396 tc november 2012 newsletter

7/30/2019 396 TC November 2012 Newsletter

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areas of our motor pool have

underwent inspections. All

sections worked efficiently a

team to uphold and set the s

dard not only for our battaliobut for the installation. A co

pany wide Army Physical F

ness Test was given to ensur

our Soldiers are maintaining

their physical fitness and mu

ple ranges have been condu

to qualify Soldiers on variou

weapon systems.

As the days continue to p

the Soldiers of the 396th Tra

portation Company have rel

on each other for support an

comfort. As individuals we

strong, however, as a team,

396th Transportation Comp

has become indestructible.

-SPC Wilkerson, Ashten

Coming together is a begin-

ning. Keeping together is a pro-

gress. Working together is a

success.

-Henry Ford.

100 days. 2,400 hours. 14,400

minutes. 8,640,000 seconds.

That is how long the Soldiers of

the 396 Transportation Com-

pany have been without their

loved ones. There has not been

a second that has went by thatwe have not thought of our

friends and families holding

up the home front. Holiday

seasons are around the corner

and the mail room is busting

with excitement. Every pack-

age sent to our Soldiers are

met with smiles and gratifica-

tion.

A valuable lesson learned this

month has been the art of team

work. As a company, we have

accomplished many goals. We

have successfully completed mul-

tiple missions and the deliverance

of an assortment of multi-class

supplies. A team of Soldiers par-

ticipated and won the SWORD

Challenge that tested their physi-

cal endurance as a team. The

company also helped set up and

create a process called the Pit

Stop. This process is a staging

lane that inspects and tests multi-

ple systems on our trucks to en-

sure we are as safe and prepared

to conduct our mission. In addi-

tion to our daily tasks, various

One Team One Fight

3 9 6 T H

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

C O M P A N Y Hell On WheelsN O V E M B E R 2 0 T H , 2 0 1 2V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

H I G H R O L L E R

A W A R D S

SGT Lowe

SPC Wendt

SPC Tyler

SPC Daniels D

SGT Soltese

SPC Wilkerson, A

SPC Moses

Company

Miles

10,152


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P A G E 2

HIGH OPTANE

Commanders CornerAnother month has been

successfully completed on

this nine month journey, as

mission requirements and

performance expectationscontinue to increase. Since

previous performance is a

predictor of future results,

elements within this com-

pany continually get se-

lected for high visibility

operations; constantly set-

ting the bar higher. Sol-

diers within this company

continue to accomplish mis-

sions with the tactical and

technical expertise of sea-

soned veterans, always

ready for the next chal-

lenge.

One constant within thisprofession is change, which

during the past 30 days has

occurred in the form of mis-

sion requirements, weather,

and operation tempo. With

change comes opportunity,

consequently 396th Trans-

portation Company Soldiers

are taking advantage of this

opportunity with recogni-

tion being received at Divi-

sion, Brigade, and Battalion

leadership levels.

These accomplishments are

celebrated knowing that the

support of family and

friends make it possible.

As Soldiers, we fully under-

stand this fact and always

appreciate the thoughts and

prayers from loved ones at

home.

-CPT Willson

armament, has played a vital

role in the logistical surge of

three to four convoy escort

teams with 96 personnel

launching at the same time

within a three hour time

span, WOW!!!!. Then the

escort teams themselves

escorted over 140 vehicles

all throughout Regional

Commands (RC) East and

The month of November

has truly been a chal-

lenge for the OperationsSection. The company

as a whole has met some

demanding operational

challenges with technical

competence and tactical

teamwork. The opera-

tions section, including

communications and

Capital at the same time as

well. AWESOME!!!!!

The 396th TransportationCompany are truly masters

of their craft, and the won-

derful part about this com-

pany is that we are still

learning more. GO BIG

WHEELS!!!!!

-SFC Lapsley

grandson. "It is a terrible fight

between two strong wolves. One

wolf is evil. The other is good.

The grandson thinks about this for

a minute. Then he asks his grand-

father, "Which wolf wins?"

The wise old Cherokee answers,

"The one you feed."The problem is, if you're like me,

you probably have far less control

than you'd like over which wolves

you feed and which you don't.

The truth is, you don't have to be

diagnosed with an

attention disorder

to have an attention

deficit!

Staying focused

and paying atten-

tion will improveyour odds of stay-

ing alive.

-1SG Durant

First Hand from the First Sergeant-Staying Focused

What you pay attention to can

make a huge difference in your

life. It can affect how you feel,

what you think, and what you

can accomplish. In a very real

sense, you are what you pay at-tention to.

There was an old Cherokee In-

dian teaching his grandson about

life. There is a battle going on

inside each of us," he tells his


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BULLDOGS

P A G E 3V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

The last few weeks, the Bulldogs have

been hard at work. We were chosen to

participate in a Brigade level security

operation at the Salang Tunnel for a

distinguished visitor. The mission was

a great success.

A few soldiers were selected to help assist

the Brigade PSD Team in a mission going to

a Korean Forward Operating Base north of

Bagram. Several Soldiers from the Bulldogs

have been tasked out to assist other convoy

escort teams in convoy operations. As ofNovember first, the Bulldogs have taken over

the task of guarding the local national trucks

that are staged prior to leaving out on mis-

sion. We took an Army Physical Fitness Test

this month and several have qualified at the

M16 range. SGT Perez was chosen to partici-

pate in the Warrior Leaders Course in Ku-

wait. She was one of the first Soldiers from

the battalion to be chosen to attend the course

while in a combat zone. SGT Lewis spent two

weeks at Forward Operating Base Ghazni

where he was trained on how to properly oper-

ate the PUMA, a small unmanned air-

craft used for surveillance. SPC Manspile

from the Bulldogs participated on the win-

ning team of the Sword Challenge which

consisted of multiple rigorous physical

tasks to be completed as a team. SPC Her-

nandez reenlisted this month and SPC Tothwas chosen this month for the Highroller

award, for his hard

work and dedication to

the team.

-PFC Adams

ciency. The Outlaws conducted weapons train-

ing on various weapon systems. We have been

conducting PAC BOT (it is like Wall-E) train-

ing and recently completed the Army PhysicalFitness Test. We have spent a lot of time on

our assigned vehicles to ensure that they are

100% mission capable. We would like to

congratulate SPC Dustin Gill for her participa-

tion and subsequent win during the Battalions

Sword Challenge, earning an Army Achieve-

ment Medal for her efforts. We would like to

recognize SGT Shawn Hillman, SPC Dustin

Gill and PFC Ja Kees Wheeler for participat-

ing in the Army 10 Miler shadow run con-

For the month of November the Out-

laws have been hard at work in a con-

tinued effort to maintain combat effi-

ducted here on Bagram. Congratulations to

Matthew Soltese for his recent promotion to

Sergeant. SGT Soltese has worked ex-

tremely hard to keep the Outlaws vehiclefleet at 100 percent mission ready; his is a

promotion that is well deserved. We would

like to give a shout out to SGT Soltese

and SPC Antonio Tyler for being recog-

nized with the Company High Roller award

for the month of November. Just a reminder

to friends and family back home, we love

and miss you. We would like to wish you

all a Happy Thanksgiving.

-SSG Bowden

phrases for dealing with the local

drivers. Our time in the south al-

lowed the team to continue to

grow; PFC Tayler Rovere com-

monly refers to CET 2 as his fam-

ily and home away from home. As

the weather continues to get

colder, everyone bundles up to

escape the chill. SPC Kevin

Marquez, a native of Puerto Rico,

has never seen snow; he anx-

iously awaits

the first flakes

to fall.

-1LT Powers

This month the Bone Crusher ele-

ment spent a lot of time on the

road, a welcome change after be-

ing on guard detail the month

prior! Our mission took us south

where we conducted retrograde

convoys for nearly two weeks.

SPC Lyle Carter spent much time

with our interpreter, Gus, and even

started to pick up a few Pashtun

BONECRUSHERS

OUTLAWS


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DOG POUND

P A G E 4V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

The days are long and the nights are even

longer as the Dog Pound element moves

along the streets of Afghanistan. We have

accomplished a lot in the past 30 days. Nu-

merous missions were ran from RC East and

Capital areas moving multi class supplies.

The Dog Pound was charged with escorting

the Battalion Commander to our second

home on Ghazni. With three months down

and six to go, the Soldiers of the Dog Pound

element are keeping busy. Our newest

member of the team, PFC Williams, con-

ducted CROWS training (a machine gun

employed using a video monitor inside the

vehicle) in order to join our team on the road.

SPC Wilkerson, A. was awarded the High

Roller of the Month award. Our maintenance

team, SGT Mcinnis and SPC Hunter have

been working diligently with our operators to

keep our trucks road worthy. Our Mis-

sion Commander, SGT Riley, has be-

come proficient with his job of control-

ling all supplies that we escort, making

our missions a success. On the behalf of

the Dog Pound team we would like to

tell our loved ones back home Happy

Thanksgiving. With the Holiday season

right around the corner

Soldiers of this team

are thankful for the

support from their

loved ones.

-SPC Wilkerson, A.

high expectations. The Soldiers

in the platoon are constantly busy

with going on missions and also

working on the equipment when

they return. But nevertheless

they never complain or show any

sign of giving up. Our clerks

worked tirelessly to prepare for

Battalion Inspection and passed

with flying colors; PFC Flores is

The month of Novem-

ber has been very busy

for the 396th Mainte-

nance Platoon with

missions going on a

weekly basis and ser-

vices due. In all, there

were multiple services

completed and starting

the next month with

constantly impressing our Bat-

talion. Leadership had a

Hazmat Inspection as well and

worked days and nights on their

areas, easily scoring 100%

From this point on there is no

turning back.

-SGT Wilkerson

their names came out on the promo-

tion list and are working diligently to

meet their point requirements to pick

up their E-5 rank. Our High Roller

of the month award went to SPC

Wendt who earned the award for his

hard work and dedication to

prepare himself and his team

for all upcoming missions.

From all of the Rough Riders

we want to wish everyone a

Happy Thanksgiving!

-2LT Liberator

This month the Rough Riders had

our first mission south and were

the first team from 396th TC to

travel to Forward Operating

Base Warrior. We successfully

escorted over 50 local national

trucks throughout RC-East.

The Rough Riders had two Sol-

diers, SPC Ray and SPC Ton-

neson, go to the promotion

board in November; they did an

outstanding job! Both Soldiers

are eagerly waiting to see if

ROUGH RIDERS

Maintenance


5/6

Congratulations to thosewho re-enlisted!

396th held their annual Friday

Night Lights celebrating everyonesbirthdays for the month of October by

sharing cake and singing them all

Happy Birthday!

November Birthdays


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396 tc november 2012 newsletter

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