1-1 ARB JAN BN Newsletter

1. 1-1 Attack
Reconnaisance
The Apache Post
Battalion
Volume 1, Issue 3 31 January 2012
Inside this issue:
From the Cockpit...
Greetings fellow Gunfighters, Families
Cover Story 2
and friends -
Volunteer Awards 3
We have jumped into the new year with
HHC „Bounty 4 great enthusiasm and high expectation.
Hunters‟
Many of our aviators and aircraft main-
A CO „Devils‟ 5
tainers are currently rotating back and
B CO „Wolfpack‟ 6
forth between Mesa Arizona and Fort
C CO 7 Riley to gain the knowledge necessary to
„Ghostriders‟ work on the most advanced attack heli-
D CO 8
copter in the world. Following the re-
„Desperados‟
quired training in Arizona, a robust
E CO „Outlaws‟ 9
maintenance team along with supporting
F CO „Fenix‟ 10
elements from the battalion, will travel
February 11
to Fort Irwin, California to test the Above: CW3 Nate Blackford was recently pro-
Announcements
Army‟s newest helicopter. The Gun- moted to the rank of Captain. This is a rare
About 1-1 ARB 12 event and a great honor as it is not usual for a
fighter Battalion will then field the warrant officer to be granted a direct commission
Apache Block III helicopter as the first to the Officer corps. CPT Blackford was pro-
moted by LTC Ed Vedder as his wife, Jessica
unit equipped with this new capability. Blackford and daughterr Vivian look on.
Some of our Soldiers will be gone in ex-
cess of 60 days and they couldn‟t do what they do without the support of
their very dedicated and committed Families. We have often times said that
it takes everyone to make the mission happen and once again, the Families
come through and for that we are very grateful.
As we look toward the New Year and the many challenges that come
(Continued on page 2)

2. Page 2 The Apache Post
From the Cockpit
(Continued from page 1)
with fielding one of the newest and most expen-
sive aircraft in the world, we are also faced with
many ongoing mission requirements here in garri-
son. With many of the units here on Fort Riley
just getting back or getting ready to leave, the
Combat Aviation Brigade picks up the majority of
the Garrison‟s taskings. This in turn stretches our
formations to the limit and puts us in many differ-
ent locations. From flying helicopters and main-
Above: LTC Ed Vedder, right, says a few words about CH taining those aircraft to participating in the many
(CPT) Daniel Korie at the BN Hail and Farewell held in Janu-
ary. CH Korie recently departed for Germany to continue his
taskings that allow a division to maintain its con-
service as an Army Chaplain and is just one of many Gunfight- tinuous daily operations, the Gunfighters excel at
ers who have moved on.
every opportunity. We couldn‟t be more proud of
their continued performance and professionalism.
We have said goodbye to many Gunfighters and their Families over the past few months
and we will continue this trend for the next few months as well. Many of these Soldiers de-
ployed with us and we drained them of every talent they had for the success of the mission.
Additionally, the Command Team said farewell to CPT Nate Blackford and CPT Daniel Korie
who served on the Commander‟s Special Staff. For their contributions and sacrifices, we are
very grateful. They will be missed. We have also welcomed many new Soldiers and their Fami-
lies. They bring some much needed enthusiasm and are welcomed additions to the Gunfighter
team. If first impressions are truly the metric by which one can gage a unit, then we set the bar
pretty high with the Battalion Winter Formal. It was a fantastic event and whether you‟re an
old Gunfighter or new one, it‟s a safe bet you had a good time. We appreciate everyone who
came and participated in making the event the great time that it was. Until next time –
“ATTACK”
LTC Ed Vedder
CSM Mike O‟Donnell
CW4 Ron Porter

3. Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 3
‘Gunfighter’ Volunteers Honored
at Brigade Ceremony
Recently, the Combat Aviation Brigade honored volun-
teers from across the Brigade for their outstanding volun-
teer work over the final quarter of 2011. The Gunfighter
battalion was extremely excited to have five of our volun-
teers among those honored at the ceremony that was held
on 17 JAN at Fast Eddie‟s Dining Facility.
Among those honored from 1-1 ARB were: Mandi Harris,
FRG Leader of B CO „Wolfpack‟; Jennifer Churchill,
Funds Custodian of E CO „Outlaws‟; Candace Kattes,
FRG Leader of F CO „Fenix‟; Sierra Cobb, FRG Leader
of F CO „Fenix‟; and Dana Boyd, FRG Leader of F CO
„Fenix‟. Each honoree received a framed certificate and
gift from the Demon Brigade Commander and Command
Sergeant Major.
Thank you so much to these and all of our volunteers for
what you do for this battalion and this community every
day. It is because of your efforts that our Soldiers are suc-
cessful, our Families are successful, and this community
continues to prosper and grow „Army Strong!‟
Clockwise, from Top: Candace Kattes, F CO, accepts her Volunteer of the Quarter Award from CSM Jim Thomson, left, and
COL Mike Morgan; Jennifer Churchill, E CO, accepts her award from the Demon Brigade Command Team; Sierra Cobb, F CO, ac-
cepts her award as her son looks on; Mandi Harris, B CO, accepts her award from the Demon Brigade Command Team as Brigade
FRG Advisor, Jen Thomson looks on. (Photos courtesy of SGT Keven Parry, Demon PAO)

4. Page 4 The Apache Post
Happy New Year from the Bounty Hunter Command Team!
With any luck, we have all made and kept with our resolu-
tions. If not, maybe next year! It has also been a time of
great change within the company as we have welcomed and
bid farewell to some of our Staff Officers and Section Ser-
geants. Throughout the constant changes, the Bounty Hunt-
ers have continued to provide first class services in support of a number of different
taskings, to include the 1st Infantry Division‟s “United Endevor” exercise. Unified
Endeavor is a command post exercise that's preparing the 1st Infantry Division head-
quarters to lead a regional command in Afghanistan. The exercise includes more than
2,000 military and civilian personnel from all services and from five different nations,
signifying the joint, multi-national nature of the mission in Afghanistan. Aside from
the UE exercise, we continue to prepare for Field Training Exercises, Combined Training Center rotations, and the fielding of the
Army‟s First Block-3 AH-64D Helicopters.
The company had a number of hails and farewells, welcoming MAJ
Sean Spence (BN Executive Officer), 1LT Cameron Martin (Assistant
S3), 1LT Mike Schreckenbach (Assistant S3), 1SG Shawnette Wil-
liams (Company First Sergeant), and SFC Akisha Howard (S1
NCOIC), SFC Daniel Sutczak (S3 NCOIC), SPC Marlena Duplessis
(Chaplain Assistant), SGT Bobby Yanes (Company CBRN), PFC
Richard Ratliff (HHC Medic) to the Bounty Hunter Team. Among
the farewells were CPT Daniel Korie (BN Chaplain) and CPT Hale
(HHC Commander). SFC Matthew Timms, who served as the acting
First Sergeant from October 2011 to January 2012, conducted his
Change of Responsibility with 1SG Williams before returning to lead
the Communication‟s Section as the NCOIC.
One of the biggest events taking place in January was the Gunfighter
Winter Formal Ball in Junction City. As an Army, we periodically
take advantage of opportunities to put on our best dress uniforms
and take our significant others to the Ball to celebrate our rich heri-
tage as a Battalion and as members of the Profession of Arms. Formals are usually steeped in tradition, such as the Receiving Line,
Toasts, and the infamous Grog Ceremony. The Guest Speaker this year was British Brigadier Felix Gedney, who will serve as the
Deputy Commander of the 1st Infantry Division during their deployment to Afghanistan. The Bounty Hunters represented well and
had a great time. Special acknowledgement is due to 1LT Martin, 1SG Williams, and SFC Bailey among a number of HHC Volun-
teers who made the event happen. Phenomenal job!
Top and I would like to congratulate the following Soldiers: 2LT Jason Docman, the Battalion Adjutant (S1), was promoted to 1LT.
The former Battalion XO, CW3 Nate Blackford, was picked for a lateral promotion to an Aviation Captain.
The following people celebrated birthdays during the month of January: SFC Sabrina Bailey (1 st), MAJ Joshua Berryhill (6th), SPC
Colins Oakley (6th), SSG Brad Fairley (7th), SPC Kelvin Jones (14th), CW4 Terry Weber (17th), MAJ Sean Spence (20th), SGT Danny
Tuggle (20th), CPT Billy Rose (24th), and SPC Ramon Smith (26th).
Special birthday wishes go out to Makayla Elizabeth Steele, born on December 30th to SGT Nathan and SPC Georgette Steele, and
Nathaniel Escalante, born on January 18th to SPC Leeann Wolcott. Welcome to the Bounty Hunter and Gunfighter Families!
The HHC Change of Command from myself to CPT Billy Rose will take place next month. I personally know that he and the new
Family Readiness Group Leader, Michelle Clay, are very excited about the opportunity to lead HHC to new heights! It has truly been
an honor to serve the Soldiers and Families of HHC for the last 15 months, and I am grateful to have had such a tremendous oppor-
tunity. Thank everyone for their support for our Soldiers and our Families during my time as the company commander, at home
and abroad. ATTACK!
– CPT William Hale II, Bounty Hunter 6

5. Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 5
Happy New Year from the Devils!
Alpha Company is back from a great Christmas break and has hit the ground running! We have
had a busy month so far and have much more coming up. Immediately after the New Year we
sent 7 Warrant Officers to the Warrant Officer Advanced Course here on Fort Riley until Feb-
ruary 16. While there they will continue to develop their leadership and further their Army ca-
reers.
As we get closer to NTC and Apache Block III Training, the Devils continue to train hard. We
conducted a Movement to Contact Scenario where our Aviators searched for a simulated Sur-
face to Air Missile site (Devil crew chiefs in a HMMWV playing hide-and-seek). It is a fun time,
but is also rigorous training for the Aviators and also provides the crew chiefs an opportunity to
interact with and see the AH-64D in action. We continue to train in the
Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) in integrated mis-
“To catch the reader's attention,
sions with UH-60 Blackhawks. These missions put our new Aviators in place an interesting sentence or
combat scenarios that develop their ability to think and react in the bat- quote from the story here.”
tlefield environment and to communicate with other aviation units in a
larger spectrum.
We executed a great M4/M9 range for weapons qualification and short
range marksmanship training. We welcomed Soldiers from our fellow
companies who needed to qualify to train with us. The planning effort by
the Range Team made this range a huge success. Even though the
weather was bitterly cold and windy, our soldiers stayed motivated and
we qualified soldiers from A, B, C, and D Companies! Because of their
effort planning and executing such a successful range, LTC Vedder
awarded the Range Team with Battalion Coins. Good work Devils!
We look forward to this year with eagerness and thank all of our Soldiers
and Families for all you do.
Above: SGT Matthew Porter, wife Danielle and
-LT Timothy Brown the newest member of the „Devils‟ Family, Daven
Foley Porter.
Devil 16
Announcements:
SGT Porter‟s wife Danielle gave birth to their son - Daven Foley Porter!
The Devils bid farewell to Platoon Leader CPT Rosario and his wife Kate. We wish them well
in their endeavors.
We welcome new Platoon Leader 1LT Brown and his wife Natalie to A Co.
SPC Loetz Re-enlistment will be 31JAN. Congratulations to him and his wife Jennifer!

6. Page 6 The Apache Post
Happy New Year!
Another month has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I took
command and I have been in command now for nearly four months. I
want to take a moment to thank all of the Families for their continued
devotion to the Wolfpack, without your support nothing we do would
be possible. There is not a lot going on this month. It is really quiet
around the company because we have nine War-
rant Officers in the Warrant Officer Advanced
Course and the Soldiers are busy filling all kinds
of taskings for Division. We did have an FRG
meeting and I want to thank all who were able to
attend. The next one has not been scheduled as
of yet. Additionally, we held our first Company
gathering to farewell CW2 Settle, CW2 Cordova
and CPT DiFrancesco, and we also took the op-
Above: CPT Leslie Shafer, right, welcomes CW2 Steven portunity to hail our new Platoon Leader, 1LT
Dickson to B CO at the BN Hail and Farewell.
Webb who took over the Recon Platoon from
CPT DiFrancesco. Our next Company Gathering is planned for
March 9th somewhere in Junction City; more details will be distrib-
uted through the Soldiers and FRG channels.
Key events that have happened this month: A big congratula-
tions to SGT Kipp on his reenlistment. He will be remaining as part
of the Wolfpack for a little while longer. Regretfully, we have to say
goodbye to Erin Keogh, who served as our assistant FRG leader.
Erin, we thank you for everything you have done and wish you the
best. Birthdays that were celebrated this month were CW2 Batchelor-
12th , CW2 Belyeu-14th, CW2 D‟Aigle-17th, SSG Whitaker-11th, and
SPC Sprinzl-17, Happy Birthday to you all!!!
CPT Leslie R Shafer, Wolf 6

7. Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 7
Howdy Friends and Family of the Ghostriders,
January has been a busy month for C Co! Since the New Year, we have welcomed back SGT
Aniceto from the Advanced Leaders Course, promoted PFC Kimmel and PFC Capps to Spe-
cialist, and SPC Long was promoted to Sergeant as our newest NCO! We
will be saying goodbye and best of luck in future endeavors to CW2 Ward
this month as he will be leaving the Army. We were also able to formally
welcome CW2 Cordova, CW2 Harms, and CW2 VanMeter to the team
during the Battalion‟s Hail and Farewell at Kites in Junction City. The
Ghostrider “ettes” hosted another ladies Bunco night, which has started
an investigation to determine what is being served in the water during
these evenings?! Hence, the multiple pregnancies throughout Charlie
Company and the Battalion!
Many Ghostriders have already departed to Mesa, Arizona for the Army‟s
first Apache Block III fielding, and they will continue to depart for this
Above: SSG Strickland promoting SGT Long training in waves throughout the next couple of weeks. After the training
at this recent ceremony. received from Boeing on how to fly and maintain the AB3, the new air-
craft will be tested and evaluated for its capabilities in the field environ-
ment of Fort Irwin, California. A pre-movement brief was conducted with great success, and our FRG along with the
FRSA stand ready to support and help the spouses and families of those who will be participating in the upcoming de-
ployments.
In the mean time, C Co continues to operate as a well oiled machine. With all of the moving parts, tasks, and functions
coming together to meet our mission‟s objectives: Ordering, organizing and packing containers, transferring our old
Apaches to North Carolina‟s 1-30th National Guard, qualifying
folks to be fully fledged crew chiefs, Instructor Pilots, move-
ment Officers, Armorers, (the list of schools goes on and on)
pilot progressions (APARTs, PIC, FCR, NBC, Instruments,
Snow and dust ops, currency, Air ground integrations…), flight
plans for all of our travels, implementing a new PT program
and preparing for the ARMs inspection coming up this May. All
of this would not have come together so smoothly without eve-
ryone‟s hard and team work. Thank you.
January will be capped with the Gunfighters‟ Winter Formal on
the 27th, which should be fun had for all participants.
Respectfully, Above: The “Ghostriders” in formation
GHOSTRIDER 16
CPT Justin Stewart

8. Page 8 The Apache Post
Family and Friends of the Desperados,
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday break. The time
off was truly well deserved by every Soldier and family member. Now that we
have returned to normal work hours, the Desperados are planning numerous
upcoming missions. This month, 30 Apache maintainers (20 of them from
Delta Company) departed for Mesa, Arizona to be the very first Soldiers trained
on the brand new Apache Block 3. This is a huge honor for the Gunfighter
Battalion and our company. All of this training will be leading to the Apache
Block 3 fielding test and a National Training Center (NTC) rotation in Califor-
nia. Above: D CO Soldiers busy preparing for upcoming mis-
sions.
One thing that changed this month is the number of Soldiers going to Califor-
nia to support NTC. We originally believed most of the company would have to make this trip. Due to budget constraints, we are
instead picking 43 squared away Soldiers to travel to California and test the Apache Block 3 aircraft. Most of these Soldiers will be
away from home between 2 to 3 months. This is definitely longer than we would like to have Soldiers away from their families in
between deployment cycles. However, testing the new aircraft is a necessary task and most of our Soldiers are very eager to be on
the “tip of the spear” of Attack Aviation. Also, I ask family members to keep in mind that we have much more time between our
last deployment and our next deployment compared to other units. The reason we have so much time between deployments is
specifically because we are testing the Block 3.
In preparation for this NTC deployment there will be a brief on what to expect
for both Soldiers and families. The NTC Brief will be at Riley‟s Conference
Center on February 8th at 1800 (or 6 p.m. for those of you not in the military).
We hope to see you there!
Sadly, we said goodbye to Platoon Leader and Executive Officer CPT Travis
Owsley in January. He is leaving us so that he can attend the Captain‟s Career
Course and take command of a company in another unit. CPT Owsley‟s contri-
butions to the Desperados and the Gunfighters were truly immeasurable. He
will surely be missed. On the other hand, we have had numerous additions to
the Desperado team. I would like to highlight new senior leaders who are lead-
ing our Soldiers on the Platoon level. 1LT Chad Maulsby is now our Mainte-
nance Platoon Leader, SFC Bryant MacFarlane is our Armament Platoon Ser-
Above: A Desperado Soldier working hard on the Gunfighter geant and CPT Joseph DiFrancesco is our new Shops and Headquarters Pla-
Grog Bowl that made its debut at the Winter Ball on 27 JAN. toon Leader. We welcome these talented leaders to a great team.
By the time this newsletter is published, most of us will have already had a great time at the Battalion Winter Formal. I‟d like to
thank all the Soldiers and families that came out to have a great time and build camaraderie.
As always, thank you to our friends and families for your unwavering support. Nothing we accomplish in this unit could be done
without you standing behind us.
DESPERADOS!
CPT Dan O‟Donnell
daniel.odonnell@us.army.mil
785-307-9368

9. Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 9
Greetings to the Outlaw Family,
CPT Pugh here wishing everyone a Happy 2012! The New Year is finally here and with that
a variety of new and exciting training exercises are coming our way. We are all preparing for
the fielding of the new Apache Block III and are very excited to be a part of this monumental occasion. We will
be providing logistical support to the battalion as our flight companies push these aircraft to their limits in order
to ensure they are ready for war. While a handful of Outlaws are deployed to Fort Irwin, those who remain back
here at Fort Riley will be partaking in a variety of different training simulations such as Night Vision Goggle
training, Convoy Simulations, multiple ranges, and a variety of different schools. We are grateful to be able to
take part in such a large array of events while still maintaining unyielding support to the battalion and their mis-
sion. Over the course of the next couple of months it will be imperative for us as an Outlaw Family to rely on
one another in order to ensure we have the support we need. If your loved one is tasked to support at Fort Irwin,
I ask that you along with all the new Families take this time to ensure your affairs are in order and mentally and
emotionally prepare for the time away. Please call me (910) 366-4232, Shannon Carroll or any of the Outlaws for
any support you may need throughout this time. Use this time to identify where you will need support and once
your loved one returns do what you have to in order to ensure your wellbeing once they do deploy. I thank all of
the Outlaw Families and Soldiers for all that you do in support of one another, this great Army, and this great
nation. Everyone from the most senior grandparent to the newest child is an important member of our Family.
Sincerely,
CPT Robert J. Pugh III
Outlaw 6
Outlaws, cannot happen then call either a first line supervisor
or a close friend in order to have someone get out
Happy New Year! The upcoming months are going to
of the house and give everyone involved the appro-
be tough and long but our Warriors have been train-
priate amount of time to calm down. We need our
ing above standard and will come out victorious once
Families to be tight knit, cohesive teams who can
all our training is complete. With everyone going to
operate no matter what the situation is that lies in
the four winds and many of our Families being sepa-
front of them. Remember, life is about choices. En-
rated for the first time I would like to take a moment
suring our Family ties are strong and unwavering is
to talk about a Taboo subject but one that must be
a crucial part of ensuring our Warriors and Families
discussed. Domestic disputes are currently on the rise
are prepared for the hardships to come.
within the company and this causes me great pain to
see this happening within our ranks. I ask that if Very Respectfully,
something arises within your household, take a few 1SG Clifford M. Bell
moments to separate yourselves from the current Outlaw 7
situation, take time to think about what is happening,
and then come back and diffuse the situation. If that

10. Page 10 The Apache Post
In January, F Company welcomed 1SG Leon Black into the Fenix
Family. ISG Black is one of the few 1SGs who is an unmanned air-
craft operator. His experience and knowledge, not only as a terrific
1SG, but as an operator will be a great influence on our young sol-
diers as they look to someone they can strive to emulate. Welcome
1SG.
F Company is now in the full training evolution at Edwards Air
Force Base (EAFB), California. Over the next 6 months, the com-
pany will build upon previous training/
planning and conclude this training evolu-
tion with a successful integration of the
Gray Eagle UAS into the Army Order of
Battle. SFC Michael Kattes is the NCOIC at
EAFB and is doing an outstanding job of
keeping the soldiers focused and excited to
begin flight operations.
The experience of creating a new company
has been one of the highlights of my fifteen
years in uniform. Seeing these young sol-
diers leading the way, thinking on their feet
and acting decisively is truly a joy. Because
Above: 1SG Leon Black (right) takes over as “Fenix 7” dur-
ing the change of responsibility ceremony. of the senior leadership of our NCOs, F
Company is organized, focused, and deter-
mined.
Look for more good things to come. Take care.
CW3 Jeff Stokes

11. Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 11

12. Gunfighters!
1-1 ARB traces its roots to the formation of the 1st Aviation Company, 1st ID, con-
1-1 Attack Reconnaisance stituted on 15 February 1957 at Fort Riley, KS. Later redesignated as 1st Aviation
Battalion
Battalion, one of the first aviation units to employ helicopter gunships and recon-
Battalion Headquarters naissance helicopters in unison to conduct search and destroy teams, commonly
BLDG 802 Marshall referred to as "hunter/killer" teams. Currently stationed at Fort Riley, the Gunfight-
Avenue ers continue to provide invaluable reconnaissance and lethal attack helicopters
Fort Riley, Kansas fires for the Soldiers of the Big Red One.
Find us on Facebook(r)
at http:// The Gunfighters are commanded by LTC Edward M. Vedder. CSM Michael P.
www.facebook.com/ O’Donnell is the senior enlisted advisor.
#!/pages/
Gunfighters/113862645 This is the informational newsletter of 1-1 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st
Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division that contains both official and unof-
ficial information. The inclusion of non-official information in this newsletter has
not increased the cost to the United States Government in accordance with DoD
425.8-M.