Update

Friends and Family of Black Knight Troop,
Happy New Year from FOB Bostick, Afghanistan! I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. Your Soldiers have been busy going on missions, preparing to move into a new outpost, and maintaining much of their new gear and equipment. During the last month some of our teammates have reenlisted, others were promoted, and we even got some new guys in. For Christmas we took a pause from our daily missions to play a little Black Knight football, have a turkey dinner, and we ended the night with a Troop bonfire with presents and cigars. During the holiday festivities, MG Scaparrotti, the Commanding General of Combined Joint Task Force 82, gave a coin to SFC Hill and SSG Birchfield for their excellent performance over the last several months. Additionally, COL George and CSM Sasser gave coins to SPC Stickney, CPT Liapensch (our Troop Observer Mentor Liaison Team from Latvia), SPC Dulaney, and 1LT Bundermann for the outstanding job they’ve done on recent missions.
The Soldiers continue to work with the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP), as well as some government officials to enable the locals here to protect their villages and develop their economy. Each Platoon works constantly to interact with locals in their area of operation (AO) and we are seeing a noticeable difference in the village involvement over the Troop’s region as a whole.
During the last month many of the Soldiers have been on missions to villages that have reportedly never seen American and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) before. The ANA and ANP presence in these villages signify a step towards progress in the Afghan government’s ability to positively impact the security of AO Black Knight. While progress is slow and steady, B Troop Soldiers use the interaction with the locals and with the ANSF to build a relationship of trust that is necessary for future progress. Since November, the mortars and headquarters have been training the Afghan National Army Soldiers to use the 81mm Mortar Tube, and the ANA are becoming very capable in using the system. In the last month 1st Platoon has done everything from train the ANA on proper use and maintenance of NATO machine guns (to include the M16 and the M240B) to improve local roads to make them safer to drive on. 2nd Platoon has been working with local elders to help them acquire a tent that will be used as a school in one of their villages and White Platoon Soldiers continue to walk all over the mountains to meet new people and extend their reach of effectiveness. 3rd Platoon also has been doing a lot of walking to reach villages that no US Soldiers have ever been to, and in doing so have disrupted local anti-Afghan forces abilities to operate as effectively in the area. Additionally, Blue Platoon’s Soldiers are the first Soldiers to receive the Army’s new MATV, which is an abbreviation for MRAP ATV, which stands for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicle. The MATV is the Army’s new HUMVEE replacement, and so far the guys remain very positive about them.
This month, PV2 Kellen Kahn was promoted to Private First Class. The Black Knight Family was fortunate enough to receive a few new Soldiers: PFC Jermas McNeal (3rd PLT’s newest forward observer), SGT Jeff Hutchison (2nd PLT’s newest forward observer), SGT Justin Holmes (2nd PLT’s newest scout), and 1LT Ben Bringhurst (the new Troop XO). We’ve also had a few Soldiers reenlist to stay in the Army this month: SGT Armando Avalos, SPC Ryan Willson, and SPC Troy Schmidt.
Over the course of the next month we will be moving into a new COP within Task Force Destroyer’s AO. Your Soldiers are very familiar with the location, and we all continue to work hard to make Afghanistan a safer place for Afghans and Coalition Forces to operate in. Your Soldiers continue to work long hours, and we can definitely see the fruits of their labor and your sacrifices. Thank you so much for your continued support during the holidays and every day.


Sincerely,
CPT Stoney Portis and 1SG Ron Burton
Black Knight 6 and 7

Black Knight Troop Introduction

Friends and Family of B Troop,

Welcome to the new Facebook or Blog site! Our goal with this page is to provide pictures and updates to the B Troop Family. Hopefully you find a picture of your soldier on here, and we will keep it as updated as possible (as our missions and availability allow) with fresh pictures. The men are doing great, and we’re excited to have recently reached our 4 month mark in country.

Due to concerns for operations security, we have disabled the ability to make comments. Until further notice, no one will be able to make comments on the B Troop Facebook Page or Blog Site. Please don’t take offense if you’ve been “unfriended” in the last 24 hours, but I’m sure you can understand the need to protect our soldiers and our mission. Red Platoon will make the first update, so stay posted!

Facebook: (first name) Blackknight (last name) Troop
BLOG: www.blackknighttroop3-61CAV.blogspot.com

Sincerely,

CPT Stoney L. Portis
CDR, B/3-61 CAV
COP Keating

Welcome to the Black Knight Troop Blog

This Blog is designed to keep all of our families updated on our deployment to Afghanistan. We have been working very hard and are excited to allow our families the chance to see what our life is like throughout the year here in Afghanistan.