CHARLIE COMPANY, 3RD REIGMENT, U S C C amecock 2¢ azette

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 AUGUST 2011

S E C T I O N S :

2,3 - Grad Gab Graduation By CDT Andrew Miniear „12 4,5 - Current Connections 6 - Game On! 8 - The Funnies 9– What’s Up West Point? 10-Letter From the Editor

INSIDE THIS I S S U E :

Gamecocks Gone Big! 2

Fun Facts 2

The Cocks Crow 3

I Be Back 4

Summer Spectacles 5

Conquering the BEAST 6

Out with the Old... 7

The Funnies 8

What’s Up W.P? 9

Top: Michie Stadium as it fills with graduates’ families and friends Bottom Left: The graduating class tosses their covers Bottom Right: The Class of 2011 Takes their Commissioning Oath.

May 21st was a hot, sunny day at was just the first step and that average person on what the West Point and you could feel they would soon join an army Army‟s role is and how a dec- the excitement as the class of that their graduation speaker ade of war has affected military 2011 filed into a packed Michie Admiral Mike Mullen said was families. Scarcely an hour after Stadium, filled with families and not fully understood by the aver- his remarks 1,030 white hats sil- friends of soon to be graduates. age American. Mullen re- houetted themselves against The former firsties‟ time in this marked “[American civilians]do the cloudless spring sky as the gray dungeon was almost over; not comprehend the full weight First Captain yelled “Class dis- they had endured four years of of the burden we carry or the missed!” and the class of 2011 hard work, endless deadlines, price we pay when we return moved on to bar pinning cere- and isolation to get to spend a from battle.” He then chal- monies and celebrations of their few seconds shaking a general‟s lenged each graduate to not accomplishments. Congrats hand and to receive a diploma. only lead in Afghanistan and 2011 you‟ll be missed, good luck In reality they all knew that this Iraq but to also educate the and we‟ll see you soon. P A G E 2 Gamecocks Gone Big! By LTC Jim Meskill „87 and CDT Alexis Salmon ‟14

Many people have walked “Captain” Bob Durbin „75, Go Cocks!” through the hallowed halls was the Company C-3 -LTC Jim Meskill „87 of the United States Military Tactical Officer around Academy. Some went on 1984-1986, if I recall cor- USAR, JA to be great leaders in the rectly, my yearling and As shown above, in the Army and then the civilian cow years. Eventually, example of Lieutenant world. Some made a ca- “Major General” Durbin General Durbin, Game- reer of the Army and have was the commanding cocks have continued to continued to make them- general of the First Infantry pursue excellence and Top: Lieutenant General selves and their military or- Division (“The Big Red achieve success in the Durbin as a graduating C3 ganizations known for their One”). As you can see United States Army. It is an Fighting Cock! competence and excel- from the clipping from the honor and a privilege to lence …one such individual US Army War College be amongst the “best of is one of our very own, a alumni magazine (below), the best” and who knows, former C-3 Tactical Officer he is now Lieutenant Gen- perhaps we are all to be exact. eral Durbin! amongst a future Lieuten- ant General.

Grad Gab: Stories, memories, current news, and inspiration, connecting the “Old Grads” of C- 3 to the new! Fun Facts— What You Didn‟t Know Went Down In the Feed Barn!

Class of 1986…1016 graduates…Mike Pompeo was ranked Right: What #1…Raff Maranian was ranked #508…William Ward was Gamecock CO ranked #1016 ...C3 had the valedictorian, the middleman, Brian Walter found and the goat ...Mike and William were roommates . when he opened his laundry bin.. Although Gamecock‟s are not known for being territorial, the compliments from the class of ‘83. class of ‘83 left their mark ... literally, they wrote their names and calls-signs on the back of the CO’s laundry bin! P A G E 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

The Cocks Crow: Summer News

Dan Karbler (class of '87 and former On May 14th Col Jeff Elliott and Fighing Cock) has been selected for Stacy Swartz were married at West Point in the Cadet Chapel. A beau- Brigadier General. Below is his bio tiful wedding and wonderful recep- from the ADA website. tion.

Col. Daniel L. Karbler Chief of the Air Defense Artillery Commandant of the Air Defense Artillery School

Daniel L. Karbler graduated from The United States Military Academy in 1987 and was commissioned in the Air Defense Artillery. From 1988 to 1990, he served as launcher platoon leader and battery executive officer in the 4th Battalion, 43rd ADA in Giessen, Germany. In 1991, he deployed to Israel as part of Task Force Patriot Defender in support of Operation Desert Storm. He returned to Fort Bliss, Texas to attend the ADA Officer Advanced Course and serve as an instructor at the ADA Officer Basic Course. From there, he re- turned to Germany, as an assistant battalion operations officer and battery commander in the 5th Battalion, 7th ADA in Bitburg. During that tour, he de- ployed to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch. Upon returning stateside, he served as aide-de-camp to the commanding general of Fort Bliss and the U.S. Army Air Defense Center. Karbler then Top: Col Jeff Elliott and Stacy Swartz emerge from worked as a cruise missile development officer in the Air Defense Combat the Cadet Chapel after their wedding ceremony. Developments Directorate before becoming the operations officer for the 2nd Battalion, 43rd ADA. He deployed with that unit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in support of Operations Desert Thunder II and Desert Fox. Upon his return, he served as the brigade operations officer for the 108th ADA Brigade until 2000 and then worked as a joint operations officer in the Joint Theatre Air and Mis- sile Defense Organization from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Fort Bliss for his second tour in the Air Defense Combat Developments Directorate, this time as joint requirements chief before assuming command of the 3rd Battalion, 43rd ADA in 2003. Karbler was next assigned to the Military District of Washing- ton to work on the Army staff in the deputy chief of staff, G-8 as the cruise missile defense team chief in the Air Defense division. He then served as the Top: C3 class of ‘87, at the reception of the Elliott chief of the Air Defense division to the deputy chief of staff, G-8. He departed wedding. Left to right, Carl Ohlson, Jeff Elliott, the Pentagon to return to Fort Sill, Oklahoma as the commander of the 31st Doug Hildebrand, Michael Kegler, Denton Knapp. ADA Brigade and move it to Fort Sill as part of the BRAC initiative. Karbler served as the chief of staff of the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill before his current assignment as chief of the ADA and commandant of the ADA School. Karbler‟s military education includes the Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School and the Command and General Staff College. He holds a masters of business admini- stration from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., and a master of arts de- Fun Facts— What You Didn‟t Know Went Down In the Feed Barn! gree in strategic studies from the National War College. His military awards include the Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal, seven awards of the Meri- torious Service Medal, four awards of the Army Commendation Medal, two awards of the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achieve- ment Medal, five awards of the Army Achievement Medal, the U.S. Army Parachute Badge, and the Israeli Air Force Combat Operations Badge. He is Top: Col. Daniel L. Karbler delivering one of his also an honorary inductee of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. many articulate speeches. Karbler and his wife, Leah, have two children. P A G E 4

“I” Be Back By CDT Matthew Rowe „14 After 12 years in without some difficulty. formed company. Sean hiatus, the United As you have noticed the stated that the old tradi- States Corps of Ca- Gamecocks no longer tions of the former I-3 dets welcomes have a single company have been all but lost. back the I compa- floor. Instead there are The new company now nies to its ranks. Gamecocks sharing liv- has to form its own The return of the I ing space with Devils identity, such as coming companies is in- and Bandits. Still, the up with company greet- tended to produce members of the I com- ings and mascots. I-3 more leadership panies who are encoring has also given many opportunities for the bulk of the chal- cadets the chance to cadets by adding an lenges facing the expan- start anew in a company extra company to sion are seizing the op- where no one has a pre- Above: The new I3 each regiment. This gives portunity to leave their conceived notion of the company patch ; some cadets the opportunity mark on the Corps of other. To Sean and to showing off the com- to be company commanders, Cadets. many of his company pany mascot, the first sergeants, and other key Former game- mates I-3 is a great op- iceman, and their leaders who would otherwise cock and current XO of portunity and great ad- company greeting have never had the chance to I-3, Cadet Sean Eyre dition to an expanding “Cold As Ice!” do so. However, the introduc- weighed in on the cur- Corps. tion of the I companies is not rent state of the newly

Current “I was a Squad Connections: Leader at Ca- det Candidate An inside look Basic Training at what‟s this summer going on in training for the incoming Prep the Corps, School class.” and the current class “We worked on a clinic, mates of C-3 and taught PE, and first aid at some schools in Ghana.” in particular! VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 P A G E 5

the adventures of C-3 cadets over Summer Spectacles: summer leave The things we saw ...the experiences we had!

“I went to Taiwan and spent one week at the Republic of China Military Academy and two weeks at Fu Ren

University learning Chinese.“ “I went to cadet troop leadership training with C Bat- tery of the 1-44 Air Defense in Ku- wait. I was a sup- port platoon leader for a Launcher Platoon and com- The Places We Went: manded crews in- side of a battery Kuwait command post and TAIWAN an engagement control station.”

CCBT Gahna

P A G E 6

Conquering the BEAST By CDT Christina Cox „15 A look at the worst, best, and funniest of times...

We all have been through and NC Coleman was prone to asking or saying completed Beast. Everybody has silly things, to the extent that the squad their own feelings and thoughts leader required him to say, “Sergeant, I‟m about the experience. Some will about to say something dumb” before have more than others. Some will speaking. NC White was required to say be good, some bad. All we can do, “Sergeant, I‟m a creeper and I‟m about to now, is look back and review. We say something creepy” before speaking can learn from our mistakes, laugh due to being, well, creepy. Lastly, NC Ton- at our foolishness, and remember seth, because of one deformed ear, was the pain, be it mental, emotional, or required to speak in a Dobby-voice every physical, in order to strengthen our- time he spoke. selves. Most will say they had mo- Second Platoon, Echo Company – As the ments of happiness, joyfulness, and Above: A New Cadet platoon was sitting down to get ready for a fun. Some will have had sadness, pain, and who did not have his second round of impersonations, NC Kim moments of complete chaos and distress. knowledge book gets impersonated the Platoon Leader, LT Nie- Some will say they‟ve had both. Some fel- it attached to him via hus, by yelling “Louder! Louder!” as she low Plebes have shared those moments dummy cord to his would always do when nobody was with us to laugh at, reflect on, and most of ACH.. Definitely a sounding off. Due to the fact that imper- all, remember the good times during Beast. funny memory. sonations had not begun, NC Kim was do- Second Platoon, Echo Company –NC De- ing flutterkicks with LT Niehus. During this bartolo was in charge of cutting the Mar- encounter, two squad leaders, Sgt Villar- Game On! tha Washington cake into 10 equal slices real and Sgt Sutherland were down the hill, during dinner. He attempted to cut the wrestling. While waiting for LT Niehus to This section is circular cake into 10 equal squares. Due to finish and wrestling with Sgt Villarreal, Sgt him “defacing” General Washington‟s Sutherland went tumbling over a rock all about C-3. wife‟s cake, he had to bow down to Wash- ledge and down the hill. He later claimed it From ancient ington Statue and apologize for ruining it. was all to distract LT Niehus and save NC Kim. Sgt Sutherland came out with a few Second Platoon, Echo Company – When relics to current minor scratches. getting smoked, certain New Cadets were events, this to do “Monkey fornicators,” counting off Third Squad, Second Platoon, Echo Com- page is all with Monkey sounds. pany – NC Tonseth, NC Rosenhammer, NC White Room 285 “Worst Room, Best Team” Third Squad, Second Platoon, Echo Com- Had the worst room in the regiment. Was about us, the pany – NC Rosenhammer‟s squad animal told “Is this a joke? Report to the CO with Game Cocks! was the sloth. The squad leader always your chain of command.” Yet, when it had to tell him to be quiet so before he came to squad-based or team-based ac- spoke, he had to say “This sloth…”. Also, tivities, they were the best team and had VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 P A G E 7 Out with the Old(grads) in with the New(cadets)! As they say, “out with the old and in with new!” As the graduating class leaves the acad- emy each year, they leave holes within their respective companies. These holes are later filled by Plebe’s who have just completed BEAST. These Plebes come from far and wide to become West Point cadets and below is a map to see just how far they’ve come. It is Class of 2015 C-3’s pleasure to welcome the incoming class of 2015. “Game On Plebers! “ P A G E 8

The Funnies Page Related to Cadet Life… Kind of…

The Funnies: Finding the comedy in every situation... even cadet life. What’s Up West Point?: What the New Ca- Find out what‟s det’s were thinking going on at during West Point. BEAST. From Ike Hall productions, to cadet activities, if you‟re visiting West Point or a permanent resi- dent, this is the place to look and see what is going on at our “Stony Castle” on the hill.

school VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 P A G E 9

What‟s Up West Point? A look at what‟s happening in August... To get further information about what is happening at West Point visit: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WestPointUSMA and Twitter: http://twitter.com/WestPoint_USMA

Sunday, August 21 Sunday, August 28 Attention C3 Old Grads! 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. C3 is hosting a BBQ after : "Dancing Under the Stars" Concert Band: homecoming foot- "Something Old, New, Borrowed and WATCH ELECTRONIC INVITATION ball game parade, Blue" OCT 1, in central Trophy Point West Point, New York Trophy Point area! Hope to see Inclement Weather Site: Eisenhower Hall West Point, New York you there! Inclement Weather Site: Eisenhower Support former Gamecock Andre Mackenzie ‘11 as he completes Ranger School. Write to address: Mountains: 14 August - 03 September, 2LT Andrew Mackenzie, 5th Ranger Training Battalion, ATTN: 09-11, 1 Camp Merrill, Dahlonega, GA 30533-1802

Florida: 04 September - 20 September, 2LT Andrew Mackenzie, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, ATTN: 09-11, 6069 Walkers Lane, Camp James E. Rudder Eglin AFB, FL 32542

Come SUPPORT West Point Athletics! Fri, Aug 26 Volleyball HARTFORD West Point 12 p.m.

Fri, Aug 26 Volleyball Bryant vs. Missouri-Kansas City West Point 3:30 p.m.

Fri, Aug 26 Soccer (M) MARIST West Point 5 p.m. Fri, Aug 26 Volleyball MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY West Point 7 p.m.

Fri, Aug 26 Soccer (W) Central Connecticut State West Point 7 p.m.

Sat, Aug 27 Volleyball Hartford vs. Byrant West Point 12 p.m. Sat, Aug 27 Volleyball Missouri-Kansas City vs. Hartford West Point 3 p.m. Mon, Aug 29 Soccer (M) MANHATTAN West Point 7 p.m.

As we start out a new volume, The Gamecock Gazette solicits you to share more of your stories about your cadet, military, and civil- ian experiences. The Gamecock Gazette connects current C-3 Cadets with the Old Graduates of C-3, keeping people informed with a few good laughs. This newsletter will also document C-3’s history in the making. GAMECOCK GAZETTE For September’s Issue, we ask graduates to send in stories Charlie Company, 3rd Regiment, USCC about their academics. From the first day’s of class to crazy study sessions, all stories are welcome. Company C-3 TAC Officer: Gamecock Gazette If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the news- MAJ Arthur Rutnarak Editor: (845) 938-2101 letter, please get in touch with C-3 through any of the contacts to [email protected] CDT Alexis Salmon the left. P.O. Box 3586 West Point, NY 10997 Company C-3 TAC NCO: (845) 515-5485 Thank you for all of your contributions and stories. This newsletter [email protected] SFC Scott Swanson couldn’t have worked without your help and support. We hope .mil (845) 938-2694 you’ve enjoyed another issue of the Gamecock Gazette! [email protected]

Letter From the Editor by Alexis Salmon „14

I hope you all enjoyed I also want to send a the September issue of the this issue of the Gamecock Ga- “thank you” out to all the new Gamecock Gazette! Game On! zette. In this edition I wanted writers and photographers on to focus on the summer and the the Gamecock Gazette. Plebes experiences of each cadet. all the way to Firsties have From hearing stories and seeing stepped up and offered their pictures of adventures abroad, time and skills to this paper. to the initiation of the “I” com- This issue would not have been panies at the summer’s conclu- possible without you and the sion, to relating and reminiscing future ones will be better be- with the New Cadets (now cause of you. Plebes!) on their funny BEAST Again, I hope you en- stories, I think we captured a joyed the latest issue of the great picture of the summer and Gamecock Gazette. If you have successfully completed our goal. any comments, recommenda- Thank you to all the Old tions, or if you would like to Grads who told us their sum- submit an article/picture, please Respectfully, mer news as well. Your stories feel free to contact me through CDT Alexis Salmon inspire us and make us proud to the information listed above. Company C-3, USCC be a Gamecock in the Long Remember, keep a look out for Class of 2014, USMA Gray Line.