Hello Bad Boys families and friends:

The Bad Boys Forward are doing well. Eastern

Afghanistan has been pretty

snowy and cold for awhile as

Snow-pocalypse rolled by in Feb-

ruary, but the weatherman has

promised that it will start to warm

up next month. Who knows?

Maybe the snow will melt, and we

can start getting back to some

occasional games of GCA vs. Tower

volleyball.

In the last month, traffic has

been slow due to weather, but

everyone has been keeping busy

with regular operations, random

details, maintenance, and daily

games of ping pong. The verdict is

still out for the best ping pong

player in the company, but every-

one seems to think that they are.

We’ve also had the opportunity to

welcome a couple of new Soldiers

that you will get to know later in

this issue. To the new Bad Boys

families out there, take comfort in

knowing that we are taking very good care of

them.

In FRG news, Denise Coffee has

relinquished command as the FRG

Leader to Lori Darner. You may go to

her for any Family Readiness issues

and recommendations for fun family

activities. Additionally, my husband,

Ben Blane, has taken over the posi-

tion as Treasurer. He is, however,

taking a company command in 2nd

Brigade in May, so if there’s anyone

who would like to volunteer for the

job, please do. If you’d like to volun-

teer for ANYTHING, big or small, just

contact Lori or me, and we’ll find

something for you to help out with.

And if you didn’t know, we are about

half way there! Time is starting to fly

as we have already started prepar-

ing the way for the unit replacing us.

So continue to stay strong as we

push through the second half of the

deployment.

BB6

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

College

Football Pics

1

TOWER

News

2

GCA News 3

From The

Top

4

New Soldiers 4

Soldier

Spotlight

5

Contacts/

Pictures

6

F C O 3 - 8 2 , T A S K F O R C E C O R S A I R , F O B S H A N K

Buckeye Pride Down Range O-H-I-O

Commander’s Corner

Bad Boy

Beacon M A R C H 1 , 2 0 1 2

V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 3

Ok ok!!! Maybe we took

advantage of someone else’s

good nature. We used and

abused a couple of BIG 12

fans in order to get this photo.

Pictured is the international

Ohio State Buckeye sign, not

a YMCA sign! Thanks to all

who participated regardless of

your team.

SGT Jeremy Hendershot

P A G E 2

Above & Beyond

Tower News

B A D B O Y B E A C O N

Blankets for Babies is a project that SPC Hamilton, Laura and I started back in early January. We hand crochet baby blankets to donate to babies in the NICU or to the parents of babies who don’t make it. These blankets are made to bring comfort to sick babies or to parents who lose their chil-dren. We are teaming up with a group called The Moms Club out of Washing-ton, where we make the blankets, mail them to this club, and they donate them for us since we’re de-ployed.

Crochet is a lot like knitting, except instead of two needles, you only use one and the stitches are different. The end result is the same though-a nice

little handmade blanket made solely to bring com-fort for those in need. I’m really excited to have SPC Hamilton’s help and see how many blankets we can make during this de-ployment.

PFC McClure, Jen

This month Tower Platoon received two new trainees, one of which is also new to Fox Company. These two new soldiers are SPC Hamilton L. and PFC Shelley. SPC Hamil-ton L. is now splitting her time between operations and studying for her CTO exam to become a rated controller. PFC Shelley, who is fresh out of AIT, has hit the ground running trying to study for his CTO and become part of his new shift. Both new trainees are excited to be in the train-ing program and SPC Hamil-ton L. is enjoying the change of scenery and controller du-

ties, which gives her a break from her normal company op-erations duties. Fortunately, all our rated controllers passed their Con-trol Tower Operator (CTO) exam. This was due to our fa-

Shank Tower

cility becoming CTO certified and it’s required that our con-trollers take a more advanced test to become certified to be able to control traffic from our tower here at FOB Shank. Our platoon has also been preparing 10th Mountain’s equip-ment, which they left for us to use when we initially got here, to be moved to reset where it can be revamped and sent back as a working unit. SPC Palmer, Robert

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 3

invigorating and challenging at times.

With the inclement weather this past

month, we have found ourselves put-

ting our skills to the test. The snow has

come in small amounts and it has come

in large amounts! And with the snow

have come ice and many hazards

throughout the FOB. Many of us have

become semi-pro ice skaters and some

of us have become professional ice

tumblers! Though it can be funny at

times, thankfully nobody has been

injured. During the month we have

had many accomplishments within

the facility. Specialist Andrews and

Sergeant Aker were promoted to the

ranks of Sergeant and Staff Ser-

geant. SGT Andrews attended and

won NCO of the month for our com-

pany, further showing the great lead-

ership that comes from the GCA!

We have also had time to throw in

some fun as well. Many of the sol-

diers and NCOs attended a Super

Bowl party that was hosted at the

GCA in which drinks and snacks were

served to accompany the great game

that ensued. With all this happening,

we have definitely put our best foot

forward and continue to drive on with

the mission. We look forward to seeing

you all and continue to have you in our

thoughts.

SPC William Scott Thompson

Another month has passed here at

Shank GCA and still a lot is going on.

We are now halfway through the de-

ployment and many of us have our

eyes set on the end of it! We all con-

tinue to engage in training and sharp-

ening our skills. Recently there was a

new Air Traffic Control publication

that was revised and published which

we use daily. Refreshing ourselves

with the new information has been

GCA News

C&E News Ello’ all, from C&E! With eve-

rything that has been going

on lately, time seems to have

slipped by. It’s already near-

ing the half way mark in our

time here, and even though

the past months have flown

by, it seems like an eternity

till we reach the end.

This last month has kept us

moving over here. Due to the

recent snowfall and recent

system issues, we’ve had a

chance to both refresh and

learn the ins and outs of

some of our equipment.

Over all it has been a good

month for us, I’d also like to

welcome back SSG Pierce

from his R&R and say we’re

all glad he made it safely

back to us. Soon another of us

will be leaving us for a few

weeks; we all hope he has

enough fun for all of us while

he’s back home with his loved

ones, and has a smooth trip

home.

SPC Garrett, Joshua

Even with all the long hours put in while

working we have managed to grow

closer with our fellow Bad Boys as a

whole, bringing us closer as a company.

Some of us aren’t used to the

cold, but snowy weather gives us

a chance to become accustomed

to it every day.

P A G E 4

Strengthening the Corps of NCOs

From The Top Bad Boy family, I swear I just wrote an article for the newsletter a couple days ago, but gladly

I'm doing another only because it means

one more month has passed. As usual a lot is going on. We as a company have

been sharpening our soldier skills by

rehearsing our Battle Drills to include first aid and other life saving steps. The

NCOs are extremely thorough when

instructing the junior Soldiers and the junior Soldiers are extremely

receptive to all instructions given.

Our Soldiers are doing a great job

from controlling traffic, fixing equip-

ment, airfield management and daily tasks on the FOB. We have figured

out what happens after it snows here.

What happens is mud. What hap-pens after mud is more mud. After

PT Soldiers have mud splattered all

over their uniform and it is tracked in every tent and building we walk in.

Needless to say, it is messy and I've

given up on telling Soldiers to clean because of the obvious. We take this

as a one for one trade since now it is

starting to warm up and the showers are getting warmer.

SGT Andrews our youngest most energetic NCO competed and won

the Battalion NCO of the Month

Board. He blew away the competition

and it was amazing witnessing him blaze through all of the other First

Sergeant's questions. Our NCOs and

Soldiers recently had the opportunity to sit down with our Task Force Com-

mand Sergeant Major, SGM Lowrey

to discuss upcoming changes to the Army. The information put out was

informative and helpful both with

decisions on continuing Army ser-

vice and career progression through

professional development.

We are currently going through

some leadership changes. SSG Nance has left us to go home due to

an upcoming surgery. Don't worry,

he left on good terms and health. SSG Nance (AKA Wildebeest) has

been a blessing to the operations of

this company not only as a sea-soned NCO, but also an out-

standing advocate for all Soldiers.

He will be greatly missed. SSG Plemon Aker will be filling the

big shoes replacing SSG Nance.

SSG Aker has what it takes. If you look up the definition

"Backbone" in the dictionary, you

will see a picture of SSG Aker. I believe he will increase the capa-

bilities of the GCA section as the

facility chief and continue men-toring our nation's greatest asset

into outstanding leader like him-

self.

1SG Ross Coffee

SGT Andrews

SGT Andrews made points

to E5 this month. He

has worked far above

the pay grade of E4 for

several months now.

SGT Andrews has been

stationed at F Co 3/82

since he completed

training. This is his sec-

ond tour in Afghanistan.

His ratings include GCA

and ATNAVICS. He

also won the NCO of

the month right after

getting his stripes!!!

SSG Aker, Plemon

SSG Aker made points to E6

through his hard-work and

can-do attitude.

SSG Aker was assigned to

Cp. Humphreys, Republic of

Korea then Ft. Rucker, Ala-

bama prior to F Co 3/82.

His ratings include: AT-

NAVICS, Fixed Base GCA,

ATCT, CTO, and an addi-

tional GCA. The degree he

is pursuing at Embry-Riddle

is a Bachelor’s of Science in

Professional Aeronautics.

SSG Aker & SGT Andrews promotion

ceremony.

B A D B O Y B E A C O N

Soldier Spotlight

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 3

SPC Laura Hamilton is the Spot

Light Soldier for the month of Feb-

ruary. She is from River Side, CA

and is married to SPC David Ham-

ilton and they both have a beautiful

1 year old daughter named Lilly.

SPC Hamilton currently holds

down the fort working in our Com-

pany Operations and also due to her

ability to multi-task she was re-

cently assigned to work part time in

the tower to earn her first CTO.

The Operations job is a frustrating

job nearly always because within

the company SPC Hamilton ulti-

mately works for the Commander

and First Sergeant making coordi-

nation between Battalion Staff

sections, creating spreadsheets/

trackers for numerous reasons, coordi-

nating company boards, ensuring your

Soldiers get out on leave on time, pick-

ing up mail, tracking documents sent to

higher, and ensuring Troopers training is

being tracked properly. At times I feel

she is a mind reader because 9/10 before

I ask for something she is already walk-

ing in my office to hand it to me or it is

already waiting for me on my desk. In

my opinion the only thing I'd wish SPC

Hamilton would change is she cleans

way too much. Every time she mops the

floor she claims she is only using a cap

full of Pine Oil. She claims to love the smell

and it results in a headache for me. Honestly I

feel this is a tactic she has mastered to get me

out of the office so I don't ask her to complete

more tasks.

SPC Hamilton is a Soldier not unlike all

others but a Soldier within a small category I'd

consider a few other. She is very through

when performing her duties. She accom-

plishes missions to the fullest and hates failure,

but learns from her mistakes. She is hungry

for the next level in the ranks and pushes her-

self both with Army Correspondence hours

completion and college courses. I have

witnessed SPC Hamilton on many occa-

sions working early mornings or late

nights either in the MWR facility or at her

desk earning points in preparation for her

upcoming promotion board appearance in

March. SPC Hamilton doesn't stop there,

also on her off time she spends many

hours crocheting blankets for a charity

group where people donate like items for

those in need.

I commend SPC Hamilton for her sacri-

fices and accomplishments both at home

and here in Afghanistan. There are many

duel military parents out there serving, but

commonly when it comes to deployment

both are not deployed at the same time. It

is also common when this happens for one

of the parents to get out of the Army to be with

the child. SPC Hamilton made a hard decision

to continue her service leaving her baby girl

Lilly home in the states. In my opinion this

takes great strength, heart and commitment.

SPC Hamilton and I have talked about her

decisions while on this deployment and she

has told me she believes that Lilly will one day

greatly appreciate the extremely hard decision

her mother made to prove we all need to fulfill

our commitments.

1SG Ross Coffee

New Bad Boys!!! Soldiers on Leave

PV2 Culwell, John of Riverside, CA, joins the Bad Boy family as a member

of the GCA Platoon. He is working towards attaining a PT score of 270 or

higher.

PFC Shelley, Zak of Lititz,

PA joins the Bad Boy fam-

ily as a member of the

Tower Platoon. He has the

same goal as Culwell,

which is to get a PT Test

score of 270 or higher.

February:

SPC Bradford

SGT Strittman

SPC Orso

SPC Hamilton, L.

SPC Hamilton, D. March:

SGT Andrews

SGT Hendershot

SPC Smith

SPC Thompson

SPC Chance

F CO. MISSION STATEMENT

F/3-82nd Combat Aviation

Brigade (CAB) on order will,

provide tactical air traffic

services in support of United

States joint forces and its allies.

Foxtrot Company 3-82 ATS

Task Force Corsair

FOB Shank

APO, AE 09364

CPT Janice Blane:

janice.tapay.blane@afghan.swa.army.mil

1SG Ross Coffee:

ross.coffee@afghan.swa.army.mil

FRG Leader:

Lori Darner

IdleNoMore@Yahoo.com

(910) 890-0895

Bad Boys at FOB Shank

Find Us On Facebook!

www.facebook.com/#!/groups/fco382frg/

We’ll have more info on the t-shirts

next month. Right now, we’re ensuring

the shirt is what we requested.