Unofficial 1st Infantry Division Magazine of Soldiers and Families | www.riley.army.mil
 Duty First! September 2011 

|1

Duty First!

The Duty First is an unofficial publication pro-

duced under the provisions of AR 360-1, pub-

lished by Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division. 

Editorial views and opinions expressed are not 

necessarily those of the Department of Defense, 

the Army or the 1st Infantry Division. All photos 

are Army photos unless otherwise noted. Circu-

lation is 6,000 per issue, printed monthly. Story 

and photos submissions are welcome and should 

be sent to: 

1st Infantry Division

Public Affairs Office 

ATTN: Editor 

Bldg. 580

RM 313

Fort Riley, KS 66442 

Telephone number

COM 785-239-4696 

 DSN 856-6821 

or visit Duty First online at www.riley.army.mil.

1st Infantry Division Commander

Maj. Gen. William Mayville

1st Infantry Division Interim CSM

Command Sgt. Maj. James Thomson

1st Infantry Division PAO

Lt. Col. Sophie Gainey

Editor

Jordan Chapman

Staff Writers

Stephanie Hoff

Mollie Miller

Illustrator

Justin Angeles

justin angeles, DUTY FIRST! Magazine

No Mission too Difficult. No Sacrifice too Great.

September 2011 | www.riley.army.mil

COVER ILLUSTRATION: Shadows of the Twin 

Towers in New York City can be seen be-

hind a layer of smoke before the attacks 

that took place on 9/11/2001.

C O NTENTS

Departments

Features

Danger 6

Progress being made 

since 9/11 tragedy Around the Division

Combat Aviation Brigade 

trains with land units

Danger 7

Division continues to 

change world around us PICTORIAL

Photographs capture 

moments from 9/11 Life Outside the Gate

Lake of the Ozarks offers 

recreation, fun for all 

Not a normal day

Nurse at Pentagon remembers 

acting, not following

On the road again

Veteran Staff Sgt. logs five 

deployments since 9/11 A life-changing event

Division Soldiers reveal how 

9/11 shaped their lives

Answering the call — again

Duty spurs veteran NYC medic 

to join army a third time

Husband’s memory lives on

Widow recounts fate that 

united, separated couple

Where the BRO has been

Trace the timeline for the 

Big Red One since 9/11

23

22

28 1084

14

20

TEAMWORK is the foundation of the Big Red One. I shall

never fail my team, for I maintain the standard. My conduct and 

self-discipline set the example for others to follow.

HONOR is what I stand for–an American Soldier on duty

for my country. My loyalty is intense. I display care for

my fellow Soldiers and my chain of command through courage, 

respect, integrity and compassion.

I have learned to ENDURE

, to thrive in adversity. 

The harsh reality of combat gives me the enthusiasm for

realistic training. I am physically and mentally strong to

meet the demanding situations my unit encounters.

We are one in the Big Red One. Our BROTHERHOOD

gives us strength to fight on to any objective and accomplish the 

mission as our veterans have done before us. I live the legacy of my division.

READINESS is my priority. To be ready for any mission,

anytime, anywhere. My business is first-class training and living high 

standards of care and equipment, weaponry and tactical and 

technical competence.

My ORGANIZATION is my strength. The BRO is bigger 

than any one individual. It gives me purpose, self-confidence, 

competitive spirit, intestinal fortitude and the desire to fight 

with all my heart.
Ten years ago Sept. 11, 2001, 19 

al-Qaeda terrorists high-jacked 

four commercial airliners and 

forever altered the history, attitude and 

future of the United States of America.

Nearly 3,000 American lives were 

lost that day, and since then, we have 

had countless Soldiers Army-wide sacrifice their lives protecting the freedom 

of their Families and friends, and gaining it for those in Iraq and Afghanistan 

whom they have never before met.

The memory of those Soldiers 

who’ve paid for this Division’s progress 

with their lives will never fade, nor will 

our steadfast loyalty to their families.

David and Annavee Hinkley lost 

their daughter, a third generation Soldier and one of the BRO’s finest, Sgt. 

Faith Hinkley, in Iraq on Aug. 7, 2010. 

Yet, she is only one of the 22 Soldiers 

this Division lost last year, which is 

only a small percentage of the entire 498 

who have paved the way for our success with their very lives.

Sept. 11, it changed our nation, it has 

changed our Division, and in response, 

we are changing the world. 

That eagerness, that vigor, to rise up 

and defend our nation is just as strong as 

it was the morning the two towers fell.

You can hear our determination 

spouting forth from the muzzles of our 

guns on our ranges, from the helicopters conducting missions around Marshall Airfield and the surrounding 

countryside and from each drop of 

sweat that falls to the earth in our daily 

PT exercises.

We are the Fighting First. We will 

not forget. We will not fail.

Duty First!

This month we recognized the 

10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We remember 

those who died on that day and honor 

the 6,000 Service members who have lost 

their lives participating in combat operations since then, in places like Iraq and 

Afghanistan. We honor those who died 

supporting these operations and the 

many civilians who in service to their 

country and support of our military operations also have lost their lives. 

The clock of conflict does not always 

tick as quickly as ours at home, but 

where we have committed our resources, our treasure, and blood, we have 

made real progress. In Iraq, we removed 

a dictator and we set the conditions for 

the Iraqi people to govern themselves. 

The recent spring uprising that impacted 

many Arab countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and now Syria did not occur in Iraq. You did not see Iraqi youth 

protesting against the government in the 

streets of Baghdad. They now enjoy a 

government and a society they feel a 

part of and have a stake in. Our intelligence shows that the violence we’re seeing in Iraq today is encouraged and supported by Iran and not from domestic 

discontent. 

In Afghanistan, we are defeating al 

Qaeda and transitioning sovereignty of its 

provinces to Afghan control. There is real 

progress in places like Marja, central Helmand, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul. 

Contrary to its rhetoric, the Taliban has 

been unable to conduct offensive operations against Afghan security forces. The 

only thing we see the Taliban doing is indiscriminately killing innocent Afghan 

citizens. In fact, the Afghan people want 

to live without Taliban influence. 

We are making a difference and a 

change for good against what is clearly 

the most complex security challenge 

our nation has faced in recent history. 

Today the Division has 11,000 Soldiers 

deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. When those Soldiers return, others from this Division will replace them. 

Your service to our Nation and the Division has been remarkable and your 

actions honor the memory of those lost 

on September 11, 2001. 

Duty First!

2| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |3

Commanding General DANGER 6 Command Sergeant Major DANGER 7

Progress ongoing since 9/11 Division busy changing world

Maj. Gen. William Mayville From the DANGER 7 Office
*SPC DIALLO, MAMADOU M.

Team member; 91J (Quartermaster and 

Chemical Repairer), B Co., 299th BSB, 2/1 AAB

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEP 11 MOTIVATE 

YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: Nearly 3,000 victims and 19 hijackers died in the attack. The overwhelming 

majority of the casualties were civilians, 

including nationals of more than 70 countries. 

I was hurt by that and decided to join the 

Army to protect the people of the United 

States and defend our constitution.

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY 

SINCE?

ANSWER: Motivation has kept me in the 

Army. I know that I am making a difference in 

people’s life by protecting and defending my 

country and my loved ones.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE PAST 10 

YEARS?

ANSWER: In the past 10 years, I have done 

several things; I got married and had kids; I’m 

working toward getting my MS in urban and 

environmental planning and most importantly, I joined the Army to defend and protect my 

country against all enemies. During my 

three-and-a-half years in service, I have 

deployed two times to Iraq.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I am proud of my service to the 

country. I am proud of making a difference 

in life’s people even at the expense of my 

family.

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE IF 

9/11 DID NOT HAPPEN?

ANSWER: I would be a civilian, somewhere 

in the United States with my family and 

friends. 

4| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |5

*SSG RICKS, JOSEPH, Section Chief, 

92F3O (Petroleum Supply Specialist)

A Co., 299th BSB, 2/1 AAB

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT 11 MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: I was in basic training when the 

events of 9/11 happened. While in basic training 

at Fort Benning, Georgia, we were told by our 

drill sergeants to immediately go to the 

classroom, and they then explained to us what 

has happened. We then began to watch footage 

on CNN. From that day on and throughout the 

cycle, everyone was motivated and took training 

very seriously.

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY SINCE?

ANSWER: What the Army has to offer has kept 

me in. I really enjoy having the opportunity to 

train and lead Soldiers. I love the education 

benefits, medical/dental, and the opportunity 

to travel to new places.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE PAST 10 

YEARS?

ANSWER: In the past 10 years, I have been 

stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Camp Casey, 

Korea, Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Riley, Kansas. I 

have deployed twice with the Dagger Brigade. My 

military training includes Equal Opportunity 

Leaders Course, Warrior Leader Course, Advance 

Leader Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, and 

Combatives Level 1. In June of 2008, I married the 

love of my life, Jacinta Ricks.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER:Being a noncommissioned officer is a 

huge honor and is something that I am very 

proud of. One of my proudest moments was 

when I found out that I was selected to attend 

drill sergeant school in April of 2012. 

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’D BE IF 9/11 

DIDN’T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: I would still be in the Army if 9/11 

didn’t happen. I plan on serving another 10 years.

A decade after the tragic events on 9/11/01, the country 

continues to grapple with the effects of war, terrorism and 

loss of human life. Duty First! Magazine profiles an array of 

Soldiers and their Families to find out how those events and 

the subsequent 10 years of service have shaped their lives 

and their outlooks on the world they inhabit.

INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS COMPILED BY MOLLIE MILLER & STEPHANIE HOFF | DUTY FIRST! MAGAZINE

*SPC. WHITMAN, MORGAN

Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 

193rd Brigade Support Battalion, 

4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade 

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 

MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: I was pretty young at the time. 

It was a time of coming together for the 

entire nation, and I could sense that even 

at 13 (years old). That feeling carried over 

for me. I became an Eagle Scout and then 

enlisted in the Army at 21. 

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY 

SINCE 9/11?

ANSWER: There is a real sense of 

brotherhood when I see someone in 

uniform. Those friendships and bonds 

you form are irreplaceable. You are 

seeing someone who will possibly die for 

their country. 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE DURING 

THE PAST 10 YEARS?

ANSWER: For me, the Boy Scouts has 

been a huge take away from the last 10 

years. The program not only taught me a 

lot of life lessons, but it really put things 

into perspective for me. I’m currently 

actively looking for a troop that I can 

help volunteer for. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I would say that becoming 

Eagle Scout and making the decision to 

enlist are the two things that I’m the 

most proud of. Since then, any decision 

that I make while serving (in the Army), I 

try to make it with the military bearing in 

mind. 

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE 

TODAY IF 9/11 DIDN'T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: I’ve always wanted to join (the 

Army). I think the military would have 

been a path that I would have taken 

naturally. 
6| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |7

*PVT. GABALLERO, FREDERICK

Troop B, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: In the beginning I wanted to be a 

veterinarian. I tried college but I didn’t really 

feel like I was doing what I wanted. So I just sat 

myself down and asked ‘Where do I want to 

be 10 years from now?’ Being in the Army just 

seemed like the right thing to do. 

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY 

SINCE 9/11?

ANSWER: (On Sept. 11) I was on 56th Street 

(in Manhattan, New York) in my Pre-K 

school in the fifth grade. At first I didn’t know 

what happened. The next day it felt like New 

York was standing still. You’re always used to 

hearing noise and that day there was nothing 

going on.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE DURING THE 

PAST 10 YEARS?

ANSWER: I had just turned 10 like 10 days 

before Sept. 11 happened. Once I completed 

high school, I went to Fort Knox, Ky. for my 

basic training. I graduated basically three 

months ago and then arrived at Fort Riley. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I haven’t been here (at Fort Riley) 

that long. I’m really looking forward to training 

with my unit and then deploying. 

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE TODAY 

IF 9/11 DIDN'T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: The Army would have been my 

end goal. Sept. 11 kind of motivated me to 

join it, but the Army would have eventually 

been what would have happened anyway. 

*1ST LT. KLIMOWICH, ALEXANDER 

Troop B, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: I was kind of on the fence. I was 

14, watching movies and thinking it was 

cool. Both of my grandfathers were WWII 

vets, so it was always close to us. Then when 

Sept. 11 happened, had they had recruiting 

booths outside my high school and been 

accepting 14-year olds; I would have been 

like ‘Sign me up. I’m in.’ It was definitely the 

driving point. 

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY SINCE?

ANSWER: My hometown is Historia, Queens. 

It’s actually the closest neighborhood in Queens 

to the city. I was 14 (when Sept. 11 happened) and 

it was my third day of high school. That day I was 

helpless and I was like ‘No. I’m not going to be 

helpless again. They owe me some towers. I’m 

going to go get them.’ 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE PAST 10 

YEARS?

ANSWER: Even now when I’m driving 

around my home, I’ll think ‘There’s something missing over (where the towers use to 

stand).’ I was 14 when Sept. 11 happened. This 

has been like a 10-year journey for me to 

this upcoming deployment. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I initially was going to enlist at 18. 

Then I learned about (the Reserve Officer 

Training Corps) and decided I could better 

serve as an officer, so I waited. One of my 

friends actually dropped out of ROTC 

because he wanted to get in the fight and he 

enlisted and I chose to stay (in the ROTC 

program). I don’t regret my decision. The 

rest is history. I got commissioned. I got 

what I wanted; I’m an infantry officer. It’s the 

only way to be. 

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE TODAY 

IF 9/11 DIDN'T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: I honestly don’t know. I know 

(the Army) was something that I always 

wanted to do. I don’t know if I would have 

gone officer because it’s a lot of work during 

college. I don’t know if I would have done it 

the way I’ve done it so far, I have no regrets. 

*SPC. WEEDON, JOSHUA

Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 

193rd Brigade Support Battalion, 

4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade 

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: My two big things for ‘when I grow 

up’ was I either wanted to be a policeman or I 

wanted to go into the military. On Sept. 11 I 

was in high school so there was nothing I could 

really do about (joining then). Right before I 

graduated in 2005, my cousin was a Marine 

and he was killed in Iraq. That was basically 

what pushed me toward the military as 

opposed to law enforcement. 

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY 

SINCE 9/11?

ANSWER: I enjoy my job a lot, I really do. 

The military just fits my 

lifestyle really well. 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE 

THE PAST 10 YEARS?

ANSWER: Nearly a month and a 

half after I completed basic, I deployed. When I 

was back, I was home for about a year and 

deployed again before I arrived here to Fort 

Leonard Wood. It’s just been work ever since. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I’d have to say my deployments, 

definitely. Meeting all the people that I’ve met 

and making friends with as many different types 

of people and staying friends. Just being able to 

do that has made a huge impact in my life. 

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE TODAY 

IF 9/11 DIDN'T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: Right where I am right now. Absolutely. 

*SPC KAMELLA, ROSALIND

89B, Ammunition Specialist

A Co., 299th BSB, 2/1 AAB

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: I had just gotten out of the Army right 

before 9/11, but I never stopped being a Soldier. I 

just did not wear the uniform. I was around the 

military my whole life and I come from a military 

family. I was working for the Army and I would 

always be around Soldiers. Once a Soldier, always a 

Soldier. I decided that I wanted to put the uniform 

back on and be a part of something greater than 

me and serve my country.

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY SINCE?

ANSWER: Love of the uniform and what it 

means to me and the people of the United 

States. I mean, when I wear my uniform, I feel 

proud. On my way home from last deployment and going on mid-tour leave and going 

through the airports, people look at you 

differently. They look at you like you are a 

hero, even though I feel I am not. To them I 

am, and my uniform gives them comfort. It is 

a nice feeling when people that have seen me 

as a child and now as an adult and know I am a 

Soldier thank me and I always say, “No, thank 

you.” We do this for our families, our friends 

and all people of all walks of life. 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE PAST 10 

YEARS?

ANSWER: For the past 10 years, I have been 

serving my country in and out of uniform. I 

worked for a contractor that supported Army 

operations. And I put my uniform back on to 

serve my country. I met so many Soldiers 

working for the Army that they motivated 

me to put my uniform back on. They were 

proud and so was I. I go to school and I take 

care of my children and my husband when 

I’m home or deployed. I have seen the world 

in the last 10 years and I would not trade the 

experience for anything.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I am most proud of my family. My 

children, my husband, my parents, siblings, 

nieces and nephews, they keep me grounded. I 

am very proud of my military family. I have met 

many other Soldiers in military career who, in 

more ways than one, have become my extended 

family when I am far from home and when I am 

home. Out here, the people I work with and for 

in many ways have become my Family and we 

have formed bonds that feel will last a lifetime. I 

am proud of the fact that I am a mother, wife, 

daughter, sister, aunt and a Soldier.

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’D BE IF 9/11 

DIDN’T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: I honestly believe that I would be 

doing the same thing I am doing now. I would 

be working for the Army or wearing my 

uniform. To me, 9/11 woke America up to lives 

of Soldiers and their Families more than ever 

before. It woke America up to those who have 

served past, present and future. I believe that if 

9/11 did not happen, Soldiers and those who put 

their lives on the line every day would not get 

the credit or praise they well deserve. They would 

all still be unsung heroes the world never knew.

*SGT TABOR, JASON

Squad leader; 91B20 (Wheeled Vehicle 

Mechanic), B Co., 299th BSB, 2/1 AAB

WHY DID THE EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 MOTIVATE YOU TO JOIN THE ARMY?

ANSWER: I was motivated by the events of 

September 11, 2001 to serve my country. My 

decision to join was based on the need for 

more Soldiers to deploy to OEF and OIF. I 

had felt that it was my duty to join and serve 

in my nations’ Army.

WHAT HAS KEPT YOU IN THE ARMY 

SINCE?

ANSWER: Great opportunities, benefits, and 

training have led me to try and make a career 

out of the Army. I feel it is still the most 

secure career field in this troubled economy, 

even with the projected cutbacks.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE PAST 10 

YEARS?

ANSWER: I have gotten married, joined the 

Army, moved several times, deployed, bought 

a house, my son was born, and deployed again.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

ANSWER: I am proud of my son, Jackson, 

the most. He was born this March, and I 

have yet to spend more than 2 weeks with 

him since his birth. I am looking forward to 

spending time with him after this deployment.

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE 

IF 9/11 DIDN'T HAPPEN?

ANSWER: I believe I would still be in my 

home town looking for work in the construction industry. It is what most of my family 

and classmates are currently doing.
8| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |9

“(2001) was a very busy year,” LaVergne said recently. 

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the 

self-described Louisiana Cajun had just 

returned home from work on an offshore oil rig and was looking forward 

to a few quiet days when he turned on 

the news to “see what was going on in 

the world.” 

That’s when he saw the second plane 

hit the South Tower of the World Trade 

Center in New York. 

“When the second plane hit, my wife 

turned and looked at me and I just said, 

‘I’ve got to go,’” LaVergne said. “I knew 

immediately there was something bad 

going on so I grabbed my bags and 

headed to the battalion.”

By the time LaVergne made it to battalion headquarters, 20 other QRF Soldiers were already there. 

“It was just a habit to grab our bags 

and go,” he said. “We were ready to do 

whatever they needed us to do but we 

had no idea what was going to happen 

next.” 

 Standing in a quiet group in the battalion’s drill area, LaVergne and the 

rest of the QRF Soldiers watched the 

plane hit the Pentagon, listened to the 

reporters relay information about a 

plane going down in Pennsylvania and 

waited for guidance. 

“It was a long waiting game,” LaVergne said. “We all got sent home 

that night but, within the week, we 

all had orders to go out and support 

units that were being tapped to go to 

Afghanistan.” 

LaVergne was attached to Louisiana 

National Guard transportation unit that 

was supposed to go into Afghanistan 

through Turkey. The unit’s orders were 

pulled just as the Soldiers were stepping on the plane. 

LaVergne’s first deployment didn’t 

come until 2003 when he crossed the 

berm into Iraq just behind the 4th Infantry Division. That deployment to Iraq 

was the first of five visits to the country 

that LaVergne would make during the 

course of the next eight years.

“The first time I went over, I went 

because it is my duty,” he said. “I’m a 

U.S. Soldier, I train to fight and I fight. 

If a war breaks out and a Soldier 

doesn’t go fight, it’s like leaving a fire 

extinguisher in the corner as a fire rages all around it.” 

The more than 3,600 days that have 

passed since LaVergne sat down to relax 

on the couch at his house have been full 

of many things, some wonderful, some 

terrible. He has attended Iraqi weddings; 

provided outer perimeter security during the capture of Saddam Hussein; 

watched his wife, Patricia, grow in 

strength and independence; celebrated 

the young man his 6-year-old son has 

become; escorted the Saddam Hussein 

prosecutors; grieved the nine members 

of his company who were killed when 

their vehicle was flipped 

into a canal by an IED 

blast; trained U.S. and 

Iraqi Soldiers; cleaned up 

his hometown following 

the devastation of Hurricane Rita; officially became an active 

duty Soldier; and spent 59 months walking the dusty streets of a country that 

was not his own. 

Today, LaVergne’s bags are again 

packed and ready as he waits for word 

on his next deployment, this time with 

the 1st Infantry Division’s Sustainment 

Brigade. While many things have 

changed since Sept. 11, 2001, LaVergne’s commitment to serving his 

country and protecting his fellow fighting men and women remain as solid as 

they were 10 years ago when he sat 

down on his couch to watch the morning news. 

“I have been deployed five times 

and will not stop until they don’t let me 

go anymore or all of our Soldiers come 

home,” he said. “This is a hard life, but 

it is a life I love.”

After 9/11, Big Red One Soldier & suitcase have 

seen fair share of action over 5 deployments

DURING THE SPRING

and summer of 2001, Staff 

Sgt. Richard LaVergne’s 

suitcases were rarely far 

from the front door of his 

Lake Charles, La., home. 

A member of the Louisiana National Guard’s 

Quick Reaction Force, 

LaVergne often found 

himself reporting to the 

headquarters of 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment at a moment’s notice to respond to the hurricanes, floods and fires 

that seemed so common 

that year. 

By Mollie Miller | Duty First! Magazine

I’m a U.S. Soldier, I train 

to fight and I fight. If a 

war breaks out and a 

Soldier doesn’t go fight, 

it’s like leaving a fire 

extinguisher in the corner as a fire rages all 

around it.”

— Staff Sgt. Richard LaVergne

COURTESY PHOTO

Staff Sgt. LaVergne assists his team load equipment in 2010 toward the end of his moment recent deployment to Iraq.

COURTESY PHOTO

Staff Sgt. Richard LaVergne poses for a photo in his vehicle as his unit waits to cross the berm into Iraq 

in 2003 just behind the 4th Infantry Division. That deployment to Iraq was the first of five visits LaVergne 

has made to the country during the past eight years.
10| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |11

It was late evening Sept. 11, 2001, and Glidewell was standing in the kitchen of her home 

near Washington, D.C. The Class B uniform 

she had been wearing as her 4-year-old little 

boy munched on his before school apple that 

morning had been replaced by medical scrubs. 

The blouse, skirt, high heel shoes and nylons of 

her Class Bs were laying somewhere on the 

Pentagon grounds, torn to pieces and covered 

in dirt and blood and fuel. 

It was at that moment, as she stood looking 

at the apple core and wondering where her 

uniform was, that Glidewell knew that life, 

much like her destroyed Class B uniform, 

would never be the same again. 

“That day we really saw the best of humanity and the worst,” she said.

Glidewell’s “normal” Sept. 11, 2001, began 

with a class about how to schedule patients at 

the Pentagon’s DiLorenzo Health Clinic where 

she was the chief nurse of acute care. In between sessions of the class, Glidewell overheard chatter in the waiting rooms about a 

plane hitting the World Trade Center in New 

York but she wasn’t sure if she overheard one 

plane or two. 

“All I was thinking was that some poor pilot 

really screwed up,” she said. 

A slow morning of training quickly turned 

into something far different when a lieutenant 

colonel Glidewell had never seen before appeared in the clinic saying that something terrible had happened and everyone had to get out.

(continued on page 12)

That day we really saw the best of humanity and the worst.”

—Maj. Jennifer Glidewell

Former Pentagon nurse reflects 

on 10th anniversary of attack

Story by Mollie Miller | Duty First! Magazine

Courtesy photo

Maj. Jennifer Glidewell, then a captain, participates in a mass casualty exercise at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2002, the one-year anniversary of 

the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Although Glidewell’s memories of the day 

of the attack are mostly dark, there are a few of 

the snapshots that are lighter. Memories like 

when she first saw the F-16s patrolling the skies 

above the Pentagon and when she returned 

home late Sept. 11 to find her answering machine full of messages from Family, friends and 

fellow Soldiers, some she hadn’t seen in years. 

“I think we forget how important we are to 

other people and it may never have occurred to 

me had I never been privileged to hear those 

messages,” she said. 

The 10 years that have passed since a 

young captain was catapulted into the center 

of one of the nation’s worst mass casualties 

in history have been full for Glidewell. She 

went back to school to become a nurse practitioner, deployed with a Special Forces unit 

to Afghanistan, remarried her ex-husband, 

and cared for hundreds of Soldiers and Army 

Family members. 

“I love taking care of Soldiers and I love taking care of the Family members who put up 

with so much,” she said. 

When Glidewell reflects on Sept. 11, 2001, 

the tears still come easily when she thinks 

about all that was lost that day, not only in the 

tangible numbers of lives lost but also in the 

intangible feeling of security she felt living in 

the “greatest country in the world.” 

“We all saw a lot that day that nobody 

should ever have to see but there has been a lot 

more that people have gone through since then 

that they shouldn’t have ever had to see either,” she said. “The naiveté that was there on 

Sept. 10, 2001, is gone forever ... and that still 

makes me sad.” 

This year, Glidewell will mark the 10th anniversary of the Pentagon attack by “keeping 

busy.” She’ll prepare for a conference she has 

to attend Sept. 12. She’ll spend some time with 

her son, now 14, and her husband. She’ll connect to the new Facebook group she is part of 

that includes many of the men and women 

who were with her at the Pentagon on the day 

of the attack. In the quiet hours of the day, although she hopes there aren’t any, she may 

think of the events of that day, of the 125 people who died at the Pentagon and of the world 

that existed when her little boy sat down to 

eat an apple in the early morning hours of 

Sept. 11, 2001. 

“I did my job that day and I made a lot of 

right decisions that just as easily could have 

been wrong decisions but that doesn’t make 

me a hero,” she said. “The medics who worked 

for me, though, the 19- and 20-year-old kids 

who stepped up to the plate to care for the 

wounded, they were amazing. They are the 

heroes.” 

12| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |13

(continued from page 11)

“There was just something about him and 

the look on his face that made us start moving 

everyone out,” she said. “There were no alarms, 

no official notification but something just 

seemed real.” 

The “something” real was that American 

Airlines Flight 77 had just crashed into the Pentagon on the opposite side of the building from 

Glidewell’s clinic. The nurse had neither heard 

nor felt anything when the aircraft punched a 

90-foot hole in the side of America’s military 

headquarters. 

“Even when I saw everyone running out 

the door, I still thought it was all part of an 

exercise,” she said. “It never occurred to me 

that the Pentagon would be a big target (for 

terrorists).” 

 



Ten years later, the memories of the hours following the order to get out come to Glidewell 

like snapshots. She remembers hearing someone say that there was a patient in the Pentagon 

courtyard and running to see what she could 

do to help. She remembers seeing that patient 

emerge from the side of the building where the 

plane hit with his clothes ripped up and his 

skin “just hanging off.” She remembers the first 

time she saw the smoke billowing from the 

building and realizing that “it wasn’t just a 

drill.” She remembers taking charge of the triage in the courtyard. She remembers getting 

the notification that there was another plane 

inbound and they had 20 minutes to get everyone out. She remembers getting told just two 

minutes later that the plane wasn’t 20 minutes 

out, it was 20 miles out. 

“We all just looked at each other and said 

‘well, I guess we just keep working until it gets 

here,’” she said. “Not a single person left the 

courtyard.” 

She remembers her medic asking to go into 

the burning building to look for survivors. She 

remembers the three-star Air Force general 

coming up to her and asking where she needed 

him to be. 

“There was no rank that day,” Glidewell 

said. “There were just people taking care of 

people.” 

At the end, she remembers going back into 

the courtyard and standing among the body 

bags, still waiting, still hoping that one more 

person would be brought out alive.

“All we had to go off of was the Oklahoma 

City bombing where they were still pulling survivors out days later,” she said. “We thought 

the same would be true for us.” 

Courtesy photo

Maj. Jennifer Glidewell, then a captain, salutes during an Oct. 11, 2001 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon. Glidewell was the 

chief nurse of acute care at the Pentagon’s DiLorenzo Health Clinic when a plane struck the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

There was no rank that day. There were 

just people taking care of people.”

—Maj. Jennifer Glidewell

I love taking care of Soldiers, and I love 

taking care of the Family members who 

put up with so much.”

—Maj. Jennifer Glidewell

Courtesy photo

ABOVE and RIGHT: Glidewell listens to the heartbeats of Afghan children during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2007. Glidewell joined a 

special forces unit on the rotation into Afghanistan in order to provide 

medical care to the women of the villages where the special forces team 

was stationed.
14| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |15

A

9/11 attacks spur NYC fire department veteran to join army third time

Story by Stephanie Hoff | Duty First! Magazine

SLEEPING IN, HANGING AROUND 

HIS APARTMENT AND MAYBE 

WATCHING SOME TELEVISION 

WERE ALL POSSIBILITIES ON STAFF 

SGT. PETER ROSIE’S AGENDA FOR 

HIS DAY OFF.

Rosie was currently in his eighth year of 

service as a paramedic with the New York 

Fire Department where his station served 

the residents of New York’s Harlem community. A sudden phone call from his 

girlfriend instructing him to turn on the 

TV; and his life, as well as that of millions 

of others from the around the world, 

would be changed forever.

(continued on page 16)

The fire department is a noble profession 

and a great job, very rewarding...but I 

knew on that day (Sept. 11) that I couldn’t 

stay in that capacity anymore. With the 

prior service and all that, I knew that everything had changed and I wanted to go 

back into the Army.”

—Staff Sgt. Peter Rosie

OPPOSITE PAGE TOP, BOTTOM: Staff Sgt. Peter Rosie, of 1st Bn., 4th Cav., 4th 

IBCT kneels at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that 

claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Americans. Rosie was serving as a paramedic with the New York Fire Department when the attacks occurred; Rosie poses 

for a picture with the ambulance he used when he served as a paramedic with the 

New York Fire Department. Rosie was serving with the NYFD with the Twin Towers 

were struck by terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. 
16| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |17

(continued from page 15)

“I saw the first plane hit (the North Tower) on 

the TV. We had a small TV so you couldn’t make 

out the magnitude of it,” Rosie recalled of the 

terrorists attacks that struck New York’s World Trade Center on 

Sept. 11, 2001 and took more than 3,000 lives. “All I had to do 

was walk one flight to the roof and then I saw the second (plane) 

hit in front of me. My first thought was ‘I better go to work.’”

The Scotland native who had previously served in the U.S. 

Army and later the British Army before joining the fire department, then hopped on his son’s bicycle to report to Bellevue Hospital Center. Throughout the following weeks the facility would 

be one of New York’s busiest centers to treat the wounded and 

later assist with identifying the deceased. 

Within 10 minutes Rosie was handed a two-way radio and 

assigned to a partner and an ambulance for assistance at the 

World Trade Center. 

“They threw a radio at me and said ‘Here’s your partner’ and 

we started going down (to the WTC),”he recalled. “All I knew 

was it was bad.”

He would soon be a first-hand witness to the sheer magnitude 

and danger of the day’s tragic events when his ambulance began to 

arrive on the scene just as the South Tower (the first of the two towers 

to collapse) began to fall and nearly struck his ambulance. 

“We were driving into it as it was coming down. We’re talking seconds. If we had been a little bit earlier ... goner. Then, it 

just went black.” 

Rosie recalled that the closer they traveled to what is now 

known as “Ground Zero” the harder it became for one to keep 

their bearings and clear eyesight because of the amount of smoke 

and falling debris. The first patients he would assist included a 

police officer suffering from a heart attack and a victim who had 

lost a limb. The sight of them emerging from the smoke and ashes remain engrained in his memory. 

“It was that first transport that was the worse,” he said. “We 

backed up into Bellevue and there’s just a sea of scrubs, just people waiting ... because there really weren’t that many units 

bringing anything significant in (yet).” 

When he returned to the site, the second tower also had collapsed and he recalled how first responders were still attempting 

to establish a command post and a successful means of communications between emergency personnel. 

“By that point, no one knew what was going on. We were 

hearing and getting all kinds of information. At one point we 

thought the Holland Tunnel was blown up.” 

Rosie recalls the rest of the day and ensuing night as operating on “auto-pilot” with numerous patient transports to the hospital and the treatment of an immense amount of respiratory 

distress and eye injuries. 

He recalled that smoke would continue to rise from the site for 

nearly the next month and by then emergency crews had switched 

from rescue missions, designed to locate survivors, to recovery 

missions intended to retrieve the deceased from the debris. 

For the following year when Rosie wasn’t on his scheduled 

shift at the fire department, he (along with an uncounted number of additional emergency personnel) would be found volunteering for recovery missions at Ground Zero. 

“For the next year if I wasn’t working at Harlem, then I was working down at Ground Zero,” 

he said. “If anything was found, we’d drive the 

(all-terrain vehicle) down into the hole, we’d 

drape the flag over it and drive it out. Up and 

down. Up and down.

“There was a lot of camaraderie (amongst the volunteers and 

emergency personnel). It was good but tiring. I was tired because 

if we weren’t working or at Ground Zero, we were going to funerals ... there were 343 funerals,” Rosie said in reference to the 

number of NYFD firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11. 

One chief decision that Rosie recalls making on that fateful 

day would take him nearly six years to come to fruition. He was 

re-enlisting in the U.S. Army. 

 “The fire department is a noble profession and a great job, 

very rewarding ... but I knew on that day (Sept. 11) that I 

couldn’t stay in that capacity anymore,” he said. “With the prior 

service and all that, I knew that everything had changed and I 

wanted to go back into the Army.” 

Unfortunately his age at the time was fighting against him. 

He was over the Army’s maximum enlistment age. However, as 

though fate granted his wish, the policy was temporarily 

changed and Rosie jumped on his self-titled “small window of 

opportunity.”After a 26-year absence from when he first was 

discharged from the U.S. Army, he found himself once again 

donning the uniform. 

“I guess they were getting hard up and taking old men,” he 

chuckled. Four years later, he finds himself in Fort Riley, Kan., 

preparing to embark on his third deployment with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. 

 “I joined the Army to go and be deployed. I was there for payback; let’s face it. One month after joining the Army, I was in the 

desert; never even been in a Humvee before. It was all (on the job 

training). I had no refresher, no train-up, nothing. It was quite stressful but it was good,” he recalled of that first deployment in 2007. 

“I thought I had bit off a little more than I could chew initially. 

But I persisted and I ended up doing real well,” he said of his 

success in rapidly achieving the rank of staff sergeant after returning to the Army as a specialist. 

Rosie, who is currently assigned to Troop C, 1st Squadron, 

4th Cavalry as an infantryman, returned to New York this past 

July. The trip marked the first time he returned to the city since 

re-enlisting in the Army. 

“I don’t think about Sept. 11 too much. I’m not sure if it’s 

some sort of coping mechanism, but I think it’s why I never went 

back to New York,” Rosie said. 

He’s currently gearing up for his third deployment with the 

“Dragon” brigade and hopes to remain in the Army and retire 

by the time he’s 60. 

“My goal is to reach retirement before I get so old that I die of 

natural causes,” he said with a chuckle.

courtesy photo

TOP: After initially enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1979, Staff Sgt. Peter 

Rosie, second from left, joined the British Army in 1987, where he 

served for six years. ABOVE: Rosie, of 1st Sqdn., 4th Cav., 4th IBCT, 

pulls security during the unit’s last deployment to Iraq in 2009.

courtesy photo

TOP: Staff Sgt. Peter Rosie, of 1st Sqdn., 4th Cav., 4th IBCT, meets a 

U.S. Navy general during the unit’s last deployment to Iraq in 2009. 

ABOVE LEFT: Rosie initially enlisted in the Army more than 30 years ago. 

He was serving with the NYFD when the Twin Towers were struck by terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Americans on 

Sept. 11, 2001. He then re-entered the Army, where he has served with 

the ‘Dragon’ Brigade for the past four years. ABOVE RIGHT: Rosie poses 

for a picture during his enlistment in the British Army.
Vickie said of that first time she had to watch 

her husband pack his bags and then say 

goodbye. She recalls immersing herself with 

raising her granddaughter, who lived with 

them full time, as well as her work to help 

pass the time while Jim was overseas. 

“That homecoming was something 

that I will never forget,” she said of his 

return. “You looked around and you see 

so many loved ones and so many 

kids ... and the Soldiers are just so happy to see them all.”

She had no way of knowing at the 

time that the homecoming they shared 

then would be the last time she would be 

welcoming her husband home with 

cheers and outstretched arms. 

Jim was stationed in North Platte, 

Neb., serving as a recruiter when the two 

planes struck New York’s World Trade 

Center Sept. 11, 2001. Vickie recalls hearing the announcement on the radio during her drive to work and being huddled 

around the TV with her co-workers at 

the mall where she worked. 

“It was unbelievable. I just remember 

thinking ‘This isn’t really happening,’” 

she said. She was able to keep in contact 

with Jim throughout the day but only 

during short, quick phone calls. The 

phone lines in his recruiting office began 

ringing nonstop that morning with people wanting to join the military and the 

fight they were sure our nation was 

about to enter. 

“They were just coming out of the 

wood works,” she recalled of the number of individuals wishing to enlist in 

the Army that day. “That morning (of 

Sept. 11) changed all of our lives. It was 

like the world stood still; watching, waiting, wondering.”

The couple wouldn’t be left wondering about their future for long as Jim 

came down on orders to return to Fort 

Riley, where they previously had been 

been stationed before Nebraska. 

Just short of two years after their return to the Kansas post, Jim received a 

call one Friday evening informing him 

he would need to report to work for a 

meeting the next morning. 

“That Saturday he went to work and 

when he came back home he stopped 

and looked at me ... he said ‘We leave in 

30 days,’” she recalls. 

In August of 2003, Jim and his unit, 

Company B, 1st Engineer Battalion left 

for Iraq. 

SACRIFICE, CHANGE

The morning of Jan. 27, 2004, started out 

like any normal weekday, though Hoffman remembered seeing video shown of 

an explosion that had just occurred in 

Iraq, but at the time she said footage of 

such explosions was becoming nearly an 

everyday occurrence because of the violence in the country at the time. 

“I didn’t know it at the time, but on Fox 

& Friends they actually had Jim’s explosion 

on there. They just said it was a bad casualty 

and there were quite a few who died,” she 

said with tears in her eyes. “Every day in the 

war, people were dying ... you never think 

it’s going to be you.” 

A few hours later she was in her kitchen when she heard their door bell ring. 

“The door bell rang 

and I turned and looked 

out the window and there 

were four (Soldiers) on 

my doorstep. I just lost it. I 

just started hollering ‘No!’” 

She remembers the rest of day continuing in a sort of a haze with representatives from the Army, her Family Readiness Group and work constantly coming and going. 

Vickie knows Jim’s funeral is a day 

that will remain instilled in her memory, 

from the large amount of people who attended his service to the white snow that 

blanketed the Kansas landscape. She remembers there was standing room only 

and some of the funeral’s attendees stayed 

outside in the cold when the church 

reached capacity. Friends and Family 

from all over the world traveled to Fort 

Riley to remember their friend and honor 

the Soldier, leader and friend who could 

always make them laugh. 

“If a funeral could be beautiful; Jim’s 

was. It was gorgeous. It was just so beautiful that morning. It’s like he was telling 

me ‘It’s OK.’” 

Nearly seven years later and Vickie is 

still honoring the memory of her fallen 

Soldier through the volunteer organizations she participates in to naming the 

gift shop she opened (a plan the couple 

had wanted to do after Jim retired from 

the military) in his memory. Whether it’s 

serving cookies to Soldiers right before 

they load up for deployment or sitting 

and visiting once a week with the post’s 

wounded Soldiers, she says the busy 

schedule not only helps the Soldiers but 

helps her to cope with the loss. 

“Even though it’s something little, it 

means a lot. It puts a smile on their face. 

I love being around them.” 

Jim’s memory not only lives on in her 

heart but also on the new memorial display in the 1st Engineer’s headquarters 

that honors the unit’s fallen soldiers. 

 “They’re never forgotten. They live 

on. And they always will,” she said. 

18| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |19

S

HE HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING THE COURSE HER LIFE 

WOULD TAKE FOLLOWING A 

CHANCE ENCOUNTER AT A 

LOCAL FORT CAMPBELL, KY., HANGOUT. ALL SHE DOES KNOW IS ... SHE 

WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. 

Vickie Hoffman had noticed the man 

across the dance floor constantly staring 

at her but said she hadn’t really given it 

too much thought until she looked over 

again and he was gone. 

“Then when I turned around, he was 

standing right beside me,” she said.

Three months later she married that 

man who noticed her from across the 

floor and she and Sgt. 1st Class James 

‘Jim’ Hoffman began to build their life 

together at Fort Campbell. Shortly after 

their wedding Jim was handed deployment orders. The year was 1994 and they 

were notified that Jim’s unit was set to 

deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of 

Operation Desert Storm. 

“A war is a war no matter what. We 

lost people then and we are still losing 

people now. Nothing is easy about it,” 

Leaving it to Fate

Chance encounter leads to marriage; duty ends with husband's sacrifice 

Story by Stephanie Hoff | Duty First! Magazine

That morning (of Sept. 11) changed all of our lives. It was like the world 

stood still; watching, waiting, wondering.”

—Vickie Hoffman

Dana Obermeyer Photography

Flowers sit on the Fort Riley gravesite of Sgt. 

1st Class James ‘Jim’ Hoffman during a Memorial Day ceremony, May 30. Hoffman passed 

away in 2004 while serving in Iraq with the 1st 

Engineer Battalion. 

Stephanie Hoff, Duty First! Magazine

A hand-drawn portrait of 

Sgt. 1st Class James ‘Jim’ 

Hoffman sits on display. 

The portrait was presented to Hoffman’s widow, 

Vickie, after he was killed 

in Iraq in 2004.
20| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |21

TIMELINE 2002–06 TIMELINE 2007–11

DECEMBER—3rd IBCT deployed 

to Afghanistan in support of 

Operation Enduring Freedom

NOVEMBER—3rd IBCT 

deployed to Kosovo in 

support of Operation 

Joint Guardian

JANUARY—94th Engineer 

Battalion deployed to 

Kuwait and Iraq

MARCH—1 Bn., 63rd 

Armor deployed to 

Northern Iraq in support of 

Operation Iraqi Freedom

SEPTEMBER—1st HBCT 

deployed to Iraq

DECEMBER—3rd IBCT deployed to Iraq 

in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

FEBRUARY—The division 

deployed to Iraq in support 

of Operation Iraqi Freedom

NOVEMBER—5th Engineer 

Battalion deployed to Iraq

JANUARY—The 4th MEB’s 

94th Engineer Battalion 

deployed to Iraq in support of 

Operation Iraqi Freedom

JANUARY—2nd Bn., 34th 

Armor deployed to Iraq

AUGUST—2nd HBCT deployed 

from Germany to Iraq 

APRIL—92nd Military Police 

Battalion deployed to 

Baghdad, Iraq in support of 

JULY 7—Division cased Operation Iraqi Freedom

its colors in Germany

AUGUST 1—The 1st Inf. Div. 

returned to Fort Riley and 

assumed command and control

OCTOBER—The 4th MEB’s 

94th Engineer Battalion 

deployed to Iraq in support of 

Operation Iraqi Freedom

FEBRUARY—4th IBCT deployed to Iraq

SEPTEMBER—1st Sustainment 

Brigade deployed to Iraq

OCTOBER—2nd Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team deployed to Iraq 

JANUARY—The Combat Aviation 

Brigade deployed to Iraq

APRIL—5th Engineer 

Battalion deployed to Iraq

MAY—Elements of the 

75th Fires Brigade 

deployed to Iraq in support 

of Operation Iraqi Freedom

JUNE—3rd IBCT deployed to 

Afghanistan in support of 

Operation Enduring Freedom

AUGUST—

4th IBCT 

deployed 

to Iraq

MAY—1st Battalion, 5th Field 

Artillery deployed to Iraq

JANUARY—The 1st Infantry Division’s 

Headquarters deployed to Iraq MARCH—The Combat Aviation 

and 1st Sustainment Brigades 

deployed to Iraq SEPTEMBER—1st HBCT’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 

Brigade Special Troops Battalion and 

101st Forward Support Battalion 

deployed to Iraq in support of 

Operation New Dawn

OCTOBER—2nd 

Heavy Brigade 

Combat Team 

deployed to Iraq

JANUARY—1st Bn., 16th 

Infantry deployed to 

Afghanistan in support of 

Operation Enduring Freedom

MARCH—4th Bn., 4th Cav. 

deployed to Afghanistan

APRIL—2nd Bn., 

34th Armor 

deployed to 

Afghanistan

FOLLOWING THE BIG RED ONE SINCE 9/11

Kosovo

Kuwait

IRAQ

AFghanistan

1st HBCT

1st Infantry Division Deployed to Iraq in Feb., 2004; cased colors in Germany in July, 2006; returned to Fort Riley, Kan., in Aug., 2006; left for Iraq in Jan., 2010 

2nd HBCT 3rd IBCT 4th IBCT 75th fires 1st sb 4th meb cab garrison

Sept., 2003; Jan., 2005; 

Sept., 2010; May, 2011 

Jan., March and April, 

2011

March, 2003; Aug., 

2006; Oct., 2008; 

Oct., 2010

Nov., 2002

Dec., 2003

June, 2008; Dec., 2010

Feb., 2007; Aug., 2009 May, 2008 Sept., 2007; 

March, 2010

Jan., 2003

Jan., 2003; Jan. and 

Nov., 2005; Oct., 2007; 

April, 2008

Jan., 2008; 

March, 2010 April, 2006
22| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |23

The “Tribute in Light” memorial is in remembrance of the 

events of September 11, 2001, in honor of the citizens 

who lost their lives in the World Trade Center attacks. The 

two towers of light are composed of two banks of high 

wattage spotlights that point straight up from a lot next to 

Ground Zero. This photo was taken from Liberty State 

Park, New Jersey on September11, 2006, the five-year anniversary of 9/11.

denise gould

c. todd lopez

Flavia Hulsey, Fort Riley PAO

Allen Askew, Topeka, Kan., takes a moment to read the names of those who have died in the support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on the Global War on Terrorism Memorial at Fort Riley, Kan. Thirteen new names were revealed during a 9/11 Commemoration and POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony Sept. 11 at Fort Riley.

Flavia Hulsey, Fort Riley PAO

BELOW: On Sept. 11th, 2001, the 911th Technical Rescue Engineer 

Company was called to respond to the Pentagon after terrorists crashed 

American Airlines Flight 77 into the west side of the building killing 184 

people. For 10 days the company was engaged in rescue and recovery 

operations; for which, the unit and Soldiers assigned were awarded the 

army Superior Unit Award.

U.S. Army

A memorial flag is illuminated, Sept. 11, 2007, near the spot 

where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. 

Petty Officer 1st Class Brandan W. Schulze

BELOW: Col. Ricky Gibbs, who was promoted to Brigadier 

General in 2010, speaks with Jim and Cindy Butler, whose 

son, Sgt., Jacob Lee Butler, a cavalry scout from Fort Riley, 

died in 2003 at a 9/11 ceremony held in recent years. The 

Butler’s attended the 9/11 Commemoration and POW/MIA 

Remembrance Ceremony Sept. 11 at Fort Riley to honor their 

son and those who have died in support of the nation. 

The Pentagon Memorial was 

dedicated 

Sept. 11, 

2008. The 

memorial 

contains 184 

benches of 

stainless 

steel and 

granite, each 

representing 

one of the 

victims of the 

9/11 attack 

on the 

Pentagon.
24| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |25

Around the Division — CAB

The Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st 

Infantry Division, used its fleet of 

Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters 

to conduct air assault training Aug. 3 

with troops from the 1st Battalion, 

28th Infantry Regiment.

Air assaults are the movement of 

ground troops to targets by use of helicopters. The events for the week 

served to train the helicopter crews 

and their passengers. 

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dwayne 

Williams piloted a Black Hawk on 

one of the missions. He has been 

with the brigade’s 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, for three years, and knows 

what it takes to pull off an air assault in combat.

“I’d say 90 percent of it goes to the 

planning,” he said. “They tell us 

where they want to go, and it’s up to 

us to figure everything else out.”

Williams said the troops were 

dropped at their objective within seven seconds of their goal. In the context of Iraq or Afghanistan, every moment can count, he said.

“Time is big, and we have to consider everything—like the added 

weight of the passengers effect on the 

aircraft and wind speed—to make 

sure we’re on time,” he said.

In the back of Williams’ aircraft, 

Pfc. Matt Jordan crewed his first air 

assault mission with the battalion. 

During air assaults, crew chiefs are 

responsible for watching their aircraft’s distance to other aircraft, keeping the passengers safe and monitoring the area for enemy activity.

“I thought it went pretty well,” 

Jordan said. “This was my first time 

here ... It’s good to train like this.”

The brigade’s 2nd General Support 

Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, trained with the same unit later 

that day. They did not conduct a full 

air assault, but held “cold-load” training to familiarize the infantrymen 

with how to load and exit Chinook 

helicopters. 

The brigade’s crews will continue 

to train with 1st Bn., 28th Inf. Regt., 

as that battalion prepares for a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012.

Aviation brigade conducts 

training with ground troops

By Sgt. Roland Hale

CAB PAO

FORT RILEY, Kan.—Fort Riley’s aviation brigade hit the 

skies heavy to train with its 1st Infantry Division counterparts on the ground. 

Sgt. Roland Hale, CAB, 1st Inf. Div. PAO

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, load a Black Hawk helicopter during air assault training Aug. 3 with the Combat Aviation 

Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, at Fort Riley. 

Time is big, and we have 

to consider everything—

like the added weight of 

the passengers effect on 

the aircraft and wind 

speed—to make sure 

we’re on time.”

—Dwayne Williams 

Chief Warrant Officer 2, 

CAB, 1st Inf. Div.

Sgt. Roland Hale, CAB, 1st Inf. Div. PAO

ABOVE: A Soldier with the 1st Battalion, 28th 

Infantry Regiment, pulls security during air 

assault training with the Combat Aviation 

Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, at Fort Riley, 

Aug. 3. Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters 

from the brigade were training ground troops, 

as well as their own crews, for combat 

missions. LEFT: Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, exit a Chinook 

helicopter during air assault training with the 

Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry 

Division, at Fort Riley. 
By Sgt. Heather Denby

4th MEB PAO

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo.—The 4th Ma-

neuver Enhancement Brigade commander vis-

ited two of his service members July 23 as they 

were recovering at Brooke Army Medical Cen-

ter in San Antonio, Texas, from injuries sus-

tained while deployed in support of Operation 

Enduring Freedom. 

Col. Frank Y. Rangel Jr., 4th MEB command-

er, met with 1st Lt. Mark Olving, an engineer 

platoon leader, and Pfc. John F. Allison, a com-

bat engineer assigned to the 55th Mobility 

Augmentation Company, to offer his support 

on behalf of the brigade. 

On June 27, Olving and Allison were con-

ducting route clearance in the Maiwand Prov-

ince when their truck was struck by a 

300-pound improvised explosive device. 

Both were medically evacuated by air to the 

local hospital for triage care. 

“I can’t think of anything more important 

than showing our gratitude to our Wounded 

Warriors,” Rangel said. “Visiting them at the 

hospitals in which they are being treated al-

lows leaders to check the care and service these 

troopers are receiving ... by checking, we en-

sure that we deliver on the promise to honor 

them,” he said. “They deserve the best we can 

provide.”

During the visit, Rangel drove to the San 

Antonio Military Medical Center and took 

both Soldiers to a restaurant at the River 

Walk. They spoke about the care they’ve re-

ceived, their Fam-

ilies and their fu-

t u r e s i n t h e 

Army. 

Both Soldiers 

said they were im-

pressed with Ran-

gel’s genuine con-

cern for their wellbeing.

“I think it’s great 

that [Rangel] took 

the time to come 

visit us,” Olving 

said. “It’s nice to 

have a sense of 

what’s going on 

with our unit and to 

know that we’re not 

forgotten about.”

Both Soldiers 

are currently as-

signed to the Joint Base San Antonio Warrior 

Transition Battalion, a unit that serves wound-

ed, injured or ill Soldiers requiring treatment for 

more than six months. Each Soldier must be 

medically cleared by any doctor charged with 

their care before returning to their previous duty 

station. 

Olving said it is hard to gauge the amount 

of time it will take them to heal. 

“It’s the little things: walking farther, sitting 

longer,” Allison said. “I only take it day by 

day ... but things are definitely getting better.”

I can’t think of anything 

more important than show-

ing our gratitude to our 

Wounded Warriors. Visiting 

them at the hospitals in 

which they are being treat-

ed allows leaders to check 

the care and service these 

troopers are receiving...by 

checking, we ensure that 

we deliver on the promise to 

honor them.” 

—Col. Frank Y. Rangel Jr.

4th MEB commander

26| www.riley.army.mil Duty First! September 2011 |27

Around the Division—4th MEB

COURTESY PHOTOS

OPPOSITE PAGE TOP & BOTTOM: Col. Frank Y. Rangel Jr., 4th MEB commander, meets with 1st Lt. Mark Olving, an 

engineer platoon leader, and Pfc. John F. Allison, a combat engineer assigned to the 55th Mobility Augmentation 

Company, to offer his support on behalf of the brigade. During the visit, Rangel drove to the San Antonio Military 

Medical Center and took both Soldiers to a restaurant at the River Walk.

House Call m a k i n g a

4th MEB leadership visits Wounded Warriors
By Mollie Miller 

Duty First! Magazine

A long summer, complete with a few too 

many days of above average temperatures, has given way to the cool beauty of 

a Midwestern fall. For many members of 

the 1st Infantry Division’s 4th Maneuver 

Enhancement Brigade team who are stationed right in the heart of the Midwest 

at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., the beauty 

of fall is revealed in its splendor at the 

Lake of the Ozarks Recreation Area. 

LORA is located about 50 miles 

Northwest of Fort Leonard Wood and 

offers a wealth of outdoor activities 

ranging from fishing and hiking to 

camping and water skiing. The recreation area sits on the Grand Glaize Arm 

of the Lake of the Ozarks between Osage 

and Laguna beaches in Camden County, 

Mo., taking up a small portion of the 

1,300 miles of shoreline that run around 

Lake of the Ozarks. 

Once known as the largest man-made 

lake in the world, Lake of the Ozarks is 

still one of the largest lakes in Missouri 

with 55,000 miles of waterways. One of 

the Midwest’s premier vacation destinations since it opened in 1931, Lake of the 

Ozarks still boasts some of the most 

breathtaking views in the area. 

Billed as a perfect vacation spot for 

people of all ages, LORA offers attractions that will interest everyone from the 

single Soldier to the Family of five. Some 

of Missouri’s top tourist spots including 

several amusement parks, golf courses, 

restaurants and night clubs are all within 

driving distance of LORA. 

The area is home to much more than 

a great night life and fine restaurants, 

however. Above the water, animals including the great blue heron, deer, quail, 

turkey, geese and duck make their home 

in the forests and farmlands surrounding the lake while largemouth bass, 

crappie, catfish and more swim their 

days away under the water line. 

Visitors to LORA need only show up 

with their swimsuits as options are available throughout the area to rent everything from cabins to pontoons and jet 

skis. Accommodations at LORA range 

from rustic campsites to cozy lodge 

rooms or a three bedroom log cabin. 

Prices for lodging depend on the time of 

year traveling and the type of accommodations selected. Prices for lodging tend 

to be higher during “full season” which 

runs from April 1 to Oct. 31. “Off season,” which runs from Nov. 1 to March 

31, offers prices that are a bit lower than 

full season prices. 

LORA welcomes active duty military, 

retired military, members of the National Guard and Reserves, Department of 

Defense employees with ID cards, Family members and Fort Leonard Wood 

contract employees. For more information about LORA and the many recreation opportunities available there, call 

573-346-5640 or visit www.fortleonardwoodmwr.com/lake_ozarks.php. 

28| www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision Duty First! September 2011 |29

That end’s today’s briefing! Duty 

First!

You Junior NCO’s present, stay 

behind. Before you leave, four words 

of advice: Don’t forget the basics. 

It frustrates me to no end to see 

Senior NCO’s neglect their basic duties 

because they feel they are above such 

discipline. Get it straight, by neglecting 

your basic discipline, you’re lowering 

the standard for all of your Soldiers. 

Senior NCO’s aren’t alone here. The 

trickle-down affect gets us all. All too 

often I either hear about, or God 

forbid, see Junior NCO’s assume their 

leaders are talking to the Soldier just 

beneath them. Wrong! We are talking 

to you! It’s easy to remember that 

sometimes, being a good leader means 

being able to follow directions from 

your own superiors. Your Soldiers are 

always watching you!

As one Sergeant Major once told 

me, “Basic discipline applies to the 

leader, as well as the led, and is the 

foundation that everyone needs in 

order to be a good leader.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, 

“Character is doing the right thing 

when nobody is looking?” Well, it 

applies to leadership too! Your worth 

as an NCO is based upon whether you 

do the right thing or not in the absence 

of your Senior NCO.

Do you still check to make sure 

your Soldiers have clean barracks? 

Are they wearing their uniforms 

correctly? This is important! Yes, 

they’re grown men and women, but 

they need to know you won’t give 

them an inch of leeway. Not because 

you want to be a hardass but to get 

them in the habit of double checking 

everything and having things right! It 

could save their lives one day in the 

field.

Only with the proper basic discipline can the right habits be learned. 

That is all. 1st Sergeant ... out!

YOUR DUTY FIRST! 1ST SERGEANT Have you ever heard the 

phrase, “Character is doing 

the right thing when nobody 

is looking?” Well, it applies 

to leadership too! Your 

worth as an NCO is based 

upon whether you do the 

right thing or not in the 

absence of your Senior NCO. 

Falling into a great spot

Lake of the Ozarks Recreation 

Area offers Soldiers at Fort 

Leonard Wood nearby oasis 

Courtesy photos

ABOVE: The Lake of the Ozark Recreation Area (LORA) is located about 50 miles Northwest of Fort Leonard Wood and offers a wealth of outdoor 

activities ranging from camping and water skiing to hiking and fishing. LEFT: Visitors to LORA need only show up with their swimsuits as options are 

available throughout the area to rent everything from cabins to pontoons and jet skis.

Lake of the ozarks

recreation area

WHAT: Lake of the Ozarks Recreation Area 

(LORA) in Missouri, takes up about 1,300 

miles of shoreline around the lake. 

WHERE: 789 Olney Circle 

Linn Creek, MO 65052 

CONTACT: For more information, call 

573-346-5640 or visit www.fortleonardwoodmwr.com/lake_ozarks.php
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