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


What Our Families are Hearing From Our Soldiers in Iraq:
1) My phone rang, at 5:17am this morning. I answered and heard the most beautiful thing in the world. He said, Hi baby ! I have waited to hear his voice since April 23. He's A Co. 2-8 IN (M) and he's in a small town called Mogdadiyah. I was surprised , after hearing how low morale is, to fing him laughing, and joking for a little more than 10 minutes!! (Ed Note: I firmly believe that low morale depends on the individual - positive people will have good morale and negative people will have low morale, regardless of where they are and how good or bad their conditions are). He is getting packages, and his mail much quicker than we thought he would. He hadn't seen much action, which I am so happy about. Seems phonecalls are getting better, he called his mom, last friday and only had 5 minutes. I wish he had gotten to talk with her longer. God Bless them all and bring them home safe and soon.
2) We received a call from our son who is in A 3/29 FA out of Ft. Carson, he said he can call home once a week for 10 minutes. What the guys are asking for is battery run fans and magazines. He is doing guard duty, etc. north of Baghdad. A few hours later we received another call from our other Army son in Afghanistan A Co 4/31 INF 10th MTN DIV. So you can imagine our joy hearing from both our sons on the same day! I agree with Bob's advice about not counting on exactly when the soldiers are coming home. One of my sons described orders like this, "anything is possible - don't count on your destination & arrival time until you arrive." (Ed Note: My hat is off to you for having two sons in the two hottest places we have soldiers today, both weather and enemy activity. Reminds me of some WWII families).
3) I received two letters, dated 31 and 29 of May on June 21 from my son in HSB/3-16 FA. He wrote from Tikrit. He writes, "Stayed at the Palace in Tikrit, enjoying the gold and marble facilities and hanging out laundry. Won`t be here for long, on my way to Baqubah and Balad, we ate in one the dining rooms at the Palace, but hotel service a little slow. Sadam Hussain treated himself well while the rest of his country starved. Can`t wait to come home!"
4) My husband is with the 4th Id 534th SIG CO, 124th SIG BN and in response to what one of the mothers wrote about staying alive. They are one of the most well trained units in the world. Their equipment is the most high tech and advanced. But common sense still reigns supreme. My husband unit has built an air conditioning unit out of MRE boxes and duct tape. I've attached a pict. and hopefully you can add it to the daily updates. They are getting along good but are ready to get the job done and come home. (Ed Note: Sorry, I don't use pictures because of long download times for people with slow modems. But, the picture show American ingenuity of making an air conditioning duct from cardboard boxes and duct tape).
5) We just received our first phone call from our son, who is with the 404 ASB on an airbase outside of Tikrit, we believe. He just received our first care package! Sent on 6/10 and received on 6/21. Excellent news! However, a number of his friends are NOT receiving items from home, which is horrible. He requested magazines, books, cookies, baby wipes, etc., which he shares with those in need. So now, it's back to Costco, to help his friends. He's been told that he'll be able to call every 10 days or so. Folks, these young men and women really need our support. It is miserable over there, and they appear to be stuck there for quite awhile. As a Vietnam vet, I know something of what they're going through, both physically and mentally. We're very proud of all of them, and urge everyone to keep sending them what they need and desire.
6) Received a letter from my 20 year old grandson from the B/1-10 CAV. My daughter has received about 3 or 4 letters so far. He writes, "Well, I just got done eating dinner, ya know the usual, steak, lobster, and some wine, (another MRE) Ha! It's hotter than hell, the hak-mu-jabees (what we call Iraqi's) are on my nerve's. I got sand stuck to my rear end, oh and I need a beer. Other than that life is peachy." He sent some pictures of him and his buddies. Said they were taken the next day after a 72-hour mission by the Iranian border. He was told he should get his Sergeant stripes pinned in July. Says the days seem like weeks over here, but feels fortunate they have'nt lost anyone in his unit, (says you can't mess with the calvalry). He thanked us for his package, said he was very tired, and wrote we got another briefing here shortly, so I'm gonna jet. Tell everyone he loves them and keep sending the letters.
7) My husband is a part of Alpha Battery, 1-44 ADA out of Ft. Hood, Texas. Some of the items I have sent him that he's requested are: powdered drink mixes (they have a refrigerator according to him and are finally able to have cold water), socks, instant cold compresses (the non toxic kind--they'll keep him cool for 30-50 minutes at a time), a small fan (battery driven--uses 6 D size--with a light), and the daily newspaper once I've read it. The cold compresses can usually be purchased at any sporting goods store or you local Target, Wal-Mart, or the like, or you can purchase them at various places online as well. (Search for "instant cold compress" in your favorite search engine). The small fan was purchased at The Academy in Temple for $13. Just a note on the compresses--make sure you look for the ones that say "non-toxic" on them as the others contain a potentially toxic chemical and all it takes is for one of them to rupture and the chemical can spill.
8) We got a call from our son, TF 1-68 Armor, HHC, Support Platoon, 3BCT last night at 10 minutes of midnight. We've called him 'Bud' from day one. When our youngest daughter burst into the bedroom to wake me up I thought the house was on fire or something. Being sound asleep it took me a second or two to realize she was saying 'Bud' was on the line. The last time we spoke with Bud, the 3BCT was in Camp New Jersey.
He had 10 minutes of air time on the satellite phone. The call was so clear he sounded like he was in the room with us.
He said he was continuing to get our packages. But we didn't have to send any more sunblock as he's always in uniform. He did ask for lots more drink mix. Since I've read so much from your e-mails about the nasty tasting water I didn't ask him why. He said he'd rather have more drink mix than the food stuff we've been sending.
He said he received Saturday the package of brownies his Mom and sister had made for him. He was calling Sunday morning Iraqi time and the brownies were already gone! He had also received the hammock he requested. In his first letter he asked for a hammock like the one he used backpacking while in Scouts. It took some searching here in the Nashville area but I finally found the type he wanted at Pro Bass Shops in Opry Mills Mall. I'm not sure if he's been sleeping on the ground all this time or just wanted something a little more comfortable.
I asked where he was at, realizing what I had just asked, quickly followed up with "I guess you can't say." He spoke with someone off line for a second and came back on and said he was in the Tuz area. While I remember seeing it on an Iraqi map, I looked it up again anyway. It appears to be about 75 miles due north of Baghdad.
He was in very good spirits which certainly lifted our spirits as well.
He asked us to send him the APO address of his friend in the 101st Airborne who's been in the thick of it from the start. We received a letter from this 101st friend who described how much he had learned about Iraqi tanks (Russian T72s and I think T80s) from Bud before he joined the 101st. He said what he learned from Bud helped save lives even though Bud wasn't there. He was the only one in his unit who had detailed knowledge of the weaknesses of the Iraqi tanks and it changed the way they attacked the tanks. He said it was pretty scary attacking tanks with a Humvee. But he couldn't say enough about how Bud had helped them. You can just imagine how proud I was to read the letter. Bud love's our Abrams tanks. You can also imagine how disappointed Bud was when he learned he would be driving a supply truck in Iraq instead of being on an M1A2. All of the tank crews were full when he arrived at Fort Carson. Typical Murphy's Law, 3 years of training on an M1A1 down the drain!
9) My son is in the 4th ID 1/10 cav E troop out of Ft Hood. He called me at work on Friday 6-20-03. He said they have a satilite phone in their area now. He said he as been getting all the packages. He asked that we don't send him any more toothbrushes or paste, has 20 tubes of paste and 30 toothbrushes, thinks maybe we are trying to tell him something(SMILE). Glad to hear him have humor. He said they went to a Kid Rock concert in Baghdad and that was great. Heat is the biggest complaint he had. Was awesome to hear his voice, of course. Was great, I got home and there were 2 letters waiting for me.
10) Excerpts from an email (from 20 June) from my husband who is in 2 Platoon of Alpha, 1-44 ADA: "I got the two big packages you sent with all the great stuff and it was like Christmas for a day in Iraq. You have no idea what kind of a difference that stuff made for me. And on that same day, my duffle bag that I shipped before I flew out showed up. So it only took about 3 months to get to me from the time I put it on a truck at FT Hood... I also managed to get a big meat freezer for my guys so we can keep our water cold. So all in all, Wednesday was a pretty good day here in Iraq. The CDs you sent also went over well and you have been officially encouraged to send more. We even have a TV and DVD player here, and we are getting a satellite dish too. Stuff like that really helps to keep the guys’ morale up and pass the time a little faster when we aren’t out on missions. The guys are doing well. Not too much else going on over here right now. Things have kind of slowed down in the area that I am in, but I still have a lot of “LT” tasks I have to accomplish each day. No word on when we are leaving yet."
11) My husband has been receiving so much mail from family & friends that he jokingly said he was going to open his own PX! Really, it is a blessing when you have so much that you can give. At first he tried to write everyone back but gave up. My teenaged daughter and I helped him out by sending pre-written letters that he can just check off the boxes. For example: Today I did this: 1.) Took a shower; 2.) Stole the keys to a tank and went for a joyride; 3.) Looted a valuable artifact from a museum; etc. Mail is speeding up. The last box I sent him took 12 days to get there. However, letters seem to be arriving slower.
Speaking of care packages: He said that they have enough toiletries and toothpaste to brush all of the Iraqi people's teeth! He is wanting real hearty food like canned meats and soups, breakfast items such as granola, energy bars, & cereal. He even asked for powdered milk which is a surprise and shows how desperate he has become to avoid eating MREs. And send lots and lots of Gatorade powder (send the container in a ziploc bag in case it breaks or spills). It is so hot that you cannot imagine he said. They have to drink a lot of water which gets old too. Our church sent him a Polaroid camera and film which has been a great asset and tool. The Iraqi people love having their pictures taken, especially the women with their children, and he gives them their pictures.
He is attached to 1/67 Armor in Baqubah. Because of his work in Civil Affairs, he is a little bit more patient with the civilian population and realizes the need for compassion when dealing with the Iraqi people who are war victims. He said that they can be really annoying because everywhere you go, they come up to you and say, "Mister, Mister..." and then asks you to fulfill their needs.

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