Thanksgiving.....in Iraq

So today is Thanksgiving and although it truly sucks because im not home with my family i had to make it the best i could. Hey im a Buckley thats what we do. Well first we got to sleep in.... now my wife will be surprised because at home sleeping in for me is maybe 6:30 but here i slept till 8 oclock in the morning. I got up a few times to use the latrine or check that it was indeed daylight but i always went back to sleep. That was nice.I felt refreshed when i finally got up and i made some damn good coffee. It was Folgers, but thats the best we have right now. Again if you like the Java and have an interesting brand or one you are partial to please send it. If we get enough variety we will write our reviews. We love coffee. Anyway, my ususal breakfast of a protein shake, two cups of coffee and a Nutri-Grain bar. Yes maybe not as big as you would expect but im not trying to put on weight over here. Once we started moving about Soap and I had to prepare some things for his convoy so we hopped in a Gator and ran down to Maint. to get some dispatches. This is a lot of fun for us because it is such a change from our last tour. Now keep in mind we would still have walked the mile to maint. if need be but having an ATV to take us is awesome.

Once this task was done, we stopped int he TOC and I got into the mix of handling the days platoon buisness. SSG Gudim and I run the platoon while our platoon sgt. is up at another base. So there were a few things that needed to be worked out. Well after all that it was CHOW time. So today being Thanksgiving and us being hungry well we ate. The chow hall did it up this time, we had turkey, ham, mac and cheese. We had rolls, stuffing, and sparkling grape fruit cocktail. Yeah no alcohol. We actually had a good meal. It was nice. Well the rest of the day proceeded about the same way, small things coming up and decisions being made to make sure they get taken care of. Gotta love it.

Postcards from.......not the edge

Well here are the postcards i have gotten. Thank you to those who have sent packages and postcards.

I really want to thank those who are sending them on a regular basis, you know who you are. Those who arnt, or who promised to help at home and havent well you disappoint me. I dont want to bash or hate on anyone but the same few have helped Jessica and the same few have made the effort. Maybe this war isnt as popular as it was my first tour but that shouldnt matter. Your efforts to help are pitiful at best. I understand in this busy world people have tons of schedules and plans but i could care less. When i was leaving almost all i came in contact with said" if there is anything we can do just let us know" Well i let you know. I gave everyone an inside track on how to help. If you read my blog then you would know this is not the first time ihave asked for help. Worst thing is that i had to ask more than once. If any of you have the sticker or magnet on your car that says you support the troops and you havent made the effort to help with your time then i ask you to take it off. Supporting the troops is more than buying a magent. It is more than send one postcard and feeling like you have done something. If you are not physically able, I understand, but many of you are and you have no idea of the time you waste. Time that would mean the world to my family if you offered it up.

Nope you all just sit by idly and put off making your effort to help. Well Holidays are here and im sure the excuses will fly. Please if you honestly arent going to try, when i come home, dont be there, dont say anything, not even thank you. My family needs me know and i cant be there, that means i need to rely on my extended family to help. In generations past this wouldnt be a problem but now we have such a self absorbed world that nobody will take the time for anyone else.

Again to those who have given their time and made the effort, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I ask that you put pressure on those who you know can offer help. Peer pressure works more than most people know. Dont be afraid to say something to these liars. My wife means enough to me, that i fi have to push away the fakes in my family and cut the ties, I will.

Please dont test my resolve...... you wont win.

thank you

The children are our future.

Well that title is true. The children are the reason we are here. At least I hope that is a part of it. I figure after a few generations of Iraqi kids grow up with freedom, things will have changed for good. If these kids can run and smile and play soccer now, they couldnt when i was here the first time, well then I am fine fighting this war. I think the benefits of war takes 2X times the years the war is fought. That means when these 7 year olds are 21 we will see the true impact of what we have done here in Iraq. Just think if we had to live with our kids playing in war torn streets. There are more reasons than oil for this war.

Common things

The first picture is of a MRAP. Its short for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected. Its basically an SUV that is armored to the gills. The second picture is an ASV or Armored Security Vehicle. Its only purpose is to protect.

These vehicles are just two of the multiple trucks that are used to secure our routes and convoys. If anyone is worried about security on the convoys now, just compare the trucks above to the truck below. The truck below is not the exact same as the one i got blown up in but its very very close.

Bueller...Bueller....Bueller

So today was a sort of day off. WOW the first real day off since i got to Iraq. It came with surprise, but we made the most of it. Today Soap and I were as productive as we ever could be. We recieved our pantry and with that we organized and expanded our food area. We bought a TV and used our insider information to recieve a converter and power strips (220) so we can create a astehtic, safe living area, when it comes to power cords running all over the place. I helped my soldier, SPC. Helm clean out our truck and PMCS it. He and I also organized all of our truck equipment to create a more squared away apperance. Soap and I also ran AFN, or Armed Forces Network, the ARMY version of television in our CHU. So now we have a TV, we also hooked up the XBOX we were given by a fellow soldier that had two. One thing we lack is a DVD player that has A/V output but we are doing fine without. We recently cleaned our CHU, which we like to do regularly. We will also be making our regular trip to the post gym tonight. I would say today was what we needed. Oh we also dropped off laundry and I was able to change the sheets on my bed and drop them off to be laundred as well.

I tend to think the ARMY believes its soldiers will, when presented with a day off, spend it lying around doing nothing productive and basically waste the day. Which is why I believe our horrible command gives us so few days off. Well without trying to prove anyone wrong, I feel that my day was my most effecient day in Iraq.

Thanks to all

Well i must say the support i have been show has been great so far. I wanted to give some updates. As for things to send, Magazines are the best because we are usually behind on when we get a chance to see them, we dont have a good selection, and we can transport them with us. Actually anything to read, that is current. As for food, candy... we have enough, thanks to all who have sent some, we love it but we find almonds, preztels and healthy snacks are the hot item. Sopczak and I have decided to eat as healthy as we can .... barring the cheat days, thats when we eat the awesome peanut butter cookies and other snacks we have gotten.

I want to thank my cousin Quinn's WEBELOS troop who sent a care package. You guys rock. Sopczak and I will be writing letters soon. Keep up the great work you guys.

If you want specific ideas, Mens Health, Newsweek or Time, Rollingstone, and Sports Illustrated or ESPN.

COFFEE We have bought a coffee maker and we both love coffee. I love Kona coffee, the Hawaiian type, any interesting types would be great, we like to brew a lot for our fellow soldiers, it makes for great converstation. I guess Coffee itself is the converstation starter. I have asked Jessica to send me a photo album for the pictures i am hoping to get of my kids, so if you happen to be lucky enough to see Roman, Shamus, and Marissa take a picture develop it and send it.

Movin on up

Okay so living in a CHU is tough when you have a ton of stuff and people send you great snacks and food and things to make life easier. Get that people send things to make life easier and it makes the living tougher because you have no place to put it all. PROBLEM solved. Thanks to SSG Ulrich Sgt. Sopczak and I have a pantry/shelf system that allows us to organize our food, snacks and even gum. We are able to get things out of boxes and onto shelfs where we can see them. I want to repay SSG Ulrich for his time and dedication. Its hard to find something for someone over here since we all have access to the same limited items. If anyone wanted to thank SSG Ulrich for his unselfish act i would be very grateful. He built this using tools he brought from home and during his only day off this week. He choose to spend his own free time cutting wood and measuring everything just right so we could live a little better. He has built many many pairs of bed risers for our soldiers, mine included without being forced too. He has a talent that I do not have and he has been a great asset to our platoon.

If you would like to thank him you can send him mail or packages or a thank you post card at the same address I am at. Just subsitute his name for mine and leave out the last for of the SSN number. I know he will enjoy your support. To give you a little background, during my 4 day leave while at Fort Dix SSG Ulrich was able to be home in time for his 4 baby girls birth.

Thanks to all who support all of us in the military. We thank you.

On the homefront

Hello again, i want to put out a request to all those who want to help. My wife Jessica needs a little more time to herself. I know my two boys can be a handful for just one night and Jessica does it everyday. I agree with Jessica that she needs some time away from the boys, and not just to go to the store for food. She needs time to shop for her own clothes, she needs time to be by herself at our house. I know its tough for anyone to watch our boys and now the boys seem to be attached to each other. Shamus doesnt like being without his big brother Roman. Please if you want to help call or email, she might not respond, dont feel like she doesnt want your help, she is busy and some people the boys are used to so its easier to set it up. If you can make it out to our house or you have room to watch the boys please let jessica know.

Please, many people said before i left that if we needed anything to let them know, well here is one thing we need. with the Holidays coming up we will need family more than ever, these holidays will be very rough for both the kids and jessica and i trust that my support structure will be there for me in the end. Family and friends, this to include cousins, uncles, aunts and the like please find the time in your schedules to offer help. Thanks