Christmas in a War Zone

"How was your Christmas?" The question is on the lips of everyone you meet. Ours was great! Thank you for asking. We had 3 of our 4 kids at home with us and had the joy of talking to the 4th. But then that's the reason you logged into this blog ... to hear about the 4th. Well, before I give you the update, let me just say that I am blessed beyond description to have immediate family, extended family and a family of faith who are wonderful in every way. My cup is full and I give God praise!

Christmas Eve was awesome to say the least. Nearly 170 people, native Spanish and English speakers, gathered at 11pm to quietly consider a God who wrapped Himself in humanity and came to live among us. It was truly spectacular to listen in song and watch in dance as the story of Incarnation was told by the gifted musician and "creatives" of our church. After that we (Momma, me, our daughter, our son and his wife) headed to our house to open ONE gift before retiring. All of us headed for bed about 1:30am and asleep by 2am.

That was why it came as a bit of an abrupt shock when the phone rang at 6:45. It took about 2 rings for me to realize that the only person who would be calling at that hour on Christmas morning was Kyle. I blurted out to Mom, "It's Kyle!" She nearly flew out of bed as she dove for the phone before the answering machine could kick in. From my vantage point on the other side of her head, I could hear his voice. What a great sound on Christmas morning. We went to the other bedrooms and got the other kids up. Soon all 5 of us were curled up on our bed talking to our favorite man in ACU's ... laughing ... swapping jabs ... enjoying each others morning breath as we huddled around the phone. How could life get any better?

The ranking soldiers at Kyle's FOB gave a wonderful gift to their junior companions. As we talked with Kyle he was just finishing up dinner at the D-Fac where they had put on a great feast complete with suitable decorations. But the topper for the day was that all the E5's through E7's had taken guard and patrol duties in order to give the lower ranking soldiers the day off. Kyle said it came as a real surprise and a great gift. He said that, apart from being half a globe away, it had been a pretty good Christmas. I haven't heard the story from the photo above, but it is clear that Christmas joy happens wherever people are willing to give, receive and share a little love with each other.

Just so you notice, I wanted to let you know that I have added a couple photos to the blog in previous entries. There is a photo of the "Ark". Kyle's not in it, but it is clearly the Ark ;-) . Then I put a shot of the row of CAN's - the sleeping/living quarters that Kyle is living in("Mr. Attitude" post). If you look between the two soldiers in the foreground, I think you can see half of Kyle's face. I got these shots from the facebook account of Kyle's Sgt.

Yesterday Momma managed to catch Kyle on facebook. A brief chat revealed the fact that he had nearly rolled the Humvee today. Don't know a lot more than that as it was difficult to gather details in chat. More to come ...

Playin' Chicken ...

It has been a while since I have updated Kyle’s blog. He has called twice in the lapsed time, but we have just been busy. I believe, from what he shared with us, that he was able to view this blog for the first time. When he is able to get on, he will be able to read any comments that you make. I opened the access to comments so that you are able to leave comments for him. Just know that everyone on the web is able to read those remarks. For that reason, please be careful not to use last names or reference person identification information for yourself, for our family, or for Kyle.

Iraq continues to be a venue for creativity. Most recently Kyle and his truck company were instructed to perform an “infrastructure assessment” on a village near his FOB. This involves going from door to door in the community inquiring of the residents concerning their access to services. They are determining what Iraqi villages are still lacking water, electricity, etc.

These infrastructure assessments are performed by the “dismounted” guys from the truck.
What that means for the mounted guys is too much time on their hands. For the gunner it means sitting in the turret, trying to stay alert. For the driver (that would be Kyle), it means staying with the vehicle. It does, however, afford him the opportunity to get out and walk a bit near the vehicle.

He was talking with the other drivers (they travel in groups of 3 or 4 trucks at all times) and commented on how uneventful their time had been (that term "uneventful" could be translated “boring”). That was when Kyle noticed a fellow selling live chickens not far from the truck. He bought one of the man’s chickens for $5 and proceeded to take it back to the Humvee. Suddenly the gunner began to jump and flap his wings in equally frantic fashion to the chicken that was now occupying the turret with him. Same chicken as the one Kyle had just procured? Oh yeah!!!! Kyle said that it was almost as much fun as a barrel of monkeys (read “Mr. Attitude” blog post). I can only imagine the frantic attempt on the part of both the soldier and the fowl to free themselves of one another.

The latest call from Kyle finds him cooling his heels for a week. His Platoon Sergeant asked the platoon if anyone was tired. Kyle thought he was joking so he raised his hand. The Sgt. proceeded to launch into a bit of a rant at which point Kyle realized that he had misinterpreted the moment. The follow-up to the discussion was that his Team Leader decided to rub it in a bit. He placed Kyle on light duty for a week, turning him into a FOBBIT (someone confined to the FOB). This is usually reserved for discipline or for soldiers who aren’t cutting the mustard. Neither is true of Kyle – and all parties afore mentioned know that to be true.

Kyle was given a week of tower guard duty. When this is given as discipline it results in a rotation of 6hrs on, 6 hrs off around the clock. Since this was not a disciplinary action for Kyle, he was actually given simply 6 hrs duty in each 24 hr day. In actuality, that was worse for Kyle than the 6 on 6 off rotation. He hates sitting around. It did, however, give him some time to catch up on facebook and make some calls.

As often happens, the joke was on the Team Leader. Since Kyle was on light duty, they had to have another driver take his place. The replacement driver has a bit of a problem with sleeping while he drives. He nearly rolled the truck with the entire team inside. Needless to say, both Kyle and his team are looking forward to being reunited. In the mean time, Kyle has learned a valuable lesson about when to cut-up and when to shut-up. More to come ...

The Full Armor ...

We heard from Kyle yesterday. It was the best connection we have ever had. He was talking on an AT&T phone which costs quite a bit more, but it actually works. He said that he has about 40 hours worth of phone time on the other phones. The other phones are Internet based phones, I'm sure, as they have a lengthy delay and spotty transmission. We decided that it would be okay to share those 40 hours worth of phone time with someone who didn't have enough frustration in their life. We will stick to the more expensive AT&T. There is much to be said for "building a better mouse trap" ... the bedrock of capitalism.

It's football season (and when I say football I am referring to the "pig skin - grid iron" variety, not the round, black and white ball variety) in Iraq. Apparently soldiers who have no one around to say, "shouldn't you be working, doing homework, mowing the lawn", take much pride in their flag football. Kyle said the "P.O.G.s" (pronounced "poegs" - Professions Other than Grunt - a derogatory term for anyone other than an infantrymen) live for this stuff. They have professionally made uniforms with team colors and everything. As Kyle described the scene to me it was with a definite sense of, "these guys really need to get a real job." I asked, "Have you played much?" He admitted that he had played a little, but that he preferred the more adult game of sand volleyball. "Beside that", he said, "we are WAY too busy working to spend much time playing” (another implied dig at POGs). I have a high school friend who is now serving in Iraq as a much senior officer in another branch of the service. Hope she is not reading this ;-)

He mentioned that they have a PT (Physical Training test - not something one does into a cup) coming up. These are more important than you might think, at least for Infantry - POGs not so much. He was telling me about a guy in his platoon who has not successfully passed a PT test since BCT and was just demoted because of it. So this soldier is now a buck private after over a year of service. Kyle is on a slightly different track.

His call came in about 11pm their time. He was supposed to be out on patrol, but the power steering broke on their up-armored Humvee. Kyle said, "Dad, can you imagine trying to steer a 12,000 pound vehicle without power steering? It's a bit of a chore." I agreed. For that reason, their vehicle was in the shop and he was off early. Their patrol was intended to last until 4am.

I want to explain the two photos at the top of this blog. These are very poor pics of a really cool challenge coin (go to Wikipedia if you don't know the history of "challenge coins") that Kyle carries with him. This was a gift to Kyle from our daughter-in-law's brother-in-law (wow, that was a lot of hyphens in one sentence ... dare you to keep track of that). We well call him "J" for simplicity. "J" gave this beautiful memento to Kyle before his deployment. It depicts the "full armor of God" which is described in Ephesians chapter 6. I was given an identical challenge coin for by a police officer as a token of appreciation for my service to the police department. I told Kyle that I would carry it with me the entire time of his deployment and would pray for him specifically every time I touched it in my pocket. I believe "J" is doing the same. I tell you about this as a reminder of the way in which you can support Kyle, and all of our armed forces personnel, as they serve in harms way. As you scan past this blog entry in the future, please remember to pray for Kyle and others when you see these photos. More to come ...

Mr. Attitude ...

I missed him again. Don't know how I manage to be away every time Kyle calls, but I do. He does, however, really enjoy talking with Mom and she takes great notes on their conversations. I probably have more information to share with you because he talked with her. I forget just about everything.

The sad news is that he will not be coming home for a mid-tour leave. He "went into the hole" for his leave between BCT/AIT and his assignment in Colorado. For that reason, he doesn't have a lot of leave accrued. He could go into the hole again, but that would only borrow against his time home after his deployment. He decided he would rather have some considerable time with us at the end of his time in Iraq. As much as we would love to have him home sometime this winter, even more we want to spend some serious time with him next fall. For that reason, and because there was a shortage of leave time for his platoon, he voluntarily gave up his leave. He said that nearly everyone in his platoon has a wife and kids to come back and see. He felt that it was more imperative that they get home than it was for him. I appreciate that kind of attitude. This call has a lot to say about his attitude.

Mom is really good to send "fun" stuff to Kyle. Kyle said that he takes and hides the stuff he really wants to keep, and then the rest of it he makes available for other soldiers to use/have. I think he feels like he stands a better chance of keeping the stuff he really wants if he is generous with the other stuff. One of the "fun" items that has become community property is "A Barrel of Monkeys" (the old kids game from my childhood). Kyle says that whenever someone is having a bad day Kyle says to them, "Go play with the barrel of monkeys, cause nothings more fun than a barrel of monkeys." The recipient of these witty words always laugh, and begin immediately to have a better day. And sometimes they even go play with the monkeys.

Another care package items is a crossword puzzle book. Kyle never worked crosswords at home, but he works them often in Iraq. He will take a seat outside his CAN (pictured above) and work the puzzles. Whenever another soldier walks buy and laughs at Kyle he responds, "I just keepin' my mind sharp. What are you doing to keep sharp." At that point he flashes that winsome smile and the other soldier can't help but laugh.

He was telling his mother that he loves going out on patrol. He said, "Mom, its like being at the zoo. You never know when you are going to come across wild goats, wild dogs, donkeys or camels. I love it." It takes a great deal of mental strength to maintain a positive attitude in a setting like his. We couldn't be more proud.

Almost forgot the best news of all. His deployment has been shortened. It looks like he may be coming home a couple months early. More to come ...

Give Thanks ...

We heard from the lad yesterday. It was Thanksgiving and he called about 8am (our time - 7pm his). Not a lot to report of a military nature. He had just completed his third day off in a row. Actually, the first two days they did some maintenance of vehicles and weapons. But Thanksgiving day was just fun. He said the D-Fac was all decorated with ice sculpures and that the food had been off the hook. He had spent a little time in the gym and had gone to "movie day" all three days. He said that they had some stuff coming up that would be pretty exciting (I think that means dangerous), but that he couldn't tell us about it right now.

After 15 or 20 minutes of trying to hear him over one of the worst connections we have ever had, we said farewell ... hoping that he could get onto another phone a couple hours later. That didn't happen. As I hung up the phone I thought, "I listened to astronauts talk from the moon in 1968 with greater clarity. Why can't we get a phone that works for our soldiers in Iraq?" Then I remembered that this was Thanksgiving and that just wasn't the right attitude. I occurred to me that I had just talked to my son who was in a war zone half a globe away, and he was safe. Even though we couldn't capture what he was saying very well, we could hear him. I wondered how many parents would gladly have traded my "scratchy" connection for their "no" connection, and for those who have paid the ultimate price for Iraqi freedom, their "never" connection. Needless to say, I quickly shelved my complaint and took up the spirit of praise for which the day was intended.

What a great setting to a wonderful Thanksgiving day. We baked turkey, deep fried turkey and then ate turkey ... 37 lbs. of turkey. Now that wouldn't be a big deal if we had 40 dinner guests. But there were 8 of us. Do the math. That's enough turkey to make you gobble. Our oldest son was the deep fry master - complete with a marinade injected bird. Both of our daughters made pies. And Mom did her usual tasty, juicy bird AND a pie. It was a feast! We laughed around the table until we cried - literally. While we missed our extended families, and those far away, it was a GREAT day - concluded with our traditional movie trip. Nothing says Thanksgiving like "Bond - James Bond." As we went to bed last night I said to my wife, "We have WONDERFUL kids - all four of them." We have much for which to thank our God ... and we do!

Breaking News - Noah's Ark Discovered ...

I will get to the breaking news at the end of the blog, but first - a few updates. Kyle called Saturday morning and is doing well. He was beginning a break of two days off. He exclaimed to his mother with some animation in his voice ... "Mom - we are in the desert! I mean the REAL desert complete with camels walking by. For a young man who didn't know that camels existed outside the zoo, this has been an amazing adventure.

As I mentioned in the last post, his platoon is back on the FOB. Their departure from the COB, however, was not without incident. As a part of typical company pride, some of the guys in his company wrote some welcoming phrases around the COB to help the incoming company feel at home. The slogan "Delta sucks" was apparently the most popular graffiti that was penned on various surfaces of the COB. But when someone from Kyle's platoon left a brown steamy greeting in the shower, the brass said enough. For that reason, several of the guys in his company (and platoon) are currently under investigation. He is frustrated by both the stupidity exhibited by some of his platoon mates, as well as the increased scrutiny of the subsequent investigation.

He also shared of the ongoing fascination with desert pigeons. Young military men are so creative and intrigued by nature. If you are face to face with Kyle's mother, she can fill you in concerning their research and development. One discovery that sounded particularly interesting was the discovery of a luminescent pigeon (disclaimer - no pigeons were harmed in any way as a result of this experiment). A glow in the dark pigeon, however, gives new meaning to the term "rare bird."

Now for the lead story ... apparently Kyle's team has interest in archeology as well as taxonomy. Last week they were on patrol and spotted a very old looking wooden structure on the top of a hill. They decided to investigate the structure to see if it might be a weapons cache. What they discovered was amazing! They found Noah's Ark. That's right - Kyle heard it right from a couple of his team mates. I didn't realize that he had so many biblical scholars on his team. They discovered some old pottery and made the determination that it came from the Ark era. Wait until the scientific community gets word of this. To think that, after all the centuries of exploration and research by the biblical, historical and archaeological communities, the Ark would be discovered by some soldiers looking for IED's ... its just mind boggling (disclaimer - anyone who believes they actually found Noah's Ark ... contact me for details concerning a bridge I'm auctioning on eBay). Kyle knew better, but why spoil the fella's fun ;-)

More to come ...

Getting Shelled ...

Greetings Friends and Family. I was on the phone with M (our daughter) when the cell showed an incoming call. I pulled it away to see that it started with 1-996-XXX-XXXX. I recognized !!!that as our soldier so I said farewell to M and switched over. After opening pleasantries, I asked "What's new?" The reply came back, "Well, other than we just got shelled by mortars, nothing big." WHOA NELLIE!!! He said it so nonchalantly I couldn't believe I had heard him correctly, so I asked again. Sure enough, they had just been fired on in their FOB.

To make sure I was understanding correctly, I looked to Wikipedia for some help ... "A mortar is a muzzle-loaded indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocity, short range, high-arching ballistic trajectory." In other words, it lobs exploding munitions into the middle of your home. As we were talking I could hear someone talking over the PA in the background. K took a break from our conversation to listen. I asked what they said and he replied, "I'm not sure, but I'm sitting next to my team leader and he's not moving, so I think I'm okay to talk." We had another 20 minutes together on the phone, uninterrupted.

His housing has changed. He said they they are no longer in one large tent. Instead he is staying in "CANS". That probably is an acronym for something, but he described them as container units with 2 cots inside. He is staying with "Garcia". It appears , however, they Kyle will not be moving north in January as previously reported. Now he is saying that they will probably remain in their current for the entire deployment (318 days remaining). In fact, he says that they may move some of the troops who are currently up north down to his location. That will make an already over crowded situation even worse.

The other news was that Kyle has received a Brigade coin as well as the Battalion coin I mentioned in the last blog entry. I asked, "How many other guys in your platoon received that?" He replied, "None." Sounds like he continues to do well and distinguish himself as an exceptional soldier. So much for now ...

FINALLY!!!!!

Okay, its been 2 weeks and 6 days and we finally received word today on Kyle's whereabouts. Apparently there has been an increase in hostilities toward American soldiers so the FOB has been "blacked out". That means limited if any communications with the outside. Cell phones were passed in and all communications was limited to the Base computers. That means time restrictions and no uploads. For that reason, there will be no photos until further notice. The hostilities, for the curious, came in the form of IED's. If I was understanding correctly, Kyles group, unit, company ??? found two recently.

Their current living situation is that his entire unit is in one large tent with no AC. He said the temps are still hot in the day time, but very cold at night (he said "freezing" but that might have been figurative). He did say that the rainy season is not far off and that they have already received one rain storm. Believe it or not, they have managed to get the xbox 360 setup despite the impoverished billet.

When they first arrived back at the FOB they were limited to tower duty ... 6 hrs in the guard tower and 6 hrs off. He didn't enjoy that so much. Since that time they have been attached to "Bravo Company" and are now doing patrols (if you call me directly I can tell you the location of most of their patrols). He simply doesn't understand that, from our perspective, the tower duty is just fine and patrol represents risk. Try explaining that to a trained soldier in the US Army ... "Boots on the ground ... Call to duty ... and so on". He said that they are currently still doing patrols in up armored Humvees, but they are slated to get an MRAP soon. He has applied to be "dismounted" which means that he gets out of the nice safe vehicle if they encounter trouble. Again, not the news we were looking for. What could be so bad about sitting behind the wheel of a rolling fortress with the AC blowing while the rest of the fire squad does the rounds? Alas, boys will be boys ...

He continues to get the positive attention of his ranking officers. His CO put in for Kyle's promotion to E-4 (Specialist). Only after reviewing Kyle's file did he realize that Kyle is a full 8 months shy of the minimum time served for promotion. His comment to Kyle was something like, "You mean you've only been in for 10 months? You are really squared away." If he gets the E-4, he will soon be eligible for Corporal (E-5). I guess even the Army has an eye for talent. It is good to know that, despite his "creative" and fun loving side, he is fully capable of getting down to business. I know that he pushes himself harder than most and loves the challenge of new material. He is currently training Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army personnel.

One bit of information - Kyle was given a "Battalion Coin". This is given for exceptional in service. If I understood this correctly it was given to him with some formality including a chaplain and someone with a little brass. He was being modest, but it didn't sound like they just passed these out to everyone.

He did say that his AT&T phone cards cost him more than they do in the US (go figure - it's not enough that they stand in harms way... they get charged extra by the phone company for the privilege of doing so). For that reason, if you are looking for a Christmas gift to send, that would be a good one. Also, he mentioned to two of his ranking officers haven't received any packages. For that reason, my wife is putting together a couple care packages. Let us know if you want to be a part.

That's all we got ... more to come ...

Please dont' give up ...

(324 days of deployment remaining)

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know that it has been some time since I have updated it. That is not because I have become bored with the project, or have lost sight of the value of it. It simply springs from the fact that we have not heard from him in 2 weeks and 5 days. In parental timekeeping that seems like an eternity. Please don't give up on checking in with this blog. As soon as we hear something, you will read something.

In the mean time, might I suggest the old practice of writing him a letter. I know that in his BCT, Kyle really looked forward to reading from those who loved him back home. In this electronic era, we have all but lost the patient art of placing pen to paper. And the ability to wait for the reply is all but gone. This might be a good opportunity to break out your "Bic", pick up your paper and write a letter which Kyle will be able to carry around with him as a present reminder of those far away. If you wish to do so, you know how to get hold of me for contact info.

Many of those who read this blog are people of faith, i.e., family members or church family. If you are a person of prayer please pray for:
- Christian friends for Kyle. BCT was full of them, but his deployment has proven otherwise.
- Scriptures that will come alive for Kyle in his personal devotion time.
- Iraqi's who might be willing to hear the Good News from Kyle.
- A quiet spirit on the part of his immediate family ... this translates into peace for the long stretches of silence from the middle east.
- Kyle to stay busy. "An idle mind is the devil's playground." Too many soldiers with too little to do never turns into anything good. Trust me on this!

By way of explanation - we have never owned a flag (always in rentals or parsonages - poking holes not recommended). For that reason, I went out today and got a flag to honor our vets and our soldier.

More to come ... I PROMISE!

Actual Army Work ...

Kyle called today (12:30am his time). Not much to share from this call as he was pretty bushed from a long day of transporting soldiers back to their previous location. Allow me to explain.

A few days ago, his entire team was called to make a raid on a facility in their patrol area. After making forced entry, the team secured all male occupants of the facility. They then searched the premises and found several items of contraband. I'm not talking about anti-American literature or firecrackers. The items found were serious and dangerous.

Job well done! One would think that so anyway. Well, not so much ...

As a result of a couple of ill advised command decisions, the entire company has been sent back to their previous location. This is truly sad to Kyle as he has really enjoyed the smaller location. He describes their outpost as being about the size of a football field. It houses a much smaller contingency and the creature comforts for the individual soldier are much better. At the COB they have WiFi in their rooms as well as enough space to spread out a bit. Just a couple weeks ago the xBox 360 they had purchased in Colorado finally arrived. Now it all goes back in the box and gets shipped back to the Base with just enough room for a cot and ruck sack.

Okay, so this doesn't have much to do with "The War on Terror", or bringing democracy to Iraq. It does, however, have a lot to do with morale.

On a lighter note, some of the guys in his team have invented a "fun" new game. We didn't ask for the details, but the name of the activity was called "Pigeon Home Run Derby." I don't even want to know! More to come ...

Pigeon Wars ...

I have heard some funny names for different wars throughout history, but this one is new to me. As we talked with Kyle today he described the "Pigeon War". You won't find it on the CNN website, nor will you find it in any history books. You will, however, find it being hotly contested in the outpost where Kyle is currently living. It seems that his roommates and another group of fellows have sound some unusual uses for Pigeons. This is what happens when young men have a little too much it me on their hands.

The latest battle in the dorm war went something like this: 5 Pigeons were borrowed from their stations pooping on the equipment. They were hand carried with great care so as to not harm these fine fowl, and deployed at 3am into the room of some other sleeping soldiers. My understanding was that both the Pigeons and the sleeping soldiers were eager to part company. Kyle said that the sounds of soldiers screaming for their mothers, and the sight of friends and fowl fleeing from their quarters in sheer panic was priceless.

In retrospect, he said that the future of said practices can only lead to a senseless and ceaseless escalation of force, culminating in ... well, you can only imagine.

One of the less desirable duties on the FOB is "sewage" detain. In the photo on the top right you will see Kyle performing this unpleasant but VERY necessary detail. If you know that that is Kyle doing "sewage" detain, then you can guess what might be burning in those two fire pits. Note the large tank behind our soldier. Here in the states, we store propane in tanks just like those ... Hmmmmmm!

Sorry that it has been so long since my latest update. We haven't heard a word for a week. For that reason, it was really great to see an unfamiliar number show up on my cell. Check back in a couple days and I will share with you another story we heard today. More to come ...

Another Interlude ...

Since we have no new news from Iraq, I thought I would take a minute to share with you some history from the period between Kyle's BCT and his departure to his permanent duty station in CO. I decided, to some of the families dismay, to set up a backpacking trip with Kyle. He had been my first "backpacking buddy" from among our kids. In later teen years he got too busy to do much of it so Megan graciously took over the "Dad watch" duties on the trail. She and I have had some GREAT trips together (some with Kyle and some without). Only recently was I able to get Brandon out on the trail for one of these bonding experiences.

I thought it would be fun to get the "E" boys together so I asked Brandon to come up from San Diego where he was living. I also invited my younger brother, Rod, to come down from Washington. To my surprise all parties were available to come so the trip was on. We also included Brandon's brother-in-law, Jeremy and two great guys from our church - Bob and Justin.

With a clear sense of adventure (and I mean that with all the exciting and unexpected aspects of that word) we headed out for a 3 day 18 mile saunter through the Ventanna wilderness - a place that none of us had been before. Now I won't bore you with the details, but I will tell you that, owing to a slight navigational error, we spent the first day and a half hiking in the wrong direction. After hiking for about 9 miles, we realized that we had taken a wrong trail at an early course junction and had ended up about 1 mile (as the crow flies) from our car. This was truly BAD news and turned our nice hike into a grueling gallop over some of the most technical terrain I have ever backpacked.

Kyle was at a distinct advantage as he was fresh from BCT and had just completed the "Bayonet March" - the infantrymen's concluding test of mental toughness and conditioning. I am pleased to say, however, that even us middle agers completed the enduro with minimal injuries. We didn't even get poison oak, despite the fact that we had hiked through miles of trails overgrown with the stuff. The only things we brought back were a head full of great memories and some super photos. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page to check it out.

At least some of us have decided to take a reunion trip at the conclusion of Kyle's deployment (sans the side trip). I'm looking forward (and maintaining conditioning).

Some "Spooky" Stuff

Just got off the phone with our soldier. Kyle is doing well, but it was 12:05am when he called and he was just heading to bed. They had just finished a "night op". It seems that they were sitting in their room getting ready to bed down when someone came running in to say, "Be in full Battle Rattle at the vehicle in 5 minutes." That was all they needed in order to spring into action.

They were being sent out to check on some civilians who were digging alongside the road. That often spells IED. They had deployed 4 trucks of 5 men each to investigate. They call this a QRF mission (Quick Response Force). Kyle said the road they were traveling was very small and they were traveling blacked out (that means they are using inferred headlights and NODs (night vision) to navigate. One of the characteristics of this technology is that it is bereft of bas-relief (its hard to see the bumps). That would explain why his gunner told him that the hole he was about to enter was "real small". It was not! It was, instead, big enough to bend up the Rhino guard on the front of the Humvee and stick the rig. This puts a real crimp in the "Q" part of "QRF".

He said it was exciting yet uneventful. The two men they were sent to investigate were actually digging a canal as a part of an irrigation project (in the middle of the night?).

Kyle said they had a nervous patrol a couple days ago. They pulled into a town that was busy with activity. By the time they had been there a few minutes, the streets went empty. This was enough irregularity to cause the hair to stand up for all the guys in Kyle's squad. As it turns out, they did receive some intel which they turned over to the IP (Iraqi Police). I asked if they had found the intel to be credible. His response, "If we get hit, it was credible."

On a purely positive note, he said that he had received another of the bags he had shipped from Colorado. In it was his Bible. He said, "I dived right in ... looking for some good word, nothing in particular. In case you didn't know it, there are no 'F-bombs' in the Bible." Good to know! Apparently that word is a regular part of military vocabulary.

More to come ... Continue praying!

That Was Then ... This Is Now!

Remember the postings of Kyle spending hours and hours on end in the gym and sleeping the hours away? Well those days are gone. Kyles platoon has moved on to the outpost I described earlier. From his recent notes on Facebook and texts to Mom, it appears that he and his team mates are more than busy. One message said that he was working on two hours sleep in the last two days. He had pulled guard tower duty at 2am in the middle of this marathon work session. His comment ... "I love it." Could there be a loose screw in this young mans head? :-)

Before heading out, however, Kyle received his training and license to drive the MRAP vehicle. His comment about them is that they are "not easy to drive." If you haven't researched these vehicles, you need to get a look at them on Youtube. His vehicle is called the "MRAP Cougar" and it is one impressive piece of engineering.

In a recent note he said that he had actually been out on a patrol. While this is less than thrilling from a parental perspective, it is exactly what he has trained for and is therefore tremendously exciting. Pictured in this post are some photos of some team mates as well as an up armored Humvee.

Birthday Boy ...

It's official ... Kyle is 21. I won't lie, it was had to have him celebrate this monumental milestone on another continent, in harms way. It was, however, really nice to have the phone ring at 10:30 our time so that we could sing "Happy Bday" to him. We asked if they had thrown him a nice party. He quickly responded, "I got a nice handshake ... and that's good enough for me." He was referring to a Sergeant in his platoon who, for his birthday, was duct taped to a tree and then given lashes with the Army issue nylon belts by the rest of the platoon. Kyle was perfectly fine with the handshake. As usual he was bored with the lack of things to do. Apparently the sleeping, eating and going to the gym is wearing a little thin. I remember days in the not too distant past when he would have regarded days like that as pure heaven. What a difference a year makes.

Today was supposed to be a good day. His platoon was going to try to get as many of the men qualified to drive the up armored Humvee and the MRAP. He was excited to be doing something. The hardest time is the waiting ... and they are doing a lot of it.

Kyle is looking forward to their next destination. Later this week or next he will be going to an outpost about 20 miles from his present location. While it is a smaller outpost, he said it will be better equipped and more suited to the size of the troop contingent stationed there. He has heard that phones may be scarce there, but WiFi is supposed to be in place. Therefore, many of the family members might expect an email. We will try to get some photos online.

Thank you for your prayers and for your interest. It makes all the difference in the world for our soldier and our family.

In Country ... Week One

We finally got a phone call after 9 days of silence. It was terrific to say the least. As it turns out, he has been at the FOB he told us about for a week. It seems that there was supposed to be a company of US troops that were to replace the coalition troops from another country currently at that sight. In fact, there is a full brigade of US troops at the FOB, meaning that it is REALLY crowded. Kyle said that they are packed into their living quarters like sardines and living out of their Ruck sacks. His words were, "This is going to be a LONG year."

Because their are so many soldiers, there is little to do. He talked with some soldiers who have been there for nearly a year who have been on a total of ONE mission. On that one mission, however, they did encounter some combatants who placed a sticky bomb to the side of their MRAP. The damage was negligible, but the stories were vivid.

Since there is so little word to do, Kyle said that the average day consists of eating, PT, eating, working out at the gym, eating and then sleeping. He did say, however, that he is getting bigger and stronger. He said that, since it is such a small FOB, they are responsible for EVERYTHING, including burning their own waste (no, I'm not talking about trash). There were some things about military service I would have been fine NOT knowing.

Someone in our congregation asked me the other day if their are laundry facilities. We got the answer today ... YES. It consists of a bucket, some powder soap and a sand hill outside for a dryer. He did say, though, that the D-Fac is AMAZING!

The FOB is equipped with all the necessities for combat: A running track, volleyball court, soccer/football field, gym, video games, computers and phone system. He mentioned that the communications (computer and phone) are really poor and VERY crowded. It is over a 30 min. wait for a phone and you are limited to a 30 min. call. They can also have a 30 min time slot on the computer, but it took 30 minutes for the chat screen to load on facebook, so he has determined that he won't be doing a lot of e-mail.

I'll write more of his trip to Iraq in the next post ...

While We Are Waiting ...

Today marks a week since we have heard from Kyle by phone. He did communicate a couple lines via another web resource that he was still in transit and that communications "suck" (his word). We actually heard more from him while in Kuwait than we did from Ft. Carson. In Colorado there is a lot more to do in your spare time than there is in Kuwait, where all you have is spare time. We received phone calls nearly every other day for the two week wait in Kuwait. This long a period with little word is reminiscent of the BCT (Basic Combat Training). For that reason, I thought I would take a few paragraphs to recap some of Kyle's boot camp experiences.

Our first word from Kyle in BCT was a phone message on my cell phone after service one Sunday - about 3 weeks after his arrival at Ft. Benning, GA. He was a little choked up (that is a family trait) on the phone but was able to choke out that he had won a contest and had received permission to make a 15 min. call home. As it would happen, that was right in the middle of morning worship at home. It turns out that the contest was to disassemble, reassemble and fire your weapon (an M-4) in the least amount of time. That didn't surprise me that he would have this kind of aptitude - he's been taking stuff apart since he started playing with Legos as a kid. Needless to say, when I played the sad message from the rest of the family - we all teared up a bit at the thought of missing his call.

We were not surprised also, to hear him say that he loved the rigor of BCT. Both he and Brandon were wrestlers in Junior and Senior high school. They were acquainted with the practice of pushing yourself and being pushed to do more than they thought physically possible. To this day Kyle will regularly push himself until he gets sick. He says something like, "When I'm hurlin' I know I'm workin'". So it was not a surprise to read in his letters that he was having the time of his life. His phone calls from BCT often started with "This is SOOOO much fun." He would then go on to speak of Ruck marches that would cause massive blisters on his feet and result in bloody patches worn through the hide on his back from an ill-fitting Ruck sack.

We were, however, a little surprised to find that he is a crack shot with fire arms and ranked "expert" with hand grenades. The latter I can understand as it is similar to horseshoes - you only have to get close. But the rifle marksmanship surprised us. I shouldn't have been surprised when I recounted the 3 or 4 times that we played paint ball together. I always ended up whatever color Kyle was shooting, plus the colors black and blue (those little paint balls HURT). To date, he has qualified "sharp shooter" or "marksmen" on nearly every firing range he has experienced. He has fired some amazing weapons, but his personal favorite happens to be the one that he is assigned, the M-4 Carbine.

One of the great and somewhat unexpected outcomes from BCT was the imprint this time would have on Kyle's faith. He fell in with a group of believers right away. They encouraged each other and challenged each other in faith as well as physically. His letters home were filled with quotes from scripture that were particularly powerful to him. In one letter home he wrote, "I think that BCT has been about me figuring out who I am as a man of God." As you might imagine, these were welcome and wonderful words. Who would have known that the Army would provide a defining moment for faith. I truly didn't see that one coming.

(BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE SLIDE SHOW AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG)

That leads me to list a few prayer requests for those readers who believe in the power of prayer. If I can figure out how to post a prayer list in the side bar of this blog, I will do so. For now, please pray for the following:
- Obviously pray for protection for Kyle and all our troops who are in harms way.
- Pray that the COB (Combat Operations Base) to which he is assigned has a chaplain.
- Pray for him to find close friends of similar faith at that location.
- Pray for his quiet times with the Lord to be fruitful and regular (sorry - I can't help but see the similarity between that last prayer request and my doctors prescription for middle-aged irregularity ... hmmmm).
- Pray that Kyle will have opportunity to share his faith with soldiers who do not have a Rock on which to place their trust.

Silence is not so golden ...

I've heard people say, "silence is golden" - most often from parents who have small - LOUD - children. This parents perspective, however, is that silence is a little unnerving. It has been 5 days since we have heard from Kyle. The last word (or NEXT to last word) was that he would be heading for Iraq in late September or early October. The next morning - Thursday last - we received a message on Facebook informing us that he could not tell us where he was going, but that he was in deed going and would call us as soon as he was able. As yet, not a word.

In the mean time, we pray and wait. As soon as we get some word, we will bring you more. It is probably good that he is out of Kuwait. Kyle was telling us that, in the boring times in the tent, he and the other soldiers would snack on "Chips Ahoy". This combined with 24hr Starbucks is not exactly a recipe for health. So much for that "Soldiers Creed" part about keeping fit ... blah ... blah. They were in Kuwait for 2 weeks which was all it took to turn finely tuned warriors into Junk-food junkies.

Oh yeah, Kyle did give us an address to which we/you can mail items. If you are a friend or family member, then you know how to reach us directly. We will give you that information. More to come ...

Days in waiting ...

The latest news includes some less than exciting information. Again, everything is subject to change and undoubtedly will change before it becomes actuality. As it turns out, most of Kyle's squad is shipping out to their FOB this week. Kyle, however, will be staying back for a couple more weeks to accompany his partner - Josh. In a moment of administrative amnesia, Josh's name was left off the list of soldiers to ship out this week. Therefore, since Josh and Kyle travel as a team, they will BOTH remain in Kuwait a little longer. From a parents perspective, this is just fine. From a soldiers perspective, this is not great. Our soldier was excited, however, about the news that he and Josh would likely travel to their FOB by C-130 (cargo plane) rather than lumbering across the desert in a mechanized convoy.



Of a more unhappy nature (from parents viewpoint) is the news that the MRAP (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected) vehicles Kyle and his team will be patrolling in are not equipped with the CROWS (Camera Remote Operated Weapons System). If you are interested in knowing what these acronyms mean, you can find them demonstrated on Youtube. In a nutshell, that simply means that the gunner on the top of the vehicle is actually a human being, not a piece of robotically operated equipment. Kyle further informed us that the most junior members of the squad (Josh and Kyle) will be performing the functions of driver and gunner. Therefore, Kyle and Josh will split time in the 50 caliber gun touret atop the MRAP vehicle. Can you say, "sitting duck?" For those readers who have an active prayer life, this is a clear point of prayer support.



Yesterday was a good day for Kyle. Any time he gets to shoot is a good day. He and the rest of his squad got up at 0230 hrs. (the most comfortable time in a desert) to "zero" their weapons. This means that you shoot your weapon to see that it is properly sighted in. He was able to perform this in relatively short order. Then he and other Infantrymen went back to their vehicle to nap while the POG's (a derogatory term for all military "Professions Other than Grunt", i.e. non-Infantry) tried to find the target. For PFC Infantrymen, the great equalizer is the firing line. It is on that line that you demonstrate your worth as a warrior.

Kyle added one bit of information that was even more sobering than the above. As he and some friends were in the D-Fac (Dining Facility), they noticed a commotion in the courtyard outside. As they listened, they discovered that a Lt. Col. (not Kyle's) had dropped dead of an apparent heart attack. What a powerful reminder that life is a momentary and precious gift. We want to live it well, and might I add, to the glory of God. More to come ...

Too Much Time On Their Hands ...

It is ALWAYS a dangerous thing to combine young men and too much spare time. Such is the case of Kyle and his platoon as they await departure to their COB (Combat Operations Base).

After 3 days of maneuvers and training (Kyle's favorite aspect of the Army), the last couple days have been spent sitting around, eating, sleeping and trying to stay cool (temps over 120). This leaves too much time to create things to do - usually involving spending money - and food ... which is what they spend their money on. A typical day in this holding facility begins with a 3am Starbucks run, followed by a little sleep and iPod time before chow at 5:30am. After a hearty meal of Army breakfast, they return to their air conditioned tent for some more sleep. On these really hot days their activity is limited and dictated by an Army scale that determines how many minutes/hour they can work based on temperature and humidity. After a morning nap they head out for Starbucks or lunch at their choice of Chili's, Taco Bell, KFC or Burger King. After lunch it is probably time for a nap. You get the picture ...

So today one of Kyles NCO's (Non-Commissioned Officer ... in this case a Sgt.) said, "Egghead, lets take a Starbucks run." Never wanting to disappoint a ranking officer Kyle obliged the Sgt. After coffee the Sgt. said, "I've always wanted a pedicure- go with me." Again, Kyle did as he was told. After 3 hours waiting at the Spa, watching the Sgt. get his toe nails done, Kyle said, "If you are going to make me sit and watch this, then you are going to have to get a tummy wax." The Sgt. (possibly not the sharpest tool in the shed), thought it sounded interesting. A little hot wax later, both Kyle and the Sgt. were fighting back tears - Kyle from laughter and the Sgt. for obvious reasons. As the Sgt. screamed at the departure of each follicle, the entire spa - filled with nothing but Army personnel - roared with laughter. At the end of the ordeal, the Sgt. grabbed his uniform and bolted from the Spa, only to be caught out of uniform by some ranking officers. Needless to say - Kyle is probably looking at more push ups as a result of his "good" idea. He did suggest that this would have been a great time for a camera.

Can I just tell you, Soldiers with nice toe nails and a smooth torso, is not exactly my picture of "Army Strong." Oh well, what do I know? It does seem, however, that these soldiers better get to their COB before they all look like a cover models for GQ (or a Vogue Magazine).

Kyle thinks that he is beginning to get acclimated. He said it was 85 degrees at 10pm last night and he was cold. Can you imagine?

Learning to drive ... Humvee style

Today we received another call from the our favorite warrior. His platoon just concluded three days of training maneuvers in Kuwait.

Day one was a class on counter IED (Improvised Explosive Device) training. They were learning to identify tell tale signs of IED on or near the road. If you have been watching the news, you know that this has been one of the most effective weapons against US military personnel.

Day two was a mock convoy. They were being transported in an "up-armored Humvee". On their way back from their training convoy they encountered a herd (do you call a flock of camels a herd?) of camels. He said that the herdsmen looked exactly like the desert dwellers in "Star Wars" -- right down to the brown robes and goggles. Several of the men in the platoon took a brief camel ride. Time ran out before Kyle and his buddy Josh were able to cruise on the "Camel-lack" (yes, this is a play on words - Camel-lack ... Cadillac ... get it?).

Day three was the best from Kyle's perspective. The driver from the previous two days was replaced. Apparently he had gotten their vehicle stuck twice. So they decided to give Kyle a chance. What Kyle had noticed in the previous "sticking" incidents is that a 12,000 lbs. vehicle has a tendency to bog down if you go slower than 30 mph. So he determined not to get stuck. With a chuckle he said, "Ya know, you can get 12,000 lbs airborne if you hit a sand berm going fast enough." He explained that after Kyle had bounced the Sgt. off the roof twice, he decided to put his seat belt on. Good idea!

He said that they have figured a way to pass the long hours between training exercises. Someone in his platoon brought a wireless router so they have been playing strategy games on their computers. After beating the Sgt., Kyle was overcome with joy. He paraded around the platoon tent doing the happy dance. The Sgt. was NOT amused and promised to "smoke" Kyle sometime. So, it looks like Kyle's exuberance will insure that he doesn't forget how to do push-ups (the usual disciplinary tool for "smoking").

A Bit of History

Since Kyle is currently on training maneuvers in Kuwait, and will not be calling with new information, I thought I would take this opportunity to give you a bit of history in answer to the question you might be asking, "Why the Army ... why now?


In August of 2005, Kyle began talking to an Army recruiter. A profound sense of Patriotism has always run strong in him, and to say that he is truly grateful for the privilege of growing up in the free land is a huge understatement. While we were truly concerned, we tried not to step on his heart. So we stayed a quiet as we could and tried to support him as he was growing into manhood.


September of that same year, he met a really sweet girl who stole his heart and, gratefully, his interest in going to war. This relationship lasted over 2 years and gave Kyle an opportunity to do some growing up. But come November of 2007, the itch to serve returned with a vengence and he made the decision to break off the relationship, quit his job and enlist in the Army. From our perspective as parental onlookers, all this happened in about 5 days and was a HUGE life change. For Kyle, however, it was a dream he had embraced years earlier and was now ready to be realized.

So here were the events in our lives for the months of December and January.
- Dec. 9 ... major meeting in preparation for a new ministry at church.
- Dec. 10 ... loan documents signing for our first home ownership in 25 years; final walk through on our home; deliver our family dog to a new home.
- Dec. 11 ... Fly to San Diego in preparation for Brandon & Sarah's wedding.
- Dec. 15 ... Wedding (it was a beautiful wedding and ALL our kids were/are fabulous).
- Dec. 16 ... Wedding clean-up in SD.
- Dec. 17 ... Fly home.
- Dec. 18-20 ... paint much of the interior of our new home.
- Dec. 21-22 ... move in and make preparations for Christmas.
- Dec. 25 ... Family Christmas (a little tearful with the event looning on the horizon).
- Dec. 26-28 ... Out of state guests arrive for a reception in Brandon and Sarah's honor.
- Dec. 29 ... Wedding reception.
- Dec. 30 ... Sunday events at our church.
- Jan. 1-3 ... Family time with guests from out of town.
- Jan. 3 ... Kyle flies out to Basic Combat Training (LOTS of tears).

We have had several conversations about our young soldier's dramatic sense of timing. Despite all the "crisis" of that passage in time, however, we are all proud of Kyle and glad for his willingness to pursue his dream.

So there you have it. To quote a song ... "He's in the Army now."

Finally there ...

For the past several months Kyle has been stationed in the beautiful state of Colorado. He thoroughly enjoyed his time there and has fished, climbed and camped many of the natural wonders of the area near Colorado Springs. As his relationships with platoon mates grew, so did the stories of camping, rodeo attendance, garage BBQ's, and family outings. With the exception of a "reckless swimming" from a park ranger, the outings were without incident. Deep friendships have been formed, and as the months grew, so has his commitment to his fellow soldiers and their families. As his family we are grateful for those who adopted him into their families.

Kyle arrived in Kuwait last week and is adjusting to the culture and climate. When he exited the bus at their temporary duty station, he said the temperature was 120 degrees. He said, "You sweat constantly, but it doesn't seem that hot." Figure that out ???

He is 10 hours ahead of us so calling at times that work for both of us is a challenge. His 2 calls home thus far have been a great relief to mom and dad. We did discover, however, after 5 or 6 disconnections, that we were using words that are designated "sensitive". Each time we would use any words that were specifically location or military specific, a computer would disconnect our call. We know better now.

As we get photos and news we will try to keep this blog up to date. Check back often. We do know that this week will include some training exercises in Kuwait preparing them for the climate, terrain and equipment they will be using. To say the least, Kyle was excited. In fact, his last call was at 3:15am his time - he couldn't sleep out of anticipation of getting back into a training environment. More to come ...