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NEWS
8APRIL05
We are
posting this information from Afghanistan in an attempt to provide our
loved ones any accurate releasable information that is available. We are
also only releasing the following statement to ensure the protection of
the families who may be involved. We appreciate all the thoughts and
prayers that we know are out there. Our thoughts and prayers are also
with all of you!
Fury
OFFICIAL MESSAGE
to FRG:
3 x Members of TF Fury were involved in the helicopter crash on the 6th
of April. They are currently listed as “destination or whereabouts
unknown”. All Primary Next of Kin have been notified. We will not
release the names of those involved until an official statement is made
public by the Department of the Army. Please keep our comrades and their
families in your thoughts and prayers.
We have limited all correspondence to official communications at this
time.
10APRIL05
The commander has
restored access to the web and phones.
16APRIL05
Memorial Video is
posted on the main page
Memorial Photos have
been uploaded to
http://public.fotki.com/fury1508/
30APRIL05
April 14, 2005
- The Red Devil's Family Readiness Group web site is now up and active.
Please visit the following link to register and participate in this
online community:
http://www.reddevils.armyfrg.org
09AUG05
As a reminder to our
website fans and supports this page is an independently owned and
operated webpage that only posts information in the public domain.
Thanks for all the folks who support us!
Deployed Soldier whittles away time with soap bars
By Spc. Laura E. Griffin
July 14, 2005
FOB ORGUN-E, Afghanistan, (Army News
Service, July 14, 2005) – Using a leatherman and a mechanical
pencil, Spc. Cesar Garcia can create anything from humvees and
tool sets to gargoyles and various sea creatures and everything
in between.
Garcia, a petroleum specialist with 1st Battalion, 508th
Parachute Infantry Regiment is stationed at Forward Operating
Base Orgun-E in Afghanistan. He began carving soap during his
first deployment to Afghanistan in July, 2002.
“On my first deployment, I only had time to carve about 20 bars
of soap,” Garcia said. “In Iraq, I carved about 120 bars and now
I’m on number 30 for this deployment.”
He recently made a soap carving of Donald Duck with the name
“Serenity” under it for Chief Warrant Officer Al G. Hoffman, a
battalion maintenance officer for Task Force Fury.
“That carving is for my daughter, Serenity,” Hoffman said. “I’ll
give it to her when I go home on leave.” Hoffman said that what
Garcia does is very artistic.
“He really touches people with his carvings,” he added
Garcia said he gets much of his soap for carvings from the
American Red Cross, which donates soap to Soldiers.
“I take those bars and carve them into things and give them away
as gifts,” Garcia said. “And Soldiers send them home to their
families.”
Garcia gets many requests for his carvings and he currently has
three in the queue, but the time he spends on each one varies
depending on the subject matter.
“A tree frog can take me up to eight hours to finish, but a
human figure can take almost 18 hours,” he said. “Humvees are
easy, they take only an hour.” |
New road to cut path to
prosperity for Orgun-E
by Spc. Laura E. Griffin Task Force Devil Public
Affairs
 ORGUN-E,
Afghanistan – A new road is under construction which will link the
cities of Orgun-E and Sharana, where it can there link up to the ring
road system – the major trade roads in Afghanistan that form a loop by
connecting major cities.
Engineers from Company B, 864th Engineer Combat
Battalion (Heavy) and 391st Higher Headquarters Company Engineers
started the project July 5 and are expected to finish the 64-kilometer
road some time around December 15.
The current road linking the two cities more
resembles a series of trails, which makes travel difficult and slow for
the “jingle trucks” that carry supplies and goods in the area.
Capt. Burlin L. Emery, Bravo Company commander,
drove the route in early June to do an initial survey for the road’s
path.
“It reminded me of Baha racing,” said Emery. “It was
a wide-open valley with cars going everywhere. The one place that it did
get down to one path was horrible. We busted a tire going through the
river and had to turn around and backtrack several times just to find a
passable route.”
Cutting through the rocky terrain to make the road
is not easy either. The heavy earthmoving equipment is in constant need
of repair and maintenance.
Sgt. 1st Class Susan K. Peniston, a motor sergeant
in Bravo Company, is in charge of ensuring those repairs get done.
“The repairs and maintenance are kind of hard to
keep up with,” said Peniston. “The rocks cut the tires and mud gets in
everything. (Tuesday) we went through two tires and (Wednesday) we went
through another two. Tires are our main problem here. We have 50 tires
on stock for each piece of equipment, and that won’t even last us
through this whole project.”
Staff Sgt. Richard D. Davenport, a construction
equipment mechanic with Bravo Company, says that dust kicked up by the
work also wreaks havoc on the equipment.
“We also have a lot of fuel problems with all the
dust and sand that gets into the fuel system,” he said.
1st Sgt. Eugene Russell, Bravo Company’s First
Sergeant, says that these sorts of problems are all just part of the
job.
“We’ll go through a lot of grader tires and blades,
but that’s anticipated,” he said. “As engineers, we come here to improve
the quality of life for the soldiers and commerce for the Afghans. If it
will help the local commerce and build allies, it will be good for us
and for the nation as a whole.”
Lt. Col. Alberto C. Rosende, Task Force Wildcat
Commander, says that so far, progress on the project has been swift,
despite the problems.
“The 64 kilometers of road are broken up into
smaller chunks of about seven kilometers each for security reasons,” he
said. “Five of the first seven kilometers are already almost done, and
it’s only been two days.”
“Orgun-E is a major hub in this area and is a on a
main trade route from Pakistan,” continued Rosende. “We want to ensure
that we can connect Orgun-E to Sharana so that these goods can get to
the ring road. Cities in Afghanistan didn’t grow because of the rivers;
they grew up because they were on the ring road or connected to it.”
Rosende also hopes that the construction process
itself will help to get some money flowing into the area by hiring local
residents to do some of the work and by buying necessary construction
supplies from them.
“For now the road will just be an improved gravel
road because asphalt is not readily available here, which makes it cost
prohibitive for us,” said Rosende. “USAID is planning to pave it some
time in the future; we are just doing the initial work.”
The estimated cost of the project is between one and
two million dollars, but it could be lower depending on availability of
natural resources from “borrow pits”- deposits of gravel and sand
usually found in riverbeds that are free for use in the construction.
For Pvt. 1st Class Jean-Paul M. Pelletier, a heavy
equipment operator with Bravo Company, this project offers an
opportunity to perfect his skills as a grader operator.
“So far I’ve worked on over 900 meters of the road,”
he said. “It’s a learning experience for me because this is something we
don’t do back in the rear.”
DefendAmerica News
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Medal of Honor recipient Gary Littrell,
right, tells soldiers from Delta
Battery, 319th Airborne Field Artillery
Regiment, 173rd, about the old 173rd
patch he wore when he was an enlisted
soldier. Delta Battery soldiers
presented Littrell and the three other
recipients with the rounds from the
Howitzer that they shot as a token of
their appreciation for visiting the
remote base. U.S. Army photo by Sgt.
Tara Teel |
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Medal of Honor Recipients
Visit Troops in Afghanistan |
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Former soldiers of war,
today’s soldiers swap stories. |
By
U.S. Army Sgt. Tara Teel
Combined Joint Task Force 76 |
 FORWARD
OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanistan, April 7, 2005
— Soldiers pulled up chairs and piled almost on
top of each other around tables in the small dining
facility to hear the various, animated war stories the
visitors had to tell.Four Medal of Honor recipients
from different services visited troops here and at
another Coalition forces base in the Paktika province
April 5 and 6.
Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Leo Thorsness, retired
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Littrell, retired U.S.
Army Col. Jack Jacobs and retired U.S. Navy SEAL Lt.
Thomas Norris, all fought in the Vietnam War where they
received the highest award for valor given in the armed
services - the Medal of Honor.
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"This country’s in good shape and we have sharp,
brave, intelligent troops who are trained to do
military things here, building a country and a
country’s government," retired Air Force Lt.
Col. Leo Thorsness. |
“The best part about the visit was seeing the
expressions on the soldiers’ faces when we visited and
knowing that they were really glad that someone cared
enough to come see them,” said Littrell.
“It is an honor to have these men here with us,” said
1st Sgt. Mario Cocktrell, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion
508th Infantry (Airborne). “It is very educating for the
younger soldiers here to be in the presence of such
accomplished gentlemen. Most VIPs wouldn’t visit a place
like Orgun-E because it is so remote.”
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| 1st
Battalion, 508th Infantry (Airborne) Command
Sgt. Maj. Jeffery Hof and the other leaders
introduce the Medal of Honor recipients to the
animals of Orgun-E during their visit to the
forward operating base. The leaders briefed the
recipients on the area and what their troops do
before heading to the dining facility for an
informal talk with the soldiers. U.S. Army photo
by Sgt. Tara Teel |
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| The visitors met with the leaders
of Forward Operating Base Orgun-E for a briefing on the
area, a summary of what they do, and what they hope to
accomplish during their year-long deployment to
Afghanistan.
“This country’s in good shape and we have sharp,
brave, intelligent troops who are trained to do military
things here, building a country and a country’s
government,” said Thorsness.
“We really appreciate the job you are doing here with
terrorism,” Norris said to the troops. “You are on the
front line right here.”
The visitors took turns telling the jam-packed dining
facility about the events that led up to them getting
their respective Medal of Honor awards.
“This trip was important for morale,” said Sgt. Maj.
Bradley Meyers, 508th operations sergeant major. “You
see all the soldiers smiling, talking with the (MOH)
recipients, listening to their stories, and everyone is
really enjoying themselves.”
Thorsness talked to the soldiers about freedom,
something that was stolen from him as a prisoner of war
for six years after he had to eject from his aircraft on
his 93rd mission in Vietnam.
“We are born in the United States with freedom and
you never realize how lucky you are until you don’t have
it anymore. There are a lot of places where freedom is
not guaranteed.”
During the talks at the dining facility, the Medal of
Honor recipients were more than eager to listen to the
soldiers’ tales and asked plenty of questions about
their previous deployments and their time in
Afghanistan.
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hearing their support and coming from those who
did so much more, it made us feel really good
and proud,” said Spc. Scott Chamley, Delta
Battery, 319th Airborne Field Artillery
Regiment, 173rd. The second stop on the trip
was to another even smaller Coalition forces
camp in Paktika province. Again the leaders of
the forces there briefed the visitors on their
purpose in the area, how they work with the
other Coalition troops and interact with the
locals.
Here, the Medal of Honor recipients piled
into the back of a pick-up truck with some of
the troops, drove to a MK-19 grenade machine gun
that was mounted on a truck, and given
the opportunity to shoot a few rounds. The
veterans held a competition to see who was the
best shot. They might not have hit the bull’s
eye, but they had a blast doing it.
Hopping in the truck again, they visited with
each unit in the camp checking out what they do
and ended up at asking the artillery gunners,
“Can we shoot the Howitzer?” The Delta Battery
soldiers accommodated the request and provided
each with a round to fire. Two of the honored
guests gave their chance to fire to two of the
soldier escorts traveling with them saying that
the soldiers would probably never have a chance
like that again.
As the day came to an end and the helicopter
headed to home base, Bagram Airfield, a dust
storm picked up and forced the pilots to land
once again at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E.
“The most exciting part was hearing that we
were going to have to set the chopper down in
the middle of an unsecured field because of the
sandstorm,” said Littrell. “Fortunately we did
not have to do that, however we did get to stay
at the Orgun-E base overnight and that was even
better. We would rather be out here with the
soldiers at the remote bases, getting to know
them, hearing their stories and bonding with
them.”
The group discussed weapons, technology and
equipment the military has today and how it has
changed so much from what they used in Vietnam.
The 508th’s executive officer said all of the
upgrades and new ideas came from gentlemen like
the Medal of Honor recipients. After all the
weapons talk, the recipients hopped on with a
group going on a night patrol and checked out
the new gear soldiers use.
The visits to the two bases boosted the
morale of both the soldiers and the recipients
and left a lasting impression on both. The
recipients said they planned on coming back to
visit the soldiers as soon as possible.
“People back home love you guys,” said
Norris. “Our hats are off to you.”
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http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/apr2005/a040705pc2.html
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Airmen provide close-air support for
patrol in Afghanistan
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PAKTIKA
PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Airman 1st
Class Chad Williams talks to an A-10
Thunderbolt II pilot to coordinate
close-air support. He is a joint
terminal attack controller attached with
the Army's 508th Infantry Regiment and
is deployed from the 1st Air Support
Operations Squadron's Detachment 1 in
Freiburg, Germany. (U.S. Army photo by
Sgt. Douglas DeMaio)
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by Army Sgt. Douglas DeMaio
20th Public Affairs Detachment
5/27/2005 - PAKTIKA
PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Air Force air and
ground combat support elements accompanied infantrymen
from the 508th Infantry Regiment during a presence
patrol in the mountainous region here recently.
Air Force joint terminal attack controllers, who are
attached to an Army unit to coordinate close-air support
for ground movements, worked closely with an A-10
Thunderbolt II that soared above the patrol.
"Before the war started, not many people even knew there
were (Airmen) attached to the Army," said Staff Sgt.
Ezekiel Rodriguez who is deployed from the 4th Air
Support Operations Squadron’s Detachment 1 in Vicenza,
Italy. "Now that there are two wars going on in two
theaters, a lot more people know about JTACs."
Attack controllers train, live and work with infantry
units.
"It's fun," said Sergeant Rodriguez, who is serving on
his third deployment. "You're not sitting back on a
base. You're actually outside the wire meeting the
people and seeing the region. I wouldn't want to do
anything else."
Sergeant Rodriguez and Airman 1st Class Chad Williams,
who is deployed from 1st ASOC’s Detachment 1 in Freiburg,
Germany, sharpened their skills as they convoyed to the
remote village of Nakah with the patrol.
The coordination the controllers made with the A-10
Thunderbolt II pilot gave the patrol a three-dimensional
view of the battlefield as they left for the daylong
mission.
"Basically we use (close-air support) in this area as a
reconnaissance tool," Sergeant Rodriguez said. "We
really haven't used it for its primary purpose, but I
guess the way this war is going here, its purpose is
recon.”
On a day-to-day basis, the unit goes out on presence
patrols to reinforce security here.
"The people know that the 508th is here," Sergeant
Rodriguez said. "They know they are always on patrols.
Every time they roll out, there is always a bird up
above."
Providing close-air support for the Soldiers lets the
enemy know that the coalition is armed and looking to
keep Paktika secure, Airman Williams said.
"The main thing we bring to the battle is air power,
just a show of force to let the enemy know we are here,"
he said.
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1/508 settles in for new mission
in Afghanistan
Story by Sgt. Adrian Schulte, CJTF-76 Public
Affairs
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Staff Sgt.
Bradley Rhen
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Command Sgt. Maj.
Jeffery Hof (left) and Lt. Col. Timothy McGuire
uncase the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th
Infantry Regiment, colors during a transfer of
authority ceremony March 12, at Forward
Operating Base Orgun-E, Afghanistan.
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FOB
ORGUN-E, Afghanistan -- Lt. Col. Tim
McGuire, commander, 1st Battalion, 508th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne
Brigade, and Task Force Fury, is noticeably
excited when he talks about his battalion’s new
mission in Afghanistan.
The
1/508 have settled into their new home at
Forward Operating Base Orgun-E, outside the town
of Orgune in the Paktika province of
southeastern Afghanistan.
The
paratroops, who began arriving at the FOB March
1 and took over responsibility March 12, will be
stationed at the forward operating base for the
next year as part of Task Force Fury.
The
battalion, along with other elements from the
173rd, fell in on the position occupied by
elements of the Hawaian-based 2nd Battalion,
27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
“We are
really pleased with the living conditions here,”
McGuire said. “Our predecessors did a great job
of building up the FOB for us.”
“It’s a
piece of cake compared to Iraq,” said Pfc.
Robert Beall, a forward observer for Alpha
Company, 1/508, who spent time in northern Iraq
with the battalion. “This place is nice. We have
power constantly, the phones work, we have the
Internet and we have running water so you can
take a shower everyday. The living quarters are
pretty good. We have a lot of guys in there, but
if you can’t live in close quarters for a year,
how can you expect to work with them? It’s a
little crowded, but nothing we can’t work with.”
“It’s
definitely a notch above what we left in Iraq,”
said Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Holland, platoon
leader, Co. A, 1/508th. “[The 25th] left it in
good order so we moved right in, it was really
easy. All we are doing is improving on something
that they have already made great for us, so
it’s a great place.”
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Sgt.
Adrian Schulte
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Soldiers from Delta
Battery, 173rd Airborne Brigade,
sling load a M119 105mm howitzer to
a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at
Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in
southeastern Afghanistan March 12.
The paratroops, along with the 1st
Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry
Regiment and other elements of the
173rd, are a part of Task Force Fury
and will be responsible for the
Paktika province for the next year. |
For the
next year, the Red Devils of the battalion will
be responsible for the Paktika Province. The
province is approximately the size of Vermont
and shares a 600-kilometer border with Pakistan.
“We are
extremely prepared,” McGuire said. “We have
spent the last year preparing for this mission.
A large percentage of the battalion was in Iraq
and those Soldiers who have joined us since our
return from Iraq, many of them come with
experience from Iraq and Afghanistan. So we are
ready, well-equipped and very eager to get out
and build upon the success of the units that
have preceded us here.”
The
Soldiers of the 1/508th will be working
hand-in-hand with the Afghan government, the
Afghan National Army, the Afghan Police and most
importantly with the Afghan people to ensure the
long-term peace and prosperity of the region,
McGuire said.
The
transition has been very smooth for the Red
Devils as they adjust to their new environment
and responsibilities.
“This
has been the best relief-in-place transition I
have taken part of,” McGuire said. “The
Wolfhounds from the 25th Infantry Division did a
great job. They have really done a great job
getting us out among the people so we can learn
from their year’s worth of experience.”
The
troops are prepared and looking forward to the
adventures that lay ahead, McGuire said.
“The
Soldiers are excited by the mission. They
realize the importance of Afghanistan on the
Global War on Terror. We have a chance here to
show this entire region that democracy and rule
of law works, and that the people benefit.”
Task
Force Fury’s area of responsibility is a large
one that will keep the Soldiers of the 1/508
busy and engaged for the next 12 months.
“In the
next year, I’m looking forward to going out
there and seeing my whole sector,” Holland said.
“I’ve already been out there for eight days and
I haven’t seen enough. I want to go out there
and I want to be able to see every town and
check it out. There will be a lot of good
experiences for my Soldiers and myself. Morale
is really high. The Soldiers are new in sector
and they are pumped to get out there and start
doing things and seeing what is around.”
While
the troops are excited about what lies ahead,
they are aware of the challenges as well.
“There
is an enemy out there and we are fighting an
insurgency,” McGuire said. “We are going to
fight and win this insurgency because we are
focusing on the people. The Afghan people are
committed to peace and they are committed to
working together for prosperity. We are going to
work hand and hand with the government. One of
our challenges will be helping to empower and
enable the government and the Afghan security
forces. It’s just continuing to extend the reach
of the central government and show the Afghan
people that their future lives are better with
the rule of law, democracy and freedom by
working closely with the international
community.”
The
terrain of the Paktika province is an
unforgiving one and will continue to pose a
challenge through the next year. It has been an
especially harsh winter for the Afghan people
and the weather is wreaking havoc on the
countryside. For troops who rely on large,
brawny humvees to get around, the lack of roads
will pose a challenge in a country that often
relies on alternate modes of transportation such
as mules.
“One of
our challenges will be the lack of
infrastructure here,” McGuire said. “Some of the
roads right now are more rivers or tar pits of
mud, so we will put a lot of effort into working
with the Afghan officials to improve crossing
sites and roads throughout the area.”
“Maintenance is going to be a big challenge,”
Holland said. “The terrain out there… there
aren’t any real roads, except for actually in
Orgune itself and some of the other major places
in our sector. But down south, there really
aren’t a lot of roads. You drive down wadis and
you drive over large rocks so you go out there
with your maintenance team and you're fixing
stuff.”
The Red
Devils are in place, settled and ready for the
year ahead. They will be working with the Afghan
people to help improve this war-torn country.
“The
Afghans are committed to close relations with
the U.S. and improving their life,” McGuire
said. “They have had 25 years of war here. They
are ready for peace and they are ready to work
hard to achieve it.” |
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Sgt. Adrian
Schulte
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Soldiers from Delta
Battery, 173rd Airborne Brigade, occupy a
position at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in
southeastern Afghanistan March 12.
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This site is in no away affiliated
with the 173d Airborne Bde in Vicenza, Italy or the Society of the 173d
Airborne Bde.
It is however just what it
says... a web site
designed to provide real time simple support to the Parachute Infantry
Regiment I love and our families.
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Dedicated
to all Red Devils Past and Present.
