things I‘d like to point out
as we get closer to summer
departures. One-third of
military Families PCS every
P A G E 2
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
Headquarters & Support Company - Battle Penguins
Hello Families of HSC 277
ASB, as spring is arriving
more and more events are
coming up. We have entered
the training phase and have
finally begun a good rhythm.
Soldiers are going to more
schools and the company is
receiving more tasking to as-
sist around Fort Drum. The
Soldiers are also being able to
spend more time at home with
their families. If there are any
problems arising, know that the
company is here to support and
to offer assistance.
The company had five pro-
motions this month. On 5 April
we promoted PFC Fabian Barri-
entos, PFC Judy Chavez, PFC
Joshua Mark, PFC Johnathon
Willis and SPC Amelia Walker.
I would like to say congratu-
lations to the motor pool for all
of their hard work while prepar-
ing for the Army Award for
Maintenance Excellence. With
the inspection from the Depart-
ment of the Army in February,
we have won the Department of
the Army award and have been
entered into the Department of
Defense category. This is a ma-
jor honor as our motor pool will
compete against the Navy, Air
force and Marine Corps.
The FRG meeting will be on
10 May at 1730. It will take
place on post at Parks & Recrea-
tion, 11115 Iraqi Freedom
Drive. The parks and recreation
personnel will talk about all of
the events that they are offering
and equipment that is available
to rent. This will be a pot luck
event, so please email in what
you will bring so we can make
sure there is a variety. I look
forward to seeing everyone
there.
Natalie Nissen
Talon 6
(315)774-1465
By CPT Natalie Nissen
HSC Company Commander
Presently SGT Justin Lux the
Total Army Family Point of
Contact is assisting in the FRG
Leader Role. SGT Lux can be
reached at 315-396-2080
o r e m a i l a t
MIL
HSC FRG Meeting is May
10, 2012, 5:30pm at Parks and
Recreation here on post. The
address is 11115 Iraqi Free-
dom Drive. This will be a pot-
luck. Please email CPT Nissen
the dish you plan to bring at
Please contact Michele Gallo-
way, the Battalion FRSA at 315-
774-1206 or email at Mich-
[email protected] if you
are interested in becoming FRG
Leader, Treasurer or Key Caller.
We look forward to hearing
from you soon!
HSC Family Readiness Group Notes
OPEN
HSC FRG Leader
P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 5
Alpha Company Family Readiness Group Updates
Alpha Company - Atlas
done to our Soldiers that have recently
Graduated from WLC & ALC.
Congrats to SFC Porter and Wife Ni-
esha on their new bundle of joy Noah.
We are still looking for some more volun-
teers: Key Callers, Treasurer, Event Plan-
ners, etc.. If you are interested please con-
tact me. Our Treasurer will be PCSing very
soon.
Our Next meeting will be May 10th @
the Rhicard Community Center, 5:30 Pot
Luck Dinner. Please bring a Dinner dish
and juice or soda to share. Our Guest
speaker is Sarah Lynch from ACS.
Our Soldiers, Our Family, On Our
Shoulders!
Sarah Popp
937-541-6371
Sarah Popp
A Company FRG Leader
Hello Alpha Eagle Families,
Welcome North Country spring, April was
volunteer appreciation month so I would
like to thank everybody that has put in the
extra effort to help me out the last few
months since I took over. We had an awe-
some fundraiser in April for our summer
BBQ and family day. COIN WAR chal-
lenge to date April 15, HQ is winning but
not by much F/W is hot on the trail. The last
day for this fundraiser will be the 27th of
April so we‘ll have to wait and see which
Section Wins. Now that being said I‘m in
need of some help planning this BBQ any-
body have any ideas what to do for the
day??
I want to say Congrats and a job well
Things to Give Up to Be
Happy!!!
* Give up your need to always
be right. There are so many
of us who can‟t stand the idea
of being wrong - wanting to
always be right - even at the
risk of ending great relation-
ships or causing a great deal of
stress and pain, for us and for
others. It „s just not worth it.
Whenever you feel the
“urgent” need to jump into a
fight over who is right and
who is wrong, ask yourself
this question: “Would I
rather be right, or would I
rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer.
What difference will that
make? Is your ego really that
big?
By CPT Bryan Bolin
A Company Commander
Spring is upon us. The sun
is shining more and the weather
is getting nicer. Summer is rap-
idly approaching and will pro-
vide opportunities for training,
FRG events, and of course
block leave. With the unit reset
complete and training under-
way, we need to take the time to
focus on our family readiness
group. There are many volun-
teer opportunities for spouses
and family members. The FRG
is not just a way for family
members to stay in touch with
the company, but also is a way
for families to network with the
other family members of Alpha
Company. Please let us know if
you wish to volunteer.
The Soldiers of A Co will be
playing a vital role in the sup-
port of the upcoming Brigade
Gunnery. In addition to running
the FARP, we are also running the
field Ammo Transfer Holding
Point to support the flight units.
Next month will be very taxing
and very rewarding. I have no
doubt the Soldiers of A Co will be
up for the challenge and be very
successful.
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
P A G E 4
Bravo Company - Hangar Rats By MAJ Ryan Guthrie
B Company Commander
Greetings Hangar Rat Families:
The company distributed multiple
awards this month. The Certificate
of Achievement was awarded to
PFC Adam Bauman, PV2 Bryce
Wood, SPC Cory Gagnon, PFC
Darryl Allen, SPC Jonathan
Shepard, SPC Robert Dees and PV2
Stephen Dubois for excellence in
safety and personal achievement in
service to the welcome home cere-
monies. The Army Achievement
medal (AAM) was awarded to some
of our departing Soldiers. SPC
Brian Hines, SGT Floyd Brown,
SPC Carlos Hernandez, SGT Jason
Katayama, and SSG Miquel Diaz
demonstrated outstanding service to
the unit and earned the AAM. The
AAM was also awarded to PFC
Adam Bauman, SPC Brian Tarbell,
and SPC Joshua Hanna for their
outstanding achievement while as-
signed on maintenance teams outside
of the company. Finally, The Army
Commendation Medal (ARCOM)
was awarded to SGT Robert Messer,
SGT Thanh Huynh, SFC Brent Hel-
frich, SSG Lonnie Smith, and SSG
Matthew Fisher in appreciation for
their long and distinguished service
with B Company and 277th ASB. They
will be greatly missed. We wish them
the best in their next assignments.
We promoted several Soldiers this
month to include PFC Edward Hernan-
dez, PFC Joel Vasquez, PFC Shane
Montgomery, and PFC William Bar-
nett to the rank of Private First Class.
We also promoted SPC Montine
Robersonblue to the rank of Specialist.
They demonstrated the technical com-
petence and maturity to advance to the
next grade. We have great expecta-
tions for them to continue to grow in
their chosen profession. We re-
enlisted SPC Davis this month for con-
tinued military service. Again, only
the best get the privilege of continued
service.
We also received and welcomed
outstanding Soldiers to our formation
in April. We welcomed CW3 Robert
Pierce and his family who will assume
the position as our Production Control
OIC. We also welcomed SPC James
Comoda and his wife who will be re-
enlisting shortly, PFC Ashley Lecarno,
PFC Gage Smolko, SGT Orales
Stroud, PFC Wallace Ellis and his
wife, SPC Phillip Greene, and SGT
James Harper and his wife. Our new-
est additions are greatly welcomed into
the fold of our unit with enthusiasm.
In turn, we bid farewell to the fol-
lowing Sol-
diers who are
assuming posi-
tions in the
Task Forces
for demon-
strating the
best of service.
They deserved and earned this reassign-
ment. SPC Robert Sands, SPC Joshua
Hakemake, SPC Cory Gagnon, SPC
Adam Steimle, SPC Josef Larareo, SPC
Leo Davis, and SGT Joshua Cook were
reassigned to TF Tigershark. SPC Julio
Mendoza, SGT Fulgencio Solar, SPC
Sean Ginn, SGT Jorge Molina, SPC
Michael Walker, SPC Sudeep Khadka,
and SGT Jeffery Frasher were reas-
signed to TF Phoenix. Finally, SGT
Bobby Junge, SGT Clifford Hiatt, SPC
Robert Dees, SPC Bobby Reid, SGT
Joel Huddleston, SPC Benjamin Walk-
der, SPC Aaron Green, and SPC Jacob
Reed were reassigned to TF Six Shoot-
ers. They will make us proud in the
new assignment and are a credit to their
departed unit.
Until next month,
Major Ryan A Guthrie
Hangar Rat 6
(315) 772-4239
Bravo Company Family Readiness Group Updates
Gigi Tomsu
B Company FRG Leader
Hello Bravo Company Families and
Soldiers. It is now May and warmer
weather is settling in. Hopefully for
good! Get outside and have some fun.
Fort Drum offers many activities and
places to check out. Go bowling at the
Pines Plains Bowling Center and eat at
Lil‘ Skeeters Bar-B-Q. Try out a fit-
ness class at Monti Physical Fitness
Center or go to the McEwen Library
for children‘s story time. Let‘s get
motivated and stay active.
Our last FRG Meeting was April
12th, and we had a speaker from the
ACS. She talked about what is going
on at the ACS and what they had to
offer. There are many programs to
choose from such as Family Advocacy
Program, which offers Parent Educa-
tion Workshops and the New Parent
Support Program. They also have
Army Family Team Building, which
contains workshops to educate people
on Army life, military terms, and pro-
cedures. Those were just a few pro-
grams so go to the ACS and find what
interests you.
We are still in need of key callers.
If you are interested or have any ques-
tions about the position please feel free
to contact me. The next key caller
training is May 8th from 2-3:30pm and
5-6:30pm. Call 315-772-0470/2848 to
register. Call early for reservations
and childcare is also available.
Also, I would like to take a mo-
ment and say ―thank you‖ to our cur-
rent volunteers. Thank you to Tiara
Guerrero, Minnie Snyder, Scarleth
Canales, Chelsie Barnette, Jessica
Moore, SPC Jose Muniz, SGT Jeffery
Frasher, SPC Roman Raubertas, SPC
Sean Tomsu, PFC Edward Morgan,
SGT Esdras Lucero, PV2 William
Barnett, PFC Joseph Gum, SPC Tiffa-
nie Sierra, and SSG Bruce Irwin.
Thank you again for volunteering for
our company!
Our next FRG Meeting will be
May 10th at 5:30pm. It will be at the
Adirondack Creek Community Cen-
ter located on main post. This is
another potluck, so bring something
to share. It is not required to bring
food so feel free to join us. Children
are always welcome so bring the
family to the meeting for a good eve-
ning. Here are directions from
Mount Belvedere Gate. Take first
left on Po Valley Rd, take right on S
Riva Ridge Lp, take left on Kiska St,
and the community center will be
straight ahead.
I hope to see you at the next FRG
Meeting.
Gigi Tomsu
315-777-6521
Charlie Company - Ravens
P A G E 5 V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 5
By CPT Matthew Thompson
C Company Commander
If you were lucky enough to be here
for our FRG meeting in April, you
enjoyed some great food and great
company at the last pot luck. Turn out
increased from March and we decided that for May we‘d like to try and do a
BBQ in conjunction with a training
exercise we will be doing at the com-
pany for the month of May. Our next
meeting will again be on the second
Thursday of the month, May 10th from
4:30-5:30 pm, right here at the company, hopefully the weather supports us.
This month the company tended to be
scattered to the four winds conducting
various training events. The Ravens were
attending classes on new equipment and
refresher training on current equipment
sets, shooting at various ranges, including
our M249 and M240B machine gunners
conducting day and night fire, and we
continued preparing for our big WIN-T
communications exercise coming up this month. The 10th Mountain G6 and Ser-
geant Major came by the company to
recognize Specialists Matthew Wolber &
Daniel Dugan and presented each of them
a Certificate of Achievement for their
hard work during the validation exercise
(Picture available on page 9).
Both CPN and JNN Platoon partici-
pated in the convoy simulator last month.
It provides an opportunity to train on con-
voy operations in a virtual environment, similar to a three dimensional video
game, and is a great tool to enhance skills at
all levels in this demanding task. It is also a lot of fun and a great tool for developing
leadership and teamwork at the small unit
level.
This month we also say goodbye to our
executive officer, 1LT Ibrahima Diallo, and
his family as he moves on to be the S6 for
Task Force Tigershark. He also served as
our Total Army Family Program (TAFP)
officer, whose job is to assist the FRG vol-
unteers in executing their duties and help
translate some of the military jargon they may not be familiar with. He has done tre-
mendous things for the company, not only as
the executive officer, coordinating all of the
unit‘s maintenance and equipment through
the reset process, but also the leadership he
provided at FOB Bostick as the JNN Platoon
Leader during the last deployment.
Hope everyone is having a great spring
so far and look forward to seeing you at the
BBQ in May!
Visit www.myarmyonesource.com
There are options to Login with your
username and password or Register if
you don‘t have a profile.
Fill out your information.
When you‘ve created a profile, click
on ―Volunteer‖ on the top right sec-
tion of the page. This will take you to
the Volunteer Management Informa-
tion System (VMIS)
Click on ―Opportunity Locator‖
Select ―Fort Drum‖ under Military
Community and ―FRG: 10 AVN–
277‖ under the Organization and click
Search.
Choose the volunteer position you‘d
like to apply for. When the new page
loads, click Apply.
Online VMIS FRG Volunteer Registration
Check out the FRSA Flash!
The 277th ASB FRSA Flash has lots of in-
formation and is our Weekly Newsletter
for our Family Members and Soldiers. If
you are not receiving the FRSA Flash,
please contact the 277th FRSA Michele
Galloway at 315-774-1206 or
Charlie Company FRG Notes Megan Wilson
C Company FRG Leader
Hello all! Just a quick rundown
on what‘s going on with C Co. On
April 12th C Co had its monthly
FRG meeting, and it was a
GREAT turnout. We had an awe-
some potluck with all the soldiers,
families, and even pets. We talked
about some really good fundrais-
ing ideas to help us save up
money for the single soldier BBQ
that C Co FRG is putting together
with the other companies this
summer. More details on that
event will be provided once we
finally get closer to warmer
weather.
In other news, C Co will be
holding Pie in the Face Day on
April 27th at 4pm. For those who
don‘t know what Pie in the Face
Day is, basically it‘s a FRG fund-
raiser where soldiers can buy plates
of whipped cream and pie the com-
manding team in the face. This in-
cludes the Captain, 1st SGT, the
LT‘s, the Platoon Leaders, and as
well as myself the FRG Leader.
BUT it gets better, we have also con-
vinced LTC. Stiller, CSM Escalera,
and S1 Captain Shull to participate
as well. It will be a very fun day.
Last but not least, C Co will be hold-
ing its next FRG meeting on May
10th at 4:30pm outside of C Co. We
will be having a BBQ. Hope to see
you all there!
Until next time,
Megan Wilson
818-279-3927
P A G E 6
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
D I D Y O U K N O W ?
Army Community Service
(ACS) has clinical Military
Family Life Consultants
(MFLCs) available for walk-
in confidential consults? If
you feel you need some-
one to talk to or are hav-
ing marital problems,
please call them at 315-212
-6919 or just stop by M-F
8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
ACS also has a Financial
Readiness Program that
provides free counseling or
advice on financial matters?
They can provide all types
of financial assistance: pull
credit reports, budgeting,
debt management, invest-
ing, etc. Call 772-0050 for
more info.
Behavioral Health Con-
tacts: Suicide Resources/
Hotlines Connor Clinic Appoint-
ment Line: 315-772-2778
After Hours Emergency
Services (Holidays and
Weekends) Before 9:00
pm: Acute Care Clinic,
315-772-5236
After 9:00 pm: Samaritan
Medical Center Emer-
gency Department: 315-
785-4100
Local 24-Hour Crisis Line:
315-785-4516
National Suicide Preven-
tion Lifeline: 1-800-273-
TALK
Suicide Prevention Action
Network (SPAN):
ww.spanusa.org
By CPT Steven Love
―
But the LORD said to
Samuel, ―Do not consider
his appearance or his
height, for I have rejected
him. The LORD does not
look at the things people
look at. People look at the
outward appearance, but
the LORD looks at the
heart.‖ 1 Samuel
16:7 (New International
Version)
Can you spot a leader
by a looking at them? Is it
in the looks? Is it in? Edu-
cation – No look at many
college professors. Cha-
risma – personality? Physi-
cal appearance-Status? -
No.
A prime example
Mother Teresa, a frail little
woman was known as a
tremendous leader because
she had an amazing amount
of influence.
Why do some people have
influence in leadership posi-
tions and others don‘t?
Character – who they are.
Relationships – leaders care
about people.
Knowledge – it doesn‘t make
you a leader but you can‘t
lead without knowledge.
Experience – Need to have
accomplished some things
you have to pay a price.
Ability- you know your field,
you know what is needed,
you know how to approach
the task you are leading with
some knowledge, understand-
ing, concepts, can communi-
cate, experience etc.,
Abraham Lincoln in 1832,
decades before he became
president, gathered together a
group of men to fight in the
Black Hawk war (Native
American Indians fighting
against the white population
in the Midwest) Lincoln be-
came the leader and was
given the rank Captain. By
the end of his military service
with the Militia he had
achieved the rank of private.
Well, over time, plenty of
failures (something many of
us can relate to) much effort
and personal experience He
became a great leader.
God help us to grow
through our experiences,
deepen our knowledge, in-
crease our ability, improve
the way we relate with people
and strengthen our character.
Love Big Live Well
Chaplain Love
The True Measure of Leadership: Influence
CONTACT INFORMATION BN Staff Duty 774-1200
24-hour BDE Staff Duty 774-1100
FRSA 774-1206 email [email protected]
FRG Leaders
HSC – OPEN/Acting FRG Ldr SGT Lux cell: 315-396-2080;
A Co – Sarah Popp-cell: 937-541-6371, [email protected]
B Co—GiGi Tomsu-cell: 315-777-6521, [email protected]
C Co—Megan Wilson-cell: 818-279-3927, [email protected]
FRG Advisors
Melissa Stiller – home 681-6734, email [email protected]
DATE YOUR MATE MONTH
NATIONAL BLOOD PRESSURE MONTH
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
REMEMBER MEMORIAL DAY!
APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS!
V O L U M E I , I S S U E 2 5
May 2012
P A G E 7
3 May - 277th Volunteer Recognition
Lunch - 11:45am - 12:45pm in the Bat-
talion Classroom. RSVPs are required.
9 May - 10th CAB FRG Training Day
(See Flyer on page 11)
24 May - 10th CAB Project Caps Event
– Get paid to participate in surveys.
29 May - Army Soldier Show - 6pm at
Magrath Gym
4 June - 277th ASB Change of Com-
mand - 10am in the B Co. 277th Han-
gar (across from Battalion Headquar-
ters).
Community Events Need Help? Call or visit Military
OneSource to find infor-
mation about taxes, par-
enting, deployments,
finances, taxes, counsel-
ing, PCS moves & more!
Upcoming Key Caller
Class Dates: May 8th
All Classes are at ACS from
2-3:30 p.m. or 5-6:30p.m.
Call Mobilization and Deployment to
register at 315-772-0470.
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Training/Classes
FRG Suspenses
BDE/BN/CO FRG
Meetings/Training/
Events
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 Key Caller 2
-3:30pm or 5-
6:30pm
9 10 FRG Mtgs 11 12
13 Mother’s
Day
14 FRG Ldr
9am-1pm
Informal
Funds 2-3pm
or 5-6pm
15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 Donsa 26
27 28 Memorial
Day
29 30 31
Steve Power, Personal Financial
Counselor, is here to help until April
27, 2012. Call him at 586-350-7650
to help set up a budget, check your
credit, develop a plan to get out of
debt, get started investing, or what-
ever you need assistance with. You
can also always call Financial Readi-
ness at 772-0050 for this same type of
assistance.
Family Readiness Group Advisor’s Updates, continued
P A G E 8
Eye On The Eagle
L I B E R T Y T I M E S
year. Because our education sys-
tem is governed at the state level,
moving frequently as we do in the
military can be very stressful. We
have an excellent organization on
Ft. Drum called Parent to Parent
that offers assistance and classes
in how to keep your student‘s re-
cords up to date, and to help with
those school transitions. I strongly
encourage you to contact them to
find out when their next work-
shop is that may be applicable to
your child‘s age (774-4496), es-
pecially if you have a child enter-
ing high school. Also, every post
has a School Liaison Officer that
can help with the transition be-
tween schools and provide info on
the schools in the area you are
moving to. Let them help you!
The other thing I‘d like to men-
tion is that as you begin to clean
through your stuff (maybe?) in an-
ticipation of the move, keep in
mind that we have a wonderful
thrift shop on post that is willing to
take all your unwanted items. They
take donations 24 hours a day in the
front lobby, or they offer daily con-
signments from 9:30 am – 12:30
pm. They also offer PCS appoint-
ments to those within 90 days of
PCS/ETS‘ing so that you can do
one large consignment drop off.
Call them at 772-7189 and get rid
of your junk!
Lastly, I‘ve got to put my regu-
lar plug in. We still have a shortage
of FRG volunteers in all of our
companies. I know each of you is
busy with your own lives, but I ask
you to consider helping out in some
small capacity. It only takes about
an hour a month to be a Key
Caller or Treasurer, and it offers a
chance to stay connected to your
spouse‘s unit, know what‘s going
on (we know they don‘t always
remember to keep us in the loop),
build new friendships (that may
just come in handy during the
next deployment), and volunteer-
ing is just a wonderful way to feel
like you add value in life. So
please think about it and help
make our FRG a success. Thanks
for considering it, and enjoy
yourselves this May!
LTC Stiller presents
CW5 Gifford, CW4 Leikam
and SGM Harris the Order of
Saint Michael Bronze Award
in front of their peers.
P A G E 9 PICTURES
LTC Jeffrey Schroeder, the 10th Mountain Division G6, and SGM James Mullens present
Specialist Matthew Wolber of Charlie 227th with a Certificate of Achievement for his
outstanding performance during the WIN-T Validation Exercise last month.
P A G E 1 0 PICTURES CONTINUED
B 277th ASB, TF Mtn Eagle.
SFC Helfrich is presented the ARCOM for his service while assigned to
the 277th Aviation Support Battalion by MAJ Guthrie and 1SG Snyder.
ARMY PHOTO BY CPT Melinda Walden
P A G E 1 1 Announcement
277th Aviation Support Battalion History
In February 2006, the 277th Aviation Support Battalion
deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom VII, where it provided combat service and support
to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon.
The Unit redeployed in February of 2007 after earning the
Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker Award for best Aviation
Battalion in 2006 and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In October 2008, the 277th ASB deployed to Iraq in sup-
port of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-11, where it provided
support and combat services to the 10th CAB, Task Force
Lightning. The unit redeployed in October 2009 and earned
the Lieutenant General Ellis D. Parker award for the Best
Combat Service Support Battalion for the work performed
during its 2008-2009 deployment.
20125 Hangar Access Road
Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield
Fort Drum, NY 13602
Phone: 315-774-1206
Fax: 315-774-1231
E-mail: [email protected]
277th Aviation Support Battalion
10th Combat Aviation Brigade
“Freedom and Liberty”
P A G E 1 2