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.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday 11 October
Hello from Camp Shelby.
Most of the soldiers are shooting the M4 qualification today and will be at training for most of the day. Soldiers that carry a M9 Beretta will be going to qualify with that weapon today. A select few soldiers are receiving a liberty tonight. They will be going to watch the University of Southern Mississippi take on Boise State in college football action.
Yesterday, the troops went to Stryker TTP. Stryker TTP consisted of several different training lanes for the Strykers and squads that will occupy them. They had training on the following areas; conducting a raid, react to contact, vehicle recovery, and flash TCP (Traffic Control Points). The men were trained by soldiers who just finished serving a tour in Iraq with Stryker vehicles. The men felt the training to be outstanding.
Today's soldier of the day is SPC Matthew Bevivino. Matt is from Erie, PA and is working his way through school. Here is what Matt has to say; I have greatly enjoyed my time spent in Mississippi so far & I am looking forward to serving my country in Iraq
Most of the soldiers are shooting the M4 qualification today and will be at training for most of the day. Soldiers that carry a M9 Beretta will be going to qualify with that weapon today. A select few soldiers are receiving a liberty tonight. They will be going to watch the University of Southern Mississippi take on Boise State in college football action.
Yesterday, the troops went to Stryker TTP. Stryker TTP consisted of several different training lanes for the Strykers and squads that will occupy them. They had training on the following areas; conducting a raid, react to contact, vehicle recovery, and flash TCP (Traffic Control Points). The men were trained by soldiers who just finished serving a tour in Iraq with Stryker vehicles. The men felt the training to be outstanding.
Today's soldier of the day is SPC Matthew Bevivino. Matt is from Erie, PA and is working his way through school. Here is what Matt has to say; I have greatly enjoyed my time spent in Mississippi so far & I am looking forward to serving my country in Iraq
Thursday, October 9, 2008
9 October 2008
Hello again from Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Hope all is going well for you guys back at home. Today we are sending 20 more soldiers to IWQ, Individual Weapons Qualification, to shoot their M4 rifles. Other than that there is not much going on here today. The Stryker crews will be at the motor pool this morning for commo checks, vehicle maintenance, and FBCB2 checks.
Today's soldier of the day is SPC Richard Wilson. SPC Wilson is the XO's Radio Telephone Operator and is an administrative assistant to SSG Johnson. Lets here what he has to say;
I would like to say hello to my wife, Natalie, and I hope you are having a great day at work! So far the training down here seems to be moving along smoothly, with plenty of downtime for the soldiers. As for me, I spend most of my day working on the computer updating our electronic records, and driving soldiers to the Troop Medical Clinic for some appointments. The days are busy, so time is moving along at a fairly fast pace. Thanks to the loyal readers for stopping in, and have a good day!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tuesday 7 October
All is well in Mississippi. The Stryker crews came back from the field last night after finishing up their night qualification. As a whole the company shot very well. Spc Crum, Sgt Sammons, Sgt Roberts, and Spc Johanson all shot perfect engagement at gunnery. The crews were out in the field for a total of three days and two nights. The crews were up at 0430 for a hot breakfast chow and morning safety briefing and shot well into the night. It was an enjoyable experience for the crews, many of them having never fired the weapons systems on the Stryker before.
The soldiers not firing on a Stryker or working on details to keep the range up and running worked on infantry tasks. They performed Urban Operations training by setting up glass houses with engineer tape. Weapons PMT, which is Primary Marksmanship Training.
Tomorrow the soldiers that did not shoot a weapons qualification at annual training this summer will be going to a M4 range to shoot and qualify. The troops at the range will do a normal qualification table. They will also be doing a CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear) shoot, where the have to shoot will wearing their protective masks. The final task is to shoot a night qualification. During the night qualification the troops will shoot while wearing NVGs, Night Vision Goggles, and infrared lasers.
Today's soldier of the day is actually a vehicle crew from 3rd platoon. It consists of driver Spc Timothy Tustin and Vehicle Commander Sgt Matthew Sammons. The two combined to shoot a perfect 7 out of 7 at Stryker gunnery. Tim is from Sheakleyville and works in the construction field. Matt is from Spartansburg and works at the regiment, which is a unit at Fort Indiantown Gap. Lets hear what Matt and Tim have to say; I'd just like to say hello to everyone back home. Everything is going great here and we can't wait to come see everyone for Christmas! - Matt
I just wanna say hello to my wife and my new baby boy, I love you and i miss you! Can't wait to both of you at Christmas! - Timothy
Friday, October 3, 2008
3 October
There isn't much to report today. Day of RWSI training continued. Tomorrow the Stryker crew leave for the field and will not be back till the 7th. As vehicle commander and blog moderator there will not be another entry till after the 7th. There is no soldier of the day today due to time constraints. However we would like to show you some pictures of training that has occurred so far:
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday 1 October 2008
It was an early day for most of Bravo Company. We had to in formation at 0455 this morning to catch a bus. All the soldiers that went to SRP a few days ago had to have their TB tests screened this morning. It is currently 0800. This morning at 0830 there are 36 soldiers going to M1151 driver training. The M1151 is an uparmored Humvee. They will be there most of the day and into the evening. They are required to do a night driving portion while wearing their NVGs (Night Vision Goggles).
The Stryker crews have their SGST testing today. From 0900-1100 they have classroom style instruction on the weapon systems. Then they will break for lunch. After lunch they will be tested as crews on the tasks started in the morning.
For those family members of B. Co soldiers that follow this the next FRG meeting will be 19 October at 1:00pm at the Cambridge Springs Armory. Any questions or concerns should be directed to Jennifer Bickerstaff. Email inquires through the Bravo Company email address. B.Co112thINF@gmail.com
Thursday 2 October 2008
For those faithful readers, sorrow for missing yesterday's post. It turned out to be a long and busy day for the Admin side of the house. As for today the Stryker crews had the first of three days instruction on the RWSI, which is the Remote Weapon System Improved. This new system includes a Storm Laser Range finder, an improved control grip, and a improved ammo can.
The troops that did not attend RWSI instruction attended Battle Drill Training. This training was company led and put on by 2nd platoon. It covered the following tasks; searching detainees, movement techniques as individuals, buddy teams, fire teams, and squads, and room clearing procedures.
Today's soldier of the day is SPC Nicholas Romeo. Nick is from Erie, PA and he is a 240 Gunner from 2nd Plt. Nick enjoys long walks on the beach and is a Libra. Here is what Nick has to say;
HI MOM! My birthday is the 16th of this month, feel free to send me oodles of goodies!
The Stryker crews have their SGST testing today. From 0900-1100 they have classroom style instruction on the weapon systems. Then they will break for lunch. After lunch they will be tested as crews on the tasks started in the morning.
For those family members of B. Co soldiers that follow this the next FRG meeting will be 19 October at 1:00pm at the Cambridge Springs Armory. Any questions or concerns should be directed to Jennifer Bickerstaff. Email inquires through the Bravo Company email address. B.Co112thINF@gmail.com
Thursday 2 October 2008
For those faithful readers, sorrow for missing yesterday's post. It turned out to be a long and busy day for the Admin side of the house. As for today the Stryker crews had the first of three days instruction on the RWSI, which is the Remote Weapon System Improved. This new system includes a Storm Laser Range finder, an improved control grip, and a improved ammo can.
The troops that did not attend RWSI instruction attended Battle Drill Training. This training was company led and put on by 2nd platoon. It covered the following tasks; searching detainees, movement techniques as individuals, buddy teams, fire teams, and squads, and room clearing procedures.
Today's soldier of the day is SPC Nicholas Romeo. Nick is from Erie, PA and he is a 240 Gunner from 2nd Plt. Nick enjoys long walks on the beach and is a Libra. Here is what Nick has to say;
HI MOM! My birthday is the 16th of this month, feel free to send me oodles of goodies!
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