News From Baghdad, Iraq

This last chapter in our lives will soon be turning its final pages.  Jed's Iraq deployment is finally coming to a close!!!  Yay!!!  It's been quite the experience for him and for his little family back home.  Quite honestly, it's weird to think he's really coming home because it's felt like it was never going to happen.

Jed and his night shift soldiers - the ones he spent the most time with.  Some have described these guys as a rough, stinky group, but Jed absolutely loved working with them.  They were a lot of fun.  (Jed's an old man compared to this group, lol.)


As Platoon Sergeant, Jed had to bounce back and forth between daytime responsibilities and yet also work shifts with his night crew at the same time.  This was quite exhausting and took it's toll on Jed.  Sometimes his work days would last between 16-20 hrs a day, and just when he could finally get a few hours of sleep, he would often be woken up by people knocking on his trailer door, needing something.  Or else he was being woken up from rocket attacks hitting the base.  Even on his rare days off were never really days off, he still had to go and get business taken care of.  He's ready for some serious R&R.

Meanwhile, over the last few months, different US bases in Iraq are slowly being turned over to the Iraqi leadership for the troop drawdown that Obama has ordered.  So lately there's been an constant flow of soldiers arriving at the main base, Camp Victory, where Jed has been stationed at.  Jed's brother Joe was one of those soldiers.

Up until now, these two haven't been able to see each other at all.  Even talking to each other has been extremely rare.  Jed's loved having his brother in the same location during the last few weeks.  It's been really nice for him to have a family member so close.

A few months back, the popular country singer, Toby Keith, came and performed for the troops at Camp Victory. 

Not surprisingly, just as Toby was beginning his concert, the base was attacked by mortar rockets.  So while there were explosions going on in the background, Toby was unfazed and just kept talking and singing for the soldiers.  What a stud!

This is Jed's most favorite picture that he took of that night:

This guy was a Marine who had his leg blown up from a prior deployment.  He was waving his prosthetic leg while leaning on his buddy next to him during a few of the songs.  Watching the two soldiers made Jed get a little choked up with emotion.  He said seeing this was even better than the concert itself.

Meanwhile, Jed has continued to go on patrols "outside the wire", aka: going outside the base.  No one is allowed to leave the base except for the Quick Response Units. 

Some of his patrol buddies.  This here is Smith.  He's awesome and only 18-19 years old.  Talk about some serious life experience at such a young age.

Martinez.

 

I love this picture because it's the only one I've seen where Jed is simply relaxing in the FOB (hang out area.)  It's nice to see this because I know how busy and stressed out it's been for him lately.

Jed has continued to serve as the LDS Group Leader for the LDS branch on Camp Victory Base.  This guy in the next picture is Jed's Assistant Group Leader, a civilian who is also working on the base.

Jed says it's nice to see him at the church meetings because he really stands out since he is the only one wearing a suit, lol.  The rest of the congregation consists of soldiers who are wearing their camo uniforms.

I wish I could remember names...this guy is the one who is over all the Group Leaders in Baghdad? and is the one who called Jed to his church calling.

There was a marathon several months back for the soldiers on Joe's previous base.  I noticed that Joe is in this picture (guy on the very right.)  This one's especially for you, Julie.

Sadly, the 116th Calvary lost two of its own recently:

The two soldiers were blown up by a roadside IED that is much more dangerous than previous types of IED's and is made by Iran (can't remember the name for it though).  What was especially scary for me is that Jed had patrolled the very same road and location sight the day before.   His platoon had also patrolled that exact road just a few hours prior to the explosion.  Sometimes I feel like their lives are like rolling dice, they take the chance that it could be any one of them on any particular day.


If you've never watched an IED explosion before, check out some of these videos (warning: there is a lot of cussing by the soldiers - this obviously isn't fun for them to go through.)
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/80607498/

http://www.break.com/index/stunning-500-lb-ied-explosion.html

http://www.break.com/usercontent/2007/12/IED-Explosions-Compilation-425168

I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a loved one in a way such as this.  One of the soldiers had only been in Iraq for about a week or so.  My heart goes out to the families.  :(


This week, Jed and his friend, Drollinger, were instructed to go have dinner with the Iraqi General, Fadil, at his house (it's located somewhere on the base.)  So they of course went and were told to wear their Calvary hats too.  (Drollinger doesn't have his yet.)

Jed and his Lieutenant with General Fadil:

General Fadil thanked them for serving in Iraq.  He was given a Calvary hat as well; looks like he's happy to be wearing it.  :)

This is Fadil's hawk that was just hanging out in the dining room area.

He also owns monkeys. 

One of those unique experiences for Jed and Drollinger.  :)

The summer months are brutal in Iraq, ranging from 120-135 degrees.  Now imagine packing 70 pounds of extra gear, equipment, and weapons in that kind of heat.  Not fun by any stretch of the imagination.

Huge dust storms also come along every now and then.

There is a serious rat problem over there.  These disease-ridden rats get into everything...food, buildings, vehicles, you name it they'll get in it.  Jed figured out a way to catch of few of them that kept getting into their building.  Concrete block traps, who knew?

"Figure-Four" Traps.

Wow, it really works!!!

SQUISH!!  Flat as a pancake!  Jed caught several rats this way.

Some of Jed's soldiers figured out another way to have some fun with these annoying rats.  They would tie a piece of food at the end of their tazer strings and then wait for a rat to come along.  Sure enough those rats would go for the bait and ZaP!  Tazered rats!  Obviously it didn't kill them and oddly enough, those stupid rats would still come back for more.  This became a great source of entertainment for some seriously bored soldiers.

Speaking of little critters, this is Jed's office companion.:

This little guy would often come hang out in Jed's office and just stare at him.  In this particular pic, he was chillin' on the bag right next to Jed's desk.  I think he's quite cute!

Preparing for another night patrol.

Jed and Tveidt.

One last thing - Camp Victory continues to be rocketed on a constant basis, although it has been quiet for the last few weeks.  But just to get an idea of what it's like, check out of few of these videos taken from other soldiers during their deployments, it's the same stuff.  *Note: again, there is usually alot of cussing in these videos so beware if there are tender ears nearby!

Rocketing courtesy of your local terrorists:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uQ8UjjLeZE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8F2ebn4nSc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKYi5cCA9i0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dXJmZnEWqg&feature=related

Now it's our turn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1iiigJHwZ0&feature=related

Can't wait to have this man home for good!!!!!

Bronze Star Award

This is the Bronze Star.  It is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces.

A few days ago, my husband was given this award.  This award is granted to those who demonstrate "heroic or meritorious achievement or service."

Jed and Lieutenant Roberts (who also received a Bronze Star) with some soldiers from his platoon.  They were all receiving their Combat Action Badges here:

I am super proud of him! He has worked hard for his soldiers this past year and has helped protect and lead them out of some sticky and dangerous situations, even if it meant occasionally getting himself into hot water from his superiors and having to unashamedly defend his decisions.   That takes strength of character in my opinion. Course, anyone who knows Jed well enough would not be surprised by this. :)

This is one award that Jed never thought he would be bringing home. 

Congratulations, Jed!!!!   Way to go!   :)

14 THINGS YOU NEVER SAY TO A MILITARY WIFE

I just had to post this very sassy article - I can relate to every single one of these!! Though, to be honest, the questions I get asked really don't bother me, I'm happy to try and respond. :)

14 things you should NEVER say to a military wife:
Unless of course you are willing to take that chance on catching one of us on a REALLY bad day and we end up kicking your butt........remember our husbands are trained to stay alive....do you want to bet that they didn't bring their "work" home when they knew we were going to have to live and take care of ourselves for a year at a time because you can bet your butt my husband did!!!!


1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
(This one ranks in at number one on the "duh" list. Of course we're
afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers at the backs of our
minds —but thanks brilliant, you just brought it back to the front.
Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of
dying.)

* This question actually doesn't bother me too much, personally. I believe everything happens the way it should - whether Jed comes home or not. God is over all and I trust in Him completely with whatever comes my way. I have had to prepare myself for any kind of possibility...including death. However, having said that....when I don't hear from Jed for a long while when I expect to, I do start to feel a bit of that panic in the pit of my stomach and my minds starts to think of the worst scenarios. Just the thought of him dying makes me emotional. What DOES bother me, is when my kids have people/other kids ask them this particular question or put it in the form of a statement, "You're dad is going to die!" Yes, this has actually happened to us. That was the hardest thing to see Aubrey go through - kids would tease her about this. It's terrible and cruel, especially since it was exactly what she already feared the most.


2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."
(This is intended to be a compliment. Though, its just a little annoying.
Here's why: it's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cell phones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable, we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.)

*I still gratefully take this as a compliment, it's nice to know people try to appreciate what you go through during a deployment.  In fact, it's a little bit of a boost when you've had a very stressful day/week/year with the kids and all aspects of life are bombarding you at once.  Somehow hearing that makes it all worth dealing with.



3. "At least he's not in Iraq."  (Ok, my husband's in Iraq)
(This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbands
are in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? An
international game of golf? Specially since the action recently has heated up in Afghanistan and now starting to warm back up in Iraq. Really does it make it easier if he's in either one! Oh ignorance.

4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas/anniversary/birthday/birth of a child/wedding/family reunion, etc?"
(Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.)


5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"
(Short answer: Try to keep my sanity. Maybe there's a military wife out
there who gets bored when her husband leaves. For the rest of us, those
with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people.
That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored,
and drinking massive amounts of wine (I'm gonna insert MILK here, no wine thank you) always helps keep me busy.



6. "How much longer does he have until he can get out?"
(This one is annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed
or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they
"can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again
because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and
AGAIN to go back to Iraq/Afghanistan b/c there is work that needs to be done.)



7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."
(We do learn coping skills. We figure out ways to make life go smoother
while the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and
bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before.
The worry never goes away. And all of us military wives who have had more than one deployment know that they get harder the more you have to do)



8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."
(This one is similar to number two. Do not equate your husband's three
week trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 6-15 month or more
deployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference,
nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an I.E.D.,
your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, and he
flew comfortably on a commercial plane. We do not feel bonded to you in
the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably
resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12 month combat deployment to a
few weeks business trip is like comparing a crappy Hyundai Excel with a
Mercedes convertible.)

9. "Wow you must miss him?"
(This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men! There are some wives who do not and they're now divorced.)

10. "Where is he exactly? Where is that?"
(I don't expect non-military folks to be able to find Anbar Province on
a map, but they should know by now that it's in Iraq. Likewise, know
that Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan. Know that Muqtada al Sadr
is the insurgent leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq and that Sadr City is
his home area. Know that Iran is a major threat to our country and that
it is located between Afghanistan and Iraq. These
basic facts are not secrets, they're on the news every night and in the
papers every day —and on maps everywhere.)


11. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there.
(Yes, ignorant, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects your
right to make stupid comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask to
be hit by anything, he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by the
way, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fighting
for your freedom.)

*I have to add to this one....what also bothers me is when people are shocked that my husband joined the military knowing full well he has a wife and children at home.  Their attitude is like this: "How could you leave your family like that and go to war?  How irresponsible of you!"  Seriously?!  There are people out there who think that??!!  Apparently, my husband and I should be ashamed of ourselves because my husband is acting so SELFISHLY to put serving his country ahead of his family.  This question still throws me for a loop.  We have had several people say this to either one of us.  My response?  YOU ARE DEAD WRONG!   I believe it to be quite the opposite....how unselfish of him to be willing to leave his family in order to help keep and preserve our precious freedom for his children and future posterity and for yours. He does this BECAUSE he has a  family.  There is nothing my husband wants more in this life than to be with me and our children, it is extremely hard for him to be away from us.  My kids have a father they can look up to and be proud of.   Not only that, they get to experience first hand what it's like to sacrifice for something bigger than themselves.  Serving your country isn't only for the single young people out there, sorry to disappoint.


12. "Don't you miss sex! I couldn't do it!"
(hmmm, no i don't miss sex.  I'm a robot.   Alright, seriously…military spouses
learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something
greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like
simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have
dinner together every night. And the hard truth is, most relationships
probably couldn't withstand 12 months of sex deprivation. But us military wives.. were a special breed and we kick butt!! June Cleaver doesn't have crap on us!)


13. "Well in my opinion….."
(Stop right there. Yo, I didn't ask for you your personal political
opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery
store, not in Starbucks, not at Nordstrom, not in a bar when I'm out
with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We
tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours
running our butts off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog,
and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and
colleagues because we are giving an invitation to ramble about politics
or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the President,
esp. while we're trying to heat up our lean cuisines in the crappy
office microwaves.)


Last, but not least….

14. "OH, that's horrible…I'm so sorry!"
(He's doing his job and he's bad a**.   Don't be sorry. Be appreciative
and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to
realize that our marines/soldiers/airmen/coasties/sailors fight the
wars abroad so those wars stay abroad.)

If you want to say anything, say thank you. After all, we are sexually deprived for your freedom!

by Kaye at: http://truemilitarywivesconfessions.ning.com/forum/topics/14-things-you-never-say-to-a-military-wife?xg_source=facebookshare


SIMPLY, I AM PROUD TO BE A MILITARY WIFE.

Water & Mud: A Boys Paradise

My friend, Missy, invited our kids over for some fun in their flooded backyard a few weeks back (yes, I'm a little behind here.) 

The kids had no problems entertaining themselves.

Me, Missy, & Kristy - totally content to watch from the sidelines.  :)

Aubrey hung out with us gals too and apparently not in the mood for pictures.

A surprise treat for the kids!

I wish summer could last just a little bit longer.