december 2011 newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
FREEDOM/GUARDIAN
ATSCOM/164TH TAOG
Volume 2, Issue 12 December 2011
December 8
Ozark Christmas
Concert, Flowers
Performing Arts
Center, 1930-2030
December 13
CG’s Holiday
Concert, Theater,
1830-2000
December 16
Newcomers
Welcome Brief-
ing, The Landing,
0830-1030
December 19
DONSA
Dec 20-2 Jan
USAACE Holiday
Season
December 23
DONSA
December 25
Christmas Day
December 30
DONSA
December 31
New Year’s Eve
If you have questions or suggestions concerning this newsletter, please don’t hesitate to contact
Marie Stallworth, FRSA for 164th TAOG, Bldg. 30501, Cairns Army Airfield, Fort Rucker, AL
36362. Telephone: 334-255-8919 or Email: [email protected]
COL James Macklin, Brigade Commander
Visit us at www.facebook.com/ATSCOMTAOG
Tips for coping with stress during the holidays:
Stress can ruin your holidays and hurt your health. Being realistic, planning ahead and seeking support
can help ward off stress during this time of the year.
Acknowledge your feelings. If someone close to you has recently died or you can't be with loved ones, real-
ize that it's normal to feel sadness and grief. It's OK to take time to cry or express your feelings. You
can't force yourself to be happy just because it's the holiday season.
Reach out. If you feel lonely or isolated, seek out community, religious or other social events. They can
offer support and companionship. Volunteering your time to help others also is a good way to lift your
spirits and broaden your friendships.
Be realistic. The holidays don't have to be perfect or just like last year. As families change and grow, tradi-
tions and rituals often change as well. Choose a few to hold on to, and be open to creating new ones.
For example, if your adult children can't come to your house, find new ways to celebrate together, such
as sharing pictures, emails or videos.
Set aside differences. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don't live up to all
of your expectations. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. And be under-
standing if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Chances are they're feeling the
effects of holiday stress and depression, too.
Stick to a budget. Before you go gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend.
Then stick to your budget. Don't try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Try these alternatives:
Donate to a charity in someone's name, give homemade gifts or start a family gift exchange.
Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your
menus and then make your shopping list. That'll help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten
ingredients. And make sure to line up help for party prep and cleanup.
Learn to say no. Saying yes when you should say no can leave you feeling resentful and overwhelmed.
Friends and colleagues will understand if you can't participate in every project or activity. If it's not pos-
sible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your
agenda to make up for the lost time.
Don't abandon healthy habits. Don't let the holidays become a free-for-all. Overindulgence only adds to
your stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack before holiday parties so that you don't go overboard on
sweets, cheese or drinks. Continue to get plenty of sleep and physical activity.
Take a breather. Make some time for yourself. Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may
refresh you enough to handle everything you need to do. Take a walk at night and stargaze. Listen to
soothing music. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind, slowing your breathing and
restoring inner calm.
Seek professional help if you need it. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling persistently
sad or anxious, plagued by physical complaints, unable to sleep, irritable and hopeless, and unable to
face routine chores. If these feelings last for a while, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional.
For consultation, please contact Dale Lott, MFLC, 334-369-8556.
Happy Holidays, The holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving might be over
but the winter festivities continue. Many of you traveled
over Thanksgiving but even more will venture around the
states as Christmas Exodus offers more available time away
from the office. Please be safe on the road and if you are
snow bound, be extra cautious while allowing yourself more
time as you travel over the river and through the woods to
Grandma’s House.
GERMAN ARMED FORCES PROFICIENCY BADGE COMPETITION
Congratulations to the 4 HHC Soldiers that completed the GAFPB competition along with
me. The opportunity to dawn a Foreign Badge is a great honor. Each Soldier pushed hard
and achieved greatness; great job SGT Jarrell, SGT McManus and SGT Baldwin.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
The Warhawks complete the calendar year with an M16 range, an 8 mile road march and a
leadership reaction course competition between the NCOs and the Officers. Fielding and
training also continues over the next two weeks with our new battle command tracking
systems.
UPCOMING FAMILY EVENTS
Our monthly Hail and Farewell was on 2 December at Ruby Tuesday’s in Enterprise at
1130. The following week is the FRG Social on the 13th with a Christmas gift swap as well
as a Christmas Carol singing game. The social will be at the usual time and place, The
Commons at 1800. Food and Drinks will be provided. Wear your most festive holiday
outfit if you would like. The only thing we ask that you bring is a small gift not to exceed
$10. The gift swap will be in the form of a game called “Chinese Christmas” and what that
means is you pick a gift that is wrapped from a predetermined order, and run the risk of it
being stolen. This is a very exciting game.
The holiday wrapping dates at the PX are on a follow on slide and if you still want to help
out, we have spots available.
The Brigade Christmas Luncheon will be on 15 Dec at 1130, at the Daleville VFW. Please
stay tuned as more information becomes available.
CPT Douglas A. Blevins, AV, HHC 164th TAOG, Commander
Page 2
HHC 164TH TAOG
Page 3
Families of the 597th,
Looking around at the falling leaves and feeling the chill in the
air, you can tell that winter will be here soon. With winter comes
the colder temperatures and perhaps some bad weather, so be
prepared to bundle up and take appropriate caution when driving
on the roads and bridges.
Last month’s calendar was very busy. We welcomed back SGT
Ortiz, the final Soldier of SRA 17. SFC Bernal and I are very
proud of all he has accomplished. Also, I would like to welcome SPC Jeffery Erickson,
SPC Pedro Santiago-Rodriguez and their families to the 597th.
Congratulations to SPC Sherri Booker on winning the 597th Soldier of the Month. Her hard
work and dedication to her Soldiering knowledge were evident during her performance at
the board.
The combined HHC/597th FRG meeting for December is on the night of the 13th at The
Commons at 1800. I encourage each of you to come out to share in the fun. Remember to
bring a gift of approximately $10 to participate in the gift exchange (Dirty Santa) event
planned. I know some of you have work and school, but please come and enjoy if you can!
The ATSCOM/TAOG FRG has a Facebook site to help discover upcoming events and
programs here at Fort Rucker. Please visit the site for more details: http://
www.facebook.com/#!/ATSCOMTAOG
The month of December is upon us. December is, of course, highlighted by Exodus which
begins on the 17th and incorporates block leave. I encourage everyone to take advantage of
this time to reflect on what the holiday season means to them. The holiday season is a time
of celebration and fellowship with our friends and family. Enjoy!
The Soldiers of 597th remind me of why I am in the US Army, and I am very proud to be a
part of this outstanding organization. If there is anything that my wife Dejah or I can do for
you, please let us know.
Fast and Furious!
597TH MAINTENANCE DETACHMENT
Page 4
Page 5
CHAPLAIN
Merry Christmas 164th TAOG Family!!
“The Message of Christmas”
Recently, many consumers were overly enthusiastic
about the Black Friday through Cyber Monday Weekend.
Mainly, this excitement was due to the message associated
with Black Friday: Thanksgiving is in the past, and
Christmas is only a few weeks away! But it also gives rise
to another message in which shoppers anticipate
purchasing early Christmas gifts at great bargains or
obtaining an affordable price on a long awaited item.
Equally, Christmas is surrounded with a message that for many, is slowly losing its
significance. This begs the question, “What then is the message of Christmas?” Luke
1:28, provides an account of how this marvelous message of Christmas came into
existence. It started with an announcement brought by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she
will give birth to our Lord Jesus Christ. Embedded within this announcement to Mary are
two points that need expressing regarding the message of Christmas.
In verse 28 the angel exclaims, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord
is with you.” Upon receiving this message, Mary was informed she was highly favored
by God. In other words, God bestowed His grace upon Mary, and chose a humble girl to
bear and be the mother of the Messiah. In essence, she was graced by God. We have an
incredible responsibility to make ourselves available to receive His favor. Grace is the
unmerited favor of God.
Secondly, the message made known to her was that the “Lord is with you.”
Basically, Mary was no longer required to walk through life alone. This is good
news to be aware of: whatever you are going through in life right now, there is an Al-
mighty God that will go with you when you place your trust in Him.
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas with our families and loved ones, let us keep
in mind the essential message of this special day: since Christ has come, we too can be
highly favored by God and have His presence with us, whether at home or deployed.
Merry Christmas!!!
164th TAOG UMT
CH (MAJ) A. Gerald DuBose SSG Farrington Office: 255-8968 BB: 470-6436
Page 6
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hails
PVT Baltazar PFC Arkansas
PFC Mann PFC Munoz
Farewell
SSG Hussani
Featured Soldier of the Month
SGT CAREN BRADLEY is the featured
Soldier for December. She is currently working as the 164th TAOG Medical
NCOIC. Her husband, SGT Frank Bradley, is also stationed here at Ft. Rucker.
They have 3 children, Justin (13 y/o), Alexis (11 y/o) and Frank Jr. (10 y/o).
SGT Bradley has served in the Army for over 10 years. Her past assignments
include B Company 168th Medical Battalion, Yongsan, Korea; C Company,
Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii; HHC and C Company 2-227 Aviation
Battalion, Ft. Hood, Texas. These assignments have taken her from treating
soldiers' basic medical needs to running emergency ambulance operations as an
EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) for Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. While in
C Company 2-227, her medical experience was greatly expanded as she worked as
a flight medic for 27 months deployed to Iraq out of the 4 ½ years spent at Ft.
Hood. She has over 700 flight hours, the majority of them combat hours. Her
awards include 2 Air Medals and a Combat Action Badge, among others.
SGT Bradley has been a War Hawk for the past 11 months and at this point in her
career could not be any prouder than to be able to provide care for the finest
group of Soldiers that the Army has!
Page 7
FAMILY READINESS SUPPORT ASSISTANT, FRSA
POC: Marie Stallworth, FRSA, 255-8919/[email protected]
Happy Holidays to all.
We had a blast at the cooking class last month and
thank you to those that came. Mr. Eduardo Renta did
a fantastic job with everything. Very Professional.
The next social will be even more fun with the gift
swap. Please contact me if you have any questions as to how a “Chinese Christmas” is
supposed to work.
We always continue to need volunteers, especially during the holidays. Volunteers are
important and it is with volunteers that this unit can be successful in communications,
planning, and execution. Those that really put forth the effort and provide time with the
unit will be awarded accordingly. We like to recognize those that give their time as a thank
you and appreciation for what you do. Please help out where you can by letting me know
what you can offer to the company, anything can help.
CURRENT POSITIONS
FRG Leader: Megan Blevins
Co FRG Leader: Natasha Perez
Treasurer: Judy Nobles
Co Treasurer: REQUIRED
Activities Coordinator: Julie Smith
Key Caller: REQUIRED
Key Caller: REQUIRED
If you would like to know what the required positions duty descriptions are, please let me
know.
~Megan
TAOG FRG LEADER
Page 8
Page 9
Please join us for food and good cheer
DATE: Thursday, December 15th
TIME: 1130 - 1400LOCATION: VFW, 434 Highway 84 E, Daleville
COST: $13.00
Please turn money in by 5 December 2011 to: SGM Tony Smith (ATSCOM)CPT John Deloach (TAOG, 597th & 1-58th AOB)
Freedom’s Voice!
&
164th
Theater Airfield Operations Group 10 December
Ozark Christmas Parade
City Hall
10:00am
Enterprise Amateur Radio Club
Christmas Dinner
Date: 16 December 2011
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: PoFolks in Enterprise
Anyone interested is welcome to attend.
Regular club meeting are located at the
Science Building at the Enterprise/Ozark
campus in Enterprise, Alabama on the
Third Thursday of every month.
Anyone interested in learning more about
Amateur Radio is always
welcome.
POC: Mr. Kerry Keel, 334-255-9188
Fort Rucker PX
December 10 & 17
1100-1400
Please stop by the main store and check out
all the great deals on toys for those in the
giving spirit!
There will be a marine present to pick up
toys from shoppers for disadvantaged
children during the holiday season.
Page 10
December 9
Get R.E.A.L. (Rucker Experience, Army
Learning), 0830-1430 at The Commons on
7th.
December 10
Hearts Apart Christmas Party, 1500-1700 at
The Commons.
December 10
The Wiregrass Wreaths Across America Cere-
mony at Sunset Memorial Park, 1700 Midland
City, 1100-1230.
December 10
SOS will host First Annual Christmas Party
for Surviving Children at The Commons from
1100-1300.
December 12
Co-parenting Workshop, 0900-1200, Bldg
3705.
December 13
New Parent Support Program, partnered with
Picerne, will be hosting a “Terrific Two’s”
workshop, 0930-1100 at the Bowden Terrace
Neighborhood Center.
December 14
Relocation Readiness offering Immigration
overview to Soldiers and Families, 1000-1130
at Bowden Terrace.
December 15
Employment Readiness Job Search Class,
0900-1030, Bldg 5700, Room 371A.
Page 11
6:15 p.m. to 10:15
KiD’s CoRnEr
Santa’s Here!
December 10
The PX from 1100-
1400. Stop by the PX
and have your photo
taken with the big guy!
Have a Big Breakfast
with Santa from 0900-
1200 at The Landing.
Kids may have their
photo taken with
Santa.
Page 12