Inside this

issue

Message from

RG6/RG7

2

Validation exercise cont. 3

Graduating with honors 3

Mentorship program 4

Promotions and Re-up 7

The Rail Gunner

Monthly Staff

Commander

COL John C. Thomson, III

Command Sgt. Maj.

CSM Kelvin A. Hughes

Rail Gunner PAO

NCOIC

SSG Kyle Richardson

Rail Gunner Journalists

SGT Lucas Hoskins

SPC Dalinda Salazar

41st Fires Brigade

“Rail Gunners!!”

The 41st Fires Brigade packed up its equipment and rolled out to the field for their validation exercise during the Battle Command Sys-tems of Systems Integration Train-ing at Fort Hood, Texas, July 6-16. The BCSoSIT training was bro-ken down into two phases com-prised of three events. During event one, the brigade was

able to come together and construct the command post, erect the tents, lay out power grids, develop the staff sections cells properly, estab-lish all the systems in the appropri-ate locations, and lastly, the commu-nication section connected all the systems together. ―This is our first time getting the new DRASH [deployable rapid as-sembly shelter],‖ said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Coleman, Fredericksburg, Va., native and operations supervi-

Story and photos by

Staff Sgt. Kyle Richardson

41st Fires Brigade, PAO

VOLUME 1 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY ISSUE 10

FORT HOOD, Texas—The Soldiers with the 41st Fires Brigade lays out equipment to inventory and to set up during the

Battle Command Systems of Systems Integrated Training exercise located on Fort Hood, July 7. The BCSoSIT training ran

from July 6-16.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle J. Richardson, 41st Fires Brigade PAO

See BCSoSIT on Page 3

Rail Gunner 6 & 7 Send We also had several accolades on the individual front. SGT Jeremy Wolff of 1-21 FA earned Distinguished Honor Graduate at the Warrior Leader Course, putting him at the very top of almost 300 Soldiers/NCOs from all units at Fort Hood. 1SG Childers (HHB), 1SG Bruno (324NSC), MSG Williams (BDE S2), MSG Wilson (2-20 FA), MSG Watts (2-20 FA), 1SG Perez (589BSB) were all selected for ad-vancement to the rank of Sergeant Ma-jor! We also had superlative success with the Lieutenant Colonel’s list where MAJ Steve Carpenter, MAJ Dave Chiarenza, MAJ Bill Tomlin, MAJ Ryan Remley, MAJ Jason Gardner, and MAJ Steve Clark were all selected for pro-motion, no doubt to the professional dedication and commitment of the NCOs and Soldiers under them! Addi-tionally, PV2 Delono Taylor of 2-20 FA and PV2 Alexandria Long of 1-21 FA were two of sixteen food service spe-cialists from across all of Fort Hood selected to serve on the Culinary Arts Team that will compete at the All-Army competition at Fort Lee, Virginia in March 2011. Congratulations to all of these Rail Gunners that inspire excel-lence in our ranks! With all of the field training in July, we will focus much of our efforts in August on maintenance and supply in prepara-tion for extensive field training the last three weeks of September. However, by Soldier request, we are hosting a Rail Gunner Marksmanship competi-tion on August 18-19 and look forward to tough competition as we identify and recognize our top sharpshooters. The senior NCOs will also lead the forma-tion on a Brigade run on August 26

th.

All are welcome to our quarterly Spiri-tual Fitness Luncheon at Club Hood on August 12

th where we will welcome the

new Brigade Chaplain, Major Joseph Viera. We are also holding Strong Bonds marriage retreats August 16-18 and August 25-27, as well as a single

Colonel

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY August 2010

John C. Thomson, III

41st Fires Brigade

Command Sergeant Major

Dear Rail Gunner family:

The Brigade had a phenomenal month of training during July and we

are extremely proud of the many achievements of our magnificent Sol-diers and Non-commissioned Officers. Both 1-21 FA and 2-20 FA executed outstanding battery-level gunnery,

delivering accurate and timely rockets from multiple firing points across the Fort Hood training area. 589

th BSB

conducted a challenging two-week small arms gunnery, significantly im-

proving their individual and crew-served weapons proficiency. Addi-tionally, all of our command posts

from brigade and battalion levels par-ticipated in a rigorous two-week battle

command integration exercise that greatly helped us to receive, process, and disseminate information critical to

our command and control systems and networks. These accomplish-

ments could not have been possible without the tremendous contributions of our three separate units – A/26 FA Target Acquisition Battery, 324

th Net-

work Signal Company, and the Bri-gade Headquarters Battery.

The “Rail Gunner Monthly” is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army. Contents of the

“Rail Gunner Monthly” are not necessarily official views of or endorsed by the U.S. Government, Depart-

ment of Defense, Department of the Army or the 41st Fires Brigade. All editorial content of this publication

is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 41st Fires Brigade Public Affairs Office. If you have any

questions, comments, concerns or suggestions contact the 41st Fires Brigade PAO office at 254-287-0739 or

email kyle.richardson@conus.army.mil. Check out the unit’s Website at http://www.hood.army.mil/41stFires

or on Facebook for additional information.

Kelvin Hughes

41st Fires Brigade CSM

Soldier retreat August 19-20. Finally, we also remind everyone that school for our children resumes this month, on August 23

rd for KISD and CCISD

and other dates for private schools. The place of duty on the morning of the first day of school for all Rail Gun-ner Soldiers with children is to take them to school, the bus stop, or do whatever else to make this important day a great day for our kids. Just to be clear, this means reporting late to work and missing PT. Thank you for your strong participa-tion in the May 2010 Fort Hood Com-munity Needs Assessment Survey. The Brigade had the highest participa-tion rate in the medium unit category and accordingly has been awarded a training holiday on October 25

th 2010.

The safety and well-being of our Sol-diers and Families remains our high-est priority, and it requires a team ef-fort. We ask that all of you watch out for your battle buddies, family, friends, and units. Through our collective fo-cus on discipline, high standards, and comprehensive fitness, we are

Rail Gunner Strong!

―Safety is important because these Soldiers are relearning all of these skills. It’s very important that everyone knows what right looks like,‖ said Sgt. Maj. Robert Norvell, native of Louisville, Ky., operations sergeant major. ―We have Soldiers that haven’t been in this environment for awhile. They’re working long hours in the sun and the rain, we have to be careful but be ready at the same time.‖ At the end of the two weeks, the ―Rail Gunners‖ worked through a few situations, learned their new systems, and vali-dated.

BCSoSIT, cont. from Page 1

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY PAGE 3

FORT HOOD, Texas—The 41st Fires Brigade participated in a Battle Command Systems of Systems Integrated

Training exercise to train new soldiers and get validated on new operating systems throughout the brigade on Fort

Hood, July 7. The BCSoSIT consisted of three major events: the setup, validation, and scenario based exercises.

sor. ―About 10 percent of the original staff was retained after this past deployment so we’re concentrating on getting all the Soldiers trained up on all of the new systems and broken down into teams to function effec-tively.‖ The second event was the validation portion of the exer-cise. During the validation proc-ess, all the applications, sys-tems, voice and digital commu-nication had to work within the brigade and throughout all of the battalions’ areas of operations. ―The validation process is very critical to the mission suc-cess of the brigade during de-ployments and garrison opera-tions,‖ said Coleman. ―It’s very important to know your perspec-tive area. The Soldiers have to be comfortable doing their jobs and possibly the jobs of others.‖ After the validation process, the brigade shifted into the phase two portion of the training that consisted of scenario-based situations. ―The purpose of the second phase is to train the battle staff on all the intricate systems and to make sure they are proficient

at all their processes in the com-mand post more expedient,‖ said Esau Esau Jr., native of America Samoa, BCSoSIT task leader. The 11-day exercise gave the brigade a chance to come together to work as a single en-tity and to learn and re-learn some of the newer systems and communicate within the brigade and to the out-lying battalions setup in their individual motor pools. Even though the training was important and the validation process was critical to mission success, safety proved to be just as important to the mission.

41st Fires Bde. Soldier graduates with honors Story and photos by

Staff Sgt. Kyle Richardson

41st Fires Brigade, PAO

Warrior Leader Course class 11-10 graduated more than 200 Soldiers stationed at various installations across the nation during the graduation ceremony held at the Howze Auditorium here, Thursday. WLC cadre prepared junior and future leaders to be better

leaders as well as confident and competent. Even the Non-commissioned Officer Acad-emy’s motto is a constant re-minder to all NCOs to strive for professional development; ―Train the Best to Lead the Best.‖ Among the 200 plus Sol-diers attending WLC, a multiple launched rocket system crew

member with 41st Fires Bri-gade excelled ahead of his peers to achieve the school’s highest academic honor, the Distinguished Honor Graduate. Corporal Jeremy Wolff, Littleton, Colo. native, A Bat-tery, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, earned the achievement by maintaining a 90 percent or higher academic

See HONORS on Page 5

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY August 2010

Mentorship program keeps Soldiers safe Story and photos by

Sgt. Lucas Hoskins

41st Fires Brigade, PAO

FORT HOOD, Texas— Motorcy-clists from the 41st Fires Bri-gade participated in a brigade motorcycle ride to Marble Falls, Texas, as a part of its mentor-ship program, Friday. The motorcycle mentorship program was put in place to pro-mote safe and responsible rid-ing. The brigade rides are de-signed to increase morale, esprit de corps, and to continually de-velop the skills of motorcycle rid-ers for both, the new and experi-enced. Mentorship rides are conducted on a quarterly basis. The 41st Fires Bde. MMP has been in place since Febru-ary 2007. The brigade requires all soldiers who currently own a motorcycle or have a motorcycle endorsement on their license to enroll. The brigade has only had three serious motorcycles incidents since the start of the program and only one of those

See MOTORCYCLE on Page 5

FORT HOOD, Texas—Motorcyclists of the 41st Fires Brigade stop for a photo opportunity as a group during

a motorcycle mentorship ride to Marble Falls, Texas, Friday outside of Fort Hood. The ride was about 140

miles with occasional stops for mentoring sessions. The motorcycle mentorship program promotes safety and

instills the skills necessary to ride a motorcycle both on and off duty

FORT HOOD, Texas—Soldiers of the 41st Fires Brigade prepare to mount up and conduct a motorcycle

mentorship ride to Marble Falls, Texas, Friday. These rides are part of a hands-on program put in place to

keep our Soldiers with motorcycles as safe as possible while riding.

incidents occurring since the brigade’s redeployment in Au-gust 2009. Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Baker, brigade senior motorcy-cle mentor, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 41st Fires Bde., led the ride. Staff Sgt. Jeffery Gorecki, the senior

motorcycle mentor for 2nd Bat-talion, 20th Field Artillery Regi-ment, helped with the instruc-tions and training for this ride. ―Being actively involved with the riders in the brigade is es-sential,‖ said Baker. ―The more often we train with the soldiers, the more likely they are to think about the things they have learned every time they get on their bikes.‖ ―It’s great to see the develop-ment in our Soldiers’ skills from ride to ride,‖ said Gorecki. ―We haven’t had a serious incident in so long so we must be doing something right. This program is working.‖ After conducting motorcycle inspections and a safety brief-ing, the riders left Fort Hood en route to Marble Falls for lunch and a break off of the motorcy-cles. They then headed out to a remote stretch of highway with more than enough curves for

in the way sports bikes and cruisers handle,‖ said Sharpless. ―If we had separate rides, we would have more time to focus on the skills we need for our in-dividual type of motorcycles.‖ After a quick fuel stop, the Soldiers returned to Fort Hood logging almost 140 miles during the trip. After an after action re-view was conducted, the Sol-diers were released back to their units. The 41st Fires Bde. will con-tinue to train its riders properly to ensure the motorcyclists are safe as well as other commuters on the roads and highways.

possible,‖ said Baker. After the training, the soldiers were asked what they would like to see come out of the mentor-ship program. Pfc. Jonathan Sharpless said he would like to see more frequent brigade rides take place. ―These rides not only make you a better rider, but they also build comradery throughout the brigade between motorcyclists,‖ said Sharpless. Another suggestion was to hold separate events for those soldiers riding sports bikes and those riding cruisers. ―There is a definite difference

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY PAGE 5

more training. ―A lot of accidents involving motorcycles occur while corner-ing,‖ said Baker. ―It’s important to practice the everyday hazards of the road to learn not only the capabilities of your motorcycle but also your own personal limi-tations.‖ The group stopped at a small picnic area for another break and some more additional train-ing. ―We talked about little things we can all do to make riding our motorcycles as safe as possible like making yourself as visible as

average and receiving a supe-rior rating in three or more ar-eas. ―I didn’t go to WLC expecting to be the Distinguished Honor

Graduate,‖ said Wolff. ―My unit had me properly prepared so I wasn’t surprised by anything when I got there.‖ Wolff said that maintaining a high motivation level and a de-

sire to succeed pushed him to the top. He also mentioned that it wasn’t about him; he was aware of his abilities and wanted to help and be a team player when at all possible like an NCO should. ―We’ve done a lot with Cpl. Wolff,‖ said 1st Sgt. Troy Cummings. ―It’s not a surprise to us that he did as well as he did in the WLC course because he’s been a leader in our battery. His accomplish-ment is a direct reflection of his NCOs—his imme-diate supervisor and his platoon sergeant in my opinion. He makes us very proud.‖ As Wolff completes his first leadership

MOTORCYCLE cont. from Page 4

FORT HOOD, Texas—Corporal Jeremy Wolff, multiple launch rocket

system crew member and native of Littleton, Colo., A Battery, 1st

Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade, receives a

handshake and congratulations from Lt. Col. James Davel, native of

Shawano, Wis., commander, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery

Regiment, at the Warrior Leader Course graduation ceremony for class

11-10 held at the Howze Auditorium here, Thursday.

HONORS cont. from Page 3

FORT HOOD, Texas—Corporal Jeremy Wolff, multiple

launch rocket system crew member and native of

Littleton, Colo., A Battery, 1st Battalion, 21st Field

Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade, stands at the

position of attention waiting for his name to be called to

receive his certificate during the Warrior Leader Course

graduation ceremony for class 11-10 held at the Howze

course he plans to make the Army a career. Wolff’s achievements are: five Army Achievement Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and an Overseas Service Ribbon. He has several college credits through the FEMA program.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY August 2010

To MSG

Sgt. 1st Class John M. Terry

To SGT

Spc. Derick J. Grantarthur

Spc. David T. Hemingway

Spc. Steven Lowe

Spc. Cornelius Shelby

Cpl. Jeremy M. Wolff

1-21 FA

Staff Sgt. Bryan Tremaine Edwards

HHB

Staff Sgt. Tiffiny Amanda Bryant

Want more news and information, become a

Facebook fan of the 41st Fires BDE

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 10 THE RAIL GUNNER MONTHLY August 2010