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) I got an email from my boyfriend. He's with 3/16 Field Artillery, but is the FSO (Fire Support Officer) attached to A/3-67 AR. He told me their satellite phone is burned out, so for the time being they can't call unless there's an emergency. He says "idiots continue to cause trouble, but I think we're making progress in terms of moving towards a free Iraq....I got to shoot rounds the other night! It was so cool. Psychological effects, mainly. Lots of noise." I think/hope this was just for practice.
2) Mail delivery from Iraq has certainly improved! The letter our son mailed July 3 arrived in So. Calif. July 11 - about 1 week! Our son is with 4th ID, 1-68 Armor Battalian with 3rd Brigrade Combat, C Company from Ft. Carson. He is located in Tuz. He woke us at 6:00 AM this morning calling from Kirkut where the phones are located - he hopes to be able to call every couple of weeks. He makes trips into Kirkut and Tirkrit working with the local police. Says his company has been functioning independently .......The army has allocated funds for Company C to remodel a grain silo into a barracks, hopefully with air conditioning! In the meantime he is sleeping on top of his tank and eating MREs with occasional special whole meals. He sounded good and really appreciates the prayers of family and friends. We really appreciate the daily briefing and update on the 4th ID from Iraq. We continue to pray for our son, his company and all the troops in Iraq as well as wisdom for our president in the decisions he must make.
3) My husband is with 4th ID ACo AR1-66 BN over in Iraq. He called me Wednesday (morale call of every 10 days) but the connection was really bad but it felt good to hear his voice. I received 2 letters this week dated 6-22 and 6-24 and here are portions of his letters:
Well, it's 1935 hrs here now - another day passed and gone. It wasn't as hot today. I drink at least a gallon of water a day. It gets so hot that sometimes you can't eat...... The only thing I look forward to is getting home - nobody knows anything around here when we are going home. Iraq is a mess and were still cleaning up Saddam's s--t.
...I really don't have much to talk about because every day is the same. Still stuck in Groundhog day out here in Iraq. Good news is that we are starting to catch those responsible for killing soldiers around here.
The army is trying to redo a building for us to live in so that we don't have to sleep in our tanks. Around here only the tankers like us are still having to live in our tanks - not enough space.
God Bless our troops!
4) I have noticed that not many mails posted from 3-66 AR families and wanted to take the opportunity to do my part. As of 10 July, I have had 9 letters from my 'Lancer' husband and a short phone call (got disconnected after a few minutes) and he said they have ‘mail call’ 3 times a week now. Their main concern is whether their name is called or not, that’s the highlight of the day. Their phone access is supposed to be 1 hour per unit per month, so don't feel bad if your man is still waiting for his. They're supposed to get more soon. The majority of care packages have also caught up with him. I always include surprises, like local food items (I'm in Germany, unfortunately a bit out of the loop so triple (!) thanks for your website and effort) and the platoon is having fun trying to figure out what they are when he opens them. Well received are instant cappuccino and flavored coffee creamer. I have also included items like fruity and herbal teabags, which he enjoys a lot at night. I won't mention the items previously recommended, but wanted to let you know they are also asking for knuckle Band-Aids, laundry detergent, skin products like sunburn relief, and of course bug repellent in any shape or form, and 'afterthefact' sticks to sooth an itch........ We had a few ‘returned to sender’ until we figured that out. I try to think of little personal touches of home like a perfumed hanky just so we can be 'close' for a moment... We’re newlyweds, but I think the others would like it just as much. On the whole, they seem to be reasonably safe where they are. He said they get along great with the locals and feel welcome and taken care of as much as can be expected. The locals bring the children to meet them, or get them things like cigarettes if they can pay cash. Unfortunately, when they get local produce they often end up getting sick, so you might want to include items like activated charcoal. Keep on praying they remain in good spirits, and keep on sharing, this site has often saved my day during longer periods of ‘heard nothing’. Hugs and blessings from a brand-new army wife :) (got a bit more than I bargained for, but we knew it was part of the deal).
5) At 4:30am I received a 2nd phone call from my boyfriend. He is A Co. 2-8 IN (M) . They have been busy moving his camp a bit preparing for the rains that are due to start next month. Didn't move it far sounds like.. they just dont want it to flood. He sounded great. Still laughing and joking . Says he has been told he will be in the area for the duration of his deployment, which he has only heard rumors about when it will end. Said he has everything he needs.. and yes.. he has water to drink. He is getting his mail and packages rather quickly...about 2 weeks, which I think is great! He tried to call his mom.. and didnt get through, I hope next time, she gets to hear his voice and hear for herself how great he sounds. God Bless all our troop doing such a great job over there.. and bring them home safe, and soon!
6) I heard from my husband whom is with the 4ID 204th 3-67 out of Fort Hood last night around 3am. The connection wasn't that great and we were disconnected 3 times. However we were able to talk for a total of about 4 mins. This is the first chance we have spoken in about a month. He seemed to be doing okay and really was interested in any new news around town. I also received 5 rolls of film from him this week. It is great to see the environment that he is in as compared to what you see everyday on the news.
7) July 13: Just wanted to let you know that we received a phone call today from our son Bradley who is a field medic with C BTRY 3-16 FA 4thID. He was able to use a satellite phone (cost of card was $50.00) but definitely worth it. His last communication was June 11. He says they are now in an old hospital north of Bagdad, no electricity, no running water, but the engineers are working on it. If they are lucky they get one hot meal a day. And right now they have port-a-potties, so they are pretty excited about that! Boy, I never thought a port-a-potty would bring such happiness to anyone, but when you go without, porties are palaces compared to the "buckets". Temps are hot, hot, hot, even during the night. Bugs don't seem to be a problem for him - maybe its his body odor that is keeping the bugs at bay! He is receiving our packages, and is asking for soups now, except tomato - they are able to use small burners to warm them up. Still wants mix drinks. I had sent a box of toys for his unit to hand out to any kids they meet. Bradley said that he tried to give some bubbles to a little girl, she screamed, and took off running. But the rest of the kids took the toys. I had also sent a box of pillows and clean pillow cases for them, thinking that they all had pillow cases. Wrong. Bradley said they were never issued any pillow cases, so this would be a luxury for them. At least they were clean - I put Downy sheets in between each pillow case, so they all smelled of home. Brad did say not to put any soaps with the food anymore - everything ends up smelling like the soap (even if it is in baggies). I had sent a box of games to him, and he says they are in a central room for everyone to use, they seem to come in hand during their down time. He is out on patrol every day, and many of the civilians are brought to their building for injuries.

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