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DISPATCH"
Hello from Iraq: To all of our family and friends, it’s time again for another edition of our friendly newsletter. I’m amazed at how fast these are coming out as it seems just like yesterday we sent the last one. So time is moving fast for us. We have been in the desert for three full months and that means we will be starting our first round of R & R leave. Our first group is scheduled to head home on May 7, 2004 and another group on May 8, 2004. There will be 11 soldiers heading home on these two days. Soldiers will have 15 days leave starting the day after they reach their gateway airport in the United States. It is our full intention to provide an R & R pass to all the soldiers in our battalion. But, there may be factors beyond our control that limit us from accomplishing this goal. But once again, we will do everything we can to get everyone on R & R. To go with R & R, our soldiers are also allowed to go to the country of Qatar on a four day pass. This is a short break from the daily duties here in Iraq. While on pass our soldiers will stay at a military facility, but will have the opportunity to golf, go fishing, shop at the local market, use the facilities at some major hotel’s and resorts, and even have a beer or two. If a soldier gets a pass he is still eligible to go home on R & R. Part of our job is to make sure all of our soldiers have the supplies and services they need. Since some of the batteries are not located at the battalion headquarters, the battalion must run supply convoys or LOG PAC’s to the battery locations. The picture below is of the soldiers on one such LOG PAC. Not only do we send supplies, but also send services, Chaplain Wilson goes on the LOG PAC’s as often as he can to provide spiritual support to our boys!
Of Local Interest… A sunset at Camp Cedar II
Above: The sun sets behind Tent City I in Camp Cedar II. Weather: See Captain Hauck’s battery news for some information about our Wet Desert!
The Best of the Best: Congratulations to CW2 Thomas Flint. CW2 Flint won the CWO Michael O’Conner Award as the most outstanding Warrant Officer in the South Dakota National Guard… CW2 Tom Flint truly is the “Best of the Best.” This is the third year in a row that CW2 Flint was nominated for the award. He won the award two years ago, and declined the nomination last year because he was activated with 1st Battalion. When nominated for the award again this year, CW2 Flint accepted the nomination and maintained his focus on the deployment with 2nd Battalion. CW2 Flint has truly done and outstanding job for our battalion and we are honored to have him with us! Once again, he is the, “Best of the Best!”
Web Site: Our web-site is now operational! There isn’t a lot of information on the site at this time, but there are a few pictures and you can even check out the local weather conditions. We will continue to improve the site as time allows. Our web site is: www.DakotaSteelRain.com.
Mail: 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:
Battalion Executive Officer’s Corner: MAJ Jerry Somsen Hello from the lovely confines of southern Iraq. Things have been quite busy in 2nd Battalion since the last newsletter. We have changed the mission of a few units. Although we are still performing many of the same missions, we have shifted the number of people doing each mission. A vast majority of our effort has been refocused on the elimination of Captured Enemy Ammunition, or as we refer to it CEA. Many ammunition sites still remain unsecured throughout Iraq and are a source for the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) you hear about on TV. Our BN will put a huge dent into the source. Things have been going well and we continue to do our part to bring the Iraqi people a safe environment in which to live. We are fortunate to be able to watch some news from home and to see what you are seeing. Unfortunately, we are not able to give you the true story of what is going on. Yes the bad things you see on TV are happening, but there are many good things going on also. Currently, our Brigade is in the process of rebuilding roads, improving water supply systems, and rebuilding schools. Our Battalion has taken on the task of rebuilding one school in our area of operation. Things are in their preliminary stages, but we now have blueprints for a school. Our BDE is getting with various contractors and looking for bids. This is a new process in Iraq, so it takes some education to get the Iraqi contractors to fully understand what it is we are trying to do. Our goal is their goal - a new and better Iraq. I want to take this space to thank our family and friends. As I watch the mail pour in for our soldiers, I am amazed at the support. There is no doubt that you are behind us 100% and it makes our tasks easier. To keep our soldiers in contact with their families, we have purchased our first Satellite Internet Service. It should be here in the next 4 – 6 weeks (of course the dish was back ordered). We were able to purchase the system and the first three months of service through donations to our Battalion fund. We would especially like to thank some of our major contributors: Fiber Com, Computers and Service; South Dakota State Employee’s; South Dakota Bankers Association, and one anonymous donor who’s support made this purchase possible. What we don’t have is enough to keep the system running through the end of our deployment. If you know of anyone wishing to donate to keep this system functional, please put him or her in contact with our Rear Detachment personnel. Through your help, we can keep our soldiers in touch. This system will stay as a battalion asset, so that we can designate where and how it will be used in the best sense of our soldiers. We do look to purchase another system, but it will be based on funding. Next, I would like to talk to you about Rest and Relaxation. I can tell you that our first R&R personnel will be going home soon. It is great to have this program finally underway. I will tell you that we are currently operating at a reduced level of R&R slots available in the theater. This is largely due to the increased need of personnel in theater. We will work hard to get all of our soldier’s home, but that is not something we can guarantee. I know that this is frustrating for our families, as it is very frustrating for our soldiers here. All I can say is that we all hope for the best! Lastly, I am extremely proud of our soldiers. The effort put forth by our soldiers is truly outstanding. Each unit accepted the next mission with a purpose, to do the best job they could. I am telling you, they are doing an outstanding job! Thanks for your Support!
Chaplain’s Corner: MAJ Lynn Wilson "Desert Depression" Part 1 For the next few newsletters, the articles from the chaplain are going to be quite "depressing"! I'm going to speak on something some soldiers in theatre are struggling with here in Iraq-depression (for some families and soldiers this topic will not apply). To begin with, did you know the prophet Elijah, Winston Churchill, President's Lincoln and Adams all suffered from depression? The dictionary's definition is "sadness or gloom, a period of decline in business activity and employment". Statistics from 1988 say depression affected some 9-14 million Americans. Estimates are that at any one time about 25% of people are going through depression. And statistics seem to show depression is on the rise (how depressing!). The good news is over 80% of those suffering from depression can be helped with appropriate treatment such as medication and counseling, and I have seen soldiers who were depressed being able to bounce out of it. The most common symptom in the United States today is emotional depression-called the "common cold" of the mind or emotional life. Women are found to be twice as likely as men to suffer from depression, but I find some soldiers in theatre suffer from what I call "desert depression": depression that has come about by being separated from our families, careers, churches and hobbies-things that bring joy and identity. There are different kinds of depression. Clinical depression is a more serious condition lasting from weeks to months, possibly years. Bipolar disorder is where periods of depression alternate with periods of mood elevation, excessive energy, etc. To give you a few technical terms from one of my books, major depression is 1 or more major depressive episodes (symptoms include irritable moods, diminished interest or pleasure, weight loss or gain, lack of sleep, agitation, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, inability to concentrate, thoughts of death or suicide), dysthymia is a history of depressed mood more days than not for at least two years, and depressive disorder NOS refers to disorders not otherwise specified. Let me conclude by sharing what causes depression? 1. Physical factors such as lack of sleep, exercise, poor diet, exhaustion (long hours here in Iraq are a factor), 2. A temperament that is vulnerable to loss-the loss of one's family and job back home lead to "desert depression", 3. Sin-such as adultery-can lead to depression, 4. Trails in life like being sent to a dangerous place, 5. Demonic attacks from the evil one (people will laugh, but the Bible-Ephesians 6, 1 Peter 5-says its true), 6. Loneliness, 7. Triggering situations like insults, rejection, and failure can trigger an onset of depression, 8. Irrational beliefs such as "I'll never get home!", "She won't be there when I get back", etc., 9. Anger turned inward, 10. Biological or Physical factors that need medical attention, 11. Feelings of meaninglessness and emptiness, 12. Spiritual dryness from lack of time in God's word or house/church, 13. Interpersonal or relationship problems, 14. Societal and cultural factors like economic problems, high divorce rates, etc. Many depressed individuals are at risk for suicide, and next time I'll share some of the factors associated with a higher risk for suicide, as well as ways of coping with depression.
Battery News
Headquarters Battery: CPT Charles Hauck/1SG Bruce Brekke Notes from the commander: Hello again from Camp Cedar II, Iraq. First and foremost, your loved ones are in good health and spirits as April draws to a close and we look forward to “May Day”. Mother Nature tried to dampen those spirits with a day and night of rain. She dumped over an inch of rain on us in under an hour. The rain was accompanied with a short burst of marble sized hail and a lot of wind. To make matters worse, the tarps covering our tents had been removed which put us at the mercy of the weather. Another downpour hit as we prepared to go to sleep. Some tents handled the torrent better than others, but all experienced some “dampness” to one degree or another. The general sentiment was “Hey! I thought this was the desert!” Photo’s of the aftermath of the first onslaught:
But, as this is a very “arid” region, it won’t take long for things to dry out. Sooner than we’d like, it’ll be back to the chalk-like dust we love to hate. Thanks to all those who submitted captions to this month's “Caption that Picture” contest. And the winner is:
In a recent email, I found the following inspirational phrase: “The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.” Know that your support of the troops and their families is a “Force Multiplier” as it makes us stronger and it never goes unappreciated! Take care and God bless!
Charlie Battery: CPT Troy Ness/1SG Myron Simons SFC Jerry Gruenwald “Hi” to all the families and friends of Charlie Battery. First of all we would like to extend our sympathy and prayers to the family of Terry Ehrich, he was the father-in-law of SPC Chris Bonin from Charlie Battery. We flew Chris home on emergency leave to attend Terry's funeral. The weather here has been staying rather mild; we did get a little rain the other day. It has been dry here but I guess it is the desert! This is no place to grow 40-bushel wheat anyway! They do have a few small fields of tomatoes around here they have been harvesting. We expect it to start warming up fast here, it was better that we arrived here earlier to get more adapted to the heat. We continue to stay busy with our missions, which seemingly makes the days go by fast. Some of the Charlie Battery soldiers will be in areas for a while in which Internet and phones will not be readily available. But they will be back with us when their missions there are done. Even though the locations of our missions some times change, our spirits and morale continue to stay high. If I could make one suggestion to all the families and friends of the 147th it would be to not dwell on all the negative news from the media. We are making a positive difference here. Thank you for all the prayers and support. Your strength and support from home is our strength to stay focused, complete our missions, and get back home to our loved ones.
C Btry participated in the Dawn Service on Anzac Day at Camp Az Azubayr. The Anzac tradition - the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship that are still relevant today was established on 25 April 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word ‘Anzac’ to the Australian and New Zealand vocabularies and creating the notion of the Anzac spirit. The US military, TetraTech & SOC/SMG participated in the Dawn Service together. A few words from the Commander: C Btry has gone through some changes over the last month. We have taken on a big role in the KBR mission and some of the soldiers continue to support the CEA security mission. Basecamp continues to operate as normal. The soldiers continue to exude professionalism & high morale. C Btry soldiers take the duty of serving their country very serious. They overcome changes that face them and attain mission accomplishment. With our busy schedules, the days seem to go by relatively fast. Just remember: Everyday that goes by is one day closer to your soldier coming home. Take care & keep us in your prayers.
Contacts: Alpha Battery
Bravo Battery
Charlie Battery
HHS
FAMILY SUPPORT
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Webmaster: Holly Hauck
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