updates from the front.... Iraq through my eyes

[Teri]

My "goodie box" is in the mail today... ;)

[jjmk98k]

What i (we) really need is some good entertainment. When there is down time, we are stuck with outdated movies on the AFN ( Armed forces network)... and its always cutting out.... usually in the good parts of the movie / show

what I would LOVE to see is any re-runs of the Stihl Timbersports challenges through the years..... I emailed Stihl to see if they have any DVD or VHS of those to send....

I must say, my horseshoe tossing is getting better, but when it hits 111 degrees like it did today, i tend to stay indoor in the AC as much as possible.

Really, we are set pretty well with provisions and other small things..... but no GI will ever say "no thank you" to home made cookies! The mail tends to take 4-8 days to get here from conus.

I personally need nothing but if you want to send something to help my younger troops out, PM me for details for mailing.  They like the simple things like cheesy mac microwave bowls.... any chef boyardee things... little debbie cakes.. , you know, KID FOOD!!!!

loaf of bread ( like wonder bread, stuff that does not go stale right away),  peanut butter and grape jelly is ALWAYS a hit here!!!! the bread here is terrible and VERY dry....

food keeps us happy  8)

[beenthere]

Jim
We keep saying how good the "Chocolate Mint Explosion" cookies are (at least we keep voting for them to win ;D ;D), maybe we should each make some and send a dozen or three over in Jim's FF name.  8) 8) 8)
Think of the votes we might get for Paschale then   : : 8) 8)

[OneWithWood]

Hey Jim.
I think it is great that you have access to a pc and can get on the forum.  What more entertainment could you want?
I keep getting this picture in my head of you throwing horseshoes left handed holding that rifle in your right hand  :D
Lather on the sun block, keep those birds flying (the A-10 is one of the best) and get home as soon as you can.

[jjmk98k]

, when i am here at work, my rifle stays in the locker...... when I toss shoes.... my mind is on that!!!!

cant wear sunblock much as the dust sticks to it, then I feel like sandpaper....

[OneWithWood]

OK.  Some folks love feeling like sandpaper, but you don't seem to like it.
So....
Get a great tan, keep them birds flying, and get home as soon as you can  8)

[Ed_K]

 Jim, glad to hear the chow hall food is still the same  :D. Heard two a10s go over me this morning and that was with the hearing protection on,they are loud  . Stay as cool as possible.Check if the Red Horse troops are there, maybe you can get some patio mix . We poured a few between bridge jobs.

[Tim L]

Thank you for your service . I know its been said before but it's not said often enough .

[Slabs]

Jim

I want to express my most sincere gratitude for your service in armed combat for our country.  Nobody ever said that to me.

I had a couple of those "All expense paid vacations to beautiful and exotic Southeast Asia" with DanG.

My "Little Boy" just got back from his second tour with Navy EOD and with "all his fingers and toes" as he described it.  The best phone call I ever had.

Best of luck to you and it's great to see the "Wart Hog" still flying.  That should've been an Army bird.

Thanks

[Woodbender]

Jim - It's been said over and over - but I sure appreciate your service and what you do. 

I grew up a military service brat (Jarhead- born and raised in the Marines).  I was a kid when Slabs and DanG were on their tour, but I saw it as a kid from the inside and what it did to families. We were living on the base when Dad went over seas.

Guys like you over there see it up close and personal and do a daily gut check.  Most of the talking heads back here don't/won't/can't have a clue what's going on over there or all the GOOD that you guys are doing there.  They're too busy stacking their agenda to deliver truth.

It takes guys like you to make it work.  Do what you know you have to do and do it the best you know how. The kids working for you need you and so do the guys in the air. 

Every Sunday in Church we pray for our service men and women in harms way over there.  Now I have your name to go along with that!

We're praying for your safety and safe return.

[Darin]

The last time I tried to post links its wasn't allowed,so I won't post it, but there is a great video going around on YouTube. Just do a search for Kaminskis George Scotts video. This is a really great video.

[derhntr]

I spent a year there from Dec 04 to Dec 05, so I know what you are going through. Just be glad that your not on convoy ops.

Brian

[low_48]

Hey Jim,
How about listing a mailing address? Might be a good thing to let us know how to get some care packages over to you and the others around you.

[jjmk98k]

Low_48

I prefer not to publicly post an address here, but I will PM it to anyone who is intersted in sending stuff to the troops. Ill accept it and distribute it. Little debbie cakes bring big smiled to the guys and gals

We are due to rotate out in september, so I will say a cut off date for mailing would have to be August 20.

Thank you to all who have written and expressed thier thoughts, I share the posts with my friends and we all appreciate the support.

[Carries-Mom]

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you fighting for us.  Please be careful and we are praying you all make it back here safe.

[jjmk98k]

Some days are good, some days are bad..... By now some might have read about the Helicopter crash in western Iraq.....



Today I went for breakfast and while the hash browns were good and the biscuit and gravy was better than usual, but I could see the look on the Marines eyes. Its kinda somber.... even though I dont know those who died.... I might have sat next to them at chow, on the bus or bumped into them at the BX.....

At the dining facility....there is always a small table and one chair.... all off to its self, alone..... there is a place setting for one person...we walk past it each time in the chow hall.... it symbolizes a comrade who is not with us.... so walking past it today was especially difficult.... especially when I think of the 5 families who will have the same one place setting alone at the dinner table......

:-[

At first i didnt want to share this, but I felt you folks needed to know. The news does a good job of telling the raw facts, but they suck at telling the emotion side of it.....

Jim

[scsmith42]

Jim, thanks for sharing.  There are many dimensions to our involvement in Iraq, and you are indeed correct that the news does not address them all.

Your words are powerful and eloquent.  Those FF members who have served their countries probably remember similar feelings to the ones that you describe from their own experiences.  For the rest of us, your words help us more vividly understand some of the costs of helping others obtain the freedom and liberty which we so cherish, as well as the price that we must pay to protect ourselves from those who wish us harm.

For you and your comrades, our heartfelt thanks for your service, sacrifices, and the risks that you are enduring on our behalf.

Shortly after we became involved in Afgainstan and Iraq, Anheiser Busch sponsored a TV Commercial that showed a group of soldiers walking through a busy airport.  In the commercial, other travelors and airport employees stood up and started clapping when the soldiers walked by on their way to deployment. 

I saved the video from that commercial on my computer, and take a few minutes to watch it on a regular basis.  It is a wonderful representation of the feelings that so many of us carry within.

Scott

[Jeff]

http://www.youtube.com/v/cwXo4PnTMYA

[Norm]

Scott I couldn't have said it any better, thank you, and Jeff thanks for posting the clip.

[Roxie]

Yep.

[asy]

Great clip, Boss.

Thanks.

Jim, I sure hope knowing you have friends who care for you helps some. Keep us posted.

asy :D

[bitternut]

I don't know how any American could watch that video clip and keep a dry eye. I know I wasn't able to. Thanks for posting and thanks to Jim and the others who are serving. May God bless you all and watch over you.

[WDH]

I have personally experienced that scene in the Atlanta airport (and was a thankful participant).

[jjmk98k]

hey gang, again, thanks for the support~!!

[KarenKae]

Jim,
I am new to the Forum and I work for Arky here in Flippin, Arkansas. 
He is a former soldier too and I never get tired of hearing the stories.
Thank you and all of our brave people there, men and women, who serve.
We appreciate you and pray for you always to be safe and return to your loved ones here in the States.
Do please tell us any stories you have that are not classified.  The word picture of the empty chair broke my heart and although I do not know any of you serving there personally, I felt close to you all the same.
You are on our prayer board as are all the troops so I hope you can convey to everyone there how much we love you all and wish the best for you.
Karen