VIPER TIMES 504Th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK
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Volume 1, Issue 1 November - December 2011 The VIPER TIMES 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK Soldiers from the 504th BfSB take a moment of silence to reflect at FOB Spin Boldak during a memorial service on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks. Many servicemembers in Afghanistan now were in grade school when the attacks occured. (Photos by Spc. Phil Kernisan) All Grown Up How Sept. 11’s Youngest Witnesses Contribute to OEF By Sgt. Marc Loi dom, 47.3 percent of those are ages 17-24, making the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade age demographic the largest group of service women and men contributing to the effort of eliminating the presence FOB SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – If parents and of terrorist networks and empowering the Government teachers worried about how children might fare in the of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Here in southern months following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, they no lon- Kandahar, those Soldiers participate in the fight in both ger need to worry. Some of the children who were in el- combat and non-combat roles as part of the 504th Battle- ementary and junior high schools have grown up to be field Surveillance Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas. Soldiers and are contributing to the rebuilding of a nation Ten years old when he first witnessed the planes that, a decade ago, they couldn’t even locate on a map. flying into the Twin Towers and the massive blocks of According to the Department of Defense, of the steel collapsing, Pfc. Lance A. Thibodeaux is now a infan- more than 100,000 servicemembers currently deployed tryman and member of the personal security detail team to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Free- See GROWN on page 2 - 1 - Volume 1, Issue 1 November - December 2011 GROWN continued from page 1 for the 504th BfSB here. Although he saw the events live on television, Thibodeaux said as a 10-year-old, he struggled to grasp the impact of the events or how they would change his life. “I was about to go to school and saw the live footage,” said Thibodeaux, who at the time was at- tending a Catholic school in Vista, Calif. “It just didn’t register. I didn’t know where the World Trade Center was. “As a 10-year-old, my life consisted of school, video games and sports,” Thibodeaux said. “I knew of Spc. Brad Reeves, an air conditioner repair man with the 509th FSC, takes a moment to have Afghanistan, but I was oblivious of his photo taken with Sgt. 1st Class Zeke, Sept. 23, at FOB Spin Boldak. (Photo by Spc. Darryl what was going on there.” L. Montgomery) For Thibodeaux and students his age, an education on Afghanistan and terrorist networks, Islam and ZEKE: Therapy Dog international diplomacy, would be By Spc. Darryl L. Montgomery During his stay at FOB Spin a crash course. In the months fol- 504th Battlefield Surveillance Bri- Boldak, Zeke, along with his han- lowing the attacks, Thibodeaux and gade dler, Sgt. Paul McCollough, visited his classmates were introduced to a Soldiers working around the base. region of the world they had barely FOB SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan In addition to getting to pet Zeke heard of, and a religion they didn’t - You may have seen him during his and play with him, the Soldiers know much about. They were also brief stay here; his name is Sgt. 1st learned about his role as a therapy introduced to, from television com- Class Zeke, and he isn’t your typi- dog and about the programs the mentators and the snippets of news cal noncommissioned officer; he Combat Stress Control teams of- children are exposed to, a terrorist is short, black, and gets around on fer when it comes to dealing with network called the Taliban, that im- four legs. tough times. pacted their young lives more than Zeke is a military working Spc. Brad Reeves, an air any monsters bore from the vivid dog, though not the kind that sniffs conditioner repair man with the imaginations of young children could out bombs and contraband. Zeke’s 509th Forward Support Company, ever have. sole purpose in the military is to took a moment to have his photo Thibodeaux also noticed the help relieve stress and raise the mo- taken with Zeke. slight, subtle differences in his life. rale of Soldiers serving in stressful “There are a lot of dog lov- See GROWN on page 11 environments. See ZEKE on page 8 504th Battlefield Surveillence Brigade Public Affairs Office The Viper Times is an authorized publication for members of Editorial Staff Chain of Command the U. S. Army. Contents of The Viper Times are not neces- Brigade Commander - Col. Gary W. Johnston sarily official views of, or endorsed by, the U. S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 504th Brigade CSM - Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis A. Eger Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. All editorial content of The Public Affairs Officer - Maj. Tony B. Crumbey Viper Times is prepared, edited, provided and approved by Public Affairs Sergeant - Sgt. Marc Loi the Combined Task Force Viper Public Affairs Office. Public Affairs Specialist - Spc. Darryl L. Montgomery - 2 - Volume 1, Issue 1 November - December 2011 Message from the Command Five months now the 504th BfSB has been in Af- missioned officers who are highly trained in their craft ghanistan. During those five months, the unforgiv- and willing to go the extra mile to get their missions ing heat at Fort Hood has become kinder, allowing accomplished. What’s more, their confidence and pro- the leaves to turn over as children begin yet another fessionalism have allowed the brigade to maximize its school year and Families begin planning their win- warfighting potential. They, along with the Soldiers on ter vacations. Though five months may seem like a the front lines, do this day in and day out, through hol- short time, it is an eternity for your Soldiers, not only idays and weekends while away from you. Despite this because they long for you, but also because in those busy schedule, they’ve gotten promoted, maintained a five months, they’ve accomplished more than anyone high physical fitness standard and some are taking col- could have imagined as they help build a stronger Af- lege courses to continue their academic careers. ghanistan. They accomplished these tasks not because of the Here at FOB Spin Boldak, 2-38th Soldiers contin- sophisticated equipments that keep them safe and take ue to patrol Afghanistan’s southern border crossings, the fight to the enemies - although the equipments help making it more difficult for terrorists wishing harm - but because of the most important assets of all: you, on Afghanistan to enter the country; Soldiers of the the Viper Family. In their absence, you comforted the 268th Signal Support Company are tirelessly working children when they missed your Soldiers too much. to ensure our communications assets are at their best, You dropped them off the first day of school, meticu- helping us not only accomplish our missions, but also lously prepared their Halloween costumes and sat by reach out to you when we’ve had a bad day; medical them each night to help with homework assignments. personnel work around-the-clock, providing physi- Despite all this, you’ve also manged to keep us in your cal and mental care for your Soldiers, helping them to thoughts. Letters and packages continue to come, not a quickly recover and, when they are ready, rejoin their holiday has gone by without you reaching out, and no comrades in the fight. In Kandahar and Bagram Air- matter the time of day, no matter how late, we know we fields, Soldiers of the 163rd and 303rd Military Intel- can always call you and hear a smile on the other end. ligence Battalions lend their expertise, giving NATO It is that support that allows us to keep our minds on forces a better situation awareness of the battlefield, the fight and help make Afghanistan stronger. You may ultimately keeping their fellow Soldiers safe and the not be on the front lines with us, but your dedication enemies on the run. and support, hard work and love, have proven invalu- Under the flag pole where we come to work, we’re able. Our accomplishments are your accomplishments, greeted each day by a staff of officers and non-com- and our victory is also your victory. Col. Gary W. Johnston Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis A. Eger - 3 - Volume 1, Issue 1 November - December 2011 Photo Contest:Things That Make You Smile In each ‘Viper Times’ newsletter, we will host a photo contest with different themes, allowing our family mem- bers an opportunity to come together and see how we are all doing. The theme for this issue’s contest was, ‘Things That Make You Smile,’ and we are proud to annouce Mrs. Victoria Bowers the winner. Mrs. Bowers, wife of Sgt. 1st Class Edward Bowers, 2nd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, entered this photo of their son, Camden’s, third birthday. With the help of technology, his father was able to attend his birthday party and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him from over 7,000 miles away. From the Viper PAO, Happy 3rd Birthday, Camden! What are your goals on this deployment? Pfc. Sgt. Athena Sgt. 1st Class Eric Mulder Houck Thomas Ribas 2-38, Chaplain 504th, Ex. Ad- 504th, Battle Assistant min Assistant NCO Aurora, Killeen, Middletown, Colorado Texas Ohio “I’d like to earn a few “I want to squeeze in as “To further my success college credits to go many college courses as I in the military and look toward my degree in can for my degree in for future opportunities Management Studies.” Business Administration.” in the U.S.