From: Joe Bilitzke
Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012
To: Members of the 281st Intruders Association
The era of the G Company Intruders has ended. Since May 2010, the 281st Intruder Association has been supporting the newest Intruders. It began with an e-mail from (then Company Commander) CPT Brian Middleton. His e-mail to me explains the inception of this support.
Sir, my name is CPT Brian Middleton. I am the company commander of an Air Assault Helicopter Company (G Co., 2-10 AVN, 10TH CAB, 10TH Mountain DIV (LI), Fort Drum, NY). My company was stood up to meet the needs of our upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in October 2010,
Since my Battalion (2-10 AVN) draws its lineage from 10 BN, and our main effort will be to support both conventional forces and Special Forces in the mountains of Afghanistan, we felt it appropriate to draw from the 281ST AHC. We are inspired by the sacrifices, dedication, and perseverance which were so greatly displayed by the Intruders that we have chosen that as our call sign.
During the deployment of our G Company Intruders, your Association provided support to them. For example, during the Christmas season, you generously provided over $3000 worth of “goodies” which were purchased, packaged and sent to G Company in Afghanistan. Please see the Intruder web site for a complete chronology of their activities. (http://www.281st.com/G%202-10%20BN%2010%20RGT/troop_spt_cmte.html )
The G Company Intruders have since returned to CONUS and their homes at the 10th Mountain Division in New York. But with the fast moving war footing faced by the military, they are not remaining as a cohesive unit at Ft. Drum.
CPT Brian Middleton was the Intruder 6 during the Afghanistan deployment. Following his tour, Brian was replaced with a new commander, CPT Jim Coker. In April, CPT Middleton sent the following information to us:
I don't know if Jim Coker has informed you or not, but Golf Company will officially be reflagged as Charlie Company and the Intruder call sign will be changed with it. This will be happening at Jim's Change of Command mid-May. The Intruders made one more run at combat this past year adding to your great history and for now the call sign will be waiting for another worthy conflict to return.
And so, the era of our newest Intruders draws to close. CPT Middleton and all the members of the deployed Intruders have been invited to our August reunion. It remains to be seen how many will actually be attending. Many members have been re-assigned to other units and are scattered far and wide.
The Troop Support Committee will stay in contact with CPT Middleton and we hope to see him and many members of the newest Intruders in St. Louis. In the meantime, we will be looking into other units which may require assistance and support during this time of continued conflict. If you know of a unit that would qualify, please let us know.
Joe B.
From: Joe Bilitzke
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2011
To: Members of the 281st Intruders Association
Our fellow Intruders are home. The following was written to
Jack Mayhew by CW3 Russell Leslie, SIP for the G Company Intruders:
“As of this morning, our time, we have 99% of the Intruders out of
Afghanistan. Half of the company will be landing tonight at Fort Drum. They are
currently enroute from Manas. The rest of the company should land at Drum around
the 21st. They are on Main body 11. Here is the site to watch the arrivals”:
http://www.drum.army.mil/ptm/Pages/WelcomeHomeCeremonies.aspx
Fortunately, we’ve learned all Intruders made it safely out of Afghanistan.
Except for some dents and dings to a few aircraft, no major mishaps occurred.
We are waiting for further news and will keep you advised about any possible
gathering at Ft. Drum for members of the Intruder Association.
Joe B.
Joe Bilitzke
Chairman, 281st AHC Intruders
Troop Support Committee
Ed Haas
Co-Chairman, 281st AHC Intruders
Troop Support Committee
Jack Mayhew
Senior Advisor, 281st AHC Intruders
Troop Support Committee
A message from Joe Bilitzke regarding Xmas packages to our deployed Intruders...
From: Joe Bilitzke
Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2010
To: 281st Intruder HQ Net
Subject: Xmas Donation Update
Members of the 281st Intruder Association
You did it! Thanks to all of you who contributed to our holiday fund raiser.
Over $3000 was collected and used to buy and ship supplies to our brother
Intruders serving in Afghanistan. Take a look at the attached pictures.
First and foremost are the ladies (why is it always the women who do the
important work?) who shopped (oh, that’s why), gathered and shipped all the
goodies destined for Afghanistan. Julie Kramer and all her “elves” are the real
angels. They did the work. The pictures tell the story (attached).
All the good things were sent to CPT Middleton and his Intruders. The Intruders
are spilt between two locations in Afghanistan; but there is something for
everyone. Take a look. There are cases of hand warmers for all the crew chiefs
and door gunners who keep those Blackhawks in the air. There are cases of Top
Ramen and macaroni and cheese when the MREs get a little old. How about Baby
Wipes when the washing water is in short supply? Wool socks are included – it
gets cold flying with the doors open at 11K feet. Also Snacking Nuts and Oreos –
can’t have too much good stuff.
What is not shown in the attached pictures are over $500 worth of iTunes cards
and board games (checkers, chess, Monopoly, etc.) to keep everyone busy between
missions. There is also stuff here that didn’t exist when we got our “Care
Packages” (remember those?) while we were “in country.” (The fact that this
message will simultaneously reach Bagram and Ft. Drum is still pretty amazing.)
But we anticipate everything shipped will be put to good use by the new
Intruders.
Members of G Company Intruders
All of us hope this stuff will help you feel a little of home. Those of us who
are here are really there with you. We didn’t have e-mail, Skype, instant
messaging, computers, or even telephones when we were in the field over forty
years ago. Mail call brought letters and packages that were sometimes months in
transit. But we did have the same feeling of separation and distance on the 25th
of December. A lot of people here are keeping you in their thoughts and prayers.
Not only your families waiting for your safe return; but a lot of older guys –
fellow Intruders who have been there, done that. We hope you can use and enjoy
this little bit of home from us.
Employees of TSi/HRi Staffing
This is addressed to Jack Mayhew, Tim Schaffer, Julie Kramer, and everyone who
took the time and made the effort to shop and ship all these much needed
provisions to our overseas Intruders. A number of other people, most anonymous,
also made donations to help make this shipment possible. The Intruders on both
sides of the ocean are indebted to you for all you have done to help purchase
and get these packages to the mountains of Afghanistan. Every one of us who has
bunked under a GP-Medium (a big tent) can appreciate opening a package from home
during the holiday season.
(Mrs. Jack) Cindy Mayhew
Thanks for the Christmas trees. Cindy (on her own), bought and shipped two full
sized Christmas tree to FOB Shank in Afghanistan. Our thanks to her for that and
all she does to support the Intruders, here and there. See her tree on our 281st
website.
Jay Hays
It’s time to embarrass one of our own. Past Association President, Jay Hays,
deserves an “atta boy” from all of us. Jay, AKA Santa, has spent considerable
time, effort, and personal money to contribute to the well-being of our new
Intruders from Ft. Drum.
Jay is a real, full-fledged Santa. His full sized, working model Santa sled is a
familiar sight around his Ohio home town. Most don’t know that he can also be
reached at Santas_sled@yahoo.com. Jay has been working with Julia Middleton
(wife of G Co. Commander CPT Brian Middleton) to ensure that all the dependents
of our Task Force Intruders have something under the tree on Xmas morning. Jay
also provided forty pair of hand warmers which he shipped to CPT Middleton.
Present at the October family day at Ft. Drum, NY, he distributed Intruder pins
and patches to the deploying Intruders. He remains a staunch supporter and
active member of the 281st Intruder Association. He earns a “well done” from us
all.
COL Jack Mayhew
In any volunteer organization, civilian or military, there is always a leader –
one individual who maintains the direction, course, and single-mindedness of
that organization. Jack Mayhew has been a commander, mentor, leader, and unsung
hero of many of us who have served in the 281st AHC. Through his efforts and
that of his company, the Association has been able to establish the relationship
and offer support to the G Company Intruders. All Intruders, old and new, owe a
debt of gratitude to a man who dedicated his career in the service of his
country. He has given endless time, considerable money, and immeasurable support
to both the 281st and G Company Intruders. A very special thanks to our own
Intruder 6.
281st Website
Our tireless webmaster, Fred Mentzer, continues to keep up with all the Intruder
news and photos on the Intruder website ( http://www.281st.com/) . Please send
Fred anything that can be shared with fellow Intruders, both here and abroad.
Finally, Happy Holidays
to all Intruders, families, supporters, and friends and all the best of the
holiday season. Thanks to all who have supported our deployed Intruders.
Joe B.
From:
Joe Bilitzke
Chairman,
281st AHC Troop Support Committee
REACTIVATION OF THE 281st AHC
TROOP SUPPORT COMMITTEE
Fellow Intruders, old and new, welcome to the link to the
281st AHC Troop Support Committee (TSC). We are honored to be supporting our
newest Intruders, G Company, 2-10 AVN, 10th CAB, 10th Mountain DIV (Light), Fort
Drum, NY.
Following is the initial contact from their commander, CPT
Brian Middleton:
-----Original Message-----
From: Middleton, Brian M CPT MIL USA FORSCOM
[mailto:brian.m.middleton@us.army.mil]
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 9:08
To: joseph.bilitzke@us.army.mil
Subject: The Intruders
Mr. Bilitzke,
Sir, my name is CPT Brian Middleton. I am the
company commander of an Air Assault Helicopter Company (G Co., 2-10 AVN, 10TH
CAB, 10TH Mountain DIV (LI), Fort Drum, NY). My company was stood up to meet the
needs of our upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in October.
Since my Battalion (2-10 AVN) draws its lineage
from 10 BN, and our main effort will be to support both conventional forces and
Special Forces in the mountains of Afghanistan, we felt it appropriate to draw
from the 281ST AHC. We are inspired by the sacrifices, dedication, and
perseverance which were so greatly displayed by the Intruders that we have
chosen that as our call sign.
We wish to celebrate in your accomplishments and
would like you and the original Intruders to share in our upcoming successes. We
will be organizing a family organizational day here at the airfield in August
and will be truly honored if some of the original Intruders would be able to
show some support.
I would love to hear from you and any of the
original Intruders. This is a good contact email for me, and my work cell is
(315) 405-6800. Thank you, sir, for your service.
V/R,
Brian M. Middleton
CPT, AV
Commanding
Upon receiving this request, the 281st AHC Troop Support
Committee was re-activated to provide support to our namesake Intruders. Using
this link, you will be able to follow and support the movements and actions of
the G Company Intruders as they serve their one year tour of flying combat duty
in Afghanistan.
G Company Family Day – Ft. Drum
During subsequent communications with CPT Middleton, the
281st Intruders were invited to participate in the G Company Family Day, which
they hosted at their base in Ft. Drum in September 2010. Please click on the FT
DRUM link and read more about the event and see the photos.
G Company Intruder Challenge Coin
A new G Company Intruder challenge coin is under
construction and management of CW2 Jonathan Bourland. Chief Bourland’s wife is
expecting their first son, and he is on a delayed deployment until he becomes a
proud father.
The coin appears below. On a unanimous vote, the 281st AHC
Executive Board approved the use of the 281st logo on the reverse side of the
coin.
FRONT BACK
We are waiting hear of a successful birth
of a son, and the birth of a new challenge coin. CW2 Bourland will advise when
both events occur and we will post the news here.
Continuing Updates From The Field
By clicking on the above link, Deployed, you will see the
correspondence between 281st Intruder 6, Jack Mayhew, and G Company Intruder 30
and SIP, CW3 Russell Leslie.
Chief Leslie gives a firsthand account of the conditions
(10,000 foot altitude) and terrain under which the Intruders are flying. His
pictures show the need for the front seat, back seat crew coordination we all
experienced in the jungles of Vietnam.
As correspondence is received, our webmaster, Fred Mentzer,
will post to the Deployed link on the Intruder site.
Support For The Deployed Intruders
As the weeks go by, we hope to have an active program of
support for these deployed troops. Christmas will be here and we all remember
mail call and receiving packages during the holiday season.
We are asking CPT Middleton what is most needed and
required by his troops. Look for a donation request on this site. We will do our
best to provide those items most requested (within reason, guys). Holiday
packages can be created and shipped by any of you old Intruders. We will provide
an address as soon as we receive the information.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me
(JoeB2@mindspring.com) or TSC
Vice-Chairman, Ed Haas
(haased@ix.netcom.com) with ideas or suggestions to improve the services of
the Troop Service Committee. Our fellow Intruders now serving in (another)
unpopular war deserve our continued support as they carry on the hardest of
missions.
-end-