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 Family Members are Hearing From Their Soldiers in Iraq
1) I got a phone call at work yesterday June 6th from my son who is with HHC 2/8 inf. 4th id out of Fort Hood. I was so happy all I could do was cry and tell him how much the whole family loves and misses him. he said they are all doing ok, not to worry mom;;;; he said he got cigerettes today so they must be near a store or ,something. They really would like some gaterade. He also said he got his packages all 5 of them and he is getting mail now. So maybe we will start getting ours. God bless our troops over there.
2) I have recently recieved 6 letters and 3 phone calls from my husband in Bayji with 3-66 in 4th ID out of Ft Hood. He is doing good and tells me that they are trying to get home as soon as possible.
3) I just wanted to spread the word that I have been hearing from my husband lately. He is doing well and continues to stay focused on the mission. He is with HHC 1-8 IN, 3 BCT, 4TH ID, FT. CARSON, and he recently was afforded the opportunity to go to the board out there. He did very well and it is amazing that through it all, they are still afforded the opportunity for professional development. I just wanted to pass the news and my prayers and support to all the families whose spouses are deployed. All of our support together gives them the will to go on and be the best they can be, at a job they are fully trained to do. :0)
4) My husband is with B 3/66 4rthID, which I have been told is in Bahji. I have received 7 letters so far and no phone calls. I wait anxiously to hear my husband's voice to reassure me he is ok. All of his letters are upbeat and exciting. He spoke in one letter how his tank got stuck in the mud along the river on a patrol. He said the ground looked hard and dry but it wasn't. He said as the soilders struggled to free the tank, 200 Iraqs gathered to watch. He said he would point his gun to move them back, but a few minutes later they would be back. He says the people are always curious and asking questions like, "What is your name, where are you from?" He said it's funny, these people are not afraid of M16 but run like hell when you pull your pistol out. He talks about how poor the people are and how desperate they are for a chance at life. We both agreed as awful as war is, it is always a fight for good over evil. And what a great opportunity to be a part of American history. I will be so proud to tell my children how courageous their daddy was. I have been sending him little things for the Iraqi children like blowbubbles, party favors (whistles), little flags, and candy. I told my husband to please get a picture of him showing an Iraqi child how to blow bubbles. Maybe tht would help that child escape the horror of war and show the kindness of the American soilder. Who knows what effect that will have on that child and his outlook on America. The Iraq children are the future, we should all send a little something for them. God bless America!
5) My son called me couple hours ago on the satellite phone, 4:30pm my time, probably 12:30am in Iraq. Now the news is, he says they are no longer encamped out on the old air strip runway, but rather they are now staying at one of Sadaam;s many palaces. He says lately, they've been doing duty "hauling prisoners" which are Baath Party members. What this is, every time they are attacked or ambushed, a patrol goes out and rounds up suspected enemy attackers and stages the prisoners somewhere. Then, the 704th goes in, and picks up the prisoners and hauls them away for interrogation, confinement or release. They are still doing Force Protection Detail (convoy guard). Says, things really heating up.
6) I finally got a call from my husband last night. It has been 8 weeks since I have talked to him and it was the most wonderful 1 minute I have had. He is a sniper in A-CO 1/22 4ID. I of course forgot all of the questions I wanted to ask him, but he said he has been moving around the entire time and that they are finally settling down. (I forgot to ask where they were) They are setting up phones for them to use, so he said he should be able to call more. He is with scouts right now and said everyone including himself are doing good. Although I don't think he would have even told me if he was in any danger. But it was great to finally hear his voice. He said that he had no idea when he was coming back. I have slowly been getting his mail, it has been out of order, but at least it is something. He said that they are getting all of their mail and packages now, and he knows that the mail coming from them is very slow getting here. I know a lot of my friends have been getting calls lately so if you have someone from 1/22 hang in there, you should be getting some soon.
7) My son wrote a letter on 5/18 and we received it today, 6/6. Not bad! He is with TF 1-68 Armor, Charlie Company. He said he has received a few of the packages that we have sent, I believe we're up to #7 or #8 now, just sent 3 out yesterday! He said he has a LOT of time to think "out there". He went to a memorial service yesterday, 5/17 for a supply SGT. who was here when the outgoing Company Commander first got here. He got a "weird" feeling during the memorial, "not bad weird but weird as in, when the Chaplain asked God to watch over us, I got a strong air (like a pair of hands or something)", i.e. like God was watching me. He signed his letter "Staying alert". Oh, he is now in charge of a platoon and this makes him want to come home sooner! I have no idea what his location so maybe being closer to the front doesn't appeal to him!
8) I also wanted to give further proof that the communications situation is improving. After 8 weeks, my husband (HHC of 2/8 Infantry) was finally able to call last night. It has taken so long because it is often difficult to get away from things to a phone - I'm sure that is the case with many over there. He said the CG has made mail/phones a big issue and many are working to improve the situation. They are receiving packages & letters, I have gotten a couple letters this past week and my mom received one dated May 16th yesterday. So they are catching up and the time of delivery is in fact getting shorter! I understand the frustration and worry - I am in the same boat - but I do hope that many continue to be patient and realize that mail & morale is a priority to 4th ID commanders. Also at this point, things can only get better.
9) Letter from 3-29 Field Artillery commander - LTC Springman - to FRG: Please pass to all families. We are OK. We are at Daquq. Near by Kirkuk. We have an area of about 200 KMs we are responsible for. Gators are still vicinity Taji and we have A/2-20 FA with us. We see the Gators about once a week. Either the XO, CSM or I go to see them. We changed HHB commanders on 2 Jun. CPT Cutright replaced CPT Leach. Matt finished 34 months of sucessful command. Currently he is going to DIVARTY for about a month then will PCS based on DA orders. No word yet on stop-loss. C Btry should change 4 July. Received our first replacement yesterday. Our area has been pretty quiet but some local were injured two nights ago. We have mostly Turkomen and Kurds in our area. It is farmland. Take care. Jeff
10) He is with 1-8 A CO, 3rd BCT, 4th ID out of Fort Carson. Yesterday I received my first letter from him. Here are parts of it - post what you feel is appropriate. Mom, I just got your package. Thank you. Right now we are out in the middle of the desert and have no way to get smokes. It sucks. Please tell everyone thanks for the packages. I try to write but its so damn hot it's hard to sit and write letters. We all appreciate the stuff though. It helps. When I get back I'm going to talk to the Coast Guard recruiter and join the Coast Guard. I want to stay in the military. I like getting pictures out here. I keep them in my kevlar so I can look at them everyday. Have you seen any of the stuff 1/8 has been doing? When we moved into Iraq we were attached to Division econ. We're now back with 3rd BCT. I think. We keep going back and forth between brigades. You might have seen the airfield we took. That was fun. My favorite mission was a raid that we did on a doctor's house that was part of the baath party. We drove a bradley through the brick wall in front of his house, ran through the yard and kicked his door in. Then we detained everyone in the house and searched the whole house. We did it all in 13 minutes. Which was really fast considering it was a 2 story house with a lot of rooms and we had to search EVERYTHING!! It was really fun. I love doing this. How old is Andy? He needs to join the military when he turns 18. I think every male should do it at least for 2 years. It's hard and it's not always fun but its good for you. Thanks for the cigars. They are good. Send me some pictures of the family in your next letter. It feels good to have so many people saying they're proud of me. Even though it's not really a big deal. I'm just doing my job. None of us out here see this as a big deal. It's just kinda normal I guess. Well, I gotta go find some shade. I'll write again soon. Tell everyone I love them.
12) I did want to tell you that I have heard from my husband in charlie battery 2/20th FA, 4ID. They are in Taji, which is kinda the Ft Hood of Iraq. It was the Iraqi's premier military facility and now our base of operations. They are doing as well as can be expected. Our battalion XO has set up a PX and a movie theater. I have visions of old M*A*S*H episodes when I try to picture my husband and his troops watching movies in Iraq. I think I will send him his bathrobe, cowboy hat and Hawaiian shirt to make it "official". My husband did say he was able to purchase cigarettes and phone cards. Substance foods are also a hot commodity. The guys can get chewing gum and candy in MREs, but beef jerky and such things are a true gift. I am anxiously awaiting some CDs of digital pictures he mailed a while ago, complete with a music video that they made while onboard the cargo ship. I have held it together until I received a digital picture of him in the mail yesterday. First time I have seen him in four months (today) and he was lookin' mighty fine!
13) My daughter is a 1LT in the 3rd BCT HHC out of Ft. Carson. She is abiout 8 miles outside of Kirkuk, so we hear. We received a letter dated 5/19 yesterday. She says that it is hottttttttt! They have invented a way to get cool drinks. They fill a water bottle with kool aid and place it in a sock, hold it up in the air and pour water over the sock. She says that this idea really cools down the drink very well. She also related a nice story about seeing a group of Iraqi children dressed in unifoirms with little book bags. They were playing a game of soccer. All in her group seems to be fine and the locals are being nice to them. I picked up a great idea of an item to send to her from another web site. It is called a "solar shower". It is basically a thick black plastic bag which you put 5 gallons of water in. You let is heat in the sun for 2 hours. The water reaches 100 degrees. You hang it up by a hook, that comes with it, pull a string attached to a valve and nozzle and you get a warm shower!
14) thought you might like to know...........that Col Van Fleet on Utah Beach was my grandfather. My father and brother also served in the 1-8. My son makes 4 generations in combat in that unit. (Ed Note: Hooah!!)
15) Thank you so much for sharing that (story about D-Day). I'm already proud of my soldier, and those pieces just amplified the sentiment. I'd like to share with you the decision that my husband made when he joined 2-8. He's an Army brat, first of all. He's very proud of his father's career and determined very young that he would follow his father's footsteps. When he entered the Army right after high school his father convinced him to go into communication. His dad had been in Vietnam, and suffered to think that his son might have to go through anything like that. He stayed part of Signal for almost 8 years. Then he met me. We had shared regrets and desires, and for him both had always been that he had not gone infantry. He asked my opinion, and I told him that if that was where his heart was, then that's what he should do. (Little did I know...) Not only was his heart infantry, but he was interested in the history of infantry. He said that in spite of the fact that they had been inactive since Vietnam, he felt that their history was valiant and he wanted to be a part of it. His skills exceeded even my expectations, and I think that the sun rises on his head! If I were a soldier, he's the man that I would want to lead me and to have my back. He's been a part of 2-8 for almost 4 years now..his knees are shot, his lower back bothers him, and he is in his element. I can hardly wait to show him the reports you have sent. He will be honored to be in the presence of men like you, and prouder to be a part of your history. Thank you, Bob.. And BILL!..for sharing that history. (Ed Note: Hooah!!)
16) I want to thank you very much for providing information on our soldiers. I am a retired AF bomber pilot and the Army seems a mystery to me. Our son has been in C-1-8 INF of the 4th for 3+ years as a Bradley dismount, driver, gunner and now as a dismount squad leader. We have received 2 letters from him as has his wife. Yesterday she got a 5 minute phone call from him at 4 AM. He got his 1st letter from home 60 days after deploying. I think the 4th has done a commendable job of preparing these young men for battle. The many field trips, maneuvers, and training sessions they went on in CO, TX, and CA are paying off in making them effective soldiers and even saving lives. Right now our son is in a small town near Kirkuk. I wish we would get more information from the Units and be able to find their locations on a map. Thanks again for the help, Bob. It's difficult thinking of your son on the other side of the world in harms way. You help us get through each day.
17) My husband, HHC 3-66 AR 4th ID, is currently in Iraq. We are stationed with 4th ID in Fort Hood, Tx. I received a phone call from him Thursday late evening. He seemed to be in good spirits. He said that everyone was doing okay and were just looking forward to coming home. He did mention the fact that mobile telephone trailers were in the process of being setup. He did not know how soon they would be available for use. He did say that he and other soldiers would be in need of international calling cards for these calls. I'm not sure about the other families that have received phone calls, but without these cards the calls are very expensive, but needless to say, money doesn't mean much when you miss someone so much. I'd pay whatever the cost and work two jobs to keep it up. But with the aid of the low cost calling cards, we could talk more often if the telephones are available.
18) HHS/2-20 FA . May 18, 2003 ...As far as what's going on here...I am at an airbase called Taji airbase. It is about 9 miles northwest of Baghdad. Right now we are just trying to stabilize all the towns and villages, protect the airbase and ourselves, gather up the zillions of weapons the Iraqi Army left laying everywhere and trying to take them back from civilians. We are putting aside some ammunition for the new Iraqi Army whenever we figure out what the new army will be. It is a very fluid situation. We are performing extremely non-artillery type work. More like infantry. In fact I's say we are doing stuff many infantrymen haven't. . . . We are guarding gas stations, setting up checkpoints and doing patrols.
19) My Son is with B Btry- 3/16 FA- 2BCT and I have gotten 2 letters from him this week! He just got my first package (sent in late April), so maybe he will start getting them more often. (I can only hope) Unfortunately he didn't date his letters, so I have no idea when he wrote them. But from the mail stamp dates of May 14 and May 18, it looks like it is taking about 3 weeks for letter to get home. He said that they were guarding an EPW camp, and that the conditions were not very good. His exact words "this ain't no vacation", kind of says it all. With the help of the 4th's home page, I was able to sort of figure out where he is! The 2BCT is in West Diyala Province, which includes Baqubab, Julula and Kifri. I hope that helps some of the other B Btry, 3/16 2BCT families out there.
20) I forgot to write in my first e-mail that the 1133rd Transportation Unit is part of the 554th Quartermaster Battalion. ( Army-Iowa National Guard) From the little bit we are hearing, the 1133rd troops are running non-stop missions throughout Iraq. They are considered the #1 Transportation Unit in Iraq and are often in dangerous convoys. Because they move around so much, there has been very little word on this unit.
21) 4th ID (104th MI) in Samarra.......this is what we received this AM via email.... Well sorry about getting cut off on the phone, that is the bummer with those is that you never know when you will get cut off. Once again be praying for safety. And for the family of the guys that were injured last night. You will be hearing about it on the news probably pretty soon. Anyhow I am doing good. I finally made it onto the computer it took quite a while but here I am. I will probably be on the concertina wire detail tommorow. They are securing our perimeter better finally. I mean we have a 9 foot wall around us but we need to keep the bad guys away from the wall ya know. Anyways just that and nothing much else. I love you guys and I miss you all.
22) I finally received a call from my boyfriend since April 20th. He is with B 2/20 FA, 4th ID. He said he is doing well and that they finally received satellite phones! He said he has received all my packages and letters FINALLY. I am receiving all his mail as well and actually since Monday I have received a letter daily, the mail is running about 2 weeks behind for me. This website has been a major comfort for me, being that I am not a wife or immediate family member its been difficult for me; and then trying to keep his parents posted has been hard. There is a wife(husband is in same unit) that I met before he deployed and she has been a great inspiration and help on keeping me posted as well.
23) From a 4ID engineer officer in Iraq to his wife - names and units are left off for security reasons: Saving the world is hard work. Today I worked on getting a 4 year old girl out of the country to have heart surgery. Met with a contractor for the 2nd day to arrange a gravel haul contract. While there at least 10 people came in to ask questions about rebuilding the country. I met with the division engineer and put 25 million dollars of work in another contractors lap. I have Iraqis that I have never met coming up to me…. Sir, Sir… can you….. Top three concerns among all Iraqi’s 1. Now that all the soldiers are out of work, what are they supposed to do for work? 2. Why are you moving so slow to rebuild our country? 3. Why can’t I keep a weapon in my house?
24) My husband is with 1/10th Cav 4th ID out of Ft. Hood. I received a call from him 6/6/03. They are all doing very good. They are still on the Iraq/Iran border and will stay there for at least 3 more weeks. They are working very hard and most are getting sunburned - so sunscreen might be the thing to send. They are all becoming great friends and use each other for support. They are getting some mail but maybe a letter every week and a half. It took 4 weeks for him to get the box I sent. For those who don't know the post office provides free priority boxes for family members. My husband said they are asking for beef jerkey, gatorade, baby wipes, eye drops, calamine lotion, flee collars (strips), and lots of love from home. Letters are helping to raise their morale so keep them coming!
25) Hey Bob just wanted to rely I spoke to my husband today He said that everyone in HHC 2nd BDE is doing well. He said that they are working very hard, and also trying to keep cool with the heat. He said that mail to them is taken on an average 7 days for a letter and 10 days for a package....My husband said they are working on the phone system and trying to get phones for each Battalion, So hopefully soon they will have that set up so that everyone can start hearing from their love ones.
26) Richard is with the 2nd Brigade, 1-67 Armor, HHC (Go Dealers!) I spoke to Richard this morning!!! He sounds GREAT, thank God. He was in excellent spirits. The connection was very bad, so we had to say everything twice, but it was beautiful to hear his voice. Beautiful… He said the Army has resolved the mail-out problems, but it was still an issue for him as he hasn't written any letters. I cursed him roundly. He blamed dyslexia, and his work schedule, and a traumatic childhood. (where does he come up with this…) He said that things are starting to settle down a little, so he's not working as many hours. I told him that I was going to enclose a pre-addressed envelope with a checklist for him to put marks next to and then just sign it and return it. He said he thought that was probably a good idea… sigh... (Ed Note: For those of you who haven't gotten mail, we may have a lot of "Richard's" in the 4ID. Encourage them to write you - many have never written a letter in their life, it was too easy for them to email or make phone calls when they were in the good old USA).
27) Talked with my husband this morning for a good while, he said the guys (all of 1/8) are on a mission and will be gone to Balad just north of Baghdad for a week or two then they will come back, may possibly be moving camp there..not sure yet. He said all is well, no one hurt or anything, it's just hot and they are ready to come home.
28) HHB 3-29 FA - Fort Carson I wanted to let you know that our son was finally able to call on June 4th and he sounded okay. He said that he felt a lot better being able to call home. He said that he thought he might be able to call again, because they are staying in one place for a while. We also received a letter from him today. It was dated 5-12-03. He said they were finally getting the packages. In one of the packages, I had sent a frisbee, some squirt guns, couple decks of cards, cross word puzzles, and just some more fun stuff. This is what he had to say about it -- The whole section wants to express their thanks. They were really surpised that you guys sent stuff for the whole section. Believe me it won't go to waste. It's good people like you who make a soldiers day a whole lot better. It is really amazaing to see grown men, who are supposed to be bad to the bone, have a good time with some squirt guns. Last night we were allowed to play frisbee. The moral of the whole section was lifted. If only for a short time we were just some guys playing frisbee!!It may sound funny but its true. He said they were all okay and doing good. He said it was 100 to 105 degrees out there and he just wished it would rain. But he wasn't going to hold his breath waiting for the rain.

Back to Active Unit Main News Page