Serving the Soldiers, Civilians and Families of 2nd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div. Issue 130 September 5, 2013

7th ‘CAV’ holds reunion at Mountain PostStory and photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Porch 2nd ABCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

“They are part of a brotherhood, something greater than themselves,” said Capt. Nicholas Barwikowski. “To have them here as people who forged the way for modern tactics is amazing.”

Barwikowski, commander, HHT, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg., 2nd ABCT, and his Soldiers hosted twenty-seven members of the Korean War Veterans 7th Cavalry Regiment Association, during their annual reunion, on Fort Carson, Colo., Aug. 21.

“It’s a huge honor and a privilege for me,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Stacy, infantryman, HHT. “We wanted to show some appreciation for what they have done, and how they led the way for us. They fought hard in Korea with a lot less equipment.”

Stacey, the battalion’s master gunner, led the event by introducing

the veterans to current infantry equipment and weaponry, to include the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M4 carbine and basic body armor.

“The Army might have changed a lot, but we are still the same basic Army,” said Stacy. “We are still go getters; we are still young guys ready to go out there and defend this country until the end.”

The veterans praised the unit for the presentation, and the Soldiers for their individual service.

“I think they are very well trained and well educated,” said Bernard Brown, retired Army 1st Sgt. “We appreciate the job that they are doing”

After the presentation, the veterans had a chance to see infantryman attempting to earn their expert infantryman badge.

See CAV, Page 2

1st. Lt. Kase Diehl, left, platoon leader, HHC, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg., and Capt. Seth Brown, a student in the Civil Affairs Qualification Course, Fort Bragg, N.C., pose in front of the 4th Infantry Division Memorial at the Arlington National Cemetary, Arlington, Va., DATE. Diehl, along with Brown and five other Soldiers ran more than a combined 500 miles during a six-day chairty event from Duke University’s Veterans Memorial Quad in Durham, N.C., to the Ground Zero Memorial, New York City. The participants labled the run “Freedom 500” with their main intent to raise awareness of Veterans and the role they play in communities nationwide.

‘Freedom 500’

Warhorse PridePage 2 Issue 130 September 5, 2013

‘Warhorse’ hosts annual infantry competitionStory and photos by Sgt. Marcus Fichtl2nd ABCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

Staff Sgt. Jason Stacy, infantryman, HHT, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg., explains how infantrymen use the M240B machine gun, both mounted and un-mounted, from the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, during the Korean War Veterans 7th Cavalry Association annual reunion, held at Fort Carson, Aug. 21.

“They get to see the Army evolving,” said Barwikowski. “These guys are Korean War vets, one of the hardest wars we have ever fought in. They get to come here today and see the Army they were in has evolved and gotten better through the things they learned. We haven’t forgotten their lesson.”

The “Talon” Soldiers appreciated having the chance to interact with the veterans.

“It’s a huge honor and a privilege for me,” said Stacy. “I would gladly do it again if they asked. They paved the way for Soldiers like us. They left us a proud military tradition to continue on, work towards and be a part of. That’s something that is hard to put into words.”

“It chokes me up,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Isaac Ragusa.

Thirty-eight Soldiers crossed the finish line of a twelve-mile road march. The Soldiers walked, ran and hobbled to the end line for the right to wear the Expert Infantryman Badge.

378 infantryman from across the 4th Inf. Div. attempted to earn the right to wear the expert infantry badge during a week-long certification hosted by the 2nd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., Aug. 19-23 on Fort Carson, Colo.

Ragusa, president of the EIB association and senior enlisted leader to the 2nd Bn. 8th Inf. Reg., 2ABCT, held open the gates to the specialized club of infantrymen founded in the throes of WWII.

According to U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, the Army created the EIB to provide a drawing card for a tough and thankless job and to add prestige to an otherwise undesirable yet necessary task. The U.S. Army, in 1944, tested

100 Non-commissioned Officers, of the 100th Infantry Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., for their worth as expert infantrymen.

Ten passed, a percentage that’s followed the EIB ever since.

“These Soldiers are within the top ten percent of their peer group across the Army,” said

Ragusa. “The Army will rely on this Soldier to train and prepare his Soldiers for war.”

The first day’s physical fitness test and land navigation courses thinned the group from 378 to a handful more than a hundred. Toward the end of the infantry task lanes, less than 50 stood tall.

Spc. Adam Salazar, Company B, 1st Bn., 66th Armor Reg, 1st ABCT., one of the 50 Soldiers remaining, knew he was on the cusp of something great.

As he pushed through the Traffic Control Point lane, he manned an M2 .50 caliber machine gun and reacted to

From CAV, Page 1

Spc. Adam Salazar, infantryman, Company B, 1st Bn., 66th Armor Reg., 1st ABCT, and his son Landon Salazar, 5, cross the finish line of a 12-mile ruck march to certify for the expert infantry badge at Fort Carson, Colo., Aug. 23

See EIB, Page 3

Warhorse PridePage 3 Issue 130 September 5, 2013

The Warhorse Pride is produced in the interest of the Soldiers of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The Warhorse Pide is an Army-funded news-letter authorized under provision of AR 360-1. Contents of the Warhorse Pride are not necessarily the view of, nor endorsed by the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 4th Infantry Division. All editorial content of The Warhorse Pride is prepared, edited, provided and approved by the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team

Public Affairs Office. The Warhorse Pride welcomes articles, commentary and photos from readers. The Warhorse Pride reserves the right to edit submissions selected for the publication. All issues of The Warhorse Pride can be viewed online from your home computer at www.facebook.com/2bct4id Submissions should be e-mailed to the editor:andrew.a.porch.mil@mail.mil

Col. Omar Jones IV......................2nd ABCT CommanderCommand Sgt. Maj. Robert Lehtonen 2nd ABCT CSMMaj. Chris Maestas.................................................PAO OICStaff Sgt. Andrew Porch..................................PAO NCOICSgt. Marcus Fichtl...............................Layout and DesignStaff Sgt. Andrew Porch............................................Editor

Warhorse Pride

direct fire. He pressed through a concertina wire maze under indirect fire, and rushed to treat a casualty. When he came upon his M240B Machine Gun, he caught a snag, create and draw a range card, a card designed to provide a graphical depiction of his firing position’s sector of fire.

A face dripping with sweat, hands soaked into combat gloves and a barely legible marker, he made the range card, a detailed sketch used to map out a sector of fire, the impassable hurdle.

But Salazar pressed the clock, barely finishing the range card as the grader called time. Still missing the last task, however, Salazar was confident, if he had less than three negative marks and would be considered a go.

“No Go,” the grader called out.Tears joined the sweat on Salazar’s face.“An expert infantry man’s badge is the only way for a Soldier to

be tested in his craft within the infantry,” said Ragusa. “It’s all about being part of something that’s bigger than yourself, it’s about being part of the United States Army, about being part of the United States Infantry Corps.”

“Correction, you are a go,” called out the grader.Salazar stood up slowly, relieved.“I ended up wiping myself off and walking over with my head up

all high,” said Salazar. “I realized that whether I was a no go or not, I should have kept my head up and understood the hard work and training I put in was real regardless of the outcome.”

At 4:00 a.m. on Aug. 21, Salazar and thirty-seven others put their hard work and training to the test. But instead of thirty-eight silhouettes dotting across the dark, an additional dozen or more Soldiers donned rucksacks and awaited at the starting line.

Fellow infantrymen marched in solidarity; some awarded the EIB

in years past and some having fallen out the first day, including the man next to Salazar, his noncommissioned officer.

“The people who have the EIB is a small close knit group, the people who didn’t make it understand it takes a lot to get an EIB, the people out here in support have it; know what it takes,” said Ragusa.

The Soldiers marched out of the night and into the morning, first down hills then up them after they hit the turnaround point.

Two miles to go, Salazar felt his whole body cramp up, but he pressed onward with fellow infantrymen on his flanks. With 100 meters left, Salazar, motivated by the cheers of his fellow Soldiers, caught a second wind as his fellow family members waited for him at the finish line, including his five-year old son, Landon Salazar, who reached out to his father.

Father and son walked the last 100 meters hand in hand.“Words can’t express how I felt with my family, my wife, my baby

girls and my son to be out there for the last hundred feet, which were the worst part of the whole dang twelve miles,” said Salazar.

Ragusa said, the Soldier doesn’t just earn the EIB, the entire family earns the badge, from the family within the infantry to the one at home.

“The wife, the children are going to know, I was there when my husband, I was there when my father achieved this feat,” said Ragusa.

But for Salazar this isn’t an end, it’s a beginning. “It’s time to take the opportunities that come at me, and here it is,

the EIB, my starting point, my motivation to continue my career in U.S. Army, the infantry.”

Salazar paused, “but I’m going to go sit down now.”Twelve miles into the morning sunrise, Salazar sat down for a

moment. An infantryman’s career lay in front of him.

1st Lt. Jerel Bartholomew, infantryman, HHC, 1st Bn. 67th Armor Reg., rushes across a field during day two of Expert Infantry Badge certification week, hosted by the 2nd ABCT at Fort Carson, Colo., Aug. 20

Pfc. Eric Byers, infantryman, Company A, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Reg, maneuvers around tires during day two of Expert Infantry Badge certification week, hosted by the 2nd ABCT at Fort Carson, Colo., Aug. 20.

From EIB, Page 2

3-16 FARDyanne Beckman.........................................................526-1635dyanne.m.beckman.civ@mail.mil

1-67 ARSGT James Riggs...........................................................524-1476James.g.riggs.mil@mail.mil

204th BSBMSG Nolan Johnson....................................................526-4172nolan.j.johnson.mil@mail.mil

2-8 INUrsula Pittman...........................................................526-0727ursula.t.pittman.civ@mail.mil 2 STBSGT Tanisha Scott.....................................................503-2602tanisha.m.scott2.mil@mail.mil

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2nd ABCTValarie Adams............................................................524-4797valarie.a.adams.civ@mail.mil

1-10 CAVFrancy Arvizu..............................................................526-1946francy.arvizu.civ@mail.mil

FRSA Information

Family Readiness GroupPage 4 Issue 130 September 5, 2013

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07 08 09 10 11 12Pikes Peak Optimist Club@ Ruby Tuesday’s7:00 p.m.

Ute Indian Prayer Trees of the Pikes Peak Region@ Old Colorado City History Center11:00 a.m.

Bill Burr @ Pikes Peak Center7:30 p.m.

Annihilation 47 MMA Fights@ Colorado Springs City Auditorium7:00 p.m.

Delicious Downtown Food Tour@ Downtown Colorado Springs2:30 p.m.

Race for the Cure@ Garden of the Gods7:00 a.m.

Pikes Peak Workforce Center Fall Job Fair@Double Tree by Hilton11:000 a.m.

The Color Run @ America the Beautiful Park8:00 a.m.

Third Annual Colorado Springs Restaurant Week@ City of Colorado Springs6:00 p.m.

Chicago the Musical@ Pikes Peak Center7:30 p.m.

Family Fun Fest@ The Masters House10:00 a.m.

Spotlight on Inspiring Women@ The Center for Powerful Living6:30 p.m.

Learn to Knit!!!@ Fabric Bliss6:00 p.m.

Tech N9ne@ The Black Sheep7:00 p.m.

Visit www.coloradosprings.com for more info

Better Opportunities for Single SoldiersPage 5 Issue 130 September 5, 2013