Vol. 72, No. 34
Aug. 29, 2014
Mission complete
Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jacob A. McDonald
About 150 Soldiers from 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, enter
the Special Events Center Saturday, following a five-month deployment to Afghanistan
in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Soldiers, who were originally to be
deployed for nine months, returned to Fort Carson early as part of the phased reduction
of troops in Afghanistan. While deployed, the brigade was responsible for areas in
southern Afghanistan to include Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Spin Boldak. The
brigade led the train, advise and assist mission with Afghan National Security Forces.
Their efforts helped the ANSF set the security conditions for Afghanistan’s presidential
and run-off elections. With security forces numbering more than 45,000, Afghan police
and military — which have grown and developed over the past 13 years into enduring
institutions — are securing the people of Afghanistan in the country’s southern provinces.
Mayor salutes troops
By Steve Bach
Mayor, city of Colorado Springs
Welcome home Soldiers of the
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th
Infantry Division.
The citizens of the city of Colorado
Springs appreciate your outstanding
work over the past five months in
Afghanistan.
Your training and advising of the
Afghan National Security Forces in
the country’s southern provinces is a
tremendous achievement. Thank you
for your service, we are grateful for
your safe return home.
Exercise tests emergency response
Story and photo by
Crystal Ross
Mountaineer staff
Debris littered the ground and
smoke filled the air near Prussman
Chapel Tuesday morning as U.S. Army
Garrison Fort Carson simulated a vehicleborne improvised explosive device in a
full-scale preparedness exercise.
“Our higher headquarters,
Installation Management Command,
requires that installations conduct a fullscale exercise to simulate a real-world
event so that we can validate our policies,
our procedures and test our battle drills
and our emergency response drills for a
real-world event,” Garrison Commander
Col. Joel Hamilton told local media at
Message board
a press conference during the initial
simulated response.
Although installations are required
to conduct such exercises annually,
this week’s simulation is the first that
Fort Carson has held since 2011. The
post’s response to real-world situations
over the past two years met IMCOM’s
requirements for annual exercises.
“We’ve done table tops every
year. We’ve done our functional exercises.
We’ve done exercises within the
See Exercise on page 4
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson conducted
a full-scale exercise simulating an explosion
by a vehicle-borne device near Prussman
Chapel, Tuesday and Wednesday.
INSIDE
The Sexual Harassment/
Assault Response and
Prevention Hotline can
be reached at 338-9654
or the Department of
Defense Safe Hotline at
877-995-5247.
Pages 20-21
Pages 8-9
Page 10
2
MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
MOUNTAINEER
Commanding General:
Maj. Gen. Paul J. LaCamera
Garrison Commander:
Col. Joel D. Hamilton
Fort Carson Public Affairs Officer:
Dee McNutt
Chief, Print and Web Communications:
Rick Emert
Editor:
Devin Fisher
Staff writer:
Crystal Ross
Happenings:
Nel Lampe
Sports writer:
Layout/graphics:
Walt Johnson
Jeanne Mazerall
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is an authorized publication for members of
the Department of Defense. Contents of the
Mountaineer are not necessarily the official
view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government or
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is the responsibility of the Public Affairs Office,
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The Mountaineer’s editorial content is
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Affairs Office, building 1218, room 320, Fort
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Releases from outside sources are so
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Policies and statements reflected in the
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Reproduction of editorial material is
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WLC honors
Ethos becomes way of life
Commentary by Sgt. Brittany A. Durham
Warrior Leader Course graduate
A little less than three years ago a skinny, scared and
seemingly lost person swore an oath. I didn’t know what
that oath meant, but I liked the way it sounded.
I liked the vision I had of my future self: brave, proud and
driven. Until that moment in my life, I had no experience of
being a part of something greater than myself. By the time
I graduated Basic Combat Training I had undergone more
changes than I ever could have imagined. Not only had
I conquered some incredible feats and gained an equally
incredible new family, but I became something I never
thought possible: a warrior. My life as I knew it was changed,
and at the base of it all was this simple, yet powerful,
doctrine: the Warrior Ethos.
When I joined the Army, I had it all figured out; I would
gain some new discipline, some new skills and maybe even
some new friends. I would do my three years and then get
a stable civilian job that requires a suit and fancy hairstyle.
To me, a stable job was all that mattered. I only envisioned
my future house and luxury car when I thought of my
happiness. I thought real satisfaction in life came from
being financially stable.
This was just a necessary stepping stone to my future career. What I didn’t know was how much I would grow to love
my new self, my new family, my new life and, especially, my
new job. I didn’t know
I would love the Army.
The Warrior Ethos
became my way of life.
Somewhere between helping
one battle buddy train to max
her physical training test and
preventing another battle
buddy from committing
suicide, I learned that there
was so much more to this
life than myself. Suddenly, I
understood the meaning of
sacrificing parts of my life
for the wellness of others.
Being fi nancially
sound was no longer my
long-term goal.
Not only did I learn to never quit, but I learned
to never let anyone else I know quit. Once I was dedicated
to accomplishing the mission, whether it was getting a
perfect score on my PT test or being the absolute best at
my job, there was nothing that could stop me. I would do
anything, and sacrifice anything, to ensure it was done.
I was willing to do anything to ensure the well-being
Durham
See Ethos on page 4
Top WLC graduates
Spc. John S. Bogart
Distinguished award
Sgt. Brittany A. Durham
Leadership award
Spc. Ravennoir D. Amaechiokonji
Spc. Lauren Klotz
Cpl. Thomas Beltran
Spc. Jonah Lemely
Spc. John S. Bogart
Spc. Vincent L. Moreno
Spc. Curtis Brazee
Spc. Jordan Neuharth
Sgt. Cale Buck
Spc. Dayna O’Roark
Spc. Eric Burger
Spc. Paul Rodriguez
Sgt. Ralph Chavez
Spc. Fellix Rosado
Sgt. Brittany A. Durham
Sgt. Ty J. Skarloken
Cpl. Kenneth England
Spc. Brian Sullivan
Spc. Edgar Fleming
Spc. Jacob M. Thompson
Spc. Calvin B. Gardner Jr.
Spc. Jacob Varvel
Spc. Tyler Garman
Spc. Ashley Westergren
Spc. Ranshon Generette
Spc. Phillip Whitaker
Spc. Kristopher Grayson
Spc. Arianna Zalikowski
Sgt. Michael A. Howlett
What makes me
IRON HORSE STRONG
Pfc. Evan Paxton
Infantryman, Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker
Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
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Mountaineer editor
526-4144
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What makes me Iron Horse Strong
is the good physical training at both
company and platoon levels, outstanding
leadership among our senior (leaders)
and great camaraderie with everyone.
What it means to serve my
country is protecting my Family,
country and fellow Soldiers and to
be a part of the small percentage of
Americans who answer the nation’s
call at a moment’s notice.
I continue to serve because I have
pride in what I do, respect for myself and
Family, a sense of accomplishment and
(to continue) my Family’s heritage of
service on both sides of the Family.
My goals while I’m in the Army
are to advance in training, rank, job
performance and to be able to lead and
train other Soldiers in the future. In
addition, I want to make it to Airborne,
Air Assault and Sniper schools.
Sgt. 1st Class Charles Buckner has
been my biggest influence, because he
has pushed me to do better in physical
training, taught me a lot in the classroom
and has the knowledge to correct or teach
me what I need to know about the Army.
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
3
Leaders hail, farewell chief of staff
Story and photo by
Sgt. 1st Class Jacob A. McDonald
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
Joint Task Force Carson leadership held a retreat
ceremony Monday to bid farewell to one chief of staff
and welcome another.
During the ceremony, Col. D.A. Sims II officially
assumed the duties as the chief of staff for 4th Infantry
Division and Fort Carson from Col. Bruce P. Antonia.
“It’s an important day today in the history of the
division as we say farewell to Col. Antonia and his lovely
bride and two sons, and welcome D.A. Sims and his lovely
bride and daughter coming to us from Germany,” said
Commanding General Maj. Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, 4th
Inf. Div. and Fort Carson, during his remarks.
LaCamera commented on Antonia’s many accomplishments while serving as the chief of staff to include a 12-month deployment
to Afghanistan, more than
$500 million in construction
growth, the addition of an
aviation brigade, the resurgence of the use of Piñon
Canyon Maneuver Site for
brigade training events and
three turbulent budget cuts.
“Your contribution here
at Carson has been absolutely
phenomenal,” LaCamera said
to Antonia. “I know you can
walk away feeling proud of
yourself for the job that you
have done and the impact
you are going to have on
Soldiers present the state
flags during the chief of staff
hail and farewell ceremony
Monday at Founders Plaza.
leaders over the next
several years and
generations.”
During his remarks
Antonia reflected on
his time as chief of
staff and some of the
challenges it held as
well as the positive
opportunities and experiences he had.
“Along the way I
managed to form some
great relationships
with a lot of awesome
people, many of them
sitting here this afternoon,” he said. “A sense of teamwork and passion
about Soldiers, Fort Carson and the military in general
have been an absolutely uplifting experience. There is
not one person that I’ve run into on Fort Carson or in
the surrounding community who doesn’t care about our
great nation, or who doesn’t understand that it takes a
team to defend it.”
Antonia also thanked LaCamera for allowing him to
deploy and serve overseas one last time before he retired.
Antonia will be retiring during a Sept. 5 ceremony
on Fort Carson.
LaCamera also welcomed Sims to the division and
to Fort Carson, stating that Sims had history with the
division. Sims served as the commander of the 2nd
Sims
See Chief of staff on page 4
4
MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Joint Retiree Appreciation Day
Event to be held at Air Force Academy
By Nel Lampe
Mountaineer staff
Retiree Appreciation Day, a joint effort between
Air Force installations and Fort Carson, will be at the
Cadet Field House at the U.S. Air Force Academy,
Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The RAD event held Jan. 11 at Fort Carson was
the first joint effort.
“The first joint event had 2,500 attendees and we
expect no less than that for this year’s event,” said
Carolyn Hill, Retiree Services Officer at Fort Carson.
Lonny Cupp, Fort Carson Retiree Council, said
Exercise
From page 1
Directorate of Emergency Services like
an active shooter exercise. Things like
that we regularly train on,” said Glen
Silloway, Fort Carson’s fire chief.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been
tested here,” Silloway said, referring to
the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest
fires as well as the flooding in Boulder
County and a mudslide outside Cheyenne
Mountain Air Station.
This week’s exercise brought together
representatives from not only a number of
Fort Carson organizations but also from
the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
Joint Terrorism Task Force and Denver
bomb squad, El Paso County and
Colorado Springs Offices of Emergency
Management and Colorado Springs
Utilities emergency managers.
“We already enjoy a very robust,
healthy relationship with Colorado Springs
and El Paso County community emergency management, but it’s something
we have to continually work to foster,”
Hamilton said. “You don’t want to build
that relationship on your worst day, at the
time of a crisis.”
Silloway said a full-scale exercise
is a good chance for Fort Carson to get
involved with local emergency managers
and test DES’s plans and procedures.
“It is a really good opportunity for us
to exercise our plans, everything from the
incident command to the tactics of firefighting. We’re using some urban search
and rescue techniques. We were detecting
for hazardous materials,” he said.
His staff also simulated firefighting
and medical care and triaged simulated
casualties.
Hamilton said, “You want the
training to be extremely realistic. With
realistic training there are risks, so
safety is paramount.
“One other thing we’re looking at is
that it makes sense to have a joint event as it saves
manpower and funds, noting this is the second joint
event. “We try to put as much information as we
can before the retirees, their spouses and widows or
widowers to keep them informed.”
Several guest speakers will be scheduled throughout the event to address subjects of interest. A list of
subjects and times will be listed on a placard near the
entrance and on the program. Attendees will meet at
an adjoining location throughout the event to hear the
speakers of subjects of interest to them. Guest speakers
will address TRICARE, United Health, Veterans Affairs
and legislation updates and other subjects of interest.
there could be additional
threats that come out
of the initial (incident).
There could be additional
threats from opportunists
that want to take advantage of the initial crisis
response,” the garrison
commander said.
Hamilton explained
that for participants in
Tuesday’s event, the
exercise began with a
call that was not filled
with many details.
Eyewitness accounts
followed, and police
who were already on
routine patrol responded
to the scene.
“You start to build
a clearer picture over
time,” he said. “As that
happened, we realized
that based on the nature
of the damage on scene
that it was probably an
intentional act. It’s like
putting together pieces of a puzzle.”
The simulated scene included two
smoking cars, a third turned on its side,
Soldiers from the 10th Combat Support
Hospital acting as casualties, and debris
scattered over the parking lot and lawn of
Prussman Chapel. The chapel and Garcia
Physical Fitness Center both sustained
“structural collapse” and were where
emergency responders conducted urban
search and rescue to recover casualties.
Hamilton said that throughout
the day, a series of “injects” would be
inserted into the exercise to drive the
response and reactions from not only
the command post leadership but also
the personnel on the ground who were
securing the scene, triaging patients and
evacuating casualties.
“It’s into the hundreds in terms of
the number of people it takes to put this
Ethos
From page 2
of my battle buddies. I became personally
dedicated to helping those who had fallen
out, fallen behind or simply fallen off find
their passion for fighting to be the best in life.
I was absolutely thrilled to get out of bed in
the morning and motivate other Soldiers. My
goals became much more focused on those
I could affect around me, and less on the
success of my personal life. I was not afraid
of taking a risk or failing if it meant I was
becoming something better. The Army had
turned me into a warrior.
The event begins with a free continental breakfast.
More than 60 vendors and organizations will be on
hand, including veterans and retiree associations.
According to Master Sgt. Alvin Reed, chairman
of the Air Force Academy RAD committee, AARP
Driver Safety Program will be represented at the
information fair as well as a representative from
Academy privatized housing.
Medical and dental information will be available.
Attendees may enter the Air Force Academy at
either the south or north gates. The upper level of
the parking lot at the Cadet Field House will be used
for handicapped parking.
Photo by Crystal Ross
exercise together, not only to actually
respond,” he said.
Hamilton said the leadership opted
to use a simulated car bomb for the
exercise because it was a reasonable
scenario that could present itself. In the
exercise, an “unhappy public works
contract employee” used knowledge
and forethought to detonate a device.
The fire chief said late Tuesday that
the exercise was going well.
“Overall, I think with the responders
and everybody at the (Emergency
Operations Center), it looked like it came
together really well,” Silloway said.
He said a practice run like this week’s
simulation is the time to make mistakes.
“This is why we do it. This is where
we learn where there may be things we
have to improve on, either in our plans or
our tactics,” he said. “Overall, it’s been
a successful exercise so far.”
Today, I live by the Warrior Ethos every
day. I think of that skinny, scared person three
years ago and marvel at the stark differences.
I’ve undergone more changes than I could
have ever thought possible. I’m unafraid of
the challenges that are given to me, because
I know I now possess the abilities to conquer
them. Every time I put on the uniform I’m
proud of myself, because I know where
I’ve come from and what I represent.
My determination to be the best at
everything I do shows in every aspect of
my life. I am a driving force in the best
organization on the planet and continue
to grow every day through my experience,
the Army and the Ethos.
Fort Carson firefighters evacuate a “casualty”
during a full-scale exercise, Tuesday.
The second half of the exercise
Wednesday moved into the recovery
phase, more of the aftermath of an
emergency, whether human caused
or from a natural disaster. Those
activities involve debris management,
restoration of utilities and structural
damage assessment.
“It’s good to see where we’re at as
an installation,” Silloway said. “This
is where we want to learn, when we’re
doing a drill or an exercise, so that if a
real-world event happens, things come
together a lot better.
“We have a great working relationship
with all our directorates and with all
personnel on Fort Carson and all of our
partners outside the gate,” he said.
Chief of staff
From page 3
Cavalry Regiment under the 4th Inf. Div. while in Regional Command
– South in Afghanistan.
Sims added his gratitude at being able to serve with the division
again, this time as the chief of staff.
“It’s been an amazing 10 days,” Sims said. “I feel very privileged
to have been part of the division before and to be back.”
Sims has served as a company, battalion and regimental
commander and has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He
completed an Army War College fellowship in the security studies
program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a graduate
of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and numerous
other military schools and courses.
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
5
223rd Med. deploys in support of OEF
Story and photos by Crystal Ross
Mountaineer staff
About 10 members of the 223rd Medical Detachment
(Preventive Medicine), 10th Combat Support Hospital,
deploy this month to Kuwait in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom and Operation Spartan Shield. Though
their number may be small, their mission is vital.
Maj. Alyson Malone, commander, 223rd Med. Det.,
said that in addition to the unit’s traditional preventive
medicine tasks, which include sampling air, water and
soil; sanitation and hygiene inspections; and pest-related
missions, the detachment will also include laboratory
surveillance for influenza and Middle Eastern Respiratory
Syndrome viruses during its nine-month deployment.
“Our mission is twofold,” Malone said. “The lab
portion of the mission is not a typical preventive medicine
detachment mission, so this is above and beyond what we
are normally expected to do.”
To support the added duties this deployment will
require of the 223rd, the detachment will be augmented
by three Professional Filler System (PROFIS) medical
officers from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Aberdeen
Proving Ground, Md.: a preventive medicine physician,
a biochemist and a microbiologist. Malone is an environmental scientist, and her executive officer is an entomologist.
In preparation for this deployment, the detachment
incorporated the laboratory section early this year.
“We’ve been doing that since January, all the way up
to the point where we actually have lab techs (recently)
down at Fort Sam Houston learning specific pieces of
equipment,” said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Peet, detachment sergeant, 223rd Med. Det. “We incorporated not
only our lab technicians but our PROFIS officers into
our culminating training that we did last month, so we
got to meet our PROFIS officers. We went out to Camp
Red Devil and spent a week out there incorporating their
section into our unit.”
Col. James R. Andrews, commander, 10th CSH, said
during the deployment ceremony Monday that the exercise
scenario began with an air movement via helicopter where
Soldiers were able to land in the Cheyenne Mountain area
to collect soil samples and then went on to conduct aerial
reconnaissance of potential sources of potable water.
“The train-up for this deployment was a challenge,”
Andrews said, “but this detachment was able to successfully integrate the laboratory mission set and personnel
to make one cohesive team. The high quality training
scenarios conducted throughout the week resulted in a
detachment that was fully validated on their medical tasks
and prepared to deploy.”
Malone said that while the unit will be deployed to
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, it will also be responsible for the
U.S. embassy in Kuwait as well as multiple other locations
in Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“The most important aspect of what we do is
documenting environmental exposures that would affect
Soldiers’ health, not just acutely but also chronically,”
she said. “What we do is travel to multiple fire bases
and document all of those (environmental) exposures,
which is why we’re taking air samples and water samples
and soil samples so that for years to come we know if a
particular Soldier was in this place at this time, this is what
we measured as far as chemicals in the air, for example.
“We contribute to an online data repository for the
entire Department of Defense. That’s probably the most
significant mission that we do downrange,” Malone said.
Peet added, “So if 20-30 years from now a group of
Soldiers ends up with some kind of weird syndrome, they
can go back and say, ‘OK, all these Soldiers were here.
We know they were here, and here are all the things they
were exposed to in the air, soil, water.”
The 223rd Med. Det.’s last deployment returned from
Iraq in 2010.
“Nobody who’s currently in the unit was in that
deployment, so this is, you can say, a whole brand new
unit,” Peet said.
He said the noncommissioned officers and
command team have all deployed before with other units,
but this will be the first deployment
for the junior enlisted Soldiers and
PROFIS officers.
“This is an excellent opportunity
for us,” Malone said. “As far as
preventive medicine, this is where
the rubber meets the road. We are in
our fullest glory when we’re actually
in a deployed setting and preventing
illness downrange. Keeping Soldiers
in the fight is what we train to do.
Most of our unit has not been able
to go do that in real time during a
combat deployment. This is going
to be a great opportunity to gain
experience and also a great opportunity for our Soldiers to shine.”
Maj. Alyson Malone, commander,
223rd Medical Detachment
(Preventive Medicine), 10th Combat
Support Hospital, center, leads her
Soldiers to Kuwait in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom.
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MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
DCSM leads PT, motivates candidates
Joint Task Force Carson
Soldiers preparing to attend
various military schools joined
Command Sgt. Maj. David M.
Clark, 4th Infantry Division and
Fort Carson, for physical training
as part of the Iron Horse Division’s
School Warrior Athlete Program
at division headquarters, Aug. 22.
“This is for Soldiers who
are about to go to Drill Sergeant
Course, the recruiter program,
Advanced Leader Course, Senior
Leader Course or Warrior Leader
Course, and this is part of the
process of building athlete
warriors as we look at producing
the leadership for our Army here
at Fort Carson,” Clark said. “It’s
about building an Army that is
stronger that will one day take our
places as leaders across the force.”
Every Friday, more than
50 Soldiers join the command
sergeant major for physical training
as he starts them off with a run,
follows it with a 40-minute strength
training circuit and then another run
and finishes up with flipping tires
in battle buddy teams. Following
the PT session, Clark gathers all the
Soldiers and discusses his vision for
the future of the Army, his goals
for them and provides guidance to
help achieve a better, stronger Army.
“Our nation needs our best
serving in the Army, and that is what
we’re dong here at Fort Carson,”
Clark said. “We are the ‘Iron Horse’
Division for our Army. So when our
nation calls, they are going to call
upon the Iron Horse Division, and
when they call — we’ll be ready.
See DCSM on page 13
Command Sgt. Maj. David M. Clark, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, talks to noncommissioned
officers following physical training during the Iron Horse Division’s School Warrior Athlete Program, Aug. 22.
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Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry
Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Infantry Division, form a defensive perimeter after exiting a CH-47 Chinook
during the first of a three-day Mortar Training
and Evaluation Program, Aug. 19.
1-38 certifies mortar teams
Story and photos by Sgt. William Howard
1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs
Office, 4th Infantry Division
Indirect fire infantrymen knelt in tall grass as a
CH-47 Chinook slowly descended during their first
of three days of a Mortar Training and Evaluation
Program, Aug. 19.
When the helicopter landed, the infantrymen
swung heavy rucksacks over their backs and entered
through the ramp at the rear of the Chinook.
During the flight, the mortar teams from 1st
Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade
Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, sat close together
strapped in their seats and tried to speak over the noise of
the tandem rotors. Eventually they relaxed within the
heap of gear filling the middle of the helicopter.
“Since 1st Bn., 38th Inf. Reg., has been deemed the
air assault battalion of the 1st SBCT, it’s important for
us to build in as many air movements into our training
progression as possible,” said Capt. Kyle Tarvin,
commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
1st Bn., 38th Inf. Reg. “It exposes Soldiers to the
culture we’re trying to build within the battalion and
tests the leaders to make sure we’re conducting all the
tasks required to be the air assault battalion.”
The Chinook landed about 15 minutes later in a
Pfc. Branden Maurin, indirect fire infantryman,
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st
Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade
Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, carries about 100
pounds of gear up the draw of two hills, Aug. 19.
training area. Soldiers quickly spilled out of the back
ramp and hunched down behind their rucksacks in the
tall grass amid cacti until the helicopter departed.
“It was pretty exhilarating from the time the Chinook
was hovering over us and landing to when it took off,”
said Pvt. Dominic Carranza, indirect fire infantryman,
HHC, 1st Bn., 38th Inf. Reg.
Platoon leadership then gathered in the center of the
group to establish radio communications and determine
the route for the patrol.
After making tactical movements across a road
and around a hill, the indirect fire infantrymen
assembled in a strategic area of operations. They
set up four M252 81 mm mortars, leadership
ordered Soldiers to specific overlook positions
to maintain a security perimeter and reconnaissance was performed for the next patrol.
“We’re evaluating them on their flexibility,
their ability to provide accurate indirect fire
support and everything they’ve learned up to
this point,” said Tarvin. “Each section will
occupy a mortar firing position, receive a fire
mission and fire different types of missions.”
Thirty minutes later the platoon gathered
its gear and began the next patrol. The Soldiers
fought through the heat and exhaustion carrying
an average of 100 pounds up a draw and over
a hill to the next assembly area.
“I’m the (ammunition) bearer so I got stuck
with the tube. It’s definitely heavy, and walking
up the hills with it is very challenging,” said
Pfc. Branden Maurin, indirect fire infantryman,
HHC, 1st Bn., 38th Inf. Reg. “If I work hard
then I’ll progress and become an assistant gunner. Either
way, everyone is carrying a piece of the mortar system.”
Teams placed four M252 81 mm mortars in a firing
line toward a simulated enemy. The rest of the platoon
maintained security of the perimeter while camouflaged
in tall grass, and Soldiers perched on nearby hills kept a
full view around their position.
When they received the dry fire missions, two
Soldiers manned each M252 81 mm mortar and
performed all the necessary steps to effectively fire
rounds at the enemy. No rounds were actually fired, but
9
each team treated the training like a real combat mission.
“The idea with this training event is that we’re
certified on all of our dismounted mortar capabilities,”
said Tarvin. “At the end of this training event, the
mortar platoon will be certified on providing indirect fire
support on their 81 mm mortars and the mortar sections
will be certified on their 60 mm mortars.”
Spc. William Cranford, indirect fire infantryman, Headquarters
and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry
Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division, aims an M252 81 mm mortar tube, Aug. 19.
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10 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Joint patrols, celebrating culture
4IBCT builds bond
with Afghan partners
Story and photos by
Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston
Regional Command-South Public Affairs Office
MORGHAN KECHAH, Afghanistan — The evening sun shone on the domed
homes and outbuildings of the small Afghan village of Morghan Kechah, giving them a
gilded appearance. Hundreds of children playing in the dirt streets gathered with curiosity
near the village’s schoolhouse to see what the Americans were doing in their village.
On Aug. 18, the eve of Afghanistan’s Independence Day, Soldiers of the 1st
Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division, conducted a joint patrol with the Afghan Uniformed Police in the village to 2nd Lt. Trevor Hanson, platoon leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment,
assess security, talk with village elders, relay intelligence and celebrate the indepen- 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stops for a picture outside
dence day with a dinner. The evening’s events served to create bonds of trust with the schoolhouse of Morghan Kachah, Afghanistan, during a joint patrol with the Afghan
the AUP as the 1st Bn., 12th Inf. Reg., Soldiers are fairly new to the area, having Uniformed Police, Aug. 18.
recently taken responsibility for its security.
The partners began their evening with a joint patrol
into Morghan Kechah to talk with a village leader, known
as a malik, and establish trust with both the AUP and the
villagers, said 2nd Lt. Trevor Hanson, platoon leader, Company
C, 1st Bn., 12th Inf. Reg.
Hanson said his platoon took responsibility for the area
about two weeks prior to the visit and by getting to know the
locals and AUP commanders his unit can work more effectively.
“When you come out to these villages, you can’t assume
that they’re just going to give you information about the area.
You have to talk to them, you have to sincerely ask about their
families, really get to know them,” Hanson said. “Once you
establish that bond of trust, gathering information just comes
as a byproduct of your relationship.”
After spending time with the AUP in the village and
chatting with village elders, the joint patrol moved to an AUP
checkpoint that watches over the village. There they distributed
current intelligence to AUP commanders and reviewed what
was assessed in the village.
“The village is heavily used by insurgents for weapons
transport and safe haven, so we’re trying to help the AUP develop
ways they can identify dangerous people,” said 2nd Lt. Isaac
Gutierrez, assistant intelligence officer, 1st Bn., 12th Inf. Reg.
“So today what we did during our intelligence rundown was
discuss current and potential threats that were moving through
their village. We mentioned ways to mitigate the threat and
identified training that they’ll need to be effective.”
Once a thorough intelligence breakdown was completed
and traffic control point training plans made, both the AUP
members and the 1st Bn., 12th Inf. Reg., Soldiers brought food
to the table for the celebration.
“Our dinner with the AUP was to celebrate their independence day and to do some cultural bridging,” Gutierrez said.
“We brought some of our food and they prepared some Afghan
food … We had a good time with them with some relaxed
conversation and laughter, which seems like a small thing, but Pfc. Isaac Soliz, infantryman, Company C, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, is part of a patrol in Morghan Kechah, Afghanistan, Aug. 28.
it will provide us trust in the future.”
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12 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Suicide Prevention Month
Seeking help
sign of strength
Story and photo by
Sgt. Eric Glassey
4th Infantry Division
Public Affairs Office
The Fort Carson Suicide Prevention
Program is working to teach and engage
Soldiers to improve suicide awareness
so aid can be provided to Soldiers who
need it.
Suicide prevention is not a simple
task but a multifaceted challenge,
according to Deon Cobasky, suicide
prevention program manager, Army
Substance Abuse Program.
“I think that suicide is a very
complicated situation in that we wish
there was a formula, or if we just knew
all the right things to look for then we
could stop a suicide from happening,”
Cobasky said. “When we look at suicides
at Fort Carson, there is a whole range of
cases where people saw a lot of red flags
and risk factors, and then there were the
Soldiers where nobody saw anything and
didn’t expect the suicide at all.”
Sometimes the Families may not
even know to look for the risk factors
or warning signs, as was the case for the
McShan Family.
“My son completed suicide April 1,
2009,” said retired Sgt. 1st Class Paul
McShan. “After he died, we discovered
that he suffered numerous concussions.
He had a traumatic brain injury, his
brain short-circuited one night and he
shot himself.”
Paul McShan’s son, Richard, served
in the Marine Corps and committed
suicide a few months after a deployment.
“He had everything going for him,”
McShan said. “When you sit back and
look at stuff, you see all the pieces fit
together. I saw those ‘HEAD’ cards when
they came out in the fall of 2009, and
saw on the back the list of symptoms of
head injuries. He had every last symptom
on that card.”
Richard McShan’s death was not an
oddity, but a common trend found among
veterans and servicemembers.
“The majority of our suicides are not
during deployments,” Cobasky said. “The
majority of our suicides are during our
transition times. It could be during rest
and recuperation leave, reintegration,
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Paul McShan, social worker, Fort Caron Survivor Outreach Services,
holds a photo of his son, U.S. Marine Cpl. Richard McShan, who committed suicide in 2009.
Schedule of events
The following events are planned in September in
observance of Suicide Prevention Month:
Sept. 5
 Suicide Prevention Month kickoff run with
Command Sgt. Maj. David M. Clark, 4th Infantry
Division and Fort Carson, 6:30-8 a.m.
Sept. 10 — World Suicide Prevention Day
 Social media awareness campaign
 Free suicide prevention training event at
Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Office,
704 N. Tejon St., 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
permanent changes in
station or even retirement.”
Getting help during
these milestones in one’s
Sept. 17
life isn’t a sign of weak Spouse Wellness Conference, register at http://
ness but of strength,
www.carson.army.mil/WFCP/spousewellness.html
according to McShan,
Sept. 20
who currently works at
 “Making Connections” U.S. Army Garrison
Fort Carson Survivor
Motorcycle Poker Run, registration at Gate 1
Outreach Services. He
at 9 a.m., first bike leaves at 10:30 a.m.
hasn’t always done social
work, but his life changed
Sept. 21
when his son’s ended.
 Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Race Against Suicide
“I used to be a diesel
Walk/Run/Bike, register at https://preventsuicide.
technician, but having
webconnex.com/raceagainstsuicide2014
someone in your life
Sept. 25
commit suicide completely
 Prayer breakfast, featuring keynote speaker
destroys your whole
Dave Roever, 7:30-8:30 a.m. at the Special
world,” McShan said. “I
Events Center
am using all my energy

“Surviving Trauma through Spirituality” with
and all my efforts to
keynote speaker Dave Roever, 2-3 p.m. at the
educate young Soldiers.
Special Events Center
I’m with a speaker team
that works with suicide
Sept. 25-26
prevention, and we tell
 Intimate Allies workshop, contact Army Community
people about the sympService at 526-4590 for more information
toms, what the results
Unit specific training
are and try to eliminate
Contact unit master resiliency trainer or chaplain for
or at least cut down on
information on the following training opportunities:
the myths around mental
 Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness
health.
 Master resiliency trainer skill development
“One of the big Suicide prevention: Ask, Care, Escort and
gest
cau ses
for
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
suicides in the military is
that we won’t talk about
it,” McShan said. “We
won’t discuss it, and we keep
sleep — why would you not address
it in the dark. So if we don’t talk about it, them? If you have post-traumatic stress
it’s going to keep on happening. I’m disorder, admit it and get help for it.”
willing to talk to anybody who is willing
While there is not one cure-all
to listen, because I don’t want another method to prevent suicide, Cobasky does
parent to suffer the same thing I have believe that relationships and connections
gone through.”
with others help mitigate the risks.
McShan equates mental health
“I think that one important factor
problems as being on the same level is being able to connect with people
as physical injuries and encourages wherever you are, and that’s not easy to
individuals to seek proper help.
do,” Cobasky said.
“If you were running during
Throughout the month of September,
physical training, fell and heard a ASAP, Suicide Prevention Program and
snap you’d go to the doctor to get it various units will host events to bring
checked out,” McShan said. “If you suicide awareness across the post.
get hit by (an) improvised exploContact Cobasky at 526-0401 to
sive device, get bounced across the schedule McShan or another Suicide
field and have all the symptoms — Prevention Speaker Team member to
dizziness, irritability and can’t get to speak at an organization function.
Colorado Publishing Company
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
DCSM
From page 6
“I want you to be dedicated, fit and ready,” Clark
said. “That’s what the commanding general and I
expect from each and every one of our fighters across
the installation. You are noncommissioned officers and
I expect you to be engaged throughout your military
journey, because at the end of the journey at the end of
the day, all you’re going to have is your legacy. Your
13
legacy is what’s going to continue on and your legacy
is going to be the Soldiers that you lead.”
Clark directed his focus to the NCOs heading to
the recruiter program as they will be affecting the
future of the Army.
“When you interact with the high school students out
there, you’ve got to represent our best so when they look at
you they are looking at a true noncommissioned officer,”
Clark said. “They will want to be like you some day.
“We don’t want them in 10 years from now
talking about their recruiter and that he was fat and
how he sold me a bunch of
(lies),” Clark said. “You owe
them the truth. They have
got to know what they are
getting into. You cannot
sugarcoat (it) with these 18-, 19-,
20-year olds that want to join
our profession of arms. I want
you to recruit the ones with the
warfighter’s mentality.”
Redirecting his focus to
the noncommissioned officers
heading to the Drill Sergeant
Course, Clark instructed them
to lead the way.
“You cannot be (leading
from) the rear as a drill
sergeant,” Clark said. “These recruiters here are
going to send you some civilians, and their first
contact with the Army is going to be you. What will
your legacy be as a drill sergeant?”
Staff Sgt. Serge Ziegler, battalion motor
sergeant, 204th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd
Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div., echoed
the command sergeant major’s sentiments about
leading from the front.
“He’s right, we have to push ourselves and push
our Soldiers to make sure we’re going forward,”
Ziegler said. “We have to be able to do everything
we expect our Soldiers to do, and by going to Drill
Sergeant School I can help get the best we can
possibly get out of our Soldiers.”
Ziegler said he is timid about going to Drill Sergeant
School at the age of 47 but has found confidence in
camaraderie with a fellow 4th Inf. Div. Soldier heading
to drill sergeant training, Staff Sgt. Martine Fuller, tank
commander, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd
Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div.
“The good thing here is that Staff Sgt. Ziegler is
going through Drill Sergeant School the same time as
myself, so I know I’ll have a battle buddy I know, and
we can help each other out and look out for each other
since we’re both from the 4th Inf. Div.,” Fuller said. “It’s
like what command sergeant major said, ‘It’s all about
your legacy and what you’re going to leave here with
your Soldiers back at your unit.’ I still remember my drill
sergeant after nine years. You definitely want to have
that effect on Soldiers.”
Staff Sgt. Serge Ziegler, left,
Clark gave the Soldiers some final words before
battalion motor sergeant, 204th
dismissing them.
Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd
“At the end of the day, our young Soldiers deserve
Armored Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division, and Staff Sgt. the best leadership, and that’s what we’re going to give
Martin Fuller, tank commander, 1st them,” Clark said. “Without a doubt in their mind,
when they see the person in charge of them, we want
Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment,
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, them to say, ‘My leader is committed. I trust my leader
and my leader cares.’ That’s what we want to see at
4th Inf. Div., flip a tire during the
Iron Horse Division’s School Warrior the end of the day with these young Soldiers. That’s
what our nation expects of us.”
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14 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
More than 300 attend BOSS event
Story and photo by
Crystal Ross
Mountaineer staff
A little rain didn’t stop more than
300 people from enjoying both the
indoor and outdoor activities at Single
Soldier Day, an event sponsored by
Fort Carson Better Opportunities for
Single Soldiers, Aug. 22.
“It went great. I look forward to
doing it again next year,” said Sgt.
Zachary Huitt, BOSS president.
“I had a Soldier who just got here
from a different installation. He said
he’d never seen anything like it before,
and he thought it was amazing. He was
really excited about it.”
The annual event is a chance for
single Soldiers to have some time off
during the duty day to relax and enjoy
themselves.
“We don’t give enough back to
single Soldiers,” said Huitt. “People
enjoyed that it was during the work day.”
He added that BOSS events (he
tries to schedule at least six different
activities per month) go a long way
toward prevention of unsafe behaviors,
including drunk driving and suicide.
BOSS gives single Soldiers a chance
to connect with each other as well
as to take part in volunteer
activities or recreational opportunities both on and off post.
Sgt. Brittany Durham, BOSS
representative, 588th Brigade
Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored
Brigade Combat Team, 4th
Infantry Division, said events
such as Single Soldier Day are
“awesome” but don’t get enough
attention. She encourages leaders
to get the word out to their units about
BOSS activities to help their single
Soldiers make more connections.
This year’s Single Soldier
Day saw half of the parking
lot of The Hub taken over by
inf latable entertainments like
King of the Mountain, a boxing
ring, Twister, a bungee run and a
giant water slide.
Pvt. Jocelyne Rodriguez, Medical
Department Activity, right, bests
fellow MEDDAC Soldier Pfc. Samantha
Ruiz at the bungee run at Single
Soldier Day, sponsored by Fort
Carson Better Opportunities for
Single Soldiers, Aug. 22.
See the Mountaineer online at
http://www.fortcarsonmountaineer.com
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
15
GCSS-Army comes to Carson
Story and photo by
Staff Sgt. Alexis R. Ramos
43rd Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office
The 43rd Sustainment Brigade officially went
live, July 25, with Global Command Support SystemArmy, a new logistical system, affecting numerous
units across Fort Carson.
Several units on Fort Carson have been participating in the training that started in early July.
“GCSS-Army is the tactical unit/installation
logistics and fi nancial system for the U.S. Army,”
said Patrick Patterson, chief of installation, Logistics
Division, GCSS-Army, based out of Petersburg, Va.
“GCSS-Army is an Enterprise Resource Planning
solution that will track supplies, spare parts and
organizational equipment. It will track unit maintenance, total cost of ownership and other financial
transactions related to logistics for all Army units.”
The system will allow the Army to be more
efficient in the logistics process, ultimately saving
money, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Errick L. Moore,
routing identifier code-geographical manager, 43rd SB.
“GCSS-Army is a commercial off-the-shelf
system that is used to replace Standard Army Retail
Supply System,” said Moore. “SARSS has been in
existence since 1995 and it was effective, but the
Army G-4 wanted to make sure that we had a system
that was auditable by 2017.”
Units on Fort Carson were broken down into
fielding groups for GCSS-Army’s fielding schedule,
said Patterson.
He said Fort Carson organizations involved
in FG19 GCSS-Army are Fort Carson Logistics
Readiness Center; 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team,
4th Infantry Division; 3rd Armored Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Inf. Div.; 10th Special Forces Group;
Warrior Transition Battalion and 247th Quarter
Master Company, 68th Combat Sustainment Support
Battalion, 43rd SB.
“The trainers arrived here to Fort Carson
June 30, and that was in preparation to start
the setup of the classrooms for the warehouse
fi nance and material management classrooms,”
said Moore. “Then we started the actual new
equipment training July 8.
“The training has been real successful across
all the brigades and units, especially for 43rd,” said
Moore. “With the new system, because we’ve been
using SARSS for 15 years, we have to learn new
practices, learn new languages, new business
practices on how we do things. So it’s going to be
an expected dip on the productivity, but as you get
the Soldiers to learn the processes … it’s going to
even out and we’ll get back on track.”
“This has been a very successful training event.
During NET, we provided training to 200 students
in GCSS-Army Warehouse Operations, Finance
Operations and Material/Execution Management
Operations.
“I’ll be honest, I was skeptical,” said Moore.
“I was one of those who said ‘No, I like SARSS,’
but after attending the warrant officer advanced
course, we had a block of an instruction by one of the
developers who’s been on (GCSS-Army) since 1993
explain it and it really helps because it helps with
your visibility … whereas if I was running a Supply
Support Activity, I would be the only one that could
view requisitions and everything else unless it was
in another system.
“GCSS-Army allows not only me, but the
commander, the maintainers, the property book
Carlice Lewis, materiel and execution management
instructor, Northrop Grumman, provides Global Command
Support System-Army over-the-shoulder training, July 25, at
the 43rd Sustainment Brigade Headquarters.
officers, to actually go in and view the requisition
as it’s coming through the pipeline,” he said. “It
gives better visibility.”
The six organizations continued receiving overthe-shoulder training through the middle of August
to ensure a smooth transition to GCSS-Army.
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16 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Miscellaneous
Self-help weed control program — Department of
Defense regulations require training for people
applying pesticides on military installations. Units
interested in participating in the Directorate of
Public Works Self-help Weed Control Program must
send Soldiers for training on the proper handling,
transportation and application of herbicides. Once
individuals are properly trained by the DPW
base operations and maintenance contractor, Fort
Carson Support Services, Soldiers can be issued the
appropriate products and equipment so units can
treat weeds in rocked areas around the unit. Weed
control self-help training sessions for Soldiers are
available the first and third Monday of the month
through September from 11 a.m. to noon, in building
3711. Each unit may send up to five people for
training. Soldiers need to call FCSS at 492-0166 to set
up an appointment to pick up weed control products
and sprayers. Call 492-0166 for more information
about the DPW Self-help Weed Control Program.
Command Evaluation and Training Team — COMET
provides commanders at all levels with a responsive
maintenance and supply assessment and training tool
that improves the combat effectiveness, readiness and
efficiency of their units’ logistical programs. The team
identifies supply and maintenance weaknesses and
problems and provides individual and unit reinforcement training based on assessments. Results remain
confidential for the unit commander only. COMET
provides assistance in the majority of maintenance
and supply management areas with one-on-one
training and by conducting follow-up visits. Contact
Tim Howarth at 503-3095 or thomas.howarth3.ctr@
mail.mil for information.
First Sergeants’ Barracks Program 2020 — is
located in building 1454 on Nelson Blvd. The hours
of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The
office assists Soldiers with room assignments and
terminations. Call 526-9707 for more information.
Sergeant Audie Murphy Club — The Fort Carson
Sergeant Audie Murphy Club meets the second
Tuesday of each month from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45
p.m. at the Stack Dining Facility, building 2330.
The club is named after Audie Leon Murphy, the
most highly-decorated Soldier in American history.
To be a member, a Soldier must be recognized as
an NCO of the highest quality, demonstrating both
leadership and performance. Armywide, SAMC
membership is between 1 and 2 percent. Contact
SAMC president Sgt. 1st Class Gilbert Guzman Jr.
at 526-3576 or email gilbert.guzmanjr@us.army.mil.
Physical Exam Clinic — is located in building 1056 and
performs physicals for Soldiers assigned to Fort Carson
and surrounding bases without a primary care manager. Physicals, except flight physicals, are available
by appointment from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MondayFriday, except federal holidays. Physical packets can
be obtained at the clinic or online at http://www.evans.
amedd.army.mil/srp/srpc(underscore)pe.html. Visit
building 1056 or call 526-7170 for more information.
Directorate of Public Works services — DPW is
responsible for a wide variety of services on Fort
Carson. Services range from repair and maintenance
of facilities to equipping units with a sweeper
and cleaning motor pools. Listed below are phone
numbers and points of contact for services:
• Facility repair/service orders — Fort Carson
Support Services service order desk can be reached
at 526-5345. Use this number for emergencies or
routine tasks and for reporting wind damage,
damaged traffic signs or other facility damage.
• Refuse/trash and recycling — Call Eric Bailey at
719-491-0218 or email eric.e.bailey4.civ@mail.mil
when needing trash containers, trash is overflowing
or emergency service is required.
• Facility custodial services — Call Bryan Dorcey
at 526-6670 or email bryan.s.dorcey.civ@mail.mil
for service needs or to report complaints.
• Elevator maintenance — Call Bryan Dorcey at
Special Operations
Recruiting:
Building 1218,
Room 312/313
Ellis Street,
Fort Carson
524-1461/1462
Briefs every
Wednesday:
Special Forces:
noon,
Civil Affairs/
PSYOP: 1 p.m.
http://www.bragg.army.mil/sorb
Fort Carson dining facilities hours of operation
DFAC
Stack
Wolf
Friday-Monday (Training holiday/holiday)
Breakfast: 7-9 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dinner: 5-6:30 p.m.
Closed
Warfighter
(Wilderness Road Complex)
Closed
LaRochelle
10th SFG(A)
Friday only
Breakfast: 7-9 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
526-6670 or email bryan.s.dorcey.civ@mail.mil.
• Motor pool sludge removal/disposal — Call Dennis
Frost at 526-6997 or email dennis.j.frost.civ@mail.mil.
• Self-help/troop construction — Call Tony Haag
at 526-2859 or e-mail anthony.d.haag.civ@mail.
mil. Use this number to obtain self-help tools
and equipment or a motorized sweeper.
• Base operations contracting officer representative
— Call Terry Hagen at 526-9262 or email
terry.j.hagen.civ@mail.mil for questions on snow
removal, grounds maintenance and contractor
response to service orders.
• Portable latrines — Contact Jerald Just at 524-0786
or jerald.j.just.civ@mail.mil to request, for service
or to report damaged or overturned latrines.
• Signs — Call Jim Diorio, Fort Carson Support
Services, at 896-0797 or 524-2924 or email
jdiorio@kira.com to request a facility, parking or
regulatory traffic sign.
The Fort Carson Trial Defense Service office — is able
to help Soldiers 24/7 and is located in building 2354.
During duty hours, Soldiers should call 526-4563.
The 24-hour phone number for after hours, holidays
and weekends is 526-0051.
Briefings
75th Ranger Regiment briefings — are held Tuesdays
in building 1218, room 314, from noon to 1 p.m.
Soldiers must be private to sergeant first class with a
minimum General Technical Score of 105; be a U.S.
citizen; score 240 or higher on the Army Physical
Fitness Test; and pass a Ranger physical. Call 5242691 or visit http://www.goarmy.com/ranger.html.
Casualty Notification/Assistance Officer training —
The 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson commanding general has directed all Soldiers, sergeant first
class through command sergeant major, chief warrant
officer 2-5 and officers, captain and above, must
attend Casualty Assistance Officer and Casualty
Notification Officer Training. The three-day training
course is held monthly at Veterans Chapel. Soldiers
must register through their school noncommissioned
officer for attendance of this training. The next classes
are Sept. 16-18 and Oct. 14-16. Call 526-4551 for details.
Retirement briefings — are available at http://www.carson.
army.mil/dhr/DHR/MPD/PPB/RetirementServices.
html. Call 526-2840 for more information.
ETS briefings — are available at http://www.carson.
army.mil/dhr/DHR/MPD/PPB/Transitions.html.
Call 526-2240/8458 for more information.
Reassignment briefings — are held Tuesdays in
building 1129, Freedom Performing Arts Center.
Sign in for Soldiers heading overseas is at 7 a.m. and
the briefing starts at 7:30 a.m. Sign in for personnel
being reassigned stateside is at 1 p.m., with the
briefing starting at 1:30 p.m. Soldiers are required to
bring Department of the Army Form 5118, signed by
their physician and battalion commander, and a pen
to complete forms. Call 526-4730/4583 for details.
Disposition Services — Defense Logistics Agency
Disposition Services Colorado Springs, located in building 381, conducts orientations Fridays from 12:30-3:30
p.m. The orientations discuss DLA processes to include
turning in excess property, reutilizing government
property, web-based tools available, special handling
of property and environmental needs. To schedule an
orientation, contact Arnaldo Borrerorivera at arnaldo.
borrerorivera@dla.mil for receiving/turn in; Mike
Welsh at mike.welsh@dla.mil for reutilization/web
tools; or Rufus Guillory at rufus.guillory@dla.mil.
Army ROTC Green-to-Gold briefings — are held
the first and third Tuesday of each month at noon
Tuesday-Thursday
Breakfast: 7-9 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dinner: 5-6:30 p.m.
Breakfast: 6:45-9 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dinner: 5-6:30 p.m.
Breakfast: 7-9 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dinner: Closed
Closed Tuesday
Breakfast: 7-9 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dinner: Closed
at the education center, building 1117, room 120.
Call University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Army
ROTC at 262-3475 for more information.
Hours of Operation
Logistics Readiness Center Supply and Services
• Central issue facility, building 1525 — MondayFriday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30-4 p.m. Last
customer served at 3:30 p.m.
• Reparable exchange/directed exchange or turn-in
— Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 12:304 p.m. on a walk-in basis. For faster turn-in service,
call 526-3321 for an appointment.
• Ammunition supply point, building 9370 —
Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. Last
issue/turn-in to ASP is at 2:30 p.m.; exceptions
coordinated on case-by-case basis.
• Subsistence Support Management Office, building
350 — Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and
12:30-4 p.m.; call 526-4086/5195.
• Post Supply Support Activity, building 330 —
Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30-4 p.m.
Last customer served at 3:30 p.m.; call 526-9094
• Installation Property Book Office, building 330
— Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 12:304 p.m.; call 526-5984.
• Post Laundry, building 310 — Monday-Friday,
7:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30-4 p.m. Last customer
served at 3:30 p.m.; call 526-8803.
• Bulk fuel point — Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.
to midnight.
• Hazardous Material Control Center, building
400/406 — Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact administration operations at 526-5349 or
the warehouse at 526-2979.
Education Center hours of operation — The Mountain
Post Training and Education Center, building 1117,
526-2124, hours are as follows:
• Counselor Support Center — Monday-Thursday
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Army Learning Center — Monday-Friday
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education
Support and Army Personnel Testing — MondayFriday 7:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-4:30 p.m.
Medical Activity Correspondence Department
office hours — The Correspondence (Release of
Infor mation) Office in the Patient Administration
Division hours are Monday-Wednesday and Friday
7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday from 7:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m.; closed all federal holidays. Call
526-7322 or 526-7284 for details.
Claims Office hours — are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to
noon and 1-4 p.m., located on the first floor of building
6222, 1633 Mekong St. Shipment under Full Replace
Value claimants must report the additional loss or
damage listed on After Delivery Form 1851 directly
to the transportation service provider by fax or
report on the Defense Personal Property System line
within 75 days. Claimants must submit the claim
on DPS line through http://www.move.mil within
nine months for FRV compensation for certain
items. All other claims, submit to Fort Carson
Claims Office within two years of delivery or date
of incident. Call 526-1355 for more information.
Work Management Branch — The DPW Work
Management Branch, located in building 1219,
responsible for processing work orders — Facilities
Engineering Work Requests, DA Form 4283 — is open
for processing work orders and other in-person support
from 7-11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday. Afternoon customer
support is by appointment only, call 526-2900.
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
17
Women’s Equality Day
Event highlights overcoming obstacles
Story and photo by Sgt. Eric Glassey
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
Soldiers and Family members celebrated
Women’s Equality Day at the Elkhorn Conference
Center, Tuesday.
Women’s Equality Day was established by
Congress in 1971 in honor of the amendment
granting women’s suffrage.
“Originally, it was used to commemorate
passing of the 19th Amendment which gave women
the right to vote,” said Master Sgt. David Casebolt,
equal opportunity adviser, 4th Infantry Division.
“We like to take it a bit further and not just focus
on the ratification, but concentrate on the struggles
that women have had in the past and what they
have overcome.”
The guest speaker for the event, Millicent
Amanda Peterson Young, served in World War II
as a Women Airforce Service Pilot. Young was in
the last graduating class before the program was
shut down at the conclusion of the war.
Young told the audience about her life growing
up and the struggles she faced as an independent
woman growing wheat in Nebraska.
“By the time I was 17, I was growing the
wheat on my father’s ranch,” Young said. “I found
some extra land and leased it for $40. I had a really
good crop and made a nice profit. When the
landowners found out that I was a woman, they
didn’t let me lease the land again. They didn’t
think it was a woman’s place to grow wheat, despite
that being the first year in many where they were
able to pay the taxes on the land from what the
land earned. It didn’t make any sense to me.”
Young left her small town to learn how to fly
at a local airfield before heading to Texas to
serve as a WASP.
She didn’t escape the resentment
against women.
“There was some opposition there at the
schoolhouse,” Young said. “There were two
“I found some extra land and
leased it for $40. I had a really
good crop and made a nice profit.
When the landowners found out
that I was a woman, they didn’t
let me lease the land again. ”
— Millicent Amanda Peterson Young
incidents of putting sugar in the gas tank, but
fortunately the women pilots weren’t killed.”
Thirty-eight WASP pilots died in service. Upon
completion of her service, Young went to college
to earn her degree as a social worker. She later
worked for El Paso County.
Chief of Staff Col. D.A. Sims II, 4th Infantry
Division and Fort Carson, spoke about the progress that
women have made inn the civilian and military worlds.
“Today, on Women’s Equality Day, we celebrate
the progress that has been made and renew our
commitment to securing equal rights, freedoms
and opportunities for women everywhere,” Sims
said. “Today, 72 million women are in the
workforce with 74 percent working full time as
doctors, lawyers, teachers and CEOs of major
corporations, just to name a few. As of January
2013, more than 200,000 women are serving in
the active-duty military serving at every level. On
Nov. 4, 2008, Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the
fi rst woman in U.S. Military history to achieve
the rank of four-star general. She was followed by
Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger who, on June 5, 2012,
became the fi rst female four-star general in the Air
Force. With the 2013 rescission of the 1994 Direct
Combat Exclusion Rule the Department of Defense
plans to remove gender-based barriers to service,
opening many jobs and providing opportunities
that were once closed to women.”
Sims thanked Young for sharing her experiences
with the Soldiers.
“Today, we have been graced with the
opportunity to thank Mrs. Young for participating
in this observance,” Sims said. “Your presence
today truly speaks volumes to the accomplishments
of women today in the military and generations
of women before you that have shaped and
strengthened the fabric of the United States.”
18 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
New village mayors elected
Story and photo by Crystal Ross
Mountaineer staff
Residents of Fort Carson’s housing
villages chose new mayors to represent
them for the next year in elections held
Aug. 20-21.
The main reason
for the mayor program
is to empower residents
to get involved in their
villages, said Joey
Bautista, mayoral program, Army Community
Service. Mayors work
with the garrison
commander and the post’s
various directorates on
issues involving quality of
life for Carson residents.
“The mayor is the
eyes and ears for the
garrison commander for
quality of life issues,”
Bautista said. “If you want
to make a difference, put
your name on the ballot.”
He explained that
mayors do not police their
villages or issue citations
for infractions of any
kind. Instead they
promote community
events, create monthly
village newsletters,
maintain Facebook pages
for their villages and meet monthly with
garrison and directorate staff, among
other tasks. They partner with various
agencies on post to pass information
both from and to their residents.
Candidates are required to live in the
village they represent, and voters choose
the mayor for only their own village.
Candidates must be 18 or older and must
pass a local background check.
The mayoral election has stringent
voting procedures to ensure results are
fair. Soldiers from various units are
tasked to staff voting booths and to count
ballots along with ACS staff.
Overnight, ballots are sealed in
an envelope and locked in a safe.
Residents can only vote once, but
they are allowed to cast a ballot
for a deployed spouse with a valid
power of attorney. Voters must be
18 or older with a valid military
identification card.
In order to promote voter
participation, booths were set up
at five locations on post as well as
at Destination Fort Carson Aug.
20. In addition, Soldiers drove a
“mobile voting unit” van through
housing areas during the two
days of voting to accommodate
all residents.
Garrison Commander
Col. Joel D. Hamilton is scheduled
to swear the new mayors into
office at a ceremony Sept. 24.
Hannah Rankin, a resident of
Cheyenne Village, casts her vote for
her village’s mayor Aug. 21 at the
Exchange. Rankin moved into
the village after coming to Fort Carson
from Germany three weeks ago.
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is evidenced by the policies we have in place to help you pursue
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The newly elected Mayors are:
Apache Village
Valeta Ponce
Arapahoe Village
Angelica Castro-Searcy
Blackfoot Hill Village
Rheta O’Connor
Cherokee West Village
Monet Brunson
Cheyenne Village
Miranda Robertson
Chippewa Village
Christina Leydet
Choctaw Village
Kim Stone
Comanche Village
Michelle Lewis
Dakota Ridge Village
Nikki Johns
Iroquois Village
Katy Myers
Kiowa Village
Kristine Parish
Navajo Village
Kimberly Figueroa
Pawnee Village
John Russell
Shoshoni Village
Sandra Smith
Sioux Village
Nicole Graziano
Ute Hill Village
Jennifer Davis
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
19
20 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
21
V
Combat engineers fire up olcano
Story and photos by
Crystal Ross
Mountaineer staff
Spc. Masayuki Alpen, 3rd Obstacle Platoon, 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, stacks Volcano training
canisters. During training Aug. 21, combat engineers loaded and unloaded the 62-pound canisters and fired the system for the first
time in more than a decade.
A platoon of Fort Carson engineers
saw eight months of work come to
fruition Aug. 21 when they deployed
the Volcano Mine System in live-fire
training for the first time in more
than a decade.
Capt. Alex Zerio, commander,
569th Mobility Augmentation
Company, 4th Engineer Battalion,
said for the past several years, combat
engineers have been focused on route
clearance in Iraq and Afghanistan,
but bringing the Volcano system out
for training gets the combat engineers
more in line with their traditional role.
“With the wars winding down,
we come back to our conventional
engineering tasks, including countermobility,” Zerio said. “We’re shaping
the battlefield to put the enemy
where we want him.
“The younger Soldiers are not
used to this. It’s a real treat for these
guys,” he said.
1st Lt. Erin Jankowski, platoon
leader, 3rd Obstacle Platoon, 569th
MAC, 4th Eng. Bn., said her Soldiers
were excited to report to work early
on the day of the live-fire training,
because they understood the magnitude
of what they were doing.
“We were in early to make sure
the training would go as smoothly
as possible,” she said. “Instead of
(complaining), the guys said, ‘We’re
making history.’”
Use of the Volcano had become
so rare in today’s Army that with their
recent live-fire exercise, Soldiers in
her platoon now have pride in their
ability to meet their countermobility
core competency.
The Volcano is a system that
delivers mines after being mounted
on a helicopter or ground vehicle. It
can be loaded with up to 160 canisters
that each hold six mines, both antitank
and antipersonnel, for a total of 960
mines. The Volcano alternately deploys
the canisters from the right and the
left sides of the unit, scattering mines
across a vast area.
Jankowski said the platoon’s 25
members have been working since
January to get the Volcano up and
running. Countermobility is one of an
obstacle platoon’s core competencies.
Funneling the enemy and impeding
his movements are part of that objective. At the beginning of the year, the
36th Engineer Brigade at Fort Hood,
Texas — the 569th MAC’s headquarters
organization — sent down word that
it wanted its units trained again on the
Volcano system.
Jankowski said the task began with
opening the boxes in which the system
had been stored and figuring out
“what was what.” Soldiers had to read
instruction manuals and documents
to learn how to assemble the system,
wire it and make it operational.
“We trained for about a month just to
put it together and take it down,” she said.
Zerio said the engineers had been
working since May to work up to a livefire run. Until last week, they’d been
loading and unloading inert canisters
and had Soldiers toss blue wooden
blocks from the back of a truck to
simulate the system’s mine dispersal.
To prepare for the live-fire training,
Soldiers first had to delineate the
boundaries of the minefield with pickets
and barbed wire, which is also an early
step in real-world minefield creation.
Then Soldiers removed inert canisters
from the Volcano mounted on a
HEMTT — a heavy expanded
mobility tactical truck. They reloaded
the Volcano with live canisters —
each weighing 62 pounds — filled with
inert mines. The canisters were then
locked into place and armed. The
canisters can be offloaded and replaced
with new ones in about 30 minutes.
The control unit for the Volcano is
housed in the bed of the HEMTT,
and the vehicle passenger handles the
launch controls from inside the cab.
Pfc. Christopher Suarez, 3rd Obstacle
Platoon, 569th Mobility Augmentation
Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, loads
40 live-fire canisters into the Volcano
mine dispersal system, Aug. 21. The
upper canisters without a band around
them are inert canisters the platoon has
used previously for training purposes.
Until recently, Fort Carson had no
live canisters. Zerio said that local
battalion staff worked over the past
three months with the brigade at Fort
Hood to procure live canisters for
training for the 3rd Platoon.
The platoon quickly learned
the difference between working with
inert and live canisters. Jankowski
said that even with all the simulations
her group had run with inert canisters,
they found that it took much more
effort to arm the live units than it
did the inert ones.
“We did it as realistically as we
could, but this added the next level
to our training,” she said.
Pfc. Christopher Suarez, 3rd Obstacle
Platoon, 569th Mobility Augmentation
Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, loads
live-fire canisters into the Volcano mine
dispersal system atop a heavy expanded
mobility tactical truck in preparation for
the platoon’s first test of the Volcano
system in more than 10 years, Aug. 21.
22 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Project pushes toward Net Zero water
Story and photo by Susan C. Galentine
Directorate of Public Works public relations
and Net Zero outreach
Water that swirls down the drain and flushes down
the toilet is being looked at as a means to an end in Fort
Carson’s march toward Net Zero water by 2020.
Fort Carson, through the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Omaha District, is working on a reclaimed
water system expansion project that is the installation’s largest-scale Net Zero water initiative to date.
The post’s Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club has
used reclaimed water from Fort Carson’s onsite
sewage treatment plant for irrigation since the
1970s. Through the expansion project, other turf
areas on post will transition to reclaimed water
irrigation by next summer to include Iron Horse
Park and the sports complex.
The project entails upgrading 5 miles of existing
pipe and installing close to 2.3 miles of new lines
to the system, adding new pumps at the sewage
treatment plant, a new booster pump station and
doubling the size of the holding pond at the golf
course to store up to 30 million gallons of water.
Once completed, the system will increase from
pumping 500 gallons per minute to up to 3,200 gpm
to accommodate the increased irrigation demand.
The desired outcome of the water system
expansion effort is to ultimately use 100 percent
of Fort Carson’s treated wastewater, roughly 200
million gallons, to irrigate large priority turf areas,
said Vince Guthrie, Directorate of Public Works
Operations and Maintenance Division utility
program manager.
“To me, it is about using the right quality water
for the right use,” said Guthrie.
The cost of using reclaimed water for irrigation
in the summer is currently 80 cents per 1,000
Fort Carson’s Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club holding
pond is undergoing expansion to double its capacity
to carry 30 million gallons of water to accommodate
the reclaimed water project for irrigation on post.
gallons, versus $6.07 for drinking water, or an
87-percent savings, said Guthrie. The installation
could save more than $1 million annually by
using reclaimed water instead of drinking water.
“The reclaimed water is fine for irrigation but
does not meet drinking water standards,” said Jim
Casey, DPW Operations and Maintenance Division
utility engineering technician. “It is the same
quality you would find in a mountain lake.”
Signs will be posted in reclaimed water irrigated
locations to notify people using the areas.
DPW is taking steps to ensure the reclaimed
water available during the summer will fill the bill
to reduce or eventually even eliminate the need
for using drinking water for irrigation.
“We will continue to conserve water using
smart irrigation, drip irrigation and efficient
sprinkler heads to avoid having to supplement
with potable water,” said Guthrie.
Fort Carson set to take challenge
By Jeff Troth
U.S. Army Medical Department
Activity Public Affairs Office
The Fort Carson Army Wellness
Center is challenging everyone on
post — Soldier, Family member and
civilian — to become healthier
members of the community.
“The 26-Week Health Challenge is
a way to enhance your sleep, activity
and nutrition by using tips from Army
Medicine’s Performance Triad,” said
Maj. Danielle Nichols, chief, Fort
Carson Army Wellness Center.
The 26-Week Health Challenge is
a self-paced, self-guided program that
offers practical tips or goals to kick-start
healthy habits that can last a lifetime,
she said. The purpose of the challenge
is to increase a person’s performance by
concentrating on three areas of their
life — sleep, activity and nutrition.
Each week there are different goals
and tips for a person to try to reach.
During the second week, to help
improve sleep, the challenge lists
common barriers to achieving healthy
sleep: changes in bedtime and wake
time; stress; and caffeine or nicotine
too close to bedtime. In week 23,
the tip is not to exercise within three
hours of going to sleep.
“Sleep is a very important
component to our daily activity,” says
Nichols. “Sleep allows us to recoup
and allows the body to heal itself and
prepare for future missions. If we don’t
get enough sleep we won’t perform
at our optimum level.”
During week three participants
of the challenge are reminded not to
overdo it on an activity when starting
off. Instead of going out and running
5 miles, start with a five-minute
walk. The goal for week 15 is to walk
10,000 steps during a
daily routine.
“People should ease
into an activity routine
and seek assistance from
their medical providers,”
Nichols said. “At the
wellness center we can
provide guidance and
services regarding body
composition, metabolism, fitness counseling,
healthy sleeping and
stress management.”
Nutrition is just as
important as the other two
areas, she said. The week nine nutrition
goal is for participants to watch what
they drink, avoid beverages that
contain added sugars and strive for
8-10 cups of water per day. The healthy
nutrition goal for week 19 is when the
craving for sweets hits to prepare a
dish with fruit as a main ingredient.
“Food is your fuel source and we
want to maintain a balance of what our
bodies are expending in activity,” Nichols
said. “Our bodies need fuel to perform.
So if we are not providing the right
amount or type of nutrients we can see an
impact on our activities and lifestyle.”
To help participants keep track
of their progress, Army Medicine
created a document that not only lists
the weekly goals but also has tracking
charts. The charts allow participants
to record personal assessments at the
beginning of the challenge as well as
at the six-week, midpoint, 18-week
and the 26-week end points.
“We ordered a number of the
booklets, but I think our supply will
be quickly depleted,” said Nichols,
noting there is a downloadable version
available at http://evans.amedd.army.
mil/wellness/.
The 26-Week Health Challenge is
part of Army Medicine’s move from a
health care system that focuses on treatment of illnesses and injuries to a system
for health which focuses on wellness and
prevention. A key component of this
system for health is the Performance
Triad, the Army surgeon general’s initiative to improve stamina, readiness and
health through quality sleep, enhanced
activity and improved nutrition.
While deployed to Afghanistan in
2011, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen.
Patricia D. Horoho noticed that Soldiers
suffered from sleep deprivation and a
lack of healthy activity and found that
many high-fat and high-calorie food
choices were offered at the dining
facilities. Upon returning to the states
she realized that many of the health
issues deployments raised weren’t
exclusive to deployments or to the Army.
“People are grappling with these
questions around the globe, and (the
idea of the triad) resonates with
everybody I’ve talked to,” Horoho
said. “It is in these areas (sleep, activity
and nutrition) that I think we can have
the biggest impact to really make sure
that we are ready and resilient and
able to respond to whatever the future
challenges are for our Army.”
The program is designed to be the
starting line of a healthier lifestyle.
“The 26-Week Health Challenge
isn’t intended to be a drastic shift
that can only be maintained for a
limited time,” Nichols added. “It
gives individuals information to
change some of their habits and
increase their overall wellness.”
Visit http://evans.amedd.army.mil/
wellness/ for more information about the
26-Week Health Challenge and the Amy
Wellness Center. The center is located in
building 1843 on Prussman Boulevard.
Call 526-3887 to make an appointment
with a wellness counselor.
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
Claims to the estate
Sgt. Stuart A. Radin — With deepest regret to the
Family of the deceased. Anyone having claims
against or indebtedness to his estate should
contact Capt. Daniel Rullo at 552-0778.
Upcoming events
Retiree Appreciation Day — will be held from
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Cadet Field House
at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The event
includes free breakfast, medical and insurance
information and screenings, an information fair
and guest speakers.
Women Veterans of Colorado — The group’s fourth
annual conference will be held Sept. 13 in Denver.
Visit http://bit.ly/WVOC2014Conference to
register or http://www.womenveteransofcolorado.org
or http://www.facebook.com/womenveterans
ofcolorado for updates.
General announcements
Red Cross dental assistant training — Applications
are available at the Red Cross office at Evans
Army Community Hospital. The deadline to apply
is Sept. 5 for the session that begins in January.
Applicants must be 18, a military sponsored identification card holder, a U.S. citizen and have a valid
high school diploma or GED. Call the Red Cross
office at 526-7144/7589 for more information.
Advisory council — Evans Army Community
Hospital is seeking volunteers to serve on a
Patient and Family Advisory Council to
assess current policies, operations and programs.
Meetings are monthly. Applications are
available at the Patient and Family-Centered
Care Resource Center or call the PFAC
coordinator at 526-7733 for more information.
Pediatrics clinic — Evans Army Community
Hospital’s pediatrics clinic has an embedded
behavioral health psychologist/counselor
available to work with parents who have
concerns about their child’s behavior, discipline
or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
A pediatric pharmacist is also available to
manage children’s medication.
Prenatal nutrition class — Expectant mothers can
learn how to eat healthy during pregnancy. The
class is held the second Tuesday of every month
at 9 a.m. in Evans Army Community Hospital’s
Nutrition Care Division. Call 526-7290 to sign up.
Fort Carson Police Records — The Fort Carson
Police Records section has moved to building 2757,
MOD 4, on the corner of Barkeley Avenue and
Osan Street. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to noon
and 1-4 p.m., Monday-Thursday. Fingerprinting
hours at the Fort Carson Police station, building
2700, have changed to 2-4 p.m., Monday-Friday.
The Fort Carson Police complete fingerprints for
on-post employment. For any other fingerprint
needs, contact the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Fort Carson Employee Assistance Program —
The program provides short-term assistance to
Department of the Army civilian employees,
active-duty spouses and Family members, and
retired military personnel and eligible family
members with adult living problems, substance
use concerns and issues affecting workplace
productivity and well-being. Worksite
interventions are offered and consultation is
available to supervisors and managers regarding
workplace matters. EAP services are free to
eligible civilians and DA civilian employees. Call
526-2196 for assistance. The EAP is located at
1638 Elwell St. in building 6236, room 229.
Nutrition education — Evans Army Community
Hospital Nutrition Care Division offers individual
nutrition counseling for specific nutrition-related
diagnoses. Weight management classes for Family
members and retirees are provided as well as
classes for the Army Body Composition Program
for active duty Soldiers. Other classes provide
include cholesterol, prenatal nutrition, healthy
cooking and a commissary tour. Call the
TRICARE appointment line at 457-2273 to
schedule an appointment. Call the Nutrition Care
Division at 526-7290 to check on the availability
for a sports nutrition class to be given at the unit.
Payday loan complaints — The Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau is accepting complaints
from borrowers encountering problems
with payday loans. Consumers can visit
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint
or call 855-411-2372 to submit a complaint.
Voting assistance — The Voting Assistance
Office, located in building 1218, room 218, is
open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday. Call
526-1140 or email the Installation Voting
Assistance Officer at usarmy.carson.imcom.mbx.
ivao@mail.mil for assistance. Visit http://www.
fvap.gov for more information.
Same day appointments — Evans Army
Community Hospital Family Medicine Clinics,
Internal Medicine Clinic and Pediatric Clinic are
operating under an appointment model called
“Open Access,” offering same day appointments.
Beneficiaries may not be offered the exact
hour they want. Call the Access to Care Line,
526-2273, to make an appointment.
Transfer military hospital or clinic when
relocating — TRICARE Online users must update
their military hospital or clinic location online each
time they relocate. Transferring military hospital
or clinic affiliation in TOL does not automatically
transfer the TRICARE enrollment in Defense
Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.
Army Provider Level Satisfaction Survey —
Patients may fill out and return the APLSS to
help minimize the impact of budget cuts on
medical care. Evans Army Community Hospital
receives funding based on patients seen and
customer satisfaction. Positive surveys returned
can bring in up to $900. Help keep providers
and departments and clinics fully functional.
Call 526-7256 for more information.
Free Post Shuttle — circulates the cantonment
area and makes regular runs to Wilderness Road
Complex. The shuttle operates seven days a week
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit http://www.facebook.
com/shuttlefortcarson for route maps. Call
526-6453 for more information.
Donated annual leave for Fort Carson civilian
employees — is currently being accepted for the
following civilians who have exhausted all
available leave because of medical emergencies
under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program:
Jessica Clark, Dental Activity; David Grant, Army
Recruiting Battalion, Denver; Linda Kumley,
Directorate of Human Resources; Teresa Miller,
Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and
Recreation; unnamed employee in DFMWR;
Stephanie Smith-Froese, Directorate of Public
Works; and Andrea Cunningham, DFMWR. Any
Army appropriated fund civilian employee wishing
to donate annual leave must complete the OPM
Form 630a found at http://www.opm.gov/forms/
pdf(underscore)fill/opm630a.pdf and return it to
John Pylypiw in the Fort Carson Civilian Personnel
Advisory Center. Fax to Pylypiw at 526-6128 or
call 526-9341 for information. Anyone experiencing
a medical emergency and about to exhaust leave
can contact the CPAC Management Employee
Relations team at 526-8317/1006/1336/4270.
Ambulance service — Fort Carson officials urge
community members to contact emergency
personnel by calling 911 instead of driving
personal vehicles to the emergency room. In the
event of a life- or limb-threatening emergency,
skilled paramedics and ambulance crew will
be able to administer critical care and aid.
Contact the Emergency Department at 526-7111
for more information.
Prescription policy — All handwritten
prescriptions from a TRICARE network
provider will be filled at the Soldier and Family
Care Center located adjacent to and east of Evans
Army Community Hospital. When calling in for
refills on those prescriptions, beneficiaries will
continue to use the SFCC. A dedicated refill
window in this facility will reduce wait time.
The SFCC pharmacy is open Monday-Friday from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The pharmacy is located on the
first floor near the east entrance of the facility;
park in the “G” lot, east of the building. Call
503-7067 or 503-7068 for more information.
No-show policy — A “Commander’s Appointment
Policy” affects all TRICARE beneficiaries
who receive health care services on Fort Carson
and at the Premier Army Health Clinic. Multiple
no-shows could result in the stopping of medical
services; Soldiers requiring unit escorts to future
23
appointments; patients may have to sign a statement
acknowledging they understand the ramifications
of multiple no-shows; a letter may be sent to the
Soldier’s unit when he or his Family member has
multiple no-shows or cancellations; retirees with
multiple missed appointments, “left without being
seen,” or cancellations may have their locations of
care changed. To cancel appointments during weekdays, beneficiaries can call the TRICARE appointment line 526-2273 weekdays from 6 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. Appointments made through TRICARE online
can be canceled at http://www.tricareonline.com.
Ongoing events
Military Appreciation Breakfast — The Southeast
Armed Services YMCA military appreciation
breakfast scheduled for Friday has been canceled
because the YMCA’s gym floors are being
resurfaced. The next breakfast will be Sept. 26.
Email Drew Aquino at daquino@ppymca.org
for more information.
Breakfast at VFW — Breakfast at VFW Post
6461 is held the first Sunday of each month from
9-10:30 a.m. at 753 S. Santa Fe Ave., Fountain,
and is open to the public. Suggested donation
of $3. Call 382-7957 for more information.
Support group — The Pikes Peak Share
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Inc. holds
a monthly support group for those whose lives
have been touched by pregnancy loss, stillbirth
or loss in the first few months of life. The
group meets the second Tuesday of each
month at 7 p.m. at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church,
5265 N. Union Blvd. For more information,
visit http://www.pikespeakshare.org.
Hunting, fishing information — Active-duty
military, Family members and civilians can visit
http://fortcarson.isportsman.net/ for information
about requirements to hunt, fish and enjoy other
recreational activities on Fort Carson. Active duty
Fort Carson Soldiers can fish for free without
a Fort Carson permit from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday-Friday. Permits are sold at the Outdoor
Recreation Complex, building 2429. Call the
Directorate of Public Works at 524-5395 or
526-8006 for more information.
Mountain Post Running Club — The club will
meet every Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. at the
Exchange. There will be giveaways and stamps
available for $1 off meals at the food court.
The club is open to everyone. Walkers,
children, strollers and pets are welcome.
Contact Kris Spiller at kspiller@bbcgrp.com
or 579-1606, ext. 256 for more information.
24 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Slow down, savor life
Commentary by
Chap. (Maj.) Collie Foster
Evans Army Community Hospital
We are too busy. We live in a world
where productivity and efficiency are
the benchmarks of a life well lived.
We have computers, faxes, smartphones, satellites and GPSs to help us
do more and do it better and faster.
How many of us have measured our
self-worth by how much we have
gotten done that day? Yet, is this good
for our souls and for our relationships
with one another? We may get a lot
done, but at what cost?
Studies have shown that people are
not happier living busier lives. In fact,
Chapel briefs
Facebook — Search “Fort Carson Chaplains
(Religious Support Office)” for events and
schedules.
Catholic Religious Education — Registration is
being accepted for classes that meet Sundays
from 10:30-11:50 a.m. Religious education
classes are available for children in preschool
through the age of confirmation. Classes are
also offered for adults seeking to join the Catholic
faith and those who desire to participate in the
celebrating of the sacraments. Contact Pat Treacy
at 524-2458 or patricia.a.treacy2.civ@mail.mil
for more information.
Trunk-or-Treat — Volunteers are needed to host
decorated trunks, and donations are needed for
the Oct. 26 event from 2-3:30 p.m. at Soldiers’
Memorial Chapel. Contact Pat Treacy at
524-2458 or patricia.a.treacy2.civ@mail.mil
for more information.
Youth Ministries — Soldiers’ Memorial Chapel
youth group members are invited to attend the
Prussman youth group Tuesdays at 6 p.m. or
the Veterans youth group Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
Catholic Women of the Chapel — holds its
fall kickoff brunch Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at
Soldiers’ Memorial Chapel. All are invited to
attend the brunch, enjoy fellowship and learn
about the fall Bible study, “The Lamb’s Supper:
The Mass as Heaven on Earth,” by Scott Hahn.
Child care is available by emailing children’s
names and ages to fortcarsonmccw@gmail.
com. Call Mattie Guthrie at 520-444-9141 for
more information on child care. CWOC meets
Wednesdays from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Soldiers’
Memorial Chapel. Call 526-5769 or visit “Fort
Carson Military Council of Catholic Women”
on Facebook for information.
Protestant Women of the Chapel — meets Tuesday
from 9:30 a.m. to noon at Soldiers’ Memorial
Chapel. Free child care is available. Email
carson@pwoc.org or visit “PWOC Fort Carson”
on Facebook for details.
Knights of Columbus — a Catholic group for men
depression, loneliness and alienation
are at all-time highs. It is essential that
we re-evaluate what is most important
and be intentional about slowing down
and savoring life.
Let me suggest a couple of ways
to do this:
 Refuse to hurry. Hurrying through
your day indicates that you are trying
18 and older, meets the second and fourth Tuesday
of the month at Soldiers’ Memorial Chapel. Call
526-5769 for more information.
Latter Day Saints Soldiers — meet Wednesday
at 6 p.m. for pizza and social, followed by an
Institute (Bible study) at 6:30 p.m. at Provider
Chapel, Ellis Street at Barkeley Avenue. Contact
elder Arthur Ford at 433-2659 or arthur.ford@
myldsmail.net or Chap. (Capt.) Jacob Snell at
to get more done than may be wise.
Your body feels it and others notice
it, too. You get impatient with the
slow driver or irritated with the long
line at the grocery store because
they are slowing you down. When
I remember to be intentional about
not hurrying through my day, I not
only find I enjoy more of what
I am doing but I always get done
what’s most important.
 Savor the moments you are in. So
many of us are rushing through life
that we fail to notice the obvious. We
don’t stop to smell the roses that are
right in front of us. We ignore the
beautiful sunrise or sunset. We may
even miss those special moments in
our children’s lives or in the life of
that significant person in our life.
Each day, God brings beauty into
our lives. But when we’re focused on
doing more instead of enjoying what
we do, we will miss it, and our lives
will be impoverished because of it.
 Practice stillness and silence. Our
lives are full of so much noise
that we must be intentional
about creating pockets of quiet. I
encourage you to drive silently.
No radios, CDs or phones. Carve
out 20-30 minutes of silence in
your morning for meditation.
 God tells us that our strength comes
from quietness and rest, not from
activity (Isaiah 30:15). Try it;
you’ll be surprised how much
more refreshed you will feel.
330-3120 or Jacob.r.snell.mil@mail.mil for
information or a ride.
Heartbeat — a support group for battle buddies,
Family members and friends who are suicide
survivors, meets the second Tuesday of each
month from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Fallen Heroes
Family Center, building 6215, 6990 Mekong
St. Contact Richard Stites at 598-6576 or
Cheryl Sims at 304-9815 for information.
Chapel schedule
Roman Catholic
Soldiers’ Chapel
Nelson Boulevard and Martinez Street
• Saturday, 4:15-4:45 p.m.,
reconciliation, 526-8583
• Saturday, 5 p.m., Mass, 526-8583
• Sunday, 8:15-8:45 a.m.,
reconciliation, 526-8583
• Sunday, 9 a.m., Mass, 526-8583
Protestant
Healer Chapel
Evans Army Community Hospital
• Sunday, 9 a.m., worship, 526-7386
Veterans Chapel
Magrath Avenue and Titus Boulevard
• Sunday, 10 a.m., Chapel NeXt,
526-8889
• Sunday, 10:30 a.m., religious
education, 524-2458
• Sunday, 10:30 a.m., RCIA,
524-2458
• Monday-Friday, 11:45 a.m.,
mass, 526-8583
• Sunday, 10:30 a.m., CWOC,
526-5769
Prussman Chapel
Barkeley Avenue and Prussman
Boulevard
• Sunday, 9:30 a.m., Sunday school,
526-5744
• Sunday, 11 a.m., gospel, 526-9640
Healer Chapel
Evans Army Community Hospital
• Sunday, 11 a.m., Mass, 526-7386
• Monday-Thursday, noon, Mass,
526-7386
• First Friday, noon, Mass, 526-7386
Soldiers’ Chapel
Nelson Boulevard and Martinez Street
• Sunday, 11 a.m., worship, 524-4316
• Tuesday, 9 a.m., PWOC, 524-4316
Eastern Orthodox
Islamic
Jewish
Colorado Warriors
Sweat Lodge
Fort Carson does not offer Eastern Orthodox services
on post. Contact Chap. (Capt.) George Oanca at
612-432-6099 for Orthodox services.
Fort Carson does not offer Jewish services on post.
Contact the U.S. Air Force Academy Chapel for Jewish
services information at 333-2636. The chapel is located at
2346 Academy Place on the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Fort Carson does not offer Islamic services on post.
Contact the Islamic Society at 2125 N. Chestnut,
632-3364 for information.
Meets once or twice monthly and upon special request.
Contact Kevin Cheek at 554-7709 for more information.
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
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Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
27
Athletes prep for fitness challenge
Story and photo
by Walt Johnson
Mountaineer staff
The Directorate of Family and
Morale, Welfare and Recreation
sponsors the annual individual and
team triathlon sprint competition,
Sept. 6 at 8 a.m. at the Outdoor Pool.
Each year the event is hailed
by participants as one of the most
challenging and satisfying fitness
competitions on post. Sabine Clark,
DFMWR project manager, said this
year’s event should be just as
challenging as years past.
“We are looking forward to this
year’s event as we build on the great
event we had last year,” she said.
“We were very happy with the
past two triathlons and we feel the
people that were here had a great
time and were challenged athletically,
like you would expect from an event
like this. We have great facilities
and great courses for the athletes and
we feel this will be the best triathlon
we have ever had.”
Clark said the individual event
will test the participants’ ability to
swim 500 meters, cycle 12.4 miles
and then run 3.4 miles. The team
event consists of a 750-meter
swim, 12.4 miles on a bicycle and
a 6.4-mile run. It will be open to
military and civilian athletes who
feel they have what it takes to meet
the demands of the event. Clark
said the registration fee for the event
is $20 per person if competing
individually or as a team.
Past events have included
athletes with a variety of fitness
levels challenging themselves to see
if they could complete the event.
Many have come away from it
pleased with their results and
pleasantly surprised that they were
able to conquer the challenge.
“Every year we have this event
we see people challenge themselves
and each year we have people tell
us that they were glad they did the
triathlon because it showed them
what they could do when pushed to
another level,” Clark said. “That is
the one thing we like to tell people
who are considering the competition:
Challenge yourself to see if you can
do the swim, bike and run events
to a level you never considered you
could push yourself to. It is one of
the most satisfying things you can
do for yourself,” Clark said.
People can register for the
event at any post fitness center
or at http://mwrfortcarson.com/
physical-fitness-centers.php.
Call Clark at 526-2742 for
more information.
Joint Task Force Carson community
members take part in the swimming
portion of the Fort Carson triathlon
event last year. The event will test
athletes’ abilities in swimming,
cycling and running events at
the Outdoor Pool.
Mountaineer Athlete of the Week
Miguel Vargas
Intramural soccer player
How did you get started
playing sports?
I started (kicking) the ball around
when I was 5 years old in Fresno,
Calif., with my father. I played baseball
and one year of football. Baseball was
my second favorite sport, but I have
always enjoyed playing soccer.
What do you consider your
favorite sports moment?
In my senior year in high school,
in 2009, we played for the valley
championship. We fi nished second in
the valley championships and qualified
to go to the state championship where
we fi nished eighth.
What is your favorite
professional soccer team?
Barcelona, there is just something
about them that I like. They have such
great touches and they know how to
read each other so well.
Were you happy to see Germany
win the World Cup?
I was a little skeptical that
Germany could win it, but I was
happy they won. I actually wanted
Argentina to win because I am a big
(Lionel) Messi fan. Messi is one of
my favorite players of all time.
What is it about Messi that you
like so much?
He is awesome and he is so
humble. He is an all-time great soccer
player, and he knows the game well.
I also like that he plays the game fair.
What is the one thing in sports
you haven’t done that you would
still like to do?
I would love to try to play the
game of lacrosse. I have always felt
that I would be really good at the
game. I have never played the game
and it was never in my school where I
could have played it, but it’s something
that I keep thinking I would like to
give a try.
People who don’t know me will
be surprised to know that …
I like the movie “Hook,” and I am
very camera shy. I get pictures taken all
the time but it’s kind of nerve-racking
for me to take pictures and do interviews like this for the newspaper. You
always worry about saying the wrong
thing or sounding good (in print).
Photo by Walt Johnson
28 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
The Fort Carson Army Substance Abuse
Program and Suicide Prevention Program
sponsors the Fort Carson Motorcycle
Poker Run Sept. 20.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the
motorcycle ride starts at 10:30 a.m. The event
begins at the Gate 1 parking lot off Highway 115.
The cost is free and all bikers are welcome.
Event organizers said there will be food, door
prizes and music.
The 2013 National Physique Committee
Supplemental Giant Natural Colorado Open
Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, Bikini and
Physique Championships will be held Oct. 11
at Colorado Heights University Theater,
(formerly Teikyo Loretto Heights), 3001 S.
Federal Blvd., in Denver.
Prejudging for bodybuilding and physique
‘Yer out’
A Fort Carson
women’s varsity
softball catcher
makes an overthe-shoulder
catch during
intramural
league play
Aug. 21 at the
Mountain Post
Sports Complex.
The women’s
league and
intramural
playoffs are
scheduled to
begin Monday at
the complex.
Photo by Walt Johnson
begins at 8:30 a.m. in the men’s and women’s
bodybuilding and physique categories. Judging will
then take place in fitness routines, bikini, fitness
physique and figure competitions respectively at
9:30 a.m. The finals will begin at 4:30 p.m.
The Carson Middle School football and volleyball
seasons begin this week.
The remaining football schedule is Wednesday
at Skyview, Thursday vs. Developmental, Sept. 10
vs. Cheyenne Mountain, Sept. 11 Developmental
at Cheyenne Mountain, Sept. 17 vs. Fountain
at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, Sept. 18
vs. Developmental, Sept. 24 vs. The Classical
Academy, and Sept. 25 vs. Developmental at TCA.
The remaining volleyball schedule is
Tuesday at Falcon, Tuesday vs. Developmental,
Wednesday vs. Fountain, Wednesday vs.
Developmental at Fountain, Sept. 8 at Skyview,
Sept. 8 vs. Developmental Skyview, Sept. 10 vs.
Cheyenne Mountain, Sept. 15 at TCA, Sept. 15
vs. Developmental, Sept. 17 vs. Falcon, Sept. 17
vs. Developmental at Falcon, Sept. 22 at Fountain,
Sept. 22 vs. Developmental, Sept. 24 vs. Skyview
and Sept. 24 vs. Developmental at Skyview.
The Fort Carson indoor soccer season is
scheduled to begin Sept. 29 at Iron Horse
Sports and Fitness Center.
There will be a men’s and coed division; coed
teams must have at least one female on the field at all
times. Games are scheduled for Monday-Thursday at
6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. There will be a mandatory
coaches meeting Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Iron Horse.
Call 526-5772 or 526-0859 for more information.
The Fountain-Fort Carson High School Trojans
football team opened the season with a 12-7
road win against the Columbine Rebels.
The Trojans’ next home game is Sept. 18
against the Palmer Terrors at 7 p.m. at the football
field on campus. The rest of the Trojans’ home
See Bench on page 29
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
Bench
From page 28
schedule is Sept. 26 vs. Douglas County and
Oct. 17 vs. Castle View.
The Mesa Ridge High School Grizzlies football
team opens its home season Friday against
the Cañon City Tigers at District 3 Stadium
on the campus of Widefield High School.
The rest of the Grizzlies’ home schedule
is Sept. 12 vs. Cheyenne Mountain, Sept. 20
vs. Rampart, Oct. 10 vs. Vista Ridge and
Oct. 24 vs. Falcon.
There will be a softball home run derby at the
Mountain Post Sports Complex in September.
The tournament will be held in two rounds
— preliminary round Wednesday and finals Sept.
11. The tournament is open to all Department of
Defense identification card holders 18 and older.
Email Levi Hokkala at levi.hokkala@us.army.mil
to reserve a spot in the tournament.
The post fall softball and flag football seasons
are scheduled to begin Sept. 15.
The softball league will feature men’s and
coed divisions. The coed teams must have at
least five female players, according to DFMWR
officials. Games are scheduled Monday-Thursday
at 6:30, 7:35 and 8:40 p.m. There will be a
mandatory coaches meeting for the softball
league Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Iron Horse Sports
and Fitness Center. The football league, which
will play in battalion and company level action,
has its mandatory coaches meeting Wednesday 3
at Iron Horse at 6:30 p.m.
The Colorado Rockies offer military members
special ticket buys.
The next opportunity is when the Rockies take
on the San Francisco Giants Monday at 2:10 p.m.,
Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. and Wednesday at 1:10 p.m.
Military personnel can purchase tickets in the
29
Champions
Members
of the 43rd
Special
Troops
Battalion
jump for joy
as they are
recognized
as the new
coed soccer
champions.
The 43rd
STB
defeated
Boom FC to
capture this
year’s title.
Photo by Walt Johnson
outfield box, pavilion, right field mezzanine and
upper reserved infield/outfield area for their Family
and friends for $14 each (with a $3.50 service
charge per order), a discount from the usual price.
Call the Rockies at 303-ROCKIES, ask for the
military discount and provide reference number
21230987 to take advantage of the offer. This offer
is not available on a walk-up basis. Seating areas
are subject to availability, limits may apply and
all areas not available for each game.
Child, Youth and School Services officials are
looking for people interested in volunteering
as youth sports and fitness coaches.
Coaches must pass a background check, attend
a mandatory three-hour preseason training session
and be available two to three hours per week for
practices and games. CYSS officials said anyone
interested in being a coach must have good
communication skills with the CYSS sports staff
and parents of the players. According to CYSS
officials, youth coaches receive discounts on sports
enrollment for their children, promotion points for
active-duty Soldiers, volunteer hours, resume building and will make a definitive positive impact on the
community. Call 526-1101 for more information.
— Compiled by Walt Johnson
30 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
College
Texas A&M vs. S. Carolina
Boise State vs. Mississippi
Brigham Young vs. Connecticut
Colorado State vs. Colorado
Ohio State vs. Navy
UCLA vs. Virginia
Nicholls State vs. Air Force
Louisiana Tech vs. Oklahoma
Nate Preston
2nd. Bn., 77th FA Reg.
S. Carolina
Boise State
Connecticut
Colorado
Ohio State
UCLA
Air Force
Oklahoma
Gretel Buitrago
52nd Eng. Bn.
USC
Florida State
Penn State
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Wisconsin
Miami (Fla.)
S. Carolina
Mississippi
Brigham Young
Colorado State
Ohio State
Virginia
Air Force
Oklahoma
USC
Florida State
Central Florida
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
LSU
Miami (Fla.)
Starts September 10
together
This community Bible learning program
offers opportunities for all ages
to grow in faith together.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.FIRST-PRES.ORG/GTW
Fresno State vs. USC
Fla. State vs. Okla. State
Penn State vs. Central Florida
West Virginia vs. Alabama
Arkansas vs. Auburn
Clemson vs. Georgia
Wisconsin vs. LSU
Miami (Fla.) vs. Louisville
Eric Gonzalez
588th BEB
S. Carolina
Mississippi
Brigham Young
Colorado
Ohio State
UCLA
Air Force
Oklahoma
Fresno State
Florida State
Penn State
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
LSU
Miami (Fla.)
Amanda Spearing
2nd Sqdn., 1st Cav. Reg.
Texas A&M
Mississippi
Connecticut
Colorado
Ohio State
UCLA
Air Force
Oklahoma
USC
Florida State
Penn State
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
Wisconsin
Miami (Fla.)
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
“Chihuly Rediscovered” is in the Colorado
Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.
Renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly’s works
are in the exhibit. Admission to the exhibit that
closes Sept. 28 is $20. The Denver Botanic
Gardens also has a Chihuly exhibit through Nov.
30. In partnership with Denver Botanic Gardens,
visitors can buy a ticket to the Colorado Springs
Fine Arts Center’s “Chihuly Rediscovered” and
get $5 off the Denver Chihuly show, and vice
versa. Denver Botanic Gardens is at 1007 York
St. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Friday
and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole is open
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Monday and is
closed Tuesday-Wednesday and Thanksgiving
Day. The Christmas-themed amusement park
closes for the season at 4 p.m. Christmas Eve.
Active-duty military and members of their
Families older than 10 with military identification
are admitted for $16 per person. Under age 2
and 60 and older are admitted free. Regular
admission is $21 per person. The workshop is
on the Pikes Peak Highway. Turn at the
traffic light in the small town of Cascade.
Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum currently
has “Memories of a Massacre: Perspectives
on Ludlow” as a featured exhibit. The event
took place in 1914 during a union strike.
“The Midas Touch: The Penrose-Tutt
Partnership” is a special exhibit opened
recently. Two childhood friends became
business partners in Cripple Creek and
eventually had a great impact on the Pikes Peak
area. The free museum is at 215 S. Tejon St.
The Royal Gorge Bridge and Parks plans to have
a “soft opening” Saturday and guests will
be able to walk and drive across the bridge.
Tickets for the bridge only are $16 for adults,
$11 for children ages 4-11. Children 3 and
under are free. The Royal Rush Skycoaster is
also open and costs $25 for one rider, $45 for
two riders and $60 for three riders. The bridge
will be open 8 a.m. to dusk.
Colorado’s State Fair at the state fairgrounds
in Pueblo runs through Monday. The carnival
Saturday, September 6th 12pm-8pm
Colorado Springs City Auditorium
1940-50’s Themed Event!
Bootleg Poker at 11am
Outdoor Car & Bike Show
Food/Cash Bar - Vendors
All Day Live Bands - Photo Ops
Tattoo & Pinup Competitions
On Site: Hair & Make-Up Services
VIP Tickets: (Early) 10am Admission
midway is still in place and fair food is still
available. Korn is in concert Friday, Brantley
Gilbert has a concert Saturday and Tony
Orlando’s concert is Sunday. Free entertainment
includes the Olate Dogs, Strong Man John Beatty,
Stirrup Some Fun, Strolling Magical Medicine
Show, Colorado Raptors and Aussie Kingdom.
The Colorado State Fair is at 1001 Beulah Ave.
The website is http://www.coloradostatefair.com.
The U.S. Air Force Academy football team meets
Nicholls State Colonels at Falcon Stadium at
the Air Force Academy Saturday at noon. The
next home game is with the Boise State Broncos
Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. The Falcons host the U.S. Naval
Academy Midshipmen Oct. 4 at 1:30 p.m. Call
472-1895 for ticket information. Active-duty
military get 10-percent off season tickets.
One of Denver’s largest fests is Friday-Monday
in Civic Center Park at Colfax Avenue and
Broadway. A Taste of Colorado/The Festival of
Mountain and Plain has bands, entertainment
and more than 50 restaurants with food booths.
Admission is free and tickets may be purchased
for food, beverages and carnival rides. Call 303295-6330 or visit http://www.atasteofcolorado.com.
Commonwheel Artists Art Festival is in Manitou
Springs Fields Park at 101 El Paso Blvd.
Saturday-Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking
is limited near Fields Park but free shuttles will
run every 20 minutes. Park for free behind the
Tajine Alami Moroccan restaurant at 10 Old
Man’s Trail. Board the 33A shuttle at any
Metro station on Manitou Avenue. The festival
includes live music, artists, food vendors, prizes,
fine arts and crafts.
The 45th annual Fountain Fall Festival
includes a parade at 10 a.m. along Santa Fe
and Ohio avenues and activities at John
Metcalfe Park beginning at 11 a.m. Monday.
Shuttles will transport passengers from
Fountain Middle School and City Hall to the
park from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Ongoing
entertainment in the park gazebo includes
Suga’ Bear and the Show Time Band at
11 a.m., 12:30, 1:30 and 3 p.m. Andy Clifton,
singer and song writer, will perform as will
the Fountain Arts Center Dancers.
The fourth annual free Indy Music Awards is
at 6 p.m. Thursday on North Tejon Street
between Pikes Peak Avenue and Kiowa Street
on several stages and features local artists.
The free What If Festival of Innovation and
Imagination, presented by Imagination
31
Celebration in downtown Colorado Springs
is Sept. 6, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival brings
people together to celebrate imagination and
innovation. Inventors, educators and tinkerers
all get together to share a day of play, innovation
and creativity with people of all ages.
The Colorado Springs Corvette Club and
Daniels Long Chevrolet presents a free
“All Chevy Car Show — Bowtie Bash”
Sept. 6, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Daniels Long
Chevrolet, 670 Automotive Drive, near
Motor City. Anyone can enter a Chevrolet
automobile or Corvette for $20 for the first
car and $10 for an additional car. Call
John Gue, 719-440-9683 for information,
Holly Berry House Folk Art festival is Sept.
12-14 at Rock Ledge Ranch. This popular
festival brings crowds to the ranch to shop for
handcrafted folk art, clothing, furniture and
antiques. There’s a quilt exhibit and silent
auction. Food vendors will be on site. Admission
to the fest is $8 for adults and $4 for children
ages 6-12. Children under 6 are admitted free.
Briarfest is Sept. 5-7 at St. Gabriel’s Church
campus, 8755 Scarborough Drive, near
Austin Bluffs and Research parkways. The
festival features free concerts and entertainment,
food booths, arts and craft vendors and a
carnival midway.
The Blue Man Group will have shows in
Pueblo’s Memorial Hall, 1 City Hall Place,
Sept. 18-19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be
purchased by calling 866-722-8844 or online
at http://www.pueblomemorialhall.com.
The Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.,
has these upcoming concerts scheduled:
• Comedian Steven Wright, 7 p.m. Sept. 14.
• The Temptations, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17.
• Gordon Lightfoot, 7 p.m. Sept. 22.
Call 520-SHOW for ticket information.
The Transcontinental Motorcycle Cannonball
Roll arrives in Colorado Springs Sept. 14.
The transcontinental run using pre-1937
motorcycles will stop for lunch at the Rocky
Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 5867 N. Nevada Ave.,
near exit 148 from Interstate 25. The public is
invited to attend. The antique motorcycles
include Harley-Davidsons, Indians, Hendersons,
BMWs, Moto Guzzis, Moto Freras, Rudge, a
Brough Superior and a Sokol 1000, a Sunbeam
m9 and a 1923 Ner-a-Car.
— Compiled by Nel Lampe
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32 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
Story and photos by Nel Lampe
Mountaineer staff
The 38th Colorado Balloon Classic
begins Saturday in Memorial Park.
This is the last year the classic will be
in Colorado Springs, according to a
news release from its organizers.
The classic is the largest air show
in Colorado, one of the top 100 events
in North America and named best
local festival. Eighty balloons will
participate in this year’s event. With
the theme — “Making Life More
Colorful” — a sky full of balloons
can do just that.
Special shaped balloons will be
in Memorial Park Saturday-Monday,
including El Fonz. Named after the
Fonz from TV’s “Happy Days,” El
Fonz is a chick magnet, according to
his owner. He’ll be joined by Lady
Jester, who comes from Albuquerque.
There are several balloons
with unusual or colorful artwork —
columbines, a pink truck, a pink cat
with a big smile, a large white bird and
a balloon depicting children holding
hands. There are three cloud-hopper
balloons — one-person balloons
without a basket. The pilot gets to sit
during the flight, but sits on a harness
or a seat — perhaps
a lawn chair.
The balloon
festival starts
very early in the
morning — balloons and crews are in
the park before daylight, soon followed
by spectators and fans who arrive well
before 7 a.m. when the first wave of
balloons lift off.
The pathfinder balloon is the first
balloon to be inflated, taking off about
6:45 a.m. If weather and wind currents
are favorable, mass ascension is a go.
Early arrivers see balloon crews
unloading baskets and colorful balloon
envelopes from vans or pickup trucks,
sometimes wearing T-shirts or jackets
that match the balloon. Quickly, the
balloon is spread out on the ground,
the basket sitting near the throat of the
balloon. Soon, the burner is lit and a
big fan begins blowing air into the
balloon as a couple of crew members
hold the balloon open. The air is
heated by the burner and the balloon
Aug. 29, 2014 — MOUNTAINEER
33
Left: Soon after
lifting off, this
balloon heads
for the water of
Prospect Lake on
the south side of
Memorial Park
during the 2013
Colorado Balloon
Classic. Left
center: The pilot
maneuvers the
balloon closer to
Prospect Lake.
Right center: The
balloon’s basket
dips into the
water. Right: The
balloon is aloft
again, after a
“dip and dash”
during last
year’s Colorado
Balloon Classic.
begins to inflate. As the balloon
takes in more hot air, it begins to rise
slowly, finally to a standing position.
The basket is attached to the balloon,
the pilot and riders get into the basket
and prepare for liftoff. A few final
bursts of flame and the balloon
slowly rises above neighboring
balloons and is airborne.
Usually, prevailing winds send the
balloons in a southeasterly direction,
some of them heading toward Prospect
Lake. Traditionally, Colorado Balloon
Classic pilots like to dip the basket in
the lake — a dip and dash — to the
delight of the crowd. Spectators
applaud and cheer the balloons that
successfully dip baskets.
Around 8 a.m., all 80 balloons are
in the air and chase crews have left the
park. Don’t leave yet — there are other
activities in the park. Vendors have
been preparing and selling food since
6 a.m. Event T-shirts, cups, collector
balloon pins and other goods are
available for purchase.
There’s a “Kids Zone” that
includes a variety of jump houses and
“hamster balls” that require a fee.
Following Saturday’s balloon
launch, the U.S. Air Force Academy’s
“Wings of Blue” jump into the park
between 8:30-9:30 a.m.
People who don’t like to get up early
can still see balloons at the balloon glow
Saturday-Sunday from 8-9 p.m. The
balloons are tethered and don’t leave the
ground but are inflated. When the propane burners are used, the balloons glow
in the darkness. There’s no entrance
fee for the balloon glow. Concessions
open at 5 p.m., Disney Radio entertains
5:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday.
During this year’s balloon fest
Pikes Peak Avenue will be closed from
Hancock Avenue to Union Boulevard.
Union Boulevard will be closed from
Pikes Peak to Eastlake Boulevard and
Hancock Avenue will be closed from
Pikes Peak to Costilla Street from
4:30-9 a.m. Saturday-Monday and
from 4-9 p.m. during the balloon glow
Saturday-Sunday. No pets are allowed
in the park during the festival and no
smoking is allowed.
Free bicycle “valet” parking is
available in the park at Ball Field No.
3, near the ice center, from 6-10 a.m.
Saturday-Monday and from 5-9 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday.
New this year, a taxi stand will
be on site. Yellow Cab will be in the
northeast corner of the launch site,
or call 777-7777 for a ride to your
car. Standard rates apply.
Balloon rides are available
during the classic — call 800-7352477 or sign up at http://www.
rainbowryders.com. Balloon rides
are $295 per person.
During the event, Salem
Communication’s local stations
will be broadcasting from the park.
Salem stations are 1460 AM, 100.7
FM and Q102.7 FM.
Memorial Park is on Pikes Peak
Avenue, between Union Boulevard and
Hancock Avenue, about 10 blocks east
of downtown. No parking is available
in the park except for handicapped
and those with reserved parking
passes. Spectators should park along
neighborhood streets or in fee-based
lots in the neighborhood.
There’s no admission charge for
the festival.
“Smokey Bear Balloon” is from Albuquerque and is one of
the special shaped balloons launched from Memorial Park
in September 2013.
Just the Facts
• TRAVEL TIME – 15 minutes
• FOR AGES – anyone
• TYPE – balloon festival
• FUN FACTOR – (OUT OF 5 STARS)
• WALLET DAMAGE – FREE ENTRY
$ = Less than $20
$$ = $21-$40
$$$ = $41-$60
$$$$ = $61-$80
(BASED ON A FAMILY OF FOUR)
Pilot Rick Neubauer brings his balloon “Spirit of Sunrise” from Port
Orange, Fla., to participate in the 2013 Colorado Balloon Classic.
A special shaped balloon, Sonny Boy, is 140 feet high and flown by Carol Weiner of Medina, Ohio, in the 2013
Colorado Balloon Classic.
Three balloons “dip and dash” into
Prospect Lake almost simultaneously
during the 2013 balloon classic, to
the delight of spectators on shore.
Places to see in the
Pikes Peak area.
34 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
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36 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
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38 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014
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40 MOUNTAINEER — Aug. 29, 2014