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 when he opened and the goat ...Mike and William were roommates . 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.