THE MOUNTED RR3d ARMOREDIFLEMA IFLEMACAVALRY REGIMENT N N April 2008 TakingTaking chargecharge ofof thetheTHE MOUN AOAOTED RIFLEMAN/APRIL 2008 THE ABOUT THIS MOUNTED ISSUE RIFLEMAN As the second edition of the Mounted Rifleman was created and put together, several decisions had to be made about the content of the magazine. One decision made was to include more photographs of Soldiers. While stories about the great job our Soldiers do is important, families and Soldiers also like to see a lot of images of what our fellow Brave Rifles are doing. To that end, each issue will now have a photo spread that will highlight many of events that take place throughout the regiment. My goal is to continue to develop the magazine and ensure that it provides a wide variety of information about the 3d ACR. Published by the The 3d ACR also welcomed the new safety and 3d Armored occupational specialist to the team in March. Peter Higgins Cavalry Regiment is now helping ensure the regiment is in compliance with all Army safety standards and that the Soldiers continue to 72ND REGIMENTAL COMMANDER receive the latest safety information to prevent accidents. Col. Michael A. Bills He also has a column in this edition of the Mounted Rifleman and will be one of the regular contributors. XVII REGIMENTAL COMMAND The 3d ACR also welcomed the 94th Engineer SERGEANT MAJOR Battalion, stationed at Fort Leonard wood, Mo., to FOB Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Burns Marez and the team. As we move forward in the deployment, I will continue PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER Maj. Gary Dangerfield to look at the content of the Mounted Rifleman and make changes as needed to provide as much information as I can PUBLIC AFFAIRS NCOIC/EDITOR about the great job the Brave Rifles and our fellow Soldiers Master Sgt. Tim Volkert are doing to help the people of Iraq and protect our country from terrorists. GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATOR/DESIGN Spc. Matthew Boyd If you have any suggestions or would like to submit The Mounted Rifleman is the official articles or photographs to the Mounted Rifleman, e-mail publication for the Troopers, Noncommis- [email protected] or call the Regimental Public sioned Officers, Officers, family members Affairs Office at VOIP 573-2097 or DSN 849-5270. and friends of the 3d Armored Cavalry - The Editor Regiment. Views expressed herein are those of the authors. The Mounted Riflemanis the primary Command Information tool of the Regi- mental command leadership. Its mission is to foster esprit de corps, enhance mo- rale and keep troopers informed through- out the Regiment. THE MOUNTED RIFLEMAN/APRIL 2008 2 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment Left/Cover: Pfc. Robert Lange from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, stands atop his humvee during a joint patrol with Fox Troop, in Diyala Province. Units from the Regiment of Mounted Rifleman have been steadily applying pressure on the insurgents in their areas of operation and improving the security situation for the residents. Cover photo by Patrick Baz FEATURES 4 72nd Colonel of the Regiment 11 Longknife Squadron Col. Michael A. Bills Longknife air support helps ensure continued mission success in Baghdad 6 XVII Command Sgt. Maj. of the Regiment 12 Muleskinner Squadron Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Burns Troopers’ “behind the scenes” support ensures success of regiment, Iraqi army 7 Remington Troop 13 1-8 Infantry Battalion RHHT project enables tankers, Bradley crews to boresight Fighting Eagles continue to increase pressure on on FOB Marez. insurgents, eliminate threats 8 Tiger Squadron 14 4-6 Air Cavalry Change is spreading throughout Tiger Squadron’s area of Pilot heroics show determination of Soldiers in taking the operations fight to the enemy 9 Sabre Squadron 31 Chaplain’s Corner Sabre finds itself serving at pivotal point in war Spring is time for new beginnings 10 Thunder Squadron 35 Fallen Heroes Improving security situation in Mosul is direct result of the Tribute to our Fallen Heroes hard work of all Thunder Squadron Soldiers THE MOUNTED RIFLEMAN/APRIL 2008 A message from the 72nd Colonel of the Regiment Spc. Matthew Boyd Col. Michael Bills, 72nd Colonel of the Regiment, presents a coin to Staff Sgt. Angel Perez from Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3d ACR, at Combat Outpost Heider March 14. reetings from Mosul, Iraq. incredible performance by our support Troopers. It is hard to believe that five months have In Taji, Longknife Squadron recently supported passed since the Regiment deployed to Iraq. the Coalition Forces’ ground efforts over Baghdad GThe extraordinary efforts of every Mounted Rifleman through air and ground integration and interdiction have enabled the Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces of IED emplacers in a recent surge of activity. They to make huge strides in combat, stability, and support fired 88 hellfire missiles and killed 152 insurgents. operations. The have also logged 3,035 AH-64 Apache flight Our units are stretched from the Iranian border hours and 823 UH-60 Black Hawk flight hours in a and Diyala Province to Baghdad, the Syrian border month. These are new records for flight hours over and Ninewah Province, which shows the continued Baghdad. With high number of hours, Longknife’s flexibility and adaptability of this great Regiment. crew chiefs, mechanics and maintenance test pilots I could not be more proud of our Troopers as continue to work hard at sustaining our fleet, despite they continue to exhibit tremendous courage, the incredible number of hours our pilots are flying. professionalism and dedication to duty. In Diyala Province, Sabre Squadron and King I would like to acknowledge our support Troopers, Battery continue to fight with 4/2 SBCT, holding the air and ground mechanics, supply personnel, their ground and keeping the enemy on the run in medics, cooks and communications specialists who some of the heaviest fighting in Iraq. Their area of are working very hard to sustain combat readiness. operations is the largest for a battalion-sized unit in Muleskinner Squadron continues to support country. the Regiment across Ninewah Province, an area During the last two months, Sabre Squadron the size of Connecticut. They have conducted conducted offensive operations into the “Bread 270 Combat Logistic Patrols, provided more than Basket,” breaking the grip of the Shia extremists who 240,000 gallons of fuel, 10,000 gallons of water, have freely operated in the area. King Battery fired provided food service to four remote sites, conducted more than 5,000 rounds in support of the brigade, 2,100 maintenance jobs, treated more than 2,500 killing or causing the insurgents to surrender to personnel at sick call, and visited nine villages where Coalition and Iraqi Forces. they treated 1,600 women and children. This is an In Ninewah Province, Thunder Squadron and THE MOUNTED RIFLEMAN/APRIL 2008 1-8 Infantry continue to pursue the enemy with allows the Troopers of the Regiment to focus forward cordon and search operations and patrols that have on the mission at hand. I would like to offer our resulted in the killing or capturing of more than 400 heartfelt thanks for all you are doing. insurgents. Successful reconnaissance has resulted in I would also like to give special thanks to our well over 100 cache finds and route clearance by our rear detachment for the tremendous work they are engineers has cleared more than 4,030 miles of IED- doing for the Regiment. The long hours you spend laden roads throughout Mosul. taking care of our family members, preparing the The effort by the 94th Engineers has been new Soldiers for their deployment, the memorial Herculean. The engineers have built or repaired 20 ceremonies for our fallen Soldiers and those who combat outposts built and positioned 40 checkpoints have been wounded in combat has been phenomenal. throughout the city of Mosul that provide security You are the Army standard in what is expected of a and movement for the Iraqi citizens. rear detachment. Thanks for what you are doing on a Thunder Squadron continues to provide security daily basis. Your work allows the Regiment to focus from Mosul out west to the Syrian border. Maddog on the fight forward. Company is maintaining a presence at FOB Sykes All the accomplishments of the Regiment have and Tal Afar and Eagle Troop is present at COP not been without sacrifice. In the last two months the Heider providing the security in and around the Regiment has lost Sgt. Spates, Staff Sgt. Mackey, Rabyia Point of Entry, which controls traffic from Capt. Mallard, Sgt. Anderson, Spc. Burkett, Sgt. Iraq into Syria. Unruh, Spc. Morris, and Capt. Burgos-Cruz. We will Our aviation support in Ninewah, provided by the not forget our fallen comrades and we will honor 4th Squadron, 6th Cavalry, has been incredible. The them through our actions. Their families will remain squadron has been supporting the fight not just in in our thoughts and prayers. Mosul, but also down south and west with Tiger and The Regiment has become a strong family – a Thunder Squadrons. strong family that is committed to each other. We will During the last nine months they have supported continue to draw strength from each other and look both 4/1 CAV and the Regiment, flying more than after each other. 38,000 hours in their OH-58D Kiowas and more Congratulations to the Regimental team for than 10,000 hours in their UH-60 Black Hawks. The winning the Deployment Excellence Award for the Redcatcher crews have taken the fight to the enemy Army. It was a tremendous effort by all, especially in support of both the Coalition and Iraqi Security the movement teams from each Squadron.