CharlieCompany,
Company, 7-101st
Aviation
Regiment
Charlie
2-149
GSAB
I am an American Soldier..."Here I am! Send me." Isaiah 6:1, 8
‘Bene Volare Vitam Salvare’
February 2009
Volume 1, Issue 6
Page 1
THE 9 LINE
From First Sergeant Polozeck...
From the 1SG
1
Birthdays of January
2
Company Happenings
3
The Faces of C. Co
5
Dust Dust Everywhere
7
It's March and we are finally into Spring! The weather is getting nicer and we
can definitely tell the change. It is getting warmer in the afternoons and not as cold at
night. As we move into the new season, we are thinking of loved ones and home. We
are looking forward to packing our equipment and personal belongings and head to
the States! Plans are being made on the what and when, and I ask all of the families
and Soldiers to be patient. The time is quickly approaching and the dates (target
week), although sliding to the left and right a few days, have not changed. As soon as
the dates are in stone, I will make sure to put them out to your Soldiers so that all will
be informed. This last month brought 3 promotions and I couldn't be any happier. SSG
Scott-McDonald, SGT Rahl and SGT Bresee were all promoted. I am as proud as I can
be, congrats! As well, new additions for SGT Dixon's and CW2 McNeeley's families. I
hope that all are healthy and happy. As always, my primary job as the 1SG is to make
sure that your Soldiers are taken care of. We (I mean every one in the Company) keep
an eye on each other. Some are tired, some are sore (PT Test time!), and some have
the typical seasonal sore throats and coughs. There are no other problems to report. Your Soldiers are healthy and in high spirits! I cannot say enough about the quality and professionalism of our Soldiers.
I stand ready, always, to answer any questions you may have.
1SG Jon D. Polozeck
C Co 2-149 GSAB
Mission Photos
8
MEDICS
9
MWR
10
Maintenance
11
Medics in Action
12
Shout-Outs
13
HQ, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd
FSMP‟s
14
4th FSMP @ FOB Normandy
18
A note from 06’
21
"Alamo Dustoff!"
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 2
COMPANY BIRTHDAY’s
SSG Amy Hise, SSG Eddie Basham,
CPT Melissa MacIntyre, and CW4 Ritchie Schuler
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
Company Happening’s
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 3
The month of February was a month of work, work, work…..and celebration! Once again Charlie
Company had much to be thankful for, as well as celebrate, as we promoted yet another soldier
(WO1 Brian Thacker) to CW2, we formally presented 1SG Polozeck with his flight wings after
successfully meeting the Army requirements (in TRUE Charlie Company fashion), and welcomed a
new member of our company as SGT Jeffry Dixon and his wife celebrate the birth of their son
Alexander Cole Dixon. Even, in theater, the thought of selfless service and commitment persevere
and are welcomed in ways such service extensions. After serving for over 23 years, SSG Eddie
Basham extended on his Birthday (Feb 8th) for another year! Colonel Killingsworth, our out-going
Battalion Flight Surgeon & Medical Director, swore him in; having already served with SSG
Basham in OIF 2006. HOOAH!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
The Faces of Charlie Company
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 4
Here are just a few of the Charlie Company Soldiers caught in action. Some seem
to avoid the camera, and others…..well….as you can see, they are HAMS! Can you
find YOUR Alamo Dustoff face in the crowd?
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
The Faces of Charlie Company
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 5
And yet again...some of the faces of Alamo Dustoff and it‟s members in action.
From 1st up watching movies (CW2 Turner), to TACOPS (CW‟s 4 Buzzard and Neveu),
to the goofing around led by CW3 Gudino and CPT Evans, we got it covered!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
DUST DUST EVERYWHERE...
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 6
Once again, the country of Iraq has shown it’s dynamic weather facets. Just when you
think the weather “looks” good and clear, it turns. The winds pick up and the dust rolls in.
Not only does it stay for that timeframe but sometimes lingers for days. It layers everything
like snow and, in the aftermath, is followed by another day of sweeping, mopping, and
cleaning. Our lungs have gotten quite acquainted with the areas “offerings”.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
Mission Photos
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 7
We are fortunate that our mission takes us all around the theater of operations.
Here are some of the sights from above, and while on the ground, at different
areas of operation, local hospitals, and at JBB. The environment here continues to
baffle all of us, as we fly over areas completely baron, and then moments later,
find ourselves flying over areas of beautiful green pastures and Bright Blue water!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
Mission Photos Cont’d
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 8
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
A Note from Our MWR Staff...
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 9
It‟s been a short month for February, kicking off with the Superbowl! JBB MWR
hosted a 2 beer day while showing the Superbowl at the West Side MWR. The 1k
“Man Love” run lead the month and Sgt Soto took home the “Kick Butt” trophy and
his 1k tank top. We had lots of fun around the bonfire and working together on and
off the battlefield. Sgt Dodson represented C co. at the Valentine‟s Day 5k and ran a
great time. The highlight of the month of February was the planning and the kick off
of the 100 day race. Everyone is running, biking, lifting, and “ellipticalling” to the
finish. A few of us have also gotten into Kenpo, a martial art class that Chuck Norris
is teaching at a gym here. Just kidding, but Chuck Norris did send us an autographed
poster telling us about a possible visit to Iraq and wishing Charlie Company well as
we finish up here. We also had a great visit from the rock band “Quiet Drive” and we
appreciated their support. The next month will be just as action packed with multiple
runs and activities. Until next time…….. Withrow; out!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
A few pics from our TOP-NOTCH Maintenance Team...
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 10
MAINTENANCE
When it comes to maintenance, platoons tend to dissolve. The crew chiefs and maintenance pilots
of Charlie Company work as a team in our hangar to get the job done. We all rotate through the
schedule, when our flight rotation ends, we work on the maintenance team until it is our turn to fly
again. When we have an aircraft in phase, the production control team will choose a crew chief to
work with our contractors to get the aircraft through the inspection. Lately, due to people going on
leave, and various other reasons, the maintenance team has been a bit of a skeleton crew most of
the time. The pool of crew chiefs has been a little thin, and everyone takes their turn on the flight
schedule, including the maintenance officers. We get a lot of help from our civilian counterparts.
They handle the phases and most of the heavy maintenance. Somehow, we manage to pull it off
and maintain one of the best operational readiness rates in the battalion.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
MEDICS In MOTION...
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 11
Medic training, and shots of our medics in motion throughout their duty day. Pictures below are of
our medics, and crew chiefs during training, mission, and while in goof-off mode. Despite the busy
duty day, the medics find time to have fun and mess around. These pictures are from Kelly
Compound and during some training events. This is how the Alamo Dustoff Crew Members stay
MISSION READY! TRAINING, TRAINING!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
COMPANY SHOUT-OUT’s
Page 12
To Belinda and Reanna,
Here I am hard at work but happy and counting
my days until I see you both! I LOVE YOU BABE!
See you soon! Love Richard (DAD) XO
To all our Family and Friends, ♥
A BIG THANK YOU to all of you who have
supported us, sent us care packages, pictures and
letters. We can not even begin to tell you how
much it has helped us. We MISS YOU ALL and will
see you VERY SOON! Love Jennifer and Eddie
To Jenni,
Hey Baby, I just wanted you to know that I Love
You and I‟m thinking of you this Valentine‟s Day. I
Miss You and will see you soon! Love, Mike xo
CW2 Ernesto
Babe,
I want to thank you for being the love of my life, the
inspiration in all I do and the person I think of
continuously. Each day I thank God for blessing me with
such a beautiful and loving woman, the woman who
makes me whole. Happy 22nd Anniversary.
All My Love, Me♥
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCAS!
LOVE, DAD
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
HQ Platoon
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 13
Can you believe it! March is here and we are that much closer to our reunions with our families and friends. Though
we are all ready to return, make no mistake we all stay ready and willing to execute our MEDEVAC mission.
Currently, we are all in the process of completing our PT tests and qualifying with our weapons. We hope to
complete these tasks so that we don‟t have to worry about them when we get home. From the Operations section,
we have CPT Evans in Oklahoma. He is helping prepare our replacements by giving them the latest information in
order to make our Transfer of Authority go as smoothly as possible. We just completed a visit from the Army‟s
Department of Evaluation and Standards. Overall it was a very good visit as the evaluators were pleased with what
they saw and gave our company praises. In Operations, SSG Tenorio, SGT Castro and SPC Aleem work hard to keep
the information flow moving smoothly and without a hitch. CW2 Hildebrand keeps busy with maintenance
support providing logistical guidance to our Maintenance Officer and staff, he does this with the addition of a
good story or two." SGT Castro and SPC Aleem always keep the folks in operations smiling with their jokes and
quick one liners. SSG Tenorio continues to keep track of company taskings along with their suspense dates. CW3
Silva continues to manage the ever challenging schedule and does his very best to keep everyone standardized.
SPC Anderson is in Normandy helping their operations section, though he comes to visit periodically. SSG Bourff
just returned from a well deserved stint of R & R and will be giving SPC Benitez some much needed help in supply.
There is no doubt SPC Benitez is more than anxious to have SSG Bourff back. CW4 Torres stays busy with the
Safety program and the coffee shop „ALAMO JAVA‟ especially since CW2 Thacker is on leave, though many of our
fellow soldiers have really helped out with the Coffee Shop duties. To all of our families and special ones at home
we all want to send our love and give each of you a big Thank You! It is because of each of you that we are able to
stay focused and perform our mission here.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
1st FSMP
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 14
Not only is this month the shortest, but the days have gone by quickly as well. Little of first platoon has
been present within the company for the entire month. The month began with CW2 Silva‟s leave. This left
CPT Gobble as the Operations Officer. He did liven up our crew calls with his easy going, joking demeanor.
With CPT Gobble engaged in company business and later in the month going on leave, LT Merriam has
been filling in as acting platoon leader. SGT Bresee and CW2 Garmon have both been in Normandy. CW3
Caldwell “Mayor of CHUville” has been working at Battalion, helping out the Safety program. SGT Raposa,
SSG Briseno, CW5 Jones, CPT Gobble, and CW4 Neveu have each enjoyed some of this month with their
families while on R&R. SGT Soliz has been at aerial gunnery school and has provided much needed crew
chief experience and expertise in preparing to fly an air assault mission that Battalion is covering for the
remainder of the deployment . He is still flying with us, and his hard work is appreciated on both
missions. SFC Rendon has been acting First Sergeant while the 1SG has been in Normandy. With CW5
Jones on leave in Spain and our other Maintenance Test Pilots all on the flight schedule, SGT Strain has
had a very busy month running maintenance with rarely more than 2 off duty crew chiefs. His
professionalism and hard work have shown him to be an immense asset in MEDEVAC
maintenance. CW2 Arnold has become the COMSEC officer since CW2 Garmon is in Normandy. He has
been doing COMSEC, ALSE, and now back on the flight schedule. SSG Underhill has been helping out SFC
Rendon in platoon operations while the 1SG is in Normandy. SGT Rios has been busy with maintenance,
crew duties, and keeping up with his additional duties. He also did a great job passing his physical
fitness test this month. I, SGT Shook, have been running the personal internet and the ULLS-A system
with Mark on leave and CPT Tidaback at battalion. With most of our platoon, and much of our company
elsewhere we have all been pretty busy with few to no days off of the flight schedule. You can see why I
say that this month has soared by so quickly. We accept the challenge and continue proving ourselves
every day. With so much of first platoon with such late leave dates; expect great things from us these
next few months as we approach them refreshed and ready to finish up strong.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
2nd FSMP
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 15
February might be the shortest month by days but it‟s not short in the amount of work and happenings for 2 nd
Platoon. This month finds CW2 Bielss working feverishly to submit all of the company‟s awards to battalion, no easy
task! The wind and dust storm of 10 Feb. was particularly memorable. With 45-50 MPH wind gusts, all available
flight crews reported to the flight line to tie down the blades of the aircraft. The Severe Weather Team (SWaT) was
once again put into action to cover any missions that may have been called in during the storm.
Many great events happened during the month of February. The last “WOJ” in Charlie Company “finally” was
promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 2. Congrats CW2 Brian Thacker! We wished CPT Melissa Macintyre and CW4
Richie Schuler happy birthday for turning one year older. My boss (CPT Mac) still thinks that she‟s 21 but
“whatever!” 2nd Platoon had many of its soldier go on R & R leave this month. Those deserving soldiers were 1LT
Hardiman, CW4 Schuler, CW3 Gudino, CW2 Olier, SSG Guzman, SPC Williams, and SPC Roark. I could tell that good
times were had by all returning soldiers by the smiles on their faces and all of the sarcastic remarks about coming
back.
As we look ahead to the upcoming months there still is plenty of work to do. The mission is constant and still
encompasses a great deal of our time. The redeployment planning process is in motion. Over the next two months
we will be packing up and moving out of our home away home. I thought that I‟d never be so happy to see Fort Sill
again! We will be very busy once our replacement unit shows up sometime in April or May. We all will be very eager
to show the “new guys” the way we do business and orient them to their new compound.
In closing I‟d like to thank all of the soldiers of 2 nd Platoon for their hard work this month. Keep up the great work
and we will be home with ours family‟s soon.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 16
3rd FSMP
The road home is being paved with hard work, dedication, and a continued commitment to our
DUSTOFF mission. As the weather begins to warm our mission has become increasingly more
vital. The members of 3rd Platoon have been going above and beyond the call to provide those in
need the highest level of care possible. 3rd Platoon maintains visibility in many other areas
supporting both Battalion and FOB Normandy. Also, a very notable mention is the new addition to
SGT Dixon‟s family. C/2-149 DUSTOFF sends our congratulations and best wishes to the Dixon
family for the future. As always, the support received from home is an invaluable morale booster
and allows us all to reassure ourselves of why we are here. We look forward to seeing you all
again soon!
1LT Anthony J. Rocco
Even 1Lt Rocco feels the need to contribute to the unit coffee shop‟s
cleanliness. Leading by example seems to be one of his predominant traits.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
4th FSMP @ FOB NORMANDY
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 17
Greetings from FOB Normandy! 2009 started and January is already over! February was a short month,
so good news; we will be home in no time! The joke around here is that every day is Groundhog Day, so
when February 2nd rolled around, and it really was Groundhog Day, it wasn‟t really a joke that day.
4th platoon at FOB Normandy had several people go on leave this month; we thank the people who came
out here to fill-in for those that were gone. Thank You to Capt. Evans, Mr. Buzzard, Sgt Atkins, Sgt Rios,
SPC Bresee, and SPC Anderson. We hope your stay here at Normandy was a good one and we wish you
well back at JBB in Balad. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Garmon have also come to Normandy to fill-in, but on more
of a long term basis, and we are glad to have them here as well.
The McNeely‟s have a new daughter, Elsie Jaelyn. Elsie was born on February 3 rd, weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz.
Mrs. McNeely and Elsie are home and doing well. CW2 McNeely was able to home on leave for the birth.
Dustin, Chasity, and big sister Vivian are all very proud to have Elsie enriching their lives.
As well as scheduled leave, a few of our people had to go home on emergency leave to take care of ill
family members, death in the family, or personal issues. Lt. Jones, Sgt Esquivel, SFC Greenwell, and
Major Owens, from your Normandy family, our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your families.
This month has been a time for “unusual attitudes” in the cockpit. You may think we are talking about
some of the crazy pilots we have here, but let us explain. Mr. Taylor, the instrument evaluator, put all the
pilots through some spatial disorientation exercises. Flying in the desert is difficult with the lack of
terrain features and lack of color contrast, which unfortunately makes it easy to become disoriented in
the cockpit while flying a mission. Mr. Taylor simulated these conditions, at 2500 feet, luckily, and put
the pilots through an exercise where they would recover from an “unusual attitude” (not straight and
level) and use the instruments to get us back on track, flying straight and level. Doing these practical
exercises is a great way to show how important it is to trust the flight instruments to recover in those
situations.
We conducted simulated situations using our own crews as patients and exercised all personnel from
flight operations, to crew chiefs, to medics, and the pilots. We identified areas we did well, and which
areas we need to improve on. We can never be too prepared for emergency situations to occur.
Fortunately for the ground troops, we haven‟t been that busy and have had to create our own training and
ways to keep ourselves occupied lately. Even though we are getting closer to going home, our focus still
needs to be here on our mission. Because, of course, our ultimate mission is to get home safely to our
family and friends!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
4th FSMP (FOB NORMANDY)
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 18
Some pics of our Soldiers out at FOB Normandy during their daily activities, during training mode,
as well as “Rockin Out” during a session of Rock Band. This are just some of the ways 4th Platoon
passes the time in between missions.
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
4th FSMP (FOB NORMANDY)
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 19
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
A Special THANK YOU before we close...
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 19
A special THANK YOU goes out to CPT James Rosner for all the hard work and
dedication that was put in to the development and building of the new MEDEVAC
Compound here on JBB. Our Commander, and the Soldiers of Charlie Company 2149th GSAB want to personally THANK YOU for assisting with the transition to the
new compound, as well as developing an area for the following MEDEVAC units to
fall in on with complete success.
The following in a quote made by CPT Rosner to the CO upon completion of his work
here on JBB and we want to leave you with that. It goes as follows:
"Sir,
Thanks for your gift and the opportunity to support your mission. You all save lives
and that's AWESOME. "
JAMES W. ROSNER, Capt, USAF
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB
I am an American Soldier..."Here I am! Send me." Isaiah 6:1, 8
Vol. 1 Ed. 6
Page 19
Until we meet again...a note from The Commander...
February was again filled with lots of packages from home to help us celebrate as best we could
away from our Valentines. We received many cards with great Valentines wishes, and the guys certainly had fun displaying the colorful decorations outside of their CHUs (some may have gone a little
over board...not mentioning any (Mr. Bielss and Mr.
Meischen) names, but....).
The gals and guys have really stepped up the vigilance in a great effort to fight complacency. We
have certainly become proficient and confident in our mission, but there is no room for "getting
comfortable" when you are flying America's wounded sons and daughters off the battlefield.
We have promoted more well deserved Soldiers to higher rank, but with higher rank comes greater
responsibility. These newly promoted Soldiers have truly stepped up to fill big "Sergeant and Warrant Officer shoes."
I am very proud of them all.
Please know that we truly appreciate all the prayers for our Soldiers that have suffered hardships
back home and all the moral support as we speed in to the last phase of our mission.
Until next month, Alamo Dustoff 06, out!
MAJ Carlos Tamez
Commanding
"For The Ride of Your Life"
C 2-149 Newsletter OIC
CW2 Steven Varella
[email protected]
C 2-149 Newsletter NCOIC
SGT Jennifer Krausch
[email protected]
Contents of The 9 Line are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government or the Department of the Army.