Charlie Detachment

Financial Management

Unit D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

“LEAD FROM THE FRONT,

NEVER QUIT”

INSIDE

THIS

ISSUE:

Commander’s

Corner

2

Detachment

Sergeant’s

Corner

3

Executive

Officer’s

Corner

4

Return from

Operation

United

Assistance

5

Recognizing

Soldiers

6

Prime Time

Leaders

Training

7

Family

Readiness

Group

8

Farewell 9

Upcoming

Events

10

P A G E 2

C H A R L I E D E T A C H M E N T F I N A N C I A L M A N A G E M E N T U N I T

Commander’s Corner

CPT Andres Leon

Commander

COBRAS

December marks the start to the Holiday season. For most, it is a time

to be with family and loved ones. However, in our profession there are

many who will be away from their families and loved ones. Cobra

Soldiers, like many around the world, are stationed overseas while

their spouses, children, mothers, fathers, and other relatives are else-

where. The team and I which recently returned from supporting Op-

eration United Assistance will soon depart our Controlled Monitoring

Area (CMA) and return to our friends and families. Newly promoted,

1LT Rachel Kim, will spend this Holiday season deployed, and our

106th FMSU 1st Sergeant will be in CMA-Baumholder during the holi-

days. During this time, I ask you keep all our Soldiers in your

thoughts and prayers that do not have the opportunity to be with their

friends and families.

This month, the unit welcomed our new Detachment Sergeant, SFC

John O’Connor, his wife, Erin, their kids Madison, Sarah, and Holden,

as well as, their dog Sushi and two cats Ginger and Honey to the Cobra

Family. I am excited for the opportunity to work with you in continu-

ing to improve our Soldiers and Detachment. Welcome to Vicenza

and the Cobra Family!

As we welcome our new Detachment Sergeant and his family, we bid a

special farewell to our past Detachment Sergeant, SFC Melvin

“KILLA” Santos. Your efforts and dedication have not gone unno-

ticed or unappreciated during your time with CHARLIE detachment.

The vast improvement in the Detachments readiness, ability to accom-

plish any mission, and Soldiers morale is a true testament of your lead-

ership, dedication, motivation, and loyalty to our unit. SFC Santos

always placed the needs of the Soldiers before his own. We wish you

the best in your future assignment, and I hope to be awarded the oppor-

tunity to serve and lead with you again.

SGT Cheruiyot, PFC Khatiwada and I will depart CMA this month.

The OUA mission was a unique experience for the team. I am thank-

ful and proud of all of our accomplishments throughout this unique

deployment. CMA is a safety precaution needed in order to ensure the

safety of the community, Soldiers, and families. Continue to monitor

yourselves and others; even though the threat of the Ebola virus has

gone down, threats to Soldiers and Americans around the world will

continue. Again, stay alert and stay vigilant, as you travel during the

Holidays. Continue to be safe and do the right thing!

“LEAD FROM THE FRONT, NEVER QUIT”

CPT ANDRES LEON

P A G E 3

“To catch the reader's attention,

place an interesting sentence or

quote from the story here.”

Detachment Sergeant’s

Corner

SFC Melvin Santos

Detachment Sergeant

Commander’s Corner

COBRAS

I have been dreading this day for a long time. This was not the

usual leadership position and it’s hard to capture how much this

Detachments means to me. In the past year, Charlie Detachment

has faced a great deal of adversity and progressed from a bunch of

individuals crammed together in tightly knit family. Through

shared hardship and self sacrifice, we became a family. It makes

this final letter a difficult day.

I have a long list of people who deserved my gratitude and thanks.

First and foremost, CPT Leon, thank you for giving me the opportu-

nity to be your right hand man and for believing in me. I am very

appreciative. 2L T Volanti, it’s always fun to work with you and

we’ll get another opportunity before long, you have unlimited po-

tential and I know you will continue to be a success.

To all my Non-Commissioned Officers, Squad leaders, past and

present: Thank you. It’s been an honor to serve with each and

every one of you and I have enjoyed watching your development.

Thank you all for your diligent hard work and constant motivation.

SGT Kohama, SGT Lingerfelt, SGT Checiruiyot, SGT Acosta,

SGT Joselyn, and SGT Killion thanks for all your hard work. You

are all a testament to the professionalism of the NCO Corps.

The success of this Detachment goes far beyond the company lead-

ership, far beyond the squad leadership, and straight down to the

individual Soldier. I’ve said it once previously, but the Soldiers

Charlie Detachment are the best collection of Soldiers I know. As I

depart, please extend the same courtesy and respect to my succes-

sor, SFC O’Conner. Thank you all for such hard work and high

morale, I will never forget you “KILLA”!

“LEAD FROM THE FRONT, NEVER QUIT”

SFC MEVLIN SANTOS

P A G E 4

Executive Officer’s

Corner

C H A R L I E D E T A C H M E N T F I N A N C I A L M A N A G E M E N T U N I T

2LT Michael Volanti

Executive Officer

COBRAS

The past couple of months have been extremely busy for the

Cobra Family. We parted ways with the unit Detachment

Sergeant, SFC Santos, and gained another outstanding leader

in SFC O’Conner. We are excited to have his knowledge

and experience help guide us into the future. It is the Holi-

day Season, what most of us would like to think of as a time

to be with our family and friends, eating a home cooked

meal, playing in the snow, and celebrating.

Unfortunately, as Soldiers, not everyone gets the opportunity

to experience Holiday bliss. We are stationed far away from

our family and friends, literally on the other side of the

world. This is the time of year many Soldiers need a re-

minder of the support we have from home. It is why it is

important for us to remember we are all human, and it is im-

portant to reach out others within our organization, espe-

cially to who those who not have their family here or are new

to area. Together as a unit, we can ensure everyone has a

safe Holiday Season.

I’d like to personally thank of the Cobra Family for all their

hard work and dedication. Since I arrived here three months

ago, I have never been around such a great group of young

leaders, and am excited for the upcoming year. In closing,

we cannot forget what an awesome opportunity, as well as

unbelievable responsibility we have as American Soldiers.

“LEAD FROM THE FRONT, NEVER QUIT”

2LT MICHAEL VOLANTI

P A G E 5

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

“To catch the reader's attention,

place an interesting sentence or

quote from the story here.”

As you can see from the picture, daily life

in Controlled Monitoring Area (CMA)

was not terrible. Special thanks to HHC,

USARAF for putting together a well

thought out plan to ensure our time in the

CMA was a good experience. Daily life

consisted of: working out twice a day,

supporting the unit through computers/

telephone with the Detachment. In our

free time we were able to play games

(table tennis, spades, dominoes, chess,

etc) with other Soldiers, watch movies,

sports, and occasionally indulge in an

adult beverage (always responsibly). I

was able to call and Face time with my

wife. When the internet was down I had a

picture of her to look at. Almost forgot,

temperature checks twice a day and lots of bleach, soap, and hand sanitizer!

Overall CMA life is good. We are well taken care off and we have enough time to workout and personal

time, consists of talking to family and friends. I would like to thank all those who were instrumental in the

OAU mission, my leader and USARAF. I am also thankful to God for safety.

PFC Khatiwada

Daily Life in the CMA (Controlled

Monitoring Area)

Executive Officer’s

Corner

It has been 21 days of good experience in isolation. Being confined to a small square feet of space is no joke and

an experience in itself. The control monitoring has been a smooth ride and I am grateful for those who facilitated

our stay. Many thanks to my Unit, C.106th Det, USARAF, I&S Co. MWR for great facilities including the gym

and a supply of goodies. Thanks to the Soldiers who brought us meals on time. Kudos to SPC Skaf for his untir-

ing dedication. And finally many thanks to our families for their patience while we were away.

SGT Cheruiyot

P A G E 6

Prime Time Leaders Training

C H A R L I E D E T A C H M E N T F I N A N C I A L M A N A G E M E N T U N I T

Charlie Detachment return to the JMTC for a Land Navigation practical on the VBS system.

Such training provides a refresher for Soldiers on basic skills that are not use daily but at which

they need to remain proficient.

P A G E 7 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

“To catch the reader's attention,

place an interesting sentence or

quote from the story here.”

Recognizing Charlie Soldiers

Charlie Soldiers led from the font by tak-

ing first place in the annual Chaplain As-

sistant Urban Orienteering competition.

SPC Tongori is presented a coin by 2LT Volanti in recog-

nition of his excellent work in managing finance opera-

tions of Soldiers in Africa for the past year.

P A G E 8

FRG -Thanksgiving Luncheon

C H A R L I E D E T A C H M E N T F I N A N C I A L M A N A G E M E N T U N I T

“This year Charlie celebrated Thanksgiving with all the peo-

ple who contribute to making us a successful team.” We are

thankful for each and everyone who is a part of this team.

P A G E 9

Remember the difference

between a boss and a

leader; a boss says

“Go!” a leader says

“Let’s go!”

-E.M. Kelly

Farewell to SFC Santos

SFC Santos

Leaving his

Soldiers

with some

words of

wisdom

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

P A G E 1 0

Upcoming Events

BOSS Ski/Snowboarding 24 December 0700 -1800

BOSS Christmas Dinner 25 December 1800 -1900

Training Holiday/Christmas Holiday 25—28 December All Day

Training Holiday/New Year 01-04 January All day

Holiday Schedule 15-31 December All Day

American Red Cross

First Aid/CPR/AED Training 3 January 0900-1600

PTLT: Plan for Counter-IED Ops 08 January 0900 -1200

Charlie Detachment, 106th Financial

Management Support Unit

Vicenza, Italy

Proudly Services

Italy – Spain – Turkey - Africa

C H A R L I E D E T A C H M E N T F I N A N C I A L M A N A G E M E N T U N I T

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4