This document provides information and advice to soldiers in the 2/138th FAR battalion as their deployment ends. It includes a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about doing what is right. The captain encourages soldiers to stay focused on tasks like paperwork and logistics as they prepare to return home, while allowing themselves to daydream about their plans. The first sergeant echoes this message and reminds soldiers to prepare for their return, such as having resumes ready. The chaplain offers a reflection on not being held back by past failures. Finally, the document profiles the battalion's Command Sergeant Major and his career path from milking cows to his current role.

1. LONGRIFLEs WEEKLYA publication of the 2/138th FAR
I will begin my last letter to the battalion
with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
It is time to go home very soon but it is
still time to act like a professional Soldier.
During the last few days of a deployment, it’s always hard to
be focused when the only thing that is really on your mind
is home.
My advice for you is that it’s perfectly fine to day dream about
going to the house and all the great plans you have for this
summer back in Kentucky, but you need to knock down the
50 meter target first. The immediate target is getting our
administrative paperwork done right and getting all of the
information required by brigade and mob station reported
in a timely manner. Logistically, there is a lot of packing and
moving still left and we must be ready to accomplish that.
Let’s stick together and help one another get these last tasks
finished without letting any of our battle buddies get into
UCMJ trouble along the way.
Thank you for all your hard work this deployment, and it was
an honor to serve with you.
~ Capt. Christopher Fitzwater
CPT’s Corner
The end of this deployment is near, and we
need to start thinking of what awaits us
when we get home. Some of us have jobs to
return to, or will be attending school full-
time. Others of us may not have a job to
return to.
If you don’t have a stable job to return to or would like to find
a better one, you need to already have a resume completed
and start submitting applications. Your resume is an essential
part of getting a job, and the way you sell yourself to your
future employer in that resume might be the determining
factor on whether you get hired or not. Lt. Michael Lowry
has volunteered to help anyone in the battalion who needs
help writing a resume or making an existing one better. Stop
by building 104 during office hours or send him an email at
michael.s.lowry20.mil@mail.mil
Keep your head in the game, and make sure you are making
all the preparations necessary to finish up strong. Great job
Soldiers, it has been an honor!
~ 1st Sgt. Ray Fortier
1SG Thoughts
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 > > >
Soldier Goes from Milking
Cows to Becoming CSM
Story and photo by Sgt. Alexa Becerra, 2-138th FAR PAO
May 18, 2013
Volume 1, Issue 30
CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - What comes to mind when
you hear the title of Command Sgt. Major? Do you picture a
tall, intimidating man barking out orders and yelling to get
off his grass? That’s a common thought.
Well the Task Force Longrifles Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy
Gividen, although tall and a bit intimidating, has a different
approach when it comes to leadership. He is stern, yet mild
mannered, and one of his biggest pet peeves is when Soldiers
wear dirty patrol caps.
Gividen, a native of Sulphur, Ky., joined the Kentucky Nation-
al Guard on Jan. 21, 1976 at the age of 17. He married around
that same time, and a year later had a daughter. Gividen has
been a member of the 2-138th during his whole career, going
from Alpha Battery to Service Battery and now Headquarters
Battery.
However, Gividen said that at the time he joined, the thought
of becoming the Command Sgt. Major of the 2-138th Field
Artillery Battalion hadn’t crossed his mind.
“After my first contract ran out, I got out for a little over a
year,” said Gividen. “I was working on a farm milking cows

2. Longrifles Weekly
Page 2
Chaplain Reflections
Do not be held back by your failures.
This week I am reminded of a story about
how a powerful animal is held captive only
by its memory of past failure. As a man
was passing the elephants, he suddenly
stopped, confused by the fact that these
huge creatures were being held by only a
small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was
obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away
from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just
stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the
trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller
we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s
enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned
to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope
can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time
break free from their bonds but because they believed they
couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging
onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because
we failed at it once before?
Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the
struggle in life. In life you will fail, and that’s ok. Get up
dust yourself off and try again.
~ Chaplain Mark Slaughter
SOLDIER GOES FROM CONTINUED FROM P. 1 > > >
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and I only got two days off a month and two weeks during
the summer. And those were spent training with the Guard.”
During that time, he decided to return to the Guard and per-
haps make a career out of it. Shortly after rejoining, he start-
ed working as a technician at the Maneuver Area Training
Equipment Site in Ft. Knox, Ky. He’s been there for 27 years
now and is the supervisor for the shop (MATES) that works
on all the artillery equipment for the 2-138th.
“Eventually, I would like to become brigade Command Sgt.
Major, and then retire on the technician side in a few more
years,” said Gividen.
Gividen says there have been some challenges that have come
along with being in his position. For example, he’s responsi-
ble for ensuring that 600-plus Soldiers complete all of their
self-development and career-progression courses, which is no
easy task. Especially for National Guard Soldiers who have
their civilian lives and careers to consider as well.
Nevertheless, he has found a way to get the job done with
ease. There have been many gratifying moments for him as
well.
“Seeing Soldiers get promoted and progress in the Guard is
very gratifying,” said Gividen. “I have been in the Guard lon-
ger than many of my Soldiers have been alive, so it’s great to
see them grow into all they can be.”
Gividen enjoys fishing in his spare time. He participates in
bass fishing tournaments as often as he can, but one of his
favorite things is to be around Soldiers; after all, 35 years of
service will do that to you.
Just don’t walk around with a dirty patrol cap and everything
will be fine and dandy.
Photo of the Week!
CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - Sgt. Rusty Wilson, a Soldier of C Battery
2-138th Field Artillery Regiment, participates in a game of Shuffleboard during
the Captain’s Cup Spring 2013 held here on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. Captain’s
Cup is a semi-annual sports competition held at Camp Lemonnier among all
units and branches of the military deployed here. The purpose of these events
is to build esprit de corps and a sense of camaraderie among all personnel here.
(Photo by Camp Lemonnier MWR)
Quotations to live by...
• “Change is the law of life. And those who look only
to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
-John F. Kennedy
• “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to
reach your full potential...these are the keys that
unlock the door to personal excellance.” - Confucius
• “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
- Benjamin Franklin
• “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the
triumph.” - Thomas Paine