Sunday, March 30, 2008
Happy Days are almost here!
On Saturday we learned that Seth was "off missions" meaning no more trips outside the wire. Today we learned that Eli has also been pulled "off missions." Eli had been scheduled for a trip on Monday, but he called Katy with the news today that he was done! Seth and Eli won't be leaving Al Asad Air Base until they board a plane bound for the U. S. of A! The only enemy they'll be fighting is boredom.....an enemy I'm comfortable with. When we got the news today about Eli, Jan and I were sitting in the den taking care of bills and school work. The relief was such a physical feeling that the tears flow easily and quickly. I can only imagine how it will feel to have them back on U.S. soil and then in our arms.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Draft beer, not people
That quote, "Draft Beer, Not People," has been attributed to Bob Dylan. I guess he was an anti-war hippie. What does he know about war. Where are the words about war from the people who know war intimately?
What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world. ~Robert E. Lee, letter to his wife, 1864
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, 16 April 1953
If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war. ~Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War
The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. ~John F. Kennedy
Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war. ~Otto Von Bismark
It still amazes me to hear people talk about "winning the war." Just this morning in our local paper a reader was commenting that the war had to be won or "They" will be on our doorsteps. He claims that someone smarter than you or I may have had information we're not privy to and that the war is justified. I guess he's talking about George and his band of war mongering friends. The war must be won! I don't think I'm alone in thinking that this war won't be won with military might. Every bullet we fire creates more terrorists.....winning this war in the conventional sense won't happen.......
Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens will be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to peace. ~Charles Sumner
What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world. ~Robert E. Lee, letter to his wife, 1864
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, 16 April 1953
If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war. ~Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War
The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. ~John F. Kennedy
Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war. ~Otto Von Bismark
It still amazes me to hear people talk about "winning the war." Just this morning in our local paper a reader was commenting that the war had to be won or "They" will be on our doorsteps. He claims that someone smarter than you or I may have had information we're not privy to and that the war is justified. I guess he's talking about George and his band of war mongering friends. The war must be won! I don't think I'm alone in thinking that this war won't be won with military might. Every bullet we fire creates more terrorists.....winning this war in the conventional sense won't happen.......
Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens will be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to peace. ~Charles Sumner
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Education News
We spoke with Seth and Eli this morning...two different phone calls. They are finally back at Al Asad after a two day delay returning due to sand storms. We've heard this story before, but this will probably be their last trip outside the wire (except for maybe a short day trip or two.)......This all falls under the category of "I'll believe it when I see it!" Whatever the plans, I know that they will soon be leaving Iraq and returning home.
I would like to believe that Seth's letter writing campaign had the desired affect with the National Guard's educational reimbursement policy. Whatever the reason, House Bill 524 passed this year's legislature. I don't begin to understand everything it says, but here it is.....I've highlighted some of the important parts:
Any person who (i) is a member of the National Guard of the Commonwealth of Virginia and has a minimum remaining obligation of two years, (ii) has satisfactorily completed required initial active duty service, (iii) is satisfactorily performing duty in accordance with regulations of the National Guard, and (iv) is enrolled in any state institution of higher education, any private, accredited and nonprofit institution of higher education in the Commonwealth whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate or graduate education and not to provide religious training or theological education, any course or program offered by any such institution or any public career and technical education school shall be eligible for a grant in the amount of the difference between the full cost of tuition and any other educational benefits for which he is eligible as a member of the National Guard. Application for a grant shall be made to the Department of Military Affairs. Grants shall be awarded from funds available for the purpose by such Department.
Notwithstanding the foregoing requirement that a member of the National Guard have a minimum of two years remaining on their service obligation, at the discretion of the Adjutant General, if a member is activated or deployed for federal military service or state active duty, an additional day may be added to the member’s eligibility for the grant for each day of active federal service or state active duty.
This last part is the important part......Now I don't know what it means that it says "at the discretion of the Adjutant General:, but at least we're seeing some movement toward something that is fair and honorable for those soldiers who have given of their time in this war. They should not be penalized for serving their country!
I would like to believe that Seth's letter writing campaign had the desired affect with the National Guard's educational reimbursement policy. Whatever the reason, House Bill 524 passed this year's legislature. I don't begin to understand everything it says, but here it is.....I've highlighted some of the important parts:
Any person who (i) is a member of the National Guard of the Commonwealth of Virginia and has a minimum remaining obligation of two years, (ii) has satisfactorily completed required initial active duty service, (iii) is satisfactorily performing duty in accordance with regulations of the National Guard, and (iv) is enrolled in any state institution of higher education, any private, accredited and nonprofit institution of higher education in the Commonwealth whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate or graduate education and not to provide religious training or theological education, any course or program offered by any such institution or any public career and technical education school shall be eligible for a grant in the amount of the difference between the full cost of tuition and any other educational benefits for which he is eligible as a member of the National Guard. Application for a grant shall be made to the Department of Military Affairs. Grants shall be awarded from funds available for the purpose by such Department.
Notwithstanding the foregoing requirement that a member of the National Guard have a minimum of two years remaining on their service obligation, at the discretion of the Adjutant General, if a member is activated or deployed for federal military service or state active duty, an additional day may be added to the member’s eligibility for the grant for each day of active federal service or state active duty.
This last part is the important part......Now I don't know what it means that it says "at the discretion of the Adjutant General:, but at least we're seeing some movement toward something that is fair and honorable for those soldiers who have given of their time in this war. They should not be penalized for serving their country!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Anna Quindlen's commentary in NEWSWEEK Magazine
Because It’s Right
It's hard to serve your country in Baghdad or Kabul. It shouldn't be hard to pay for college once you've come back home.
Anna Quindlen
NEWSWEEK
Updated: 12:43 PM ET Mar 22, 2008
James Webb, the Vietnam Vet and senator from Virginia who was once secretary of the Navy, likes to share the chart he prepared for five of his Senate colleagues. They are men who fought in World War II and afterward went to college and even law school on the American taxpayer, a free ride in exchange for their service. Webb's chart quantifies how much of their education costs would have been covered if they had served in Iraq orAfghanistan. Not even close.
In 1944 President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, commonly known as the GI Bill. It was one of the most visionary and transformative pieces of legislation in American history, providing free education for returning veterans. Its champions believed it was the moral response to the sacrifice those service members had made, but it also solved an economic and social problem. An influx of millions of unemployed and untrained men into the labor force could have triggered another Great Depression. But with 5 million of those soldiers becoming students instead, the result was the ascendancy of the middle class and a period of enormous prosperity. Every dollar spent on the GI Bill was multiplied many times over in benefits to the postwar U.S. economy.
But government institutions are notoriously amnesiac. College costs have escalated, and benefits have shrunk. Service members are surprised to discover that the grateful nation that made it possible for Sen. John Warner to go to both college and law school and Sen. Frank Lautenberg to graduate from an Ivy League university won't even cover three years at a public institution, much less a private college. Members of the National Guard and Reserves, who have been a linchpin of the current conflicts, receive only a fraction of that help.
"Watch the commercials," says Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "It looks as though you're going to be able to go wherever you want. People ask all the time, 'Don't you all go to school for free?' "
The answer is no, but Senator Webb is the author of legislation that would help change that. His revamped GI Bill would cover the full cost of the most expensive public institution in any given state; World War II vets like Lautenberg and Warner are enthusiastic supporters, as are dozens of other senators. (Oddly enough, Webb has not been able to get John McCain, who received the ultimate taxpayer-funded education at the Naval Academy, to take a position on the bill.) The source of the opposition is shocking: the Department of Defense, whose leaders argue that offering enhanced educational opportunities to soldiers would hurt retention. Military brass apparently tremble at the notion that multiple deployments, starvation wages and inadequate medical care might not be enough to hold on to their people.
Of course, this is the military brass who have had to lower age and ability standards despite spending billions to try to entice young men and women to join up. It does not seem to have occurred to them that a better long-range plan would be to offer true educational incentives so that more focused and ambitious people would enlist. Webb says, "This will expand the recruiting base because you could approach smart people just finishing high school, who are worried about paying for college, and say, 'If you serve your country you'll get a first-class education'."
Because of the DoD opposition, Webb has had a hard time prying loose estimates of how much these expanded benefits will cost, but at this point he thinks the figure is about $2 billion. That's half what is spent annually on recruitment and the cost of only a couple of days' worth of war in Iraq. But, more important, Rieckhoff says it's one of those costs he suspects the American people would support happily. "If the president stood up tomorrow and said, 'I need $2 billion to send vets to college,' people would be doing bake sales and carwashes across America," he says. "They can find that kind of money in the seat cushions on Capitol Hill."
The original GI Bill set the standard for innovative and audacious legislation. It was right in both senses of that word: the sensible thing to do, and the moral thing as well. And it helped expunge the shameful treatment of World War I veterans, many of whom had found themselves unemployed and destitute. The Department of Defense says it's a different era now, with a war that drags on and a volunteer Army, than it was when the GI Bill was first signed. But it's the same era, too. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that unemployment among young veterans is three times the national average. Already some Iraq vets are homeless and have substance-abuse problems.
Offering these men and women a college education is the least we can do. It's not free; they've already paid, in Fallujah and Kabul. If Congress wants an economic-stimulus package, this is a great one. A Topeka, Kans., lawyer and national commander of the American Legion, Harry Colmery, was the architect of the original GI Bill. He asked a question that is as resonant today as it was then: "If we can spend 200 to 300 billion dollars to teach our men and women to kill, why quibble over a billion or so to help them to have the opportunity to earn economic independence and to enjoy the fruits of freedom?"
It's hard to serve your country in Baghdad or Kabul. It shouldn't be hard to pay for college once you've come back home.
Anna Quindlen
NEWSWEEK
Updated: 12:43 PM ET Mar 22, 2008
James Webb, the Vietnam Vet and senator from Virginia who was once secretary of the Navy, likes to share the chart he prepared for five of his Senate colleagues. They are men who fought in World War II and afterward went to college and even law school on the American taxpayer, a free ride in exchange for their service. Webb's chart quantifies how much of their education costs would have been covered if they had served in Iraq orAfghanistan. Not even close.
In 1944 President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, commonly known as the GI Bill. It was one of the most visionary and transformative pieces of legislation in American history, providing free education for returning veterans. Its champions believed it was the moral response to the sacrifice those service members had made, but it also solved an economic and social problem. An influx of millions of unemployed and untrained men into the labor force could have triggered another Great Depression. But with 5 million of those soldiers becoming students instead, the result was the ascendancy of the middle class and a period of enormous prosperity. Every dollar spent on the GI Bill was multiplied many times over in benefits to the postwar U.S. economy.
But government institutions are notoriously amnesiac. College costs have escalated, and benefits have shrunk. Service members are surprised to discover that the grateful nation that made it possible for Sen. John Warner to go to both college and law school and Sen. Frank Lautenberg to graduate from an Ivy League university won't even cover three years at a public institution, much less a private college. Members of the National Guard and Reserves, who have been a linchpin of the current conflicts, receive only a fraction of that help.
"Watch the commercials," says Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "It looks as though you're going to be able to go wherever you want. People ask all the time, 'Don't you all go to school for free?' "
The answer is no, but Senator Webb is the author of legislation that would help change that. His revamped GI Bill would cover the full cost of the most expensive public institution in any given state; World War II vets like Lautenberg and Warner are enthusiastic supporters, as are dozens of other senators. (Oddly enough, Webb has not been able to get John McCain, who received the ultimate taxpayer-funded education at the Naval Academy, to take a position on the bill.) The source of the opposition is shocking: the Department of Defense, whose leaders argue that offering enhanced educational opportunities to soldiers would hurt retention. Military brass apparently tremble at the notion that multiple deployments, starvation wages and inadequate medical care might not be enough to hold on to their people.
Of course, this is the military brass who have had to lower age and ability standards despite spending billions to try to entice young men and women to join up. It does not seem to have occurred to them that a better long-range plan would be to offer true educational incentives so that more focused and ambitious people would enlist. Webb says, "This will expand the recruiting base because you could approach smart people just finishing high school, who are worried about paying for college, and say, 'If you serve your country you'll get a first-class education'."
Because of the DoD opposition, Webb has had a hard time prying loose estimates of how much these expanded benefits will cost, but at this point he thinks the figure is about $2 billion. That's half what is spent annually on recruitment and the cost of only a couple of days' worth of war in Iraq. But, more important, Rieckhoff says it's one of those costs he suspects the American people would support happily. "If the president stood up tomorrow and said, 'I need $2 billion to send vets to college,' people would be doing bake sales and carwashes across America," he says. "They can find that kind of money in the seat cushions on Capitol Hill."
The original GI Bill set the standard for innovative and audacious legislation. It was right in both senses of that word: the sensible thing to do, and the moral thing as well. And it helped expunge the shameful treatment of World War I veterans, many of whom had found themselves unemployed and destitute. The Department of Defense says it's a different era now, with a war that drags on and a volunteer Army, than it was when the GI Bill was first signed. But it's the same era, too. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that unemployment among young veterans is three times the national average. Already some Iraq vets are homeless and have substance-abuse problems.
Offering these men and women a college education is the least we can do. It's not free; they've already paid, in Fallujah and Kabul. If Congress wants an economic-stimulus package, this is a great one. A Topeka, Kans., lawyer and national commander of the American Legion, Harry Colmery, was the architect of the original GI Bill. He asked a question that is as resonant today as it was then: "If we can spend 200 to 300 billion dollars to teach our men and women to kill, why quibble over a billion or so to help them to have the opportunity to earn economic independence and to enjoy the fruits of freedom?"
Monday, March 24, 2008
Another Holiday without the boys....
The girls are paying the price for Jan never having the opportunity to dress anything but boys! Matching outfits for Easter. Luckily they live in three different states. Today the counter on my computer says twenty days to go until Seth and Eli leave Iraq and we hopefully celebrated our last holiday without a complete family.
George's Alternate Universe
This comes courtesy of my father-in-law and the Hightower Lowdown, a monthly newsletter edited by Jim Hightower. This picture hangs in the oval office and is a personal favorite of Georges. In his world, it epitomizes his courageous political views and he probably sees himself as the cowboy, charging up the hill leading his men to victory! According to Hightower, he has also described the horseman as a circuit riding minister rushing ahead to spread the word of Christianity. Visitors are left without a doubt that George sees himself in this picture.
He might be right! This painting originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post as an illustration for a short story, "The Slipper Tongue" about a slick-tongued horse thief. This work doesn't show a courageous leader, or someone spreading the Gospel....it shows a horse thief running from justice. Yep, that's George!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A call to action.....
Please scroll down to my previous post about a "Moral Obligation." Read the comments. I've recently started reading Sojourner Magazine....a Christian advocacy magaizine. I found the article that I reprinted in my post about our obligation to provide care and support for injured soldiers. The story told about Wendell McLeod, a soldier who suffered TBI. Wendell's wife, Annette, left a comment about their family. There are faces behind every story and I've just had the honor of seeing the faces behind this story.
My challenge to every person who reads this blog is to copy the Sojourners article and send it to your representative in Congress. Don't know who your representative is? Click here to be directed to a web page to find that information. Our soldiers deserve more than empty words....let's give our Congress a call to action. It won't take long and they deserve that little bit of time!
My challenge to every person who reads this blog is to copy the Sojourners article and send it to your representative in Congress. Don't know who your representative is? Click here to be directed to a web page to find that information. Our soldiers deserve more than empty words....let's give our Congress a call to action. It won't take long and they deserve that little bit of time!
Another Anniversary
Today marks the fifth anniversary of a war that has cost over 500 billion dollars so far and almost 4,000 American soldiers. This doesn't count the cost in injured soldiers and dead and injured Iraqi civilians.
Taxpayers in Virginia have paid $12.4 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
3,459,079 People provided with full Health Care OR
10,196,455 Homes built with Renewable Electricity OR
263,819 new Police Officers OR
186,783 Music and Arts Teachers OR
1,537,441 full Scholarships for University Students OR
772 New Elementary Schools OR
6,226,450 Children provided with Health Care OR
1,722,920 Head Start Places for Children OR
179,848 Elementary School Teachers OR
195,233 Port Container Inspectors
It's easy to quanify some costs. But other costs can't be quanified. What about the emotional toll on children and families when their loved ones don't come home, or come home with traumatic injuries? What about the stress of multiple deployments?
What about the loss of our moral leadership in the world when we have a president who condones torture? What about the loss of our privacy as we give the NSA access to our emails, cell phone conversations and other areas of our lives? What about the cost of living in fear as we listen to the fear-mongering of our leaders? How do we quanify those costs and so many others? What about the stress that families live with? I could go on and on......
Has it been worth the cost? I honestly don't think so.......do you?
By the way...for my readers in other selected states:
Massachusetts has contributed 14.8 billion
Texas 42.7 billion
Pennsylvania 9.9 billion
California 66.2 billion
New Jersey 23.9 billion
If you're interested in learning more about our spending on the war and what we could have for the same amount, visit The National Priorities Project
Taxpayers in Virginia have paid $12.4 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
3,459,079 People provided with full Health Care OR
10,196,455 Homes built with Renewable Electricity OR
263,819 new Police Officers OR
186,783 Music and Arts Teachers OR
1,537,441 full Scholarships for University Students OR
772 New Elementary Schools OR
6,226,450 Children provided with Health Care OR
1,722,920 Head Start Places for Children OR
179,848 Elementary School Teachers OR
195,233 Port Container Inspectors
It's easy to quanify some costs. But other costs can't be quanified. What about the emotional toll on children and families when their loved ones don't come home, or come home with traumatic injuries? What about the stress of multiple deployments?
What about the loss of our moral leadership in the world when we have a president who condones torture? What about the loss of our privacy as we give the NSA access to our emails, cell phone conversations and other areas of our lives? What about the cost of living in fear as we listen to the fear-mongering of our leaders? How do we quanify those costs and so many others? What about the stress that families live with? I could go on and on......
Has it been worth the cost? I honestly don't think so.......do you?
By the way...for my readers in other selected states:
Massachusetts has contributed 14.8 billion
Texas 42.7 billion
Pennsylvania 9.9 billion
California 66.2 billion
New Jersey 23.9 billion
If you're interested in learning more about our spending on the war and what we could have for the same amount, visit The National Priorities Project
Monday, March 17, 2008
A moral obligation....
I spoke to Eli this morning. He was calling from Baghdad. He and Seth had just completed a little shopping at a local bazar and were now taking the opportunity to make a few phone calls. They don't know when they will depart Baghdad for the return to Al Asad. I asked Eli if they had a chance to see Dick Cheney or John McCain who are both in Baghdad....John expressly says this is not a campaign trip..just a fact finding trip. I think that's wonderful. Maybe he'll actually find some facts to convince him that Little George's war was wrong at the start and is still wrong! One thing for sure, he probably won't repeat his gaffe about Baghdad being a safe place for a stroll (unless you're surrounded by a hundred marines and have helocopters providing ground support!
Since there's not much news I thought I would reprint an article from Soujourners Magazine:
Leading an Army infantry platoon in Baghdad for a year, I was awed by the young men and women serving there. Their dedication to one another, and to their ideals of service, was extraordinary. But when I came home, I was struck by how disconnected many Americans seemed from what troops were encountering in the war zone and the issues they faced when they returned to the United States. I was infuriated to see veterans struggling every day to get the medical care they need, to overcome bureaucratic red tape, and to transition to civilian life.
Caring for millions of combat veterans and their families will be one of America’s greatest challenges in a generation, but throughout the history of this country, people of faith have responded to crisis with love, compassion, and determination. For a country starkly polarized by this war, the church is one place where we can come together and pledge to love those who fought in it.
One of the wounded is my friend Army Spc. Wendell McLeod. McLeod’s head and back were badly injured when he was serving near the Iraqi border in Kuwait in 2005. McLeod was a sharp, jovial man from South Carolina who took great pride in his strength and independence. As a result of his injuries, however, his memory and mood have changed dramatically—and so has his life. He can no longer perform even simple tasks, such as brushing his teeth, unaided. His incredibly compassionate and dedicated wife, Annette, has said, “Now I’m married to a man I no longer know.” McLeod’s horrific experience has extended far beyond his physical wounds. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, his injury was misdiagnosed; it took a year and a congressional investigation to get him the help he needed.
IT TURNED OUT that McLeod had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), often called the signature injury of the Iraq war. TBI has affected hundreds of thousands of troops and is what ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff suffered when he was hit by a roadside bomb while reporting in Iraq in January 2006. The malady is caused when roadside bombs or mortar explosions cause a person’s brain to hit the inside of the skull. This impact can lead to emotional problems, vision or hearing difficulties, memory loss, and—in the most severe cases—brain damage. TBI is invisible and often goes undiagnosed and untreated.
Many troops are also suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They are exposed in this war to terrifying things that take a terrible toll. At least one-third of Iraq veterans will face PTSD or another mental health problem. If left untreated, the mental health effects of combat can lead to unemployment, drug abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and even suicide.
Veterans’ families also suffer and, in many cases, are being torn apart. A high percentage of married U.S. troops in Iraq say their marriages are headed toward divorce; 2,200 U.S. children have lost a parent in Afghanistan or Iraq. New studies suggest that deployments have also led to a dramatic increase in the rates of child abuse in military families.
Americans can open their hearts, open their homes, and lend a hand. We can support this new generation of veterans by volunteering our time, donating money, or reaching out to a local military family in need. Offering to baby-sit for children in a family where a parent is deployed, or shoveling snow in a wounded veteran’s driveway, can make a big difference to a family under great strain.
Our country’s newest generation of veterans needs our help and compassion, and it is up to each of us to provide that. Democrat or Republican, young or old, it doesn’t matter whether you’re for or against the war. We all have a moral obligation to care for the troops who fought in it.
Since there's not much news I thought I would reprint an article from Soujourners Magazine:
Leading an Army infantry platoon in Baghdad for a year, I was awed by the young men and women serving there. Their dedication to one another, and to their ideals of service, was extraordinary. But when I came home, I was struck by how disconnected many Americans seemed from what troops were encountering in the war zone and the issues they faced when they returned to the United States. I was infuriated to see veterans struggling every day to get the medical care they need, to overcome bureaucratic red tape, and to transition to civilian life.
Caring for millions of combat veterans and their families will be one of America’s greatest challenges in a generation, but throughout the history of this country, people of faith have responded to crisis with love, compassion, and determination. For a country starkly polarized by this war, the church is one place where we can come together and pledge to love those who fought in it.
One of the wounded is my friend Army Spc. Wendell McLeod. McLeod’s head and back were badly injured when he was serving near the Iraqi border in Kuwait in 2005. McLeod was a sharp, jovial man from South Carolina who took great pride in his strength and independence. As a result of his injuries, however, his memory and mood have changed dramatically—and so has his life. He can no longer perform even simple tasks, such as brushing his teeth, unaided. His incredibly compassionate and dedicated wife, Annette, has said, “Now I’m married to a man I no longer know.” McLeod’s horrific experience has extended far beyond his physical wounds. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, his injury was misdiagnosed; it took a year and a congressional investigation to get him the help he needed.
IT TURNED OUT that McLeod had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), often called the signature injury of the Iraq war. TBI has affected hundreds of thousands of troops and is what ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff suffered when he was hit by a roadside bomb while reporting in Iraq in January 2006. The malady is caused when roadside bombs or mortar explosions cause a person’s brain to hit the inside of the skull. This impact can lead to emotional problems, vision or hearing difficulties, memory loss, and—in the most severe cases—brain damage. TBI is invisible and often goes undiagnosed and untreated.
Many troops are also suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They are exposed in this war to terrifying things that take a terrible toll. At least one-third of Iraq veterans will face PTSD or another mental health problem. If left untreated, the mental health effects of combat can lead to unemployment, drug abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and even suicide.
Veterans’ families also suffer and, in many cases, are being torn apart. A high percentage of married U.S. troops in Iraq say their marriages are headed toward divorce; 2,200 U.S. children have lost a parent in Afghanistan or Iraq. New studies suggest that deployments have also led to a dramatic increase in the rates of child abuse in military families.
Americans can open their hearts, open their homes, and lend a hand. We can support this new generation of veterans by volunteering our time, donating money, or reaching out to a local military family in need. Offering to baby-sit for children in a family where a parent is deployed, or shoveling snow in a wounded veteran’s driveway, can make a big difference to a family under great strain.
Our country’s newest generation of veterans needs our help and compassion, and it is up to each of us to provide that. Democrat or Republican, young or old, it doesn’t matter whether you’re for or against the war. We all have a moral obligation to care for the troops who fought in it.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Email from Eli
The desktop on my computer has a counter that says "Bye Bye Iraq." It has been counting down the days until April 13 and today it says 30 days! When we got out of bed this morning it was 1:00 PM in Iraq and I knew that Seth and Eli were spending their last day in their room, were probably busy packing and cleaning and getting ready to send some of their gear home. Tomorrow evening they'll be in transitional housing, living in a tent. Last September I worried about how we would survive this deployment. I worried about Katy and Brittany and thought how unfair it is to ask these young brides to deal with something of this magnitude. As the days grow shorter I don't find that I'm worrying any less. I think it's more like holding my breath...waiting and hoping that the next 30 days will pass and Seth and Eli and all the Virginia boys will be back home with their loved ones.
Here's an email from Eli that arrived this morning:
Dear Family and Friends,
I have meant several times to sit down and write another group e-mail, and since I will lose my Internet tomorrow as we move into tents, I thought now was an appropriate time to finally write. Today we will take two duffel bags and a foot locker down to our motor pool to be loaded up into a connex to be shipped home. We're sending off gear we don't need any longer and personal items. Next week we will have to drag all of our stuff back out of the connexes, empty everything on the ground so customs officials can make sure we aren't planning on taking home anything we're not supposed to, and then we will load everything back up. For the next four weeks we will live in a tent with 40 other guys and sleep on cots. We have to pack in a ruck sack and an assault pack (one big bag, one medium sized bag) and live out of just that for the remainder of our time. All this sounds like a giant sized pain in the butt, which it is, but it is also wonderful because it signifies the end is in sight.
Here soon Seth and I will be leaving on a convoy mission to Baghdad, and we've got flags we are going to fly from the ASVs (Seth's flag is the one he carried with him in Afghanistan). That has become the big thing over here, flying American flags while out on missions. Seth and I are also going to go to Saddam's palace while in Baghdad. Seth has not been yet and I have only walked around the outside. We're going to see if we can get inside the palace this time.The palace houses top US military personnel and officials, and you have to find a sponsor to take you inside the palace, so we'll be doing some sweet talking. The last time I was at the palace we walked around with some Australian soldiers and got some pictures taken with them.
One quick story from our last mission. We were out for 8 days and spent over 60 hours on the road...but it didn't need to be that long. We left TQ to drive the 10 hours to CKV, and after four hours on the road the HET crew we were transporting lost some major points in our book. On a security halt to take care of personal business and check loads the HET commander came to our commander, the convoy commander, and informed them that one of his soldiers left his weapon at TQ. That is a big deal over here! We waited on word from Battalion as to what they wanted us to do, and they told us to turn around to retrieve it. So we did. However, on our way back to TQ we ran into a sand storm and had to change our course and go to Ramadi. The storm did not let up and so we were forced to stay there in a tent with no heat that felt like a fridge. Some people actually chose to go sleep in their vehicles so they could at least turn the heat on.
The next morning Seth and I were woken up at 5am to take a four gun truck element from Ramadi to TQ to retrieve the soldier's weapon. We took just four of our gun trucks so we could move at top speed through the desert. We were able to go about 55-65 mph and made great time. We joked around that this was like a modern day Saving Private Ryan...taking a group of soldiers away from their assigned mission to go on a questionable mission because of one soldier. Not exactly the same situation, but you can see the similarities.
I hope you all are doing well and are ready for Spring to arrive. We bypassed that season over here and jumped right into Summer. We have already had days in the 90s! The picture I enclosed is just one I like a lot. It is of two of our gun trucks going through a town called Little Baghdadi on Al Asad road...which is right outside our base. The second vehicle is our third gun truck, which is where I ride. Seth and I will be out of touch until we get home, but might have the chance to go to an Internet lab and write a time or two. Take care and thanks for the continued letters and support.
Love,
Here's an email from Eli that arrived this morning:
Dear Family and Friends,
I have meant several times to sit down and write another group e-mail, and since I will lose my Internet tomorrow as we move into tents, I thought now was an appropriate time to finally write. Today we will take two duffel bags and a foot locker down to our motor pool to be loaded up into a connex to be shipped home. We're sending off gear we don't need any longer and personal items. Next week we will have to drag all of our stuff back out of the connexes, empty everything on the ground so customs officials can make sure we aren't planning on taking home anything we're not supposed to, and then we will load everything back up. For the next four weeks we will live in a tent with 40 other guys and sleep on cots. We have to pack in a ruck sack and an assault pack (one big bag, one medium sized bag) and live out of just that for the remainder of our time. All this sounds like a giant sized pain in the butt, which it is, but it is also wonderful because it signifies the end is in sight.
Here soon Seth and I will be leaving on a convoy mission to Baghdad, and we've got flags we are going to fly from the ASVs (Seth's flag is the one he carried with him in Afghanistan). That has become the big thing over here, flying American flags while out on missions. Seth and I are also going to go to Saddam's palace while in Baghdad. Seth has not been yet and I have only walked around the outside. We're going to see if we can get inside the palace this time.The palace houses top US military personnel and officials, and you have to find a sponsor to take you inside the palace, so we'll be doing some sweet talking. The last time I was at the palace we walked around with some Australian soldiers and got some pictures taken with them.
One quick story from our last mission. We were out for 8 days and spent over 60 hours on the road...but it didn't need to be that long. We left TQ to drive the 10 hours to CKV, and after four hours on the road the HET crew we were transporting lost some major points in our book. On a security halt to take care of personal business and check loads the HET commander came to our commander, the convoy commander, and informed them that one of his soldiers left his weapon at TQ. That is a big deal over here! We waited on word from Battalion as to what they wanted us to do, and they told us to turn around to retrieve it. So we did. However, on our way back to TQ we ran into a sand storm and had to change our course and go to Ramadi. The storm did not let up and so we were forced to stay there in a tent with no heat that felt like a fridge. Some people actually chose to go sleep in their vehicles so they could at least turn the heat on.
The next morning Seth and I were woken up at 5am to take a four gun truck element from Ramadi to TQ to retrieve the soldier's weapon. We took just four of our gun trucks so we could move at top speed through the desert. We were able to go about 55-65 mph and made great time. We joked around that this was like a modern day Saving Private Ryan...taking a group of soldiers away from their assigned mission to go on a questionable mission because of one soldier. Not exactly the same situation, but you can see the similarities.
I hope you all are doing well and are ready for Spring to arrive. We bypassed that season over here and jumped right into Summer. We have already had days in the 90s! The picture I enclosed is just one I like a lot. It is of two of our gun trucks going through a town called Little Baghdadi on Al Asad road...which is right outside our base. The second vehicle is our third gun truck, which is where I ride. Seth and I will be out of touch until we get home, but might have the chance to go to an Internet lab and write a time or two. Take care and thanks for the continued letters and support.
Love,
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
From the Virginia National Guard Web Site
Combat medics in Iraq ready when needed
By 2nd Lt. David E. Leiva
3rd Battalion 116th Infantry
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — The minute the roadside bomb exploded, Spc. Eli Lovell’s heart pounded.
Palms sweaty and the adrenaline rushing, the convoy commander ordered Lovell out of the vehicle to evaluate the possible casualties after they failed to respond to repeated radio calls asking for their status.
There was another danger: The possibility of a secondary Improvised Explosive Device placed for first-responders.
Sprinting in the pitch dark along Baghdad’s most treacherous strip, Lovell and the commander came across the vehicle that had been struck.
They each opened one of the vehicle’s doors and stared at the two Soldiers, sitting there motionless, not responding to any questions being asked.
“Are you okay?” Lovell recalled asking them.
“I thought they were temporarily deaf from the explosion,” he said.
They were fine, although their lives had been disrupted by an IED planted by insurgents who intended to harm the Soldiers, not their vehicle.
That night, there was only one bomb.
So goes the life of a combat medic, affectionately referred to as “Doc” because he is the closest thing to a medical doctor out in desolate areas. Issued a 9mm handgun that he is not really expected to use, the medic accompanies each convoy in hopes his skills won’t be needed either.
In Bravo Company 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry, tasked with providing convoy security throughout western Iraq, the medics have logged more hours and miles on the road than any other Soldier.
Even after a two-week leave in January, Spc. Scott Dalrymple of Blacksburg, Va., has the most missions under his belt in the company. In seven years as a National Guardsman, this is his first deployment.
While confident in his abilities, Dalrymple can’t help but be candid. He admits the stress of being the sole person responsible for trauma care can take a toll.
“My worst fear is that somebody dies, and I can’t do anything about it,” he said.
So far, he’s only had to hand out band aids and aspirin.
Sgt. Samuel Anthony, 24, is fine with that. Anthony is Bravo’s senior medic on his second deployment to Iraq. He is still haunted by his first trip, where he worked on a Soldier who was hit by shrapnel during a mortar attack while eating dinner.
Anthony was at the gym when it occurred, and Soldiers rushed in and asked if any medics were available. For 10 minutes, he tried everything, including a tracheomety, a hole cut into her throat to help her breathe. She died on the scene.
“I always wondered if I had gone to chow that night instead of working out what might have happened,” Anthony said. “What if I had been there?”
Along with handling the unit’s medical administrative duties, he ensures Soldiers and medics will have every supply necessary, even if it means ordering more than required.
With only four military-trained medics in the company, Capt. Jeff Sink, Bravo’s commanding officer, ordered each Soldier to receive 40 hours of Combat Life Savers training, the Army’s answer to the medic shortage. Infantry units typically have only one medic.
This preparation, most of which was done at the mobilization site at Camp Shelby, Miss., ranges from starting an IV and splinting a fracture to performing CPR and helping Soldiers breathe through a tube.
Army officials began pushing this type of training last year at the service’s five basic training posts with the hope of reaching 180,000 Soldiers annually. The premise is that the first hour is the most crucial, and some focused life-saving training can keep the number of fatalities down.
According to the Defense Department, as of mid-February, there had been nearly 30,000 Soldiers wounded in Iraq. More than half have returned to duty.
Still, it’s a sobering figure. But the numbers, in many cases, could easily be Soldiers killed had it not been for expedient medical training.
“The most critical 10 minutes in a Soldier’s care in combat is the first 10 minutes. We’ve focused on the skills that would give us the greatest opportunity to evacuate an individual to a higher degree of health care,” said Col. Kevin Shwedo in an interview with The Associated Press last year.
Shwedo served as director of operations, plans and training for the Army Accessions Command, which oversees training.
Taking a page from Plato’s “The Republic,” necessity has proven to be the mother of invention at Al Asad. Through an arrangement made by Sink with leaders of a battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division, Bravo Soldiers who could not complete the course in Mississippi have been sitting through three intensive days of CLS.
Terms like “thinking outside the box” and “use all of your resources” forced Bravo leaders to also look within its ranks for Soldiers with civilian medical skills. Spc. Michael Kidd of Danville, Va., was one of the finds.
Insightful enough to bring some personal medical equipment on the deployment, the husky 33-year-old still figured he would be lugging around his M4 rifle because the military trained him to be an infantryman.
Instead, he is using his civilian skills as a nationally-certified paramedic, three levels higher than his military counterparts. At home Kidd works in an emergency room, where he has treated burn victims and revived people who have had heart attacks by performing CPR.
“I take pride in that my squad leader trusts me,” said Kidd, whose affinity for science started in grade school.
He has completed prerequisites to become a physician’s assistant. When he returns home, he hopes to be accepted at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond.
Cases like Kidd are unusual. But the bond between Soldier and medic mends into lifelong friendships.
Pfc. Stephen Conner, 22, works as a medic at Fort Pickett, Va., the state’s National Guard headquarters. Conner, of Staunton, Va., is enjoying many firsts, including his first deployment and the recent birth of his first child.
During convoy missions, he usually sits comfortably in the back of the combat vehicle listening through headphones to the chatter going on inside the vehicle and within the convoy.
All the while, waiting for that moment when he is thrust into his role.
So far, he’s among the top three busiest Soldiers, but he couldn’t describe what much of the road looks like.
Instead he is forced to rely on his “faith” in the drivers. They don’t mind reminding him he has the least amount of responsibility on the mission.
Conner, gregarious in nature and the subject of constant joshing, bites back.
“Infantry doesn’t really appreciate us,” he says with a chuckle, “until they need us.”
By 2nd Lt. David E. Leiva
3rd Battalion 116th Infantry
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — The minute the roadside bomb exploded, Spc. Eli Lovell’s heart pounded.
Palms sweaty and the adrenaline rushing, the convoy commander ordered Lovell out of the vehicle to evaluate the possible casualties after they failed to respond to repeated radio calls asking for their status.
There was another danger: The possibility of a secondary Improvised Explosive Device placed for first-responders.
Sprinting in the pitch dark along Baghdad’s most treacherous strip, Lovell and the commander came across the vehicle that had been struck.
They each opened one of the vehicle’s doors and stared at the two Soldiers, sitting there motionless, not responding to any questions being asked.
“Are you okay?” Lovell recalled asking them.
“I thought they were temporarily deaf from the explosion,” he said.
They were fine, although their lives had been disrupted by an IED planted by insurgents who intended to harm the Soldiers, not their vehicle.
That night, there was only one bomb.
So goes the life of a combat medic, affectionately referred to as “Doc” because he is the closest thing to a medical doctor out in desolate areas. Issued a 9mm handgun that he is not really expected to use, the medic accompanies each convoy in hopes his skills won’t be needed either.
In Bravo Company 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry, tasked with providing convoy security throughout western Iraq, the medics have logged more hours and miles on the road than any other Soldier.
Even after a two-week leave in January, Spc. Scott Dalrymple of Blacksburg, Va., has the most missions under his belt in the company. In seven years as a National Guardsman, this is his first deployment.
While confident in his abilities, Dalrymple can’t help but be candid. He admits the stress of being the sole person responsible for trauma care can take a toll.
“My worst fear is that somebody dies, and I can’t do anything about it,” he said.
So far, he’s only had to hand out band aids and aspirin.
Sgt. Samuel Anthony, 24, is fine with that. Anthony is Bravo’s senior medic on his second deployment to Iraq. He is still haunted by his first trip, where he worked on a Soldier who was hit by shrapnel during a mortar attack while eating dinner.
Anthony was at the gym when it occurred, and Soldiers rushed in and asked if any medics were available. For 10 minutes, he tried everything, including a tracheomety, a hole cut into her throat to help her breathe. She died on the scene.
“I always wondered if I had gone to chow that night instead of working out what might have happened,” Anthony said. “What if I had been there?”
Along with handling the unit’s medical administrative duties, he ensures Soldiers and medics will have every supply necessary, even if it means ordering more than required.
With only four military-trained medics in the company, Capt. Jeff Sink, Bravo’s commanding officer, ordered each Soldier to receive 40 hours of Combat Life Savers training, the Army’s answer to the medic shortage. Infantry units typically have only one medic.
This preparation, most of which was done at the mobilization site at Camp Shelby, Miss., ranges from starting an IV and splinting a fracture to performing CPR and helping Soldiers breathe through a tube.
Army officials began pushing this type of training last year at the service’s five basic training posts with the hope of reaching 180,000 Soldiers annually. The premise is that the first hour is the most crucial, and some focused life-saving training can keep the number of fatalities down.
According to the Defense Department, as of mid-February, there had been nearly 30,000 Soldiers wounded in Iraq. More than half have returned to duty.
Still, it’s a sobering figure. But the numbers, in many cases, could easily be Soldiers killed had it not been for expedient medical training.
“The most critical 10 minutes in a Soldier’s care in combat is the first 10 minutes. We’ve focused on the skills that would give us the greatest opportunity to evacuate an individual to a higher degree of health care,” said Col. Kevin Shwedo in an interview with The Associated Press last year.
Shwedo served as director of operations, plans and training for the Army Accessions Command, which oversees training.
Taking a page from Plato’s “The Republic,” necessity has proven to be the mother of invention at Al Asad. Through an arrangement made by Sink with leaders of a battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division, Bravo Soldiers who could not complete the course in Mississippi have been sitting through three intensive days of CLS.
Terms like “thinking outside the box” and “use all of your resources” forced Bravo leaders to also look within its ranks for Soldiers with civilian medical skills. Spc. Michael Kidd of Danville, Va., was one of the finds.
Insightful enough to bring some personal medical equipment on the deployment, the husky 33-year-old still figured he would be lugging around his M4 rifle because the military trained him to be an infantryman.
Instead, he is using his civilian skills as a nationally-certified paramedic, three levels higher than his military counterparts. At home Kidd works in an emergency room, where he has treated burn victims and revived people who have had heart attacks by performing CPR.
“I take pride in that my squad leader trusts me,” said Kidd, whose affinity for science started in grade school.
He has completed prerequisites to become a physician’s assistant. When he returns home, he hopes to be accepted at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond.
Cases like Kidd are unusual. But the bond between Soldier and medic mends into lifelong friendships.
Pfc. Stephen Conner, 22, works as a medic at Fort Pickett, Va., the state’s National Guard headquarters. Conner, of Staunton, Va., is enjoying many firsts, including his first deployment and the recent birth of his first child.
During convoy missions, he usually sits comfortably in the back of the combat vehicle listening through headphones to the chatter going on inside the vehicle and within the convoy.
All the while, waiting for that moment when he is thrust into his role.
So far, he’s among the top three busiest Soldiers, but he couldn’t describe what much of the road looks like.
Instead he is forced to rely on his “faith” in the drivers. They don’t mind reminding him he has the least amount of responsibility on the mission.
Conner, gregarious in nature and the subject of constant joshing, bites back.
“Infantry doesn’t really appreciate us,” he says with a chuckle, “until they need us.”
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
View from the Rat Vehicle
During their recent mission, Eli spent some time riding in the rat vehicle. The rat vehicle travels ahead of the convoy scanning for IED's and moving vehicles out of the convoy's way. I'm not sure why the call it the "Rat Vehicle." The only thing that comes to mind is if they run into trouble they're trapped like rats in a sinking ship....far away from help!
Morning email from Seth
Eli and I are continuing the process of getting packed up and ready to go. Even though it is still about a month away, it is all everyone is talking about. Last night Eli and I did something that we haven't done since we first got here in September. We slept with the AC on. For the past five months we have been sleeping with the heat on, and freezing when we step outside at night. The long PT pants and PT jacket are gone, and the heater is no longer needed. While the Iraq heat is not fun, it is welcome since we know we won't be around the see the weather change again. I've decided that Iraq only has two seasons, Hot and Cold!
We had to be down at the motorpool this morning for formation. We didn't really get any new information, just all the same stuff we've been hearing. We're still scheduled to move out of tents this weekend, and send off a good bit of our equipment as well. We worked on cleaning the weapons today, and then doing some work on a truck that has been broken. We went to lunch around 1130, and are now just doing some more packing. I have a sign up on our front door advertising the TV that we are selling. I'll keep the updates coming, even though there really isn't much to report. With the end in sight there isn't a lot going on, so I've got plenty of time to be bored and write emails. I hope things back home are going well, have a great day and I'll talk to you all soon,
We had to be down at the motorpool this morning for formation. We didn't really get any new information, just all the same stuff we've been hearing. We're still scheduled to move out of tents this weekend, and send off a good bit of our equipment as well. We worked on cleaning the weapons today, and then doing some work on a truck that has been broken. We went to lunch around 1130, and are now just doing some more packing. I have a sign up on our front door advertising the TV that we are selling. I'll keep the updates coming, even though there really isn't much to report. With the end in sight there isn't a lot going on, so I've got plenty of time to be bored and write emails. I hope things back home are going well, have a great day and I'll talk to you all soon,
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Back safe and sound
The latest email from Iraq:
Dear Family and Friends,
I just returned from my longest trip outside the wire, and also my most stressful trip. We provided security for a transportation unit that was helping to move a company from a small forward operating base near the Syrian border, to a larger airbase in Al Taqaddum, which is close to Baghdad. During the eight days we spent over sixty hours in the vehicles, one of the days saw us in our ASVs for approximately fifteen hours. During the trip we saw a lot of the country, including a couple of trips through downtown Fallujah. I spent the majority of the trip driving, but also spent time as the gunner, and even spent a couple of trips as the truck commander. It was a tiresome trip that seemed to drag on, but it was a good experience. It was an opportunity to see some parts of the country that I haven’t seen, and spend one last extensive mission out with my squad. Our time here in Iraq is coming to a close, and the activity in our motor pool is evidence that the end is near. The unit replacing us already has soldiers on ground here, we are beginning to pack up our equipment, and by next weekend we will be moved out of our room and moved into tents. In the next week or two I will be completely pulled from running missions, and start the long process of waiting for the end. This next month will slowly crawl by, due to the fact that it is impossible not to concentrate on time. When we first arrived in Iraq the end seemed so distant, that it was nerve racking to even think about it. We just concentrated on each day, and each mission. However now that the time is so short, it is impossible not to dwell on the end. The next couple of weeks will slowly go by, and before I know it Iraq will turn into a distant memory. This is a memory that will stay with me the rest of my life, and one that I will never regret having.
While things are going quite well here in Iraq, this past week has reminded me of the distance that I have to suffer from my family. Two different events have affected the people that I love the most. As I’m sure many of you know a student from Wilson Memorial High School was tragically killed in a car accident. I did not know this student well, but the tragedy was still very upsetting. The loss of a life is never easy to swallow, but when it is someone who is young it is even harder. This event has greatly upset my Mom, and has added to the stress that she has been forced to endure throughout this year. I want so badly just to be able to give my Mom a hug, to give some relief to her sadness. It is hard not being able to get a hug from your Mom on a regular basis, it is even harder not being able to give her a hug when you know she needs one.
The bad news did not stop there. Upon my return I found out that Brittany’s grandmother (Todd’s mother) was in the hospital suffering from septic shock. Brittany was very upset by this news, and was having a hard time dealing with it without me home. This morning Brittany’s grandmother passed away. I had to talk to my wife on the phone, listen to her cry, and I had to do this with the knowledge that I was not there for her. I can’t even explain how badly I wanted to be there to give her a hug, to cry with her, to help her deal with this. Brittany was close with her grandmother, and this has not been easy on her. A deployment is tough for many reasons. Today the reason that is at the front of my mind is the fact that I am not around to give comfort to those who I love the most. In a little over a month I will be able to give my Mom and Brittany long overdue hugs.
I hope this email finds you all having a good weekend. Thank you all for the continued love and support, I will look forward to talking to you all soon, and before to long being able to see you all as well, take care,
Love and Peace from the Middle East,
Seth
Dear Family and Friends,
I just returned from my longest trip outside the wire, and also my most stressful trip. We provided security for a transportation unit that was helping to move a company from a small forward operating base near the Syrian border, to a larger airbase in Al Taqaddum, which is close to Baghdad. During the eight days we spent over sixty hours in the vehicles, one of the days saw us in our ASVs for approximately fifteen hours. During the trip we saw a lot of the country, including a couple of trips through downtown Fallujah. I spent the majority of the trip driving, but also spent time as the gunner, and even spent a couple of trips as the truck commander. It was a tiresome trip that seemed to drag on, but it was a good experience. It was an opportunity to see some parts of the country that I haven’t seen, and spend one last extensive mission out with my squad. Our time here in Iraq is coming to a close, and the activity in our motor pool is evidence that the end is near. The unit replacing us already has soldiers on ground here, we are beginning to pack up our equipment, and by next weekend we will be moved out of our room and moved into tents. In the next week or two I will be completely pulled from running missions, and start the long process of waiting for the end. This next month will slowly crawl by, due to the fact that it is impossible not to concentrate on time. When we first arrived in Iraq the end seemed so distant, that it was nerve racking to even think about it. We just concentrated on each day, and each mission. However now that the time is so short, it is impossible not to dwell on the end. The next couple of weeks will slowly go by, and before I know it Iraq will turn into a distant memory. This is a memory that will stay with me the rest of my life, and one that I will never regret having.
While things are going quite well here in Iraq, this past week has reminded me of the distance that I have to suffer from my family. Two different events have affected the people that I love the most. As I’m sure many of you know a student from Wilson Memorial High School was tragically killed in a car accident. I did not know this student well, but the tragedy was still very upsetting. The loss of a life is never easy to swallow, but when it is someone who is young it is even harder. This event has greatly upset my Mom, and has added to the stress that she has been forced to endure throughout this year. I want so badly just to be able to give my Mom a hug, to give some relief to her sadness. It is hard not being able to get a hug from your Mom on a regular basis, it is even harder not being able to give her a hug when you know she needs one.
The bad news did not stop there. Upon my return I found out that Brittany’s grandmother (Todd’s mother) was in the hospital suffering from septic shock. Brittany was very upset by this news, and was having a hard time dealing with it without me home. This morning Brittany’s grandmother passed away. I had to talk to my wife on the phone, listen to her cry, and I had to do this with the knowledge that I was not there for her. I can’t even explain how badly I wanted to be there to give her a hug, to cry with her, to help her deal with this. Brittany was close with her grandmother, and this has not been easy on her. A deployment is tough for many reasons. Today the reason that is at the front of my mind is the fact that I am not around to give comfort to those who I love the most. In a little over a month I will be able to give my Mom and Brittany long overdue hugs.
I hope this email finds you all having a good weekend. Thank you all for the continued love and support, I will look forward to talking to you all soon, and before to long being able to see you all as well, take care,
Love and Peace from the Middle East,
Seth
Thursday, March 06, 2008
A student at Wilson Memorial High School died Tuesday night in a single car accident. She was in 11th grade and active in many things...softball, music, cheerleading. I had her as a middle school student and Seth and Eli graduated with her brother. Here's part of an email from Jan that she sent to Seth and Eli:
Today I spent an hour in the parking lot as students gathered around her parking spot, filling it with flowers and stuffed animals and pictures. Messages in chalk were written on the pavement. Her parents and brothers and grandparents were there. I talked with all the family members briefly. It was very sad and I’m tired before the day has even started.
The one bright spot is that Katy let us know today that she had heard from Eli so I know you guys are exhausted but okay and will hopefully be back at the base by Saturday or Sunday! On Wednesday morning as the faculty was hearing the news for the first time, many teachers said, “I need to hug my children. It hit me hard that I had no idea where two of my children were or if they even were safe so the news from Katy this morning was greatly appreciated.
I walked to the end of my hallway when I read Jan's email. I can see the WMHS parking lot from our school. As I looked at the space filled with flowers I cried for the family and for every family that has lost loved ones. During the time that I've been writing this blog I've been acutely aware of loss and grieving. It's time for Seth and Eli to come home.....if just for a hug.
Today I spent an hour in the parking lot as students gathered around her parking spot, filling it with flowers and stuffed animals and pictures. Messages in chalk were written on the pavement. Her parents and brothers and grandparents were there. I talked with all the family members briefly. It was very sad and I’m tired before the day has even started.
The one bright spot is that Katy let us know today that she had heard from Eli so I know you guys are exhausted but okay and will hopefully be back at the base by Saturday or Sunday! On Wednesday morning as the faculty was hearing the news for the first time, many teachers said, “I need to hug my children. It hit me hard that I had no idea where two of my children were or if they even were safe so the news from Katy this morning was greatly appreciated.
I walked to the end of my hallway when I read Jan's email. I can see the WMHS parking lot from our school. As I looked at the space filled with flowers I cried for the family and for every family that has lost loved ones. During the time that I've been writing this blog I've been acutely aware of loss and grieving. It's time for Seth and Eli to come home.....if just for a hug.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Waiting patiently.......NOT!
At this point the boys have been outside the wire for about six days. The anticipated length of their mission was never exactly nailed down, so we don't really know what we're waiting for. The only thing I think I know for sure is that they are 38 days away from leaving Iraq! It's getting harder to stay focused I think the weight drags you down a little more each day. Jan has said many times that she doesn't need the boys home as much as she just needs them on U. S. soil. I think their wives would want them home.
Seth was spending his time before this mission writing to different politicians about the problems with educational benefits for National Guard soldiers. Here's what he wrote to our local senator:
Senator Hanger,
My name is Seth Lovell, and I am a member of the Virginia Army National Guard. I am a member of B Co, 3/116th INF currently deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004-2005 as a member of the same company I was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I have given up two years of my life to serve my country, and to represent my state. I have done so willingly and with great pride. The reason I am writing is to bring to your attention a great injustice that I believe is being done to our soldiers who have been deployed. Numerous soldiers like myself joined the Guard to help with the financial burden of attending college. The educational benefits that a National Guard Soldier is eligible for is the Montgomery GI Bill through the VA, Federal Tuition Assistance, and State Tuition Assistance. All three benefits help to greatly reduce the cost of college, and reward young men and women for their service to their country. I am writing because I believe there is a problem with Virginia’s current setup for State Tuition Assistance. I believe the program is flawed, as it does not take into account the frequent deployments that the National Guard has been dealing with recently. In the Code of Virginia 23-7.4:2 (b) it states that a soldier who is applying for state tuition assistance must have two years left on his contract in order to obtain funds from the state. This system is set up on the idea that Virginia National Guard soldiers are not being deployed, and have the first four years of their contract available to attend school. However in my first six years I have been deployed twice, and have missed five semesters of school due to this. Not only do I believe that there should be no requirement of two years left on one’s contract, but I believe that soldiers who are deployed should have that year forgiven, and allowed that time past their contract to obtain benefi ts. Because of my two deployments I am no longer eligible for state tuition assistance. There are many soldiers who are in a situation similar to my own. It is a shame that soldiers, who give so much, are given so little in their return. I appreciate the benefits that I receive from the government; however, I do not believe I should be penalized for my service. I believe I should have continued access to these benefits upon my return from two combat tours.
I am a strong believer in the power of politics. I have a lot of respect for you Senator Hanger, and you are the first person I have written. I would be honored if you would sponsor a bill to update Virginia’s benefit system for deployed soldiers. I would like to be involved in the process, and give any assistance that I can. I will be home from Iraq in April, and would love to speak further with you on this issue. I understand if you are not able to take this on at tlhis time, and I will seek assistance elsewhere. If you are interested in helping me with this cause please e-mail me back. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my e-mail and consider my problem, I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Sincerely,
SPC Seth Lovell
Seth was spending his time before this mission writing to different politicians about the problems with educational benefits for National Guard soldiers. Here's what he wrote to our local senator:
Senator Hanger,
My name is Seth Lovell, and I am a member of the Virginia Army National Guard. I am a member of B Co, 3/116th INF currently deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004-2005 as a member of the same company I was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I have given up two years of my life to serve my country, and to represent my state. I have done so willingly and with great pride. The reason I am writing is to bring to your attention a great injustice that I believe is being done to our soldiers who have been deployed. Numerous soldiers like myself joined the Guard to help with the financial burden of attending college. The educational benefits that a National Guard Soldier is eligible for is the Montgomery GI Bill through the VA, Federal Tuition Assistance, and State Tuition Assistance. All three benefits help to greatly reduce the cost of college, and reward young men and women for their service to their country. I am writing because I believe there is a problem with Virginia’s current setup for State Tuition Assistance. I believe the program is flawed, as it does not take into account the frequent deployments that the National Guard has been dealing with recently. In the Code of Virginia 23-7.4:2 (b) it states that a soldier who is applying for state tuition assistance must have two years left on his contract in order to obtain funds from the state. This system is set up on the idea that Virginia National Guard soldiers are not being deployed, and have the first four years of their contract available to attend school. However in my first six years I have been deployed twice, and have missed five semesters of school due to this. Not only do I believe that there should be no requirement of two years left on one’s contract, but I believe that soldiers who are deployed should have that year forgiven, and allowed that time past their contract to obtain benefi ts. Because of my two deployments I am no longer eligible for state tuition assistance. There are many soldiers who are in a situation similar to my own. It is a shame that soldiers, who give so much, are given so little in their return. I appreciate the benefits that I receive from the government; however, I do not believe I should be penalized for my service. I believe I should have continued access to these benefits upon my return from two combat tours.
I am a strong believer in the power of politics. I have a lot of respect for you Senator Hanger, and you are the first person I have written. I would be honored if you would sponsor a bill to update Virginia’s benefit system for deployed soldiers. I would like to be involved in the process, and give any assistance that I can. I will be home from Iraq in April, and would love to speak further with you on this issue. I understand if you are not able to take this on at tlhis time, and I will seek assistance elsewhere. If you are interested in helping me with this cause please e-mail me back. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my e-mail and consider my problem, I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Sincerely,
SPC Seth Lovell
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