Anyone you know in "The big Sandbox"
- Thread starter PDshooter
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Standing Wolf
Member in memoriam
War is hell, I guess.
Hardtarget
Member
I had one friend over there. His time was six months but he is home now. Told his wife he was not in Iraq...told me that in fact he was...he just didn't want her to worry. I don't think it worked. He made it home O.K. Wish it could be the same for all the rest.
Mark.
Mark.
OEF_VET
Member
I've got quite a few friends over there. From what I've heard, the 101st isn't due to come home until January or February. A few of my buddies have been injured, none too seriously, and luckily none have been killed.
Frank
Frank
duckfoot
member
yes
Moparmike
Member
If war is that kind of Hell, where do I sign up?
S_O_Laban
Member
Yes, nephew in AF, saw him just last week for the first time in about a year and a half. He did tell me that he ran in and out of Bagdad airport delivering fuel and did take enemy fire while doing it. Of course this was not what he told any of us, we thought he was in a country close by for support ops. Great kid and I'm very pleased he made it back, as I also hope and pray the rest of our troops make it back.
PAshooter
Member
A fellow who's a good friend and coworker is over there at the moment. He's a reservist who was activated, spent a couple of months training and staging, and then shipped over. He's a good man and a patriot. Thought y'all might like to hear directly from him... the views expressed are entirely his own:
"It was good to hear from you. Things are getting better here slowly, but surely. We have 14 air conditioners installed and operational. There are more on order, but we're much better off than we were. Many of us sleep on the roof. There's a ladder up the back of the building. That's how we get up and down. We can see the runways and taxiways at the airport from the roof of our building. The planes and helicopters fly right over our heads on the way in and out, which makes it difficult to sleep at times.
"We're trying to get out of Baghdad in September. We still need to go back through Doha to get our vehicles and equipment to the port, but we could be back in the Sep/Oct time-frame. We will go on Block Leave for about two weeks, and then return to the unit to await our equipment and clean up. Our orders are for 365 days, which started 4 Feb, so it's possible we could still be on Active duty into the first of next year.
"We only get 30 minutes of computer time every other day. We only have three computers hooked up to the internet for about 450 personnel. I've started typing up my messages in a Word Document and then sending them out the next day. That way I don't waste valuable time composing messages during my 30 minutes.
"It's incredible how much we've been through in the past 2 and a-half months. It seems like we've been here a lot longer.
"Thanks for your prayers on our behalf. Please continue. We're still losing soldiers every day. Some of my guys have heard gunfire while out on Collection Missions, but so far we've been very fortunate. It's really depressing to see the lack of focus from the president on down. It seems that as far as he's concerned, this thing is over and these losses are "acceptable". Some of us think it's time to get the Rangers and Special Ops guys back over here who are trained to deal with this stuff and finish the job.
"When we were in Talil, near An Nasiriyah, we could see the temple to the Moon God in Ur, where Abraham was from. We visited the site and an Iraqi tour guide took us through and gave some of the history. They actually believe they've found the house where Abraham lived and have reconstructed it as it was. Now that we're in Baghdad, we're not too far from Babylon. I hope to make it there as well before we get back. Because of the current heightened state of alert, it may be awhile before it's considered safe enough to make the trip. Some of our guys went last Sunday.
"Last I heard, we've had 45+ straight days of temps over 100 degrees. Many times during the course of the day it gets between 110 and 120.
"Well, I have more messages to compose, so I'll sign off for now. Take care and drop a line when you get a chance."
Keep them all in your prayers.
"It was good to hear from you. Things are getting better here slowly, but surely. We have 14 air conditioners installed and operational. There are more on order, but we're much better off than we were. Many of us sleep on the roof. There's a ladder up the back of the building. That's how we get up and down. We can see the runways and taxiways at the airport from the roof of our building. The planes and helicopters fly right over our heads on the way in and out, which makes it difficult to sleep at times.
"We're trying to get out of Baghdad in September. We still need to go back through Doha to get our vehicles and equipment to the port, but we could be back in the Sep/Oct time-frame. We will go on Block Leave for about two weeks, and then return to the unit to await our equipment and clean up. Our orders are for 365 days, which started 4 Feb, so it's possible we could still be on Active duty into the first of next year.
"We only get 30 minutes of computer time every other day. We only have three computers hooked up to the internet for about 450 personnel. I've started typing up my messages in a Word Document and then sending them out the next day. That way I don't waste valuable time composing messages during my 30 minutes.
"It's incredible how much we've been through in the past 2 and a-half months. It seems like we've been here a lot longer.
"Thanks for your prayers on our behalf. Please continue. We're still losing soldiers every day. Some of my guys have heard gunfire while out on Collection Missions, but so far we've been very fortunate. It's really depressing to see the lack of focus from the president on down. It seems that as far as he's concerned, this thing is over and these losses are "acceptable". Some of us think it's time to get the Rangers and Special Ops guys back over here who are trained to deal with this stuff and finish the job.
"When we were in Talil, near An Nasiriyah, we could see the temple to the Moon God in Ur, where Abraham was from. We visited the site and an Iraqi tour guide took us through and gave some of the history. They actually believe they've found the house where Abraham lived and have reconstructed it as it was. Now that we're in Baghdad, we're not too far from Babylon. I hope to make it there as well before we get back. Because of the current heightened state of alert, it may be awhile before it's considered safe enough to make the trip. Some of our guys went last Sunday.
"Last I heard, we've had 45+ straight days of temps over 100 degrees. Many times during the course of the day it gets between 110 and 120.
"Well, I have more messages to compose, so I'll sign off for now. Take care and drop a line when you get a chance."
Keep them all in your prayers.
jhisaac1
Member
Yep. My old reserve unit (671st Eng. Co.) is over there now.
jhisaac1.
jhisaac1.
PDshooter
Member
My son in AF and I'm in the Guard.
I have friends who are in "1244th Trans" out of Illinois. Word has it that they will be home next year?.I hope!!!
I have friends who are in "1244th Trans" out of Illinois. Word has it that they will be home next year?.I hope!!!
DonP
Member
My boy is still over yonder
My youngest is over there in the 11th Signal Brigade.
He was up in "B" city during the push and wound up sleeping in one of Saddams palace balconies on guard duty.
He just got back from the grand driving tour of Iraq comm sites. Very tense back road travle these days, but the job isn't over yet. Lot's of prayer time the past six plus months.
Don P.
My youngest is over there in the 11th Signal Brigade.
He was up in "B" city during the push and wound up sleeping in one of Saddams palace balconies on guard duty.
He just got back from the grand driving tour of Iraq comm sites. Very tense back road travle these days, but the job isn't over yet. Lot's of prayer time the past six plus months.
Don P.
Edward429451
member
Kind of. Bout a year ago I got to meet very briefly a man at my friends who was shipping out the next day for Afghanistan. We were discussing M14's and he said he builds M21's and M25's for the military and is a sniper. Said he could teach me more than I wanted to know about the M1A, but had to ship out. Said we'll get together when he gets back.
I don't think the guy was pulling my leg. He had that quiet softspoken confidence that you don't see too often. I couldn't even tell he was military until he told me, cept for his extreme fitness and short hair. Real nice guy.
I don't think the guy was pulling my leg. He had that quiet softspoken confidence that you don't see too often. I couldn't even tell he was military until he told me, cept for his extreme fitness and short hair. Real nice guy.
CZ-100
Member
I always said thoses Air Force guy's had it good!!
Langenator
Member
A good friend of mine is over there in the 101st.
Another friend of mine, we were LTs in the same battalion in Germany, was killed in the fragging incident in the 101st early in the war.
CPT Chris Seifert. Rest in Peace
And in a couple of months when the Stryker Brigade deploys, I'll have a whole bunch of friends over there.
Another friend of mine, we were LTs in the same battalion in Germany, was killed in the fragging incident in the 101st early in the war.
CPT Chris Seifert. Rest in Peace
And in a couple of months when the Stryker Brigade deploys, I'll have a whole bunch of friends over there.
benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
Nephew is in the 82nd Airborne over there right now. I gathered he's been playing with some SOCOM types . . .
Lennyjoe
Member
Got about 20 or so good friends over there now. I Might be replacing one of them in a couple of months.
cookhj
Member
yup. probably about 30% of my college graduating class, and many more of my friends are over there or deployed to some other country. i was one of the lucky ones. well, i've been lucky, so far.
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