I would like to share some news about the Iraqi Security Forces working alongside U.S. soldiers. A few weeks back, we spotted a cab about 3-4 clicks (3,000 - 4,000 meters) from out perimeter. I was on the quick reaction force, and we attempted to chase the car down before they left the area. We were not able to catch them, however. We didn't think much of it because we didn't have any idea if they had done anything wrong. Ironically enough, a group from our unit was on its way back from our base camp bringing back supplies. They saw a cab traveling. It was clearly loaded with heavy material, which was causing the rear end to sag. Our unit convoy was able to stop the car and searched the vehicles and found a load of stolen artillery shells and ammo. The Iraqi "New National Guard" and the Iraqi Police came and did a hell of a job searching and arresting the Alibabas (Arabic for thief). It was apparent that they had received a great deal of training and were well on their way to claiming responsibility for the security of a sovereign Iraq.

My name is Francis Schwagel and my night shift partner is Luke Waddell. We both have received many letters and packages, which we appreciate, but we have learned that the best gift has been Easy-Mac. Easy-Mac has become a great substitute for the classic time honored MRE. The MRE, though fulfilling and always a surprise to open, has lost its luster. In it’s place has grown one of America’s favorite quick fix meals, and this meal has stepped up to feed us hungry soldiers. Now besides knowing how to defend our country, we have learned the art of making the perfect bowl of Mac and Cheese. Luke and I are not alone when we say, "Pass the blue box please."

PFC Adam Barker was promoted to the rank of Specialist E-4. Congratulations Adam!

Hello to all the family, friends, neighbors and fellow guardsmen and women from central Iraq! We decided to change the format of this newsletter just slightly to give some insight on one of our Bravo Battery Soldiers whom recently was promoted to Sergeant E-5. We will over the next couple of months try to pick one soldier that we feel has done an outstanding job and let everyone know back home how proud and honored all of us here are to serve with this individual. We will also give some background information on him to show all the readers how lucky we are to have the individuals we do, here with us in Iraq!

From the Commander:

If I may have just a couple minutes of your time, I would like to tell you how things are going. The weather as most of you can imagine is extremely hot, just imagine having a hair dryer blowing in your face and you will understand how it is here. While you are driving down the road at 45 mph the wind is so hot you can hardly put your arm out the window. The metal of the HUMMWV’s get so hot, you cannot even place your bare skin on it for fear of getting burned. I don’t want you to think that we have it that bad because we don’t. The BN maintenance as well as the Battery maintenance is tirelessly working on putting Air conditioning units into all the HUMMWV’s that we have out on the road. We are anxiously anticipating the conclusion of this project. The men all remain focused and are drinking more water than any of us thought would be physically possible, so we ask that you not worry. All possible steps are being taken to ensure our health is priority number one!

David Ryan Berg was born on March 15, 1979 to David and Susan Berg in Rock Valley, IA. Ryan grew up with his two sisters Karyn and Amy in the nearby towns of Alvord and Rock Rapids. Ryan’s family moved to Vermillion, SD in 1986. Ryan’s mother and father worked at Hy-Vee where they still do today, and Ryan and his sisters began school in Vermillion. Ryan was an average student through school, often-juggling school, boy scouts, martial arts, and part time jobs. At the age of 17, Ryan began working on his Eagle Scout project and began entertaining the idea of joining the South Dakota Army National Guard in order to get money for college. He joined the SDARNG on June 16, 1996 under the delayed entry program and began attending drills, in addition to continuing high school. He finished high school in December 1996 after 3 and ½ years, finished his Eagle Scout project in January 1997 and attended basic training and AIT at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma from February 7 through may 21 of that same year. After graduating AIT, he returned to Vermillion in time for his high school graduation on May 23^rd.

Ryan began college at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion the following autumn while attending drills at Charlie Battery 1/147^th Field Artillery in Yankton, SD. Ryan studied German and English, his two favorite subjects. In order to complete his Bachelor of Arts in German, Ryan spent the 2000-2001 school year studying at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany. Ryan came back and finished his undergraduate degrees, graduating with double bachelors in German and English in December 2002. The following January he began working on his MA in Communication studies at USD. His unit was activated for operation enduring freedom in March 2003. The 1^st BN of the 14^th FA spent 2 months in Ft. Sill, OK only to be deactivated without being deployed. He came back to Vermillion and continued going to school and attending drill. In order to cut the costs of graduate school, he began teaching speech communications 101 as a teaching assistant, receiving reduced tuition and a monthly stipend.

 Ryan was in Miami Beach for the National Communication Association conference when he received a phone call from his unit, warning him that he was being put on alert for possible activation. He returned to South Dakota and was immediately notified that he was being deployed with Bravo Battery, 2/147^th FA out of Aberdeen, SD. After joining the Battery and getting to know the unit throughout their preparations at home station, he was sent to Ft. Sill, then to Kuwait and eventually to Camp Cedar in Iraq. Ryan was promoted to Sergeant on May 10^th 2004 right here at Camp Cedar II where he joins an outstanding corp. of Non Commissioned officers. When he returns home, he hopes to continue school, finishing his MA in two more semesters, visiting Taiwan with his girlfriend, Yi-Chen, who is also known as Jane. He also looks forward to getting a good Jiu-Jitsu workout with his friend, Dylan and going fishing with his father or his best friend, Dave. After graduation, he hopes to find work as a translator or interpreter for German to English and any other languages he might learn. His current enlistment with the National Guard will end on June 15, 2005, after 9 years of service. He’ll reenlist with the blessing of his family and girlfriend, who will undergo most of the stress of another possible deployment.

Thank you,
SGT David Ryan Berg

In closing this edition of the Battery newsletter I would like to say how proud of SGT Berg we are, he will do an outstanding job as a member of the Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) Corp. As we continue to receive missions and as we successfully complete them we will undoubtedly have stories of individuals who have done something that truly stands out. Until our next newsletter I would like to say gods speed and best wishes from all of us here in central Iraq!

Sincerely,
CPT Steven J Siemonsma

Hello from the Mess Section at Camp Az Zubayr. SSG Paul Hansen and SGT Joel Boyd are currently assisting with the cooking of UGR meals for Alpha Battery at ASP1. They have been there about a month now and will be returning soon.

Here at the Land of Oz, I make the chow run twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening and do this three-days a week. We leave at 0545hrs and return about 0730 hrs; it is about a 40-mile trip to Camp Navistar and back. We get two hot meals a day, breakfast and supper. For lunch, we are suppose to eat Meal’s Ready to Eat (MRE’s), they do get old after you have had each one a few times. Many of our guys just snack on left over items from the breakfast and evening meals that we make available for lunch or snacks. At about 1630 hours we leave for the evening chow run and arrive back around 1830 hours. We serve for one hour after we arrive back from the chow run.

The soldiers are asking for different items such as Heinz 57 sauce, pizza, and hot wings instead of hamburgers and hotdogs. The best sellers are fresh milk and ice cream. We go through a lot of these items! If the dinning facility in Navistar has what we ask for we can usually get the item.

In late June we set out to deliver shoes, toys, candy and stuff animals to the local children that were donated from the good folk in the states. At a few of the stops that we made the children just mobbed us and we had the interrupter Mr. Basheer line them up in a nice orderly fashion. It took some time to fit all the children. I am attaching some of the pictures that some us took of the festivities.

  Howdy from the Beach

Kyle Steven Woodring	Christopher Michael Opbroek	Jadin Evalyn Saville

We continue in a series started recently when we looked at the Garden of Eden.  Today we look at another biblical site found in Iraq: The Tower of Babel.  Genesis 11:1 and following mentions all the inhabitants descended from Noah and his family, thus having one language.  Babylon or Shinar lies southeast of Ararat, the mountains of Turkey where Noah's ark had previously landed.  With great eagerness of spirit the people encourage one another to come and make a tower, the purpose for the building of such tower (most believed it structurally resembled a ziggurat) was twofold: 1. To make a name for themselves, not God! And 2. Lest they be scattered across the earth (even though God had commanded man in Genesis 9 to do just that!). 

The tower had definitely progressed by the time God intervened.  God disturbs their one common language so that their prideful purposes are brought to an end.  The verb Balal means to confuse from it the form balbel is contracted to Babel, showing the actual origin of the name of that famous city of Babylon.  Much interest centers on whether the ruins of the tower of Babel still exists.  Situated southwest of Babylon on the west bank of the Euphrates there is a tower that was once seven stages.  Most likely this was the site.  Just in comparison, the ziggurat at Ur was three stages (26 meters).  So perhaps the Tower of Babel was 60 meters or more.  Only God knows.  I have seen from a distance the site where the tower may have been located. The location is now under area under Polish control and beyond the fence line of where American forces are located.  We soldiers have the opportunity to see these ancient biblical sites, and to learn what God would teach us from them. 

Please keep us in your prayers, as you are in ours!

Note from the Commander: This newsletter finds everyone here in HHS well although slightly melted. The temperature is slowly rising, but the guys are doing a great job of dealing with the heat and continue to complete all of our missions.

I’ll call this addition the Soldiers Highlight. Every month I will highlight soldiers so you can get familiar with the members of the HHS family. The brief informational excerpt about each soldier will include what position they are slotted in, which indicates what their job would be if we had a field artillery mission. As you know, our mission in Iraq is not an artillery one; so many of the soldiers are working outside their normal duties. For example, there is no need for our surveyors without an artillery mission. These soldiers have been assigned to convoy escort duty.

I hope you are able to find the familiar faces and get to know some new ones!

Mail can be sent to your soldier at the address below. You can expect it to take 7-14 days for your mail to get picked up by the battalion. Then we must deliver it to the units in their various locations when we deliver other supplies. The mail address for each unit is listed below:

2-147th FA BN: Our web site is: www.DakotaSteelRain.com  at this site you will be able to find links to other battery web sites and pictures.

HHB 2-147FA: www.homepages.dsu.edu/2147fabn/

C 2-147FA: www.147th.com

197th FA BDE web site: ( http://www.nharmy.guard.com/family_services/units.htm )

General Military Information: www.military.com

Trip to Disney World: www.shadesofgreeen.org