Hank's Deployment Page

Hank is 2nd from the left.

Above are 8 articles, 5 from Matthew McAllester with Newsday, 2 from the Army's First Charge website and one from the World Tribune. They tell the HONEST story of the 2-7 CAV and their mission in Fallujah. I warn you that each of the articles go into the very personal lives of the soldiers and are extremely GRAPHIC and SAD. They are also very TRUE.

Preface:   The 1st Cavalry Division deployed to Iraq in March 2004 and has just returned from that tour.
Hank is assigned to the 2-7 Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division and is currently serving as an infantry company Executive Officer. In addition to his XO duties, he commands a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The 2-7 was stationed at Camp Cooke (Al Taji). They were mobilized to Najaf in August and Fallujah in November and were the main offensive armored infantry units in each of those operations. The 2-7 was specifically chosen by the Marines 1st Expeditionary Force to "spearhead" their mission in Fallujah. Camp Cooke is located approximately 12 miles north of Baghdad.

The following is a complete compilation of updates from email
and phone conversations with Hank during his year in Iraq.
They are in reverse chronological order.

21 March 2005; 02:50 hrs - The buses arrive at the parade grounds! They are HOME!.

20 March 2005; 18:00 hrs - Hank called. They are in New York and are on schedule to arrive at Ft. Hood at 01:00. They will need about 2 hours to unload and stow their gear and should be arriving at the parade grounds at 03:00.

20 March 2005; 09:00 hrs - Hank called. They are in Germany and are scheuled to arrive in New York City at 18:00 hrs CST and then will depart for Ft. Hood. Their ETA is still 03:00 hrs on the 21st.

15 March 2005; 10:00 hrs - Hank called. They are scheduled to be leaving on 20 March and will arrive at Ft. Hood between 03:00 and 04:00 on Monday, 21 March.

1 March 2005; 07:00 hrs - We got a call from Hank! He called to wish me an early Happy Birthday because he was very sure that he wouldn't be able to call on my birthday because they would be "on the road!" I cannot elaborate on where they are heading, but everyone should be able to figure that out on their own. He also told us that he has been officially promoted to the rank of Captain! Needless to say, this was all a wonderful surprise. He's doing very well and is anxious to get back home to his family. Once again he thanks all of you that are praying for he and his fellow soldiers and asks you to please keep those prayers going until they are safely home.

2 February 2005; 16:00 hrs - Hank sent an instant message to Sue, telling her that they were back at Camp Cooke and the elections went very well. He has some very good stories that he will share later. He didn't elaborate a lot on their redeployment plans, but did tell Sue that they were packing things up. He said that they were having some internet problems and he might not be able to email us for a while.

25 January 2005; 05:00 hrs - Hank called Callie to tell her that they were departing for Baghdad to help with the elections. He didn't know when he would be returning to Camp Cooke, but would get back in touch as soon as he could.

10 January 2005; 05:00 hrs - We haven't actually talked to Hank, but Callie has. We have communicated via Instant messenger and he is doing well. He still cannot give us any absolute news about their redeployment and return to the states so we are anxiously awaiting that information. They are still patrolling their areas and Hank assured me that everyone is being especially careful with time for redeployment so close. He sends his thanks to everyone for the continued prayers for he and his fellow soldiers.

26 December 2004; 05:00 hrs - Hank called and talked to Callie. He said that the weather was very wet and muddy but that it wasn't too cold. He was hoping that they would be able to get some of the college football games between now and the first of the year. He still didn't have any new news about their scheduled departure. Everyone in his outfit is doing great and starting to count days until their scheduled departure for home.

20 December 2004; 05:00 hrs - Hank called. He said that there was not much to report. They are working toward preparations for the election in January. He could not say when they are scheduled to come home, but hopefully it will be on schedule. He said that he estimated that he received about 400 birthday cards during the time they were in Fallujah. He said that it was a real morale booster and wants us to thank everyone that sent him cards and packages.

25 November 2004; 15:00 hrs - Hank called. He said that they had a very nice Thanksgiving lunch and then the NCOs and Officers played a football game. The NCOs won. He was still opening some of the packages he had received for his birthday and he was very excited about all the great things he had gotten (mostly food). Hank sent me a few photos from Fallujah and I have posted them below with appropriate captions. Click each photo for a bigger view and then click "back" to return to this page.

Fallujah - November 2004
HQ Platoon ready to depart on a mission	Leaving the wire	"Softening" the enemy, prior to our "going in"
Reading birthday cards in the back of our "track" (Bradley)	Enemy weapons cache discovered. Hank is checking out a captured Iraqi RPG launcher	HQ Platoon group photo from a "secured" house

23 November 2004; 20:00 hrs - Hank contacted us via Yahoo Messenger. I was working on the computer when my messenger status suddenly flashed and stated that Hank Wiley is ONLINE. Thinking it was Callie, doing some house- keeping, I wrote a message... Callie, is this you or is it Hank? To which came the reply, "It's Hank." I shouted so loud that I startled Sue. He said that he had just walked into his room at Camp Cooke about 5 minutes ago. We chatted for about an hour and then he quit so he could take a long overdue shower and get some rest. Thank you, to all who continue to pray for Hank and his fellow soldiers; it is definitely working.

22 November 2004; 04:00 hrs - Hank called Callie. He was only able to call the Killeen area. He told Callie that he was doing good and was in good health. They will hopefully have things wrapped up in the next week or two. He said to say a big "Thank you!" to all of you that sent him birthday cards and he thought that he had received about 400!

15 November 2004; 05:00 hrs - It is Hank's birthday, but we still haven't heard from him and cannot give you any information on how he is doing. Please continue to pray for him and his fellow soldiers.

8 November 2004; 05:00 hrs - Heavy fighting starts in Fallujah and Newsday.com confirms that the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cav. Div. (Hank's Battaion) is leading the fight by going in ahead of the Marines with their heavily armored Bradleys and M1 Abrams Tanks, as well as doing house to house search and clear.

30 October 2004; 05:00 hrs - Hank called us to tell us that he was heading west for a special mission. He couldn't say where, but told me that in a week or so, we'd know exactly where he was. He said that he was doing fine and looking forward to the new mission. He said that he would not be able to contact us for at least the next 30 days because there were no phones or facilites where they were going.

22 September 2004; 18:00 hrs - Hank emailed us to tell us that he was temporarily back at Camp Cooke. He wished Sara a Happy Birthday and said that the weather was just a "little" cooler. He sends his thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

21 September 2004; 22:00 hrs - Hank emailed us to tell us that he is doing okay and they have been doing a lot of remote patrols at different camps, some that are quite a distance from Camp Cooke. He is enjoying being busy because it makes the time pass quicker. He sends his thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

10 September 2004; 14:00 hrs - Hank made it back to Iraq without any problems. Since his arrival back he and his unit have been utilized in several outside missions and he has not been in touch with us. We are anxiously awaiting word on him and his guys and I'll post something just as soon as I know anything. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

5 August 2004; 10:00 hrs - Hank arrived at Dallas International Airport for two weeks of R∓mp;mp;R. He looks great as you can see from some of the photos on David's page. They spent a few days in Alice, a few in San Antonio and the rest at home in Killeen. The time flew by for us, but Hanks said that it went fairly slowly for him. He departed at 15:00 hrs on Saturday to go back and we look forward to his return in March. He sends his love and thanks to everyone that has been sending packages and praying for he and his troops. He said that he'll see everyone in March!

27 July 2004; 05:00 hrs - Call from Hank. He told us that things are really going very well with their mission. The New Iraqi Army (NIA) is conducting all patrols now and our troops are just "going along for the ride." He said that this is being accepted very well with the local communities. The only shocking news was the fact that his "track," or Bradley, got demolished by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) while on a patrol. No one was killed, but several were injured. Hank was not on the patrol. He was very sad to see his "track" destroyed since he has had it since he arrived at Ft. Hood. He also reminds me to tell everyone "thanks" for your packages, thoughts and prayers.

12 July 2004; 05:00 hrs - Call from Hank. Hank called and was surprised to find Callie and David here with us. He said that they were having a great deal of success in their training of the New Iraqi Army (NIA). He remains very busy and yet finds time to write letters and work out at their facility. He still feels that he will be able to come home in either October or November if the schedule continues as it has been. He continues to receive packages from lots of people and is very grateful for them. He says to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers.

3 July 2004; 14:30 hrs - Call from Hank. Hank called and told us that everything is going very well with the 2-7 CAV Battalion. His biggest news this time is the fact that he is down to 169 lbs! He said that the lack of beer and "fast food" gives them a good healthy diet and it is easy to keep one's weight in check. They had another PT test and, as usual, he did very well. His only concern was the two-mile run because they can't do much running in camp. His concerns were unvalidated because he did the two miles in less than 13 minutes! He hopes to be coming home for R&R in October or November. Once again, he said to tell every one thanks for their "care" packages, thoughts and prayers.

21 June 2004; 18:30 hrs - Call from Hank. First of all, I apologize for not keeping things up to date. There was a change in command for the 2-7 CAV and that slowed down the information we were getting. It is so easy for me to "put off" writing the updates because I know that Hank is doing fine, but everyone that depends on this update, doesn't know. Please forgive me and I WILL do better.

13 May 2004; 22:30 hrs - email from the Battalion Commander: "Last week had a little drama to it. We participated in a raid on a town that ended in a terrific recovery mission. It started out with Cougar, our tank company as the main effort, but ended with Bushmaster 6, the Forward Support Company Commander leading the way. I’ll explain. The night raid went well until a tank got stuck in a town square. That was around 3:00 a.m. In Europe or New England the green in front of church would be firm ground or even bricked. Well as the crew of one of our M1’s found out, in Iraq that could be deep mud. One thing led to another and pretty soon we had two tanks stuck and a Bradley in there too. I happened to be along and started to get concerned, as the town we were in has not been exceptionally welcoming in the past. We called for a recovery vehicle (the famous M88A2, Hercules). That promptly got stuck and then the winch cable broke. I figured about now, we need some real help. Our hero of the hour was Bushmaster 6 who came out with another tank section and two more M88 recovery vehicles. A few more hours later we had everything pulled out. That was around 3:00 p.m. Cougar and Bushmaster were leaving the town, all seemed well. Towns people were waving, the kids were smiling.

Well, Iraq is not always what it seems. That goes for town squares and town people. We had a nasty little surprise for the tactical command post group on the way out of town. Four 155mm artillery shells had been buried in the road and blew up when CSM Keaton’s armored personnel carrier drove by. The blast was near CSM Keaton and Wickman’s Bradley fighting vehicle. CSM Keaton has a pretty stiff neck and there is some damage to MAJ Wickman’s right ear, but otherwise we were pretty lucky.

Last night the aviators spotted a gentleman burying an IED, so we dispatched Saber 36, 2LT Dixon from E/151 CAV. He found the IED, a weapons cache and detained two. The enemy thought that they would extract some revenge for that by detonating an IED on a tank section returning back from the site to Camp Cooke. The tanks that was attacked was Cougar 16’s, Omari Thompson. That didn’t work out as well as they planned as we are recovering the body of the terrorist as I write this note. The tank and crew are fine.

Likewise, E/151 commander, CPT Neugebauer's convoy was hit with an IED today. Broke a windshield, otherwise everyone ok. Finally, an update on C/2-7 CAV They are doing fine mostly conducting static guard for 2-162 IN (Volunteers) down at FOB volunteer. 3d Platoon of C Co, attached to 3-153 IN (Gunslingers) had a busy night in Ad Amiya near the mosque where they have their patrol base. They were sent to investigate a report that some one was unloading rockets out of a Mosque. When the platoon went to investigate, a crowd of some 50 personnel confronted them. Two Bradley’s were struck by rocket-propelled grenades (NO INJURIES) and the platoon returned fire killing at least five insurgents.

Our hero of the week is Specialist Goynes from B/215 FSB. He is a generator mechanic and fixed the generator that runs the re-transmission radio that makes out task force command net broadcast everywhere in the sector. SPC Goynes understands that a lot of people are depending on the information that goes on that net and it can be a matter of life and death. He trouble shot the problem, fixed it, and had the system back in operation without us every having the Task Force Command net off line. He did this in blistering heat by the way. That’s great team work and dedication to duty. He’s my hero."

LTC Charlie Forshee

13 May 2004; 05:15 hrs - phone call from Hank: Hank called at 05:15 today and said that everything is going very well with he and his platoon. They have done several patrols ("going outside the wire") and are staying very busy. He has sent some photos and said that I could post any of them that I wanted because there was no "sensitive material.

6 May 2004; 22:30 hrs - email from the Battalion Commander: "We had a fairly quiet week in sector in terms of incidents. Our biggest find to date was up in the Cougar's sector. It began with a helicopter pilot flying an OH58D spotted three men carrying three rocket propelled grenades (RPG) which can destroy a Bradley or other light armored vehicle. The pilot tried to follow them and called our headquarters for a unit to investigate on the ground. 1LT John Baker's platoon responded and when they got up to the site, they discovered a what they thought was a tunnel. Although they lost track of the three men, they did start walking around in the area and investigating. What they found dumbfounded everyone. It seemed that they were sitting on a huge arms cache. We sent another platoon up to the scene, under the leadership of LT Mabry Shoakes. When he pushed his platoon out into a perimeter, they discovered yet another large cache. Cougar 6, CPT Pete Glass, CSM Keaton and I went up as well the survey the scene. It was an unbelieveable amount of arms, ammunition and explosives. We filled three trucks to haul it out. A great example of sharp pilots, aggressive soldiers and a lot of terrific team work.

It was mostly quiet in our sector after that. Yesterday, the quiet was broken with three IED on the road. We found the biggest and potentially most dangerous. The two others found convoys passing through our sector. Only minor injuries, but we still don't like it. We began getting mortar and rockets again as well. Again, no serious injuries here in the task force.

Our hero this week is PFC Lance Sever, 2d Platoon, A Co, 2-7 CAV attached to Team Cougar (C/3-8 CAV). On 29 April during a raid, PFC Sever found 2.5 million dinars, 2 AK-47 rifles, a German Mauser rifle and two mortar sights. The very next day, our hero spotted the RPGs at the second large cache site. He's a great soldier with sharp eyes, motivated to succeed and has saved numerous soldiers lives by finding this dangerous stuff. He's my hero."

LTC Charlie Forshee

01 May 2004; 14:22 hrs - phone call from Hank: Hank called during baby David's birthday party and everyone got to talk to him. He said that he is doing fine and thanks everyone for their prayers and support. He said that things were going very good for his squad despite the confrontations that they are having. He's in great health and has not seen any Camel spiders, snakes or scorpions, yet!

30 April 2004; 20:15 hrs - email from the Battalion Commander: "We certainly had the worst week in Iraq to date. The insurgents dealt a blow to our support battalion, the 39th Support, when they attacked our base camp at Camp Taji. Three were killed, seven seriously injured, and some 21 with injuries that allowed them to return to duty. We were very lucky, a rocket struck within five meters of the trailer that is occupied by CPT Damien San Miguel, the commander of B/2-162 IN. A five ton truck absorbed the shrapnel and impact of the round. Our sister battalion 3/153 also suffered a fatality to an explosive device in their sector. Our hearts go out to the families.

A helicopter on patrol in our area was able to locate the rocket shooters and a quick reaction from a B Company patrol apprehended some. We made connected apprehensions and raids through out the day. Later in the week we were able to raid a house that was connected with the rocket attacks that yielded nearly a ton of chemicals to make explosives and other bomb making parts. The raids continued and today 2d Platoon, A Co, 2/-7 CAV raided a house that also yielded another weapons cache. D Co, 3-153 IN a TOW equipped anti-tank company and E/151 CAV captured some insurgents and destroyed enemy equipment in the sector. We remain offensively oriented and hunting the insurgents. We have engaged the enemy on a few occasions and I am happy to report that not many of the enemy walk away if they don't surrender quickly.

Our hero of the week is SSG Larriva, from 2d Platoon, C Co, 3-8 CAV. He is a tank commander of an M1A2(SEP) tank and has led the way on numerous raids this week. They found three explosives on the road, which is certainly saving lives, instead of letting the explosives find us. Credit has to go to the entire crew of C22; which include SPC Preston, SPC Tyler, and PFC Huffman. These guys are the heroes of this war, because we fight it every day with a section and platoon sized patrol. Leading these is no easy task. They are my heroes."

LTC Forshee

24 April 2004; 11:51 hrs - Update on attack on Camp Cooke: Although there was a serious attack on Camp Cooke during the dawn hours this morning and there were 4 fatalities; neither Hank nor any of the 2-7 Battalion soldiers were injured. Please keep the families of these 4 soldiers in your prayers as well as the 7 other soldiers that were wounded.

22 April 2004; 15:53 hrs - email from the Battalion Commander: "The task force had a pretty eventful week. First off, we had a couple of days with NO INCIDENTS in our sector at all. No drive by, no mortar, no nothing. It was pretty nice all and all. After that we started to find bombs on the side of the roads again. The good news again is that we are finding them instead of them finding us!

Our HERO of the week is SPC Damien Tarantella, A Co, 2d Platoon. While on combat patrol this week on Route Red Leg, our most dangerous route, he spotted wires leading back to a canal. The wires led to two South African 155mm shells that were posed to blow up near his platoon. He has sharp eyes and we are proud of him. He's my hero this week.

Team Cougar, with 2d Platoon providing infantry support raided a suspected terrorist camp yesterday. We netted four detainees, an anti-tank rocket, two machine guns, bomb making materials, a bazillion Iraqi Dinars (cash), and enough .50 cal ammo to start your own war (so to speak). We are headed the right direction here."

LTC Forshee

15 April 2004; 06:06 hrs - email from the Battalion Commander: "Good news, the sector has been relatively quiet for a couple of days now. We are still detaining people and working the ground, but seem to be having some effect. At least the guerillas are having to alter their tactics.

I did not get a chance to report about our trip up from Kuwait. We did a maginifcent job on the way up. This was mostly because of the incredible work that our Forward Support Commpany, B Co, did prior to our move. We had what we call a maintenance rodeo before we left where the mechanics looked at the equipment and fixed things before they broke. My hero's for the movement out of Kuwait and into Baghdad are SSG Frederick, for being the man on the spot for our maintenance rodeo and Specialist Goynes for fixing a ton of stuff and being a great guy during the rodeo. PFC Arthur was a hero for installing an incredible amount of armor and installing bullet proof windshields. You might think that not real big stuff until you have one. It's saving soldiers lives now. SPC Allen and PV2 Garza welded on armor and bolted even more on. I left the shops earlier and he was still hard at work fabricating armor until we can get more out of supply. For all the folks at home, these guys work 24 hours a day running a service line. When patols come in, it's like a NASCAR pit crew. The mechanics surge on the vehicles, verying faults and fixing stuff. They run through a fuel point, load up on MRE's and water, get checked out by communications for good radios and new communications security fills. It brings tears to my eyes to watch these guys work. That's why we are able to do our jobs well.

My hero for the week for our operations in sector has to go to SGT Derrick Jordan in E/151 CAV for running his command post for the commander. He's a great guy and keeping the company moving. We switch platoons out from sector to sector like firemen, so it's a tough job and he is keeping us up to date.

We are doing well, and some are getting a chance to get a decent nights sleep. The food is good and we are living in trailers. Most of the time we have water for showers, so the accomodations are ok. Thank you for your support of our great soldiers."

LTC Forshee

13 April 2004; 15:30 hrs - Call from Hank: Hank called and talked to his mother. He is doing fine and spirits are high, despite the two deaths in their battalion. He has been active in several patrols outside their camp and they are being very successful in suppressing the enemy. Two remarks really stuck with Sue and I and I want to share them with you. First, he described their convoy's travel into Baghdad as a parade with Iraqi civilians waving and cheering from the sides of the highway. He said that was very cool. Second, he described what he referred to as the "nastiness" of the area. The slums and poverty are devastating and accentuate the cruelty of Saddam's regeime.
He sends a sincere "thank you" to all of you that are praying for he and his fellow soldiers and asks you to please continue.

13 April 2004; 06:06 hrs - email from the Battalion Commander: "The battalion has seen two tragedies now with the deaths of SFC Labadie, E Troop/151 CAV (Ark NG) and SGT DelGreco, E Troop/151 CAV. Both were remembered in a memorial tribute this morning at Camp Cooke (Taiji). In attendence were MG Chiarelli, BG Hammond, COL (P) Jones, BG Chastaine, and numerous brigade commanders. E Troop was pulled from the zone to allow attendance, most of the task force that was inside the wire attendended as well.

SFC Labadie, as some of you know, was killed by a mortar round on our first day at Camp Cooke. Also seriously wounded was SGT Leasure, E/151 CAV. SGT Howell was slightly wounded and returned to duty immediately after receiving a stitch from the medics. SGT Leasure is seriously wounded and has been evac'd to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany and then to Walter Reed in Washington DC. Please remember him in your prayers.

SGT DelGreco was killed in an ambush of a counter mortar patrol the very next day. Three others including the platoon sergeant were wounded. The platoon sergeant called for medevac and assistance despite his wounds. SGT DelGreco was killed manning his machine gun returning fire. We greive at their loss.

The patrols are being effective as we have now occupied our area of operation and have prevented mortar fire from hitting the camp for the last three days.

Captain Glass, commander of C/3-8 CAV our tank company had to fight his way into Camp Cooke. He and his soldiers down loaded their tanks from trucks while under fire. The transportation platoon leader was killed in the engagment. CPT Glass' troops fought their tanks with two man crews, driving off the attackers. Later while recieving repairs near the Baghdad airport CPT Glass' soldiers repelled attacks on the base camp and sortied out of the camp with truck drivers hanging on the the racks on the tank turrets. This ad hoc force acted with conspicuous bravery. They killed several of the enemy in a running gun fight that effectively ended attacks that day. On his way from the airport up to our camp, they again came under attack.

B/2-162 IN (AALST) had a platoon come under IED attack. Armor on the HMMWV prevented serious injury except for a ruptred ear drum. 1/A/ 2-7 CAV hit a very large mine yesterday with no injury except to a cut on the mouth of the Bradley Commander SSG Freeman, who remained with his unit. We conducted a task force raid with attack aviation, air assualt via helicopters, tanks and bradley yesterday. I believe that had a very good result.

We have captured some 20 insurgents and numberous anti-tank rockets, small arms, grenades, dynamite and other weapons. Our raids and patrols are succeeding in decreasing the number of attacks in our zone. While all of us are fighting the effects of exhaustion and are bloodied, we are unbowed. We will continue to take full responsibility of the rest of our zone. We have about half our our intended area under our control now and will accept full responsibility after the 1st Armored Division units withdraw.

All of our convoys are in. Our trail party of 30 personnel should reach Camp Cooke (Taiji) today. This is a very different war that has developed in the last two weeks. The soldiers of the task force are behaving with great bravery and in the face of constant danger. I ask for your prayers and support."

LTC Forshee

06 April 2004; 13:08 hrs - email from Battalion Commander: "We completed the road march without incident. CPT Leslie's serial might have had an IED go off, but it was so far away, we aren't sure what it was. Convoy drove on. All of our wheeled vehicles are up north now, our tracked vehicles will come over the next few days. A good amount of our soldiers flew up today (I don't want to say where) and they will rest over night and come on in tommorrow. The soldiers are all in good shape, no accidents. One soldier may have a bone broken in her hand from a fall last night, but nothing really serious. I was very proud of everyone. It is a very long ride and dangerous as several have been killed in accidents in previous convoys. We did it like we do it every week."

01 April 2004; 01:00 hrs - Hank called: They are finalizing last minute preparations and will move out, heading north, in the next 2 - 3 days. We will probably not hear from him for at least a week. He is traveling with the "wheeled" convoy and it will take them approximately 3 days to travel to their destination. They expect to encounter their first enemy contact during this trek. He thanks everyone for their prayers and assures us all that he is ready and prepared for whatever comes along. He and his outfit have a "snail mail" address and if you'd like to send him a letter or anything... I will be mailing things on almost a daily basis, so bring it to me and I'll put it in with our things to be mailed.

29 March 2004; 23:50 hrs - email from Hank: He led his company on a two hour tactical range finding mission using his new GPS that he bought before he left. He says that they are really looking forward to leaving Kuwait and starting their move north. All is well with everyone. He will try to call at least once before they leave because he doesn't know when he will be able to call again, once they get to their destination.

25 March 2004; 15:50 hrs - email from Battalion Commander: "We will be moving [deleted for security]. I don't know what sort of living conditions we will have in [deleted for security], I don't think that the living containers will be ready when we get there. I believe that will put us in tents initially, but we'll have to see. We are all doing fine. The soldiers are very busy off loading the ship and moving the vehicles up to our Base Camp at [deleted for security]. The soldiers are doing well, but ready to leave our dust bowl and get moving north."

23 March 2004; 00:18 hrs - Hank called: He is doing very well. They are unloading Bradleys, inventorying equipment and "zeroing" their weapons in preparation for heading to Baghdad. He said that everything is going very well.

22 March 2004; 20:00 hrs - We have heard from the Battalion Commander's wife and everyone has made it safely to Kuwait.
They are unloading their Bradleys and Humvees and will start the trek toward Baghdad when everything is ready.

17 March 2004; 10:00 hrs - Hank and the rest of the 2-7 Cav departed Ironhorse Gym at Ft. Hood.

The badge above is the Combat Infantryman's Badge. Better known as a CIB. Hank and the entire Alpha Company were Officially awarded this prestigious medal during the last week in September. It is only awarded to Army Infantry soldiers that have served in a war zone and have engaged the enemy in live fire for at least 30 days. It is only superseded in significance by the Medal of Honor. If you are not familiar with the CIB and the honor it signifies, then check out this site: CIB

The following quote was made by an Army officer that had served in WWII:
"When you see a man wearing this badge you are looking at a man who has proven himself in combat and has seen more than anyone wants to see in his lifetime. Take this man's hand and shake it while you thank him from the bottom of your heart for the sacrifices he has made for you and this country. Freedom didn't just happen. The President and all the the politicians did not win and do not insure the freedoms we enjoy in this country. It is the man who who has earned this badge and all the members of the military of the United States that insure our freedom."

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