Shane Penny Blake and Drew sharing our crazy life with You!

The Boys.

2010-04-25T16:33:00.000-05:00

The boys have grown so much in the last three years. If you scroll down, you will see pictures of them. They are growing so fast. Blake will be 12 in a couple of weeks. So, yes, I am planning another birthday party. This year, money is a little tight, so we are going to have a pool party (if it doesn't rain) this coming Friday at my sister's house (FREE). I have been trying to come up with ideas.. a theme.. like the #12. Things that come in 12's (dozen) or a beach theme. Any ideas, send them my way.
Drew is six. He is finishing up kindergarten! Hard to believe. I have one going to first grade and one going to seventh grade. Atleast they will never compete in sports or anything else. I will only have one in college at a time.

Shane has been home almost two years now (Memorial Day). We have finally gotten used to him being at home now. It has been a tough two years but we are finally becoming a family. This year has been a good year so far! We are almost half way there. I am going to post a couple of new pictures of the boys so you can see how much they have grown.

Humility

2010-04-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

I finally was able to sync my old blog with my google account, so I am going to attempt to keep this updated. I love to journal and write down my thoughts. It is amazing how many people pay attention to facebook and things you post on there. I truly believe God wants to use me to post things I come across that may help others through difficult times. I think many of us are in difficult situations at some point or another but sometimes pride keeps us from allowing others to pray for us or help us with the problem. One of my faults is that sometimes I am brutally honest and I am open about my problems sometimes. Today at church, the preacher talked about this and I was again directed to the true source for answers to my problems - our problems. We must seek the face of God. He is the only one that can truly solve our problems. 1 Peter 5 Humble yourselves before God so that he may exalt you at the proper time. WOW!
Which came first the cross or the crown? We must take up our cross before he will give us the crown. As a new Christian, I truly believe that God wants us to be happy and our lives to be filled with joy. Today, I went to God in humility and pray that he will, in his time, release this burden from me. It is a God sized problem. I must wait on him. I must look to Him. I must die daily and live for Him alone.

It's been a while...

2010-03-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Wow. I have thought about starting the blog back and I never realized it had been almost three years since the last post. So much has happened since then!!
The last three years have not been that great, but let me tell you 2010 has been a great year!!
There is so much I could share with you. Shane is at home and has been home for 2 years in May! Can you believe it? The boys are loving it!
Blake is going to be 12 on May 8th. OMG! I cannot believe my baby will be 12.
He goes to Hillcrest and plays basketball and football. He plans to play baseball next year in jr. high. He will be going into 7th grade next fall.
Drew is 6 and will be

I've Got Your Back - Who's got Mine?

2007-07-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

I am a small and precious child,my dad’s been sent to fight…
The only place I’ll see his face,is in my dreams at night.
He will be gone too many days for my young mind to keep track.
I may be sad, but I am proud.My daddy’s got your back.

I am a strong and loving wife,with a husband soon to go.
There are times I’m terrified,in a way most never know.
I bite my lip,and force a smile,as I watch my husband pack…
My heart may break,but I am proud.My husband’s got your back…

I am a soldier…Serving proudly,standing tall.
I fight for freedom,yours and mine,by answering this call.
I do my job while knowing,the thanks it sometimes lacks.
Say a prayer that I’ll come home.It’s me who’s got your back.

http://www.operationhomelink.org/

An Angel in Our Midst

2007-07-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

This week has truly proven to be a difficult one at most. Last Sunday, I received two calls - one from Shane (in Wisconsin) and another from his buddy Stuckey's wife (Peggy). A soldier's wife was driving from Corinth, MS (close to Memphis) to San Antonio TX. Her husband is a medic in Shane's unit and had been really sick for 3-4 weeks. They kept telling him it was allergies. Well, in short, he was hospitalized for a viral infection that attacks your heart. His military career is over and he has to wear a defibrulator vest all the time now until his heart recovers, if it does. He is 28. I was able to stop his wife in Jackson and she spent the night with me. I booked her a flight from Jackson, MS to San Antonio. This was the first time she had flown. While she was here I learned that at the first drill after they were activated, that their rental house burned to the ground and they lost everything - no insurance. They also both had lost their jobs earlier this year.

I share this to say that when you think your life couldn't get much worse, that there is also someone whose life is. I truly think that God sent her to me because of all the struggles I have personally been through this year. (My dad's surgery and strokes, death, mother's wreck, shane deploying, etc.) I really don't think that I really made an impact in their life but at least it gave me a little hope and a chance to pay forward acts of kindness.

This week we learned that our Mississippi soldier's were not going to secure a flight home from Wisconsin and that they would need to pay for their own flights. A little disappointed to say the least. The boiling point of the situation was that the 1203rd unit from Alabama had the good fortune for a VFW post to raise funds to fly the ALABAMA soldiers home during leave.
We were truly upset that we (MS) had not been made aware of this so that we too could have possibly raised money to pay for our 95 soldiers to fly home together as well.
After I spent $700 on a plane ticket for Shane, I started emailing every legislative person in Alabama and Mississippi that I could think of.

As part of the family support group, it was my duty to try to help get these guys home without adding additional expenses on their families. In most cases, they do not have friends and family offering to help pay with the cost of a ticket. I know this from personal experience. If it would not have been for the patriot guard (motorcycle group) taking up a collection - Shane would not have made it home for my dad's funeral. Nor would the wife of the soldier in San Antonio have had a ticket to fly to SA. THANK YOU PATRIOT RIDERS!!!

It is not that we blame the 1203rd soldiers that they got a plane ticket home, we are angry because Mississippi could have taken care of their soldiers (if they wanted to). We blame the MS command staff for falsely leading our guys to believe that they were going to be taken care of. Although this unit legally falls under the US Army DOD, I know that if our legislative team asked the US Army DOD to fly our guys home they would. The MS Air National Guard flies missions called Air Guard Lifts all the time.

My platform was not to raise money for my husband's ticket, that went on a credit card. My platform is that there are young soldiers who have never seen war before, they have sacrificed their time with family back home to fight a war in a foreign country. Coming home is not guaranteed. This is a moral issue for me. Why can't our state military officials do the right thing and bring these guys home for a break. This may be the last chance some of them get.

To this end, I just want to say that there are good people out there. A dear friend put me in contact with a father who lost his son during the last deployment of the 155. He offered to pay for a ticket for a young soldier with wife and kids who could not afford to fly home.
I talked to Shane and told him that this had to be a very special person. He gave me the name of a solider - Andrew. He is in his early 20s with two small children at home. This ANGEL paid almost $1000 to have this soldier flown home. Ironically, this father's some was named "Drew" too. It brought me to tears.

God is in this for sure. May God Bless both families - the giver and the recipient. I am blessed to be a part of this kind act.

"Greater love hath no man that this, that he lay down his own life for his friends." John 15:12

In honor of Specialist Joseph Andrew Rahaim - Det. 1 Company A, 155th Infantry Batallion
This Soldier Laid down his life on February 19, 2005 - Operation Iraqi Freedom

http://www.mississippifallensoldiers.com/

Need Help!

2007-07-09T18:43:00.000-05:00

If you would like to sponsor a soldier from Mississippi during their deployment in IRAQ, please contact me and I will send you the name of a soldier.

Our Papaw

2007-06-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Our Papaw Archie went to be with Jesus on June 8, 2008. Our dad was already in Wisconsin at Fort McCoy. We sent a Red Cross Message so that he could come home for the funeral. The Red Cross told him that his ticket would cost $1500!! Apparently the Red Cross does not pay for soldiers tickets to come home for Bereavement. We searched and searched for a way for him to come home. We looked for skymiles to be donated or any other means in which to get our daddy home. With some searching we finally got in touch with Delta and they gave us a lower rate of $590. We did get him home on Sunday night and he had to leave on Thursday. This has been extremely difficult for little Drew who is only 3. He has lost his papaw, who he stayed with every day, and his dad is gone. He doesn't understand where they are and why they have not come home. Please pray for our family.

Look how much we have grown!!

2007-06-14T18:51:00.001-05:00

Our dad is in Wisconsin getting ready to go back to IRAQ in August. We already miss him very much.
He has only been home for 1 year and 5 months.

We would really like to collect a lot of GLOBAL phone cards so that he can call us often.

My dad also has an ipod. We would love to send him ITUNE gift cards as well.

It gets expensive to ship basic products to him such as toothpaste, soap, razors, towels, books, etc.
He loves to get movies, tomato soup, crackers, and other items. There are many soldiers that do not receive packages from home. My husband is the unit coordinator who sets up a share table for all the soldiers in his unit.

Please mail your gifts to: Penny Barrentine, PO Box 849, Jackson, MS 39205

We appreciate your help!

Penny, Blake and Drew

www.letssaythanks.com

2006-08-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

SEND A CARDIf you go to this web site, www.letssaythanks.com , you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second.Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them...

Daddy's Home

2006-05-28T20:36:00.000-05:00

2 sweet boys and 1 happy dad!!

2006-01-23T19:28:00.000-06:00

Our Daddy is HOME!! 1/13/06

2006-01-16T11:15:00.000-06:00

Yeah!! Our daddy is home.

5 WAKE UPS and a COKE!!

2006-01-10T07:01:00.000-06:00

2006-01-07T21:01:00.000-06:00

7 MORE DAYS!!
Shane will be back at Camp Shelby on Thursday, January 12th. He will be ALL MINE on Sunday, January 15th!!

Queen for a Day!! Happy Birthday Sis!!

2006-01-03T21:11:00.000-06:00

]Tonight we surprised my sister with a birthday party with family and friends. She thought she was going to Nicks!!

A Christmas Surprise!

2005-12-25T20:12:00.000-06:00

A Christmas Poem from a soldier...

2005-12-20T21:11:00.000-06:00

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,I'm out here by choice.
I'm here every night.
Sleep without fear as you turn out your lights."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of this line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one has asked or begged or implored me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"Then he sighed,
"That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembered.
"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you some money, prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.
"Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

WE ALL NEED TO PRAY FOR OURMILITARY PERSONNEL EVERY NIGHT
and remember them this Christmas season!

155TH Accomplishments 2005

2005-12-15T20:29:00.000-06:00

This is the best letter I've read since it is concerning their last mission and thier return home. God bless you all this holiday season,
Debbie

Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 10:34 AM
Subject: [U] Iraq Update - Please pass to All
To the Families and Friends of the 1-155th IN BN (Mississippi Rifles):

Iraq took another major step forward this week. Once again democracy prevails, and the Iraqi people have won a tremendous victory. On December 15, the citizens went to the polls and selected their national leaders. These individuals will lead Iraq to a better way of life and brighter future. This is the third election that this battalion has experienced. Watching democracy in its infancy is an historical event within itself, but this recent election was the most gratifying. The large voter turnout in both the Shite and Sunni areas without a major incident allowed us to witness the fruits of our labor over the past year.

When I first visited this area in October 2004, it appeared a desperate situation. Kidnappings, assassinations, bombings of infrastructure and hostile attacks were all too common. The scars of the insurgents were very evident. Almost every road was damaged by detonations from road-side bombs with some holes being as large as a vehicle. There were only two Iraqi Army companies located in Iskandaryiah, and the Iraqi police were not even considered a viable force. The former Musayyib District Police Chief cooperated with both insurgent leaders and Madhi Militia. Three police stations were destroyed by insurgents. The Police Department in Jurf as Sakr openly cooperated with insurgents and in some case even participated in insurgent activity. We arrived knowing that the only way security could ever be sustained was through the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police. Our top priority was developing and preparing the Iraqis to assume security responsibility for their area. In February, this seemed like an impossible goal. However, today they have demonstrated that they are capable of accomplishing this essential task. This is due to the remarkable job of our soldiers working with the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army on a daily basis and developing them into a viable force. We have spent numerous hours training their forces and conducted countless joint missions. Also, the emergence of strong, competent Iraqi leadership has been a tremendous asset. LTC Abmed was appointed the Musayyib District Police Chief this past March. He has been a loyal and dedicated Police Chief who has devoted all of his energy to make this a safer place. We have rebuilt two police stations that were previously destroyed and established two police departments located in former insurgent strongholds. In addition, the Iraqi police established 17 security check-points along the major roads leading to Musayyib, which have been instrumental in disrupting insurgent’s freedom of movement. In July, the Iraqi Army received three more companies making it a full battalion. LTC Mehdi was appointed the Battalion Commander and LTC Mohammed became the Battalion Executive Officer. Both have done an excellent job in organizing and managing their forces. Within four months, the Iraqi Army was conducting independent operations. They have greatly supplemented security in the area making the citizens feel safer. Today, most of the roads have been repaired, many of the schools have been remodeled, five health clinics have been built, and the water quality has been improved. As a result, the Iraqi citizens feel safer; their qualities of life have improved; and are optimistic about their future. The large voter turnout proves the conditions have dramatically improved. As we turn over all operations to our American military counterparts, we depart knowing that progress has been achieved.

Now that the elections on over, our main priorities are transferring all operations to the replacing unit and safely redeploying our soldiers back to the various home-station armories. Last week, one group of soldiers arrived at Camp Shelby to assist and expedite with the out-processing. Another group arrived in Kuwait to upload all of our equipment on ships. This group of soldiers will depart Kuwait around the middle of January. The rest of us will depart at various dates throughout the rest of December and early January. We all look forward to our return and reuniting with our friends and families.

Below is an article recently published in the Washington Times about the accomplishments of 155th Brigade Combat Team.

Washington Times
December 10, 2005
Pentagon Touts Brigade's Efforts
By Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld could have had the Mississippi Army National Guard's 155th Brigade Combat Team in mind this week when he bemoaned the lack of balanced press coverage of Iraq.
Wrapping up one year in Iraq, the brigade has worked without much publicity to turn the war-ravaged city of Najaf and surrounding areas into relatively hospitable enclaves.
Najaf, home to one of Shi'ite Muslims' most holy shrines, and nearby Karbala, are now run by Iraqis. Babil Province, the 155th's other geographic assignment, is still plagued by violence, but overall attacks are down.
Yesterday, the Pentagon produced one of the Army officers who had a lot to do with the Najaf-Karbala resurgence as part of a counteroffensive to rebut the public's perception that too little progress has been made in Iraq.
"We've worked very close with the citizens of Iraq to try and make a better way of life for them," the brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Augustus L. Collins, told reporters at the Pentagon via a teleconference.
Gen. Collins seemed just as pleased with his soldiers' community projects as he was with their more than 500 combat missions and the capture of 1,500-plus foreign terrorists and Iraqi insurgents.
Gen. Collins listed a number of good deeds:
*The renovation of 49 schools and the import of 26,000 backpacks full of pens, paper and rulers. "I gave the order that each company would adopt at least one school," the general said.
*The building of health clinics where the brigade's doctors and dentists provided care.
*The reopening of Najaf's teaching hospital, which was looted and wrecked by Shi'ite militants. Now, the hospital treats 400 patients daily.
*The reconstruction of Najaf's soccer stadium, where 20,000 fans watched an inaugural game between Baghdad and a local team.
President Bush singled out Najaf this week as one of Iraq's bustling new cities. Such a designation was hard to imagine more than a year ago, when firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stirred up a revolution, funded by Iranian money, according to U.S. intelligence sources.
Najaf is also home to a key coalition ally and Iraq's top Shi'ite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani. Ayatollah al-Sistani has endorsed the election process that is likely to put the majority Shi'ites in charge of Baghdad next Thursday, when voters chose a permanent parliament.
Gen. Collins formally handed over Najaf to the Iraqis in September.
"Najaf is a city that's on the move," he said.
"A lot of the buildings down there were abandoned," Gen. Collins said of an October 2004 visit to the city. "I was in some of those same places recently and it's entirely different now. The buildings have been renovated. The markets are open. There are people on the street."
Because of Najaf's importance to devout Shi'ites and to the coalition, it can expect to stay on the target list of Jordanian-born Abu Musab Zarqawi and his al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bombers.

Email for Shane - December 11, 2005

2005-12-11T20:28:00.000-06:00

Hey Love
I have made it to Kuwait been here for about 2 days now. Tell Blake that I am so very sorry that I didn't get an e-mail to him for his Military Kids christmas party. But I was traveling at the time and didn't know about it. He wasn't very upset about it was he?

We have no working phones here and only computers here that are working is borrowing someone else's work computer to check on them. We are having a hard time getting our battalions stuff down here. None of the transportation units will the go to our location. Scared!!!!! We offered to ride back up there with them and show them the best routes to take.

Right now it looks like we are going to be the last ones moved. It shouldn't mess with my time frame on coming home. Scott Smith and I had built some buffer time for my time line of coming home. Looks like we did a smart thing because we are going to need every bit of it.

How are you and the boys doing? Don't worry about me now I am safe and sound now with nothing to worry about. Just about 35 more days and I will be home.

What are some of the things you would like for me and you to do when I get home? Think about it. I can't wait until I get home. It is almost over finally I can get home and hold you in my arms once more.

To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

35 days and counting down

2005-12-10T20:11:00.001-06:00

Many of you have heard that the 155th is coming home for Christmas. Unfortunately, it does not include Shane! He is scheduled for the last group to come home because he is Battalion Unit Mobilization Officer. Meaning he has to make sure everyone and everything get on the plane!

He is scheduled to come home around January 15th. So please pray for us during the holidays when he is so far from home.

First 100 come home.

My Sweet Shane.. On the right.

2005-12-03T18:03:00.000-06:00

Doesn't he have gorgeous blue eyes??

Milestone 2 for Drew today!!

2005-11-26T20:05:00.000-06:00

Drew did it!! He actually sat with the REAL SANTA. He is terriffied of the musical ones at Walmart. So we had to do a little coercion to get him to this point. He sat in his lap but did not look or talk to Santa. I finally pried his face toward Santa and this is the pose we got. I am totally ecstatic about this picture (before the haircut)

Monumental Day for Drew 112605

2005-11-26T16:50:00.000-06:00

Today was a milestone for Baby Drew!!

1. He got his hair cut like Blake's. Very short compared to the skater boy haircut...
I am not real sure how I feel about having his beautiful blond hair cut off. But I guess it will grow back and I know his daddy will be so happy!!

weapons found

2005-11-25T09:09:00.000-06:00

Weapons Cache Found

Blackanthem.com, FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, November 15, 2005 13:25

Soldiers of the 1st Battalion 155th Infantry, 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), recently discovered a weapons cache in an area west of Iskandariyah.

Two hundred and eighty-seven (287) 82 mm mortar rounds were seized and subsequently destroyed.

Five individuals suspected of insurgent activity were detained in conjunction with the weapons cache seizure.

The 155th BCT is a U.S. Army unit assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

By Maj. Erby Montgomery
155th Brigade Combat Team

From a soldier in IRAQ

2005-11-25T09:03:00.000-06:00

A Captain, currently serving in Iraq, sent this letter to a friend who asked about the situation there. It was read Thursday, October 13, 2005, on the AFR Today's Issues program.

So good to hear from you. When you asked me about what I believe about the war as a soldier and a Christian, a thousand thoughts that came to mind. I wrote down some of them thought below:

When we came to Iraq, the people here lived under the rule of a tyrant. Today they're working towards a free, democratic state. I work with Iraqi people over here every day that will tell you Saddam Hussein was a murderer, a rapist, basically evil. His sons were the same, probably worse. I visited what used to be a resort town on the edge of one the large lakes here in Iraq. Saddam's sons had a house there that overlooked the beach and swimming area. The locals told us they (Saddam's sons) would sit in their rooms with binoculars, scanning the area for attractive young women. When they saw one they wanted, they'd send their men down to the water to pick them up and bring them back to their house where they would be raped and then released. I've visited the palaces Saddam built located right next to people who live in mud huts with no roof, no shoes on their feet, no plumbing, no electricity, and on and on... I've met and work with Iraqi men whose brothers, fathers, cousins were killed by Saddam's secret police after they were tortured. I've yet to meet an Iraqi man that will tell you that they're not better off without Saddam and that they appreciate what the U.S. is doing for them and their families. Saddam was for Saddam and the Iraqi people suffered because of it. It's hard to explain in words what I've seen and experienced.

We are bringing hope to a country that was without hope. We're building schools, roads, sewer systems, establishing town and city councils, teaching a democratic process where people can express their opinions without fear of reprisal...where they can have a say in the future of their country, where they as individuals, despite their status, can vote for the things they believe. They're not so different than you or I. They have similar hopes and dreams. They want peace in their land, they want to live in safety, they want to see their children happy, able to attend schools, able to receive medical attention when/if they need it, they want to be allowed to worship in their own manner. They are in general a very courteous and hospitable people, quick to say thank you for your help.

The News Media. I have no faith in the news media back home. They always point out the negative, never talking about the positives. Why aren't they filming the town meetings showing democracy at work? Why aren't they looking at the life support projects that are under way here? Did you know that the country of Iraq now has more electrical power for its people than prior to the war, why don't you see that in the news? It was a major subject when it was negative, now that it's positive, you don't here about it. I find myself ashamed as an American of the political bickering in our congress and among our people at the expense of those who suffer. The media basically fuels strife and division. It points out and focuses the differences in public opinion, rather than unifying our country and creating a united solution. It's a side show. The men and women on the ground over here are doing their part. I wish the people back home could walk around in our shoes for about 6 months. They'd get the picture. Unfortunately that won't happen and so the Hollywood personalities, the congressmen and senators who have never done more than drop in for a photo shoot or stay in a Hotel here for a couple of days, get media time in which they provide us with their opinions on the situation. When we drive down the road the Iraqi children run towards our vehicles waving their hands, why? Because they know that American soldiers aren't shooting bullets at them, but bringing food, shoes, clothes, candy, medical supplies, soccer balls, water, the things they need and the same things they know their own children would want. Are U.S. servicemen and women dying over here, yes. Do you here 99% of them complaining about it...no. They understand better than any the sacrifice being made, but they volunteered for the job and they're doing it. They're bringing freedom to this country. There's a speech that I read at least once a month to remind me of what we're doing here. Take a read on it:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

In case you haven't recognized it, it was written by Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address. We as Americans above all other nations on the earth ought to understand what's going on this country. Our soldiers die here so that a new nation, based upon freedom, a government by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. And by the way, Iraqi Army soldiers and policemen die every day too. They're giving their lives to see this thing through. What about their blood, their families, their hopes and dreams? Who remembers and is a voice for their cause? How do you think it makes them feel to hear Americans saying that we don't belong in this fight? If all the American people know about this war is what they read in a paper of watch on TV, then they're extremely misinformed. If they don't understand where our own country came from and how difficult it was for us in the beginning, then shame on them for their laziness in not finding out. This isn't a football game; it's not a pie eating contest or Miss America Pageant. It's a struggle for a way of life, for freedom for a people. Why should we care, because we're Americans and should know what this fight is really about.

I've stood on the ground in Babylon where Daniel stood. I've seen the Euphrates, where Adam, Abraham, Noah, Ezekiel, walked. When I look up at the stars at night I remember them. I pray for the people of Iraq. I pray for their freedom, for the safety of their families, for their soldiers, for victory and peace in this land. My love is greater than hate; my faith is stronger than fear, my hopes higher than despair. I will do my part both as a soldier and a Christian to help this country to receive the same liberties and freedoms we have at home. Some would say that we're fighting to help an Islamic country, that they don't believe in Jesus, so why should we help them. If you believe that we are the body of Christ, that he manifests his love to the world through us, that our words and our deeds are seeds and reflections of his love, then you must also understand that I and many other here are planting seeds. I do not despair at the poverty in this pace or what the news media has to say, instead each day I do what I can, from where I am to see that his love is manifested in this earth. I may not be able to feed a thousand children, but I can feed one, I may not be able to provide shoes for every child here, but I can provide them for two or three, I might not be able to fix all of it, but I'm going to do my part to fix some of it. Some people just never get it. The mountains are too high, the storms to large, they never stop fearing, engaged in daily discussions, their mouths speaking fear and their feet planted in place. It makes me just want to yell "Get up and do something; start moving forward". If more people quit arguing about it and started helping the Iraqi people, this war would be over a lot sooner.

So that's about it. I could go on and on about what I've seen and what I believe. It's not my job to fix the world, but it is my job to minister the love of the Father to it. If I have to carry a weapon to bring freedom to this country, to defend the rights of the Iraqi people, then so be it. I thank God for the opportunity to kick in and do my part. I'm an adopted child of God, with a purpose in life. His eyes are upon me and I never walk alone.

From Colonel Glasgow Re: 155th

2005-11-25T08:59:00.000-06:00

Dear Editor,

The 155th Brigade Combat Team's deployment to Iraq is rapidly approaching its completion. Approximately 4,000 soldiers from Mississippi, Arkansas, Vermont and across the United States will be returning home to their loved ones. I wanted to write this letter just to let the folks back home know how much the 155th BCT has accomplished during its tour of duty and how much we appreciate the support our family and friends have provided.
The 155th BCT area of operations encompassed two provinces and a large portion of a third province (Karbala, Najaf and northern Babil). Tremendous successes have been attained by the soldiers of the 155th BCT. Numerous weapons caches have been found throughout the area of operations.

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Approximately 35,000 artillery and mortar rounds have been discovered and destroyed by the 155th Brigade Combat Team, each one destroyed denying the enemy a potential IED (improvised explosive device). Soldiers of the 155th BCT have detained approximately 1,300 suspected insurgents, with over 500 of those being sent to Abu Gharib prison. This is only a small example of what your soldiers have accomplished. Many humanitarian aid projects have been undertaken and completed by the 155th BCT. Endless boxes of school supplies and backpacks have made it into the grateful hands of the children of Iraq.

The 155th Brigade Combat Team has suffered casualties during its tour of duty. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers will always remain with the family members of our fallen comrades, and we will not let their sacrifice be forgotten. In closing, I say to the family members and friends of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, you can be proud of your sons, daughters, husbands and wives who met the challenge here in Iraq and continue to "make a difference" every day. We look forward to seeing you all soon. Once again, thank you for all the support you have provided from the home front.

Col. William Glasgow,
Executive officer,
155th BCT

More Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T20:36:00.000-06:00

Drew doing his favorite thing: Riding on the Tractor with Uncle Billy
Brothers at the lake: Blake and Drew looking for fish
Drew talking a walk in the woods.

A Happy Thanksgiving 2005

2005-11-24T20:26:00.000-06:00

Today was a good day! We spent the typical Thanksgiving in Braxton, MS at the Phillips' Farm. The Phillips clan was there. Grandparents, Aunt Sue, Uncle Billy, Kevin, Andy, Justin and Jessica, along with Jessica's family and Blake, Drew and Penny.
We went to BB and Pops for dinner.
These are pictures of Drew: His cat (He thinks) at BB's house for supper.
Drew trying to crank the four wheeler, saying MY DO IT!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T07:36:00.000-06:00

The 184th was so sweet to provide these dolls to the military kids.

Thought Provoking..Why are we there??

2005-11-23T11:40:00.000-06:00

I had no idea who General Chong is or the source of these thoughts... so
when I received them, I almost deleted them - as well-written as they
are. But then I did a "Google search" on the General and found him to be
a retired Air Force Surgeon of all things and past Commander of Wilford
Hall Medical Center in San Antonio . So he is real, is connected to
Veterans affairs, and these are his thoughts. They are worth reading and
thinking about (the same Google search will direct you to some of his
other thought-provoking writings.)

If you would like information on General Chong, go to Google and type
in his name (Major General Vernon Chong). All of the following is
something that everyone should read.

This WAR is for REAL!

To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country
is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it,
that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII).

The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are
very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer
who realize what losing really means.

First, let's examine a few basics:

1. When did the threat to us start?

Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United State
s is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the
following attacks on us:

* Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
* Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
* Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;
* Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
* New York World Trade Center 2001;
* Pentagon 2001.

(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581
terrorist attacks worldwide).

2. Why were we attacked?

Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms. The attacks
happened during the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush
1, Clinton and Bush 2. We cannot fault either the Republicans or
Democrats as there were no provocations by any of the presidents or
their immediate predecessors, Presidents Ford or Carter.

3. Who were the attackers?

In each case, the attacks on the US were carried out by Muslims.

4. What is the Muslim population of the World? 25%.

5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful?

Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the
predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under
the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made
no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were
eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for
political reasons (including 7,000 Polish priests). (see
http://www.nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm )

Thus, almost the same number of Christians were killed by the Nazis, as
the six million holocaust Jews who were killed by them, and we seldom
heard of anything other than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept
the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone
who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world
- German, Christian or any others.

Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but
kill all in the way -- their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone
else. The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no
protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims
there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim
leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing -- by their own
pronouncements -- killing all of us "infidels." I don't blame the
peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die?

6. So who are we at war with?

There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the
Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid
verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if
you don't clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.

So with that background, now to the two major questions:

1. Can we lose this war?

2. What does losing really mean?

If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions.

We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the
major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the
answer to the second question - What does losing mean?

It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means
hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our
business, like post Vietnam. This is as far from the truth as one can
get. What losing really means is:

We would no longer be the premier country in the world. The attacks will
not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us
dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not
have produced an increasing series of attacks against us, over the past
18 years. The plan was clearly, for terrorist to attack us, until we
were neutered and submissive to them.

We would of course have no future support from other nations, for fear
of reprisals and for the reason that they would see, we are impotent and
cannot help them.

They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one at a time. It will
be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It
doesn't matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its
troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed
their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they
want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished.

The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they
might see the light and realize that if we don't win, they are finished
too, in that they can't resist the Muslim terrorists without us.
However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20%
Muslim and fading fast!

If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will
all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us,
if they were threatened by the Muslims.

If we can't stop the Muslims, how could anyone else?

The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war, and therefore are
completely committed to winning, at any cost. We better know it too and
be likewise committed to winning at any cost.

Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple.
Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put
100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take
that 100% effort to win.

So, how can we lose the war?

Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by "imploding." That
is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their
purpose, and really digging in and lending full support to the war
effort. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we
continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win!

Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don't comprehend the
life and death seriousness of this situation.

President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation.
Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men
between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow
profiling. Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This
is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the
civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to
lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose
all of them permanently.

And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil
rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory and
in fact added many more since then.

Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him?

No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our
Political Correctness, and all of our civil rights during this conflict
and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to
war. Get them out of your head.

Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the
Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us
lose. I hasten to add that this isn't because they are disloyal. It is
because they just don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that
conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and
weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our
cause.

Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media
regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies
best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue, involving the
treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our
military police. These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago
were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands,
cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just
for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein.

And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed
400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same
type enemy fighters, who recently were burning Americans, and dragging
their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq.

And still more recently, the same type enemy that was and is providing
videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of American
prisoners they held.

Compare this with some of our press and politicians, who for several
days have thought and talked about nothing else but the "humiliating" of
some Muslim prisoners -- not burning them, not dragging their charred
corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them.

Can this be for real?

The politicians and pundits have even talked of impeachment of the
Secretary of Defense. If this doesn't show the complete lack of
comprehension and understanding of the seriousness of the enemy we are
fighting, the life and death struggle we are in and the disastrous
results of losing this war, nothing can.

To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this
prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned
-- totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we,
nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say,
this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are
disloyal. It simply means that they are absolutely oblivious to the
magnitude, of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim
terrorists have been pushing us, for many years.

Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal is to kill all infidels!
That translates into ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United State s,
but throughout the world.

We are the last bastion of defense.

We have been criticized for many years as being 'arrogant.' That charge
is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe
that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and
minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind
our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world!

We can't!

If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive,
and no other free country in the world will survive if we are defeated.

And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow
freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of
the press, equal rights for anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status
or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way
that contributes to the good of the world.

This has been a long way of saying that we must be united on this war or
we will be equated in the history books to the self-inflicted fall of
the Roman Empire . If, that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history
books to be written or read.

If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims
take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to
increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little
by little, on the established French traditions. The French will be
fighting among themselves, over what should or should not be done, which
will continue to weaken them and keep them from any united resolve.
Doesn't that sound eerily familiar?

Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away from them by some
external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away,
politically correct piece by politically correct piece.

And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown,
worldwide, that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even
to themselves, once they are in power.

They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then
start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control
the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct,
about the "peaceful Muslims"?

I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said above. If we are
united, there is no way that we can lose. I hope now after the election,
the factions in our country will begin to focus on the critical
situation we are in, and will unite to save our country. It is your
future we are talking about! Do whatever you can to preserve it.

After reading the above, we all must do this not only for ourselves, but
our children, our grandchildren, our country and the world.

Whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal and that
includes the Politicians and media of our country and the free world!

Please forward this to any you feel may want, or NEED to read it. Our
"leaders" in Congress ought to read it, too.

There are those that find fault with our country, but it is obvious to
anyone who truly thinks through this, that we must UNITE!

GETTING A LITTLE ANXIOUS!!

2005-11-16T21:49:00.000-06:00

16 Nov 2005 22:48 MS Time
17 Nov 2005 7:48 Iraq Time
Day 304 of 365 Days
59 days to Go!

Prayer for today

2005-11-15T19:26:00.000-06:00

Give me the greatness of heart to see,
The difference between duty and his love for me.
Give me understanding so that I may Know,
When duty calls him, he must go.
Give me a task to do each day,
To fill the time when he's away.
When he's in a foreign land,
Keep him safe in your loving hand.
And Lord, when duty is in the field,
Please protect him and be his shield.
And Lord, when deployment is so long,
Please stay with me and keep me strong.

Author Unknown

The Military Man

2005-11-14T11:18:00.000-06:00

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend
that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.

He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155 mm howizzitor. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark.

He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other.
He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle.
He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food.
He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.

He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.

He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.

In an odd twist, day in and day out,far from home,he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy.

He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in danger,doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.

As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot..
A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.

A sweet note..

2005-11-12T19:59:00.000-06:00

I know today is a day when we are very proud of our soldiers, but it is also a bittersweet day when we miss them so much. Remember to hold your heads up high today. Although this day is named for the veterans, it is also a day when every mom, dad, spouse, and child of a soldier should know they are loved and respected. Without each of these family members, the soldiers' missions would be much harder. By keeping the homefront safe and secure, all of you family members are serving this great country each minute of each day.
So please know that not only do we love and respect our soldiers, we also love and have great respect for the families.
May God speed our men and women home safely and may God guide your way as you wait to welcome them.
Love to you all, Debbie

Comments of CPT Andrew H Robertson

2005-11-09T19:49:00.000-06:00

Comments of CPT Andrew H Robertson
Memorial Service for 1LT Robert C Oneto-Sikorski Company C, 1-155 Infantry, Task Force 2/11 ACR FOB Kalsu, Iraq
8:30 a.m. 02 November 2005

I am Captain Andrew H Robertson, Commander of Company C, 1ST of the 155TH Infantry, and 1LT Robert Charles Oneto-Sikorski was our Executive Officer. He also was my right hand.

I now ask that God gives me strength to deliver these words, and that either through me or in spite of me that His purpose and divine plan be unveiled.

No words or mention, no comfort or reassurance, no calm or counsel can diminish our anguish in loosing our friend. To compound that with losing a man that also wears the Army uniform, fighting day in and day out by your side through both enemy dangers and military bureaucracies creates a sadness unequalled and not describable with ink. Today, we indeed deeply and profoundly mourn but also celebrate the life of our Company’s most amazing person.
>
On the 31ST of October 2005, while conducting an Infantryman’s task of clearing a danger area and looking for the enemy to prevent others from finding harm’s way, Charlie Company, 1ST of the 155TH Infantry, Task Force 2/11 ACR lost 1LT Robert Oneto-Sikorski. Ski, as we call him, gave his life when this spineless and pathetic enemy that we face used a buried and hidden underground improvised explosive device. I was with him that day.
>
Now, I will tell you what I know about Ski. Ski and I formally met by the choice of our battalion commander. Charlie Company needed an executive officer, or XO, and Ski, candidly, had run out reasons to continue convincing the command group that he should remain in a Platoon Leader position. I do believe he holds the Mississippi Rifles’ record for consecutive years as a PL. As Ski once told me with a smile, “I learned that you can’t be a Platoon Leader forever, but at least I gave it a good try.”
>
Ski held Charlie Company together. Not only through his actions as a fighting Executive Officer, ready and eager to leave the wire, – his boots were dirty – but also through the subtleties of his character helping us to coop with this experience of combat. He had a grounding effect to remind us that life is wonderfully bizarre. He alone taught me how to find my focus as a commander by telling me to take the fight and let him handle the rest. There is no question he was a greater commander than I. He put us all on the right azimuth as soldiers and leaders.
>
Having been enlisted before commissioned, he knew each one of us first as a man then a soldier. He could relate to who we were beneath the camouflage. And, daily he did. He despised those who would rip a soldier for having a sleeve rolled twice or a boot un-bloused instead of first asking the man within if he was okay. Ski, that one is for you.
>
He also helped us to weather the task of pulling CQ in the Charlie Company TOC with jokes, stories, videos and nightly guitar lessons. Ski could play the bass but thought it might be cooler to return to the Magnolia State as a guitar player. So, with two bottles of Febreze – allergen and antimicrobial – by his sides, he’d play you any Three Doors Down – a homegrown Mississippi Gulf Coast band – that you wanted to hear. And, he was never to be missed in the C Block slums when it was time to watch the next episode of The Shield.
>
Ski also had our first enemy encounter. That’s correct, though the Impact ARCOM with Valor paperwork was kicked back 15 times on this one, Ski was nearly strangled in Kuwait when the Dr. Pepper he was drinking produced a hunk of cloth during one of Ski’s gulps. We wonder still today if that was part of the Find-a-Turban giveaway. It’s no wonder why from that day on he insisted on drinking only Sprite or 7-Up so you could see the bottom of the can before taking a sip.
>
Decent. Confident. Funny. Actually, humorous beyond belief. The man with a kid’s holster, but he only spent $10. Nubs. Budda. Peach. American. Southerner. My sounding board. Father. Son. An Officer. A Soldier. Friend. His fabric was red, white and blue. He loved and defended our constitutional ideals not only in his civilian job, but even more so in uniform … he exemplified the citizen soldier. Never did he pelt with a harsh word or demoralize another man. He loved soldiers. With all our flaws and peculiarities, he showed tolerance toward us all.
>
Ski savored life and in so doing helped us to remember to taste joy even while in this environment of war. He helped us to unveil the ridiculous. And, he chose to mitigate the moments of urgency with laughter. His very presence gave us confidence.

Find a man’s true character in his love for family. Ski would constantly share photos and letters of his three children and tell stories about what each one would do. He never ceased to expressed his love for his mother and most recently his pride in how see handled the storm that hit Mississippi. As his bunk mate, I’d witness him wake up in the full of the night to ensure he could get to the phone center in order to catch his family at an appropriate hour back home. Again, no man is greater than his family. To Ski’s family, I want you to know how much he loved you.
>
Our greatest person. What does that mean to cite someone as a great person? Again, as our greatest person. Person is the portion of a man that reveals his character. It is the outward reflection of what is within. It’s not only how we are engineered, but also how we chose to be wired. And,when I say Ski was our greatest person, I mean that he truly was.
>
> How do I convince you so? Well, if not my rhetoric, then certainly what I
> physically found. The day Ski was taken from us, I sat by my bunk trying to endure and process the loss. Asking God for help. I took the time to look through the
personal belongings Ski had on him that day. Within his wallet I not only found a note of encouragement to “Bobby” from “Mom”, but also names. You see, at the beginning of this year Ski had created a tracking board for us when we arrived in Iraq with each soldier’s name, blood type and social security number on a laminated tag. The names Ski carried with him into battle were the names of our men that were killed in action in May 2005. I wept. Because, at that moment the hugeness of his character and what an American patriot he was cured within my very soul.
>
> TOMORROW
Will we ever again find joy? Will the smiles from laughter return? Does this piercing of our hearts and this burning in our gut heal? Can we again pick up our rifles and escalate the fight?
Resoundingly, I can tell you, “yes”. Our wounds heal. The scar leaves a reminder, but it toughens our resolve. The magnitude and horror of this is not easy. But together and with time we do repair ourselves mentally. We do return to joy. And, we do so to honor Ski. To diminish life based on the events of one day would be to
diminish Ski’s love of the living. Ski would have it no other way,absolutely no other way than that we continue to live. To live. To delight. To fight this enemy. To win one for the greater cause of being an American soldier.
>
I remember sitting in the TOC one evening with Ski and SGT Powell. We had our usual debate about the greatest rock-n-roll bands and the Constitutional and Republican Parties. But, then we found a more deliberate discussion. We spoke of God and what our understandings were of His creation and ourselves. And, I learned that evening of Ski’s knowledge and curiosity of God. I saw that God’s Holy Spirit was at work in his heart. And, in the days after I realized by watching Ski and his interaction with his men and fellow soldiers that he was truly showing the Body of Christ. The Lord simply does not give us any burden that we cannot carry.
>
Iraq in and of itself is not worth the life of Ski. But, it’s just not that simple. What we are here for. What we are here to do. The dangers that we daily assume. The dangers that few dare and most never understand. We are here for us. We are here as soldiers. We are here for a word called liberty. And, whether the people of Iraq ever get it or not, we have honored what it means to be an American warrior. As soldiers, this is how we are composed. And, as soldiers, to deliver freedom is our swan song.
>
Ski, I will miss arguing with you that Led Zeppelin is a better band than Pink Floyd; that wool socks are better than cotton; that the iPOD is a superior product to the MP3. Watching the Doughnut of Misery diminish and marking the 2”x4” monthly calendar. Agreeing that taxes are our greatest enemy; that the Silver ice cream is the only thing good that the Arabic world has ever given us; and, that our men deserve better than how some have been treated by their own back home. I think you’ll get the understanding when I close by saying that I truly do “Wish You Were Here.”

Charlie Company. Death of our fellow soldiers. The hurricane devastating our homes and businesses back in Mississippi. What this Company has been asked to endure is beyond comprehension. The casualties of this war have been all of us. But, we still stand. We still have the spirit of the fight within.

We still have a mission to complete. From this moment forward, this one is now also for Ski.

iraq news 11405

2005-11-08T19:47:00.000-06:00

Groundbreaking on An Najaf Co-Op
Pictures at www.blackanthem.com

Lt. Col. Jim Oliver, commander of Task Force 198 Armor, pauses for a photo with the land owner that donated the land for the new Farmers Cooperative that is under construction as a part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team's "Amber Waves" program, designed to help local farmers help themselves. (US Army Photo by SFC Kevin W. Reeves, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs NCO)
Blackanthem.com, FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, An Najaf, Iraq, November 04, 2005

At a recent ground breaking ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Oliver, commander of 1st Battalion, 198th Armor, headquartered in Amory, Miss., and other members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, (BCT) headquartered in Tupelo, Miss., met with the board of directors of the CO-OP and discussed what the future holds for the local farmers of Najaf and the surrounding area.

On hand for the ceremony were members of the 155th BCT’s "Operation Amber Waves" team, Captain Jesse Cornelius and 1st Lt. Robert Sayle. Cornelius and Sayle have brought with them a vast knowledge on farming and agriculture. Sayle, from Walls, Miss., is the son of a farmer in the delta, and Cornelius, of Tupelo, Miss., is a vocational agriculture teacher at Nettleton High School in Nettleton, Miss.

"This is a great day for the people in this area." Cornelius said. "They will be able to come here for the things they need to have a successful farm. Although only limited supplies will be here right now, they should be able to get seed, fertilizer and other basic needs soon."

The 155th BCT’s Amber Waves team collected seeds from generous donors from Mississippi and Tennessee and presented what they had to Mr. Mehdi Malih, the Secretary for the Thul al-Fakkar Farmer’s Association. The Thul al-Fakkar Association is from the Kufa district of Najaf and is made up of a group of vegetable farmers. Approximately fifty pounds of seed consisting of pepper, lima beans, string beans, assorted peas, corn and watermelon was presented to Mr. Malih.

"The leaders listed 6 things in their mission statement," Sayle commented. "Provide jobs for poor farmers and provide land for farming, increase the profitability of business of the farmers and the price for their produce, and market products to export in Iraq and elsewhere. This will bring a better quality of life for the farmers." He continued by adding, "We are also helping the people of the area pursue a source of canning and processing vegetables, ensure job security of jobs for the citizens of Najaf province and provide tractors and equipment for farmers to share."

Soon, there should be farm implements and tractors, with other basic needs of farmers centrally located at the new Co-Op in Najaf.

By SFC Kevin W. Reeves
155th Brigade Combat Team
Public Affairs NCO
www.ngms.state.ms.us/155th

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

Local leaders and members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team are on hand for the ground breaking for their new Farmers Cooperative that is under construction as a part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team's "Amber Waves" program, designed to help local farmers help themselves. (US Army Photo by SFC Kevin W. Reeves, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs NCO)
Lt. Col. Jim Oliver, commander of Task Force 198 Armor, is interviewed by local Iraqi media at the ground breaking for their new Farmers Cooperative that is under construction as a part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team's "Amber Waves" program, designed to help local farmers help themselves. (US Army Photo by SFC Kevin W. Reeves, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs NCO)
The local leaders and members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team are on hand for the ground breaking for their new Farmers Cooperative that is under construction as a part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team's "Amber Waves" program, designed to help local farmers help themselves. (US Army Photo by SFC Kevin W. Reeves, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs NCO)
The governor of Najaf and other local leaders are on hand for the ground breaking for their new Farmers Cooperative that is under construction as a part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team's "Amber Waves" program, designed to help local farmers help themselves. (US Army Photo by SFC Kevin W. Reeves, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs NCO)
Iraqi men of Najaf are presented seeds for use in their new Farmers Cooperative that is under construction as a part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team's "Amber Waves" program, designed to help local farmers help themselves. (US Army Photo by SFC Kevin W. Reeves, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Public Affairs NCO)

Carnival Pictures

2005-11-08T19:35:00.000-06:00

After trick or treating in the neighborhood, we went to our church carnival. Drew had a blast playing games. He got his face painted with a baseball and football. He tried to throw the football through the tire, play golf, go fish, kick the soccer ball and put a frisbee through the whole.

Halloween Photos

2005-11-08T19:29:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of the kids on Halloween. Blake, Corey (Friend) and Drew were all football players, Madeline (cousin) was Raggedy Ann.

Losing one of our own

2005-11-02T08:30:00.000-06:00

November 2, 2005
Miss. Guard soldier killed in Iraq

Robert C. Oneto-Sikorski of Bay St. Louis dies in blast

By Holbrook Mohr
The Associated Press

A Mississippi National Guard soldier was killed by a bomb in Iraq on Monday, dealing another blow to a Gulf Coast community devastated by Hurricane Katrina, officials said.

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems officials in Pascagoula said 1st Lt. Robert C. Oneto-Sikorski, before his deployment with the 155th Brigade Combat Team, was a mechanical engineer at Ship Systems' Ingalls Operations in Pascagoula.

"The employees of Northrop Grumman are deeply saddened by the loss of Robert Oneto-Sikorski," Phil Teel, president of the company's Ship Systems Sector, said in a statement.
"He lived his life committed to our nation's safety and security, both as soldier and shipbuilder," Teel said.

Oneto-Sikorski, 33, of Bay St. Louis became the 14th Mississippian in the 155th to die since the unit deployed from Camp Shelby, just south of Hattiesburg, in January. He is the first officer in the unit to be killed in action.

Oneto-Sikorski's family in Bay St. Louis, a town devastated by Hurricane Katrina, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Lt. Col. Tim Powell, a Guard spokesman, verified that a Mississippi soldier had been killed and his family had been notified.

However, Powell said Department of Defense regulations require officials to wait 24 hours after the notification of kin to provide further details.

Oneto-Sikorski was a 1991 graduate of Hancock County High School, and he later graduated from the University of South Alabama.

Oneto-Sikorski leaves behind two sons and a daughter, according to a personal profile he posted on the Web site, Reunion.com.

Eighteen Mississippi Guard soldiers have been killed since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Powell has said the 155th, which is made up of about 3,500 Mississippians and other soldiers from more than a dozen states, is expected to begin returning to Mississippi in waves some time around the end of the year.

The unit — with members from Pennsylvania, California, Washington, Texas, Puerto Rico, Virginia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Utah and Arkansas — is attached to the II Marine Expeditionary Force

Happy Halloween!!

2005-10-31T14:47:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!!

2005-10-31T14:45:00.000-06:00

Someone sent me these photos in an email. They made me laugh and I could not resist sharing them!!

Article October 2005

2005-10-31T10:28:00.000-06:00

155th takes on humanitarian missions in Iraq

JACKSON (AP) - While much of their time in Iraq is spent rounding up insurgents and searching for clandestine weapons caches, members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team say they are also focused on helping rebuild the war-torn country.

The 155th has unearthed piles of weapons since the unit deployed in January and was credited last month with the capture of more than 100 suspected insurgents in a single mission to the Owesat Village south of Baghdad.

Maj. Danny Blanton, a spokesman for the 155th, says the soldiers have completed six brigade-level operations, 19 battalion-level operations, 21 raids and 304 cordon and search operations. The unit has seized more than 15,000 weapons of all types and rounds, he said.

Blanton said in a recent e-mail to The Associated Press that some of the most rewarding missions are those that reach out to the Iraqi people.

"It takes much more than weapons to build a democracy and our soldiers are working very hard to give a future of promise to the youth of Iraq," he said. "We are helping establish the essential needs for all people in Iraq. Electricity, water, and fuel that are taken for granted in our country are scarce here, and we are working with the new Iraqi government to change that."

The 155th is made up of about 3,500 Mississippi National Guard soldiers and other troops from Pennsylvania, California, Washington, Texas, Puerto Rico, Virginia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Utah, and Arkansas.

The unit trained at Camp Shelby, south of Hattiesburg, and deployed after a send-off bash at the National Guard training facility in January.

Maj. Gen. Harold A. Cross, Mississippi's adjutant general, has said the 155th is made up of soldiers from 49 different communities in the state, and their deployment has had a direct impact on thousands of families.

Thirteen Mississippians in the unit have died in Iraq and an even larger number have been wounded.

"I'm sure people ask themselves, 'What does all this mean to Mississippi?'" Blanton said. "There is never a simple solution to war, but the war in Iraq will have far-reaching implications on our children and their children. We live in a world without borders, and a threat to freedom anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere."

The 155th is attached to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and operates in the Karbala, Najaf and Babil provinces of Iraq. Blanton said each unit in the brigade has adopted at least one school in its area of operations and the soldiers distribute school supplies, furniture, medicine and other goods.

The unit's commander, Brig. Gen. Augustus Leon Collins, hopes a pen pal program the unit plans to facilitate for American and Iraqi children will offer a bridge between two diverse cultures.

"I believe it is critical that we expand the horizons of not only Iraqi youth, but American youth as well," he said this past week in an e-mail to The AP. "If we are able to establish a campaign where our children are introduced to theirs, then we will remove the stigmas and bias and possibly develop a bond that will be much stronger than any military or diplomatic action."

In the Karbala Province, members of the 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery of the Mississippi National Guard, which is attached to the 155th, identified a substandard facility that housed orphaned girls.

Lt. Col. Gary E. Huffman said the soldiers teamed with Iraqi security forces to rebuild the orphanage and delivered 50 beds and mattresses, bed linens, clothes and toys.

"The work is continuous and through cooperation, mutual understanding, and robust work efforts Karbala will grow and achieve the success that the citizens and leadership seek," Huffman said.

Collins said projects to rebuild schools and orphanages are imperative because "the future of this nation lies in its youth. What direction this country takes will be determined by them."

Daddy's Little Quarterback

2005-10-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

Drew loves to play football with his big brother, Blake. So for Halloween we decided we would be a football player. This uniform is so cute. It has shoulder pads and everything. Anyway, we tried it on today and we wore it for several hours.

Drew talked to his daddy today. He said Hey Dada, Football Blake, Touchdown, Go Deep Go Deep, Hut Hut, and Blue 42. Shane could not believe it.

80 more days and he will be home.

THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN - 80 DAYS...

2005-10-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

Shane is targeting mid January as the come home date. He will go to Kuwait around first of December. He is ready to come home now, he has had enough fun playing in the sand.

We are ready for him to come home too.

This is a picture of Drew and Madeline at the fair.

Article from when President came to MS

2005-10-23T14:40:00.000-05:00

Bush whisked to Canton to promote Social Security changes

By Andy Kanengiser
akanengiser@clarionledger.com

As Air Force One landed at 11:16 a.m. today in Jackson, word spread through the crowd waiting to glimpse President Bush that another Mississippi Guardsman had died.

After disembarking from the plane, Bush, who will be talking with workers at the Nissan plant in Canton about his plans for Social Security reform, presented the President's Volunteer Service Award to Ruth Wilson of Utica, who served as director of the Governor's Office for Voluntary Citizen Participation under three governors; was a founding member of the agency's successor, the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service; and is a member of the Hinds County Mental Health Commission.

Greeting the president when he arrived were Sen. Trent Lott, Gov. Haley Barbour and his wife Marsha, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, 3rd District U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, state Republican Party chairman Jim Herring and state Adj. Gen. Harold Cross.Sen. Thad Cochran accompanied the president on the plane.
About 400 soldiers and military family members are waiting in the dining hall at the National Guard facility to to greet Bush when he departs this afternoon.
"President Bush hopes to speak as many deployed soldiers as possible when he departs the Jackson area at 2 p.m.," Cross said.

After welcoming ceremonies, a motorcade left immediately to take Bush to the Nissan plant, about a 25-minute trip from the Jackson airport.

Among those waiting to see Bush were Staff Sgt. Jerry Windham II, 40, of Florence, who is training rifle rangers from Pennsylvania who will be going over to Iraq pretty soon.
The 21-year Army National Guard veteran says he supports Bush's position in Iraq. "They need to finish with they got started," Windham said.

Army Sgt. Shane Barrentine, 34, of Byram brought his wife Penny and two young boys to see the president.
Barrentine is with the 155th Armored Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard. He is on leave but planning to return overseas.

At least a dozen soldiers of the 155th injured by explosive devices in recent weeks.

Staff Sgt. Tommy S. Little of Aliceville, Ala., who died Monday night, was with Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 114th field Artillery in Columbus. Little died at Brooks Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle April 19 south of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Tim Powell, Guard spokesman. Little is the 10th Mississippi National Guard soldier to die in the war in Iraq. In all, 24 soldiers with ties to Mississippi have died in the conflict.

Bush, however, is at the Nissan plant to talk about his plans for revamping the Social Security system.

Expected to be with him on stage are DeLois Killen, dispatcher with Union Police Station and a retired fringescress with Midland Shirt Co.; Cynthia Roberts, human resources representative with Nissan North America Inc.; Coley Bailey, part owner of Bailey & Sons in Grenada; Deanie Smith, retired; Samuel Beard, president of Economic Security 2000.

He will be in speaking in the south end of plant, where quality control is done.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2005-10-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

Finally, some pictures from Shane

2005-10-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

I received some pictures this week from Shane.

It looks like it is a patrol area and bunkers, mostly dirt pictures. But I did get one of him and a picture of his sleeping quarters.

Blake strikes a pose!

2005-10-09T14:52:00.000-05:00

Boys go to USM Football game.

2005-10-09T14:49:00.000-05:00

Military Kids go to Camp Shelby

2005-10-09T14:45:00.000-05:00

Today, we took the military kids from HCS to Camp Shelby to visit the museum. They had a great time. Corey, Zack, Jordan and Blake pose for this picture.

Blake' soccer game Saturday

2005-10-09T14:41:00.000-05:00

Blake had another great day at soccer! His team won 7-0. Blake did a great job assisting getting the ball in the net. Way to go Blake!

Update on Shane October 9, 2005

2005-10-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

Shane has not sent any emails lately, however he has called. He has sounded down in the dumps for the last two weeks. I don't know if it was because of Drew's birthday or if it is that he just knows that coming home is soon - but yet still too far away to be counting the days yet. Roughly 90 days left.

He is fine, he says. Although I am not so sure I believe him. He would not tell me if it wasn't okay.

Please keep him in your prayers that God will protect him and bring him safely home to our TWO BOYS!

Drew at the Pumpkin Patch..

2005-10-06T17:31:00.000-05:00

The Perfect Pumpkin! Drew was overwhelmed by all the choices of pumpkins. I wanted a much smaller one and he wanted a bigger one, so this is in the middle. Still too heavy for him to carry. He did manage to hold it up long enough for me to take the picture. But I had to hand it to him. He does not want Blake to touch the pumpkin.

This is the maze of hay they had. It was really neat. They had two in/outs and Drew had a ball running through it himself. He never got lost.. thank goodness.
This was a special day because with a second child you never get to do things just with them like you do your first. So I am trying to do things just special for him. We have had several of those lately.. Chuck E Cheese on his birthday, Nemo On Ice (Which he still talks about today) and the pumpkin patch. These are the memories that you can never replace or relive later on..

2005-10-06T17:23:00.000-05:00

Today, Drew got to go on his first field trip. The Mothers Morning Out group from CWBC, went to the Boyd Nichols Pumpkin Patch today. Drew is in the 2 yr old class and he absolutely loves it! He has two awesome teachers, which I met today. My mother usually takes him, so it is more of a Granny's Day Out, since I am always working.

The first picture is a group photo and the other is Drew walking down the middle of the pumpkin patch. I don't think he really knew what a pumpkin was until today. We had so much fun, the took a hayride around the grounds and saw Zedonks, Goats, Deer, Fish, Donkeys, Cow, etc. Then they got to pick their own pumpkin out of the patch. More to follow..

Blake's Third Tooth... GONE!!

2005-10-06T17:18:00.000-05:00

Blake has been working all week to get this tooth out. It is his third tooth, but first on the top! It came out at school when he was playing football and someone hit him. Another sign of my little boy.. growing up right before my eyes.

Blake's Soccer Photo

2005-10-02T19:37:00.000-05:00

I think Blake is so handsome! Even if he is my first born!
We got these pictures at the game yesterday and I think this is so Blake, you can see that he has the Blue Ring on his mouth from drinking blue gatorade. You can tell that his mother was not there or his hair would be straight and he would not have the blue mouth. Oh well, Boys will be boys.

Mississippi Guard Unit Captures Insurgent

2005-10-02T12:21:00.000-05:00

from: www.thejacksonchannel.com

Mississippi Guard Unit Captures Insurgent
POSTED: 12:48 pm CDT October 1, 2005
UPDATED: 2:13 pm CDT October 1, 2005
JACKSON, Miss. -- The commander of a Mississippi National Guard unit in Iraq says the unit has captured an insurgent suspected of killing a Michigan soldier during an August firefight.
Captain Lowell T. Miller II, 35, of Flint, Mich., was killed while serving with the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Infantry Battalion, 155th Brigade Combat Team. Miller was hit by small arms fire during a raid in Iskandariyah on Aug. 31.
He had volunteered to transfer from the Michigan National Guard to the 155th Infantry Battalion so he could deploy to Iraq with the unit.
Lt. Col. John M. Rhodes, the unit's commander, said the unit raided the insurgent's home and captured him last week and he will soon appear before an Iraqi judge.

Blake's "Best Day Yet" Soccer Game 10/01/05

2005-10-01T23:31:00.000-05:00

Blake had a great soccer game today. He scored a goal, almost a second, and blocked several balls. We were so excited. He really acted like he enjoyed playing today, even though he has said he would rather go to school than play soccer. That is a good thing!! GO BLAKE!!

The Crew won 7-2

Drew at Disney on Ice

2005-09-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

The grand finale of Drew's Birthday weekend was a special trip to see Finding Nemo on Ice. He loved it! It was his first big event. He had a great weekend. He has been so excited he won't go to sleep because he is scared he will miss something. He loves all his new toys! He is used to sharing with his big brother or his big brother getting all the cool stuff, but this weekend was Drew'S weekend and he handled it pretty well.

Go Drew Go!!

2005-09-24T20:12:00.000-05:00

Drew's new ride. This is a plasma car. Your body makes it go. He thinks it is a bike!

Birthday Photos

2005-09-24T19:54:00.000-05:00

Drew opens presents!
Drew tries to blow out the candles!
Drew's John Deer Tractor

Drew's BIG BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

2005-09-24T19:50:00.000-05:00

Drew had a great day!
There were lots of family and friends here to help him celebrate turning two!BB, Pop, Granny, Papaw, Sissy, Andy, Jessica, Ms. Onida, Olivia, Alexis, Ms. Donna, Ms. Lacy, Sandy, Matt, Blake, Christian, Chris, Bec and Madeline, Aunt Liz and Mommy.

He got great presents. He got a car mat to play on, a tent and tunnel, tractor and excavator, lots of clothes, MSU jersey and hat, Rescue Hero Boat, Twisty Car, Big Truck Carrier, Home Depot Tool Set, Movies, $20, Crocs, Some letters DREW to hang in his room...

He had lots of fun. He didn't know what a party was, but once he realized that it was for him, he was so excited!!

The only thing missing was his daddy! But he did get a special call from IRAQ during his party. His daddy called and talked to him and everyone else. We miss him so much!

The theme of Drew's party was Red, White and Two. It was also a patriotic celebration. Everyone was asked to bring his dad a gift too. So he got lots of goodies that we will be sending him next week.

The party food consisted of Red Velvet Cake with white icing topped with two candles and a red fire truck! With Vanilla Ice Cream. Strawberries and cool whip, chick fil a nuggets, rotel dip and chips, and coke and diet coke. We tried to stay with red and white things to eat to go along with the theme of the day.

Gold Star Mother's Day September 25th

2005-09-23T21:21:00.000-05:00

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretarySeptember 21, 2005

Gold Star Mother's Day, 2005 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
The men and women of America's Armed Forces selflessly serve to protect our Nation, and they are among our greatest heroes. From the trenches of World War I to the beaches of Normandy, from Korea to Vietnam, from Afghanistan to Iraq, many courageous members of our military have given their lives so that Americans could live in freedom and security.

On Gold Star Mother's Day, we recognize and pray for the devoted and patriotic mothers of these men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our liberty.
America's Gold Star Mothers carry a great burden of grief, yet they show a tremendous spirit of generosity in helping their fellow citizens. With kindness and understanding, they support members of our Armed Forces and their families, provide vital services to veterans, help to educate young people about good citizenship and our Nation's founding ideals, and bring comfort to many in need. We commend these proud women for their compassion, commitment, and patriotism, and our Nation will always honor them for their sacrifice and service.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 (49 Stat. 1895 as amended), has designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in its observance. On this day, we express our deep gratitude to our Nation's Gold Star Mothers, and we ask God's blessings on them and on their families.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Sunday, September 25, 2005, as Gold Star Mother's Day. I call upon all Government officials to display the flag of the United States over Government buildings on this solemn day. I also encourage the American people to display the flag and hold appropriate ceremonies as a public expression of our Nation's sympathy and respect for our Gold Star Mothers.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH
# # #
Return to this article at:http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050921-13.html

Just have to share this with you.

2005-09-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.erichorner.com/Soldier/Soldier2.html

I ran across a blog that had these songs on it. I almost cried when I heard this song. It is about a little girl whose daddy went to IRAQ.

http://72.41.28.80/index2.html
National Anthem

http://www.andiesisle.com/If-I-Die-Before-You-Wake.html
If I die before you wake

http://www.andiesisle.com/imagine.html
This is one of mine and Shane's favorite songs.

http://www.andiesisle.com/Have-You-Forgotten.html
Have you Forgotten song/

TWO.. DREW IS FINALLY TWO TODAY!

2005-09-22T22:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Little Boy... DREW IS TWO

2005-09-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Son! You had a great day. First thing this morning he was presented with his first present, which was the blue crane above. Secondly, he was given this new tricycle by his granny and papaw. For lunch, the girls took Drew to Chuck E Cheese for pizza cake and fun! Him and Mady had a blast. BB gave Drew some blue j eans and a shirt and a There goes a Bulldozer video. Sissy (E) gave him a John Deere dump truck and tractor. The REAL party will be on Saturday! Boy is he going to be surprised!!

verses for Strength

2005-09-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

Psalm 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

To our two boys.

2005-09-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

You got it from your father
It was all he had to give
So it's yours to use and cherish
For so long as you may live.
If you lose the watch he gave you
It can always be replaced
But a black mark on your name, son
Can never be erased
It was clean the day you took it
And a worthy name to bear.
When he got it from his father
There was no dishonour there.
So make sure you guard it wisely,
After all is said and done
You'll be glad the name is spotless
When you give it to your son.~Author Unknown

Lateste news from IRAQ

2005-09-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

U.S. Soldiers, Iraqi Army detain 36 suspected terrorists
Blackanthem.com, FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, September 01, 2005

Iraqi Army forces and U.S. Soldiers detained 24 suspected terrorists during a cordon and search mission southwest of Iskandariyah Aug. 29.The Soldiers were from the 1st Battalion 155th Infantry, 155th BCT, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Additionally, Soldiers of the 150th Engineer Battalion, 155th Brigade Combat Team, detained 12 suspected terrorists in the village of Owesat Aug 29th. The 155th BCT is a U.S. Army unit assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force (Fwd) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Source : II Marine Expeditionary Force (Fwd)

What a difference a year makes. 4 more days!

2005-09-18T11:47:00.000-05:00

The first picture was Drew celebrating his FIRST BIRTHDAY!
This is Drew present day! Look how much he has changed.

Dear Drew:

I dread the day when you are grown

When you can venture out alone.

You won't need me at your side

To hold your hand and be your guide.

You won't need me to chase your fears

To give you a hug and wipe your tears.

I know if I could have just one wish come true

I'd stay "Mommy" forever and you'd stay little you.

Drew is almost two!! 5 more days!

2005-09-17T20:28:00.000-05:00

I thought this theme was appropriate since Drew's dad is gone, so the two has a dual purpose, Drew's turning two and the celebrating of Drew one and Shane two. We wanted him to feel apart of Drew's birthday so we will send him some RED AND WHITE THINGS after the party! We are going to Miss You BIG MUCH, Shane!! But you will not be forgotten!

Drew has actually waited 13 months for his second birthday. Shane left in August 2004 for Camp Shelby, so we celebrated Drew's 1st birthday one month early, so that Shane would be here. He will not be here for this one either, hopefully next year! He has changed so much already Shane is not going to recognize him. He is no longer a baby, but a little boy! A determined, strong willed, mean, tough little boy who loves the adrenaline rush as much as his daddy does! Uh oh!

2005-09-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

Jennifer Farish: Dogwood troops round up insurgents
7/25/2005 7:16:17 AMDaily Journal

Soldiers with the 155th at FOB Dogwood completed their "largest mission to date" last week when they detained more than 100 insurgents.Second Lt. Eric Kimbrough, of Houston, said Internet and telephone service at Dogwood were shut down for several days in preparation for the 12-hour raid of Owesat village.The village has been a dangerous spot for soldiers since the beginning and was the place where two soldiers and an interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb last month."Owesat has been a cancerous growth since we arrived at Dogwood," Kimbrough said. Residents of the village include many former Baath party loyalists, Sunni extremists and hired assassins."Simply speaking, in Owesat they are all bad to some degree, so if you grab an adult male, he is almost certain to be guilty of something," Kimbrough said. "Many of the kids lay out IEDs (improvised explosive devices) or bombs, as well, but we don't go after them, we simply try to win their hearts and minds."During the raid of the village, at least 10 insurgents were killed and another 101 detained. No U.S. troops were injured.

The redeployment schedule seems to change with the dust and the wind."The schedule hinges on another round of Iraqi elections scheduled for December."The official dispatch is that if the elections are held in December, for purposes of stability, we will remain, just as our predecessors, the 1st Calvary Division, held fast during January elections until we were firmly in place," he said. "If the elections are pushed back another six months, which is very likely, we will go home in December."

2005-09-16T15:59:00.000-05:00

September 16, 2005
A Third Day of Attacks in Iraq Leave at Least 23 Dead
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
BAGHDAD, IRAQ, Sept. 16 - A series of suicide bombings and ambushes that included an attack on a crowd of Shiite worshippers leaving a mosque after weekly prayers left at least 23 people dead across Iraq today.
The attacks were the latest in a string of daily strikes aimed at Iraq's Shiite Muslims that began on Wednesday, when 150 people were killed in a dozen or more bombings in Baghdad. Al Qaeda took responsibility for the attacks, and an Internet audiotape, purporting to be from the group's Jordanian-born leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, declared a "full-scale war without mercy" on Shiites in Iraq.
In the attack on the worshippers, a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside the Rasol al-Atham mosque in Tuz Khormato, a city about 130 miles north of Baghdad. Thirteen people were killed and 28 were wounded, a local doctor, Azad Khorshid, said. Most of the casualties were followers of the firebrand cleric Moktada al-Sadr, Dr. Khorshid said.
In Baghdad, gunfire from a car killed 2 and wounded 12 in a group of Shiite day laborers at 7:30 a.m., a Ministry of Interior official said. It was the second attack on day laborers, poor Iraqis who come from Iraq's south to earn as little as $4 a day in tea shops and on construction sites in Baghdad. On Wednesday, 114 laborers were killed, when a bomber lured them to a minivan with promises of work and then detonated it. It was the day's deadliest attack.
Mr. Zarqawi's group has said that Wednesday's coordinated attacks were retaliation for a large-scale military offensive in Tal Afar, a northern city that had been controlled by insurgents for months. Both American officials and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari have conceded that the offensive, carried out under the auspices of Iraq's Shiite-dominated government, probably sparked the spectacular series attacks.
At their weekly Friday prayers, Shiite leaders across Iraq condemned the recent attacks as well as Mr. Zarqawi's declaration of war. The office of Mr. Sadr, the Shiite cleric whose informal army fought American troops twice last year, issued a statement denouncing them.
Sunni leaders chimed in, but with far milder criticisms. A group of Sunni Arab religious leaders, the Muslim Scholars Association, known for its outspoken opposition to the American occupation, said in a statement that it opposed Mr. Zarqawi's declaration of war against Shiites, because Iraqi civilians are not responsible for "the sins" of Mr. Jaafari's government.
Drive-by shootings in Baghdad this morning also took the lives of an official of the Transportation Ministry and a religious leader identified as Sheik Fadhal al-Lami.
In the town of Haswa, just south of Baghdad, three policemen were killed when a car bomb exploded near their convoy shortly before 10 a.m. Three police officers were wounded.
In Iskandariya, a town 37 miles south of Baghdad, men raided the house of a town official early today, shooting to death the official, Amer al-Khafagi, and four of his bodyguards. Local officials have been prime targets for the insurgency here, which has said it considers any Iraqi cooperating with the American effort a traitor.
An American marine was killed during what the Marines said was an indirect fire explosion in Ramadi, a city west of Baghdad in the Sunni Arab province of Anbar.
The American military also said it had captured a senior leader in the Ansar al Sunna terror group in the northern city of Mosul. And south of Haditha, a city along the Euphrates River valley in Anbar, the military said it had conducted airstrikes against a complex of 12 buildings where troops had discovered a vehicle rigged with a suicide bomb.
Employees of The New York Times in Kirkuk,Baghdad and Karbala contributed reporting for this article.

Ten Thoughts to Ponder

2005-09-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

Number 10 - Life is sexually transmitted.

Number 9 - Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Number 8 - Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich!

Number 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

Number 6 - Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

Number 5 - Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Number 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays noattention to criticism.

Number 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?

Number 2 - In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Nowthe world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR 2005:
We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.

Pictures from MS Beach

2005-09-13T16:04:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken in Gulfport, MS this past weekend during recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina. This the amphibious assualt vehicle that beached here in MS and this is the sight of the Marines who are protecting the beach area in MS.

Update from shane, September 11, 2005

2005-09-11T09:39:00.000-05:00

Got up this morning 10 September 2005 about 0530 (oh my God its early 30) to get ready to go to Dog Patch. It was my team's turn to get ice, water, food, fuel and other odd and ends to go to Dog Patch. We left on time today and got there with no problems. It was great. everything fell into place for a change. We got there and relieved 2 patrol group. we met our new medic, SSG Bowman and we talked most of the morning away.
It started getting cool again after the sun went down and I was the last shift, so when I went back on the morning of the 11th, it was down right cool.
We left Dog Patch at about 0815 this morning and went on our quick little patrol and I mean quick.
It all took about 30 to 45 minutes and we were back in the FOB. After getting back I went and took a nice shower and got the Dog Patch dirt off of me. Then I had some odds and ends to take care off. Weapons cleaning and gear cleaning.
I also got my hands on all Seven seasons of Star Trek Voyager. Can you believe I got all seven years?
I am in hog heaven. That is all for the past two days at Dog Patch.
I love you and the boys with all my heart and I can't wait until I get home and see you guys again. I will be home before you know it.
Got an e-mail from CPT Bartran today and he is leaving in Oct-Nov to come over here. I really hate it for him.

To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

Soldiers need to hear from their family

2005-09-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

ALL SOLDIERS ARE HOME THAT WERE AFFECTED BY THE HURRICANE AND THESE SOLDIERS HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THEIR FAMILIES.. Thank you for your prayers!

Thirteen Mississippi National Guard soldiers serving in Iraq with the 155th Brigade Combat Team have not heard from their families since before Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29.The following soldiers had received no information about their families earlier this week:
For updated information: Look at http://www.ngms.state.ms.us/statefamilysupport/Katrina/results_page.asp.
It’s called “Urgent Relay. Several of our 155th soldiers have now been in contact with their families.

• Staff Sgt. Terry Seals of Poplarville; hasn't heard from his wife or his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Seals, also of Poplarville.
• Spc. Travis Hisaw of Pass Christian; hasn't heard from his wife.
• Staff Sgt. Stanley L. Peters of Sandy Hook. Family is okay.
• Spc. Billy T. Smith of Tylertown.
• Sgt. Arron M. Waldrop of Tylertown.
• Spc. Roderick B. Duckworth of Wiggins; hasn't heard from his wife, Chalesha, or his father-in-law, Shelby Kennedy.
• Pfc. Forest Reynolds of Long Beach.
• Sgt. Freddie J. Cagle Jr. of Gulfport. Family is okay.
• Sgt. Robert B. Hance of Pascagoula. Family is okay.
• Spc. Kimberly E. Garrett of Collins.
• Sgt. Paul Decoronado of Ocean Springs. Family is okay.
Anyone with information for the soldiers can call the American Red Cross at (877) 272-7337 or the Hattiesburg American at (601) 584-3111 to have information forwarded to the soldiers. (We posted the list on several discussion boards as well as Outside the Beltway "Traffic Jam.")

Update from Shane 9/8/05

2005-09-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

08 Sep 2005 8:57 MS Time
08 Sep 2005 17:57 Iraq Time
Day 235 of 365 Days
130 days to Go!

05 September 2005

We got up this morning about 0530 or 0600 in the morning because it was our turn to have QRF (Quick Reaction Force). We didn't get called out this morning so we started breaking things things down and cleaning up getting ready to go home. It is about time.
Not many of the guys complained any more than normal about doing this because it means time is getting close to time to come home.
We washed and cleaned and packed tents away until dinner. After dinner we got cleaned up and took a break because we had a patrol at 2300 or 11:00 P.M.
At about 2230 or 10:30 P.M., me and my crew were double checking everything to make sure we were ready to go. We loaded up and out the gate we went. Nice, quick and fast, just the way we like them. We got back in about midnight and everyone got ready for bed because we had Dog Patch in the morning.

06 September 2005
We got up at the same time as yesterday for our trip out to Dog Patch. We got out there and relieved Second Patrol Group and took over. Things went great. I took my chair out there to sit in and read my book while I waited for my turn on the roof. It was windy all day. So when my second and last shift came up around mid night it was down right cool up there on that roof. We actually had to cut of the A/C in the sleeping rooms. It was freezing in them.

07 September 2005
Well we got relieved from Dog Patch by 4 Patrol Group and headed back to the FOB for a nice hot shower to get the dirt of Dog Patch off of us. Me and Duiett had OP 3 from 1300 to 1900 (1:00P.M. to 7:00P.M.). Everything went great. Nice and boring just the way I like get. Got back and borrowed a movie from Duiett called evolution and it was funny I haven't laugh at loud at a movie like that in my life. I don't know if it was they movie or that I just needed a good laugh. And that ended my night. Doesn't look like I have anything on the schedule for tomorrow I sure hope that doesn't change.

Drew and his new hat!

2005-09-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

Is this not cute? Drew made this hat at Mother's Morning Out yesterday. I was really surprised that he wore it. He will be two on September 22nd!!

I heard from Shane today. He is fine, he has been out in the field the last couple of days. He has not been on the internet because he is trying to let the guys who are trying to contact their family, get on the internet. Please keep these guys in the 150th B Company in your prayers, some of them lost everything when Katrina hit our state last week. To see videos of the MS Gulf Coast, go to www.wlbt.com or www.sunherald.com. It seems that IRAQ is safer right now than New Orleans. Thank God, our Governor realized the seriousness of this storm and prepared our coast in time.

We are on the last leg of Shane's tour. We are 'wishful thinking' that he will be home in time for Christmas, but I know that probably won't happen. We have about 90 more days.

He is not going to believe his baby is grown into a little boy who says sentences and actually communicates with you. He better rest up, because there are two anxious boys awaiting his return and they are ready to RUMBLE!! We love you Daddy!!! Blake and Drew.

Several pictures September 5, 2005

2005-09-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

Three pictures to share with you.
1. Brothers - You have to understand that Drew NEVER sits by his big brother Blake - or gets near him for that fact. This morning, he climbs onto the couch and sits beside him, we were both shocked, so I thought it was a Kodak Moment.

2. The calm before the storm - This picture was taken at our house on Monday afternoon before the storm hit. Isn't God amazing? He promised us that the world would not be destroyed by floods and his promise was sealed with a rainbow. We got this rainbow on Monday, which told us that we would be okay, despite the devastation that would take place hours later.

3. This is a picture from Dogwood. It shows you just how HOT, HOT IS... in IRAQ.

September 1, 2005

2005-09-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

FYI. We have been without electricity from Monday to Friday, when Katrina hit the coast. We are about 3 hours from Biloxi and 2 hours from New Orleans. Minor damage here in Jackson area. Also, Baby Drew has been in the hospital from Monday to Saturday - the diagnosis: Croup, Asthma, Allergies. He is much better. I think his asthma attack may have been attributed to the barometric pressure change. Anyway, finally email is back up and here is Shane's latest email.

29 August 2005
We left this morning heading out to Dog Patch. I got up about 5:30 this morning got ready to go. I grabbed some breakfast with SSG Collins and man was it good. Very good as for as that goes. I had eggs mixed with ham and cheese, some bacon, biscuit, and fruit. That was some good eating. We left late this morning waiting on our interpreter. He was sick and decided he wasn't going to show up. So we got to Dog Patch just a little later than we wanted. I had second shift with SPC Jackson which was 10:00 to 12:00 for them, morning and the night shift. While I was on shift LTC Robinson paid us a visit. I think he was pleased with what he saw. Or at least he acted like he was and CPT Lyons didn't say anything to us when we got back so I guess everything went good. Dinner got out there about 6:00 P.M. and they brought us steak, rice and gravy and mixed vegetables. Yes Penny, I ate all of it I was hungry.
But the steak and rice was good. The mixed vegetables, well I have never been a fan of mixed vegetables, so I couldn't tell you if they were good or not. I didn't enjoy them I was just hungry.

30 August 2005
We left Dog Patch a little after 8:00 this morning and we did our patrol. It was another great patrol. Didn't see anyone or anything while we were out just they way I like it. We got back about 9:30 this morning. Everyone started checking on there family because most of the unit that I am in right now is from south Mississippi. Information was far and few between. Even for me and I live 3 hours north of the coast. Even where I live they have lost power all over the city. I can't begin to think of the damage done on the coast. Some are saying here that it is a total lost. While I was off pretty much for the rest of the day after Dog Patch. I got myself and my gear cleaned up from Dog Patch. Then I checked the schedule and I have nothing to do until 31 August or 1 September at 1:00 A.M. to 7:00 A.M. and that is OP 3. Looks like I wont be going back out to Dog Patch until Friday.

I love you guys and hope to be home before you know it. I am so ready to come home and see you guys again. Tell the boys that I love them very much and miss them madly. You know I miss seeing you. I am really missing you. But I will be home before you know it.

To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

Prayer August 27th

2005-08-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

To Shane:

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11

O God, give me a quiet mind, as I lie down to rest. Dwell in my thoughts until sleep overtakes me. Let me not be fretted by any anxiety over the lesser interests in life. Let no troubled dreams disturb me so that I may awake refreshed and ready for the task of another day. Amen.

August 27, 2005 from Shane

2005-08-27T12:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry that it has been a couple of days since I have e-mailed you. Between the net being down and my patrol group going out to Dog Patch there hasn't been a whole lot of time. Everything is still going good here. Just got back from Dog Patch this morning every it was just the way I like it nice and quite. They day before we got there Patrol Group 4 and they made a by pass in front of Dog Patch where the people of the village would not have to go miles and I do mean miles out of there way to get from one side of the village to the other. See where the road was, It went right in front of us and with the barriers and other stuff that protects us we couldn't see the road.

so we had to close it to make sure that we were safe. We also could not move it back because there was a huge dirt berm right in the way and to go behind they we would have the same problems. So SPC Jones (aka Big Block) did a great job of attacking that berm with a bulldozer and take it down. So that made it possible for the new bypass. Now when I say bypass I mean it is a dirt road made with a bulldozer that the cars can drive on. Nothing great about it. But it will make it easier on the people of the village and we will be safe because we can see the road now. But my point is that we went out and marked the road where the people would know that it was safe for them to use. It only took about 5 maybe 10 minutes to mark it with cones.

Oh yeah the new DFAC (Dining Facility) is open, man is it nice. I ate my first breakfast in a long time and had eggs with cheese mixed in with them. MAN EGGS TO ORDER YEAH BOY, WE ARE MOVING UP IN THE WORLD!!!!! It is funny that small things like that can make our time here so much better. The things we took for granted back home. Like taking a shower and not being dirty again before you get back to your Can because the wind blows the sand all over you again. Drinking and eating without drinking or eating sand.

But back to the days events. After we got releived from Dog Patch this morning we did our patrol. There was not problems, a matter of fact, we didn't even see a dog which runs around the area a lot here. So we didn't have nothing to report except all is quite. Boy is that music to my ears.

A couple of days ago another Charile Company guy got hurt on a convoy, it was pretty bad at the time. But now he is doing very good and things are looking up for him. He is a very good kid so keep him in your prayers.

Got back to Dag Patch and finally got the Dog Patch dirt off of me and had mail waiting on me, what a pleasant surprise. Checked out my package of course, my loving wife done good again and I had something from the Myers. thank you very much.

Then it was time to go eat lunch. Lunch was great today. I had some veal and fires with cheese on it, yes love, I had cheese again. Man was it some good eating. Then I was pretty much off the rest of the day except for the little 'hey you's' that come up.
I have been in the military for about half if not more of my adult life and hey you are going to always been there no getting away from them what so ever.

Tomorrow I have OP3 from 1900 to 0100 (7:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M.). Then I am back out at Dog Patch the day after that. I am fixing to sign off for now I have been up since 2 this morning and it is 6:30 in the evening now so I going to eat and go to bed.

Love, Here are some movies I was telling you about that I would love to have. Most are John Wayne movies.

The Man Show Shot Libery
Valance
The Green Berets
Flying Tigers
The Fighting Seabee's
The Flying Leathernecks
McLintock
Mister Smith Goes to Washington
12 O'Clock High
The Expendables
Zulu
Four Feathers
They Died with Their Boots On
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
Fort Apache
The Fighting Kentucky
Starship Troopers 1&2
24 Season Set 1, 2, or 3

I think that should pretty much feel the bill on movies for a while what do you think. And suprise me with some also. I miss you and love you very very much. I can't wait until I see you and the boys again. You guys are the raft that keeps me a float over here. If it wasn't for you guys I would go crazy over here. Thanks for all your love and support. you don't know how much it means to me.

To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

A Prayer for Shane Today

2005-08-26T22:56:00.000-05:00

I have not heard from Shane today (Friday). I know that he is on a mission, but I still miss his emails and phone calls. This is a prayer for him.

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge, and my savior - from violent men you save me.
I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from mine enemies.
The waves of death swirled around me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. 2 Samuel 22:2-7

Blake and Matt

2005-08-26T22:53:00.000-05:00

This was taken a couple weeks ago, Matt and Blake are friends. Both of their dad's are on active duty. They were fishing here.

Update from Shane 8/23/05

2005-08-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

23 August 2005
Got off of OP 3 at 0700 this morning and went to quickly get my over night stuff to go out to Dog Patch. Got to the tracks this morning and everyone was gone. No one was in sight. Finally about 10 minutes before we pulled out everyone started to show up. We were just a little late pulling out of the gate, but still had plenty of time to get to Dog Patch before 0800. On the way out of the gate, the driver of my track, who also happens to be in my team runs into a barrier on the way out of the gate. Bent the RPG rack on the left side pretty good. but other than that nothing big. But boy was SSG Collins was pissed. we headed out there with no more problems. After we got everything off loaded from the tracks I went to sleep because it had been over 24 hours since I have been asleep. But sure was nice to lay down on that cot and grab a couple of hours of sleep. Got up about 2 that afternoon and read for a couple of hours waiting on my shift to start on the roof. By the time my shift was over, dinner had made it. It was baked chicken it was O.K. Nothing to write home about but it wasn't bad either.
Then we set around and talked and me and 3 other NCO's talked about different things and debated about the Iraq constitution and if it would work or not with Muslim Law. My opinion is as long and the majority vote for it and agree to what ever comes up it will work, and that there are a couple of laws that we have that is based on our Christian religion. The prime example is same sex marriage. This debate went on for about 3 hours.
It was nice to set around and just talk.

24 August 2005
We got in this morning about 0830 and everything was great coming in no problems. We came in and got clean up and washed the Dog Patch dirt off of us and shaved. I almost had a beard when I came in this morning. Then we had to go to the white house (that is where most of the Bravo guys lived before we moved into Cans) and had to tear some stuff that was built in there out of the rooms. That took about an hour and a half no big deal. Came back and had a package on my bed and from no one else but the most perfect wife in the world with a new camera and some other goodies. Thanks for that, love.
So now I am off the rest of the day until I have OP tomorrow afternoon from 1 until 7 P.M. with Jackson. Then on the 26th we go back out to Dog Patch. We are suppose the have our first meal in the new dining hall tonight. I sure hope so because the are taking down the old as I type this e-mail.

The Duck is Crazy!

2005-08-23T21:58:00.000-05:00

This is our 'pet' duck, we feed a lot and he will let the kids touch and pick him up. Today, Blake got him in the swing. Drew loved it!!

Look what Drew learned today..

2005-08-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

Drew is constantly learning new things. He was 23 months old yesterday. He learned to hold on and swing high just like his big brother.
He was so excited.

Drew's First Day at Mothers Morning Out! 82305

2005-08-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

Drew's first artwork.

August 19 -21 From Shane

2005-08-22T08:19:00.000-05:00

19 August 2005
Had OP duty with SPC Havard on the 19 of August from 0100 to 0700 that is OH GOD EARLY MORNING (1:00A.M. to 7:00A.M.) So I guess it was the morning of the 20th. We spent 6 hours making sure no one came up behind Dog Patch and the no one was coming up to the FOB. That is what we are put there for. It can be a very boring job put it is a very important one. These are the jobs that keep us safe and sound in the FOB.
You know the fun and exciting things are running mission running around chasing the bad guys. But they are spaced out far and few between, Thank God for that!
The OP, PAD duties, and Present Patrols are routine and boring, but that is what keeps us safe and sound at night. It keeps the insurgents away from our FOB and from putting IED out on us.

20 August 2005
So me and SPC Havard got off duty at 7:00 in the morning on the 20th. I got back to the FOB and he went to his new platoon in Bravo Company, which will be 1st Platoon with SFC Odom and his crew. I threw my stuff together and got ready to go to Dog Patch.
We got out there and after everything got unloaded and set up, I went to sleep for a couple of hours. Man was I tired.
I didn't have a shift until the very last one from 0430 until 0800. So I had a nice and restful day waiting for my shift.
We had steak and shrimp for dinner it is was good even though it was a little on the cool side because of the time it takes to get out to Dog Patch.
I had duty with SPC Jackson, SPC Hattiensten and myself, it was a nice clear and bright night you didn't even need any night vision to see what was going on.

21 August 2005
Well our relief showed up on time but we had to wait for CPT Lyons, 1LT Rowland, and SFC Monte to go and do a cache search. But when our relief showed up they told us that Charlie Company had hit an IED and had one man down. I felt a sick feeling deep in down in my stomach because I know everyone in Charlie Company. So I was stuck to the radio in our track for more information. And found out that they MEDIVACT him out and that he was going to be O.K.
See when something like that happens, everyone not just QRF rounds people up to go out. And to search the area. Every company in the FOB had patrols out there. After everything closed down and Charlie patrol got back to the FOB, we were told to Return to Base. So we got back to the FOB and I found out who it was and that he was O.K. One of his forearms is broken and got shrapnel of course that broke his arm.
1LT Rowland told me that he was in good spirits and was feeling pretty good when he was Medivact out. It might have something to do with the Morphine the Medics gave him you think?
22 August 2005
Today has been a lazy day for me. I don't have anything going on until 2300 or 11:00P.M. tonight when I go to OP duty. I have it until 7:00 tomorrow morning and I then go out to Dog Patch that morning.

SEND MORE SOUP!!

I love you and really miss you guys. I cant wait to see you guys again.
Tell the boys that I love them and how proud I am of both of them.

To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

Look at Drew

2005-08-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday, August 21, 2005.
Blake and Drew play on the slip and slide. Since this was Drew's first time, he had to figure it out. Here is another picture of Drew wearing Blake's Football uniform and shorts. He is going to be our quarterback. Maybe??

Things to Send Shane

2005-08-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

If you would like to send Shane a care package, these are some items he mentioned wanting:
I can send him a package everyday, but it is very special to get one from other people. It reminds them that we have not forgotten them!

Jalopeno Cheese Dip (Frito Lay Can)
Deodorant (Clear not white, non aerosol)
Chips
Foot Powder
Crackers
Disposable Razors
Classic Tomato Soup Ready to Eat
Gillette Mach 3 Razor Blades
Gum
Ham, Turkey, or Chicken in Foil Packs (located where Tuna is)
Books on Tape (Cassette or Disk) (He likes Mystery/Thriller/Science Fiction)
Music CDs - Country or Rock (He likes all kinds of music, except Classical and Jazz)
Guy Magazines (Military History, Car, Sports Magazines - He does not Hunt)
DVD Set - '24' Season 2 or 3
DVD Set - Band of Brothers
Something fun..handheld games, candy, MSU happy, tshirt, towels (brown/tan)
AA and AAA Batteries
Cash(Hide in Book or something - $5. $10) He does not have access to ATM or Bank, so he is limited with cash. Cheap watch from Walmart - all black, waterproof
Phone Cards (Global)
or
Just a card to let him know you are thinking about him.
If you need his address, please let me know.

August 16 and 17 email from Shane

2005-08-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

16 & 17 August 2005
Last night for supper ,we had hamburgers and they were very good.
I went and checked out my can to see where I will be staying.
Then I had to go to PAD 11 from 1900 to 0030 (7:00 P.M. to 1230 A.M.) so I didn't have time to move anything yet.
Me and Duiett got ready and head off to PAD 11, which isn't very for from where our company area is.
Would you believe MY luck and the 5 Ton broke down on us on the way to the PAD last night?
So we had to come back and get a track to take out there.
So instead of having a nice soft seats to set in with A/C, we had to sit on top of a very hot track (113 APC).
So it made the shift a little longer than it would have been in the nice soft cool 5 ton. Oh well.
We finished our shift last night or this morning ever how you want to look at it with no problems. Got back and we decided to go a head and take the 5 ton on to maintenance where they could work on it first thing this morning, so as soon as we got off, we took care of that.
I went to bed and got up about 6:00 this morning to start packing all the crap I had.
I decided real quick it was time to throw some stuff away. May did I ever.
I had three bags worth of stuff that I threw away.
I have no idea why I was holding on to that stuff for.
But I got everything moved over to my new can and got everything set up before 10:00 this morning.
I thought that was pretty good seeing how I still had a lot of crap. My roommate is out at Dog Patch today so he hasn't had time to move his stuff in.
Tomorrow while I am at Dog Patch, he will be moving in and having to can to himself.
So everything is going great here.
I am glad to be out of the tent and in the can. Maybe I will not eat so much dust now.
Got to go, OP 3 is waiting on me, I have it today with SPC Jackson.
Thanks for the pictures of the boys I like them they were great.
By the way when you get a chance and have some extra money send me some more sheets and pillow cases please. And a little darker that white. But wash them before you send them please, because if they fad it will get all over everything because things don't get separated here in the wash.
And send me so jalapeno and cheese dip please.
I love you and miss you guys very much.
To My Lover and My Best Friend... Shane

We love our Dad!!

2005-08-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

The boys got to speak to their dad on the phone today. It was good to hear his voice. They miss him dearly! Hurry home Shane - - they are all boy!! We love you!! Penny,Blake and Drew

2005-08-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

15-16 August 2005
Yesterday was a nice quite day for the most part. It was my recovery day from working 24 hours straight.
Will not work for up for 24 hours. So yesterday was a nice quite day.
Watched a couple of movies and read a little bit. Nothing really big.
Today, got up and grabbed a quick breakfast before going out on a quick patrol. There and back with no problem at all and didn't run out of fuel this time either.
So things couldn't have gone any better.
So now I am on relax time until I go on PAD duty tonight at 7:00 P.M. (1900) until 1230 to night (0030).
It is going to be me and Dueitt together again tonight.
We just pull up to the PAD (which is like a ramp that goes up the the fence around the FOB where we can look over the fence and look out around the desert to make sure no one is messing around out there.
It can be boring, but it is also very important.
Then tomorrow I am going to OP 3 from 1300 (1:00 P.M.) until 1900 (7:00 A.M.) tomorrow afternoon.
I think my partner is going to be SPC Jackson. He is another good guy from the squad. WE all have our days and little querks but all in all they are a good bunch of guys who knows there job very well.
Tell the boys how much I love them.
And tell Blake that when I get home that we will go fishing again.
I can't wait until I can play with both of the boys again.
Tell them that they need to be ready for me because I am going to beat them both in fighting. Also tell Blake I very proud I am of him and how much of a big boy and helper he has been since I have been gone. He is the best. I love you with all my heart and I will stand beside you through thick and thin. I really hope that they both can understand why am not there with them right now.
To My Friend and My Lover
Shane

Brothers in the Bathtub. Helping each other out!

2005-08-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

August 14th Email from Shane

2005-08-15T21:12:00.000-05:00

Good Morning Love,
it sure was nice talking to you this morning or last night for you. We got lucky, about 2 minutes after I got off the phone with you they went down (the phones). So I guess that is what they were doing while we were talking.
It was good to finally be able to talk to Blake, I wished Drew was old enough to know when I talked to him on the phone and would say something back. Oh well I am sure I will be getting plenty of ear full when I get home.

Well my tent filled up today, now I am ready to move into the cans. They are trying to cram the same amount of people in my small tent as they are trying to put in the bigger tents and the math just doesn't work out. You know how it is.

I am not going back out to Dog Patch until about the 18th. And we haven't changed to the three day rotation yet but that doesn't mean that we wont by then. I am glad Blake is liking school and isn't having any problems getting back into the swing of things.

This is what went on at Dog Wood for me yesterday
14 August 2005
Had off most of the day except for the little odd and ends things that I had to do. We got back off of patrol about 1000 yesterday like I told you yesterday we were running a little late because of the hummer running out of gas. So I pretty much had the rest of the day off until it was time for me to go on Detainee Guard at 2200 to 0600 the next morning (10:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M.). It was me, Chris Duiett, and Buddy Rose everything went smooth.

We had to go check on and do a head count every hour but other then that we just set there and made sure they didn't take any long walks. We were lucky they were asleep when we got there and other than doing head counts once an hour they stayed on there cots trying to sleep. So our shift was very easy. We got off a little late because one of our sister companies was a little late relieving us. Not going to say which company that was. But once they got there, we got off and came back to the company area where I got my NVG's replaced because my old ones broke on me, turned in my laundry, and went and called you and the boys. Once I did all of that it was about 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning before I got in the bed.

Oh yeah I worked in a shower just before bed. So I woke up about 11:30 or 12:00 with new room mates getting ready to move in. Man I hated to see that. Oh well I hope they like my unusual schedule. If not oh well. Tomorrow I think I have Pad duty again it is starts at 7:00 P.M. until 1:00 A.M. Then I go back to OP 3 and then to Dog Patch. That is about all for today.

I love you and can't wait until I can wrap my arms around you again. I really missing you guys.
To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

Drew loves hats!

2005-08-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

Drew has a true love for hats! He had to wear his brothers baseball hat to sunday school today and then he found this farmer hat in Blake's closet. Drew will be 2 on September 22, 2005

August 13th email from Shane

2005-08-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

13 August 2005
Well got up this morning with the sun at 0530 in the morning getting ready for the trip to Dog Patch. Got up and got dressed and grabbed my bag that I packed the night before (a trick I learned from you my loving wife) and headed to go and get ice and drinks for us to take out there. We got everything loaded up and everyone got in place and we pulled out about 0740 and headed to Dog Patch.
Got there and of course the first thing to get unloaded was a .50 Cal machine gun to go up on the roof and then the ice. I actually got just a little to much ice. Well filled up the big cooler which is the size of a deep freeze the we use to keep our drinks cold (and it works great you stick you hand down in there to get something to drink and your hand freezes and the drinks down out the bottom actually have ice in them). Then we had more then enough ice to fill 6 or 7 other ice cooler like what you use at home and had about 20 bags left that we couldn't do anything with. Better to have more than not enough in this case. Started a new book at Dog Patch while I was waiting for my turn on the roof. We pull two three hour shifts on the roof looking out over the village (and yes love, I took pictures and soon as I finish off the camera I will send it home to you).
The book was called They Were Soldiers.
it is about a National Guard Unit getting ready to deploy overseas to an Hot Area. It is fiction but a lot of some of the things they are talking about in the training up process we went through the something. Except this book is fiction and we aren't.

I stand duty with a guy name David Reynolds, he is about 22 years old and just got married last August before we deployed. So he hasn't had much time with his wife. He seems to be a pretty nice guy. A matter of fact the whole Squad is a very good bunch of guys as for as I am concerned. While we were on duty we had the 1700 to 2000 shift (5:00 to 8:00) and the 0500 to 0800 the following morning. But while we were on duty they brought chow out to us.
it was chicken, rice mixed with vegetables. So I didn't get any.

I took some soup out there, but had it for lunch and took the chicken in rice you sent me for dinner. They might have been good if it was microwaved, but setting it out in the sun it wasn't very good. After we got off I went down and read some more from my bible and yes I am back to reading my bible. I have been doing it everynight since I have came to Bravo Company. Got to bed about 10:00 P.M. and woke up very very cold this morning. But it is much better than waking up in a pool of sweat.

14 August 2005
Woke up this morning about 0430 for my shift on the roof at five. Me and Reynolds was back up there again this morning. Man we both had a tough time up there this morning. We both stood just about the whole time to keep ourselves awake. Our relief was right on time, SFC Odom is great about not being late. We left there and today was our patrol day, so we used the HUMMER that they brought out and the two tracks that we brought out to do our patrol. Me, DOC Smith, Rose, and aboard were in the hummer. We got about 5 or more miles down the road on our patrol and found out the hard way that our fuel gauge in the Hummer didn't work. Yes we ran out of gas. So we got pulled back in front of OP 3 where we had somebody cover us with the other tracks went and got fuel cans to fuel us back up. This added about an hour of more to our patrol. But that was the most that happen on that patrol. Which in my mind is a good thing. But we did the next crew a favor that will be using that Hummer and filled it up for them. We got back to the FOB and I have Detainee guard tonight from 10:00 P.M. to 6:00 in the morning. I am on it with Dueitt and Buddy Rose so I will be in good company tonight.

So after making sure that they knew about it I went and took a shower and back to the tent where I had two Package waiting on me from Sissy tell her thank you for me please. I got in a couple of hours sleep because I know I am not getting none tonight on Detainee Guard.

Tomorrow the Squad has QRF but me and the two guys on duty with me will be sleeping.

I love you and can't wait until we get home.
I love you and keep the home fires burning for me I will be home before you know it.
To My Lover and My Best Friend
Shane

August 11 and 12 email from Shane

2005-08-12T06:44:00.000-05:00

11 and 12 August 2005
Got off of OP duty at 7:00 in the morning on the 11th and had the rest of the day off. The Squad was out at Dog Patch and me and Duiett was left behind because the Squads next shift of OP duty started at 7:00 A.M. on the 12th and Dog Patch doesn't get relieved until after 8:00 so the times don't work out. Well after I got off and e-mailed the best wife in the world yesterday morning I went back to my tent, went and took a shower, and but on a movie. Riddick was the movie that I put on. I mad it through maybe the first 15 or 20 minutes of it and after that I was out like a light. I sleep until about 2:00 P.M. I couldn't believe that I actually slept that long. I most have been more tired than I thought. I got up and at me a quick bite of something. And put on another movie called Man APart. I actually made it through that one. After it went off I read a little on my book.

Then it was chow time Fried Chicken is what we had. If wasn't half bad, no it was pretty good or I was just that hungry. After dinner I came to use the phones but of course the phones were down again. After that I went back to the tent and put on King Arthur and got ready for bed. Went to sleep about 10:00 or 10:30 and was back up at 5:30 to get ready for OP duty. Me and Dueitt went and got ice and headed out to the OP site.

We started about 7:00 and had a nice actually kind of cool day for Iraq. Everything went smooth. Our guys at Dog Patch was very late getting relieved. They didn't get out of there until 11:00 this morning instead of at 8:00. The rest of the company had a little something else going on so everyone else was tied up with that.

We thought for sure our relief would be late, but sure enough they were right on time. So now I am going to eat some lunch and get my stuff together for Dog Patch tomorrow. I get to go this time. So no e-mails tomorrow sorry about that sweet heart.

I love you more than life it self and miss you terrible. Tell the boys that their Dad loves them and wishes he could be there with them and you. By the way the beach wont be so bad. Just as long as I can get all the sand off of me when we finish at the beach.

To My Love and My Best Friend
Shane