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Task Force Tigershark

Newsletter 1 MARCH 2012

I hope the 90 days since our last news-

letter were fruitful to all of you and

your families. We have conducted a

Brigade Formal, Block Leave, a very

large Hail and Farewell at Maggies in

January, and have received tremendous

guidance from Mountain 6, Major Gen-

eral Mark Milley, our new Command-

ing General. Some aircraft and ground

equipment have been received here at

Fort Drum, and so we are slowly but

surely building combat power so that

by April and May we are ready to con-

duct a Task Force aerial gunnery here

on the installation. February finished

off some big changes in our leadership

with E Company said goodbye to CPT

Dan Sandford as he moved home with

his family to Connecticut, and we said

hello to CPT Jason Eaton who came

from 10th Mountain Division‟s HHBN.

B Company, 2-10 Mountainhawks said

goodbye to CPT Rob and Laura

Kazmarek who are moving to the Na-

tional Training Center in California and

said hello to CPT Alicemary Trivette

who came from HHC/CAB HQs after

virtually running CAB Operations in

OEF. It is bittersweet to bid farewell to

two trusted and experienced leaders,

but we are all grateful to receive both

Jason and Alicemary to our team. Also,

in January we farewelled Major Brook

Lee and his family and CW3(P) Matt

Burke. The loss of all four officers from

this formation will be difficult to fill, but

I know that all of us are better Soldiers

for having served alongside these terrific

leaders. On a sad note, former SGT

Joshua Taylor of HHC (Havoc) died on

8 February in his Miami home. Our

thoughts and prayers are with his family.

SGT Taylor was a terrific crewchief

throughout tours in Iraq and Afghani-

stan. He impacted all of us with his

dedication to the unit and to our coun-

try. He will be sorely missed. SGT Tay-

lor would have wanted all of us to

knuckle down and be the best Soldiers

we could be. Always remember the

Tigershark General Orders: Stay posi-

tive, stay alert, and take care of each

other! Command Sergeant Major

Carter and I are extremely proud of all

our soldiers and families and look for-

ward to continued „bonding‟ events.

Strike at Night!

Tigershark 6

Greetings Tigersharks and Happy New Year!

Major Lee receives an Order of St Michael

CW2(P) Davis provides AGI mentorship to 1-87 IN CDR and other key leaders

CW2(P) Davis addresses leaders from 1-87 IN as B Troop takes lead to train AGI

CW2 Cox addresses 1-87 IN leadership

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To Our Havoc Families!

We are pleased to welcome our newest

soldiers to the Havoc Family as well. We

welcome our newest flight platoon leader

CPT Bowden who joins us from Delta

Company. Our newest officer 2LT Michalak

joins our S-3 shop. S-6 has a new NCOIC

in SFC Warner. Our newest young soldiers

are PFC Govan, PFC Bumbgardner, PV2

Harston, SPC Reed, and SPC Siddons.

CW4 Wojasinski comes to us from TF

Phoenix to be our new Battalion Standardi-

zation Pilot. CW3 Allen joins us from Bri-

gate and will be working as our new

BAMO. Our departing soldiers for this edi-

tion of the HHC news letter are CW3

Cuevas who joins TF Six Shooter as their

TACOPS officer, and CPT Harris who is

moving down the road to the Brigade S-3

shop. We send our whole-hearted con-

gratulations to SGT Marciano in the S-2

shop and his new wife Jaeza on their recent

wedding. S-6‟s SPC Lyones welcomed his

new daughter Brynn into the world so con-

gratulations to him and his wife. CPT Parisi

and his wife Renee are also celebrating the

birth of their daughter this month.

As our equipment returns and helicopters

come back from Reset we will begin training in

earnest again as we bid farewell to the holiday

season for another year. We have several ma-

jor training events on the horizon and we

know everyone in

the unit will be

ready to support

one another

through any diffi-

culties that may

arise. The impend-

ing split of our

company from a

joint HHC/Flight

company into HHC

and Fox Company will also bring many changes

and challenges but we are poised to overcome

them. We thank all of the members of our

family, soldiers, spouses, and children alike for

your continued service and support. Lets make

this a great year.

CPT Eric Trivette In Remembrance It is with heavy

hearts that we

must report the

passing of former

Crew Chief SGT

Joshua Taylor.

SGT Taylor was

a member of the

Havoc Family

from March 2010

up until he honorably completed his service term

this past January and decided to pursue his bache-

lors degree. He had been a member of Task Force

Tigershark since the unit was flagged as 3-3 ATK

down at Hunter Army Airfield, GA. In 2009 he

participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom with many

of the same soldiers he continued to serve with

after the unit moved up here to Ft. Drum. Upon

learning of the upcoming deployment to Afghani-

stan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom SGT

Taylor decided to extend his enlistment so he could

continue to serve with his friends and colleagues

through the duration of this last deployment.

“Big Swole”, as he was known to friends because of his

numerous and intense workouts, was always a pleasure

to work with and a very competent NCO. He brought

energy, enthusiasm and humor to work with him each

day. He was very proud when he received his accep-

tance letter from the University of Miami. SGT Taylor

was going to earn his degree in nursing so he could

continue helping people in need and was very proud of

his chosen career path. He was also quite excited to

return to Miami, where he grew up, and enjoy the

sandy beaches and warm weather instead of frozen

lakes and snow. He was an excellent part of the Havoc

Family and his loss will be felt by all who knew him.

SGT Taylor is survived by his parents Fenton and

Yamile Taylor.

Volume III Issue I

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Pale Riders Families and Friends,

Hello and Greetings! I hope every-

one had an incredible holiday season,

and enjoyed the time with the family

and friends and some much deserved

rest. We‟re back in action now, get-

ting ready to ramp up the training for

this summer. While we still don‟t

have our Troop aircraft back here at

Fort Drum, we have been lucky

enough to fly once a week in our sis-

ter unit‟s aircraft. We‟re getting back

into the routine and reacquainting

ourselves with the local area.

I want to highlight some new addi-

tions to our crew. I‟ve already intro-

duced them at the January Hail and

Farewell, but a few weren‟t able to

make it that night. Just prior to the

holiday leave period, we received 1LT

Jordan Vanicek. Jordan and his wife

Mary Ann join us from Texas, and I

have to say that they were both good

sports at the Hail and Farewell. So,

please help me welcome Jordan and

Mary Ann to the family. Later in De-

cember, we also received WO1

Christopher Hitt, PFC Alexander

Ruggerio, PV2 Mallory Stone, and

PFC Kathrine Bekham. Welcome to

the team guys and gals.

One of the highlights from the Hail

and Farewell was the chance to say

goodbye to CW2 Joel Garzelloni. He

and his wife Karrie are departing later

this month for Ft. Lewis, WA. They

and their children, Enzo and Eva, will

be missed.

I would love to share some photos

from the Hail and Farewell, however I

have been briefed that they have all

been deleted for safety and deniability

sake. Either way, we had an

awesome time and can‟t wait

for the next one on March

22nd!

If you haven‟t heard, on March 2nd at

5:00 p.m. we‟re holding a Troop pot-

luck at the Adiron-

dack Creek Com-

munity Center.

Other than the

Halloween party,

we haven‟t really

had a Troop get-

together since we

redeployed. So,

this will give us all a

chance to catch up

and spend some time with

the entire Pale Rider fam-

ily.

That is all I have for now. I

hope this note finds everyone

well and in good spirits.

See you all soon and take care,

CPT Charlie Hill

Will House tries to teach Kryz Landowski about

the local flying area.

Adam Rickert funded an entire Girl

Scout Troop’s 2012 summer trip to

Florida.

Volume III Issue I

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Mountainhawk Families,

Hopefully you all

had a relaxing block

leave period with

your Soldiers. It

was surely nice to

be back in the states

and celebrating the

holidays with family.

I know all the

Mountainhawks

came back from the

leave period rested

and ready to work.

We are in the last stages of the RESET period right

now. If you don‟t know, RESET is the period when all

of the equipment that we had overseas with us is cycled

through repair facilities to ensure that it is in tip-top

shape. It has been a little hectic at times, but your Sol-

diers came through and ensured that this company had

everything completed on time.

After RESET is over, training will pick up again. For

those of you new to the company, you can expect your

Soldiers to start flying in the local area and to start get-

ting back in the swing of garrison life. We will go

through the process of receiving new equipment, in-

cluding new helicopters, and then start full-scale training

late in the summer.

The incoming commander, Captain AliceMary

Trivette, will assume command of the company on the

27th of February at 10:00 am. You can read more about

her in this newsletter.

As CPT Trivette takes over, Laura and I will be

moving on to our next assignment. We are PCSing to

Fort Irwin in southern California. It is definitely going

to be hard to leave this company. Your Soldiers are,

without question, some of the best that I have ever

worked with. Additionally, the FRG has made Laura

feel so welcome. The only thing that eases my con-

science a little about leaving is that the incoming com-

mander is an excellent officer and really nice person.

Laura and I wish you the best and hopefully we will see

you again down the road.

Captain Robert Kazmarek

Mountainhawk 6

Mountainhawk Families and Friends,

It is an honor and privilege to assume command of

B/2-10 and I am greatly looking forward to being

part of this team. I look forward to meeting all of

you in the upcoming weeks and would like to take

this time to introduce myself to you.

After growing up in a military family, I went to col-

lege at Fordham University and attended the ROTC

program there. After flight school, my husband Eric and

I were assigned to 10th CAB and deployed with the unit

for OIF XIII-IX and OEF X-XI. I have worked closely

with your Soldiers over the years and know the quality

of troops I am about to work with.

It is a great time to be a part of the Mountainhawks and

I hope to meet all of you at the Task Force‟s snow day!

Very respectfully,

AliceMary Trivette

SGT Showell and SGT Seymour

conducting some routine aircraft

maintenance in the hangar.

SGT Dines, SPC Jeffery, SPC Appleby, and

SPC Agy conducting tool box inventories.

Volume III Issue I

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Hammerhead Friends and Family,

As many of you know 1SG Charles

Wagenbrenner will be spending the

next few months serving as the Task

Force Command Sergeant Major while

CSM Nicolas Carter prepares to retire

from the Army. First off, a huge thank

you to CSM Carter for his mentorship,

concern, and support for the Soldiers

and Families of the Hammerheads and

the Tigersharks. To 1SG Wagen-

brenner and his wife Toni, I offer my

personal gratitude. I speak for all the

Hammerheads when I applaud you for

your determination, dedication, and

drive as you encouraged each Soldier

to work hard, be better, and never

accept anything less than excellence.

Thanks Top, for molding this company

into the BEST company in all the Bri-

gade. You will be missed. To Toni,

never before have I met a volunteer

with the energy and focused purpose

with which you have served. Thank

you for your service as the Company

FRG Leader. Thank you for your mag-

nificent care for our Families and Sol-

diers. Good Luck to Wagen, Toni, CJ,

Trent, and Aiden. We also would like

to welcome CW3 Danny Rook to our

company. CW3 Rook will now be

serving as the Production Control Offi-

cer taking over for Matt Burke who has

moved on to Virginia. It‟s great to

have Mr. Rook on board.

Aircraft are finally returning to Fort

Drum from the RESET Repair facili-

ties across the country and your

Soldiers are finally getting back to

doing what they do best – fixing heli-

copters! We are excited to prepare

for the future training opportunities

on the horizon for the Hammer-

heads! Thank you for your support

and dedication to this fine organiza-

tion.

CPT Jeff Timmons

January Promotions

TO PRIVATE FIRST CLASS

PFC Betts, Christian

PFC Sellers, Caleb

PFC Montgomery, Zachary

January Awards

ARMY COMMENDATION MEDAL

SSG Acevedo, Roberto

SSG Lopez, Erik

SPC Martinez, Joshua

ARMY GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL

SGT Porter, Carter

SPC Cross, Timothy

SPC Vargas, Javier

SPC Vazquez, Diego

February Promotions

TO SPECIALIST

SPC Cochran, Raymond

February Awards

ARMY COMMENDATION MEDAL

SSG Redman, Jeremy

SSG Saria, Armando

SPC Holzhauser, William

ARMY ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL

SGT Brooks, Benjamin

Volume III Issue I

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Warrior Family and Friends,

We are definitely making head way into the

wintery months, and with a few exceptions, it has

been a fairly mild winter. However, it is not over yet.

We are starting to see our work days get longer as

we begin to receive vehicles and prepare to start

heading to the ranges and begin training. As the vehi-

cles arrive, our mechanics are hard at work, and as

the helicopters start flying, our Distribution platoon

is right there with them. And as the holidays are

now over, we are hitting the gyms and run routes to

get us back into shape!

On a more personal note, this will be my

last newsletter as I am leaving E Company. I have no

doubt that my replacement, Captain Jason Eaton, will

do a great job as he has already impressed me. My

wife, Nicole, and I are extremely grateful for the

friends we‟ve made over the last 15 months and I just

want to say thank you for making us feel so wel-

comed. I especially want to thank all the great mem-

bers of the Family Readiness Group: Amy Keelin,

Erinn Velez, Amika German, Isabella Comack, Kim

Kordos, and Nicole Sandford. I also want to give a

huge thanks to Becca Althouse who is now leading

the FRG efforts. Thank you all so much for making a

very successful deployment and making our company

stronger. Enough can‟t be said for your efforts.

Again, thank you for the great honor of leading a

great group of Soldiers. It has been a tremendous 15

months. Good luck and God Bless. - Captain Dan

Sandford

Warrior Family and Friends!

It is a great honor and privilege to take

Echo Company‟s Guidon! In the past few weeks I

have met many of the great Soldiers of Echo, with

others still to meet. During the next couple of

weeks of transition, please feel free to contact me

or stop by the office. I look forward to working

with you all and continuing the proud legacy of Echo

Company!

CPT Jason Eaton

PT Formation. Echo stands ready for their

morning workout.

Volume III Issue I

Task Force Tigershark

FRG Leaders

Havoc

RheAnne Stevens

Jennifer Vonsik

Pale Riders

Brooke Guffey

Stephanie Rickert

Mountainhawks

Michele Taras

Hammerheads

Maria Andrade

Warriors

Becca Althouse

Advisors

Michelle Simerly

334-379-6435

Sandra Kramer

Dates to Remember

March 2012

3/2 Military Free Lift Tickets 1000-2030 Snow Ridge

3/3 Saturday Opening, Off the Beatin’ Path 1000-1300 OTBP Gift Store

3/3 Battalion Snow Day 1200-1600 Dry Hill

3/5-16 Fort Drum Indoor Triathlon Various TimesMonti Fitness

3/7 CLIF 1000-1100 The Commons

3/9 Military Free Lift Tickets 1000-2030 Snow Ridge

3/15 Volunteer of the Month Ceremony 1030-1130 The Commons

3/16 Military Free Lift Tickets 1000-2030 Snow Ridge

3/16-18 North Country Goes Green Irish Festival Dulles State Office Building

3/16 ESC Women’s Conference 0900-1600 The Commons

3/17 ESC Women’s Conference 0900-1400 The Commons

3/17 Battalion Coffee 1000-1200 Adirondak Comm Ctr

3/17 St. Patrick’s Dinner 1700 The Commons

3/21 Spouses’ Club Wine/Beer/Cheese Tasting TBD The Commons

3/26 CYSS Child Development Centers Closed All Day All Locations

3/28 Family Support Huddle 1000-1130 Hays Hall/Eagles Nest

3/29 Women’s History Month Observance 1100-1330 The Commons

3/29 Mountain Remembrance Ceremony 1630-1700 Main Post Chapel

3/30 Retirement Ceremony 1600-1700 MPA

3/30 Right Arm Night 1700 The Commons

Special Recognition

Lauren O’Donnell

Volunteer of the Month

Feb 2012