THE 9 LINE - Minnesota National Guard

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Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB Vol. 1 Ed. 1 4th FSMP @ Normandy…(cont.) I am an American Soldier..."Here I am! Send me." Isaiah 6:1, 8 Game night is a popular group event here at Normandy, as those of us that play Rummy and Monoploy only play to sucker those few into our night of Texas Hold „em. Of course, we only play with Chips, fake money!! We miss our Families, Love them, but rest at ease in knowing here at Normandy we have all found a new family the looks out for each other, cares for each other and will continue to do so until our return home. Page 16 MAJ OWENS, 4TH FSMP, PLATOON LEADER (<strong>THE</strong> BALD GUY)!!
Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB Vol. 1 Ed. 1 A Few remarks from Alamo Dustoff 06... I am an American Soldier..."Here I am! Send me." Isaiah 6:1, 8 The Alamo Dustoff came off of a well deserved block leave, and the advance party launched to Arifjan, Kuwait ahead of time to get a jump on receiving our helicopters and equipment before the main body arrived. We arrived in Udairi, Kuwait via commercial aircraft only to be christened by the extreme heat and humidity. We settled in to our open bay tents with the ever-so-cozy cotts as our bedding plan, and the guys quickly commented on the fact that we had to walk about two blocks to the shower facilities and about a half a mile to the chow hall. It was funny to hear the comparison stories of the more experienced “been there, done that” Soldiers vs. the younger inexperienced guys. As the guys and gals were pointing out the lesser desired qualities of our new temporary home, it was funny to hear the come-back remarks. The guys that had been here before during Operation Desert Storm said their piece (“well, we slept on the tops of our armored tanks”) and the guys that were here during offensive operations early on in Operation Iraqi Freedom snuck in their jabs (well, we didn‟t get to sleep at all cuz were too busy during the advancement north to Baghdad”). Then, who could compete with the stories that started with, “oh you think this is bad, let me tell you about when we were in the mountainous deserts of Afganistan…” Of course we were all trumped by the “this aint nothing…” stories told by Mr. Mike Phillips (aka “The Wizard”) who quickly referenced his combat experiences in the jungles of Vietnam. After that, we all just shut up and colored. As we received word that our aircraft had arrived at the port, the advanced party continued enduring the harsh heat and humidity and “prepared my horses for the rough ride” (as Mr. Xavi Gudino so eloquently stated). Anxiety certainly filled the air as our aircraft were flown to our camp and readied one last time before we flew in to Iraq. We conducted the much needed dust landing flight training for day and night vision device mission profile. The Soldiers of Alamo Dustoff collectively pulled an enormous amount of maintenance on our aircraft, the needed weapons training, and they accomplished this with nothing less than a smile to accompany the hard work. Although the time has been filled with much activity, not a day has gone by where Soldiers aren‟t seen emailing or calling keeping abreast of the goings-on back home. Soldiers have been web-camming birthday and anniversary wishes and keep great open communications with the home-front. The crews worked feverishly to prepare the aircraft, their equipment and themselves to go north into Iraq, but not before we left our mark on Camp Beuring. Then the day finally came. Alamo Dustoff had the fortuitous opportunity of leading the 2-149 GSAB with the first combat mission flights in to Iraq. We prepared for the flights and executed them as planned. There have been many “firsts” for Alamo Dustoff, but this ranks amongst the biggest milestones and certainly one we are proud of. Within a few days, the crews and aircraft had closed with the objective that would be Kelly Compound on Joint Base Balad, and the Relief in Place process was to begin. We were fortunate enough to conduct our RIP/TOA with one of America‟s finest MEDEVAC companies, C Co 7-101 Airborne (Air Assault). We encountered some extreme weather in the middle of our RIP, but we were able to complete our mission and replace the Eagle Dustoff on time followed by an immediate jump in to our MEDEVAC missions. Nothing gets done without Mr. Wes Jones and Mr. Gudino hammering away at the maintenance plan for the aircraft. The Soldiers that make the aircraft flyable have earned the respect of the entire battalion as they have quickly made my horses ready for the ride... Page 17
Page 1 and 2: Sept / Oct 2008 Volume 1, Issue 1 I
Page 3 and 4: Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB Vol. 1 E
Page 7 and 8: DUST DUST EVERYWHERE! Charlie Compa
Page 9 and 10: And here we go... Charlie Company 2
Page 15: Charlie Company 2-149 GSAB Vol. 1 E
Page 19 and 20: Red River 44... Charlie Company 2-1

THE 9 LINE - Minnesota National Guard

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