I can't believe that the last post to this blog was dated February 24, 2009. This has been a whirlwind three months. In our world stateside we have been through a great 50th birthday (mine), our annual meetings with ministerial licensees (about 200 plus hours of my time beyond the normal load of ministry responsibilities), an AMAZING Easter that included a record attendance for our church, a really rewarding District Assembly and a teriffic time with my Dad and Sister on the occassion of Dad's 80th birthday. There has scarcely been time to breath, let alone update this blog.
Allow me, however, to try to update you on the events that have transpired in our favorite soldier's life. After being home for my 50th birthday, Kyle headed back to his deployment in Iraq. The trip back was nearly as long as the trip home. Some of his "facebook" status reports on the journey back were hilarious. An example would be his post form the holding station in Kiwaitt. "Kyle is looking forward to a day at the beach - without the water." Despite rather difficult circumstances, he maintains a refreshing sense of humor.
Now that he has been reassigned, I guess it is okay to go ahead and record for posterity Kyle's location for the first five months of his deployment. He was located at FOB Echo, just outside the city of Diwanjah. From there he and his team conducted countless patrols, maintaining the fragile peace that exists in Iraq. He is proud of his work, as well he should be ... and so are we. So now he presses on to the next assignment.
His new digs are in a region that supported some of the earliest civilization known to history. He is near (not in )Bausra. This region was initially a VERY secure area. Its proximity to Kuwaitt and its absence of significant ethnic/religious diversity made for a relatively safe setting. for that reason, the security was turned over to the British. In the last 6 plus years of minimal engagement with the inhabitants by the Brits has bread a significant level of mistrust and even hostility on the part of the Iraqi people toward the armies regarded as "occupiers. Therefore, the environment has grown increasing unsafe for US soldiers. As his partens this causes us concern. For Kyle, however, its all part of the adventure.
I'll try to do better!
