Merry Christmas

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. While we are relieved to have our son home from Iraq for Christmas, we are mindful of those who are overseas and our prayers are with them.

Mark was home last year but a pending deployment to Baghdad was in the room with us. Everyone is much more relaxed today. No talk of a redeployment.

A good friend of ours who had a story published in USA Today Friday was the focus of The Florida Times-Union Christmas edition. I've attached a link on the sidebar.

War memorial is full

This is from Kevin Maurer from the Fayetteville Observer:

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Wolf Amacker can tell a story about almost every paratrooper whose name is etched into the 82nd Airborne Division’s memorial to the war on terror.

He can tell you about a woman helicopter pilot shot down over Fallujah. He knows how a rifleman died in the mountains of Afghanistan, how a soldier jumped into a canal in Iraq to save his buddies trapped in a Humvee and never surfaced.

When Amacker dedicated the memorial in 2005, three of the sides were blank. Today, the monument is full.

“We’re out of room,” Amacker said. “I really thought it would be big enough.”

Some of the division’s former and retired sergeant majors and officers, led by Amacker, are trying to raise money to expand the monument.

Eighty-nine Fort Bragg soldiers —more than 60 in Iraq alone — have been killed in 2007. Three times in 2007, seven or more 82nd soldiers died in Iraq in a single incident. The division has lost more soldiers this year than in any year since the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq began, according to 82nd officials.

The memorial — a 26,000-pound granite column — is located behind the 82nd Airborne museum on Fort Bragg. “In memory of the Paratroopers who gave their lives in support of the Global War on Terrorism” is written across the front.

USA Today

A good friend of ours, Madeleine Tavares, had a piece published in yesterday's USA Today called "As my kids serve, I feel pride and panic." Her son is in Army in Iraq and her daughter is in the Peace Corps in Kenya. I've posted the link in the sidebar on the right side of the blog.

Madeleine organized our Military Support Network here. It is made up of mostly parents of Marines and soldiers. We meet occasionally for coffee or drinks and swap stories. It has been a big morale booster for all of us....and her story yesterday kind of sums it up.

A request from the "other war"

Letter from Jesse Koehler, FOB Hades, 82nd Airborne

As you may know, one of our missions in Afghanistan is to win the hearts and minds of the people. The United States being in the Middle East gives us the chance to show the Islamic community what Americans are all about. It opens their eyes to see the compassion that we have as a society, not just for our own people but, for ALL people regardless of religious, political, or cultural views.

They see something more than what MTV or soap operas show them. We are asking for your assistance to help accomplish this mission.

If you would like to make a huge difference with something so small, here’s how. Our local elementary school needs 1st grade level reading material. Anything you can come up with would be greatly appreciated. Remember, the Afghani people are amazed by the simple things that we take for granted. So, sky’s the limit.

Our district sponsors a local soccer adult soccer team. These guys are extremely talented. It’s only a matter of time before they are in the World Cup. However, they could use some equipment to help make them elite amongst the districts in the province. Some of these guys have so much love for the game and play without shoes because they are so poor. Even used uniforms would be welcomed with great admiration.

Again, anything you can think of would be more than what they have now. We just had an new orphanage open up. Many children become homeless either to illnesses, unsafe living conditions, or the Taliban killing their parents for taking pro-government jobs. The very people who risk their lives to help make Afghanistan a better place are targeted for not allowing the Taliban to suppress them or their children.

Before International intervention, these orphans would go homeless. They would either be recruited by the Taliban or starve to death. Now, we can offer a community for these young boys. However, we need to get them clothed this winter. As I mentioned in the newsletter, Afghanistan can get down to 30 below in some places.

Obviously, most of Afghanistan does not have central heating. At best, families can hover around an old small pot belly stove. That is if they can afford any type of wood. Unfortunately, wood is considered a luxury. I understand that the cost for shipping such items can be unforgiving. If I could recommend a group participation. That way, no one person will have to take the blunt of the cost. I really do appreciate anything you all can do.

GOD bless you all.

Jesse Koehler , HHC 508th STB 82nd FOB

SHANK (PAL) APO AE 09354

Jesse Koehler

HHC 508th STB 82nd

FOB SHANK (PAL)

APO AE 09354

Off topic: Hopeless romantic

My oldest son Mike beat the cold front and headed to Key West for his birthday with his girl friend Tara and his brother Mark. On Saturday, at sunset on Mallory Square, he got down on one knee and proposed to Tara. The crowd around him was chanting "Say, yes. Say, yes." She started crying and, of course, said yes. Soon we will have another Mrs. Middlebrook in the family.

He called his mother later and summed up the weekend:

Great birthday;
Getting married;
Jaguars beat the Steelers.

All-in-all, a memorable weekend. What a romantic.

Time flies

Dec. 15 is always a big day for us. My oldest son Mike was born on a snowy day in Williamsburg, Virginia 26 years ago.

Last year, as we prepared to celebrate his birthday, we received a call from his brother Mark. We had just returned from the Green Ramp at Ft. Bragg seeing Mark arrive home from Iraq with the rest of his battalion. He had arrived six days earlier.

The phone call? At formation, they were given a pre-deployment notice. They were going back in less than three weeks, this time to Baghdad.

So today, we celebrate Mike's birthday but we are not answering any phone calls from Ft. Bragg.

Moon over Iraq

SPC Mark weighs in with another post:

The guy next to me leaned to my ear and said, "One
minute."

I turned to my left and repeated it to the
man next me.

Sat forward and strained to untangle
myself from the cargo net on which I was sitting. Reached
down and opened the feed cover tray on my M-249 SAW.
Ran my hand across the feed tray and grabbed the charging
handle. With a little force, I locked the bolt the
rear. Fumbled in the darkness and finally grabbed the
belt of ammo hanging from its pouch. It was so dark
my eyes may as well have been closed. Blind and
alone surrounded by my fellow paratroopers, I loaded my
light machine gun. Slapped the cover shut and placed
the weapon on safe.

The bird banked hard and shuddered back and forth. I
could feel the rapid descent in my stomach and then
through the noise someone yelled "THIRTY SECONDS!''

Adrenaline shot through my body. I took a deep
breath, looked up and asked God to spare me. The
bird seemingly crash landed and hit with a solid
jolt...

"GO! GO! GO!''

Guys are falling over each other. Blind and
confused, I stood and turned toward the ramp. On my
feet, my body strained from the heavy load. I began to
run off the helicopter.- everything in slow
motion.

I couldn't tell whether the loud thump was the
chop of the bird or the heavy beat of my own heart.
When I got to the the ramp, I was stopped dead in my
tracks from what I saw.

In that short hour on the helicopter, I had been
teleported to another world. I was no longer in the
desert but in a lush jungle. Ten-foot tall grass
being fanned out in every direction from the massive
rotor blades. A brilliantly lit full moon
illuminated everything from the clear sky, giving it a sort of silver lining.

I stepped off the ramp and dropped straight to my knees.
The ramp, which I totally misjudged, was at least two feet off the ground.

Under several layers of thick grass were a couple inches of water and, in a half second,
my boots and knees were already soaked.

"AHH!" I thought.

For a second, I thought I was in Vietnam in a rice paddy. Picking myself
up, It started to run off at a 45-degree angle from the ramp. All the men were falling into a half moon around the tail of the aircraft. Found my spot and crashed in the mud. Extended the tripod on my weapon and flipped my night vision down over my eyes.

The bird throttled hard and the wind and grass and
dust whipped violently. In an instant
the bird was gone. All was quiet. The grass stood
back up and I disappearred. Breathing heavily and nervously. Time slowed as a bead of
sweat rolled down my forehead.

With a blink, I look down at the beer I'm holding in hand as a drop of condensation rolls over my fingers. The wind starts to blow and the cold moisture a chills my face. With a deep
breath, I look skyward at the full moon looking back at
me. I peer into the clear starlight sky over Ft.
Bragg, N.C., blinking slowly.

With another deep breath, I lower my head and turn back to the barracks, beer in hand.

I can still smell the grass.

Off topic: The one percenters go to Washington

On Wednesday, Gayle attended a reception for artists who had decorated ornaments for one of the many trees in the White House. It was our first - and probably only - invitation to a White House function. First Lady Laura Bush chose National Parks as the theme this year and we have two here in Jacksonville. The superintendent asked Gayle to do the ornament for Fort Caroline National Memorial.

Mark was the first choice as the guest but he had to jump out of a perfectly good airplane at Ft. Bragg Wednesday and couldn't make it. I was the guest of last resort.

With all of its history, the White House can be a very intimidating place. Wolf Blitzer from CNN was interviewing the President upstairs in the Map Room while we were there and the leaders from Israel and Palestine had been in the Rose Garden earlier. Yikes.

The picture below was taken by acclaimed wildlife artist Michael Glenn Monroe who happened to be walking by with his family. He did the Holiday in the National Parks booklet artwork for the White House. His work can be found at www.mikemonroeart.com

At the north entrance to the White House.

Looking out from the State Dining Room

It's up there somewhere.

The Fort Caroline National Memorial ornament

First Lady Laura Bush welcomes the artists, decorators and their guests.

The Soldier's Wife

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette has put together a very thoughtful multi-media story that follows the family of an Arkansas National Guard soldier during his 15-month tour in Iraq. It's called The Soldier's Wife and it is referenced in two places on the blog sidebar. The photographs are very, very personal and say much about how much families must endure during a deployment.

Black Friday

I'm not sure when the media termed the biggest shopping day of the year as Black Friday. I don't remember that term when I was wandering the floors of the newsroom way back in my first career.

At any rate, 23 years ago today at eight minutes past Thanksgiving Day, our airborne trooper arrived in this world. Little did we know then.

In 1984 with Vietnam still fresh in our memories, I don't think we could have ever imagined the events of 9/11 and the wars that have followed. Or that we would ever have a son who went off to war.

But he his home now. And we are very grateful (and mindful of those who are still overseas).

So today he and his brothers are out doing their part to make sure retail sales are not so bleak. No Black Fridays here.

What do you give a soldier son who appears to have everything? This year it will be a hug and a "Thank God you are back!"

Military Appreciation Day

Sunday was Military Appreciation Day at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. We were lucky enough to have a few tickets to see the Jaguars take on the San Diego Chargers. There was the requisite flyover by four A-10 Thunderbolts and lots of fireworks.

The featured hometown hero was a soldier from the 82nd Airborne who sent a video message to the fans and his family from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

At halftime, 125 young men and women took the oath of enlistment for all branches of service administered by a general officer from White Sands, New Mexico. After the oath, Phil Stacey, of American Idol fame and a sailor himself, sang "Proud to be an American." Needless to say, Gayle and I were a bit overwhelmed.

As part of the ceremony, fans in six sections in the north end zone (left hand side of the picture) where we were sitting were to hold up cards on cue that would form a giant American flag. The stunt would take all of 60 seconds.

But the seven folks in the row ahead of us couldn't be bothered. About halfway through the song they bolted for the concession stands.

Gayle and I were both a bit incensed. After all, these 125 men and women, this was an important day. They deserved more than a dash for food.

A woman behind us tapped Gayle on the shoulder.

"They just don't get it."

She was right.

Her husband is a helicopter pilot who had just returned from Tikrit.

Still smiling

It's been a very busy week. Lots of meetings with cranky folks still reeling from the effects of last week's new moon. Normally by Friday, I'd be a little cranky as well.

But as I sat down at the computer, I noticed my deployment countdown calendar gathering dust on the bookshelf. Hadn't touched it two weeks. No reason to. And I had to smile.

The smiles are tempered with the notion that there are still thousands upon thousands of sons and daughters still overseas and thousands more going. Our military support group meets tonight at a local restaurant. We will toast the sons who are home and pray for the those who are there, have just left or are going.

If there is an upside to all of this, it is the truly remarkable and courageous people we have met in the last two years. God bless them all.

Coping strategy, number one

Getting through last 15 months with a son in Iraq wasn't easy. To help us get through it, we devised a couple of "coping" strategies to keep our minds off what we were seeing on TV. Here's the first one:
Her name is Olustee and she is a three-year old border collie (much younger in this picture). If you know anything about border collies, you know they are very busy dogs and not the best fit for everyone. But she is perfect for us. She is always eager for a romp in the yard. Because Gayle and I both work out of the house, we are always here and she is ready to play at a moment's notice. She is a great distraction.

Of course, when we got her, we were with the 99 percenters and the war was over there. She was the runt of an 11-pup litter and my oldest son has her sister, Bodie. Both dogs were so small when they arrived in Florida, we had to keep them in a covered pen for fear that they would fall prey to our neighborhood broad-winged hawk.



My airborne trooper is partial to our older pound puppy who never learned to play with people. She was two years old when we adopted her. She is very friendly malumute-German shepherd mix with a ferocious bark.



At any rate, whenever we felt a bit down, a thirty minute frisbee toss with Olustee would cheer up all concerned and we could move on.





Both dogs like to ride in trucks, especially new ones. But I don't think they were so lucky this time.

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. There is a chorus of voices today across the country who will pause to say "Thank you" to those who are serving, those who will serve and those who have served before us. Please join that chorus today and thank a veteran for all they have done for us.

I've attached a link on the Recently Read sidebar called "Wounds of War." It's a story about three Red Falcon soldiers who were wounded in a mortar attack 13 months ago. It's a sobering reminder about the meaning of Veterans Day.

Economic boomlet

Fayetteville, N.C., home to the 82nd Airborne Division, has been on hard times because the entire division has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for the better part of a year. After all, Ft. Bragg is a $4.5 billion a year economic engine for the city.

But 3rd Brigade is back and the Red Falcons, 1-325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, arrived Nov. 3.

So after 15 months on deployment, an amazing display of penned up, restrained consumer desire of thousands of soldiers was unleashed on Fayetteville and points near by last week. The targets of opportunity? XBoxes, HD televisions, and, of course, the pick-up trucks. And who can blame them.

But for all of us parents who believed it was the care packages, letters, and thoughts of loved ones that helped get them through deployment, think again. .....It was the dream of a new pick up truck.

Truck of choice for our trooper: 2008, extended cab, 4X4, GMC Sierra 1500 with a Z71 package. It's big enough to carry him and his whole platoon. :)

To do, don't do lists

Everybody has to-do lists. But with the arrival of our airborne trooper back to the U.S., our daily to-do list has changed dramatically:

• Don't have to keep a countdown calendar (On Oct. 31, the calendar showed he had 71, 63, 57 and 12 days to go based on what we had been hearing. In fact he had three days left);
• Don't have to keep a clock set to Baghdad time;
• Don't have to watch CNN;
• Don't have to check about a dozen different Iraq websites;
• Don't have to read Stars & Stripes or the Fayetteville Observor on a daily basis;
• Don't have to write a daily letter or make a weekly video newsletter;
• No more shopping for care packages;
• No more manning the telephone seven days a week;
• Don't have to check Baghdad weather (It was always hot);
• No more cruising around Baghdad via Google Earth;
• Don't have to compare Baghdad news stories with a Baghdad street map.

In short, we have a 12-month vacation ahead of us and we are much relieved.

Family get-togethers

Bravo, Delta and elements of HHC companies arriving at the Green Ramp on Saturday.

At Sports USA Sunday afternoon

To paraphrase an TV advertisement (I hate doing this, but it works):

Jacksonville Jaguar jerseys: $80

Beer, wings, onion rings, cheeseburgers, etc.: $85

First family get-together without a deployment in the future: priceless.

We have been fortunate to have several family gatherings in the past, but for the last two years there has always been the specter of an overseas deployment sitting in the room with us. Last year, before Mark's unit was scheduled to redeploy to the States, there had been persistent Joe rumors about being extended. When they finally arrived in the States, they had been here for six days when they were told they were heading back. Block leave was cut short and they took off on Jan. 4.

At least he was home for the holidays.

This year, no rumors. So we are allowing ourselves to relax and knowing he is going to be around for awhile.

But we know that for every ounce of euphoria we feel, there is a pound of anxiety being felt by a family whose son has been sent back overseas.