This page www.a-1-8.org: /Docs/activeunit/01-13hearing.php last modified on April 12, 2005 10:42 AM
| A-1-8 Chapter of the 4th Infantry Division |
Active Unit News
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
Click to Send us your news
=======================
Unit Issues Mail Guidance for Redeploying Troops
By Staff Sgt. Nate Orme, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Jan. 9, 2004 -- The Army's 3rd Personnel Command has issued guidance to redeploying troops about redirecting their mail for a smooth, timely transition to their home-bound addresses. The unit manages postal operations in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater, and has provided procedures to be followed by soldiers, mail clerks and commanders to ensure mail is properly channeled.
The Defense Department is in the process of bringing home 130,000 service members and pieces of equipment numbering in the tens of thousands from Iraq, replacing them with 110,000 soldiers and Marines and fresh equipment.
Service members heading home can help to minimize the logistical strain on the military mail system that the redeployment presents. So troops leaving the theater should tell family, friends and correspondents to stop sending them mail, said Lt. Col. Robert Howard, 3rd PERSCOM's postal operations director.
"The military mail system will be taxed heavily during this redeployment period," he said. "On an average, each soldier redeploying will be mailing out two to three personal packages home. The reduction in redirected mail will only benefit the overall military mail system."
Howard also said the same standards apply to deploying service members entering the OIF theater. Redeploying service members need to complete change-of-address cards. One card is retained by the servicing mail clerk, and one goes to the servicing Army Post Office, or APO. Service members also should notify all correspondents — family, friends, financial institutions, periodical mailers etc. — to stop sending their mail into the theater at least 15 days, and preferably 30 days, before their units move from base camps to their redeployment sites. They will not be able to receive mail at the sites; however, postal services will be available to send mail.
Unit commanders should inform home station mail rooms to stop forwarding mail to the theater APO and start holding it for returning service members. Unit mail clerks in theater will provide the supporting theater APO with the unit's forwarding home address. If mail clerks receive mail for people already redeployed, they will forward it to the address on the change-of-address card.
Mail will be forwarded for 60 days by either the APO or a forward mail clerk. Ideally, that would be 30 days before the individual's redeployment date and 30 days after, officials said. After 60 days, mail is either returned to sender or disposed of in accordance with the DoD Postal Manual.
Service members mailing items from the theater before redeploying should mark parcels and letters "MPS" for free delivery of nonvaluable items. There is no reimbursement for lost or damaged items marked "MPS." Service members should insure items of value or use registered mail, officials said.
Items such as expended or unexpended explosives, certain war souvenirs and ammunition can't be mailed. Mailing military equipment such as rucksacks and duffel bags also is prohibited.
The maximum for packages mailing is 70 pounds, and they must measure no more than 138 inches in combined length and girth. When mailing to an APO address, the country name, such as Germany or Italy, should not be used in the address.
Officials said service members with questions should contact their unit mail clerk, their servicing APO or the 3rd PERSCOM Postal Operations Directorate.
(Army Staff Sgt. Nate Orme is assigned to 3rd Personnel Command public affairs.)
======================
T-Shirts - New Designs Available
www.TsTogo.com has recently added our new "Priceless" shirt paying tribute to the 4TH Infantry Division on the capture of Saddam Hussein, along with a few other designs - such as an "Operation Iraqi Freedom, 4th Infantry Division" design. Of course ALL S/S T's are only $5.plus shipping and handling. And, of course, the popular, "I Hate Sand and Camels" design is still available. Thank you for all your continued support and please help to spread the messages our shirts provide by listing us on your emails. We do not belong to any search engines and are primarily for the use and support of the families and friends of our Armed Forces. Any questions may be sent directly to jllaxton@aol.com.
=======================
59 Years Ago Today - 4ID in Luxembourg:
13 January 1944 - D+222
The enemy continued to employ patrols and harassing artillery to guard its defensive organization. A friendly patrol entered Wasserbillig and proceeded to the junction of the Sauer-Moselle rivers without encountering enemy opposition.
Thanks to Philippe Cornil at www.revive-it.com.
=======================
What Our Families Are Hearing From Our Soldiers in Iraq:
1) About the dog tags with your soldier's pictures on them. There was a gentleman who had a booth right inside the lobby area of the Clear Creek PX at Ft. Hood that was making these. He also sets up his booth at the 4th ID PX when he's not at the Clear Creek PX. I just saw him recently at the 4th ID PX but I'm not sure if he's still there. I would just keep checking both places.
Many of you reported on the site above at Fort Hood. For others, another reader sent the following web site as an option: http://www.image-n-that.org/
2) I haven't heard from my husband for over a week now, but being that before that he was in Tikrit with access to a computer and telephone I got quite spoiled being able to talk to him 2 times a day on the phone and usually a few times on the computer also. My husband is in A/ 1-10 CAV and being a mortar crewman they had a set schedule with working through their nights shooting illumination and harrassment rounds that left their day times open to talk with families. It was very nice, and it was the most communication we got throughout our deployment thus far. 1-10 CAV has moved so very many times throughout their deployment, I was happy that they were there in Tikrit and working hard through Saddam's capture and the weeks beyond. Sadly, my husband's back in the dirt somewhere near Balad, and was not thrilled to leave the oppulant palace and it's MWR benifits and the good chow. Soon, though we will all look foreward to our loved ones no longer living in dirt, conex boxes, or what not, but will be home again for us all to appreciate and love. We are in the homestretch now..........Yippee!!!!
3) Hi Bob, spoke with my friend in E/704th yesterday. His 5 days of convalescent leave ends today and he flies back to Walter Reed for a reevaluation of his leishmaniasis and then a plane ride back to Iraq. He said he had a great time with the folks in eastern Washington. On Saturday one of his old high school buddies showed up at the house with a bunch of old veterans (some WWII even) from the local VFW. They were all holding flags standing knee deep in snow and he was on the local news there. His mom said he was wearing the T-shirt I sent him for Christmas that says "I hate sand and camels" which I got from a link in your update! I'm so glad he was able to see his family and friends back home because when he gets back for good we're gonna party in AZ and Vegas!
4) YESTERDAY WHILE SHOPPING, I CAME ACROSS A SOLDIER IN THE NATIONAL GUARD IN SOUTH DAKOTA. BECAUSE OUR SON IS IN IRAQ WITH THE 704 I FELT A STRONG URGE TO GO SHAKE THIS MAN'S HAND AND THANK HIM FOR HIS SERVICE. THIS SOLDIER STOOD PROUD, LOOKED INTO MY FACE, SQUEEZED MY HAND AND THANKED ME BACK. HE SHARED HE SERVED IN IRAQ AND RETURNED IN SEPTEMBER. WOW!! WHAT AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO GO UP TO A TOTAL STRANGER AND HAVE THEM KNOW HOW MUCH I APPRECIATED THEM. TO ALL OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN ALL BRANCHES OF SERVICE - THANK YOU!! ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED BEFORE OUR CURRENT SOLDIERS.
5) Bob, I was heartened by the report on Sgt. Allen, of Leitchfield, Kentucky, who made the arrest of the Saddam loyalist who tried to shoot him last month. Is that poetic justice, or what? I will sail on this one all day! Thank you.
6) I thought this was kind of a neat little tid-bit to pass on. My brother is with HHB-3/29FA in Samarra. Well, our Dad works on the ships/boats that come through the port of Corpus Christi, so needless to say, it was rough on him last year when my brother got his orders to Iraq because my Dad saw hundreds of tanks, missles, Humvees, etc come through his dock going to Iraq. And ironically, most of it was from Ft. Carson where my brother is stationed. Well, I spoke to Dad yesterday, and guess what! Now he sees transport ships heading out to Iraq to bring back the same equipment and our 4th ID soldiers. So, to hear him sound excited about working on those ships to make sure they're in tip-top shape to bring it all back home to us just made my day! (Editor's Note: That's the kind of news I like to read, too - made my day to know redeployment is getting closer and closer).
7) I had my 3rd and 5th graders write letters to the soldiers in my son's unit (B Co 4ID 1-22 Inf Bn) and his sister-in-law (HHC 64th CSG). The letters were charming as only young children can write them - I did not edit or proofread them because I think part of the fun is reading or trying to read them. I told the students to write the way they might talk to someone, telling them about their hobbies, favorite foods and
movies and sports. When the children get letters back - they are truly excited. My son's sister-in-law wrote back to one of the students in my computer class: "Thank you so much for the wonderful letter. You and my husband would get along great - he is also a big Yankee fan...It isn't very bad here in Iraq. I am at a camp that is named for a pilot who was shot down during the Gulf War. I was your age during that war. We made time capsules which we got back at our Senior Banquet when we graduated. It was really neat to see how much your life changes over a couple of
years...My husband is also in the Army and will be here in January, so my parents have been taking care of our children (2 and 1 year olds). I miss them so very much. I am thankful that they are both too young to remember that mommy and daddy had to leave." History does repeat itself - and these youngsters have a chance to
remember writing to soldiers during this war with Iraq and know that they made a difference in someone's life by sharing a bit of themselves and learning about how dedicated our soldiers are.
8) Wanted to write about my husband who is with HHC 1-68 - while the emails and
phone calls have been coming with more consistency lately the best thing of all happened over the weekend when we were able to take part in a Video Teleconference with him. This was the first time, aside from photos, that he was able to see our daughter who was 10 months when he left. I cried for the majority of the time just so happy to see the two of them interacting, playing peek a boo and giving hugs. She has asked for him non stop since then and while I was worried at one time of the readjustment period for her I know that it will be easier on her than us. We are looking forward to his return and the time that we can spend as a family.
9) Hi, my husband called yesterday morning to tell me that he had tested positive for Leishmaniasis and would be coming to Walter Reed for treatment. He's in B-Troop 1/10 CAV. I don't like the fact that he has this parasite, but I am glad that I will be able to see him so soon! He said he's so excited to see me that he hasn't been able to sleep since he found out a couple of days ago that he'll be coming home! ... From what my husband said, everyone is doing well and getting anxious to return home now that the end of this deployment is finally in sight!
10) I'm enclosing part of my son's last email. He's with C. Co. 4th ENG BN in Kirkuk. "Today was pretty crazy. We were on our way to a meeting at a different base and we saw an IED in one of the roads. Luckily, we saw it before anyone got hit. But, the best part is we saw the guy on the other side of the burm that was gonna detonate the bomb. We were able to catch him and detain him and none of us got hurt. That was pretty awesome." Just wanted to share that, I'm so proud of all of out soldiers and know God is watching over them too.
11) For the lady that wants the dog tags with the pictures on them... You can go to the Apache Arts and Crafts center on Ft Hood to have them done. I believe the cost is $5. Also, I wanted to comment about the 1st Cav getting ready (and some already gone) to deploy. 4 ID and Cav have a "bit" of a rivalry around here as we all know, but right now that doesn't matter. We are all one family and need to help each other as such. The families of 4 ID are now pros at this deployment and should help the ones that are now facing what we have been living. I still remember (and have) that pit in my stomach from when my Husband left and have dealt with and survived MANY hardships since he left. That's the key, I HAVE SURVIVED, and am so much stronger now. I know that the families whose year is just beginning, have a range of emotions right now, but I hope they know that they AREN'T alone. Even though our Soldiers are getting ready to come home, we won't forget where we were and we (I am sure I am not the only one feeling this way) are here to help you now that it is your Soldiers who are deploying. We can get back to that rivalry thing later! :)
(Editor's Note: Point well taken - let's help the 1st Cav and other units who are going over there so they don't have to learn the hard way like we did. We're all on the same team of good guys/gals. And the rivalry will continue once we all get back together again....)
12) I just got to talk to my husband! He's with HHC 3rdBCT out of Fort Carson. He's in Balad....... They're all really excited to be coming home finally! He said the morale has gone up for most of the soldiers. He's doing well, he said after being out there for this long, he really doesn't have too much to complain about (except not being home). He said he's working a lot, but they all want to get their jobs done, so they can be on their way back home. I've got a husband and a lot of friends over there and I'm so proud of each and every one of them, not to mention the countless others who sacrifice so much for our freedom. They are, without a doubt, the greatest military in the world. God bless our soldiers. I pray for all of their safety daily.
13) My husband is the commander of HHB 3/29 FA. I would like to honor the soldiers in our Battery with a statement he made in our most recent FRG letter.
"Your soldiers continue to tackle the challenges of a confusing and changing battle with an exceptional professionalism and competence. They have truly earned my respect."
===========================
Families Sharing R&R Moments:
1) Wanted to share an R&R moment with the readers. My son is a medic with the 704DSB. He has been supporting the 1-10 Cav and he said he loves it (thanks for the story on the Buffalo Soldiers). We picked him up from the airport on 1/4 for his 2 week stay. It was quite a journey considering he left Iraq on 1/1/04. We greeted him without fanfare as I feared we might be overcome with emotion, and we were. My soldier said even though the trip was grueling with stops in Cypress, Frankfurt, Baltimore, Philadelphia and finally home to Massachusetts, everyone was so nice to him along the way. He jumped right back into his old routine of visiting friends and family and hanging out with his favorite cousins and pals. We did have a welcome home party for him on Saturday and it was nice to have everyone come to one place to save him the time and hassle of running around to visit everyone. Now that the party is done he can spend this week resting and trying to get his head right to return to Iraq. He has shared many stories with us about Sadaam's palace and the things he has seen and done. He said some of the Iraqi's are very cool and treat them well.
The one thing he does speak about over and over is the heat in Iraq. He said he is so glad they will be out of there before it starts cooking again. They love receiving magazines, newspapers and books because he said they read a lot for entertainment and share all the stuff they receive. We are truly blessed to have him for this time and relieved to know when he returns to Iraq his time will be very short. Go Patriots!!!
2) WELL, HE GOT US! No advance notice. We were asleep in bed. My husband shook me awake and said,"Look over here." And there was my son (HHC/1-67 AR) dressed in his BDUs standing beside the bed. What a shock. I thought I must be dreaming. I still feel that way two days later. It is very surreal. Like I am going to wake up and find I just dreamed it. We are enjoying each others company and he is sharing all kinds of stories. He flew from Balad to Kuwait to Baltimore to Phoenix to Reno. Only took 5 days!
3) I just wanted to share my R&R moment from the past two weeks. My husband (124th Signal BN) came home on December 27th so we were able to celebrate Christmas and New Years with him. We have a three and a half year old son and a sixteen month old daughter so I was able to curb off Christmas until my husband's return without them knowing anything was different. These last 17 days (Yes! 17!) were the best days of my life. We spent time both as a family and as a couple and both were much needed. Our marriage has definitely grown from spending nine months apart as we have learned so much about each other (it sounds ironic, but it's true). My husband has matured as a man, husband, father, and soldier and it touches my heart to even think about it. I, too, have matured as a wife, mother, and woman and our new found maturity compliments each other. We spent hours just sitting around and talking - all the while each of us hanging onto the other one's every word. He had lots of stories to tell and experiences to share and I had many stories to share with him as well. Missing nine months of our little ones' lives was very painful for him, but I made sure to take lots of pictures for him and email them as well as put them in the snail mail. He hated to have to go back, yet at the same time he wanted to get back over there so he can hurry up and re-deploy back home. Our children had no problems adjusting to him being back home and so far both are taking his absence well. I love my husband - we are best friends. We had the best time of our lives during the last two weeks and although it was painful to see him leave again, I wouldn't have traded our time together for anything. There is so much more that I could say about our time together, but I will stop.
4) I was very fortunate to have been able to spend Christmas and New Years with my boyfriend (1-8 HHC out of Fort Carson). He arrived a day after my birthday, but I was just so happy to get to see him I didn’t care. All his friends were pretty shocked to see him (I managed to keep his homecoming a secret since I didn’t know until that morning that he was coming home). He saw his god daughter for the first time and we spent New Years in Las Vegas. It went by so fast, it didn’t’ even seem like he was here for 2 weeks. Even though I prepared myself for the day he had to go back, it was very difficult to say goodbye. At least this time it’s only for 3 months and not 8. God Bless Our Troops!!!!!!!
========================
Redeployment Tips
Like everything I include in these updates, the information that will be included in this section is what makes sense to me to report. If I agree with something you send, I'll try to include it here. If you send something I don't agree with, I'll not report it. And just because I don't use your input doesn't mean I disagree with it, maybe I just don't have the space to include it or choose not to address the topic you bring up.
There is nothing official or scientific or guaranteed about any of these tips that will be carried over the next few weeks as we come to the end of our deployment. If it helps in some way, that is great. If you disagree with what is here, that's okay, too - I'm not going to use this as a forum for debates. If you have experience with long deployments and the readjustment period that comes at the end of the deployment, I would like to hear your ideas and tips that others could benefit from. I'll also include some tips that come in from official sources and pass on schedules of redeployment meetings at the various locations where our families are located.
Here are our first tips - from wives who have been through deployment of their soldiers before:
1) I have been through numerous redeployments with my husband from the 401st MP Company. My best advice is to "let go and have fun". Yes! they've been gone a long time. Yes, you've been in control a long time. Yes, it's been a long time. But, let go of what you think things should be like, what you think he should be doing, and what you think will happen and just have fun getting to know him again. Go on lots of dates and let the past stay in the past. Whatever happened before he left happened and you can't change it. So let it go and start over. Act like honeymooners again!
2) Before my husband came home from Desert Storm the one thing I remember a Vietnam vet's wife telling me was let my husband take the lead in what or even if he
wants to talk about things he did, things he saw, etc. Don't push it. Let him make the decision on this and don't be hurt if he chooses to talk to someone else who may understand better than I ever could what he went through. This is what I plan on doing this time as well. He knows he can talk to me but he also knows that I
understand if he doesn't want to. (Great advice - and veterans many times will talk to other veterans before they'll talk to family members about bad experiences).
3) I think most and foremost if everyone remembers to take it slow and keep the lines of communication open. Both the soldier and the spouse has to be willing to accept the fact that we will all have changed and grown in some way or another over the deployment year.
In my research for redeployment advice, I remember one thing I read that cautioned against getting into a pissing contest with your soldier as to who suffered most during the deployment. WE ALL SUFFERED thru this in different ways but it will be in the past so don't dwell on it, it won't matter anymore, move forward, count your blessings and be thankful your soldier is home safe. Just like having a baby... once you lay eyes on that sweet face all the pain of labor is erased from you mind.
====================
Back to Active Unit Main News Page