OIF

21 October 2008.....Last Blog

2008-10-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

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

20 October

2008-10-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

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.

19 October

2008-10-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

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.

18 October 2008

2008-10-18T16:14:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-10-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

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

14 October 2008

2008-10-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

12 October 2008

2008-10-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Saturday 11 October

2008-10-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

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

9 October 2008

2008-10-09T04:41:00.001-07:00

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 7 October

2008-10-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

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

3 October

2008-10-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

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 1 October 2008

2008-10-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 30 September

Hello again from Camp Shelby. Operations are beginning to flow very smoothly here. The mail is coming and going daily and the soldiers receiving both mail and email are very excited to do so. For those who need the addresses here they are again;

B.Co112thINF@gmail.com

SGT John Doe

B. Co 1/112th INF SBCT

Bn CQ Bldg 2903

Camp Shelby, MS 39407-1000

The platoons have taken up an area beautification process. First platoon has set up a nice display of rocks surrounding their barracks. Third platoon has also done some rock formations. Third platoons spelled 1/112 and B-3 in the rocks surround their barracks. HQ Plt has set out mums and decorative stones ti make their area feel like home. The platoons are also doing PT daily. Some of the platoons are doing PT as a squad while some are doing it as a whole platoon.

There has been more SGST and SCE training conducted today. SGST is Stryker Gunnery Skills Training and SCE is Stryker Crew Evaluator. The crews leave for Stryker Gunnery on the night of October 4th and will be in the field till October 7th. Tonight at 5:45, 6:45 PA time the men of Bravo Company are going to a brief at the post theater.

Today's soldier of the day is PV2 Dustin Jones. Dustin lives in Fleetville, PA and is 22 years old. Dustin formerly worked at Dick's Sporting Goods in Dixon City. Dustin enjoys playing sports in his free time and is our currently serving as the armorer for Bravo Company. This makes him responsible for all of Bravo Company's weapon systems. Here is what he has to say;

I would just like to thank my friends and family for giving me support in this drastic change in my life. I would like to say hi to my mom and dad and i love them and miss them and to my best friends Buddy and Bri ill be home on x-mas and we will kick it old school style and we will live the dream.

2008-09-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hello again from Camp Shelby, MS. It is another warm and beautiful southern day. Today is a pretty easy day for the men of B. Co. There was some light training this morning. There have been bus runs all day to Wal-Mart so the troops could get the supplies they needed to be comfortable. Our sniper section and our mortar section both pulled their weapons today and performed maintenance and drills to hone their skills. The squad leaders had a Stryker Crew Evaluator class, and the Stryker Crews went to a refresher in fire commands.

The soldier of the day is PFC Christopher Araujo. He lives in Conneaut Lake, PA. Chris has three little girls and was planning on attending college after deployment. Chris received an Army Achievement Medal while at Annual Training this summer for his outstanding commitment to duty and skills on the M240 machine gun. Here is what he has to say;

Hello this pfc.Araujo I'm a m240 gunner and i am proud be a soldier in US army. i just want to say i love you to my baby girls. i love you all and take care see you at Christmas.

2008-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon from Mississippi. It was an early start for Bravo Company this morning. The company was up at 0345 to make breakfast chow. Then the men were bussed to SRP, Soldier Readiness Processing.

SRP is a medical, dental, and administraitive check to make sure the troops are good for deployment. The medical part includes a blood test, immunizations, blood pressure check, and doctor's screening. The troops received immunizations for a variety of viruses from anthrax to hepatitis to name a few of them. The men who are on suscription medications received a four month supply of medicine.

The dental portion included x-rays and any dental work that needed done before deployment. Some of the men have to go back to have wisdom teeth removed, while others just need fillings.

During the administrative portion the men were able to update DEERS, which is the system the Army uses to track soldiers families. It is required for family members to be enrolled to ensure things from insurance benefits to dependent ID cards. Also the men who needed to change benefit information, HOR (Home of Record), or anything else in the personal file were able to do that today with personnel.

The soldier of the day is SSG Chris Catlin. SSG Catlin teaches at Meadville High School and is a recent graduate of CUP. He is from the Meadville area originally. This is what he has to say:

Hello from Camp Shelby! My name is SSG Catlin, and I am the 3rd squad leader for 2nd platoon. I would like to thank all of you for checking on our blog, and the support that you have shown all of our soldiers thus far. Today is a very beautiful day in the 80's. The past few days have been busy with administrative tasks and time for myself and the other soldiers to get settled in. All of our gear has arrived and soon the days of training will begin to grow increasingly longer and harder. I am personally looking forward to training with my platoon and squad on the live fire ranges that have been arranged for us, as well as gaining more experience with the mighty-mighty stryker armored combat vehicle! I hope everyone is having an ok time adjusting to life back at home without us. Stay well, and God Bless.

-SSG Catlin

PS
GO STEELERS! Beat the Ravens!

2008-09-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

27 Sept 2008 #2

We now have a Bravo Company email address. It will be checked daily. Most of the soldiers have personal email and a means to check it. However, if you would like to email someone in Bravo Company, provide feedback about the blog, or for any other reason please send to this address. If you would like something posted we will do our best to post it as long as it doesn't violate OPSEC regulations.

B.Co112thINF@gmail.com

If you are emailing a soldier please include the soldier's name in the subject line of the email.

2008-09-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday 27 September 2008

There is not much going on today in Mississippi, it should be a relaxing day for the men of Bravo Company. At 1030 this morning we are going to RFI, which stands for Rapid Fielding Initative. Here the troops will get some new gear and any gear that they do not have. We sent SGT Packard and CPL Webb to TSIRT this morning. TSIRT is Theater Specific Individual Required Training.

Today's soldier of the day is PFC Brian Mohney. He is a rifleman from 1st platoon. He is from Youngsville, PA and is 19 years old. Here is what he has to say:

Hello I am in Bco 1/112 Infantry. I am in first platoon and my platoon Sergeant is SFC Whisner, my platoon Leader in LT O'Brien, My squad leader is SGT Fuller, and my team leader is SGT Donaghue. So far we have had a positive introduction to our predeployment at Camp Shelby. We have moved in to our living quarters, and have had access to every thing we need we have enough time to keep in contact with our families and have some personal time to socialize to each other so far moral is relatively high, and the areas such as the latrine are clean. Today we are goin to get all of the gear that we need to achieve a successful deployment.

Thanks for following.

2008-09-26T05:39:00.001-07:00

Hello, and thank you for reading the Bravo Company 112th INF web blog. For those of you who don't know us we are a National Guard Infantry Company on active duty orders for Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are currently at train-up, located at Camp Shelby, MS. We will attempt to update this blog daily and each day try to feature a different soldier and give them a space to tell you how they are doing.

As far as whats going on down here. There has been a good amount of downtime for the soldiers to get moved in and accomadated to their new homes in Mississippi. Yesterday, some of the senior NCO's attended a SCE class. SCE stand for Stryker Crew Evaluator. Basically, the soldiers attending were trained on how to evaluate the Stryker Crews. This morning we sent some troops to Al Khut, a mock city, to complete some Urban Ops training. This afternoon the Stryker crews will be signing for their vehicles, and doing an inventory of them to make sure all of their gear is still in them.

For those of you looking to send packages here is the address:
PFC John Doe
B. Co 1/112th INF
BN CQ BLDG #2903
CAMP SHELBY, MS 39407-1000

The featured soldier today will be Sgt. Dan Miller. Sgt Miller, is the vehicle commander for Cpt. Junkin, and the assistant administrative NCO.