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) We got a call from our son yesterday evening and he is doing well. He is with 588th Engineers Bn. Alpha Co. 1st Platoon. He is doing well and said to thank everyone for the packages and letters. He said it is so hot there still. They have been running a lot of raids and he has been "first in" on some of them. That made his mom and I both really happy....NOT! They are still in the republican guard compound as far as I know in Baqubah. There are lot of rumors of going home but nothing official as of yet.
2) Got a call from our son, 74th Multi Roll Bridge Co. 62nd Eng Batallion, 4th ID. He is still staying in Tikrit at one of the palaces. Says everyone is doing good. Sounded really good, is receiving mail and dosn't really need anything else. He was in Kuwait to pick up one of his soldiers from the hospital there that's why he was able to call. I told him he sounded like he was right next door, he said I sounded like I was in Michigan (which I am). Said to keep the mail coming, thats what keeps them all going.
3) I HEARD FROM MY HUSBAND ABOUT 5 AM THIS MORNING (JUNE 30), HES IN C CO 2-8 INF. WELL I GOT SOME GREAT NEWS, HE WILL BE HOME IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS! YAY! I AM PREGNANT AND DUE IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, SO THIS NEWS COULDN'T COME AT A BETTER TIME. HIS WHOLE UNIT ISN'T COMING HOME, BUT A FEW OTHERS ARE COMING WITH HIM. THOSE THAT HAVE FAMILY PROBLEMS, ARE ETSING (Estimated Time of Separation), OR PCSING (Permanent Change of Station) (WHICH IS WHY MY HUSBAND IS COMING HOME). HE SAYS HIS COMPANY IS DOING FINE, THEY CAN ALWAYS USE MORE CARE PACKAGES AND LOTS OF GATORADE/JUICE MIX. BUT BECAUSE OF THE RECENT INCREASE OF PHONE USE EVERYONE IS IN A MUCH BETTER MOOD, AND THE MORALE IS LOOKING UP.
4) We heard from our son 4ID, 3rd brigade, 64th FSB, attached to the 1-8. He started his letter to us,"Mom and Baghdad". He has called his dad that special name since he was a young child and first heard the name of the city. Life is strange, isn't it?!
He sounds really good, talks alot about the insects (scorpions, mosquitos, spiders, ants, and a hard-shelled bug that really bites). He said to be sure to keep sending repellent, chapstick, sunscreen, and baby wipes. He also is tired of MRE's and wants anything food-wise we can send. (Big box going out today!)
His group is still moving every 3-5 days, so they have nothing permanent yet.... phones, bathrooms, army cook, etc. He said that even though they say the "war is over" you would never know it where they are. May God bring all our troops through this and home safely!
5) My nephew just got back from Iraq. He was wounded in action around 30 days ago. He was checking boats on the Tigris River when opposition forces opened fire on them. He was one of the first soldiers wounded in the attack. His wound isn't anything life threatening, but took him out of action. He's doing well and continues to have surgery on his wound. It's very good to have him back, but I know he still thinks about all of his brothers and sisters in action as are we. He is Bravo Company of the 4th engineers and part of the 1-8 task force. One of his first comments was when he returned was, "I LOVE THIS COUNTRY"!
6) I got a phone call from my husband this morning at 0142. He's a MEDIC part of the HHT 1/10 CAV 4TH ID from FT.HOOD. He was sorry to wake me but of course I didn't care. I was happy to hear his voice. He's really sad that he's missing our 6 month old son grow up. The last time he saw him, he was barely 3 months when he left. He's worried that our little boy will be scared of him by the time he gets back. But of course I miss my solider as well as all the soldiers out there who aren't with their families. HOO-AH soliders, HOO-AH. GOD BLESS AMERICA
7) My son is with the 1-10 CAV, A TRP, 41D, in Iraq. We got our first phone call this morning about 7:30. We have only had two letters. It was so wonderful to hear his voice. He said they are doing fine, not to worry, and loved us and missed us all very much. He was also able to phone his wife in Texas..we are in North Carolina. His 13 year old son, our grandson, is spending the summer with us. It is a blessing to us to have him..keeps us feeling close to our son. I thought others who have not had much communication from the 1-10 CAV A TRP would like to know that they are able now at least to make a few phone calls...hopefully everyone will get one soon..we stay in a constant state of prayer for all.
8) I received a phone call from my boyfriend ( B btry 3/16 FA 2bct) very very early this morning. He is doing very well and is very happy to finally have access to a weekly phone call. He does request more juice and powerade mixes. That is one of the main things that is needed over there. They have plenty of baby wipes to clean all the babies in Iraq. PasT the "I love you's" and "miss you's" he is holding up well and is eager to come home. He sends his blessings to all of his family and friends.
9) We heard from our son this evening. He is with G troop 1-10 Cav . He said he was well, still looking for bad guys, didn't have any luck today. He says he is receiving all his mail, seems like it takes 2 weeks to get there. I asked if he would like a pillow, and he said yes. I appreciate all the ideas I get from all the family members . It was really great to hear his voice. He has been able to call once a week for 10 minutes. Please keep our soldiers in your prayers . God bless them all!
10) Just wanted to give a more recent update on my husband who is with A troop 1/10 cav in Balad-or at least they were in Balad last I heard. He says things are still pretty rough for them there and that his platoon is still moving around a lot more than the other platoons. He says they haven't really got to get settled anywhere and really set up their site. But, they are all okay and hoping to come home soon. They are still hearing a lot of different rumors on redeplyment so I won't even get into that. He requested I send him a polaroid and some film so he could send pictures with his letters. That is what I do for him, send polaroids with most of my letters. They have one at Wal mart for 30 dollars. Still requests drink mixes, bug spray, and CD's. Says they are still mainly doing traffic control points and he is hoping to call home again soon. He has only been able to call once since they left in March. Says he still hasn't heard anything about them being able to go to the R&R but that he doesn't see how they will be able to. They are pulling long shifts and are really wore out, so would welcome it very much.
11) We got a call from our son at about 6 pm PDT last night. The connection was good and we were able to talk for a full 10 minutes. He reports that his platoon (HHC, 3rd BCT) moved to Balad about 4 or 5 days ago (he says the days run together so he can't be sure) and that there are lots more amenities in Balad because it's the HQ of V Corps. Apparently there's even a PX where you can get a cold coke, which makes him a happy soldier indeed. I did a Google search for maps of Iraq and finally found one that shows where "Balad" is--looks like it's about 30-40 miles north of Baghdad.
Once again all of my efforts to elicit operational information proved fruitless, as he politely but resolutely refuses to "go there." He did say he's back on the graveyard shift in the 3rd Brigade TOC (Tactical Operations Center), manning the radio from 12 midnight to 8 am, which incidentally is when these snatch operations like "Peninsula Strike, "Scorpion" and "Sidewinder" typically take place, so I imagine he's pretty busy. He said he also has to work on various details, but he wouldn't go into any detail about the details.
He said their living conditions are OK at the moment, though it is hellishly hot--115 to 120 degrees during the day--and that the main thing he looks forward to is mail with news about us and his sisters and what's happening at home. He really appreciates the powdered drinks and food items, but would also love to get more magazines and books, so I'm going to send him two books today that should occupy him for a while: The Peace to End All Peace, a fascinating history of the post World War I settlements in the Middle East which gave rise to Iraq, and Six Days of War, a comprehensive history of the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
His morale sounded high, which is good considering that his estimate of when the 4th ID is going to be coming home is................(remember, I don't deal in rumors on when 4ID is coming home)...
12) Letter received today from HHC/3-66 Armor, postmarked June 15. Still taking 2 weeks for mail to come.
Says the city they are near is crazy at night and that the only time the platoon goes off the compound area is for special night missions or pre-dawn raids. Says if they drive through the town, their movements are tracked and when they pass a major intersection, flares and shots go off. He said once on the way back to the compound from police station, an Iraqi in his car tried to cut him off from the side, but he sideswiped the guys car and tore off the guys front quarterpanel and only sustained scratches on his Humvee. (I don't think it is wise to stop to talk the situation over).
On the lighter side - the different platoons are catching camel spiders and scorpions (here are these spiders again!) and having them fight each other. His platoon had the reigning champion scorpion (until he got away), but that they had caught a bigger and more aggressive scorpion in the bunker they stay in and were betting on him being the new champ.
13) Today we received 3 letters from my son who is a 2LT platoon leader for Charlie Company, 4 ID, 1-68 Armor from Fort Carson. The letters are stamped 6/18, 6/20 and 6/21, so you can see they flew over here to the states! He said he is not looking forward to July & August because he's been told the heat will be unbearable, worse than it is now. He says the sun just shines all of the time and he's drinking a ton of water and said he probably won't want any water once he gets back to the states. His big request was for the basics, baby wipes, Gatorade and batteries, nothing much new. He did call home a week ago and spoke to my husband and daughter for 5 mins or so, but I was at work. He feels he has "grown up" being over in Iraq and now appreciates what he has had in his life prior to Iraq. The last place we were told his troop was located was in Tuz but apparently they will be moving. He didn't seem to know where. So, keep your updates coming! One of the first things I do in the morning is pop on the computer to see if you did an update, so thank you! This is our first experience with a deployment, so everything is brand new to us. Thank you for making us feel as if we are part of the family.
14) I heard from my medic son today. He is in Baqubah, and they finally are housing them in buildings and "out of the sun". He says it is 120 degrees there and he can't wait to come home. This is my second letter since he left on April 8th. I can't wait to see him home safe..and I can start breathing again! (Ed Note: No unit given - please always include the unit name when you send updates).
15) Today, my heart jumped into my throat as I watched the Sidewinder video clip shown on CNN several times. Our son was part of a group of soldiers searching a home for weapons. I watched tranfixed as our son entered the home, pointed to an area to be searched, opened an oven door, and looked into a cupboard and crib. We have heard from him sporadically by phone and letter-he has written every day, but the mail delivery is poor. If this country is KEY to the Middle East then our news SHOULD have more clips on our soldiers at work trying to make it happen. We have NO IDEA when he will return to American soil, but we grasp at any information of his whereabouts and condition as so many countless families do! (Ed Note: Again no unit given but since this is current operational information, I wouldn't have used it even if it had been included. But send unit info and I'll leave it out if it appears to be a security risk).

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