A

fter our first three-day drill in June, I

am extremely impressed with the ability of
your Soldiers to quickly transition from
their normal lives and accomplish so much
in so little time. I fully recognize that these
Soldiers and leaders could not make this happen
without your support and sacrifice, and thank you.
I also want to thank Jessica for donating her time
and energy to managing the battalion family pro-
gram, this newsletter and other programs.
Families are very important to me and I need your help. I want to help
and strengthen the family program and our relationship within our commu-
nities. What Jessica and I need is your ideas of how we can help you.
This is brainstorming, so feel free to tell me what and how you feel,
good and bad. I promise no reprisals against you or your Soldier. Spe-
cifically, I am looking for low-cost ideas that help families bond, im-
prove our communications and mutually support each other while teaching the skills necessary to build re-
siliency and a better life for everyone. More than anything else, we
need you to volunteer and help us build a program and connection we
can all be proud of.
Annual Training is coming in August and this is a long one. The Soldiers will be performing their duties
in an austere environment which may make communications difficult. Since we will not be operating from
bases, power supplies and down time will be at a premium. This is not meant to be a punishment; it is
meant to test and train them how to focus on their warrior skills under difficult and challenging condi-
tions. If an emergency occurs and you cannot reach your soldier, please contact your FRG coordinator for
further action. Serious crisis that require the Soldier to be pulled from training will go through the Red
Cross as they do during deployments. Thank you and Sine Mora!
COMMANDERS MESSAGE
LTC Brian Dean
3- 116 CAV FAMILY PROGRAM NEWSLETTER

AUGUST 2014

PAGE ONE
On the Cover: Commanders Message
LTC Brian Dean, Commanding

PAGE TWO
Annual Training in Our Sights
Jessica Specht, BN FRG Leader
Red Cross Emergency Instructions

PAGE THREE
Kids Craft: All About the Flag
Sarah Singleton, Volunteer
Photos from July Drill

PAGE FOUR
Annual Training FAQ
CPT Christopher Miller, Battalion S1

PAGE FIVE
Command Sergeant Majors Corner
CSM Ron Bloker, 3-116 CAV
FRG Coordinator & Contact List

I am very impressed with the
ability of your Soldiers.
A
s we approach Annual Training,
there are many unanswered ques-
tions for the families and
friends of Soldiers. Some of the
questions I ve asked my own soldier are,
Where are you going to be, exactly?
Why is AT so much long this year?
Will you have your cell phone with you?
In this issue, Captain Miller, one of the
Battalion s full-time staff, and I attempt
to answer the most commonly asked questions. If there s any questions
you have that we don t answer, please contact me, your local FRG
leader or the unit s full-time staff to get them answered.
We re also getting closer to
our units annual summer fam-
ily barbecues. We need assis-
tance not just from our offi-
cial volunteers; we need you
to step forward to make your
FRG the best it can be for your unit, its families and you! I under-
stand that a lot of hesitance to assist the FRG can come from past ex-
periences drama. What I promise you is that the Battalion does
not promote or endorse negativity in its programs and the unit Command-
ers are highly motivated to eliminate these problems. If you come for-
ward, not only can you make it better and gain a great opportunity to
become closer to your military commu-
nity, but you help our FRG leaders do
so much to keep our great programs and
events going for everyone.
If you haven t met your FRG leader
before or aren t familiar with your
Soldier s unit, this is a great time
of the year to do so! The FRGs are al-
ways looking for new people with new
ideas and energy to assist with put-
ting events together. And there s
never anything more fun than having a
barbecue with a bunch of Soldiers and
their families that is, unless you
were a part of making it happen!
- Jessica Specht, BN FRG Coordinator

ANNUAL TRAINING IN OUR SIGHTS
Theres never anything more fun
than having a barbecue with a
bunch of Soldiers and their fami-
liesthat is, unless you were a
part of making it happen!

Major emergencies that require
Soldiers to be removed from
training to return home must be
processed through the American
Red Cross.

If you require this service,
please complete the following
steps to ensure most rapid
processing:

1. Immediately contact your
local FRG leader. If you
dont have an FRG leader,
contact Jessica Specht or the
units NCOs or Commander.

(See page 4 of this newsletter for
a complete list of FRG leaders
and their contact information.)

2. Call the Red Cross:

(877) 272-7337

Be prepared with the following
information:
Full legal name of service
member
Rank
Branch-Oregon Army Na-
tional Guard
Social Security Number
Date of Birth
Military Unit Address
Information about the unit
in this case, soldiers are at
Annual Training at OCTC in
Idaho.
In Case of Emergency ...
Submissions
Wanted!
Since the FRG is all about Fami-
lies, this Newsletter is only
made possible by the Soldiers,
volunteers and family members
of 3-116 CAV.
To help make this publication
better, please consider submit-
ting your:
Photos from Drill
Ideas for Improvement and
Useful Articles
The Names of Outstanding
Community or Military Vol-
unteers

Direct emails to Jessica Specht
3116CAVBNFRG@gmail.com

On the Cover: The view from the top of a
Bradley looking over the Umatilla Army Depot.
A big thank you to everyone who submitted photos!
This craft is a perfect opportunity to teach your
child about the history of the flag and the purpose behind
its specific number of stars, stripes, and
the coloring. The poem American Flag by
Erin Ryan does a great job of explaining
this creatively if you want to go all the
way!

Items Needed:
1 thin canvas, preferably, or very
heavy paper
1 package (50+) foil stars
Masking tape
Non-toxic acrylic or finger paints
Brushes, if desired.

Step One: Adhere the strips of masking
tape to the canvas, ensuring that the strips
follow the picture at bottom-right.
Step Two: Peel and stick the 50 stars, alternating the rows.
Step Three: Give your child units of red and blue paint, and
encourage them to paint the cor-
rect areas.
Step Four: Let dry, then peel
away the foil stars and masking
tape to reveal their own flag!
Special thanks go out to
Sarah Singleton from Char-
lie Company who donated
her time and efforts to cre-
ating and photographing
this craft for our newsletter!
Kids Craft
ALL ABOUT THE FLAG
A
b
o
ve
le
ft: A
C
h
in
o
o
k
h
e
lico
p
te
r in

flig
h
t an
d
, at ce
n
te
r, th
e
in
te
rio
r w
ith

in
fan
try
m
e
n
b
o
u
n
d
fo
r fie
ld
train
in
g
.
SOME PHOTOS FROM JULY!
Below: The pleased DeAnda boys
with their Patriotic Print craft from
the July Newsletter.

Can I contact my Soldier at AT?
It is important to remember that
your Soldier must remain focused
on their mission. Distractions
from home can be detrimental to
training and can even become dan-
gerous. Ensure that you have a
plan in place to be self suffi-
cient while your soldier is away
from home. When circumstances per-
mit, your Soldier will be able to
call you.
Can they take pictures for us?
They certainly may. How they get
them to you will be a function of
their personal electronics capa-
bility.
What do I do if I have an emergency
and need them?
You can contact them on their per-
sonal cell and call the Red Cross
if the situation requires
it. See Red Cross instruc-
tions for major emergencies
on page 2.


How does Annual Training (AT)
differ from standard monthly
drills?
Annual Training is field-
focused. Your Soldier will
be spending their time at AT
under austere conditions. They
will be living on their vehicles,
in tents or out in the elements,
depending on their job. Comfort
items will be limited to what they
can carry.
Why is it so long this year?
AT was lengthened this year be-
cause of where we are in the five
year Army Force Generation
(ARFORGEN) training cycle. This is
the year we assess our tactical
and technical proficiency during
eXportable Combat Training Capab-
lity (xCTC) before deployment year
of the cycle to the National
Training Center (NTC) next year.
Where will they be?
Soldiers will be training at the
Orchard Combat Training Center
(OCTCalso known as Gowen Field)
near Boise, Idaho. This is a na-
tionally renowned training site
operated by the Idaho National
Guard which offers premier train-
ing facilities. OCTC allows the
entire battalion to train together
and train on all of its equipment
and weapons systems. There is not
a training site in Oregon that af-
fords this opportunity.

Are the Soldiers always eating MREs?
MREs will definitely be a staple,
but our Forward Support Company
will break up
the monotony with some hot chow.
How often do they sleep?
Leaders within your Soldiers
unit know that sleep is a key
piece of keeping them sharp and
motivated and will get them as
much rest as the mission allows.
What are the best parts about OCTC?
The worst parts?
OCTC s most endearing qualities
are its training facilities and
the world class training opportu-
nities they provide. Other than
that, it is hot, desolate, dusty
and miserable.
What is the climate like?
Hot, desolate, dusty and miser-
able. Seriously, though, the
training area is high desert with
dry grass, sage brush, volcanic
rock, lots of dust, antelope,
deer, badgers, ground squirrels,
snakes, spiders and, in the sum-
mer, high temperatures in
the upper nineties. Every
once in a while, a thunder-
storm will roll through to
break up the monotony.

What will my Soldier want and
need most when he gets back?
A shower and sleep.

What are the best ways for them
to decompress? Will they need to de-
compress?
This depends on your Soldier. They
may want to sleep for a week, or
go on vacation. Ask them what they
need.
Soldiers from Alpha Company board a Chinook helicopter
during June drill for the trip to OCTC outside Boise, Idaho.
CONTACT
TRAINING
LIFE AT OCTC
SOLDIER RECOVERY
ANNUAL TRAINING FAQ
with Captain Christopher Miller
Serving as the Battalions full-time S1, supervising personnel, and as the Commander of the
tankers at Charlie Company in Ontario, Captain Miller is a very knowledgeable and familiar
face to most of the Soldiers in 3-116 CAV. He also assists the Battalion FRG as the Military
Point of Contact. He answered our list of what we thought may be the most prominent ques-
tions in the minds of families as we head into AT.
CSMS CORNER
With the Battalions Own Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Ron Bloker
Families of 3-116 Soldiers,
I want to thank each of you for
your continued support of your
Soldiers. I understand that Sol-
diers and Families sacrifice a lot
in the service of our country. I
also
want to
recog-
nize
the work and efforts of our volun-
teers. The FRG Leaders at the
Companies and at Battalion, and
the individual family, friends,
and community organizations that
arrive to help with birthday cele-
brations, food boxes and family
events. None of these things can
happen without the tireless ef-
forts. With deep appreciation,
Thank You!
Our Annual Training (AT) is around
the corner, as I'm sure you
know. Our Soldiers have a very
full training schedule this
AT. They will be starting
their training in small units
working up to Company size
operations. The training and
lessons learned during AT are
the foundation for the full
Battalion operations next
year. This is the first time
since 2002 that we've had an op-
portunity to train at this
level. It is a very exciting
time. I encourage you to ask
about the training tasks and your
Soldiers role in the upcoming op-
erations. Every Soldier plays a
critical role in the success of
the Battalion.
As we finalize the training sched-
ule and events for the 2015 Train-
ing Year (TY15) that begins in Oc-
tober, I know some people are al-
ready asking about the family
events. It is important to in-
clude families
as they are such
an important
part of the suc-
cess of the Com-
panies and the Battalion. The
significant change to the training
schedule is December's drill,
which is often a home station
drill filled with mandatory brief-
ings. This next December will be
spent preparing for a very full
gunnery train-up. This means that
individual Companies will be look-
ing for non-traditional ways to
include families around the holi-
days. I encourage you to contact
your unit FRG leadership to help
with the development of the upcom-
ing events. Unit Commanders need
input to help direct events that
include as many families as possi-
ble.
I hope you all have had some time
to spend with your families and
maybe enjoy some of the great
weather that we've had
lately. August is going to be
busy and likely hot.
Best Wishes,
and Sine Mora! (Without Delay!)








This is the first time since 2002 that
weve had an opportunity to train at this
level. It is a very exciting time.
Companies will be looking for non-
traditional ways to include families
around the holidays Contact your
unit FRG to help.
CSM Ronald Bloker
ronald.w.bloker.mil@mail.mil
HHC (La Grande): SFC Shannon Hively
Phone: 541-963-4411
Email: Shannon.w.hively.mil@mail.mil
2/F (La Grande): SSG Phillip Rice
Phone: 541-490-8135
Email: phillip.d.rice.mil@mail.mil
A Company (The Dalles): Nancy
DeAnda
Email: aco.3116.frg@gmail.com
B Company (Woodburn): SFC Avery Kerr
Phone: 503-939-0565
Email: aver.p.kerr.mil@mail.mil
C Company (Ontario): Marcy Bybee
Phone: 208-739-1801
Email: marcybybee@cableone.net
D Company (Hermiston): Rachel Siller
Email: tanker_mama3116@yahoo.com
F Company (Baker City): SSG Andrew
Vowell
Phone: 541-519-3792
Email: Andrew.j.vowell.mil@mail.mil
Or Andrew.j.vowell@gmail.com
1/HHC (Pendleton): SSG Michael White
Phone: 541-861-9142
Email: Michael.s.white.mil@mail.mil
2/HHC & 2/F (Hood River): Terri Han-
sen
Phone: 541-400-0515
Battalion FRG Coordinator: Jessica
Specht
Email: 3116CAVFRG@gmail.com

Please contact Jessica Specht if you are unable to
reach your volunteer or the units designated soldier.
FRG Leaders or
Soldier Contacts
are below!
Where soldiers are listed, we do not
have volunteers. Consider volunteering!