The proper handling and SAFEGUARD safe keeping of personally PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE identifiable information is INFORMATION everyone’s responsibility Story, A-2 JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON’S SOURCE FOR NEWS ARCTIC WARRIOR December 6, 2013 www.jber.af.mil Volume 4, No. 47 THE PATROL Spartan receives Soldier’s Medal Leader recognized for pulling man out of burning car Army Capt. Michael Carvelli, commander of the 84th Engineer Support Company, stands at the head of his command during the unit’s redeployment ceremony Nov. 26 at JBER’s Buckner Physical Fitness Center. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Michael Cowley) By Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Smith 4-25th IBCT PAO The IEDs were so prolific and the area was a commander before me who took them so dangerous, the men on the patrol weren’t through the training,” Carvelli said. “He did Sgt. 1st Class John Kerns, the civil af- Engineers’ able to immediately secure all the remains a great job by seeing the skillset they had fairs noncommissioned officer in charge of their buddies, or the equipment scattered and translating that into the training they for the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team by the explosions. needed.” (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, received deployment The patrol pulled security on site until Additionally, they had another 35 days the Soldier’s Medal during a ceremony their relief could come. of training in theater to learn about specific hosted Nov. 21 at Joint Base Elmendorf- equipment they would use. Each day dur- Richardson. marked by Relief comes in the night ing the deployment, the individual platoons The Soldier’s Medal is awarded to indi- The 84th Engineer Support Company trained for hours, with the noncommissioned viduals for heroism, who knowingly choose got the call for help that night and made officers setting up training lanes to test their to place their lives in danger not involving fateful patrol it out to the site a few hours later. They platoon members’ skills. conflict with an armed enemy. first came with an M-160 Light Flail — an If mission success is an indicator, the Kerns earned the Soldier’s Medal for res- By Jim Hart 11,000-pound, tank-like robot that beats the training paid off handsomely. cuing an incapacitated driver from a flame- JBER Public Affairs ground with chain “hammers” attached to a During its nine-month deployment, the engulfed vehicle in North Carolina in 2010. spinning drum. 84th ESC did not suffer a single casualty. During an off-duty trip to visit his N AMERICAN INFANTRY They didn’t make enough headway with The assigned members also have the honor platoon was patrolling near a the flail, so they came back the next morning. of knowing not a single Afghan or Interna- XXSee KERNS, A-3 compound in southern Afghani- According to Moore, this time would be far tional Security Assistance Force vehicle – or stan, not far from Kandahar, long more productive. even one their own vehicles – was lost to Aidentified as a trouble spot. “We probably didn’t go 150 meters in a an IED on routes the 84th ESC maintained. JBER C-17 The Afghan National Army had taken twelve-hour period because we kept finding “The junior Soldiers thought it was a many casualties in the vicinity, and U.S. IED after IED after IED,” Moore said. little boring because of that, but a lot of the Soldiers heard the enemy was defending a They also fired an Anti-Personnel Ob- older Soldiers, the ones who’ve deployed weapons cache. Whatever the reason behind stacle Breaching System (a rocket-launched before, have a lot of appreciation for the participates the trouble, the infantry troops were out there explosive line charge that replaced the famed progress that’s been made,” Carvelli said. for a purpose. Bangalore Torpedo). The APOBS destroyed In all, the 84th ESC was responsible for The persistent threat detection system (a an explosive belt that could have been used about 70 kilometers (42 miles) of roads. in Operation tethered blimp with sensors) saw something by a suicide bomber, or set up as an anti- On those 70 kilometers, Carvelli estimates of interest – a man planting an improvised personnel mine. they cleared 12,000 kilometers (7,200 miles) explosive device. They needed to capture According to Moore and others, this mis- during the course of the deployment. They Damayan the suspect and remove the threat somehow. sion was the most memorable, most stressful, found 38 ready IEDs, and numerous pieces He was bait. and most honorable (by making it possible and parts such as batteries, charges, detona- Normally, this platoon would have to recover the remains through disabling the tors and other components commonly used By Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Wolf brought along engineer support to clear any other IEDs). to make explosive weapons. JBER Public Affairs IEDs, but they had been sent out as a quick- Overall, the platoon’s high success rate This was the first, and likely last, de- reaction force and didn’t have time. with finding and neutralizing IEDs made ployment to Operation Enduring Freedom The loading ramp at the back of a C-17 Very soon, the dismounted patrol began them frequent companions with infantry for the 84th ESC. The unit will inactivate Globemaster III began to lower. Behind it, hitting numerous IEDs. One by one, they patrols. in September, 2014, as part of the Army’s 100 people stood in line looking worn, but exploded… killing or wounding Soldier “Once we were (in theater), as long as the drawdown. It has been inactivated five times with smiles on their faces. They slowly be- after Soldier. engineers were in front of them, there were in the past. The last time the 84th ESC inac- gan to pile into the back of the aircraft saying Before too long, four were dead, includ- no other IED strikes on infantry personnel,” tivated was in April 2005. “thank you” as they passed the loadmaster ing their medic. Many more were wounded. Moore said. For the Soldiers, it’s an honorable finish. directing them to their seats. After the first Even the medevac helicopter set off at least Despite this track record of success, IED “We’ve got five campaign streamers 100 were seated and strapped in, there was one IED with rotor wash, but was still able clearance isn’t normally the 84th ESC’s on the guidon, and it was pretty significant room for more, so the crew called for another to fly. forte. to put on a new one, knowing it will prob- 100 people to board. This process repeated No place was safe. The enemies had ably be the last one for the duration of the until the C-17 was full and there was no more booby-trapped shady spots and areas of Safety comes from training Afghanistan deployment,” Carvelli said. “It room. The ramp closed and the loadmasters cover – almost anywhere a Soldier would go. The 84th ESC is a horizontal construc- was humbling and exciting to be a part of ensured everyone was secure as the engines Some of the IEDs had pressure plates four tion company; the unit normally builds the history of a company that’s been around fired up and the C-17 began to move. feet in front of the device to kill or maim roads and infrastructure when deployed. The since the end of World War II – it’s been a Humanitarian Airlift has been a major as- anyone walking up to investigate. Soldiers typically assigned to route clearance great experience, and people keep talking set the Air Force has used during its history, “It was a textbook-setup IED ambush,” are combat engineers. According to the 84th about it.” even before it became the U.S. Air Force said Army Staff Sgt. Kandom Moore, 3rd ESC company commander, Army Capt. The mission and Soldiers will be ab- and was still part of the U.S. Army – from Platoon squad leader with the 84th Engineer Mike Carvelli, this made for a significant sorbed by other engineer units in Alaska and dropping food to starving French citizens Support Company. “Anywhere you could go change in how the unit trained and prepared. elsewhere. It’s unknown when, where or if to hide, there was an IED.” “I took command last December, so there the 84th ESC will stand up again. XXSee DAMAYAN, A-2 PERMIT NO. 220 NO. PERMIT Inside Firebirds deploy for Kiwi Flag: A-3 Duffy talks sexual assault prevention ANCHORAGE, AK ANCHORAGE, PAID Briefs and announcements ...................................... A-4 The JBER commander talks U.S. POSTAGE U.S. JBER troops enjoy baked cookies ............................B-1 about specific sexual assault/ PRESORTED STANDARD PRESORTED Military conservation agents monitor wildlife .........B-1 sexual harassment prevention Matters of Faith: Injustice isn’t abandonment .........B-2 measures and resources, Don’t get in trouble with PFD application ...............B-4 Page A-2 CommandA-2 ARCTIC WARRIOR Emphasis December 6, 2013 ‘It is your business’ Duffy talks prevention of sexual assault/sexual harassment Editorial by Air Force Col. Brian P. Duffy, as a warning to those who might consider panels … with punishments that often in- Intervene, Act, and Motivate (I. A.M.) JBER and 673d Air Base Wing commander similar actions. clude jail time, rank reductions and punitive STRONG is the Army’s campaign to combat The following is a quick synopsis of what discharges. sexual assaults by encouraging everyone to Sexual assault remains a significant con- the Air Force and Army are doing these days As required by many state laws, con- actively engage in preventing these crimes.