24 posts tagged “2-503 afghanistan 2007”
One of my blogger friends and 173rd, 2/503 Blue Star Dad's has this post from his blog "173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Downrange"
In the second part of his post he writes:
"O.K. on the wheels up part of the posting (deep breathing here) as I sit here typing I find myself so fortunate that my son has only received minor injuries sustained during combat operations where many others have sustained much more serious wounds and unfortunately so many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Lt. Ben Hall notified his family that his aircraft was wheels up on deploying to Afghanistan as a young officer with Destined Co. of the 173rd ABCT. I am speaking of LT. Ben Hall who hailed from a distinguished Military back ground. His sister contacted me today after stumbling across my Blog. It was such great pleasure hearing from her. We are approaching the anniversary of Ben Halls death while serving with his men in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. His family is so kind which reflects exactly Ben's personality and leadership. Since my son did look up to this Officer and formed a friendship in that they had some awesome conversations on many subjects and has help Alex map out his destiny I ask that all my readers please take two minutes on the 31st of this month and pray for Ben and his family. Can we make this happen people?"
You can read a little about Ben here, here, here and here. I'm sure there are so many inspiring and comical stories about Ben we will never know.
I ask that anyone reading this post please take two minutes out of your life on Thursday 31 July 2007 to pray for Ben and his family.
Rest in peace Ben. You are a true HERO. You and your family will remain in our prayers, especially during this difficult anniversary.
If you've been reading this blog you know that Operation: Love Boxes For Our Troops is preparing a substantial shipment for the Battalion. Just to be sure it wasn't going to over burden the Sky Soldiers logistically John Baker prepared a brief "run down" that was sent to the 1SG of Chosen Company. I want to share a portion of his reply. If this doesn't touch your heart you must not have one. To all of you who have made contributions of every size this is for you. For those of you who haven't - how can you not after reading this?
It is amazing the way people are coming together and supporting the troops back there, because of people like you organizing and making sure it happens. I want to make sure you understand from me personally, that because of people like you and others that my boys are warmer, eat better, and have better structures to live in. You will never understand how all the little things mean so much to the soldiers.
My soldiers have storage areas full of the little things to pick what they want to eat, and if the weather gets really bad we could eat snack food sent by you guys for a couple weeks to survive.
Thanks again for your support and for giving us a little touch of home.
Sincerely grateful, XXXXX
It is rare that we have visual confirmation that our care packages arrive in Kunar Province, Afghanistan for Soldiers of the 173rd, 2/503 Infantry (Airborne) "The Rock". This morning I received the following photos in an email. A portion of the 154 pair of thermal underwear donated by the generous members of AT&T Pioneers in Memphis, TN were shipped to Camp Blessing for distribution out the the members of Chosen Company manning various Firebases and Outposts. The photos show that they arrived - and in a very short time frame I might add.
The email stated how elated they were to receive thermal underwear. I have recently received correspondence from various sources (family members, one direct email from Afghanistan and from a post card dated 1 Nov 2007) that they really need thermals and chemical hand warmers. Our goal for thermals was 800 pair. To date, including the donation from AT&T Pioneers, we have only shipped about 200 pair. I know the holidays have just passed but one pair of dark colored thermals at discount stores such as Wal-Mart cost about $10.00 - $12.00. The most requested size is medium. Some large are needed also. Please consider purchasing a pair - more if you can. Additionally every packet of chemicals hand warmers makes a difference. For those who would like to send more than a packet Costco still has a case of 40 pair for $14.99.
Take a minute, literally, to view this video. It shows the remote and austere conditions of one of the many outposts the 173rd, 2/503 Sky Soldiers are manning in Kunar Province.
I don't know how I missed the website for the Combined Joint Task Force - 82 Operation Enduring Freedom but my dear friend ConcreteBob educated me today. I hopped on over there and found this story about some work Destined Company is involved in and wanted to share it with you. The text of the story follows. Click on the link for some great photos and informational captions, too!
| 173rd Airborne Brigade Leadership Meet with Narang District Leaders |  |
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| Written by CJTF-82 Operations | |
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Thursday, 27 December 2007
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New members in the leadership of 2/503rd Brigade Combat Team, 173rd Airborne Brigade recently met with Narang District Leaders in and around the Narang Valley, Konar Province.
The new Destined Company leadership met with the Narang Valley Sub-Governor in an effort to continue the good working relationship between Coalition Forces and Afghan National Security Forces and the people of the Narang Valley. They discussed future possible Civil Engineering Reconstruction Projects (CERP), the importance of the Afghan National Police and their vital role to the security and stability of their District, and helped the Sub-Governor distribute Humanitarian Aid to some of the people near the District Center. |
I received the following email and wanted to share it with you so that you could stop at 10:00 Eastern Time tomorrow and remember the men of Battle Company as well as those from the other Companies in the Battlation who have given their lives in defense of this great nation. May they rest in peace and may their families and fellow Soldiers left behind know how much they are in our thoughts and prayers.
Merry Christmas to all-
I am writing to you to wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. The men of Battle Company and I want to ensure that you know you are all deep in our thoughts and prayers as the whole Battle Hard family celebrates their holiday season apart from those they love.
As members of the family I wanted to include you in our best wishes, and ensure that you know and understand that we celebrate this season with you.
Despite our losses this year we will honor those who have given their all with a small show of appreciation. Tomorrow night at 1500 Zulu the men of Battle Company will shoot one illumination round for each of our fallen brothers. Each of the rounds will be fired by one of the soldier's brothers in order, and lying over the spot in which they made their final sacrifice. I will include pictures of the occasion tomorrow night on a follow up email, but wanted each of you to know that at 1500Zulu (1000 AM EST) if you look up into the sky-- know that your Battle Hard Family is there with you.
Please don't take this in the wrong way, but as a gesture of appreciation and a way for the Battle soldiers spread across the valley and the world to unite and pay tribute to their fallen brothers. I ask that at 1500 Zulu you join in with us and look out your window and up into the sky and know that we celebrate this Christmas as a family.
Merry Christmas to all, and Happy Holidays.
WOW! Another great week thanks to so many of you. Here's a run down:
Bob from Arizona and the "Phins to the West" group donated 288 balaclavas. They were actually sent last week.
Brownie Troop 135 from Barlett, TN made cards and donated socks for the Sky Soldiers
Mamie from Louisianna sent 800 sticks of moisturizing lip balm.
Kathryn and her church group from Arlington, TN donated over 100 Christmas cards with wonderful notes as well as LOTS of socks and hand warmers.
Frank and Nancy donated HUGE amounts of the large size spices as well as lasagna noodles.
Josh at Schnucks grocery store made me a deal I couldn't refuse on lasagna noodles (requested by the Company that provides all of the meals for the Battalion). 40 boxes of lasagna noodles shipped this week. 30 boxes were shipped last week.
SK sent a break maker (also requested by the cooks - see email below)
Anonymous provided a huge quantity of spices and 4 kitchen knives (see email below)
Anonymous sent 9 pair of thermal underwear. THANKS A MILLION - we REALLY need more of these!
My local Starbucks held a "Caffeine for Christmas" drive specifically for the 173rd, 2/503. One of my friends from the local recruiting station stopped by to thank the employees and patrons for their support. Dana, the store manager is a HUGE supporter of our troops. In a little over an hour we collected 60 bags of coffee from patrons as well as from donations by the employees themselves. Photos below. You cannot really tell but Dana had purchased Cammo Santa hats for the staff to wear that day.
Some friend of mine at Delta Air Lines baked cookies. We shipped about 20 dozen of them. Yummy!
Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, New Orleans and Little Rock sent more cards. Bob S was in charge of the drive in Atlanta. That station also received cards from Georgia Tech in Atlanta. AND....Bob's daughter Gwen collected cards from her classmates at Cordova High School. In all we shipped well over 1,000 Christmas cards to the Battalion due to the efforts of these groups. One of the employees in Atlanta made the cutest "donation box" for employees to put their cards in.
And last, but certainly not least, Kyle and her amazing volunteers at Keystone Soldiers (www.keystonesoldiers.com) shipped 350 of (what Kyle said) are the thickest, warmest, softest fleece blankets. They also shipped cases of baby/body wipes and cases of canned foods (soups and stews, etc.). To read more about what Kyle and her volunteers did yesterday click here. They are just amazing and such an inspiration to me.
I know some of you have taken the time to click on the link to Kyle's website and make a donation to help with shipping costs. There is no way we can thank you enough. Kyle and her organization have shipped well over TWO TONS of necessary items to the Sky Soldiers. The shipping costs are astronomical. If you haven't made a donation yet please do so now. EVERY dollar helps and matters. Please don't feel as if you have to make a substantial donation but if you can EVERY penny will be spent on the Soldiers. Kyle's organization is ALL volunteer - NO SALARIES to anyone -not even to Kyle.
Items we continue to need:
- Thermal underwear - tops and bottoms. Mostly size medium but some large and extra large. Must be black, dark grey or green.
- Winter wool hiking socks - dark colors
- Hand warmers
- Construction tools - battery operated drills, etc. Also hand tools such as saws. Nails and screws. These are needed to assist in building and improving their "living" quarters. Please remember that the Soldiers who are living at the Firebases are living in non-heated mud huts. Winter has arrived. It is COLD and snowy up in the Hindu Kush Mountains.
Newly requested items:
- Apple Cider drink mix
- Protein bars and non perishable snacks (nuts, goldfish, packaged cookies, etc.) for the Soldiers at the Firebases who are eating MREs.
- Spices for the cooks. We've heard that they are in the process of setting up field kitches at most, if not all, of the Firebases in order to provide one hot meal a day.
- Break makers - if you have one that you got for a gift and never used or have used only a time or two please consider donating it. The Soldier who is in charge of all cooks says that the "bread" they receive is frozen. By the time they thaw it out and cook it it crumbles to the touch. Fresh bread seems to be a simple pleasure these men would love to have.
- Lasagna noodles. We think we have shipped enough for them to provide one lasagna meal. Let's see if we can't make that two or three. The Army provides all of the other ingredients for lasagna but not the noodles. I'm guessing they provide spaghetti noodles or macaroni.
- Chef's knives.
- Ethnic spices such as Goya, asian, etc.
So as you prepare for the holidays, spending it with your families in your warm and comfy homes, around a table ladened with the traditional foods that you and your family enjoy year after year PLEASE consider making a donation towards providing a few "comforts of home" to these Soldiers. Sure the Army provides them with food and MREs but it gets OLD. Imagine eating the same thing day after day, week after week for FIFTEEN months in the COLD (or heat of the Summer) in a place recently named the "Most Dangerous Place on Earth." As I've said before and will continue to say - together we CAN do this.
I cannot begin to thank all of you who have provided support and continue to do so. Your hearts are amazing. For those of you who haven't made a donation yet please do so today. Either contact me at tankerbabelc@gmail.com, Kyle at www.keystonesoldiers.com or Bob at concrete.bob@verizon.net.
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays!
And finally here is the email I mentioned above:
We really appreciate your support as well as your offer to assist the
Soldiers of my platoon. Thank you for reaching out to us.
You are correct, my platoon consists of the cooks that feed the
Battalion. You are also correct, the food becomes very repetitious for
the Soldiers. While the Army provides superb food, compared to when I
first entered the Army in '92, it gets old quick.
Alot of requests that have come in from the Soldiers that we can't get
or provide, are a lot of ethnic spices. Some of the requests are Goya,
Curry, asian spices, amongst other flavors. They have also asked for
any assortment of knives as the ones that the Army provides are not of
great quality.
One thing we have not been able to make for our Soldiers due to the
unavailability of the item is Lasagna. If we could please get a big
shipment of Lasagna noodles. We have all the other ingredients to make
this product.
The above list is what most of my Soldiers have requested. This will
allow my cooks to better feed the BN. Whatever spices you can get your
hands on will be appreciated.
SFC XXXXX
A dear friend of mine sent me the photos shown below. Before I get to the photos I'd just like to say that this friend, who INSISTS on staying "below the radar", has donated more and worked so tirelessly for securing donations for the Sky Soldiers that I couldn't begin to thank her enough. She knows who she is and she knows how much I appreciate her. I just wanted you all to know about her.
Now to the photos....these photos were taken outside the home of the parents of one of the Sky Soldiers. I LOVE these photos and EVERYTHING in them. While we know that the Soldiers rarely have access to the internet I'm hoping he and his buddies will see these. Of course his parents probably already sent him copies. OK, OK - the truth - I wanted all of the rest of you to see them.
I LOVE the banner. You betch we support your son and his fellow Soldiers.
OK, so one of the photos may have a tiny little "hint" as to who this is.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to the ARMY STRONG Soldiers of 173rd, 2/503 and their families.
While these brave Soldiers are in Afghanistan "Doing It All For Us" the least we can do is something for them. We still need thermal underwear and winter wool hiking socks. We have a request from some of the Company First Sergeants for battery operated power tools and hand tools. They need these in order to continue building shelters and improving the austere shelters they have. Winter is THERE. It is cold and unforgiving. We've also gotten a new request for Goya and other ethnics spices, chefs knives and lasagna noodles. It seems they have finally been able to establish some field kitchens at some of the Fire Bases. The SFC in charge of feeding all of the Soldiers says they have everything to make lasagna other than the noodles. Additionally he has requested break makers and bread mixes. It seems the "bread" they get is frozen and once they thaw and cook it the bread crumbles and they are unable to make sandwiches, etc. So let's help these men and women out. I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it - every single dollar or any size donation of items helps us accomplish our goals for the Sky Soldiers. PLEASE put them on your shopping list as you are out and about buying for your family and friends. You won't believe how much merrier it will make your Christmas!
In the January 2008 Edition of Vanity Fair Magazine you can read an article "Into the Valley of Death" written by Sebastian Junger with photographs by Tim Hetherington. If you don't subscribe to Vanity Fair the on-line version is here. Mr Junger and Mr Hetherington made two trips to the Korengal Valley area of Kunar Province in 2007 ~ once during the heat of the summer and again in September.
Because I was so disgusted with the ABC Nightline "version" of the story I wasn't anxious to read the magazine's version. I finally did tonight and was pleasantly surprised at how well it was written. I'm not sure what got to me more - the article itself or the two photo slide shows. Actually, I do know. It was the photos. Seeing the grime covered faces of men I've never met but whose names are now so familiar was sobering, emotional and, in an odd way I guess, motivating. Looking at those eyes so full of expressions and messages that one can only surmise they are sending whether they realize it or not was heart wrenching. Many have commented and written about the term "heroes" being tossed around since the beginning of Operation Eduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. These men are ALL heroes PERIOD!
I cannot imagine how one can have read all of the posts here requesting support for these Warriors then look at those photos and not want to do something. For all of you who have made such amazing contributions these men and so many others are WHY we are doing this together. For those of you who either haven't emailed to make some contribution no matter the size or who have been waiting for the right time ~ tell me after you've read this article that NOW is not the right time. Surely after one has read this article and looked at the photos one cannot tell me that these men don't deserve everything we can do for them and more.
God Bless these Warriors. Keep them safe. Let them know how damn proud we are of them every minute of every day and how there will NEVER be a way for us to show our support and appreciation of them no matter how we try. For those who have given their lives in that hell on earth our prayers are for you and for your families.
