The lives of our soldiers

Hi

2011-09-14T20:13:00.001-05:00

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2011-01-05T22:31:00.001-05:00

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Sorry, sent in error

2006-03-28T09:22:00.000-05:00

My email was sent in error.

--
Michele Pierce

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2005-12-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

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Marine analyzes anatomy of attacks

2005-09-19T07:38:00.000-05:00

09/19/05
By Andy Johns, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

...Most Americans never really want to have to go to work.

Marine Cpl. Jody Boutwell of Rome doesn’t ever want to have to go to work, either, but for a much more serious reason.

Boutwell, a nuclear/biological/ chemical weapons specialist, returned from Iraq on Sept. 1. While overseas he was ready to use his training to protect troops and assets in case of a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.

“My job is one you hope you never actually have to do,” said the West Rome Wal-Mart assistant manager turned Marine.

Boutwell’s active duty ends in January, though he hopes to keep that status for a little longer. His contract with the Marines ends February 2007. “I should be back permanently,” he said. “You never know, but as of right now it should be permanent.”

If he doesn’t stay on active duty, Boutwell plans on returning to the West Rome Wal-Mart and ultimately gain a computer-related degree.

Not so long ago, though, sand and attacks were on Boutwell’s mind, not degrees. Were there an attack, Boutwell and his team would compile reports sent in and analyze them. Once they determine what had happened, he said, he and his team would plot the attack on a map and then use weather forecasts to determine where contamination is going, when it will arrive and who is in its path.

Not just anyone can do this job.

Boutwell scored high enough on a Marine Corps-issued test to choose between four jobs. “I decided the (nuclear/biological/ chemical job) sounded like the most fun and challenging, so I picked it,” he said.

While 95 degrees is hot to many Romans, it would have been a cool day for Boutwell. He said temperatures in Iraq stayed around 120 degrees. “The thing I miss the most about Georgia is nature,” he said about being stationed in Iraq. “There are constantly sand storms. ... I think I was sick of sand by about the second week.

“There are times when you are walking outside and you can feel the sand stinging your bare skin in the wind.”

Still, inside the Al Asad air base, conditions are different. In addition to being able to get eight hours of sleep a night, Boutwell and other Marines had access to a chow hall, a gym, a base movie theater and an indoor swimming pool. He said there were even rumors of a golf course and an outdoor swimming pool.

In his free time, Boutwell said, he read, worked out and simply relaxed. “Usually, we watch a movie or have some kind of video game tournament,” he recalled. “Most of us (tried) not to allow for too much free time in our schedule as it makes time go by slower.”

“Madden Football,” “Halo 2” and “Tiger Woods Golf” were the soldiers’ favorite video games, Boutwell said.

He said the units previously stationed at the base had started libraries by leaving behind books. “It seems like every building you go into (had) another bookshelf full of novels left behind by previous occupants,” he said.

Boutwell said his interaction with locals was limited. He did interact with foreign nationals in the chow hall. Those workers were from other countries such as Egypt and other surrounding countries.

“Most are very grateful for our presence because they realize why we are here and they can see the positive changes firsthand that the media does not show back home,” he said.

“I honestly believe if the media would portray all the good things happening over here due to our presence instead of harping on the negatives, ... then the American public would have a much different outlook on this war,” he added.

Boutwell said news media coverage is particularly frustrating.

“We as a military have helped this country to be liberated, and it held its first-ever free election,” he said. “The overall morale of the people here (was) higher than before we came, and yet all I ever see mentioned in the media is how many Americans were killed in Iraq and what the ‘death toll’ of the war is up to.”

“I wish people could come to realize the positives and stop condemning the president for the choices he has made and support not only the troops here but the government that decided to send us,” he added. “If you ask the majority of the troops, they will tell you with overwhelming certainty that we need to be (there) and that it is too soon for us to pull out; otherwise everything we have accomplished here will be lost.”

Boutwell said that without a doubt, the toughest part of soldiering was being away from his wife, Debi and his daughter Masie, who turned 2 years old Aug. 29.

He said he missed seeing her grow up. “I can’t believe how much she has grown up in the short time I have been away,” he said. “I have to admit I was really surprised when she counted to 10 and sang her ABCs to me over the phone.”

While he was thousands of miles away from many members of his family, he was only about 100 miles away from his brother, Jason Boutwell, a tank driver with the 48th Brigade.

“It is hard to stay focused when you hear reports of people being injured or dying and you know it is in the vicinity of your sibling,” he said.

He said he gained a new appreciation for family values by watching the locals. “I noticed that although the way of life in this part of the world may be primitive, they still have one thing, which in my opinion is far superior to our culture: family,” he said.

In addition to the support from his family, he has gotten support from his employer. His West Rome Wal-Mart store sent care packages that Marines needed and requested.

“I have also received e-mails from some of the associates at the store where I work asking me how I was doing and if I needed anything,” he said. “I just want to thank everyone for the support they gave us while we were over there.”

2005-09-07T07:26:00.000-05:00

A memorial ceremony was held on Labor Day (Sept 5, 2005) at FOB St. Michael for SSG Robert Lee Hollar and SGT George Ray Draughn Jr. Echo Troop 108th Cavalry 1-108th Armor Battalion.

Spc Schreck
http://skullcrush3r.blogspot.com

48th Family Cookout on Lake Allatoona

2005-08-29T10:36:00.000-05:00

Here are some extra pics to go with the story about the family cookout. You can include them on the blog if you want.

atjohns@students.berry.edu

Getting Creative

2005-08-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Soldiers get creative at FOB St. Michael's.

http://skullcrush3r.blogspot.com

Sgt. Joseph Recar a member of the 220th Engineer Company

2005-08-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of Sgt. Joseph Recar a member of the 220th Engineer Company out of Missouri and his two daughters on the last day of leave in May. Let me know if you would like more info for the picture. Thanks Sgt J Recars wife, Brandie Recar

220thFRG

web master

http://220thfrg.tripod.com

Newsletter

SFC Greg Simmons

2005-08-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

This is my father SFC Greg Simmons. He is stationed at FOB Camp St. Michaels with the 48th BGD combat team. He has served in the military since Sept 1975.

Georgia's momment of silence

2005-08-22T08:27:00.000-05:00

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue reacts during a prayer vigil and moment of silence to honor Georgia soldiers at the Capitol in Atlanta, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005. A day after war protesters held candle light vigils in nearby Decatur, Ga., and across the country, the state's chief executive joined with military families and the clergy to honor Georgia's troops. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, center, is flanked by members of a military color guard during a prayer vigil and moment of silence to honor Georgia soldiers at the Capitol in Atlanta, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005. A day after war protesters held candle-lit vigils in nearby Decatur, Ga., and across the country in scenes faintly reminiscent of Vietnam War days, the state's chief executive joined with military families and the clergy to honor Georgia's troops. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

Widow of 48th Brigade Spc. Michael Stokely, 23, Niki Stokely, reacts during a prayer vigil and moment of silence to honor Georgia soldiers who have died in Iraq, at the Capitol in Atlanta, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005. A day after war protesters held candle-lit vigils in nearby Decatur, Ga., and across the country, the state's chief executive, Gov. Sonny Perdue, joined with military families and the clergy to honor Georgia's troops. Stokely was killed Aug. 16, 2005, in Iraq, after he stepped on an improvised explosive device, said his wife, Niki. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

Robert Stokely, second from right, father of Spc. Michael Stokely of the 48th Brigade, embraces, from left, Wes Stokely, Niki Stokely, Abbey Stokely, and Melissa Sizemore, during a prayer vigil and moment of silence to honor Georgia soldiers at the Capitol in Atlanta, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005. Michael Stokely was killed Aug. 16, 2005 in Iraq. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

Robert Stokely, right, father of National Guard Spc. Michael Stokely, 23, reacts during a prayer vigil and moment of silence to honor Georgia soldiers at the Capitol in Atlanta, as his wife Retta Stokely clutches a photo of the younger Stokely, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005. A day after war protesters held candle light vigils in nearby Decatur, Ga., and across the country, the state's chief executive, Gov. Sonny Perdue, joined with military families and the clergy to honor Georgia's troops. Stokely, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, was killed Aug. 16, 2005 in Iraq. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

War protester James Hockenbarger, with a group from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., walks on a U.S. flag as the group sings in protest against the war outside the Capitol in Atlanta, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005, as Gov. Sonny Perdue joined with military families and clergy to honor Georgia's troops inside the Capitol. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

Man, wife in line of fire

2005-08-18T07:33:00.000-05:00

Sgt. Vanessa Chandler (left) and her husband Master Sgt. David Chandler of Rome are both serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom at Ali Base, an air base in Southern Iraq. Contributed photo

David and Vanessa Chandler met in Pakistan. The couple are stationed together at a base in Iraq.

08/18/05
by Sonya Elkins/Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Master Sgt. David Chandler of Rome doesn’t miss his wife on this deployment to Iraq — he meets her daily for lunch.

Sgt. Vanessa Chandler is also serving at Ali Base, an air base in southern Iraq. While the two are able to meet for meals on most days, it is against military rules for them to live together.

Having a spouse for support and much closer than a phone call away is nice both agree, but it does not remove the sting of being apart from the rest of their families.

David Chandler is a 1986 graduate of Coosa High School. His parents, Phil and Peggy Chandler, still live in Garden Lakes.

Missing special events, like summertime family activities, is one of the hardest parts of being away, said Vanessa Chandler, a native of Kansas. However, one of the greatest benefits of being together on the base is knowing that they are both safe.

The couple, who met in Pakistan, are no newcomers to military life. David Chandler has served for 19 years and Vanessa Chandler for 10.

They have both been in Iraq for about three months.

While being stationed with a spouse is not unheard of, it is not common either. They are one of three Air Force couples there right now, David Chandler said.

He is the base’s fuel manager and is responsible for all the base’s fuel, which powers aircraft, vehicles and even the generators that provide electricity to the military base.

Vanessa Chandler is in charge of cargo movement on the base.

Both agreed that their base is relatively secure compared to other Iraq bases. While they don’t have to worry about the daily attacks that other bases do, it’s still important to stay alert, said David Chandler.

“I’ve got to remind the men that even though nothing’s happening today, that doesn’t mean in five minutes there might not be a mortar flying over or a rocket,” he said. “We’re not sitting in Kansas. We’re in a war zone.”

Both said that they want people in the states to recognize all of the good things that have been done in Iraq during the war. They felt that coverage has focused on attacks and negative aspects of the war, rather then what they are doing for the Iraqi people.

While casualties and attacks are realities, it’s also important for people to remember why American soldiers are there in the first place, said David Chandler.

“I know I don’t want to die over here, but this is what we signed up for,” he said. “Until the job is done we need to be over here.”

3 more killed from 48th Brigade

2005-08-17T07:18:00.000-05:00

The Douglasville-detachment deaths bring the 48th’s deathd since arriving in the Middle East to 16.

08/17/05
The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Three more members of the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Brigade have been killed in Iraq, bringing the total number of brigade deaths to 16 since the unit was deployed to the Middle East in May.

Eleven were killed in bombings from July 24 to Aug. 3.

The U.S. military announced Tuesday that three American soldiers were killed the night before when their vehicle overturned during combat operations in south Baghdad.

Officials said the latest guardsmen killed were from a Douglasville-based detachment of the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment and were part of a convoy conducting a night mission at the time of the accident.

The Pentagon identified them as Sgt. Thomas Strickland, 27, of Douglasville; Spc. Joshua Dingler, 19, of Hiram; and Sgt. Paul Saylor, 21, of Norcross.

Their deaths bring to 15 the number of 48th Brigade soldiers who have died since the unit arrived in Baghdad in early June, including four in vehicle accidents. Another 48th soldier died in a vehicle accident in Kuwait in May.

Strickland is the first Douglas County resident to die in combat since Vietnam, said county spokesman Wes Tallon.

“We had a huge send-off for our Army National Guard unit in January,” Tallon said. “The whole community is very tight-knit, and you know this is something we hoped would never happen.”

Sgt. Joe Brown of Dallas, who is at home recuperating from wounds suffered in Iraq, said Dingler was a driver in his platoon.

“He was like a son to me. In fact, he called me dad,” Brown told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They were great soldiers and some of the best men that I’ve had the privilege of knowing. I am a better person because of having known them.”

Gov. Sonny Perdue has called for a moment of silence at 1 p.m. Thursday to honor Georgia soldiers who have fallen in Iraq. The observation will coincide with a prayer vigil from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the state Capitol.

220th engineering company

2005-08-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of some of the 220th engineering company who are a part of the 48th.

Dawn Perry

Sgt. Jason Uzzle

2005-08-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

Sgt. Jason Uzzle of the 220th Engineer Company from Festus, Missouri
attached to the 48th Brigade. Jason was active duty in the Marines for
over 9 years. Then he joined the National Guard.

He is my love, my life and missed greatly by myself and two children;
Kyle 9 and Isabella 10 months old.

We pray everyday that all the soldiers come home safe and soon.

Lisa Uzzle

http://skullcrush3r.blogspot.com

2005-08-11T09:14:00.000-05:00

A CO 1-108th "BAMA" soldiers in the one of the nearby markets

Group of our FISTERS here in FOB St. Michael

Just noticed the website here. All photos are from FOB St. Michael, 1-108th AR. I have a blog while deployed here with them, feel free to share any pictures and stories of mine with the families who visit your site.

http://skullcrush3r.blogspot.com

SPC Schreck

Moms hope to boost 48th morale

2005-08-10T07:37:00.000-05:00

A fallen soldier’s mother leads effort to send care packages to Guardsmen.

08/10/05
By Sonya Elkins, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Jan Johnson’s family has already paid the ultimate price in the Iraq war — the life of a son — but she is still looking for ways to give to the soldiers stationed overseas.

“People look at me and see the bad part of the war because of Justin and say, ‘How can you support this war after you’ve already lost one son?’” said Jan Johnson, whose son Justin, an Armuchee graduate, was killed in Iraq in April 2004. “I say, ‘How could I not support it?’”

Jan Johnson is a member of Blue Star Mothers of Georgia, a network of women with family and friends serving in active military duty. She is currently collecting donations for packages the group is putting together to send to the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team, hoping to boost the morale of the group that has suffered 11 deaths during the last three weeks in Iraq.

Jan Johnson’s own husband, Joe, who is currently training in New York, will be leaving to join the 48th Brigade in Iraq in about 2½ weeks. Her son Joshua is back at Fort Bragg after serving with Special Forces in South Africa.

Having so many relatives who have served overseas has given Jan Johnson an appreciation for soldiers’ need for the creature comforts we often take for granted at home, she said. Items as simple as baby wipes and Q-tips are valuable commodities in Iraq, she said.

Primary items they need for the packages include snack food, dry soup, baby wipes, toiletries and hard candy. No aerosol items can be sent. Donations can also be sent to help purchase items and cover the cost of shipping in checks payable to Blue Star Mothers.

“We need to provide and make life easier over there, since they’re trying to make our life easier over here,” Jan Johnson said.

TO CONTRIBUTE

Contact Jan Johnson at 895-2711 to arrange a pick-up or drop-off for care package items and to find out more about group membership. Checks can be sent to Blue Star Mothers, 225 Crater Drive, Fortson, GA 31808.

Sgt. Charles Houghton Warren

2005-08-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

Georgia National Guard Sgt. Charles Houghton Warren, right, stands with his wife, Carol, in this photo from August 2000, made available by family. Warren, 36, attached to the 48th Brigade out of Ft. Stewart, Ga. was one of three soldiers killed Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005, a victim of what a military commander described Thursday as a "vehicle-borne bomb'' that was used in an attack against a checkpoint. He is survived by his wife Carol, a 1-year-old son and a one-month old daughter whom he had never seen. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Alex Warren)

Battling sand, bombs in Iraq

2005-08-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

Cpl. Brian Jarrell sits atop one of the “Hummer ambulances” he drives in Iraq. (Contributed photo)

A Cedartown Marine stays focused on his duty, not the danger, as he maneuvers down dangerous roads.

08/08/05
By Andy Johns, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Brian Jarrell spent June 11, 2001, in training barracks on Parris Island, S.C.

Three years ago he spent that same day at a base in the mountains of Okinawa, Japan. Last year, he spent the date stationed near the beaches in Haiti.

This year he was in the sands of Iraq on June 11 — the Cedartown Marine’s birthday.

“It’s a normal day because you have no family to share it with except for your brothers in arms,” he said. “I wake up and do my job.”

Cpl. Brian Jarrell, 22, now serves as an ambulance driver in Fallujah, Iraq.

The Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal and humanitarian ribbon winner drives a “Hummer ambulance” that is capable of carrying four patients at a time.

“It has A/C and a nuclear, biological and chemical filter system,” he said.

Fortunately, he said, he only makes a couple of trips a week.

While most of his trips to the hospital are only three or four miles, “the roads are rough with potholes from previous bomb blasts,” he said.

Because of poor road conditions, he said his speed rarely tops 50 mph.

“What I worry most is hitting a roadside bomb,” he said.

He added that three miles in Iraq feels like much farther than three miles in the United States. “Danger can be just as soon as you pull out the gate,” he said.

Roadside bombs are often well-disguised and detonated by either cell phones or pressure.

“They can look like anything from a car to a dead animal on the side of the ro
Cpl. Brian Jarrell (far left) stands with members of his Marine unit stationed in Fallujah, Iraq. Contributed photo
ad,” he said. “They also bury them. Some are very hard to see.”

In addition to bombs and insurgents, Jarrell is fighting another enemy: the sand. “I was sick of sand as soon as I got here. You can’t keep nothing clean.”

Difficult as it seems, though, Jarrell has a simple way of looking at his life in Fallujah.

“We all have a job and we do it,” he said. “It’s about mission accomplishment and protecting our country and getting home safe to all of our families.”

Still, he said Iraq is not the worst place to be on Earth. “It was cooler in Haiti, but the conditions were way more harsh than Iraq,” he said. “That place is a poverty-stricken hellhole.”

In his free time he said he usually reads or helps the doctors by reading vital signs and pulling medical records.

The Iraqi nightlife is a little slow. “On base nothing really happens,” he said. “I am not at liberty to say anything else.”

Outside the base, Jarrell said he and his fellow soldiers receive mixed reactions.

“Most are friendly because they want our help, but there are a few that do not want us there,” he said.

Jarrell said the Iraqi soldiers are “working out very slowly but are getting used to it.”

No matter where on the globe he is, his thoughts are never far from home and his wife, Lori, and daughter, Avriel, 2.

He also says he misses “the air, my friends, my family, and the Waffle House.”

Waffle House?

“I was brought up in a Waffle House,” he added. “My mama has worked there just about all of my life. I love that place. It’s great to eat.”

He has spent the past five months deployed in Iraq.

He already has plans for when his enlistment ends.

“When I get out in June of ’06, I plan on becoming a police officer of some sort,” he said. He hopes to work in either Floyd County or Polk County.

“I love to protect and serve, and (being) a police officer will let me do that. I want to still do my part for my country.”

Families at Home Worry

2005-08-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

News too slow for some with loved ones serving in Iraq

Andy Johns
Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer
AJohns@rn-t.com

Silver Creek’s Diane Lumpkin has had trouble sleeping at night.

With the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Combat Brigade suffering 11 deaths in the past three weeks in Iraq, family members back at home have been emotionally drained, fearing bad news in the middle of the night.

Lumpkin’s son Luke is serving in Iraq, and she said waiting to hear an update on casualties can be nerve-wracking.

When the news comes in about deaths, it is usually at least two days before the military releases the names of the fallen soldiers.

“You don’t know anything; you just know four soldiers died,” Lumpkin said. “Not knowing is the worst part.”

“Of course I was wide awake all night,” she added. “You just kind of wait to get a call or hear the news.”

Many other soldiers’ family members share her feelings.

“There’s a terrible fear that builds up inside you,” said Elaine Kidwill, whose son Robb is a Rome High School teacher turned Guardsman.

For Dana Baker of Cedartown, that terrible fear almost became a reality. Her husband Jeffery was hit by roadside bombs twice in four days two weeks ago. She said that he was able to call her on a cell phone before the Army called to tell her about his injuries, which were minor.

“I was just glad to hear him say he was OK,” she said. “He came really close to not being here anymore.”

Kidwill said she told her son that as soon as he hears of casualties, he should contact her via e-mail and let her know he is OK.

“He always tells me, ‘Mom, don’t worry about me until someone in a dress uniform shows up at the door,’” Kidwill said.

Others feel that no news is good news.

“I never worry about it,” said Dennis Goshorn, whose son Chris is driving tanks with the 48th. “Maybe I’m naive, but by the time it hits the news, I think the Army would have called us.”

Kidwill shares his view.

“I just don’t watch the news,” she said.

For some, just knowing that other families are having to grieve is bad enough.

“I just feel sorry for the families,” Baker said. “It’s their worst nightmare come true.”

For many like Lumpkin, worrying about a loved one overseas is nothing new.

“My husband was in Vietnam, and I can’t remember it being this bad,” Lumpkin said. Her father also served in World War II.

Many family members say that when they hear news of casualties, it is tough to think of anything but their loved ones.

“It’s just something you think about all the time,” Janice Carr said. “You can’t get it out of your head.”

Carr’s husband Marcus is in Iraq with the 108th Armor Division of the 48th.

“If you sit and think about it, you can go crazy,” Kidwill said.

“When I’m asleep he’s awake, so something could happen overnight,” Carr said. “It’s a terrible feeling.”

Even if they did know more, there is little that families could do.

“All you can do is just pray,” Kidwill said. “You just trust the Lord to get you through it.”

Goshorn said that his opinion of the conflict is unwavering. “If we’re going to go to war, we have to stick to it,” he said.

Kidwill agrees.

“We may not have found weapons of mass destruction, but we destroyed a monster,” Kidwill said of the downfall of Saddam Hussein. “This was a man who didn’t think twice about ordering someone’s head chopped off.

“From what my son tells me about those poor children, I don’t have a problem with us being there,” Kidwill added.

Carr said that while she tries to stay away from questioning the issues and politics behind the war, she is clear about one thing: “I just wish it was all over. I’m ready for them to all get out of there.”

Mourning for the 48th

2005-08-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

Spc. Johnathon Haggin's former wife, Anna Haggin, right, is hugged by longtime friend Cynthia Laws Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005, after a memorial service for the fallen soldier in St. Marys, Ga. Haggin, a member of the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade, was killed in action on June 30 along with three other soldiers while on patrol in Iraq. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

Loretta Stapp cries as she looks at a photo of Spc. Johnathon Haggin held by his daughter Leaundra Haggin Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005, during a memorial service in St. Marys, Ga. Haggin, a member of the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade was killed in action June 30 along with three other soldiers while on patrol in Iraq. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

3 more killed in 48th Brigade

2005-08-04T08:21:00.000-05:00

A U.S. Marine inspects the remains of a vehicle destroyed by a roadside bomb Wednesday, killing 14 Marines and a civilian interpreter, in Barwana, near Haditha, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005. This was the deadliest roadside bombing suffered by American forces in the Iraq war. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

ATLANTA (AP) — Three more soldiers from a Georgia National Guard unit have been killed in Iraq.

The three, who were members of the guard's 48th Brigade, were killed Wednesday in a car bomb attack, military officials said. Another was seriously wounded.

Identities of those killed had not been released.

Other details of the attack were not immediately available but 2nd Lt. Selena Owens, a spokeswoman for the unit, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the attack ``was along one of those same routes we've been having problems with.''

The incident marks the third time in 10 days that the 48th Brigade has suffered multiple fatalities from attacks in Iraq. So far, the unit has lost 11 soldiers since arriving in Iraq.

The 48th Brigade is the largest combat unit of the Georgia National Guard to deploy since World War II. The brigade, which arrived in Iraq in May, has 2,700 members from across Georgia, and is augmented by about 1,600 others from Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico.

Sgt. Kinlow's widow

2005-08-04T07:46:00.000-05:00

Daphanie Kinlow, right, is escorted by Roger Green, with Norris W. Gunby Sr. Funeral Home, in Lincolnton, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005, after the burial of her husband Sgt. James Ondra Kinlow. Sgt. Kinlow was killed in Iraq while serving with the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment. (AP Photo/The Augusta, Chris Thelen)

Spc. John Thomas remembered

2005-08-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

John Thomas, 83, holds a photo of his grandson, Spc. John Thomas, 33, Tuesday Aug. 2, 2005, in Valdosta, Ga. The younger Thomas, a former Marine, was among eight Georgia National Guardsmen killed recently by roadside bombs in Iraq. (AP Photo/Elliott Minor)

Luke Lumpkin, Rome, Ga,

2005-08-03T09:22:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of my brother, Luke Lumpkin, and family during family time at Fort Stewart in May.

Luke is pictured with his neice, Lily Fowler, and nephew, Landon Fowler. In the picture next to the tree, Landon is on Luke's right and a cousin named Maitlan Wilson is on his left. Our father is also pictured and his name is Anthony Lumpkin. My husband is in the family picture and his name is Bradley Fowler.

Thanks for doing this!

Sincerely,
Leann Fowler

Bombs strike heart of platoon

2005-08-02T08:33:00.000-05:00

(Spc. Jeff Anderson / 48th Brigade Combat Team)

2nd platoon, Alpha company has lost one-fourth of its men in recent attacks

By Gray Beverley,
Rome News-Tribune Correspondent

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — Tent 6-512 used to be filled with laughter.

Bouncing inside the canvas shell next door was once the excited banter of soldiers letting off steam after a hard day’s work.

That was then.

“Now it’s just an ordinary, dark, gloomy place,” said Sgt. Calvin Barthell of Americus. “The person that slept (on the cot) beside me: He’s gone. A bunk or two over: He’s gone. I look across the room. Another guy slept there. It’s empty space. It will never be the same.”

In just less than a week, a single infantry platoon in the 48th Brigade Combat Team lost about a quarter of its men.

Last weekend, four soldiers were killed by a massive underground bomb. On Saturday, four more died the same way.

“We went from accepting death to expecting it,” said Spc. Rodney Davidson of Thomaston. We’re pretty numb right now.”

The infantry soldiers of 2nd platoon, Alpha company, said goodbye Monday to Sgt. 1st Class Victor Anderson of Ellaville, Sgt. David Jones of Augusta, Spc. Jonathon Haggin of Kingsland and Spc. Ronnie Shelley of Valdosta.

Sgt. Victor Anderson

Anderson, 39, was so determined to join the fight in Iraq that he hired an attorney to battle an Army medical ruling that stood in his way.

He also worked hard to lose weight and to change his diet, said Sgt. 1st Class Don Whitmire, 49, of Bainbridge.

“He really went above and beyond to come,” Whitmire said.

Barthell said Anderson was an “all-around good person” who hoped his young boy, his “pride and joy,” would one day play professional baseball.

Barthell said he’ll never forget his longtime friend’s “shiny, bald head” or “that little perky smile that he had.”

He said Anderson, a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy, had talked about starting a retail business and buying a Corvette.

“He was a big kid,” Barthell said.

Sgt. David Jones

Jones also was a sheriff’s deputy, in Richmond County. Davidson said Jones wanted to be a military historian and could tell you about every ship and every battle in every war going back to biblical times. He enjoyed being a radio disc jockey as well, Davidson said.

When Jones was injured in an earlier bomb attack, Davidson said, the guys teased him about not being able to chew tobacco with a busted lip.

Jones was a “fun-loving person” who had “a good way of explaining” everything, Davidson said. Soldiers in the platoon say they smile when thinking about Jones’ laugh.

“He’s kind of like a big Santa Claus,” said platoon leader 2nd Lt. Joseph Latella, 24, of Dahlonega.

Spc. Jeff Anderson, 36, of Gainesville said he switched shifts with Jones on Saturday so Jones could go to a doctor’s appointment the next day.

“Words cannot describe (the grief),” Jeff Anderson said.

Spc. Jonathon Haggin

Whitmire said the 26-year-old Haggin was a former Marine and a “very, very good marksman” who was filled with energy, whether in the field or in the tent.

“This kid would run,” he said. “If you called from one side of the room to the other, he’d run over to you.”

Whitmire said Haggin suffered three broken ribs in a bomb attack about a month ago and was sent to a hospital in Germany for treatment. He said he was surprised to see Haggin back in Iraq about two weeks later.

“He found a way back from Germany on his own, because he just wanted to be with the guys,” Whitmire said. “Lo and behold, he showed up one day.”

Haggin finished his rehabilitation here, and Saturday was his first day back on a mission outside the camp walls, Whitmire said.

Sgt. Dave Grimes, in whose Kingsland home Haggin stayed, said Haggin loved playing “Ring Around the Roses” with his 3-year-old daughter, who was “his life.”

Spc. Ronnie Shelley

Spc. Matthew Heffner said Shelley, 34, loved his family “more than anything in the world” and “was one of those guys that anybody in the platoon could go talk to.”

Heffner said Shelley was always “honest and straightforward” but “had a way of putting it” so as not to hurt feelings.

“He just did the right thing whether it was the popular thing or not,” Heffner said. “Right now I’d probably be crying if I wasn’t still in shock.”

Jeff Anderson, who slept in the bunk next to Shelley’s, said, “I’m honored to be able to have served with somebody like him.”

Jeff Anderson said Shelley was one of the most “squared-away” soldiers and best people “you’d ever want to meet.”

He said his friend was excited to go home on leave in about two weeks and see his son, his “Little Man.” On the way out of the tent Saturday, Jeff Anderson recalled, Shelley said to him, “Last 15 days, Dog.”

“And (he) gave me a big smile and turned around and walked out,” Anderson said.

The explosion

Whitmire said he struggles knowing that, as platoon sergeant, he makes the schedule. He said Jones was concerned about going out that day and had been given the choice of staying behind.

“I take it personal, because I’m the one who makes up the rotation,” Whitmire said. “It’s just real hard to keep putting these guys down to go outside the wire. ... I just want to get in the truck and go in their place every time.”

Both Latella and Whitmire have been outside the wire every day since last week’s tragedy.

On Saturday, Latella’s group investigated a site where another platoon had just been hit by a mortar, the lieutenant said. His soldiers then conducted their scheduled objective and were headed back to the camp, he said.

“Everyone had that sigh of relief that it’s not that bad,” Latella recalled.

They were about 100 meters from a major road that, while not completely safe, seems less likely to be tunneled under, provides more of a buffer from the road’s edge — where many bombs are placed — and is heavily patrolled.

“I heard it,” Latella said of the explosion that followed. “I initially thought my gunner had dropped an (ammunition) can.”

Following procedure, Latella’s crew drove about 200 meters away, in case the convoy was being ambushed.

He said when one of the crews did not answer his radio call, he figured their truck had been merely disabled. They rushed back to lend assistance.

“That’s when I saw the wreckage,” Latella said, recalling that there was nothing he could do.

More than 500 pounds of explosives were used in the attack, officials said Sunday.

‘These men will not die in vain’

“The hardest part is when you don’t have the answers to their questions, (like) ‘Where do we go from here?’” Latella said.

Whitmire said there’s always apprehension about going outside the wire, but that his men have been eager to do so — especially, he said, knowing that somebody must continue the mission in Iraq.

“Part of healing is getting back in the saddle,” Davidson said.

Rousseau, who like Davidson was on both of the doomed convoys, said he had been “excited to roll” on Saturday to build back confidence.

“When this happened,” he said about the latest blast, “it pretty much shattered the confidence that we had hoped to get.”

These are not weak men. But lately they’ve had trouble sleeping, and it’s been hard to find an appetite, several soldiers said Monday.

“I lost my first crew last week and, to be honest with you, I don’t know how much more I can take,” said the 41-year-old Barthell. “It’s killing me.”

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Steve McCorkle said his battalion has captured about 300 suspected insurgents, including about 50 during the past three days.

He said the catastrophic size of the attacks against his men proves the enemy in Iraq has been rattled by their recent accomplishments.

“He struck in desperation,” McCorkle said. “Why else would he use 700 or 800 pounds of explosives just to blow up a Humvee? We’re obviously making an impact.”

McCorkle said he’s been hurt by the recent loss of soldiers and friends. But he said the surviving members will continue to bring the fight to the enemy.

“These men will not die in vain,” he said. “I can guarantee that.”

648th engineers group HHC PSD

2005-08-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Brad! Hope you are doing well today! Thinking about you as always. You are so very special to me and I am proud of the good work you are doing there. Keep it up!

Brad is with 48th Brigade, 648th engineers group HHC PSD. He works directly with the general as his "body guard" as a gunner on a humvee, getting the general where he needs to go on a daily basis.

Your favorite sister,
Jessica Underwood
jessica@catwalkshawhan.com
www.catwalkshawhan.com

Guard unit hit again by road blast

2005-08-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

4 from 48th Brigade killed only days after similar attack

08/01/05
By Gray Beverley, Rome News-Tribune Correspondent

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — Four soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team were killed Saturday when a bomb exploded beneath their Humvee as they returned from patrol, military authorities said Sunday.

The attack was less than a week after four other members of the brigade lost their lives in a similar explosion.

“We’re doing everything we know to do,” brigade commander Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver said Sunday. “We’re deeply, deeply sorry.”

Rodeheaver said the brigade had mustered every asset and every force for keeping troops safe. “My sole mission in life is to bring every person home alive,” he said. “This just rips your heart out.”

Rodeheaver said the brigade has made progress in securing its patrol routes and, in the areas of the two attacks, had just last week found about a dozen bombs before they could be detonated by the enemy.

But, as in last week’s attack, Saturday’s bomb appears to have been in place for quite some time, the general said.

“All their targets seem to be targets of opportunity,” he said. “They’ll put a bomb in place and sit and wait until somebody rides by.”

Saturday’s attack occurred about 11 p.m., Rodeheaver said, and was within three kilometers of Camp Striker, the brigade’s home base. He said the four soldiers were riding in a Humvee that, while up-armored, was no match for an estimated 500 pounds of explosives used.

Officials estimated last week’s attack involved about 600 pounds of explosives.

Both bombs apparently were planted underneath roadways and gave no visible signs of their existence. Rodeheaver said no one else was injured and an investigation is under way.

The general called the fallen soldiers “personal friends” whose selflessness set an example. “These soldiers were heroes. They were doing America’s work,” he said. “They’re really a symbol of what humanity ought to be.”

In confirming the deaths, brigade spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Felena Owens said, “The brigade is in mourning. You can look in all the soldiers’ faces walking around here and see (it).”

The Georgia Army National Guard, First Battalion 108th Armory — based in Calhoun and comprised of 501 soldiers from the Rome, Canton, Dalton and Douglasville areas — is part of the 48th Infantry Brigade, the largest combat unit of the state National Guard to deploy since World War II.

The 4,300-member brigade has 2,700 members from Georgia, and is augmented by about 1,600 others from Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico. Its one-year deployment to Iraq began in May.

48th BCT-SFC Ted Wooten's kids(Tia and Rashaad)

2005-07-29T10:36:00.000-05:00

SPC PEDRO C MENDEZ

2005-07-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

SPC Mendez's father SFC(rt) Francisco Ortiz, his mother Juana and his little sister SSGT Veronica Ortiz (Location: Langley AFB, Va.)

My big brother is SPC PEDRO C MENDEZ currently at FOB MICHAEL - AL
MAHMUDIYAH, IRAQ.

He is greatly missed! Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico and raised partly in
Augusta, Georgia. This Georgi-rican joined the GA Army National Guard when
he was 32 years old (2 years ago) and he told us it was because he
needed to make sure that we [the U.S.] do things right "over there".

SPC Mendez receiving a carepackage from a young supporter (Location: Winder, GA)

He's always been a take charge kind of guy! I believe that he felt
compelled to do "something" as the nightly news reported on the War on
Terror was taking its toll on our active military resources. This is his
"something" and we are so proud of him. He joins a long line of military
family from all branches. From our grandfathers and theirs, to our young
cousins Marisol (US Marine Corps.), "Nacho" (PR Army National Guard,
Alexis (US Marine Corps.) and our little sister, SSGT Veronica N Ortiz
of US Airforce.

Sgt Gibson's Kids

2005-07-29T08:58:00.000-05:00

Have a great day! Hope to see everyone soon. Cheryl Gibson

Send us your family photos for your soldiers to see!

2005-07-28T15:19:00.000-05:00

Help your troops have a reminder of home. Send us images from the homefront that can touch the battelfields of Iraq. If you are savvy enough, send us sound files.

Click here to upload them to us today!

Army identified 48th deaths

2005-07-27T13:56:00.000-05:00

Spc. Jacques "Gus" Brunson is shown as he prepares to depart for Iraq in this May 2005 photo taken at Fort Stewart, Ga., and released on Tuesday, July 26, 2005, by his family. Brunson was among four members of the Georgia Army National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade who were killed by a roadside bomb while patrolling south of Baghdad on Sunday evening, July 24, 2005. (AP Photo/Brunson Family)

07/27/05
Army National Guard

The Department of the Army has identified four Georgia National Guardsmen killed in action in Iraqi on Sunday.

They are identified as:

Staff Sgt. Carl Ray Fuller, 44, Covington

Sgt. James Ondra Kinlow, 35, Thomson

Sgt. John Frank Thomas, 33, Valdosta

Spc. Jacques Earl Brunson, 30, Americus

The four soldiers were members of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team. They were killed when their Humvee was struck by a road bomb while on patrol near Baghdad, Iraq.

"These Soldiers died doing what they believed in. They died in pursuit of freedom for Iraqi citizens, and to protect Americans from terrorism," said Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress, Georgia's Adjutant General. "This is a tragic time for all of us, but we will come together as a National Guard family to provide whatever support we can for the families and loved ones of these brave heroes."

More than 3,000 members of the 48th Brigade Combat Team were deployed to Iraq in May, as part of the largest mobilization of Georgia National Guard Soldiers into a combat zone since World War II.

Alan & Jennifer Rhodes

2005-07-26T07:38:00.000-05:00

Alan and Jennifer Rhodes are serving with the 48th at Camp Stryker. They met at Georgia Military College but had to leave the college in order to serve. They were married November 27, 2004. Alan was called to active duty in early December, 2004 and Jennifer was called up early January, 2005. They had only been back from their honeymoon for four days when Alan was called up. Jennifer has a brother, Jake and proud parents, Gary and Carol Harrell from Gray, Georgia. Alan has one brother, Michael, and proud parents Wayne and Debbie Rhodes from Savannah, Georgia. Iraq isn't the best place in the world to honeymoon but they are thankful they are in the same camp.

Sgt Lars Kynan Williams

2005-07-26T07:33:00.000-05:00

I hope he comes back as close as he can to the way
he left us....

Sgt Lars Kynan Williams
HHC 48th BCT (PSD)

Thanks,

Melanie Williams

Salman Kadhim

2005-07-26T07:27:00.000-05:00

Hello,

I am trying to get in touch with some people in the 48th Brigade who are depolyed to Iraq and stationed in Camp Striker. If you can help please forward this email to them so that they can contact me.

Best Regards,
Salman Kadhim
International Marketing Coordinator
iComport
www.i-comport.com
Tel: (+964) 07901 392197
Office: (+964) 07901 868273

Bomb kills 4 Guard soldiers

2005-07-26T07:23:00.000-05:00

Attack is ‘most tragic’ blow to hit 48th Brigade in Iraq

07/26/05
By Gray Beverley, Rome News-Tribune Correspondent

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – Four soldiers were killed Sunday by a bomb buried in an Iraqi road, the deadliest attack on the 48th Brigade Combat Team since its mobilization.

The names and units of the soldiers are being withheld while the affected families are notified and to give those families time to grieve without exposure to the media, according to Army policy.

Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver of Forsyth, commander of the 48th, said the attack was “by far the most tragic” event suffered by the brigade since arriving in Iraq in late May.

“Any time you lose anybody, it’s absolutely tragic,” Rodeheaver said Monday. “To lose more than one person is really devastating.”

At about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, brigade infantry units were conducting a regular patrol when a bomb exploded beneath a Humvee truck in the convoy.

The soldiers were taken to 86th Combat Support Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, said brigade spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Selena Owens.

“The brigade is saddened by this tragedy,” Owens said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the soldiers’ families.”

Rodeheaver said the attack is under investigation, but a preliminary report suggests that between 500 and 600 pounds of explosives were used in the attack, enough to topple a 12-story building.

The crater in the middle of Route Aeros was about 12 feet in diameter and 6 to 8 feet at its deepest point.

A second bomb exploded as a team of investigators was working at the site later Sunday. One soldier not affiliated with the brigade was injured in that blast and was being treated Monday at the Baghdad military hospital.

During Rodeheaver’s visit to the site Monday, coalition soldiers detonated another bomb that had been found nearby. The general said the size and placement of the explosives represent a new enemy tactic to which his soldiers will have to adjust.

“They hit a bigger bomb than we’re used to being out here,” he said. “It makes you understand that every day when you roll out, you may not roll back.”

The 48th brigade is responsible for the security of an area southwest of the Iraqi capital, and infantry units handle much of the necessary patrolling. Route Aeros is a commonly traveled east-west thoroughfare south of Camp Striker, where much of the brigade is stationed.

The roadway also is known by soldiers as “IED Alley,” because so many improvised explosive devices have been detonated along it.

Since arriving in Iraq, 61 members of the brigade have been wounded in action, and Rodeheaver said most of the injuries were caused by IEDs.

With this attack, five Georgia National Guard soldiers in the 48th have died since arriving here.

Last month, infantry soldier Sgt. Chad Mercer of Waycross was killed after his Bradley fighting vehicle rolled while on patrol nearby.

Spc. Bruce Koshkin of Buford said when he learned of Sunday’s deaths, he thought of the families that were going through their normal lives back home and about to get hit by the news. He said it made him think of his own family.

“I called my wife right after I got back here,” he said.

Sgt. Jack Colburn of Carrollton said he also immediately thought of those back home.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Colburn said. “I think about the families first of all. Things go through your mind that you worry about your family, because I have a wife and two kids at home.”

SPC Richard Baker -- Woodstock, Ga.

2005-07-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of my son, SPC Richard Baker. These were taken just before deployment in May with his son Isaiah.

Richard lives in Woodstock, GA and is currently stationed at Camp Striker, near Baghdad in ACO 2/121 48th IN BCT.

These were taken in Iraq taken in the last couple of weeks.

Richard and his buddy Gilley

Richard and Gilley at the Camp Liberty PX.

His Mom and I offer our prayers for him and all of our soldiers in harm's way.
--Mike & Ann Baker

SSG Walter Kegley Jr.

2005-07-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

Captain Brian Lassetter and SSG Walter Kegley Jr. of Bravo Company 2-121 48th BCT

SSG Chad Mercer (KIA) and SSG Walter Kegley Jr. of Bravo Company 2-121, 48th BCT. Chad will be forever loved and missed by his Bravo Buddies.

Headquarters Platoon of Bravo Company 2-121 48th BCT

These pictures were taken at Ft. Stewart on May 14, 2005.
-Melissa Kegley

Sgt. Robert E. Graham -- Temple, GA

2005-07-18T12:26:00.000-05:00

Sgt Robert E. Graham lives in Temple, Ga. He is serving with the 48th Brigade/ 108th Armor based in Calhoun.

Sgt. Graham is a Tank Commander stationed in Mahmudiyah, Iraq at FOB St. Michael. He is greatly missed by his wife and five children.
-Dorothea Graham

Rome teacher tackles new lessons in Iraq

2005-07-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

07/18/05
By Andy Johns, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Sgt. Robb Kidwill switches from instructing teenagers to helping train a foreign army.

The next time you are stranded with car trouble, be thankful you are not stranded in Baghdad.

Sgt. Robb Kidwill of Rome spent New Year’s on a convoy escort mission through Baghdad during which his Humvee’s transmission went out.

Kidwill and the crew were then towed through the city by a maintenance truck, with no way to maneuver. His Humvee was last in the convoy, “making us a prime two-for-one target for a car bomb,” he said.

Fortunately, Kidwill made it through.

That was not a normal workday for the Rome High School economics teacher who flunked out of chef school.

Kidwill’s time at Forward Operation Base Cobra with the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 278th Regimental Combat Team has been anything but normal.

Instead of teaching ninth-graders about supply and demand in an air-conditioned classroom, Kidwill now teaches Iraqi soldiers troop leadership procedures
Sgt. Robb Kidwill — seen here riding with his unit in Iraq — is a teacher at Rome High School. Contributed photo
in a tent on sandbag benches.

“We have slowly transitioned from a point where we led to a point where we assisted, and now we are in a mentoring role in many ways,” Kidwill said in an e-mail interview.

He said the Iraqi troops have made good progress but still have much to learn. “They handle things on a daily basis that they would have been running to us to handle six months ago,” he said.

The teaching conditions leave much to be desired. “I hate sand with a passion,” he said. “I am tired of breathing it and being covered in it.”

Kidwill was recently transferred to teaching the troops. Before that, he was assigned to such tasks as patrols, humanitarian missions and base security.

Trained as an artillery crewmember, he said life in Iraq is always unpredictable.

“We live off of a dry-erase board that tells us when the mission is, who you are working with and what your role will be,” he said.

It is the patrolling that Kidwill said is some of the most important work. “You go patrol to be seen,” he said. “You want people to know you are present. That is done so any would-be bad guys know we are there and so the good people feel safe.”

Kidwill said roadside bombs often are difficult to spot, and on a few occasions he and his unit have learned bombs went off on other units where they had just been traveling.

“It leaves you wondering why you were able to bypass it,” he said.

On those patrols, Kidwill has seen many towns and types of people.

“We have towns where everyone waves at us and the kids treat us like superstars,” he said. “We also have areas where people will turn their backs when they see you coming and the kids will not even take candy or pencils from you.”

“Democracy is not a clean business to get into,” he said.

At times, Kidwill says, he has even played soccer with local children.

The Iraqi people have become one of Kidwill’s primary focuses.

When he arrived in Iraq in December, Kidwill and others from his crew visited local schools to assess their needs. He then talked to history teacher Phillip Wood of Rome High School, who coordinated an effort among the school’s teachers. Kidwill said he received more supplies than he ever imagined.

Wood said he has shipped six boxes of supplies to Kidwill. Shipping costs alone have been almost $400, he added.

“As educators it was a situation where we’ve got it really good over here,” Wood said. “They don’t have the things we have the luxury of having.”

Even while helping children, all Kidwill has to do is listen to radios to remind him how violent the area still is.

“There is a very sickening feeling that can overwhelm you when you hear over the radio that someone a few miles ahead of you is getting shot at,” Kidwill said. “My experience has been that having the time to think about things only makes it worse.”

When he has time to think, Kidwill said, he spends it reading, watching DVDs or playing video games. He and his fellow soldiers particularly enjoy sports video games.

“I think we have run ‘Tiger Woods Golf’ and ‘Madden Football’ into the ground,” he said.

As far as movies go, he said, his tastes have changed. “I have not watched any war movies in a while,” he said. “After I got my orders last summer I threw ‘Black Hawk Down’ in while I was packing and quickly took it out.”

He said that while conditions are generally good at his base, their amenities pale in comparison to those at larger bases. Troops at the much larger Anaconda Base can use the Olympic-size pool, Burger King and a movie theater, he said.

“I do not think the average soldier has had a standard of living this high in previous wars,” he said.

SPC Jeffery Baker from Cedartown

2005-07-15T08:57:00.000-05:00

This is SPC Jeffery Baker from Cedartown. He is with the 48th Brigade stationed in Mahmudiyah, Iraq at FOB St. Michael. He is gunner with the 108th Armor based in Calhoun.

48th Infantry Brigade: Gallery 6

2005-07-11T07:09:00.000-05:00

By Gray Beverley

CLICK HERE FOR GALLERY.

48th Infantry Brigade: Gallery 5

2005-07-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

BY GREY BEVERLEY

CLICK HERE FOR GALLERY

Chris Goshorn and friends

2005-07-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Chris with friends (Buckner, Wyatt and
Goshorn)

Tank Unit with 48th Bigade

2005-07-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

McCloud is perched atop an M-1 Tank while Chris Goshorn drives and Gacek is in front.

CW4 Ed Hosmer

2005-06-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

This is my husband CW4 Ed Hosmer over there in the beginning of the war. This is some of the local kids watching as some of our soldiers are being baptized in the Euphrates River.

Malissa D. Hosmer

48th BCT/ 3rd Id

2005-06-30T07:43:00.000-05:00

My name is Nicole Bell and I am requesting for some photos of my husband be put on this site. I would love to see his face . He is with the 48th and he is currently deployed to Iraq. He is with Alpha Co 1-121 and his name is SGT Bell, Gary. Please let me know if this is possible and if there's anything else that needs to be done....I would be grateful! These photos are right before he left, unfortunately I don't have any of him in Iraq yet. Thanks in advance....

New memorial for War Dogs

2005-06-27T09:39:00.000-05:00

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Calloway salutes at the beginning of the War Dog Memorial re-dedication Combat Tracker Reunion Military Dog Handler Day, Saturday, June 25, 2005, at Fort Benning, Ga. The gathering was to recognize and remember the sacrifices made by military men and dogs. The War Dogs were used in World War II and during the the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm and the current wat in Iraq. (AP Photo/The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, G.Marc Benavidez)

Looking for Soldier Stories

2005-06-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Rome News-Tribune is actively seeking Rome/Floyd County area soldiers, sailors, Marines and contractors for a series of articles about the troops in the Middle East. If you or a loved one are stationed in the Middle East and want to tell your story please e-mail AJohns@RN-T.com.

48th Infantry Brigade: Gallery 4

2005-06-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

BY GRAY BEVERLEY

Sgt Robert C. Waters, 48th, 3rd ID, Medical Platoon

2005-06-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

Sgt Robert C. Waters

No doubt you are taking fantastic care of your men there, take good care of
yourself also.

We love you and support you, your family, and your men and pray for you all
often.

Come home soon.

Rick and crew

4 soldiers from 48th injured

2005-06-13T06:23:00.000-05:00

Mortar hits base where unit members are stationed

06/13/05
By Gray Beverley, Special to the Rome News-Tribune

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — Four soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team were among eight people injured in a Sunday morning mortar attack, brigade officials said.

The identities of the victims were not disclosed, and their medical condition was not available by 7 p.m. local time.

Brigade spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Selena Owens said three of the injured brigade soldiers are being treated at 86 Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad’s international, or “green,” zone.

The fourth was treated at the camp and returned to duty, Owens said. She said a brigade medic is being credited with saving lives.

The identity of that medic, likely a member of the brigade’s 108th Armor regiment, was not immediately available, Owens said.

The 108th Armor, based out of Calhoun, is part of the 48th Brigade, which was called to active duty in January and crossed from Kuwait into Iraq in May. It includes soldiers from across Georgia, augmented by about 1,600 troops from Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, Rhode Island, Alabama and Puerto Rico.

The mortar struck at 8:51 a.m., Owens said, and the victims were either in their sleeping tent or right outside of it.

Those with more serious injuries were taken to the green zone by land, Owens said. She said low visibility due to blowing sand had grounded flights.

The attack occurred at Camp St. Michael near the Iraqi town of Mahmudiyah, about 15 miles from the brigade’s headquarters near the Baghdad airport.

St. Michael is a “forward operating base” where members of the first battalion of the 108th Armor regiment are stationed. Those soldiers are tasked with securing an area that is considered particularly dangerous for coalition forces.

A total of eight people were injured in Sunday’s attack, Owens said. Of the four who are not members of the brigade, a civilian was taken to the green zone hospital and three people were treated at the camp and released, she said.

Sunday’s mortar strike is the second reported attack that has injured members of the brigade. On May 31, a rocket landed at an airport-area military shopping complex, wounding six members of the brigade.

The brigade’s 4,300 citizen-soldiers make up the largest combat unit of the Georgia National Guard to deploy since World War II. It’s also the largest unit of Georgia guardsmen to be mobilized since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

48th Infantry: Gallery 3

2005-06-03T15:39:00.000-05:00

BY GRAY BEVERLEY

Troops in 48th injured

2005-06-02T07:21:00.000-05:00

The soldiers were hurt during a mortar attack on a shopping complex near Baghdad.

06/02/05
by Gray Beverley/Rome News-Tribune Correspondent

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — Five members of the 48th Brigade Combat Team were injured in a Tuesday night mortar attack on the Camp Liberty shopping complex.

Two of the soldiers were seriously injured in the attack, which happened about 7:30 p.m., and they were taken to a medical facility in Germany, said brigade spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Selena Owens.

Pfc. Kevin Cohrs of Brunswick was inside the post exchange building that is 50 to 100 feet from the blast.

“All I heard was a big humming noise and a big boom,” Cohrs said. “The PX filled up with dust.”

Cohrs said he went outside to see bodies strewn on the plaza.

Most of the brigade arrived in the Baghdad area this week. Those stationed at Camp Striker can take a 20-minute shuttle bus ride to Camp Liberty, where the shopping complex offers a larger post exchange, Popeye’s Chicken and Burger King restaurants, and a variety of local fare.

The vendors surround an outdoor concrete plaza with wooden gazebos. The mortar hit the plaza about 30 feet from a shaded area where soldiers wait for the shuttle buses.

Owens said one person was killed and 11 people were injured in the attack.

The injured soldiers have not been identified.

A separate mortar hit Camp Striker at about 10 a.m. Wednesday. No one in the brigade was reported injured in that attack, Owens said.

Owens said two soldiers injured in the Liberty blast have returned to duty, and one is being treated at a combat support hospital in the section of Baghdad known as the “green zone.”

Owens said Wednesday night that she did not have an update on the condition of the soldiers taken to Germany.

2nd Lt. Michael Persley of Albany said he can sit outside his tent at Camp Striker just about any night and hear gunfire. But Persley, an Albany police officer, said the sound does not bother him.“It’s mainly us firing at them,” he said.

Persley said larger explosions during the day are not out of the ordinary.

“The one that happened (Wednesday) — it was close enough that I felt it,” he said.

By Wednesday afternoon, repairs had been made to the Liberty shopping plaza. Cohrs said a hole caused by mortar fire was about one-and-a-half square feet wide and one-and-a-half feet deep.

“It was just a big reality check,” Cohrs said.

48th Infantry: Gallery 2

2005-05-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

BY GRAY BEVERLEY

Memorial Day Tribute 2005

2005-05-30T10:33:00.000-05:00

Click the link below to post your tributes.

http://oursoldiers.blogspot.com/

SPC MICHAEL MURPHY OF THE HHC 108TH CALHOUN GA. CURRENTLY DEPLOYED TO IRAQ

2005-05-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

Spc Jason M Warren/ 48th Brigade/ HHC 148th FSB

2005-05-20T10:06:00.000-05:00

My name is Jason Warren. I grew up in Lindale Georgia. I graduated from Pepperell High School in 1991. I still have family that lives in Rome. In fact my Aunt Evelyn Davenport used to work with Rome News Tribune. I just want to say thank you for the stories that you print in the rome news. I am deployed to Iraq and she emails me the articles you print in the paper. Please keep them coming and thank you for the support and God Bless.

Send Spc. Jason M Warren your comments. Click on "COMMENTS" below.

Somber flight marks 48th’s entry to battle

2005-05-19T07:25:00.000-05:00

Soldiers take different views to last days of freedom

05/19/05
by Gray Beverley/Rome News-Tribune Correspondent

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT — A few days ago, Spc. Steven Teasley of Dalton did not want to see his relatives or anyone else’s.

“We had family day,” said the 45-year-old known as “Flash,” because of how slow he walks. “I avoided everybody.”

Teasley left Monday for Kuwait, and the rest of his 48th Brigade Combat Team is expected here by the end of the week.

For Teasley, saying goodbye to his 11-year-old grandson was tough enough. But he said members of the Georgia National Guard work, hunt and fish with fellow soldiers and their kin.

As a medic, Teasley said, his job is to save lives. If tragedy strikes, he might have to face loved ones afterward.

So when more than 10,000 family members and friends showed up last weekend to bid farewell, Teasley kept his distance.

By Sunday, the families were gone and flights with 48th soldiers started leaving Hunter Army Airfield.

For the hundreds in Teasley’s group, much of the long journey to the Middle East was mum. A motorist near Savannah honked his horn in support of the eight-bus convoy, one of the few sounds to break the silence, and not long before soldiers perhaps got their last whiff of freshly mowed grass.

What made the trip lengthy, apart from about 13 hours in the air, were the many checkpoints along the way, where military orders, passenger weight and the size of carry-on luggage was examined.

“A lot of it’s been sitting around,” said 24-year-old Spc. Jim Hall of Carrollton. “And I just hate sitting around. When you’re busy, it keeps your mind off the people you’re leaving behind.”

Hall said seeing his mother and fiancée “break down” on Saturday and knowing that he couldn’t do anything about it “hurts the most.”

For at least part of the trip, however, soldiers tried to push away the somberness.

Sgt. Robert Waters of Ringgold was among those in Row 18 who sang a spirited rendition of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” before their chartered flight rolled down the runway.

Sgt. Richard Williams of Atlanta donned a flight attendant’s apron and offered water to passengers.

“That was supposed to be his punishment just for messing with me,” said a smiling Julie Sinclair, the apron’s rightful owner. Sinclair, a flight attendant from Atlanta, said she has flown an estimated 80 flights for soldiers in the past year and a half; her apron is covered in souvenir military patches, including the lightning bolt and stripes of the 48th.

“We’re the last civilians that they’re going to see for a long time,” she said. “So we’ve got to make sure they have as much fun as possible.”

Soldiers took photographs of each other and snapped a shot of Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, the brigade commander, at a layover in Germany.

Rodeheaver, of Forsyth, said the soldiers are ready for their mission, as evidenced by a successful exercise at the National Training Center last month.

In its 30 days at the NTC, the brigade fired more than one million rounds and did not have a single accidental discharge, the general said. The 48th was the first brigade since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom to make it through the NTC with no one hurt, Rodeheaver said.

The training was accomplished in part, he said, by feeding troops at the maintenance yard, where some 8,000 hot dogs and 15,400 hamburgers were gobbled down in about five days.

It was about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, local time, when Flight 768 touched down in Kuwait. At a rest stop on the way to Camp Buehring, brigade members were able to smoke cigarettes and get a wave of “good luck” from a group of Australian soldiers who had just finished their tour.

“If you look through the history (at) everyone who has their freedom, Americans had to sacrifice for them to get it,” Teasley said. “We’re doing our part, I reckon.”

48th Infantry Brigade leaves for Iraq

2005-05-18T16:11:00.000-05:00

Associated Press

SAVANNAH — After five months of training and a weekend of goodbyes with their families, the first wave of the National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade left Sunday from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. The brigade’s 4,300 citizen-soldiers make up the largest combat unit of the Georgia National Guard to deploy since World War II.
The 48th Brigade includes soldiers from across Georgia, including Floyd and surrounding counties, augmented by about 1,600 troops from Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, Rhode Island, Alabama and Puerto Rico.

Families said their final farewells Saturday evening following a formal sendoff ceremony at Fort Stewart. The first wave of 1,780 soldiers departed Sunday, with more flights scheduled through midweek.

When he joined the National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade in November, Pvt. Robert Ingle knew he’d soon be saying goodbye to his family — except his youngest brother, a sergeant in the same platoon.

“I found out they were deploying to Iraq and I said, ‘I can’t let my little brother get all the glory,”’ Ingle, 36, of Americus said Sunday as the 48th Infantry Brigade began departing for a yearlong tour of duty.

The brigade’s 4,300 citizen-soldiers make up the largest combat unit of the Georgia National Guard to deploy since World War II. After five months of training and a weekend of goodbyes with their families, the first wave of troops left Sunday from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.

The Iraq war has become a family affair for the Ingles. Robert Ingle, a dismounted Infantry soldier, deployed alongside his senior-ranking brother, 27-year-old Sgt. Ronald Ingle, a Bradley armored vehicle gunner.

“Thought he was crazy to volunteer to go to war,” said Ronald Ingle, a juvenile corrections officer from Americus. “I was already enlisted, so I didn’t have choice.”
Another Ingle brother, Raymond, left for Iraq with his Marine unit Friday. A fourth sibling, Richard, plans to enlist with the National Guard after he recovers from a knee injury.

The 48th Brigade includes soldiers from across Georgia, augmented by about 1,600 troops from Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, Rhode Island, Alabama and Puerto Rico.
Families said their final farewells Saturday evening following a formal sendoff ceremony at Fort Stewart. The first wave of 1,780 soldiers departed Sunday, with more flights scheduled through midweek.

“I was kind of glad we’ve said our goodbyes, so we can get our heads straight and our minds on our job,” said Maj. Joseph Rohrer, 40, of Black Creek, who manages of a galvanizing plant. “It’s a combat zone, there are people trying to kill us. It’s not something you climatize to.”

In Iraq, the 48th Brigade will serve alongside Fort Stewart’s 3rd Infantry Division, which is in charge of military security forces in Baghdad.

Staff Sgt. Frank Hunter of Hinesville is used to working alongside the 3rd Infantry as a civilian who repairs small arms at Fort Stewart. He’s also no stranger to the Persian Gulf, having served during the first Gulf War with the active-duty 24th Infantry Division.

“The first time we went in we should have taken Baghdad and rid them of Saddam,” Hunter said. “But we didn’t. So now we’re going to finish the job.”
It’s not a job Hunter relishes: “I’ve seen the burning vehicles and dead bodies,” he says, “I don’t want to see that again.”

Six months after he first put on a uniform, Robert Ingle said he’s not worried about the dangers ahead. He’ll have his more experienced brother to help watch his back.
And, he figures, the Army’s probably safer than his civilian job.

“I’ve been a truck driver for the last five years,” Ingle said. “The odds of getting in a fatal accident out on the road are greater than of me getting shot in Iraq.”

48th Infantry: Gallery 1

2005-05-18T15:35:00.000-05:00

BY GRAY BEVERLEY