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

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What Our Families Are Hearing From Our Soldiers in Iraq:
1) Got a call Wednesday night from my brother in Samarra. He is with A Company 1/66th out of Ft. Hood. He sounded good, but he did let it slip towards the end of the conversation he is homesick. He did receive the air matress that we had Wal-Mart send to him (thank God for them doing this for our troops). He asked for a fan since he said it was "Texas Hot" times 10 over there. I am going to take the advice of one of your other readers and send him the party hats, and snack cakes for his birthday on the 28th.
2) Received a phone call from our son who is in the 1-10 CAV, D Troop. He is a helicopter pilot and says they are putting lots of hours on the helicopters. He has been working 80 hour weeks. Still very hot where he is at - 123 degrees a few days ago - quiet where he is at and he says he has no desire to go on R&R and travel through country where it isn't as safe. He is looking forward to coming home in the Spring (like everyone else) and his spirits sounded pretty good. He has lost 15 pounds and didn't have any extra to loose...imagine the heat plus MREs are taking its toll. He is requesting food!!! Even beanie weinies! So have sent alot of packages and will keep sending them. We keep him as well as every other soldier over there in our prayers for a safe return. Spring can't come soon enough for us.
3) My daughter received a call at 3:30am CDT (8/07) this morning from her fiance (B Co 2-8) and they got to talk for about 10 min.. He called to let her know they were OK but not to expect to hear from him for about six days because they were fixin to be "on the road". The last packages we sent only took about 12 days and the lightest one weighed 22lb and the heaviest 44lb. Go figure!!! There is no rhymne or reason to our mail system but at least they're getting their stuff. God Bless our Troops and send them home Safe and Soon.
4) Heard from my son today. C-3-66 4th I.D. They have been catching people stealing ammo, so they arrest them and destroy the vechichles. So far they've go about 3 cars or trucks per day for the last 4 days. They take the seats out for recliners before they destroy them. "Sometimes I feel bad because some of these people are being forced to do it by the Fedyeen rebels. As I read your letters it seems the world is movng on without us". The only thing my son actually asked for was "an original thought." He is getting letters and packages from a woman in Austin.
5) I received a phone call from my husband who's with the 2-4 AVN BN out of Ft. Hood at about 3:30 am this morning. How wonderful it was to hear his voice especially with a good phone connection with little delay. Just says the heat is miserable and can't sleep because of it. He looks forward to his daily shower under a bag of water!! He's ready to come home, but is having a blast flying and racking up the hours! It's what he's waited for for the past 10 yrs. God bless all family members and soldiers.
6) I heard from my husband this morning that is attached to 4th ID, he is with 1/17 FA out of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He sound good but the ready to come home. The heat is bearable and dealing with it but the conditions of living are improving. He called to just say he loves us and for all to pray that they come home sooner than year. With each deployment our marriage seems to grow stronger. Our love is unconditional love that just grows stronger day by day.......
7) We got a call from our son (HHB 4/42 FA BN, 4th ID, Ft. Hood, TX) at about 11:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday (8/5/03). The main thing he said is that his flight home (to Texas) is scheduled for September 14th with his discharge date scheduled for December (now that the stop loss has been lifted). We're counting the days and plan to be there to see him get off the plane. I also received a July 15th letter from him. I had written him that I didn't like hearing about the "main raiding party" that he is on, but that a coworker had told me that he may actually be safer in that unit than some others. His letter opened with: "Firstly (that's a good word ain't it?) the man you spoke with about me being on the main raiding party has the right idea. It is a good thing for the reason he stated which was that everyone is more aware. More than that though, everyone has a job, knows they're job and knows another persons job. It's well organized and so far well executed. Don't worry too much about the 'so far' because I'm very sure it will remain that way."
8) I talked to my fiancee last night, he's part of A co. 1-22 in Tikrit. He sounded good, we even had a couple of laughs (I love his laugh!) I told him that I've heard through the news that he's been very busy, and he said yes they had been extremely busy, but couldn't go into details over the phone. I asked him if he has been able to do the R & R thing that I keep hearing everyone getting to do, but he said no, as they are letting the soldiers go first, then the NCO's will go later (he's an SSG) and then he added that that probably means the NCO's won't get a chance to make it to the R & R place. Made me feel sad for him, but glad that they are letting their soldiers go first to ensure the morale is staying on the up and up for the younger guys out there. .......... He asked for more canned goods now that they have cooking capabilities, and protein powdered drinks so that he won't keep losing so much weight. Also asked for a portable CD player and some CD's, and some flimsy photo albums for all the photos that his family & I keep sending him! God bless all our troops over there, we are all so proud!
9) The voltage converters everyone is talking about can be puchased at most any luggage shop. Here in TC there is one at the Samsonite store. There are several different 'prong' types. Also, having had 2 portable DVD players, I would suggest the Panasonic over some of the other lesser known brands. Best Buy has had the best prices, for those of us without PX capabilities.
And from another reader: I saw the question regarding power inverters. I went and spent $100 on a 600Amp inverter from Radio shack, and then still had to buy the cables. When my husband (A.Co.4th Eng Bn) received it, he later told me that all I needed to do was go to TARGET, which carries the entire kit, cables and all, for around $50. Another spouse had already called me from Target with the same information. The lesson: Shop Around!!!
10) The following relates to the item #8 posting in your 8-07-03 update which included your humorous "Ed Note" that: "As a retired IBMer, I can't believe I'm including this advertisement for Dell - am I fair or what?" We have now learned that Micron, too, will offer free shipping and a discount to our troops.
That posting said that Dell (Dell.com) would ship a computer to an APO address "for FREE provided that you buy a warranty with the computer" and that "they also give a discount" for soldiers. Our son wants a Micron laptop, so we checked with Micron to see if they would do the same. And, guess what? Although not listed as an option on their website (buympc.com), Micron, too, will ship to an APO address for free (no mention of warranty purchase requirement) and they, too, will give a military discount. Also, because of the destination, no sales tax is charged on the order. The salesman I spoke with was very supportive of our troops.
11) I have not received a phone call from my husband with the 588 EN BN in Baqubah for over 2 weeks now. Despite making that cell phone my closest friend...by my side 24-7...still no calls. I understand I am not the only one, however, and was informed by a recently redeployed soldier that satellite phones really are hard to come by over in Iraq, especially when things get busy. Plus if a satellite phone is down, that's even more of a challenge. I was BLESSED with weekly phone calls for 3 weeks in a row, but now they just aren't coming. It's tempting to get discouraged, but tonight after talking with my grandparents who endured 3 YEARS of separation during WWII with only the snail-mail of written letters... I was reminded how FORTUNATE we are to hear that voice, even if it's just ONCE! So for those of you getting down because you haven't heard his/her voice...just count your blessings and remember those letters are just as important if not MORE! And there's always prayer! As my Pop-pop says, "Your grandma went through some rough times, but she's one tough cookie and has been by my side ever since!" They celebrated their 60th Anniversary last fall and I think that says it all :) In the meantime, my "list" of things to talk about grows longer, and I can always have HOPE he'll call again soon!
12) Hi, Bob Ii get e-mail from my husband pretty often. It's always nice to hear from him, I can see how much he cares for what he believes in. He is tired but willing to finish what he went for. He is under the 4ID. 733rd trans. co. The calls are short but what's important is that he is OK! Our guys are working hard, let's keep praying for them.
13) I heard from my husband at 1:00am today (7 August). He is with Alpha, 1-44ADA, 2PLT. The connection was so clear, and the first thing he said was, "well, I'm no longer in Iraq." That worried me at first, but apparently he is on much-needed R&R in Qatar until the 10th. (He said he came with about 15 guys, but he was the only one out of his platoon to get to go at this time). He was so happy to finally escape and get to wear his civilian clothes again. He said he is enjoying all of the things they have to offer there--a well-stocked PX; reliable, high-speed internet; phones with clear connections that give them American rates on their phone cards (luckily I had emailed him all the codes for his new calling card so he was able to use it before he actually got it). He also said that they each get 3 real beers a day and real food, and he is just loving it. As he got off the phone, he was headed to the beach for jet skiing. I'm so happy he is getting a chance to have some fun and relax; he deserves it, as do all of our soldiers. We got to talk for 27 minutes--the longest I have gotten to talk to him since March, and it was so nice to get the usual business out of the way and finally have a real conversation with him. I'm looking forward to getting daily calls for the next few days--I'm on cloud nine!
14) To the wife that refuses to write her husband until he writes her. I have a similar problem with my husband who has sent me only 2 letters in the over four months that he has been gone, (whereas I write him just about every day). I have just explained to him that even if he doesn't like to write, that it's a big help to morale over here--and in every letter I send, I remind him to write, even if it's just a short paragraph. He assures me that he has written 3 letters since this explanation. I've also sent my husband a mini tape recorder so that he has another option if he doesn't feel like putting pen to paper. I know that receiving my mundane letters helps to keep his spirits up, and keeping him positive will help to keep him safer over there. A positive attitude (on both fronts) might also help him to write more...
15) We finally got a call from our son, Saber Platoon - G Troop (Fort Hood) in Tikrit. (First call since mid-April, last letter in July.) We keep up with him through his wife whom he calls about twice a week. They are getting hot meals, a little more rest this week, and he asked us not to send any more "junk food because I'll eat it." He did ask for canned ravioli and more books to read; said he's read about 30 books since he's been there. I sent a camera especially for photos of himself and his platoon and his housing. He said he would take pictures and send it right back.
It was so good to hear his voice. When he left in March, we told him to always call his wife first - because we did not know how often he could make the calls. But the past 3 weeks we have been aching to hear his voice. When friends asked how they could pray for Eric and us, I would tell them, "I just need to hear his voice again." Since April 15th, we had only heard his voice on a sound-bite on a national public radio interview with his platoon. Praise God, He does answer prayers. My middle son even knew about the expected call through Eric's wife and kept me home all day so I would not miss it. The letters and phone calls are so important for the soldiers and the families!!
16) I received my frist call from my finace in Alpha Troop 1-10 CAV from Ft Hood Texas on Thursday the 7th. He sounded really good and the connection made it seem like he was sitting in the next room. He said the living conditions are a lot better and he has air conditioning, tv, video games and a lot of other things that make life a little more tolerable. I also got a letter today, Friday the 8th... it was dated July 19th from him. He talked a lot about missing the simple things of home but says not to worry because things are a lot better now. All he really was asking for was some of those little battery operated fans, more batteries, reading material, socks and undies, and some of his fave snacks. Aside from that he just talked about missing family and friends and to keep the letters coming because it gives them a lot of hope!
17) My grandson with the B/1-10 CAV called my daughter last week, he seem to be in high spirits, maybe because he just made sergeant, and was celebrating his 21st birthday, and he had a DVD player in the mail. She still has to buy the voltage converter, he mention he didn't have a cigarette lighter in his Bradley. He wants us to send him only funny movies. He's always had a funny sense of humor. His mother asked him what have you be doing lately and his reply was, " Oh I have just been here sunbathing in my kevlar and flippers". I received a call also recently around 11:30pm his time. He sound rather tired, said "they were getting ready to do something". He thanked me for the crystal lite drink mix I sent him, he drank that all in one day, also the mister and fans helped alot, since it's been around 130's there. Say's he can't wait to come home and will not complain about the heat here (104 in Las Vegas). Been training the new Iraqi army he said, "so they can defend their own country and against terrorists from Saddam's regime." When he was real young he remembers watching Desert Storm on T.V. and never would of thought he would be in Iraq, being a part of the group that finished it off and helped bring a new better Iraq to the people. God Bless Our Troops.

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