Just a quick check in to let everyone know all is well. Busy as hell, but well. R&R leave was incredible and couldn’t have come at a better time. It has been full throttle since I’ve returned and I apologize for not getting on here more to write. Honestly, I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to as we fight through these final 5 months of the deployment.
The days are hovering around 120 degrees at its hottest but the missions continue. Your Soldiers are doing a phenomenal job and you can be proud of their efforts and positive spirit. We’ve had some hard times in the unit but the resolve and dedication of the troops has carried us through.
I owe a more detailed update and will try my damndest to get something up here in the near future. Thanks to all for the prayers and support. I am eternally grateful for both. Sgt Hook out.
Just checking in and wanted to send a very big THANK YOU to all of those who have shown tremendous support to the Soldiers serving over here. My unit recently received a ton of Girl Scout Cookies from three troops in Texas with the help of the local firefighter’s union and longtime supporter Anthony.
I also want to thank all those who sent birhday wishes and checked up on my well being. My apologies for not replying to your comments and emails, but thank you so very much.
In a few hours I’ll be heading home for a little R&R leave. I’ve been so busy recently that I don’t think I’ve had a moment of peace for a long time. I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks to let my hair down. The lovely and talented and downright sexy Mrs Hook informed me the other day that Andrew the Adventurous and Typhoon Tyler of Trieste were cleaning my BBQ grill and when asked why, replied “duh, Dad’s coming home and he’s going to grill everyday.” Indeed I will.
So if you don’t hear from me much over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be out back tending the grill. Sgt Hook out.
Congratulations to Patti Bader who has just been named as recipient of the VFW’s 2008 James E. Van Zandt Citizenship Award.
“The VFW Citizenship Award - Awarded for outstanding service contrib to American citizenship. To recognize significant contribution to the spirit of service and dedication to the nation that inspires us to display better citizenship.”
“James E. “Jimmy” Van Zandt was Commander-in-Chief of the VFW three times, and a veteran of three wars (World War I, World War II, and the Korean War). He served as an enlisted man in World War I and retired as an admiral following the Korean War. Descended from a pioneer family in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Jimmy worked his way from newsboy to United States Congressman. Recipients of the award named in Van Zandt’s honor exemplify his dedication to public service, citizenship, and other admirable qualities.”
Patti is certainly very deserving of such an award and she’s been nominated for America’s Favorite Mom. Of course the Lovely and Talented and Downright Sexy Mrs. Hook gets my vote, as does my own mother, but considering neither have been nominated for America’s Favorite Mom I’ll be
Please forgive me for failing to get on here and provide an update or two sooner. My day job has really put some demands on my time but I promise to do better and getting on here even if just to wave from the sandbox.
As you can see, the underwater cable guy has finished his repairs. I still am quite curious as to how such a thing could happen but I guess that’s the mysteries of the deep.
What you may not be able to see is the tremendous progress your Soldiers and their Iraqi counterparts are making over here. I manage to catch a glimpse at CNN/FOX News/MSNBC at the chow hall and I see very little reporting on goings on in Iraq which I suppose is a sign that we are experiencing great successes. Rest assured, you can take great pride in the honorable job your Soliders are doing, day in and day out.
I’d also like to send out a huge THANK YOU to the many of supporters who have taken care of the Soldiers in my unit. They are kicking butt and your appreciation means more than words can express. We’re sneaking up on our half-way point in this deployment which causes both joy and concern. Joy in that time is flying by, concern in that we have a long way to go.
Again, my humble apologies for not getting on here more. I will do better if you allow me. Thanks again to all for everything! Sgt Hook out.
Apparently a couple of undersea fiber optic cables have been cut requiring the underwater cable guy’s expertise to restore our “connecton” with the outside world. In other words, we are experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by.
While I’m here you should know that your Soldiers are doing fabulously. The fight continues to be a hard one, but our men and women are showing no signs of shying away from the challenge. Good things are happening everywhere. Sgt Hook out.
MilitaryTimes staff writer Matthew Cox and senior photographer Rob Curtis have teamed up to cover Army forces in Iraq and are blogging their Tales from the Sandbox. Good stuff, I think you’ll like. Sgt Hook out.
Taking care of your wounded warriors is a mission the Army has placed atop the priority list second only to combat.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Army News Service, Jan. 22, 2008) - Getting Soldiers healed from physical, psychological or emotional wounds is an Army mission of highest priority, second only to combat, a senior official said during the Warrior Transition Leadership and Training Conference Jan.13-18.
With the creation of 35 Warrior Transition Units worldwide since mid-2007, more than 8,900 Soldiers, or warriors in transition, are currently assigned and have but one primary responsibility - to heal.
“There has to be a place for these Soldiers to convalesce and heal, and possibly one day return to duty,” said Brig. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, assistant surgeon general for warrior care and transition. He also heads up the Army Medical Action Plan, which called for establishing the WTUs.
Rock of the Marne Soldiers from Company A, 1-30th Infantry fought tooth and nail alongside local Iraqi citizens to push more al-Qaeda rat bastards out of their neighborhoods.
FOB KALSU, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 28, 2008) - For three days, Coalition Forces weathered harsh cold and deadly pressure-plate improvised explosive devices to secure a foothold in southern Arab Jabour, beginning with an air assault Jan. 20.
Infiltrating areas dominated by al-Qaeda in Iraq, infantrymen of Company A, 1-30th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division began their push through the farm fields.
Capt. Neil Hollenbeck, Company A commander and his Soldiers would initially be cut off from ground supply lines. They had to pack enough food and water to sustain themselves for three days while arrangements were made to have supplies flown into the territory, which had never seen a sustained Coalition presence.
Photo Courtesy U.S. Army
Dog faces and angry citizens on the same side make a recipe for success. Sgt Hook out.
A handful of Marines and Military Police from the Texas Army National Guard remain in the once war torn city.
After I adjusted my embed to focus specifically on Police Transition Teams, I was nearly surrounded by young men from Texas. Many seemed to instinctively understand Fallujah’s infamous provincial “nationalism.”
“Fallujah pride is like Texas pride,” I heard from several MPs who, unlike Iraqis from Baghdad, didn’t think that was a bad thing.
BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Jan. 25, 2008) — Most of Sha’ab was still sleeping as a Humvee weaved its way through the neighborhood’s maze-like streets early one frigid, January morning.
Leading the patrol was 1st Lt. Austin Dziengelewski’s platoon of paratroopers from 2nd Battalion “The White Falcons,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. The patrol was on its way to a squatter village in the area, where displaced families were living in makeshift tents. With the temperatures dropping below freezing at night, the paratroopers were worried people in the camps might freeze to death. The platoon’s mission was to find them and see what help they needed.
As the Humvee rounded a corner, the squatter village appeared. The vehicles pulled up and the platoon dismounted. With breath steaming out of their mouths in the chilly air, the paratroopers picked their way through the ramshackle camp. It was a nest of tents, tarps, and scrap metal that looked as if it had been picked up and dropped there by a tornado.
The head of a family emerged from one of the tents and spoke with Dziengelewski. He told the lieutenant that sectarian violence had forced him and his family to flee their home in another part of Baghdad and settle in Sha’ab.
“Why here?” Dziengelewski asked him.
“It is safe here,” the man replied.
After Dziengelewski promised to return later with blankets, tarps and food, the platoon headed back to base. On the ride back, the man’s seemingly insignificant words hung in the air.
It is safe here.
A year’s worth of work, translated into four words. When the White Falcons first arrived in Sha’ab with the mission of improving security, the neighborhood was gripped by constant violence. Twelve months later, it is safe enough that families flee to it as a sanctuary.
For paratroopers like Spc. David Higuera, a medic with Company B, the area’s revival against all odds is a point of pride.
“After a year, when you look back on how it was, compared to now - things are definitely a lot better,” Higuera said. “I know for a fact that when I look back on all this, I’ll be proud of what we did.”
I highly encourage, nay order you to read SSG Mike Pryor’s entire article. His piece clearly puts those four words into perspective. It is safe here. Sgt Hook out.
This site is a collection of my writings, thoughts, and ramblings and in no way reflects the official positions of the United States Army or the Department of Defense. OPSEC trumps everything.
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In view of a recent tendency to identify characters in fiction with real people, it seems proper to state that there are no real people in this volume: both the characters and their names are ficticious. The names or designations of any military units are ficticious. There are no living people nor existing military units presented in this book.
-Ernest Hemingway
Halfway down the road to hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddler's Green.
-Author Unknown
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