Good evening,
I am First Sergeant Bickerstaff and I want to express my thanks and gratitude to all of you faithful followers and proud supporters of the PA Army National Guard. We are in the process of undertaking a very large endeavor as you all well know. I wanted to maximize this experience for all to share in our daily training both in the positive and negative light as seen through the eyes of the soldiers in Bravo Company.
I have the soldiers and their families best interest at heart and we try to provide them every opportunity to keep their loved ones and friends informed and up to date. With that being said I need to devote 110% of my attention to their training, supplies, meals, mental and emotional stability and the most important their safety.
When this blog was started I put into place what I thought was a fail safe system of checks and balances to ensure sensitive information or information of a need to know basis would not be released. However with the multitude of information we deal with on many different levels on a daily basis I realized that it is not possible.
I sincerely apologize and regret to announce this blog site will no longer be in operation. The company e-mail address is and will remain active. If you have questions or concerns you can feel free to contact us and we will address them as promptly as operational tempo permits.
Sincerely,
James P. Bickerstaff
1SG, USA
B1-112
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
20 October
Good afternoon from Mississippi. The weather is nice and the troops are mostly done with training for the day. This morning the men had first formation at 0530 to go to the reflexive fire range. At the range the practiced marksmanship drill to make them instinct. Tasks such as turn and shoot, walk and shoot, and proper engagement techniques. The nice thing about the range today was it got over early. The men were all back from the range around 1445. They had the rest of the day to themselves.
Today's soldier of the day is 1Lt. Frank Egan. Frank comes from Canton, Ohio and is an avid Browns fan. Frank works at Presque Isle Downs Casino. Frank is our current XO, or executive officer. Frank serves as the principal resource manager for Bravo company, is responsible for the operational readiness of all company vehicles, and is also responsible for the security, maintenance, and accountability of all company weapons. Frank is being reassigned to Recon platoon to another platoon. Here is what Frank has to say; Hi everyone. First I would like to say that it has been a great two years I have spent with B-Co. It has been a great home, and has by far some of the best soldiers that this BN has to offer. Also, I would like to thank everyone taking the time to read this blog and support the troops at this time. The little time it takes for you to comment on this blog brightens their spirits exponentially. Finally, I just want to say hi to my son Kaden, and all my friends and family out there, I miss you very much and hopefully I will see you over Christmas. Don't forget my birthday is March 28, and I love beef jerky.
Today's soldier of the day is 1Lt. Frank Egan. Frank comes from Canton, Ohio and is an avid Browns fan. Frank works at Presque Isle Downs Casino. Frank is our current XO, or executive officer. Frank serves as the principal resource manager for Bravo company, is responsible for the operational readiness of all company vehicles, and is also responsible for the security, maintenance, and accountability of all company weapons. Frank is being reassigned to Recon platoon to another platoon. Here is what Frank has to say; Hi everyone. First I would like to say that it has been a great two years I have spent with B-Co. It has been a great home, and has by far some of the best soldiers that this BN has to offer. Also, I would like to thank everyone taking the time to read this blog and support the troops at this time. The little time it takes for you to comment on this blog brightens their spirits exponentially. Finally, I just want to say hi to my son Kaden, and all my friends and family out there, I miss you very much and hopefully I will see you over Christmas. Don't forget my birthday is March 28, and I love beef jerky.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
19 October
It was an early morning for 80 members of Bravo Company. We sent everyone whose last name falls between A-Noey to language training. The soldiers were given a familiarization course in the Arabic language. It was given be civilian instructors who were very fluent in the Arabic language. They were taught some helpful phrases and command words and given cd's to take with them to continue their learning if they choose to.
It is starting to cool of here in Mississippi and the mornings are cool. The men are getting to use there new cold weather gear issued at RFI back towards the beginning of camp. The weather is still extremely nice during the day though. The temperature peaks in the 70's everyday which is perfect weather for training.
Directly following language training the men went to a night fire range. The men zeroed their PEQ-15's and then fired a full qualification in the dark using night vision goggles. Due to the late time the men got back from the range there will be no soldier of the day. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.
It is starting to cool of here in Mississippi and the mornings are cool. The men are getting to use there new cold weather gear issued at RFI back towards the beginning of camp. The weather is still extremely nice during the day though. The temperature peaks in the 70's everyday which is perfect weather for training.
Directly following language training the men went to a night fire range. The men zeroed their PEQ-15's and then fired a full qualification in the dark using night vision goggles. Due to the late time the men got back from the range there will be no soldier of the day. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
18 October 2008
The past two days have consisted of more Urban Ops training. It was full company training. The crews, dismounts, and command elements ran missions and each section completed their individual tasks to complete the overall mission successfully. Tomorrow there is Arabic language training in the morning for a bunch of the men, and in the evening there is another night vision shoot.
Today's Soldier of the day is Spc Joshua Boring. Josh is Stryker Driver from 3rd Platoon. Josh is from Erie and is attending Edinboro University working on a psychology degree. Lets hear what Josh has to say;The training here at Camp Shelby has been a nice transition for getting into active duty army mode. It has been trying at times but it's not all bad we find time to have fun and enjoy ourselves.
Today's Soldier of the day is Spc Joshua Boring. Josh is Stryker Driver from 3rd Platoon. Josh is from Erie and is attending Edinboro University working on a psychology degree. Lets hear what Josh has to say;The training here at Camp Shelby has been a nice transition for getting into active duty army mode. It has been trying at times but it's not all bad we find time to have fun and enjoy ourselves.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
16 October 2008
Good afternoon. We have had two days of squad level training for a majority of the troops. A few troops went to a BDAR Kit class. A BDAR Kit is a Battle Damage Assesment and Repair Kit. It is used for a variety of things. It can be used for; patching tires, patching metal, and reharnessing wiring. The Stryker crews spent yesterday and today in the motor pool making modifications on their Strykers. Below you have pictures of the squad level training and some crews working in the motorpool.
The soldier of the day feature will resume tomorrow, 17 October
Good afternoon. We have had two days of squad level training for a majority of the troops. A few troops went to a BDAR Kit class. A BDAR Kit is a Battle Damage Assesment and Repair Kit. It is used for a variety of things. It can be used for; patching tires, patching metal, and reharnessing wiring. The Stryker crews spent yesterday and today in the motor pool making modifications on their Strykers. Below you have pictures of the squad level training and some crews working in the motorpool.
The soldier of the day feature will resume tomorrow, 17 October
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
14 October 2008
Good morning from Bravo Company. Due to an administrative issue the men got to come back early from the field. The soldiers got up this morning and went to chow. The vehicle crews then went down to the motor pool to PMCS their Strykers.
Today's training is being driven by the individual platoons. Third platoon is developing a packing list for JRTC so the soldiers know what they need to take when they go into the field. First platoon had an inspection this morning in their full kit to make sure nobody had lost any gear and that the platoon is good to go for future training. Second platoon is getting geared up to run some battle drills. All of the sergeants in Bravo company are meeting with first sergeant this morning to go over their 4100's. A 4100 is a breakdown for each soldier showing their Army achievements and where they stand in the promotion line.
The commander arranged for buses to go into town today for guys to pick up anything they wanted from Wal-Mart and other such places.
Today's training is being driven by the individual platoons. Third platoon is developing a packing list for JRTC so the soldiers know what they need to take when they go into the field. First platoon had an inspection this morning in their full kit to make sure nobody had lost any gear and that the platoon is good to go for future training. Second platoon is getting geared up to run some battle drills. All of the sergeants in Bravo company are meeting with first sergeant this morning to go over their 4100's. A 4100 is a breakdown for each soldier showing their Army achievements and where they stand in the promotion line.
The commander arranged for buses to go into town today for guys to pick up anything they wanted from Wal-Mart and other such places.
Here are some pictures of what has been going on recently. In the first picture we see First Sergeant Bickerstaff overseeing part of Stryker gunnery. The second picture is Staff Sergeant Catlin inspecting some MK-19 rounds before firing off of the Stryker. The third picture is of the Strykers staged and ready to shoot their qualification on table IV gunnery.
Today's soldier of the day is SPC Joesph St. Clair. Joe is from Latrobe, PA and is married to Samantha. He has a daughter named Evie Grace. He plans on attending the State Police Academy after this deployment. This is what Joe has to say; Hi I would like t take this time to say thanks for reading this blog…I am having a great time but miss my family. My favorite training has to be room clearing, it always gets my blood pumping. In my spare time I enjoy joking and playing games with my battle buddies. Thanks for your prayers.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
12 October 2008
Today was pretty much a free day for the soldiers of Bravo Company. The troops got a chance to go into town and have a good time. The bus ran to the movies, Wal-Mart, Buffalo Wild Wings, and a variety of other places around Hattiesburg.
We sent a few soldiers to a crew serve range today to qualify on machine guns. All of our M240 and M249 gunners went to a PMT class and qualification range today.
The entire company is heading out for a few days in the field. Tomorrow morning the company will go to COP training. COP is combat outpost training. I will update you when we return from the field in a few days.
We sent a few soldiers to a crew serve range today to qualify on machine guns. All of our M240 and M249 gunners went to a PMT class and qualification range today.
The entire company is heading out for a few days in the field. Tomorrow morning the company will go to COP training. COP is combat outpost training. I will update you when we return from the field in a few days.
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