2ND SQDRN CPT SARTLANO GHOST TRP COMMANDING

File: 970107_sep96_decls4_0001.txt
Page: 0001
Total Pages: 6

Subject: 2ND SQDRN  CPT SARTLANO  GHOST TRP  COMMANDING                  

Unit: 2D ACR      

Parent Organization: VII  CORPS  

Box  ID: BX001703

Folder Title: 2D ACR HISTORICAL INTERVIEWS                                                                    

Document Number:         13

Folder Seq  #:         39




                                       2ND SOUADRON



           CPT Sartiano
           Ghost Troop, Commanding

           DEP
                 CPT Sartiano was not initially with the Regiment, he was the
           armored range officer at Grafenwoehr. A call came from Col. Holder
           asking if he would command a troop. The troop itself deployed on
           the 4 and 5 December 1990.


           ISA
                 Reminded him of NTC. Acclimation was the first priority. The
           second priority was to get the equipment and vehicles off of the
           boats, paint them, and getting ready to move out to the first site.

           SEM
                 .. That road march from the ISA out to Seminole was probably one
           of the biggest jug screws," Sartiano remembers. The problem was
           working with the local national HET (heavy equipment transporters)
           drivers. While moving out to the site, 4 hets decided to just pull
           over, out of the convoy. He spent the next 36 hours policing up
           his vehicles and equipment. "It was an absolute nightmare... It
           was the road march from hell." One reason why the vehicles were
           transported is because the Mls and Bradleys in Sartiano's troop
           required alot of maintenance. It was concluded that to save engine
           time, parts, etc... transporting the combat vehicles would be in
           the best interest for the Regiment.
                 During the CPX, Desert Star, Sartiano was notified that he had
           one of his Mls, lost and retrieved close to the Kuwaiti (then enemy
           territory) border. Sartiano was a little apprehensive at first
           because the grid he received was part in friendly Saudi Arabia and
           part in enemy Kuwait. He decided to personally recover the
           vehicle. "Sure as shit, it was right up at the Kuwait/Saudia
           Arabia berm.,, The driver was navigating at night, following a
be his base camp, when in fact it was a
           water tower in Kuwait. The Saudi Army intercepted them and then
           the crew was taken care of by a Special Forces unit operation in
           that area.
                 Ghost troop, as well as the other troops, had their base camps
           set up approxamately 35 kilometers south of the Kuwaiti border.
                 When the rumor filtered down that 200 enemy tanks had broken
           through the berm and were heading south on the day of the air war,
           Sartiano realized how prepared and fluid his troop reacted. For
           Sartiano, it was the first test. And it instilled confidence in
           his soldiers.


           RICH
                 They conducted an FTX with the Commanders and XOs. They
           received their first official operations order. Ghost troop was
           tasked to provide security for Log Base Echo, a newly established
           logistics base. This turned into a nice bread for Ghost. They had
           hot showers, phones, and more free time during their 10 day visit.
           They would go redcon a few times when their were reports of vehicle
           movement at night. Being out at LBE gave the troops a good feeling
           as Sartiano recalls, "You were cruising around in your Bradley,
           cruising around in your tank... alot of reservists who've never
           seen a Bradley or a tank, and here yoi4 are from the 2d ACR, and
           you're a tanker, and you're Cavalry.,,

Document 6 f:/Week-48/BX001703/2D ACR HISTORICAL INTERVIEWS/2nd sqdrn cpt sartlano ghost trp commanding:0102971842159
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-48
Box ID = BX001703
Unit = 2D ACR
Parent Organization = VII CORPS
Folder Title = 2D ACR HISTORICAL INTERVIEWS
Folder Seq # = 39
Subject = 2ND SQDRN CPT SARTLANO GHOST TRP COMMANDING
Document Seq # = 13
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 02-JAN-1997