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I apologize for taking so long to touch base but, as you can imagine, things are moving quickly now that we are on the ground in Iraq. There were days when I wondered if we’d ever get here. In the beginning, it seemed as if we’d never leave home. Days were filled with preparations for the deployment, friends and family stopping by to say goodbye and time alone with loved ones. Once we arrived at Fort Bliss, we wondered if we’d ever finish training. We had six weeks to hone our skills as soldiers and to begin functioning as a team. The transformation from citizen-soldier to soldier was actually quite facile. In fact, I’d suggest that we were already transformed the minute the bus left the readiness center.
The four-day pass just prior to our departure from Fort Bliss was a welcome respite from the reality of our pending deployment. Many soldiers returned home while many had family come to Texas. A few chose to remain at Fort Bliss alone to catch up on sleep. My wife Maria and daughter Gigi flew to Texas and we had an awesome time. I’ll confess my eyes were damp when I saw my little girl in the El Paso Airport. Suffice it to say that I am not used to six weeks away from her (and I don’t plan to make it a habit).
The trip to Kuwait was uneventful other than an unplanned overnight stay in Maine due to mechanical difficulties. We had an incredible flight crew on the chartered aircraft and they did everything humanly possible to make the trip fun. We stopped briefly in Germany and then landed in Kuwait as the sun was coming up. As far away from home as we were when we landed in Kuwait, when I turned my Blackberry on, I immediately received an e-mail from my neighbor, who is an insomniac, telling me she couldn’t sleep and that she was thinking of me. Her random act of kindness was a welcome surprise. Kuwait is a vast desert and I will always remember the endless sands sprinkled with an occasional nomadic tent, and sheep or goats. It is hard to imagine that people live, in fact prosper, in such a harsh environment.
We waited in Kuwait for two weeks before moving forward to Iraq. I immediately recognized that we were in a war zone when we deplaned in Iraq. The buildings are covered with concrete blast barriers and bunkers are located at almost every corner. While the conditions on the ground are dramatically improved, as a leader, it was a poignant reminder that we serve in a dangerous place.
I apologize for taking so long to touch base but, as you can imagine, things are moving quickly now that we are on the ground in Iraq. There were days when I wondered if we’d ever get here. In the beginning, it seemed as if we’d never leave home. Days were filled with preparations for the deployment, friends and family stopping by to say goodbye and time alone with loved ones. Once we arrived at Fort Bliss, we wondered if we’d ever finish training. We had six weeks to hone our skills as soldiers and to begin functioning as a team. The transformation from citizen-soldier to soldier was actually quite facile. In fact, I’d suggest that we were already transformed the minute the bus left the readiness center.
The four-day pass just prior to our departure from Fort Bliss was a welcome respite from the reality of our pending deployment. Many soldiers returned home while many had family come to Texas. A few chose to remain at Fort Bliss alone to catch up on sleep. My wife Maria and daughter Gigi flew to Texas and we had an awesome time. I’ll confess my eyes were damp when I saw my little girl in the El Paso Airport. Suffice it to say that I am not used to six weeks away from her (and I don’t plan to make it a habit).
The trip to Kuwait was uneventful other than an unplanned overnight stay in Maine due to mechanical difficulties. We had an incredible flight crew on the chartered aircraft and they did everything humanly possible to make the trip fun. We stopped briefly in Germany and then landed in Kuwait as the sun was coming up. As far away from home as we were when we landed in Kuwait, when I turned my Blackberry on, I immediately received an e-mail from my neighbor, who is an insomniac, telling me she couldn’t sleep and that she was thinking of me. Her random act of kindness was a welcome surprise. Kuwait is a vast desert and I will always remember the endless sands sprinkled with an occasional nomadic tent, and sheep or goats. It is hard to imagine that people live, in fact prosper, in such a harsh environment.
We waited in Kuwait for two weeks before moving forward to Iraq. I immediately recognized that we were in a war zone when we deplaned in Iraq. The buildings are covered with concrete blast barriers and bunkers are located at almost every corner. While the conditions on the ground are dramatically improved, as a leader, it was a poignant reminder that we serve in a dangerous place.
What I am most proud of are my soldiers! I can truly report that I command a group of great Americans. Delaware can be very proud of her sons and daughters. Just like our forefathers who answered the call of duty as citizen-soldiers, the members of this brigade have stepped up, trained, and assumed their duties in a most professional and honorable manner. Every member of this brigade is well trained and highly motivated. I have no doubt that in the days to come, these columns will be replete with their accomplishments. I tell my wife routinely that I truly admire and respect every member of this brigade. It is indeed an honor to serve side by side with them.
Although we all miss home, the privilege of being the first Reserve Component Theater Tactical Signal Brigade to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom keeps us focused. The 261st has a proud legacy to preserve in the days to come. The fact that I am the first Delaware general officer to command troops from Delaware in a combat zone since World War II is also foremost in my mind. Every officer longs for such an assignment. For reasons I cannot imagine, the honor was bestowed upon me and I have every intention of cherishing this moment.
I told my daughter as I was leaving that as hard as it may be to understand, there are things in life more important than yourself. I told her that service to my country is one of those sacred responsibilities that comes before my sincere desire to remain home with her and Mom. I’m not sure she agreed as I left. However, she told me just yesterday on the phone that she was proud of me. Maybe it is sinking in.
I know I’m proud of my family and friends for their sacrifices as I serve. I’m even more proud of the men and women of our Armed Forces and they give of themselves so willingly. I am grateful for Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala’s guidance and faith in my soldiers and me. I hope to speak with you again soon.
This is the first in the planned “Letters from downrange” series, letters we plan to publish sent to the Post by members of the Delaware Army National Guard’s 261st Signal Brigade, now in Iraq. The brigade is scheduled to return in September.
President visits troops, including 261st Signal Brigade soldiers
President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to U.S. troops in Baghdad Dec. 14, including 20 members of the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, of the Delaware Army National Guard.
Bush traveled to Victory Base Complex, where he addressed a crowd of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at Al-Faw Palace, a former palace of Saddam Hussein.
“I think it’s pretty cool that he came out to see the troops this close to the holidays, even on his way out,” said Sgt. Jason Mead of Felton. “He visited the troops a lot during his terms in office.”
The visit was a tightly kept secret until the last minute. Air Force One was kept in its hangar until everyone was on board for the flight, and journalists’ electronic devices including cell phones and music players were confiscated. The White House published a fake schedule which put the president at various locations in Washington throughout the day.
Service members attending the event were told only “a VIP” would be visiting. Some speculated the visitor would be Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was in Iraq the day before. Others presumed the extent of the heightened security around the event could only be for the president himself, said 261st spokesman 1st Lt. Michael Crilley.
“It was a surprise. I don’t think a lot of people expected it to be him,” said Spc. Chris Gully of Selbyville. “It was a big morale boost to have the president visit.”
Bush told troops that his decision to bolster the American troop presence early last year to quell sectarian bloodshed was “one of the greatest successes in the history of the United States military.”
Bush also gave credit to the men and women of the U.S. military for bringing about a remarkable change in the country’s atmosphere.
“Thanks to you, the Iraq we’re standing in today is dramatically freer, dramatically safer and dramatically better than the Iraq we found eight years ago,” he said.
