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| A-1-8 Chapter of the 4th Infantry Division |
Active Unit News
What our families are hearing:
Bob Babcock - "Deeds not Words"
President, Americans Remembered, Inc. - http://www.americansremembered.org
President, 22nd Inf Regt Society - http://www.22ndinfantry.org
Past President/Historian - Nat'l 4th Inf Div Assn - http://www.4thinfantry.org
babcock224@aol.com
Click to Send us your news
What Our Families Are Hearing From Our Soldiers in Iraq:
1) My son is with the 1-22, Alpha Company. We hear from him every couple of weeks or so. He sounds so strong and good when he calls and he talks on how he is with the Army's best! (Hooah!)
2) At 7:30am EST this morning, the phone rang. It was our son. He is with A Btry (2nd Plt) 1-44 ADA. We hadn't heard from him in over a month since he was in Qatar on R&R. We had been hearing from him pretty regularly before he went on R&R, so I asked, "Hey, what happened to you? Why haven't we heard from you in so long?" He said, things have been really hectic since they were hit with a mortar round approximately 100 yds from where they were all sleeping about 3 weeks ago. Since then they have been doing two missions a day and getting about 4 hours of sleep. He didn't mention any casualties from that attack, so I assume, and pray, that all were OK. His morale seemed to be the lowest it's been. Of course the recent incident with the CSM has been weighing heavy on his mind. He had many questions, that even as a 21 year military veteran, I can't answer. .... Other than that, he said everything was fine. I love how they always try and put your mind at ease... even though it's useless. It's a mother's job to worry, and that is that! He said there wasn't anything that he needed. I asked what I could send him for Christmas and he said "nothing" -- just like I knew he would...... I told him a Raiders blanket from NFLShop.com was on the way, and he was happy to hear that. Seems as though they still appreciate food the most... tortillas, packaged tuna, cereal, fruit, jerky. I have received lots of donations from neighbors, church groups, and local businesses to send to the unit. Figuring out how to get it all there is another challenge! The days cannot go by quickly enough. I pray each night for all of our soldiers that they will return home safely to their loved ones.
3) Bob, I wanted to share how I package my husband's cookies with the lady who asked. I have always cut squares of wax paper and stacked cookies, about four to a stack, with a square of wax paper in between each cookie and one on top and bottom of the stack. Then I package them in gallon size freezer bags and stack them snugly in the box, making sure that all of the seams are taped shut. I have sent chocolate chip, oatmeal, snicker doodle and peanut butter cookies this way and they have all arrived in good condition, according to my husband. Hope that helps.
4) I heard from my husband yesterday...he is 2/8 alpha company...he called to tell me that he would be leaving Kuwait on November 1 and would probably be home November 3 or 4...I am so happy that he will be able to spend time with our little girl...she is our first and when he left she was 5 weeks now she just turned 8 months...
5) Here are some ideas for the Mom wanting to send homemade treats to Iraq: Bar cookies will hold up better than drop cookies. Choose low-moisture recipes if possible. Wrap each cookie & cookie bar by itself. Cryovac if possible. Local food stores may do this at no cost or low cost if you tell them where the food is headed.
If cryovacing is not possible place cookies and cookie bars in coffee cans, well cleaned& dried potato chip cans or food tins. Place wrapped cookies& bars inside Zip-loc type bags before placing them in larger tins& coffee cans. Treat candies in the same manner. Good mailing canidates are: biscotti, gingersnaps, scones made with dry fruits and fruit breads mades with dry fruits. Pralines,fudge, toffee and other firm, dense homemade candies will ship well and their extremely high sugar content will help prevent bacteria growth. High moisture fruit breads such as pumpkin&
banana bread are not overseas canidates due to easy spoilage. I suppose by now our daughter has arrived back with the 1/66 AR 4-ID somewhere near Samarra there in Iraq. She had been home on an emergency med. leave with her first Mom. We pray for her and ALL men & women that serve our great country! May The Good
Lord Hold THEM In the Palm of his HAND!! God Bless America!
6) Last night, 10/26, at about 2100, we got a call from our son, C Co, 1/8, out of Fort Carson, Co, currently in Balad. He sounds so wonderful, healthy, happy as he can be under the circumstances. His lifelong best friend is there with him and that makes me feel better, like he's not alone. ....Things in Balad are pretty good and they feel safe, although also a little left out of the action. Then when I was checking for your update this morning, there was an e-mail from our son's friend! He had found access to a computer which is rare for him. Great way to start the day! ..... The best thing we have sent him lately was a pillow! We're still sending Gatorade, handiwipes, protein powder, power bars, bug spray. DVDs and CDs are all he wants. He has access to a PX so he does spend a lot of money still and is able to get the things he needs to get through the day. We also send Tang, which he likes for breakfast, and his favorite, raspberry tea mix. We do send chocolate pudding to him. Please, everyone, keep all our soldiers in your thoughts and prayers. This war won't be over until ALL our soldiers are home.
7) This email is in response to how to package homemade goodies for your special
soldier. I learned this trick from my mother who sent and still sends homemade cookies and candies to my father while deployed. You pack them in airpopped
popcorn. Kind of like you would use the styrofoam packing peanuts. Make sure the popcorn has no flavoring and your special homemade treats will be as fresh as the day you baked them. While I am emailing I would like to say how much I love this update that I get and my husband, a 4th MP, is stationed in Tikrit and enjoys them as well.
8) My son is over there, actually he just went back, he had that 15 day leave, so this is #7 month now that he's been there. Yes it's very hard, but his family and girlfriend are very proud of him, but miss him deeply. Sometimes you wonder why someone would pick to do such a job. Being an infantry soldier, I think, has it's down falls----let's face it!!!! But while my son was home we went to DC to visit the Smithsonian. In one of the musuems they had the flag from the 911 attack that was hung on the Pentagon, and a plaque that told you some facts of why our son's or loved ones are those infantry soldiers. I must say, I had to walk away --cause the tears were beginning to be to hard to control. But my son came up from behind me and said, "its all about that." As hard as it is to be separated from our soldiers, we must remind ourselves what an honor it is to be a parent, or girlfriend or family member to these wonderful guys!!!!! Love them, respect them, pray for them to come home safe soon. Thank's again-------just another mom of an infantry soldier. My son is in A-Co, 1-8 Inf, 3rd BCT from Fort Carson, CO. His 4th yr.
9) We heard from our son who is stationed in Tikrit (A-Co 1-4 AVN) on Sunday. He sounded wonderful. He said they have things about as good as you can have them over there and he really didn't "need" anything. The chow hall is set up and they have fixed up an entertainment area and it was great to hear his voice. He will turn 35 soon in a strange country defending people who don't seem to appreciate the effort. I pray everyday for him and all our sons and daughters over there and for their safe return. Thanks again for your daily updates, they really help preserve my sanity in all this craziness.
10) I want to THANK PVT. Miller's Mom for the letter of (What it means to be a soldier's Mom) it is so true and when I sat here and read it brought tears to my eyes once again. My son is with the 890th En. National Guard out of Pascagoula, MS and I know he probably isn't doing as dangerous a job as some but he is still in Iraq and support for the 82nd. I hear about all the danger and he tells me about all the mortar attacks on them and I pray everyday for all. He is my only son and it just kills me for what he is going through, but I never tell him that cause I am so PROUD of what he has become. This is his dream and want's to come home to be a police officer and continue to help others. Yep that's my boy he has such a good heart in him......
11) In response to the lady wanting to know how to send baked goods to the troop's, here is what I do. At Costco (and I would guess Sam's also) they have cellophane wrap that is commercial quality. It comes in a roll that has like 3000 ft on it. As I bake the cookies and brownies, I have my helpers (family, friends and neighbors) help wrap the items as soon as they are cool enough to wrap. Then I have bought from Walmart, cookie storage boxes that are like Tupperware. They are in a pack of 2 and sell for like $2.50-$3.00 for the pack. As the cookies are wrapped, they are placed in the boxes and sealed. Then they are placed in a large cardboard box with lots of packing (tp, paper towels etc) around them so they don't break. I have sent
several boxes like this to my son and he says they are always a welcomed site. Christmas is on it's way and you know mom will be sending lot's of goodies in the next few weeks.
12) Just to echo other mothers thoughts: We are so privileged to be mothers! Mother #10 commented about how she would ".... talk to my son via the moon". When my son, (B 1-12 3rd BCT out of Fort Carson) left for Basic training, we went outside and looked at a beautiful June full moon, I told him that where ever he went we would both be looking at the same moon. There have been countless times over the last 5 years that I have gazed at the moon with tears, remembering those words and prayed for God's fence of protection to be placed around all of our soldiers. Our soldiers, who are doing their jobs so that we may continue to live in a free country. I am truly thankful to be an Army Mom, because of the man that my son has become.
13) Our son (B Co., 1-22 in Bayji) is one of two guys from his unit to get some much-needed R&R in Qatar for a few days . He's called us twice and we were able to talk for over an hour each time, a new record. While glad to have a serious break, he sounded pretty subdued -- he was among the first deployed to deal with the recent riots in Bayji, which was VERY tense for a while, and he has lost some friends in other actions. They continue to do lots of raids and are routinely in harm's way. The good news is that the company's living conditions have been improved considerably in the past month or so -- the engineers fixed the roof in the warehouse where they are billeted and they now have electricity, air conditioning, two hot meals a day, and running water (they have sinks, showers and washing machines, although no toilets). He wants fodder suitable for their new microwave. That's living large, compared to what they've had previously. It was great to hear from him!
14) I also appreciated the "What It Means to be a Soldier's Mother" article. Our son, who is with the 1-10 Cav C-Troop, is our only child and we are missing him greatly. It's been wonderful to be able to read everyone's messages and know that we're not alone. We got an e-mail from our soldier last week.... and didn't know how long it would be before he could contact us again. All of the soldiers are in our thoughts and prayers and may they come home as soon as possible.
15) Received a call from my husband at 7:20 a.m. (he's with B Co 2-8 INF). It was
so great to hear from him he's on his way home for the two week R&R. The kids were excited they finally got to talk to Daddy. Every time he calls either our son is in school or our daughter is sleeping. So it was perfect early this morning as all three of us got to talk to him supposedly for 10 mins. but seemed like 5 but was worth it. We miss him so much! We're going to enjoy our two weeks together. I wish every soldier got to go home to their families. I know some won't get to be so lucky and I'm sorry. All the soldiers are in our prayers everyday and I hope all the soldiers coming home to their families have a safe journey home! Hugs to you all..big ones!
16) Bob... just had to share my excitement... my husband is in 299 engineers, Charlie Co., and he called me yesterday morning and told me to look for the article you included in the update. On top of the great article, there's a picture of him!!! (the one with the blindfolded soldier and the gate in the way). So I, of course, have had to print copies for everyone we know... it's the first time I've seen his face since he left! Our 3 year old was so excited, even over the prisoner... cause she finally got to see who Daddy's over there spanking. Anyhow, I just had to share my excitement... By the way, the reporters site, kevinsites.net, is pretty cool (lots of photos of life over there).
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