Soldier Siblings

2 October 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

In the words of Bob Dylan, "The times, they are a-changin!" For starters, the weather has toned it down a couple of notches! The daytime temps are now within reason and the nights have noticeably cooled down. We are also in that comfortable little window when the fiercest of dust storms have mostly subsided and the rainy season has not yet begun.

The coming months will keep us busy as we prepare to demobilize. We will be occupied with preparing ourselves for the big move as well as assisting the incoming Unit which is replacing us. We have already made contact with our replacements and are working with them to ensure a smooth transition upon their arrival. With all that is taking place, the Commander is urging our soldiers to remain focused and not lose sight of our current mission.

Very recently, our Company was the host for two very distinguished guests. We received a visit from the 88th RRC Commanding General (CG) accompanied by the 88th RRC Command Sergeant Major (CSM). This visit gave some of our soldiers an opportunity to make their voices heard, communicate their thoughts about the current deployment, and address any general concerns. During the visit, a couple of our soldiers were handpicked to meet these two honored guests and enjoy a meal with them. Before departing from the Camp, the CG and CSM each gave out coins to recognize a few soldiers for their outstanding individual performance. The CG also acknowledged the broad success of our Company, personally thanked our soldiers for their service, and stated that he looks forward to greeting us again soon when we reach our DEMOB station. (See pictures from the visit in the Scrapbook section.)

Some of the soldiers have already taken the initiative by mailing foot lockers and boxes packed with non-essential personal gear back home. If your soldiers have not done so already, it might not hurt to put a bug in their ear. We still have some time before this becomes an issue, but everybody should start making plans in an effort to circumvent any stress, which could have otherwise been easily avoided, in the coming months. Also keep in mind that using the cheapest (hence the slowest) shipping method available, a package will move on a space available basis and could take up to 45 days to be delivered back home.

I would also like to add a reminder about the Memory Book. If you have not submitted any pictures or would like to include a personal message, now is the time to contact the project team. They have been working very hard to make this a success and with your help we hope to have all soldiers well represented in the final draft.

Very Respectfully,

MMD
1LT, QM
215 QM CO (DS)

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Subject: Phone Call from CPT F.
Date: 2005/08/30 Tue PM 08:48:09 CDT

To all of the 215th Families,

CPT F. called today to advise all is well in the sunny sandbox. Time is getting near and things have slowed down for our loved ones. As time goes on some of our soldiers may get to take a 4-day pass to a nearby resort. Although, he regrets to say that some of our soldiers may not get to go since it depends on how many can go at a time and the jobs they have to do. He is hopeful that each one will at least receive 4 days off at the camp since not all will be able to go to the resort.

They are still hopeful to be home by Christmas, but we must all understand that anything can change. No specific date of our soldiers return has been given out. There have been rumors stating that the date has been moved up or back, at this time nothing has been changed and they are hoping to be home for Christmas. Please keep in mind, that until they are back in the States, we may not know when they will arrive. As soon as CPT F. knows and able to notify us he will advise us.

Please continue to encourage your soldier that time is near and that we are all proud of the job they are doing.

The FRG is working on the Memory book if anyone would like to assist please contact me so that I can let Vicki F. know. Also we are working on "Save the Day". This project is to assist the locals near CPT K. Anyone interested in sending things to these children please contact me at FRG215@alltel.net and I will give you the address to send these supplies.

Take care Annette B.
215th FRG Leader 215th
Families sticking together
Getting it done!

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Under his current assignment, Captain K. has started an effort similar to the 215-K2K project. He calls it “Operation Save the Day”. Click here for a flyer with details (requires Adobe Acrobat).

Things have slowed down, and our soldiers are looking forward to the end being near. Most important everyone is ok and the weather is very hot. They are enjoying their air conditioned trailers and not as busy before but still on task. The date has not been set, but still planning to be home for Christmas as long as no changes are made.

They are continously working on their missions and getting their jobs done. The soldiers are planning on moving into their new trailers tomorrow. These trailers are set up with air conditioned and nice beds. Pictures will be coming from CPT F. soon.

Our soldiers are still doing missions for the K2K and still can use supplies for these families. With CPT K's new assignment he also has a village that can use assistance for the families in his area. Anyone interested in helping out the families in CPT K's area please let me know and I can give you the address to send for those families.

Thanks to all of the families and groups donating personal supplies to our soldiers they are well taken care of and should have plenty for their remaining time of deployment. I have been told from my two soldiers and many others that they have all of the personal items that they need at this time. If anyone hears of our soldiers in need of any supplies please forward to me so that we can see that they are sent.

The swimming pool was set up near the motor pool and they are enjoying the pool and pictures will be sent to us soon.

The one last information that I received was that they are planning on being home for Christmas. This is as long as nothing changes and all goes well when the individual soldier is being demobilized. If a soldier has personal illness issues, this may prolong them coming home. Let's all pray that all goes well and as planned so that we can all have our soldiers home for the Holidays.

As we are planning for our soldiers to come home we will be needing volunteers. We have two projects going on at this time. One is we are working on a memory book for the soldiers. We are needing pictures of every soldier in this book, and are selling ads/greetings to go in the book. Vicki F. is in charge of this project and can use all of the assistance that she can get. Please if you are interested please let me know so that I can forward your information to Vicki.

Also, we will be planning a welcome home party for our soldiers. I have already spoken to General K. and he will be getting back to me on what we can do and how much time we will have with our soldiers once they arrive back into the states. Linda B. will be in charge of getting the welcome home party together. Linda will be needing assistance with this and anyone interested please contact Linda. Laurie I will need you for other parts of finishing the year up. Vicki, your part will be the memory book.

Family Day was a huge success! Thank you to Laurie B., Michelle P., and Linda B. for getting this together. Thank you to Shana B. for getting the banner and Frank and Vicki F. for the slide show of our soldiers and for making a video to send over to our soldiers. General K. and his group showed up to our family day and we all enjoyed their company. The childern worked on picture frames that were donated from Mr and Mrs K. Thank you Mr and Mrs K. for the picture frames, water bottles and pads of paper and pens. This was huge success due to everyone working together. I also want to thank Diane C. for the cake and everyone else that brought food in for all of us. It was great to get to meet everyone face to face and hopefully we will again at the home coming.

We are on the down side of our journey, and we have gained many new friendships. Let's continue to stick together as one family and get things done for our soldiers.

I hope that this note finds you well! To all of you fathers out there, Happy Father's Day! Your tireless sacrifice, love, and hard work have produced a proud, disciplined, and successful American soldier dedicated to the preservation and expansion of freedom! Because of you, all of this is possible. For the mothers and children out there, please accept my most sincere thank you for your sacrifice. You have loaned your loved one to this great cause and our Nation owes you an enormous debt of gratitude. Today we celebrate these sacrifices, as we should!

I know it has, again, been a while since I have written, but a lot has happened in the last month! The soldiers of the 215th continue to distinguish themselves thru their excellent work. I hope you are as proud as I am of each and every one of them as I am. I was asked to take another assignment in the local theatre, and I accepted. I stepped down as commander of the 215th and accepted a job as an advisor to the new local army. I am working with a motorized transportation regiment. My job is to advise two company commanders and to design fabricated armor systems for the local vehicles. The work here is difficult and extremely gratifying. This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime and I am enjoying every minute of it. I will do my best to share these experiences with each of you so that you too can participate in this historic effort!

Speaking of historic efforts, the local regiment is working with us, the American advisors, to relieve some serious suffering in the area surrounding our base. Several villages have lost their water supply and we have been relieving that crisis by trucking in water from our base daily. Unfortunately, we are too late for some of the local children. The villages have been drinking from what can only be described as disgusting mud puddles for several weeks. As you might imagine, the puddles were filled with all kinds of vile bacteria and several of the local children contracted typhoid and black fever. Many are hospitalized, and a few are dead. Those who could flee the crisis did. The villagers who remain have no place to go.

Now that we are delivering fresh water every day, the situation is improving dramatically. We take food and candy to the local children whenever we can, but our supplies here are limited to what we receive from home. We have involved the "big army" and we expect the water supply to be fully restored in a matter of weeks. Additionally, we have secured funding to build one new school, and we are working to get funding to build two more! As I said earlier, this is heart-wrenching, but fulfilling work!

I asked many of you to participate in the K2K (kid to kid) program and your response was overwhelming. I owe a million thanks to all of you who participated. I am working on your official thank you letters now, and I am putting together a DVD that will chronicle the distribution of the aid you sent. Thank you for being patient with me, I have been ridiculously busy transitioning to this new position. I promise that I will send to you the recognition you deserve for all of your hard work. Thank you, thank you, thank you! For those of you who have not yet participated in the K2K program, please contact Annette Brown and she will provide you with the details you need to get your church or organization involved. This is a fantastic opportunity to have a DIRECT impact on the lives of these children, and I will get it all on film so that you can see it! You can see some of the work we have done so far at:

Please know that I am still officially assigned to the 215th and I will bring your loved ones home, just as I promised when we left Jeffersonville. I am honored and humbled by my new assignment, but the soldiers of the 215th are now, and will always be, my primary concern. I have offered as much help as I can give to the incoming commander, CPT Charley F. I will spend several days with him soon to ensure that a smooth transition exists for his time at the 215th. I will soon get him on the FRG train so that he may keep you updated, as I have. CPT F. is an active duty soldier from Ft. Bragg, NC. He is a solid officer and a good man. Knowing the CPT F. is caring for our soldiers puts my mind at ease, and I can assure you that your heart needn't be heavy. I trust CPT F. will keep the 215th on the path of excellence. Please join me in welcoming CPT F!

Your soldiers have certainly been busy! We've experienced an increase in OPTEMPO as of late. Coupled with some of the changes which have taken place over the past few weeks, I would say last month seemingly flew by for most of us. With the passing of May we can proudly say that we are halfway home!!! Here are the results of our mid-term report card. All stats are current as of the end of last month:

I can't throw those numbers at you without giving kudos to our Maintenance Section which has been doing an outstanding job of fixing, repairing and servicing our equipment. Fair wear and tear is bound to keep a vehicle off the road occasionally. The mechanics in our motor pool have been pulling some long days in order to keep our equipment rolling. On average, they have maintained an incredible 94% overall readiness rate (anything above the 90th percentile is most impressive).

Since the last time I spoke, our Company has undergone some changes to the command structure. Roughly two weeks ago we were reassigned a new Company Commander. A change of command always requires a complete inventory of all equipment. With that said, our biggest challenge has been continuing our missions amidst the Commander's inventory. Once again, our soldiers aggressively stepped up to the challenge and to this point have performed flawlessly. From what I have seen, the assumption of command has gone very well and the company has not staggered with the transition.

Some of us have been given the opportunity to visit ruins of the ancient city of Ur. How many people today can say they LIVED in the same area that Abraham did? That is the case for our men and women. To feel the same bricks and stand in the same rooms and walk through the same doors as Abraham, Nebuchadnezzar and kings from over 3,500 years ago, you can't help but feel special. I hope they share their experiences with you when they have a chance.

With all that is going on, the weather really hasn't changed much. Everyday is hot, just like the day before, with the only variation being an occasional sandstorm. We do not have a swimming pool to lounge around, so we will have to continue working on our tans from the neck up and the wrist down. However, we are expected to upgrade to better living accommodations by the end of the month. As we speak, trailers are being installed to replace the Bedouin tents we are currently living in! Most of us have accumulated a lot of gear over the past six months, so it will be somewhat of a painstaking task to pack it all up and relocate. Even so, I would be hard pressed to find a soldier that isn't excited about moving!

And while the media continues to sit in their hotels and report on the violence in a few small areas, we have been continuing to support local humanitarian efforts. Last month's humanitarian mission was a huge success! With the awesome response from everybody back home, we receive a steady number of boxes each week to support this mission. Last month we had more supplies on hand than we could load onto the vehicles! Ask any of our soldiers that have helped distribute these supplies, and they will not be able to deny it as anything less than a powerful experience. It is a potent reminder that we are not only witnessing history, but playing an active role in bringing freedom and democracy to a country that has done nothing but read about it in books until now.

As always, the door is open for family members and loved ones to share their concerns with our Commander. Please route them through the FRG and they will be addressed individually.

To our loved ones,

It has been a while since I have written, for that I apologize. We have been busy as usual, and sometimes bored, as usual. It has been said that the job of a soldier can be defined as 100 hours of boredom followed by 10 seconds of terror. The same is true for us. We are all well, and the mission is getting done, again, as usual. I imagine our relationship with time here is the same as yours...sometimes it flies by and sometimes it creeps. Speaking of flies and creeps, the bugs here are still terrible, but not quite as bad as they were a couple of weeks ago. The bug population is less aggressive these days because the temperature continues to climb. You mothers out there make sure to encourage your “little” one to be smart, drink water, and use the bug juice! I tell them the same thing, but with Mother's Day around the corner, you ought to have a little extra pull!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who have brought so much life, love, and beauty into this world. Your sacrifice puts even the most hardened soldier in a state of awe!

Please remember, as I predicted, this is the time when relationships among soldiers start to break down. Like in a marriage, everything is wonderful until you have to live together! Now is the time when all of our wonderful little quirks start to become excessively annoying! This leads to some aggressive, and a TON of passive-aggressive behavior. Rumors are the natural result of all of this as people hide behind others to pin the source of their annoyance. Please don't fall prey to fantastic stories your soldier may be tempted to tell you. I have found that the truth is rarely as exciting as the story. I could give you a few humorous examples, but I suppose I will save that for another time.

Thank you for your continued support and love.

Keep the faith,

GJK
CPT, EN
Commanding
215th QM CO (DS)
Runin' the Guns to Get-R-Done!

Another couple of weeks have passed and we are a little closer to coming home! You have probably not heard from your soldier as often as usual, we have been quite busy. As always, things are changing around here and that has caused us to have to pull some rabbits out of our Humvees to keep up with the demands from our higher elements. Expect the next 45 days to be very busy for your soldier so please try to cut him/her some slack as best you can. The workload is going up, which will cause an increase in the tiredness factor (I made that word up). When the tiredness factor goes up, the grouchy meter reads high! When the grouchy meter reads high, phone calls and mail to you are not as pleasant as they may otherwise be. Please be patient with your soldier (Janelle, this means you), we love you and don't mean to be jerky, so bear with us please.

Other than the up tick in the pace of work, everything is going well and everyone is safe. We are again upgrading our equipment to provide better, safer gun trucks for all of us! I met recently with my commander's commander and he was very pleased with our work! I gave him a tour of our facilities and he spoke with several soldiers. He was impressed with the professionalism of our people and he gave us great praise for the speed at which we converted to our current mission. The Colonel also asked me to thank all of our soldiers for the terrific job they are doing. As I shook his hand to say good-bye (a moment I had waited for all day), the Colonel handed me his coin which reads "Commander's Award for Outstanding Performance". The coin, of course, does not belong to me, but to each soldier in this unit who tirelessly does the right thing every time with an unflappable "NO QUIT" attitude. I can only pray that you are as proud of your soldier as I am!

We completed another humanitarian mission today and cleared out the K2K warehouse! You can see some of the photos I sent in the scrapbook. I would again like to extend a special thank you to all of you who have so generously contributed to the K2K program that provides the toys, food, shoes, and clothing that we give out. The Volunteer page on this site contains a flyer made by Vicki F. to advertise the program at your workplace, house of worship, or civic organization. Items most requested by the locals are shoes, clothing, flashlights, toys, and watches. Anything appropriate that you send will be distributed to the needy. This program not only helps to provide some good will to those who live near our base. It also provides security for our troops when the locals know us and know that we are on their side. I encourage you to get involved in this program if you can!

These are exciting times and we are making a difference! We all appreciate the love and EXCELLENT support you have given us so far, please keep it coming. This too shall pass.

Keep the faith,
GJK CPT, EN Commanding
215th QM CO (DS)
Runin' the Guns to Get-R-Done!

Happy Easter! Another week has gone by and all is well. The pace of our work has slowed down considerably in the last few days. This is an advantage in that we have time to do some much needed maintenance on our vehicles, living areas, and ourselves. The downside, however, is that "idle hands are the devil's workshop"! Encourage your soldier to stay focused and out of mischief. I will assist you in this task! All in all, things are going well with no major attacks impacting our missions or our soldiers.

Some of you have no doubt heard some rumors about the impending change to our mission which is scheduled to occur later this year. Let me assure you that these rumors are only partially true. Some of our equipment, the best of it of course, is being redistributed to other units. At this time, however, our mission will remain the same. Please remember that the internet e-mail and the telephones you use are not secure. Anything you (or I) say or type is easily captured, read, and heard by the enemy. Operational security is everyone's job so make sure you are not divulging troop strength, locations, mission information, or any detail, no matter how minor, which may jeopardize our safety. If your loved one attempts to tell you a story you know is inappropriate, please have the strength to stop him/her and ask them to write the story down and tell it when they return home safe and victorious. I have been on enough fishing trips to know that the stories always get more interesting with time anyway...the fish get bigger, the insurgents tougher, our aim truer.

Today was a significant day for those of us who follow the Christian faith. Those who were able to rouse themselves early enough experienced a once-in-a-lifetime event (I hope I am not here for the next one). Just after sunrise we attended Easter services at one of the oldest cities known to man. This was an exciting and moving experience that none of us are likely to forget soon. I am sure that the only thing that could have topped this experience would be to spend the holiday with you! No worries, next year is on it's way!

Now is nearly the roughest time for loneliness of this deployment. The end is still too far away to see and the initial excitement and fear have subsided. It is imperative for each of our personal relationships that we keep the communication channels open. Encourage your soldier to call home often and do your best to arrange to be there when he/she calls. Call and talk even if you can't think of anything to talk about. Send each other little notes on e-mail and little gifts by snail-mail. It is important to keep a positive outlook by having something small and pleasant to look forward to each week or two. This too shall pass.

The work we are doing here is often boring, sometimes dangerous, and usually unpleasant. We must not lose focus on why we are here, and why you have sacrificed so much to allow it. We are here because our Country called us. We are here because we had the integrity and courage to answer that call so that our children won't have to. We are here because freedom is better than anything else. We are here because we believe that freedom is right, and tyranny is wrong. We are here because we understand that if the strong and the brave do not stand for what is right, evil will prevail. With us, that will not stand! We stand proudly for freedom, we stand steadfastly for you. No matter what happens, you and your soldier will live forever with the knowledge that when the rain came, you stood through the storm. You helped to free a people and make this world a safer, happier, and freer place. No one can ever take that away from you. We are building a better world, one brick at a time.

The philosopher Carl Schurz said “If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.” I guess that's right.

Keep the faith,
GJK
CPT, EN Commanding
215th QM CO (DS
Runin' the Guns to Get-R-Done!

I am writing to let you all know that everything is O.K. here. I apologize that I have not been able to write every week as I had planned. You have my promise that I will do my best to send a note to you as often as I can. Please do your best to be patient with me.

I received some questions from family members asking what kind of terrain we drive thru, how many of our routes are urban, and how many missions we perform weekly. I am afraid I cannot answer any of those questions on this internet system, as it is not secure. Please understand that little bits of information such as this added to other data collected by our enemies could give them a pretty good picture of our mission and routes. I can tell you that we do drive thru some villages, and few towns, and a couple of cities. Routes are varied as are our start times. I will not comment on the terrain except to say it is varied.

I was able to send several of our gun trucks in for a retrofit that will make them far safer. The armor kit that is being installed is the best the army has to offer and will offer a measure of protection far beyond what we have had so far. This is very good news. There were eight of these kits available for our theatre and I was able to get all of them! I have taken quite a beating for making this happen, but my commitment is to keep my soldiers, your loves ones, alive. I am not in charge of the whole army, so I can't worry about everyone else. Our soldiers come first. We have also acquired a few more of the new factory-armored fighting vehicles. These vehicles are faster, more technically advanced, and safer than our older gun trucks. This is also very good news. When the gun trucks get back from the shop, my entire fleet of gun trucks will be top of the line. I will not rest until each of our soldiers has the best equipment available. We have a tough job and I will do everything I can to get them every tool to ensure they have the tactical advantage.

I have received several gift boxes labeled K2K. I assume this means kid to kid, but whatever it means, thank you. I have quite a store of shoes, candy, and children's items to pass out to the locals. The Fosters, Prescotts, Robbins’, Santos’, and many others have been VERY generous in donating to this cause. Everyone here, and I, sincerely appreciate it. I will be giving all of these gifts away to local children within the next few weeks. I will do my best to get several photos for you to enjoy and show others what your kind generosity has helped to accomplish.

Again, please forgive my silence over the last couple of weeks, but know that I was out finding and securing the equipment we need to keep your loved one alive. If you have any questions you would like me to answer, e-mail Annette and she will get them to me. Keep your head down, knees bent, and prayers going up!

We've been out on convoys, and ran into some trouble. Thanks to some outstanding maneuvering by one of our drivers, we came through without injury or significant damage. The training, focus, and your undying support made the difference. Keep up the good work and we will too.

Some of you took advantage of my invitation to ask questions, so I will try to answer them.

I wrote a separate e-mail to address that issue (see below), so please take a look at it and let Annette know if anything remains unclear.

Currently we live in cloth tents that were purchased from Pakistan two years ago. They're well used, but we have plywood floors, electricity, air conditioning and heat.

Everything is covered in a fine layer of dust and there is little anyone can do about that. We sleep in single beds with mattresses. The Army does not supply us with linens, but we can buy sheets and blankets at the camp's Post Exchange(PX). Those who do not choose to buy sheets can use the sleeping bag system that the Army issued to each of us. I understand that this does not sound all that good, but by Army standards, it's pretty good.

We hope that our living conditions will improve before we leave - it's always something to look forward to! I am working on getting us moved to some newer, larger, and better tents, we'll see what happens. It is important that we keep our personal spaces clean, and keep food properly packaged. The weather is starting to get warmer and all kinds of critters will soon emerge. We have all been supplied with various repellents and bug killers, it is important that your soldier use this equipment and keep all living areas as clean as possible. Encourage your soldier to pay attention to these details, as I will.

Our base is doing monthly humanitarian missions. This is the only time we are specifically authorized to give away food and goods. This is the time when we get the most interaction with the locals. Per regulations, only a limited number of us will be able to participate on these missions. The people in this area are very friendly and they express gratitude for our service. Other areas are much less friendly, though all help is appreciated.

When a convoy gets stopped in an urban area, which is often, kids will always emerge to beg for food and other stuff. Most of our soldiers have experienced this and have given away food or small gifts. Most locals speak little or no English, so it is difficult to communicate unless an interpreter is present. I personally believe we should be doing A LOT more humanitarian work, and hope to see these activities increased.

Free time depends on the job. Mechanics, cooks, clerks, command staff, and support staff are stationed on our base and rarely leave. Typically, these folks work ten hour days (average) and have the remainder of their time to relax, exercise, watch movies, or whatever. We have a Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR)area with a volleyball and basketball court, movie room, weight room, computer room, and videogame (playstation) area. This place is usually crowded and sometimes tough to access, but it's there. Most of the time we have no days off, but we try to work in a morning or afternoon when we can.

For the gun-truck and tanker crews life is a lot different. These soldiers are usually on the road three or four days, home for one, back on the road...they have the toughest job by far. The convoy escort job is A LOT of tough driving over really rough roads. Imagine trying to stand in the back of a truck while manning a large machine gun while being tossed around constantly. While doing all of this you need to be able to watch for anything suspicious, talk on the radio, and stay awake. The trucks travel at 40-70 miles per hour, so the constant wind and sand blowing in your face adds to the fun. These guys are really earning their pay, and the respect of us all! You should be very proud of every soldier here, but say an extra prayer for our guys and girls on the road everyday.

Well, that depends on if you are in the East, South, Central, or Northern part of the country. The Southern and Western part is flat and covered with brown sand. Not our idea of "home, sweet home!" I cannot image why any human being would ever purposely call this desolate place home. The remainder of the country is far more vegetated. The river valleys are quite beautiful in spots. I sent some pictures a couple of weeks ago, hopefully you all had a chance to see them. (check the scrapbook page!) I will try to create some more links with pictures taken by all of us. Hopefully I can put that together in the next week or so. Well, I hope all this helps a little. I am afraid I must get back to work.

God Bless you all.
Never forget, We Stand for Freedom, We Stand for You!
GJK
CPT, EN Commanding
215th QM CO (DS)

The two-week leave allocations are distributed monthly to me by our battalion. Based on leave seats available on airplanes and the theatre commander's need for troops on the ground, seats are allocated to COSCOM, to Group, to Battalion, then to companies like us. I have no control over the number of leave seats allocated.

I asked all soldiers what dates they would like to go on leave. Based on individual's wishes, I have prioritized by lowest rank, meaning the lowest ranking soldiers have first pick. Officers and those who have been discipline problems will get last priority. The 1SG and I will be last, if seats are available.

It is the Theatre Commander's policy that leave is a privilege and not an entitlement. I anticipate that all soldiers will be able to go home on leave, but I cannot guarantee this, especially for higher ranking soldiers. I will do everything I can to get your loved one home close to the time he/she desires. Dates available for travel vary by month, and they are provided to me with no changes authorized. I cannot request specific dates for travel.

I have guidelines as to how many soldiers can be on leave at one time, so if several soldiers requested to be on leave at one particular time, I cannot accommodate everyone. Most soldiers requested leave dates in June, July, and August. This means higher ranking soldiers, and those who have a disciplinary record, are not likely to travel in those months.

I am trying to accommodate soldiers with special events such as the birth of a child. These individuals will receive priority for leave allocations, regardless of rank.

Please understand, I do not have much flexibility here, so getting your soldier home is my top priority, it is unlikely that I will be able to accommodate any requests for specific dates.

I know that the uncertainty of our visits will make scheduling difficult for you. I will give your soldier as much notice as possible, so that he/she can inform you of the specific dates. Hang in there, this will all be over soon.