CSAR Gunners Provide Cover for Lifesaving Missions

Staff Sgt. Sean Pellaton Aerial Gunner, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron provides security during a medevac mission, Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 26. Photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller.

Aerial Gunners Provide Cover for Lifesaving Mission

U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
Story by Staff Sgt. Stacia Zachary
Date: 07.03.2009

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan -- Air Force Combat Search and Rescue crews fly throughout Afghanistan, providing airlift and medical care to service members wounded on the battlefield. More often than not, this requires them to fly into and operate in extremely hostile and precarious situations and locations.

Aerial gunners are charged with protecting their CSAR teammates and do their best to bring everyone on the helicopter back safely.

"The HH-60s need to be able to land virtually on top of the point of injury to quickly recover the wounded," said Tech. Sgt. Scott Matthews, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron aerial gunner. "The helicopters are a huge target for the enemy and we need to have our heads on a swivel making sure the PJs [pararescuemen] have the cover they need to recover injured people."

The rescue crews are successful in recovering the wounded largely because of the speed in which they can get to a location and extract the wounded on the ground.

"Speed is everything, so you need to be very familiar with your job so that you don't cause any delays," said Staff Sgt. Tim Chase, 129th ERQS aerial gunner, deployed from the 41st Rescue Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga. "We constantly train for these missions. This allows us to work confidently and quickly when we are on a mission. All that training helps us keep our guys safe in a hostile environment."

The irony of the aerial gunner's role in a rescue flight is that it often requires them to take a life in order to save another.

"The aspect of this job I love more than anything else is that we're here saving lives," Sgt. Matthews said. "On the flip side, we need to make sure that when PJs step off the bird to get the wounded, they have the protection they need. This may require taking out the bad guys so the good guys succeed."

For the crews, flexibility is important, as they never encounter the same situation twice.

"The challenges that come with being in the back are constantly changing and dynamic because the combat search and rescue platform changes according to whatever theater we operate in," said Staff Sgt. Sean Pellaton, 129th ERQS aerial gunner, a native of Castro Valley, Calif.

A common observation among the crews of the rescue flights is the amount of chaos they fly into when recovering the wounded.

"When we're on a mission, we're seeing all this chaos and right in the middle of that, there's this odd organization that exists," said Sgt. Matthews, deployed from the 129th Rescue Squadron at Moffett Federal Airfield, Calif. "We're right in the middle of these crazy situations. While we're observing what's going on all around us as thoroughly as possible for threats - whether natural or enemy - we're also playing an active part using the radios and manning a weapon."

The team, through training and experience, are completely in synch with one another, allowing the mission to become a well-orchestrated symphony of events. Once the helicopter lands, the gunners relay the signal for the pararescuemen and combat rescue officers to disembark from the helicopter to recover the wounded, while simultaneously alerting the operations center that the aircraft is wheel's down.

The flight engineers and aerial gunners man their .50 cal machine guns providing a virtual 180 degrees of security on each side, monitor the blaring radios, update the crew on the activity out their doors and prepare the ground forces for the helicopters' departure.

"It's all going down in a matter of seconds," Sgt. Chase said. "In that time, I'm looking for bad guys, the PJs are triaging their patients, I'm giving a 30 second call for liftoff, the [flight engineer] is making sure the systems are working and the pilots are focusing on getting us out of there and back to base camp. I don't know how or why, but everything just comes together."

Indeed, it's not until afterward that the crew has a moment to reflect on all the possibilities that could have happened during the mission. And it's a process built into the mission itself. Each flight results in a thorough debriefing, where the entire scenario is re-stepped and evaluated. With so much happening all at once, there can be a lot missed from one seat in the helicopter to the next.

"Everything happens so rapidly that it's only after the mission is complete that you realize how well everything went despite the chaos," Sgt. Matthews said. "That's when you realize how easily things could have gone wrong if you weren't focused enough, had enough training, or confidence in your crew's teamwork."

At the end of the day, it's the goal of the rescue mission that leaves the biggest impression on the crew.

"Being a gunner - I'm part of something much bigger than myself," Matthews said. "We go in and get guys who, if we weren't there, may not make it to the next day or even the next hour."

"One of the greatest things a person can do is risk his life for another's," Sgt. Pellaton said. "It's an awesome thing and something any of us is willing to do. It's not just a motto to us, it's the soul of the mission."

Happy Independence Day, America

This video was created by a veteran of OIF III for his first 4th of July back in the US in 2006.

Op Khanjar photos

HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN - JUNE 30: Dust billows from behind a Marine military convoy as it drives to Camp Dwyer from Camp Leatherneck on a re-supply mission on June 30, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of a stepped up effort by American troops fighting Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan. Getty.

HELMAND PROVINCE- JULY 1: U.S. Marine Private Michael Spurling from Stewarts Town, Pennsylvania reads a letter from his mother as he sits on his cot at Camp Dwyer on July 1, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of a stepped up effort by American troops fighting Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan. Getty.








U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, along with approximately 650 Afghan soldiers and police officers from the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF), prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. The Marines and ANSF are partnered for a major operation in the Helmand Province to transition security responsibilities to the Afghan forces. The Marines and ANSF will move into towns and villages along the Helmand River Valley in an effort to secure the population from the threat of the Taliban and other insurgent intimidation and violence. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse/Released)

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 02: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position after off loading from a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 2: U.S. Marine Captain Eric Meador from Laurel, Mississippi of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 2: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. look to return fire during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines temporarily occupy a house after arriving in an overnight air assault near the Taliban stronghold of Nawa in Afghanistan's Helmand province Thursday July 2, 2009. Thousands of U.S. Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country. AP.

Security and EOD in Wardak

U.S. soldiers of 10th Mountain Division secure the area after discovering improvised explosive devices (IED) on the road near Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov.


U.S. Staff Sergeant Blake Lundsfrom of 775A EOD from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division prepares for demining operation after an improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered on the road near Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. Reuters.

A Hometown Hero

Hometown Hero

By Katie Ussin, KULR8.com, "The Spirit of Montana"

BILLINGS - Just days before a Shepherd soldier was set to return home on leave from Afghanistan, he was killed in the line of duty.

Army Sergeant Terry Lynch was 22 years old and was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle and killed him Monday.

Lynch was a Cavalry Scout deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team last January in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was serving with the 10th Mountain Division Stationed in Fort Drum, New York. Sergeant Lynch joined the army in July 2005.

His awards and decorations are extensive. They include: the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, and Combat Action Badge.
...
Sergeant Terry Lynch, a hometown hero who sacrificed his life for this country.

SGT Lynch is survived by his sister and his father.

Operation Khanjar

Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, prepare to board a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, July 2, during the launching of Operation Khanjar. Nearly 4,000 Marines and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team 3, Combat Logistics Regiment 2 and the MEB-Afghanistan Command Element constitute the bulk of the U.S. forces conducting this operation, along with approximately 650 Afghan national army and Afghan national police forces.

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, July 2 -- Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. The Marines, along with an Army brigade that is scheduled to arrive later this summer, plan to push into pockets of the country where NATO forces have not had a presence. In many of those areas, the Taliban has evicted local police and government officials and taken power.

Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.

Godspeed, Marines.

Missing

One of our soldiers is missing in Afghanistan and is believed to have been captured by the Taliban. His family has been notified.


St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Photo of the Day

STUTTGART, Germany — Bravo Battery, Fourth Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team provided 19-gun salute for arrival of Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense at U.S. European Command Change of Command Ceremony, June 30, 2009. Photo: David Robinson, Eucom Public Affairs.

SecDef at Landstuhl

Nice writeup of the SecDef's visit to Landstuhl with a lot of other interesting background information, so I'm posting the whole thing. Just one quibble: the person the writer calls Dr. Raymond Funk is actually Dr. Fang. And a big shout out to SFC Lawrence, who has been on staff at the MTD as long as I can remember. Good to see him mentioned here. And how cool that Secretary Gates brought two patients back to the US on his plane! I'll add photos as I find them.

Gates Visits Wounded Warriors, Returns Two to Washington

Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs
Story by Donna Miles
Date: 07.01.2009


LANDSTUHL, Germany - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates visited Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here on June 30, meeting with wounded warriors and the staff that treats them and touring a new USO facility that's providing them a better quality of life as they heal.

Gates paid a call to the largest U.S. military hospital outside the United States after presiding at change-of-command ceremonies at the U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart.

The secretary toured the center's intensive care unit and the USO Warrior Center that opened in November, and he met with patients wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The patients represented about a 50-50 split between the two combat zones, reflecting what the staff here calls a trend as battle injuries drop in Iraq but increase in Afghanistan.

Air Force Lt. Col. Raymond Funk, deputy trauma director at Landstuhl, called the fact that many of these patients survived their injuries to be flown here for advanced care a testament to the military medical care system.

Gates has been a champion of improving wounded warrior care at every level from the point of injury. He ordered more field hospitals and medevac helicopters to Afghanistan this spring after learning that many troops there were too far from advanced-level treatment facilities to be treated within 60 minutes — the so-called "golden hour" after being wounded.

Gates told reporters traveling with him yesterday that he has his staff tracking "every single medevac" flight, and that he believes the additional medical assets are making a difference.

"Now, we're down to about 68 minutes" in average medevac time in Afghanistan, he said. But there's still a disparity in the response times – sometimes as little as 20 minutes, sometimes an hour and a half. "I want to equalize that," he said.

In addition to providing more assets, Gates said, he wants to cut through the administrative hurdles required to launch a medevac mission in the first place. "We want to try to get them to the point where they launch the helicopter even if they don't have the full chain of approvals," he said.

As he visited Landstuhl yesterday, the secretary met some of the servicemembers who have benefitted directly from the additional battlefield medical capabilities he ordered and his overall emphasis on wounded warrior care. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Lawrence, platoon sergeant at the Medical Transient Detachment, said he was delighted to see the way the secretary interacted with his troops being treated for "anything from mental health issues to gunshot wounds and everything in-between."

"He's in there with about 55 people, talking to each one and shaking their hands," Lawrence said as he stood outside the new USO center. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Their faces light up, and it makes their day."

Lawrence called working with wounded troops at Landstuhl the most rewarding job he's had in his Army career.

"The patients we take care of here are very deserving," agreed Funk, who has served at Landstuhl since 2004 and keeps asking to extend his duty here. "Everyone who comes here has been doing something for their country."

After Gates' visit, as he lifted off from Ramstein Air Base bound for Washington, he had two of Landstuhl's patients in tow, headed for military treatment facilities in Washington.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Tracy Morton and Army Spc. Anthony Martinez represent the large percentage of Landstuhl's patients who come to the facility with non-combat-related injuries.

Morton, a Navy corpsman who spent nine months at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Afghanistan's Patika province, was headed to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to be treated for complications following appendicitis surgery.

Martinez is a Fort Drum, N.Y.-based UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew chief who spent the past eight months ferrying troops around Iraq. That all came to a screeching halt when he woke up one day – May 4 to be exact – with vertigo, then developed Bell's palsy, a facial paralysis that caused the side of his face to droop. Yesterday he sat alongside Morton in Gates' C-32 aircraft, bound for Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for additional testing.

Both Morton and Martinez had experienced the full range of combat medicine the military provides deployed combat troops.

Morton, 42, first went to sick call at his forward operating base's Army hospital, where he got first-level care from a forward surgical team that had just arrived. From there, he was taken to Bagram Airfield for surgery.

The plan was to return him back to Sharana after recovery, but Morton began developing blood clots, gall bladder problems and an embolism.

Because troops taking blood thinners aren't permitted to serve in the combat theater – a precaution to safeguard against excessive blood loss in the event of an injury – Morton was again flown to Landstuhl. He spent two days in a ward, then to make room for other inbound troops, two additional days in an outpatient status while undergoing tests. From there, he was set to be transferred to Bethesda for higher-level care.

Martinez, got his initial evaluation by a doctor assigned to Contingency Operating Base Speicher. The 22-year-old 10th Mountain Division soldier was then sent to a combat surgical hospital, where he was diagnosed with vertigo.

He recalled the frustration of being taken off flight status and assigned to office duties as he waited for the symptoms to subside before the Bell's palsy set in. He paid daily visits to the doctor's office, getting evaluated by a neurologist at Balad Air Base who consulted closely with neurologists at Walter Reed.

From there, Martinez was flown to Landstuhl, a stopover on his way to Walter Reed for an MRI and other care.

Neither Morton nor Martinez knows exactly how long they'll be at the capital region medical centers, and both expressed regret that they've left their units behind in the combat zone. They also had nothing but praise for the medical care they've received every step of the way.

"I've been taken care of very well," Martinez said. "Everything has been there for me. They've been awesome."

Morton said his medical issues gave him the chance to experience firsthand the range of care patients he treats receive once they're evacuated from the point of injury.

"We would ship people off and not every really know what would happen to them," he said. But after his experience at Landstuhl, Morton said, he's a believer in the military medical system.

"The people here are really mission-oriented with the wounded warriors," he said. "To see how they handled wounded warriors at Landstuhl was mindboggling. It was obvious that their mission was to take care of us – at any cost."

1st Cav Battalion Commander wounded in Sadr City

ABC’s Martha Raddatz has covered the First Cavalry Division during all three of their deployments to Iraq, particulary the 2/5 Cav which LTC Timothy Karcher commands. Having spent time recently with LTC Karcher, she's been following developments about his injury on her blog.

Yesterday:

I keep looking at the pictures I took of Lt. Colonel Tim Karcher a few months ago in Sadr City, Iraq. Even though we are walking through alleyways of raw sewage and rotting vegetables, Karcher has a soft smile on his face in every shot. In the interview we did he is optimistic, but realistic about Iraq’s future. No spin.

Now this big bear of a man is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, both his legs blown off above the knees. It breaks my heart, and judging from the tons of emails I have received from soldiers, reporters and others who knew him, many feel the same. LTC Karcher was on his 3rd deployment to Iraq. He felt a profound responsibility to his soldiers, and two years ago despite a gunshot wound to his shoulder that ripped out much of his deltoid muscle, he fought hard to get back to the point where he could return to his soldiers. He said he felt guilty if they were in the fight and he was not. He also profoundly loves his family -- his wife and daughters aged 14, 12 and 9.

Martha later spoke with LTC Karcher's wife Alesia and blogged about it here.

Today's update.

LTC Tim Karcher is still in intensive care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, but his vital signs remain stable. I have learned more about the events that surrounded his injury, made more tragic by the death of a sergeant who had been part of Karcher’s rescue.

LTC Karcher was riding in an MRAP just before noon on Sunday, June 28th. The MRAP is considered the Army’s heaviest and safest personnel carrier. But the multiple and powerful EFPs (explosively formed penetrator), those Iranian made shaped charge that penetrate metal, struck the door near where Karcher was seated. His legs were gone.

Normally a medevac helicopter would be called, but the soldiers were socked in by a dust storm, and nothing was flying. Karcher would have to be driven to Baghdad’s combat support hospital, or CSH as it is known. Tourniquets were quickly applied in the field, but when he arrived at the CSH Karcher was in shock and losing blood. Doctors at the CSH were finally able to stabilize him Monday morning when he was transferred to Balad air base for further medical care and then transferd to Landstuhl. When Karcher was loaded onto the plane for Landstuhl, those with him say he looked “strong and stable.”

Throughout his time in the CSH, Karacher was surrounded by men from his unit, including his Command Sergeant Major Richard Franklin. Tragically, when these soldiers headed back to their sector after heroically delivering their severely wounded battalion commander to the hospital, their patrol was struck by a huge EFP and small arms fire. 28-year old Sergeant Timothy David, of Gladwin, Michigan, was struck and gravely wounded. His men fought to save him, but he died en route to Balad air base. A terrible, terrible day for the soldiers of 2-5 Cavalry Division.

I have also learned that in addition to getting shot in the shoulder two years ago, LTC Karcher was struck by a roadside bomb in December of 2006 in Baqubah while delivering blankets, stuffed animals and fuel to Iraqis as part of a military training team.

Please pray for LTC Karcher, the family of SGT Timothy David, and all the men and women of 2-5 Cav.

Thanks to Ms. Raddatz for covering their stories.

Update 3 July: LTC Karcher is on the way to the US. All the best for a safe flight and speedy recovery.

Chosen Co. NCO receives Silver Star for Aranas battle

Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett pins the Silver Star on Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye during a ceremony Tuesday on Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. Begaye was honored for his actions in a battle near Aranas, Afghanistan, in which five fellow soldiers and a Marine were killed. Photo: Kent Harris / S&S.

Vicenza NCO receives Silver Star for saving lives in Afghan ambush
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Ambushed near Aranas, Afghanistan, on Nov. 9, 2007, the soldiers were caught in a well-planned crossfire and needed to find cover.

Though he had been shot in the arm, Begaye took a minute to consider his options.

"It was almost like time stood still," he said Tuesday after receiving the Silver Star for his efforts that day. "The only real option I had was over the cliff."

So he started down into a steep ravine, telling his men to follow.

"We were sliding down and the whole time we were still taking accurate fire," he said.

Several soldiers were wounded on the way down and one was killed. But the rest survived to fight on.

Once Begaye and his men found adequate cover, he treated the wounded, called in mortar support and rallied other soldiers who were farther back in the convoy to hold their positions. Mortar fire and reinforcements eventually drove the enemy from the field.

Five soldiers and one Marine died in the battle. Begaye, the ranking soldier after his platoon leader [then 1LT Matt Ferrara] was killed in the initial attack, said he’ll wear his medal in honor of those who didn’t make it.

"I really don’t know how I feel about getting a medal for just doing my job," he said. "So this medal’s not for me, but for the guys who died that day."

They were:

1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, 24, of Torrance, Calif.
Sgt. Jeffery S. Mersman, 23, of Parker, Kan
Spc. Sean K.A. Langevin, 23, of Walnut Creek, Calif.
Spc. Lester G. Roque, 23, of Torrance, Calif.
Pfc. Joseph M. Lancour, 21, of Swartz Creek, Mich.
Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks, 28, of Troy, Mich.

[General] Garrett noted that the ceremony was just a few days before July 4, a day when Americans celebrate Independence Day.

"Freedom isn’t free at all," he said. "Our freedom has been bought by the sacrifices of American soldiers."

Begaye was a member of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment. Twenty-four soldiers from the battalion died during 14 months in Afghanistan. The battle near Aranas was one of the deadliest of the tour.

He’s currently a member of Vicenza’s Warrior Transition Unit, though he has recently re-enlisted and hopes to join the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team’s headquarters before its next deployment. ...

To date, soldiers from the battalion have received a Distinguished Service Cross and 25 Silver Stars. Four awards are still pending.

Admiral James G. Stavridis assumes EUCOM Command

STUTTGART, Germany — The official party for the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) Change of Command Ceremony, from left to right, Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. James G. Stavridis, incoming commander of U.S. (EUCOM), and Gen. John Craddock, outgoing commander of U.S. EUCOM during the HQ U.S. EUCOM Change of Command Ceremony. June 30, 2009 (Department of Defense photo by David Robinson)

STUTTGART, Germany — Joint Combined Color Guard at U.S. European Command Change of Command Ceremony, June 30, 2009. (Department of Defense photo by David Robinson)

The EUCOM Commander oversees all American forces under the United States European Command and also serves as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, which is NATO’s highest military position.

In that NATO position, Admiral Stavridis will be a partner of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who recently became the new commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Admiral Stavridis comes to EUCOM after leading US Southern Command since 2006. New York Times profile on who they call the "Renaissance Admiral" here.

Virtual Iraq: Confronting combat stress with high-tech exposure therapy

While Virtual Iraq may look cartoonish, therapists said that in previous virtual reality therapies used to treat other forms of PTSD, patients projected their own memories into the environment. One Vietnam veteran reported seeing tanks and people that were not part of the program. Courtesy of the University of Southern California’s Institute of Creative Technologies.

An insurgent in Virtual Iraq, a simulated warzone designed to help troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder confront and overcome the incidents that scarred them. Courtesy of the University of Southern California’s Institute of Creative Technologies.

Exposure therapy is nothing new. Let's say you have a fear of spiders. During an exposure therapy, you are gradually exposed to spiders in a non-threatening environment. The goal is to develop new associations with the object of your fear, which replace your former fear-based reactions and experiences with a more rational view.

This program goes a step further. The Air Force, Navy and Army, in conjunction with the University of Southern California and Virtually Better Inc. have created a virtual world in which service members can actually relive traumatic experiences and confront the related memories in a safe environment.

With Virtual Iraq, a troop is back driving a Humvee down an Iraqi highway, or exploring a city on foot patrols, [Dr. Beth Davis, a deployment behavioral health psychologist at Andrews Air Force Base] said. Ambient sound recordings including prayer calls, gunfire, men yelling and taunting, can be varied in intensity by the therapist.

The smell of fire, diesel, cordite, body odor and burning rubber are also used to facilitate memory recall and emotional processing, Davis said.

"It allows the therapist to manipulate the situations to best suit the individual in a standard therapy hour," she said. "We can re-create this scenario in an environment that is safe."

A local child waves to the convoy in Virtual Iraq. Courtesy of the University of Southern California’s Institute of Creative Technologies.

"Once their fear has decreased enough that they can really look at the situation and what happened and what they did, more than likely they will come to think about it differently, and realize, for example, it wasn’t their fault, or there was nothing they could have done differently, or they did the best they could under the circumstances," says Dr. Barbara Rothbaum. Rothbaum is a psychologist and director of Atlanta’s Emory University’s Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program, a pioneer of virtual reality therapy, and a co-founder of Virtually Better, Inc.

An airman tries out the Virtual Iraq program at a Virtually Better training site. Courtesy of Virtually Better Inc.

There are currently about 40 Virtual Iraq systems in Defense Department and Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics. The Air Force has eight Virtual Iraq systems at base clinics in the US and is setting up another at Ramstein Air Base in Germany this fall. Some of the Air Force-run clinics' scenarios are specialized for Airmens' deployment experiences, but since about a third of the patients are Army other scenarios are available. A Virtual Afghanistan is also in the works.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is among the most common diagnoses made by the Veterans Health Administration. Many service members are reluctant admit they are having problems and to seek treatment. The wide and ready availability of this technology to both veterans and active duty troops is an important development in the treatment of non-physical combat injuries.

See the whole article at Stars & Stripes.

Remembering Operation Redwing

SEAL Team:

Lt. Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, New York
STG2 Matthew Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, CA
GM2 Danny Dietz 26, of Littleton, Colorado


Nightstalkers:

Staff Sgt. Shamus O. Goare, 29, of Danville, Ohio
Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature, 35, of Clarks Grove, Minnesota.
Sgt. Kip A. Jacoby, 21, of Pompano Beach, Florida
Sgt. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Indiana
Master Sgt. James W. Ponder III, 36, of Franklin, Tennessee
Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Connecticut.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Russell, 31, of Stafford, Virginia
Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Florida


SEALs:

FCC Jacques J. Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, Louisiana
ITCS Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, New Hampshire
Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen, 33, of San Diego, California
ET1 Jeffery A. Lucas, 33, of Corbett, Oregon
Lt. Michael M. McGreevy, Jr., 30, of Portville, New York
QM2 James E. Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Florida
HM1 Jeffrey S. Taylor, 30, of Midway, West Virginia
MM2 Shane E. Patton, 22, of Boulder City, Nevada


Killed in action Kunar Province, Afghanistan June 28, 2005.
We will love you and miss you always.


The Lone Survivor:

PO2, later SO1 Marcus Luttrell
God bless you, Marcus.

Search and Rescue Jump

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (June 23, 2009) Naval Aircrewman 2nd Class Paul Sanchez, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Weapons School U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Mayport, performs a search and rescue jump from an SH-60B Sea Hawk helicopter into the St. Johns River during the annual SAR deployment procedures re-qualification . U.S. Navy photo by Naval Aircrewman Airman Scott Beach/Released.

Britains Celebrate First Armed Forces Day

The London Eye is lit up in red, white and blue to mark Armed Forces Day. Picture: Sgt Andy Malthouse, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009.

Until today, the UK didn't have a holiday like our Veteran's Day. Now, finally, they do. Thank you to all of our British brothers in arms for your service! We're proud to stand with you.

Thousands gather for first Armed Forces Day
27 Jun 09

Thousands of people across the world are paying tribute to the UK's past, present and future military personnel in the first ever Armed Forces Day, today, Saturday 27 June 2009.

Hundreds of events are taking place in many different communities around the world from London to Afghanistan and Edinburgh to Gibraltar.

Almost 200 events are happening across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland alone, while military bases where UK Service personnel are deployed across the world are celebrating in their own ways.

More than 30,000 members of the public, who want to show their support for Service personnel and veterans, are expected at the main national event taking place at Chatham's Historic Dockyard in Kent.

The celebration is featuring a military parade, a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Red Arrows, as well as presentations and interactive displays from the Royal Navy, the Army, and the Royal Air Force.

A Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter flies an Armed Forces Day flag over Afghanistan. Picture: Cpl Rupert Frere, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth is spending Armed Forces Day with troops in Afghanistan. He said:

"Every day the men and women of our Armed Forces are risking their lives for the defence of our country. They are the guardians of our security and our values.

"Armed Forces Day on the 27th June is an opportunity for us all to recognise their commitment, their courage, and their sacrifice. On this day there is no other place that I would rather be than here, amongst our servicemen and women on operations.

"It is also an opportunity to thank the thousands of veterans who have played so fundamental a role in protecting our country's freedom. And it is a chance to think about the families who support our brave men and women all year round.

"I sincerely hope that people across the UK will join in the events taking place today, and honour our Service personnel - past, present and future."

Service personnel parade for Armed Forces Day. Picture: PA.

Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, who is attending the national event in Chatham, said:

"The many events that are taking place today and the enthusiasm the British public has shown for Armed Forces Day mean a great deal to those in the military family.

"It is important for them to know that the Armed Forces are at the heart of national life, and that they enjoy the respect and appreciation of the people that they serve."

Two of the most high profile Service personnel of recent years are His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and HRH Prince Henry of Wales, who also paid tribute to the UK's Armed Forces today saying:

"Armed Forces Day is a celebration of our fighting men and women and the immeasurable contribution they make to our lives and to the reputation of this country.

"Through centuries of service to the nation, the members of our Armed Forces have established a record unequalled in the world. They work selflessly with honour and distinction, in the most challenging circumstances imaginable. As serving officers, we have the privilege of witnessing the living traditions, the courage and the professionalism at first hand.

"It is humbling for us to be associated, in a minor way, with something quite so exceptional.

"This day also recognises the wider family: the veterans, young and old; the many volunteers who support the Cadet Forces so tirelessly; and - of paramount importance and sometimes forgotten - the families and friends whose care and support enables such excellence.

"We are both so delighted to support this Armed Forces Day."

At Bagram's SSG Heath N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital

June 1, 2009 - U.S. medical personnel wait for the arrival of helicopters carrying wounded soldiers at the U.S. hospital in Bagram Air base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AP) — The urgent call came in: Roadside bombs had ripped through two Humvees and wounded eight or nine U.S. soldiers.

Medevac helicopters immediately hit the air to ferry the soldiers to the main U.S. military hospital. But when they arrived, they carried only five patients. ...

It started when two roadside bombs hit the same convoy of 10th Mountain Division soldiers only a couple of miles apart in Wardak, a province west of Kabul. The damage was so severe that one of the Humvees split in half.

By the time the helicopters arrived, four men were already dead. Their comrades loaded them into body bags, tense with anger and grief. ...

As the medics worked, with the American flag in the background, they sweated. The heat was turned up because critically injured patients cannot regulate their own body temperatures.

A soldier screamed, so loudly that emergency room physician Capt. Travis Taylor couldn't tune it out. The soldier, who had an open fracture, had just learned one of his buddies was killed.

"That one was tough," Taylor said. "He was really screaming, and it snapped me out of my focus on the patient I was with."

June 1, 2009 - A fellow soldier holds the hand of U.S. Pfc. Anthony Vandegrift, of Mililani, Hawaii, as he informs him the names of three of their comrades that were killed in the attack that injured him at the U.S. hospital in Bagram Air base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Vandegrift, of Bravo Company 287, 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, was wounded and three of his comrades died when the vehicle they were driving was hit by a roadside bomb in the Nerkh district of Wardak province. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Another soldier, Pfc. Anthony Vandegrift, had broken both legs. His left eye was swollen shut. The two soldiers in the front of his Humvee were killed, along with the gunner who had been standing halfway out the top.

He called his father while still on the emergency room table.

"I said, 'Hey dad, remember how you told me not to join the infantry? Well, I don't regret it, but I got blown up,'" Vandegrift, of Mililani, Hawaii, said.

Doctors at Bagram say there is nowhere in the world — except other war zones — where physicians face such severe wounds day after day. That constant stream takes a toll. ...

[Air Force Capt. Shannan] Corbin says home bases try to prepare the medical staff "mentally, emotionally and spiritually" for the deployment, but she's not sure it works.

"You can see pictures. You can hear people talk, but I don't know that anything really prepares you," said the 39-year-old nurse from Biloxi, Miss. "We hope emotionally and mentally that it's just another string of events. But I don't know how we can walk away from this as just another string of events."

June 2, 2009 - U.S. Pfc. Anthony Vandegrift, of Mililani, Hawai, plays the guitar for a wounded comrade at the U.S. hospital in Bagram Air base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Vandegrift, of Bravo Company 287, 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, was wounded and three of his comrades died when the vehicle they were driving was hit by roadside bomb in the Nerkh district of Wardak province. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In the intensive care ward nearby, Vandegrift lay beside the one other soldier in his Humvee who survived. The soldier may be paralyzed.

Holding a guitar, Vandegrift strummed a song for his friend: "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The four Soldiers who were killed in the line of duty on June 1, 2009 in Nerkh, Afghanistan were: SSG Jeffrey A. Hall, SGT Jasper K. Obakrairur, PFC Matthew D. Ogden, and PFC Matthew W. Wilson, all of the 2nd BN, 87th Infantry Reg, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

SSG Heath N. Craig, for whom the hospital is named, was a member of the 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) based in Wiesbaden, Germany. He died the night of June 21, 2006 during a rescue mission near Naray, Afghanistan.

Landstuhl hospital to move to Ramstein?

DOD mulls moving Landstuhl hospital to Ramstein
By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, June 25, 2009

Last August, Landstuhl received approval for a $400 million project that, among other upgrades, would add a five-story inpatient tower to the existing hospital. Construction on the new tower is slated to begin in 2010 or 2011. But with the new study ongoing, that project now is in limbo.

"They’re looking at 20-, 25-, 30-, 40-year projections of what [U.S. Army Europe] and this whole area’s going to look like, where are we going to get cost benefits and all the rest of that stuff," said Army Col. Brian Lein, Landstuhl commander. "It’s not just the hospital we’re talking about. It’s the USO, the [medical transient detachment], the barracks and the Fisher houses. You can’t just move the hospital. You’d have to take everything from here and then move it to some place over on Ramstein."

Landstuhl officials learned in late April of the DOD study, Lein said.

The hospital is the first stop for all wounded U.S. troops coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. Military aircraft carrying wounded troops from downrange land at Ramstein, and the troops are taken by bus for the 15-minute trip to Landstuhl.

Since 2004, the hospital has treated 54,736 patients from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

With construction set to begin as early as next year at Landstuhl, a recommendation from the DOD study would likely be issued this year, but Lein said he was unsure when the recommendation would be made. ...

The Landstuhl hospital opened in 1953. While renovations have occurred, much of the current structure dates back to the early 1950s.

The facility operates as an Army hospital, however all branches of the military work there, including sizable Air Force and Navy contingents. The total staff is about 2,800.

The hospital will remain an Army facility regardless of where it’s located, Lein said.

Wounded Combat Veterans Return to Iraq

Retired Staff Sgt. Bradley K. Gruetzner, Palestine, Texas, explains his prosthetic arm to service members at Al-Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Baghdad, June 21. Greutzner was injured May 26, 2007 by an improvised explosive device while traveling in a convoy 15 miles north of Baghdad. Photo by Sgt. Kathleen Briere, Multi-National Corps - Iraq.

MNF-I Command Sgt. Major Lawrence Wilson (left) introduces members of Operation Proper Exit to hundreds of service members at Al Faw Palace. The six soldiers returned to Iraq to visit forward operating bases to witness the changes that have taken place due to their sacrifices. They are part of a pilot program, "Operation Proper Exit," run by Troop's First Foundation, an organization sponsored by the United Service Organization. The wounded warriors are (L to R): Staff Sgt. Kenneth Butler, Sgt. Robert Brown, Sgt. Christopher Burrell, Sgt. (Ret.) Marco Robledo, Sgt. Brandon Deaton and Staff Sgt. (Ret.) Bradley Gruetzner.

via GEN Ray Odierno's FaceBook page.

Of leadership, challenges, and being human in a war zone

One of the best profiles I've seen of our young military leadership and the challenges they face in Afghanistan.

A personal touch in Taliban fight
By Greg Jaffe

KONAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The father arrived at the gate of Capt. Michael Harrison’s base earlier this month cradling the limp body of his 9-year-old daughter.

A few minutes earlier, the little girl had been playing with her cousin by the rutted main road that runs through Harrison’s sector. A Taliban bomb intended for an Afghan army convoy had exploded. It missed the convoy and instead struck the girl, known by the single name of Akhtarbabi.

Her face was blackened from the blast. A piece of charred shrapnel was lodged in her temple. Harrison ordered two of his medics to take the girl’s cousin, who was bloody but still conscious, to the base’s aid station, a plywood shack about the size of a toolshed. Other medics set Akhtarbabi on a cot in a dark concrete bunker just outside the aid station. “She’s dead,” Sgt Ed Welch, the chief medic, whispered to Harrison.

It was up to Harrison, a 27-year-old company commander who oversees US military operations in a sprawling, isolated and violent swath of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, to figure out how to take advantage of the opening the Taliban had given him. The question consumed and frustrated the Virginia native for most of June.

Harrison faces two enemies in Afghanistan. The most obvious is the Taliban, whose fighters lurk in the mountains along the border. The other is the overwhelming frustration that Afghans feel toward US forces. Eight years of airstrikes, civilian casualties and humiliating house-to-house searches have left the Afghan people deeply suspicious of the US troops who are supposed to be protecting them.

As Harrison’s medics hovered over the girl’s body, her cabdriver father, Jonagha, squatted on the ground outside the aid station. A summer thunderstorm swept over the base. The father placed his face in his hands and prayed as the rain drenched his bloodstained tunic.

Harrison and his interpreter knelt beside Jonagha. The American captain draped an arm around the man’s shoulders, leaned in close and delivered the news that his daughter was dead. The man sat frozen, his face still resting in his palms and the rain pelting his back.

“I am very sorry for your loss,” Harrison said. ...

It's worth your time to read the whole thing. Makes you sad and proud at the same time.

Helmand Firefight

Found link to this AP footage of Marines fighting in Southern Afghanistan at Bouhammer's. As he says, "Professionals all the way through, not freaking out, not going crazy. Very disciplined and engaging targets with ease."

That buzzing sound at around the 1:4o mark sounds like the 30mm gatling gun of an A-10. The guys on the ground must love that sound.

Fly into Afghanistan with the Horse Soldiers

I've mentioned this book before. Now, thanks to some riveting video storytelling from Greyhawk, you can fly along with the first group of Special Forces Troops as they secretly enter Afghanistan in 2001... they are Doug Stanton's Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan.

US Navy Corpsmen: 111 years of saving lives

Col. David Fuquea, chief of staff, 2nd Marine Division, praises and thanks corpsmen during the 111th U.S. Navy Hospital Corps Birthday celebration, June 17. "Marines are able to charge into combat because we know that corpsmen will run in after us," said Fuquea. Photo: Lance Cpl. James W. Clark.



And here's a video story from Seaman Lauryn Cooper, AFN Europe.

Happy 5th Alive Day, Chuck!

Five years ago yesterday, (then Captain, now Major) Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was nearly killed by an IED while serving in Iraq. As you can see by that entry, Chuck had been blogging from theater before getting blown up and his amazing wife Carren posted the news to his readers.

Early in his recovery, Carren kept everyone up to date. But Chuck needed to blog, and out of a laptop from Soldiers' Angels and a donation for voice-activation software from an anonymous reader, Project Valour-IT was born.

We've laughed and cried for and been inspired by this brave couple through scores of surgeries, the craziness that is Walter Reed, pain management, Valour-IT fundraisers, return to active duty and promotion (HOOAH!), and just plain daily life. Through it all, they've shown grace, compassion for others, and have never lost their sense of humor.

Please take just a moment (even if you don't know him!) and go over to Chuck's place and wish him a Happy Alive Day. Chuck, we're so thankful you're still here with us. Much love to you and Carren!

Soldiers' Angels Germany has a new shipping address!

Effective immediately, Soldiers' Angels Germany has a new shipping address. Mail will be forwarded from the old address, but to avoid delays please change your records.

MTD
Attn: Soldiers' Angels
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

Important:
- Check our list of requested items for current needs before purchasing and shipping donations.
- Notify us when items are shipped.
- Include a note with your name, Email address, and short description of items sent in your packages. Without this information, we regret will be unable to confirm their receipt.
- Please allow 6-8 weeks for receipt confirmation via email.

Thank you for your support of our wounded and ill warriors.

Groton Woman's Club marks 100th Quilt made for Landstuhl patients

(click photo for larger view)

Thank You for Your Service to Our Country

God Bless America
&
God Bless You
2008

Groton Woman's Club / Groton, MA

The Groton Woman's Club recently celebrated 95 years (!!) of continuous service to their community. Every five years they put together a play about the club's activities, and I was very touched and honored to learn from our POC Susan Slade that the Blankets of Hope project for Landstuhl hospital was part of this year's play.

And in another exciting milestone, the shipment of quilts pictured in the photo above contain the 100th quilt made with love and hope for our wounded warriors.

The club's motto is "Service" and it's mission is to provide an opportunity for
women who live or work in Groton to join together in service to the community. Projects include initiating the Avenue of Flags in the Town Center, beautification of the park area near Town Hall, providing monthly lunches at the Senior Center, student scholarships, and much more.

Congratulations on your many years of service and thank you to the Groton Woman's Club for your support!!

First female Shura in Wardak

Women from Jalrez District attending an all-female shura with representatives from Wardak Provincial Office of Women's Affairs and Coalition forces June 17. CJSOTF-A courtesy photo.

Jalrez district conducts first all-female shura
By US Forces Afghanistan Public Affairs Office

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Wardak Provincial Office of Women's Affairs assisted by the Afghan Public Protection Force held the first all-female shura in Jalrez district, Wardak province, June 17.

More than 150 women attended the event, where a variety of issues were discussed, including security, quality of life, religious concerns and civil liberties.

The Afghan Public Protection Program was commended by the group as the primary reason for improved security in Jalrez district, and the increased security provided by this force enabled the shura to occur.

The ever-improving security situation encouraged all participants to request additional all-female shuras to occur in other areas of Jalrez district.

The Afghan Public Protection Force provided security and conducted a humanitarian assistance distribution following the events. More than 100 pairs of shoes, 100 sets of women's and children's clothing and 100 soccer balls were distributed. Additionally, key female communicators attending the event received radios and Afghanistan flags.

It may not sound earth-shattering to us, but this is very important news. For centuries women have generally never been permitted to attend shuras, which are meetings of community elders like our town councils. And in areas under Taliban influence, women not wearing burkas and girls attending school are subject to gruesomely violent intimidation tactics.

Obviously, this is a victory for the women. But it's also a victory for U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in the province: The article gives credit to the Afghan Public Protection Program, which was created and mentored by U.S. forces. The concept is to give locals a hand up in creating the forms of civil governance we take for granted but are essential for a functioning society.

A slice of home

This just in from one of SA's adopted soldiers.

A Letter of Thanks to All of You Who Have "Adopted" A Soldier

I am a soldier deployed to central Afghanistan and I wanted to tell you how very much your support means to all of us fighting over here. I know that you write out of the goodness of your heart, many of you writing countless letters, which often go unanswered. You write and mail packages and pray for these fine young soldiers, the best our country has to offer, often in harm's way each and every day. I know that it might get a bit discouraging sometimes, sending letters and emails and packages into the "big black hole of Afghanistan and Iraq" and you must wonder sometimes if you are making a difference. Well that is why I am writing this...to tell you that you are!

Our soldiers... most importantly, YOUR soldiers, are doing unbelievably stressful and dangerous work. The average soldier in my Brigade lives and works out of a remote Combat Outpost. This can sometimes mean sleeping in the dirt, sleeping when they can in between incoming rocket and mortar attacks. They normally go weeks without a shower (thank goodness for baby wipes!), eat cold chow, with few phones or Internet being available. We are in the midst of the "summer fighting season" which means that we are engaged in numerous firefights and IED strikes every single day.

When you go "outside" the wire you are always tense and high-strung, searching for that command wire of an IED, meeting village elders as you immerse yourself in a totally foreign culture that you neither fully understand or are part of, and are often viewed with deep suspicion and frowns. There are indeed rewarding moments where you smile; children in particular have the unique ability to bring a smile to the face of the gruffest soldier, but you never let down your guard. When your armored security vehicle rolls back through the relative safety of the gate after days on patrol where you perhaps carried a 100 pound pack on a mountain at 10,000 feet it is sometimes all you can do to stumble to your sleeping bag for some much-needed rest.

So where do you come in? You, quite simply, are there to greet us with love and support when we stumble back through the gate.

Mail has always been cherished by soldiers in a war zone for as long as there has been the written word. It's hard to describe what it's like when those magical words of, "hey, the mail is in!" is excitedly passed from soldier to soldier. The atmosphere instantly lightens and smiles appear on the tired faces of soldiers who look 10 years older than their age. The closest I can describe it as is that it's akin to Christmas morning. The toughest soldier takes his box or letter from a loved one or a Soldiers' Angel and does his best not to grin like a 10-year-old getting that new bike from Santa, retreating to someplace quiet to open his mail.

That's an unspoken rule for soldiers.... unless 10,000 Taliban are about to storm the gates or a nuclear bomb is about to vaporize the entire countryside, you DON'T disturb a soldier when he or she is opening up their mail! It may be behind the guard tower or in their sleeping bag by the light of a red-lens flashlight, but a soldier opening his mail is a very intimate and private moment, one to be cherished.

What do you all bring to us over here? A slice of home. You may think that you don't have much to offer in your letters that often go unanswered. You may feel you are rambling on about the weather or about how you find cemeteries a peaceful place or who just won "American Idol." But to a soldier in a combat zone? That is life. That is normalcy. That is what we have to look forward to when our duty here is done. When you write these letters, even though they may go unanswered, you need to know that every letter that you seal and put into the mailbox will cause a tremendous smile on the other end.

On behalf of all of us soldiers over here I want to thank you for what you do. With the lack of Internet access, limited time, and plain old exhaustion, most of your letters and emails often go unanswered. Please know, however, that they are deeply appreciated. You are doing your own part in all of this... you are showing your support. And that is what a soldier needs... knowing that he is not forgotten, that his efforts are appreciated, and that many, many people back home are thinking about and praying for them.

Thank you so very much for what you do.

Steve

We currently have over 500 deployed service members waiting for adoption. But you don't have to "adopt", you can join one of our many teams or just write a letter...

Visit the SA website for information.

Update: Oh, will be posting some pics from Steve soon... of the Afghan kids and others for whom you have sent clothing, school supplies, etc.

Another Wanat Warrior receives Silver Star

Staff Sgt. Sean Samaroo, 4th Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, was awarded a Silver Star for his actions during the Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan. The Silver Star, the third highest military decoration, is awarded for gallantry in action, performed with marked distinction. Photo: Susanne Kappler, Fort Jackson Leader.

Another paratrooper of the Chosen Few, 2-503rd, 173rd ABCT has received a Silver Star for his actions during the Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan last year. Samaroo was one of the many soldiers medevaced to Landstuhl after being wounded in the battle. More (and better) photos at the link where you can see how great he looks!

FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Staff Sgt. Sean Samaroo, 4th Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Afghanistan in a ceremony June 11.

The ceremony took place at the newly designated Wanat Range, formerly known as Camden Range.

Samaroo received the award, the nation's third highest military decoration, for his part in the Battle of Wanat, which took place 2008 in the eastern province of Nuristan, Afghanistan. Samaroo is also a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient.

"There were a lot of heroes out there," Samaroo said. "Some maybe didn't get recognized as much as me. I'm pretty thankful and honored."

On the morning of July 13, 14 months into Samaroo's deployment, an estimated 200 enemy fighters launched a coordinated assault on a small vehicle patrol base manned by approximately 50 American and coalition troops.

As the battle began, Samaroo - then with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade - and his squad were manning a traffic control point near the base. Samaroo's squad successfully defended the traffic control point before reinforcing an observation point, which was under threat to be overrun by the attackers.

On his way to the observation point - an uphill climb through exposed terrain - Samaroo encountered three wounded Soldiers, whom he and his squad brought to safety.

Samaroo himself was wounded by shrapnel and was bleeding from the head and legs, but refused to leave his position until reinforcements arrived.

Nine American Soldiers were killed in the attack; 27 Americans and four Afghan soldiers were wounded.

Samaroo credited his training and instinct with helping him through the situation.

"There was a time that I did not want to go up that hill," he admitted. "I thought that it was too early. There's such a thing as tactical patience. You have to let the battle evolve.

Because of that, I believe we saved a (few) more lives that way."

After he was wounded, Samaroo said goodbye to his wife and son aloud, according to a first-person account read during the ceremony by Lt. Col. Richard McDermott, 4th Bn., 10th Inf. Reg., commander.

"That's when I said, 'Man, this is it. You're gone,'" Samaroo said. "I really thought I was, but I just clicked like that and started focusing back on what I had to do."

Samaroo admitted that the incident changed his life.

"Any time you have a near-death experience ... it changes you. It does. You think about the small things in life," he said.

Samaroo, who has been in the Army for nine years, came to Fort Jackson in January as a cadre instructor at Camden Range. The range, which has been undergoing extensive upgrades, was renamed "Wanat Mounted Convoy Live Fire Range" in honor of the Soldiers who died during the Battle of Wanat.

Brig. Gen. Bradley May, Fort Jackson commanding general, called the renaming a fitting tribute as the range will be used to train "skills that will allow (Soldiers) to thrive in combat, just as Staff Sgt. Samaroo did."

Samaroo said he hopes to pass on those skills and ultimately intends to become a drill sergeant.

"That's always been a dream of mine, being a drill sergeant," he said. "I want to be able to share what I learned as a combat Soldier."

To the nine Heroes of that day, rest in peace. We will love and remember you always.

Wounded commander takes over Warrior Transition Battalion

Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho and Lt. Col. Danny Dudek walk past soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion during the Pass in Review portion of a ceremony Wednesday in which Dudek assumed command of the battalion at Fort Lewis. Photo: Joe Barrentine / THE NEWS TRIBUNE.

“Taking an artillery battalion into Iraq would be easier than doing what I’m going to have to do with the Warrior Transition Battalion. That’s how complex, how important it is. But that’s where my passion lies.

- LTC Danny Dudek

Leading by example.

Lt. Col. Danny Dudek paced the dew-covered grass of Fort Lewis’ Watkins Field, inspecting his troops during a ceremony marking a change of command for his unit.

The sight of an officer marching past with the aid of hand crutches was not lost on the hundreds of wounded and injured soldiers of the Warrior Transition Battalion whom Dudek now commands.

“The Army has to make a deliberate decision to let a paralyzed lieutenant colonel command a battalion,” the 40-year-old said. “That doesn’t happen often.”

Dudek, previously the battalion’s executive officer, took command from Lt. Col. K.C. Bolton on Wednesday morning. Dudek now is responsible for about 600 soldiers with long-term or complex medical issues, one of 39 such units across the military.

Dudek, whose feet are paralyzed, has been with the unit almost two years. He was serving in Iraq with Fort Lewis’ 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division when an explosively formed penetrator, a particularly lethal form of a roadside bomb, detonated under his Stryker vehicle near Husseiniyah on July 19, 2007.

Cpl. Brandon M. Craig, a 25-year-old Maryland resident, was killed almost instantly.

“Danny was hurt very badly from that attack, but nothing was going to keep him down,” said Lt. Col. John Steele, the former 4th Brigade deputy commander who’s now in the same position for the 191st Infantry Brigade. “He kept asking, ‘How are the soldiers? Are they OK?’ I never once heard him say anything about himself.”

His subsequent journey through the Army medical system gives him a clear insight into what can be improved, said Maj. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, the commander of Madigan Army Medical Center.

“Danny brings to his position a special uniqueness of first-hand experience of what it’s like to walk in the boots of the very soldiers he is now charged with caring for,” Horoho said.

“I keep hearing that I inspire people,” said Dudek. “But I’m just trying to get through the day.”

The rest of the story is here.