Guardian East JANUARY 2015 Volume XIX, Issue III MNBG-E Monthly magazine 1 Inside Inside Multinational Battle Group-East Southern Command Post 4 Spartan 6 & 7 Sends 17 Unit Update 6 Soldiers and Cadets Build Relationships 18 Father and Son deployed Forward Command Post Around the Battle Group 9 Unit Update 20 DANCON Strengthen Bonds 22 Bite Training on Bondsteel 10 German Soldiers earn US Weapons Qualification Badge 23 K9 Hoist Training 24 Soldiers Celebrate Serbian Christmas Eve Task Force Medical 26 K9 Hoist Training 12 Unit Update 26 KFOR Troopers Test their Interopability 13 Food Safety in Kosovo 28 Soldiers in Kosovo Photos 15 Training the Fire Department JAG 30 General Order Number One MWR Guardian Magazine welcomes commentaries, articles and pho- MNBG-E CMDR 31 February Trips tos from readers. Submissions should be sent to the editor at Col. Clint j. baker [email protected] by the 20th of each month and include details such as the who, what, when, where and why of the MNBG-E CSM photos. Please include the person’s name, rank and contin- Command sgt. maj. gent of who took the photos for photo credit. MNBG-E re- mitchell rucker serves the right to edit any submissions. Public Affairs Officer Maj. Adam Hallmark Guardian Magazine is produced for Executive Editor personnel of Multinational Battle Group-East and is an authorized publi- Capt. Judith A. Marlowe cation for members of the Department of Defense. Contents of Guardian Assistant Editor Magazine are not necessarily the offi- Staff Sgt. Shawn Casey cial views of the U.S. government, the Department of the Army, or MNBG-E. Layout and Design Sgt. Melissa C. Parrish Contributing Soldiers from Multinational Battle Group- East participate in the German soldiers prepare to fire the M16 rifle in the kneeling position Journalist Danish Contigent (DANCON) march at Camp Marechal de Lattre as they attempt to earn the U.S. Army weapons qualification badge at Ardian Nrecaj de Tassigny, Jan. 18. Participants marched 25 kilometers (15.5 Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo Jan. 6. Soldiers from the Liaison Monitoring Maj daniel erskine miles) with a minimum of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) on their back Team (LMT), 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th (Photo by U.S. Army Capt. Judith Marlowe) 1st Lt. Justin Petersen Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division put the range together to build esprit de corps with the partner nation. 2 (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Melissa Parrish) 3 SPARTAN 6 & 7 SENDS tling facility, both of which provide bread and water to Camp Bondsteel and the people of Kosovo, and found both continuing to operate well above U.S. health standards. During the last month, our senior non-commissioned officers also conducted a NCO and Soldier of the Quarter board. Winning the NCO of the Quarter Board was Sgt. Wesley LeFavour and winning the Soldier of the Quarter Board was Spc. Drew Leman, both from the FCP. We additionally conducted a board for the Sgt. Morales Club and would like to welcome its two newest members - Staff Sgt. Travis France with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, MNBG-E and Sgt. Nicole Gradney with TF Med. To top it all off, because many in our formation are Paratroopers on jump status, we also conducted another round of airborne operations to maintain jumper proficiency. Command Sgt. Maj. Rucker and I sincerely hope that all of you that are reading this have gotten your New Year off to a great start. As always, we ask for and greatly appreciate the outpouring of support from our Fam- ilies and friends back home, wherever you may be - it’s your support that will help us all stay focused on the mission and return home with pride. Respectfully yours, ello once again to the Soldiers and Families of Multinational Battle Group-East! With the first month of the New Year already behind us, it’s hard to believe that we’re already a third of the way through our deployment - time is sure flying by. HDuring the last month, the Battle Group has made steady progress toward achieving the goals we’ve set for our time here. From developing relationships with key partners to training on all the pertinent tasks that work to help our Soldiers maintain their individual and collective proficiencies, January has seen the Battle Group staying busy. Our Southern Command Post (SCP) has really gotten after it this month by using their fleet of UH-60 Black Hawks to conduct an array of training missions. Using elements of Company F (MEDEVAC), 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, the SCP conducted numerous hoist training missions by retrieving personnel from simulated hard-to-reach locales. The SCP even expanded upon their hoist training in a separate event by in- cluding the insertion and retrieval of military working dog teams, which marks the first time such an event has been executed during the KFOR 19 rotation. Up north at Camp Marechel de Lattre de Tassigny, the Forward Command Post (FCP) has done an excellent job honing its ability to react at a moment’s notice within our area of operations should trouble occur. Working closely with the FCP staff, we’ve been able to readily anticipate where and when potential crises may occur, but, because of the demonstrated abilities of our partners within the Kosovo Police to react on their own, the FCP’s services have yet to be needed - and that’s a good thing for everyone involved. In addition to honing its razor sharp edge, the FCP also executed numerous weapons training events as well as courses on land navigation, medical training and a course on how to call for indirect fire. Meanwhile, Task Force Medical (TF Med) has been busy keeping not only the Soldiers of MNBG-E healthy, but the people of Kosovo as well. Earlier in the month, TF Med’s veterinary team, led by Capt. Sarahanne Simpson, conducted health inspections of the locally owned and operated Kosova Bakery and DEA water bot- Mitchell L. Rucker Clint J. Baker Command Sergeant Major Colonel, U.S. Army 4 Commanding 5 soldiers and cadets build relationships “The helicopter landed and the crew gave the Sol- diers and cadets training on how to approach and conduct missions in and around an aircraft,” said Byrd. The UH-60 then hovered as the Soldiers were lifted into the Black Hawk using a double rescue seat. “The hoist training was exciting,” said Bajraliu. “When I get out of the academy I want to study avi- ation so [this was] a great opportunity to see a heli- copter work.” The overall event joined people from different -re gions of the world and gave both the Soldiers and the cadets a chance to work together for the purpose of saving lives while getting a glimpse into the culture of each side. “I think it’s an outstanding opportunity for us to be able to work together,” said Byrd. “The skills they will learn [will] … carry over to any operation we will have to conduct in the future.”Marechal de Lattre de Tassigny while German soldiers arrived from Priz- ren, Kosovo. Kosovo Security Force cadets conduct the head-tilt, chin-lift’ method on U.S. Army Soldiers during a medical training event near Istok, Kosovo, Jan. 10. The purpose of the event was to provide hands-on medical training to Soldiers and cadets so they can treat potentially injured troops and evacuate them to the next higher level of care. Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Shawn Casey AMPBONDSTEEL, “The purpose of the [event] was vious medical training outside the Kosovo - Soldiers from to increase the capability and con- classroom. Headquarters and Head- fidence in the Soldiers’ and cadets’ “Until now, we have only done quartersC Company, 4th Infantry ability to treat potentially injured this in class,” said Cadet Ardiana Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), [personnel] and evacuate them to Bajraliu, a cadet from the Universi- 25th Infantry Division, Multina- the next higher level of care,“ said ty Study Center. “Here you have the tional Battle Group- East met with Byrd. pressure and you need to think fast Kosovo Security Force cadets near Both Soldiers and KSF cadets and move forward. I was the team Istok, Kosovo for a medical train- strive to remain proficient in medi- leader and had to make sure every- ing event Jan. 10 and 11. cal training and the event provided one knew what was happening and Working over the course of two the perfect opportunity to put that give out orders. It was cool and also days, Soldiers and cadets worked training to the test in a controlled a great responsibility, something I through scenarios including pro- environment. haven’t experienced until today.” viding treatment for breathing, “We saw an opportunity for us Company F, 5th Battalion (Gen- bleeding and chest decompression to come together and conduct a eral Support), 159th Aviation Reg- while in an area surrounded by no- joint [event where] we were able iment, a U.S. Army Reserve unit tional adversaries. to accomplish the same focus,” said from Clearwater, Florida and the U.S. Army Capt. Jonathan Byrd, Byrd. medical evacuation element for MNBG- E, supported the exercise U.S. Army Soldiers along with Kosovo Security Force cadets conduct chest decompression during a medical training event near Istok, Kosovo, the commander for HHC, This was also the first time some Jan. 10. The purpose of the event was to provide hands-on medical training to Soldiers and cadets so they can treat potentially injured with a UH-60 Black Hawk Heli- 6 4/25IBCT (ABN), planned of the newer KSF cadets were able troops and evacuate them to the next higher level of care.