"You Fear 'em, We Clear 'em"

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
ALPHA COMPANY, 425TH BRIGADE SPECIAL TROOPS BATTALION UNIT #40573, FOB KALSU, IRAQ
APO AE 09312-0573
04 July 2007

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain,

On behalf of Alpha Company and the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, I would like to extend my sincere gratefulness for your support of those deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism.

A little background about us. We are an airborne Combat Engineer Company which supports the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division out of Fort Richardson, Alaska. We are a very new unit, as we recently built an entire airborne brigade from the ground up, and deployed in a little over a year.

As the only Engineer Company that supports approximately 3500 Paratroopers, our mission is to conduct route clearance of the roads within the North Babil Province of Iraq, situated south of Baghdad. Yeah I know it doesn't pass the common sense check - we actively seek Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and roadside bombs on a daily basis. We have effectively coined the term "You fear 'em, we clear 'em." I have some phenomenal equipment that keeps us safe, and some exceptional Soldiers and leaders who execute the mission without flaw.

I will tell you that your son is performing phenomenally under fire, while leading his men into combat. He is making his family, especially his parents, very proud. It is very difficult to join such a close knit family as the Sapper Company, and take over a platoon in mid stride during our arduous combat rotation. He has integrated perfectly, and is a solid performer on continuous route clearance missions. When my wife and I met your family at Eklutna Lake, I told you I would be Sam's commander one day; it is a relief to have him as an officer leading one of my platoons.

The t-shirts were an outstanding idea and I genuinely thank you and appreciate your dedication. You and your friends had a direct impact on our mission. I believe it is the families back home who are the ones making the biggest sacrifice. I ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers for the Men who are on the forefront of the Global War on Terrorism. Please feel free to contact me directly via my email if you have any other questions or correspondence.

MATTHEW L. JOHNSON
Captain,
U.S. Army
Company Commander

LT's New BAE Truck

I mentioned in an earlier post that Sam had received a new BAE manufactured RG-31. He sent this photo on Sunday.
http://myson1lt.blogspot.com/2007/07/sams-bae-rg-31.html

Almost Peaceful ........ Almost!

Friends,

Another day in the life in a combat zone. Out on patrol this morning, we watched the sun rise above the farm fields. Cows grazing, men tending there fields, repairing water pumps and ensuring water was irrigated through canals to there crops. It was almost 100 degrees at about 7 am, by noon it will reach about 130 degrees F.

My platoon was doing a recon mission along a untraveled road, assessing if we could repair the route for future operations. As the sun came above the horizon there was this mist hanging above the ground. For a split second it sort of makes this place feel peaceful.

Later we heard automatic machine gun fire in the distance, followed by a couple explosions. It was several kilometers away. Someone was in contact, but not us today.

Peace be with you.

~Samuel

A 5 am Wakeup Call

Most 5am telephone calls that wake you out of a dead sleep are terrorizing. We all have experienced those calls.

This morning's 5 am call from Sam was prefaced with restlessness. I was really half awake wondering what was going on. Why couldn't I sleep.

That call, that glorious ring that cut through my fog and in an instant I was wide awake.
"Hi Dad", the quite, manly voice on the other side of the world said. "Are the girls still in Buffalo?" he asked.

Sam was in the middle of a day long mission in Hilla the capital of the Babel province. For some unexplained reason his mission brought him to the Embassy and they discovered that the phones in the lobby were free to use. He explained that it was so nice to dismount, remove his armor and leave it in his truck. To be in a building with "other" contractors, even women in western cloths.

He was quite, but then he disclosed that a LT friend of his had been injured the other day by an IED. Seriously injured by an IED that was placed just after his platoon's sweep the road. Just 90 minutes later and his friend was injured.

Un-Godly hot was his description in an email sent Friday...

"It's out of control hot over here right now, like around 135 each day. Today was pretty bad, but yesterday was really bad, its funny how you can feel the difference between 115, 125, and 135, because there is a difference. Its hard to believe that I will ever be this hot again in my life. Even drinking water after a while just isn't enough, the human body just isn't designed for this kind of heat. I had a mission scheduled for this morning, it was a 4km dismounted clearance movement, but it ended up being canceled, unfortunately I didn't know until after getting up with all my guys around 3am and checking in with the TOC. But it's been a complete day of errands and admin, plus mission prep for upcoming ops. Not to worry, I have another mission bright and early tomorrow morning...."

Tomorrow morning. Saturday, 1 pm his time in Hilla. He was calling from near the ruins of Babel. I asked," how do you tell the difference between ruins, modern and old?" He said Hilla was relatively free of sectarian violence was quite beautiful. "They just look older, " he said "and I drove right by them during this mission."

Imagine that. As I sit here at my computer, writing my prayers for 9:45 am service tomorrow, Sam is half a world away near the ruins of Ancient Babylon. Fighting for our way of life. Upholding the rights of these ancient people to change from a dictatorship to self government. Our proud and gracious Son is a small part of a much bigger picture.

"I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in ernest, you will find me when you seek me."
Jeremiah 29: 11-13

A Prayer to a Listening God

O God, we labor in the heat of the day,
and so often the labor feels hopeless, unproductive, useless ....

And yet, you hear our silent cries.
You give us one another
to speak that which we in our pain cannot speak.
You give us your Word
that utters those things we cannot find the words to say.

And not only do you give us the words to speak,
but you also turn your ear to us and hear us,
even when all we have strength to whisper is,
"Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer."

For you have promised to hear us.
You have promised to turn your face to shine upon us.
You have promised to be our shade
when the heat of the day saps our strength
and the well of hope runs dry.

And you have promised,
even in the silence,
to give us the sweet sound of peace.

--John McCullough Bade
From "A Prayer to a Listening God," in Will I Sing Again? Listening for the Melody of Grace in the Silence of Illness and Loss by John McCullough Bade (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003, p. 46).

A Gift to Receive

To pray means to open your hands before God. It means slowly relaxing the tension which squeezes your hands together and accepting your existence with an increasing readiness, not as a possession to defend, but as a gift to receive.
--Henri J.M. NouwenFrom With Open Hands (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Marie Press, 1972, p.154)

A Lutheran Prayer For Courage

This prayer comes from the Lutheran Book of Worship (Augsburg, 1978).
It suggests that each of us is called by God to be a pioneer
forging our own unique path as we discover and develop our God
given nature and talents.
For some the path may be relatively straightforward; for others it may bring pain and struggle. But we all need faith and courage as we travel into the unknown future: perhaps we could take this prayer with us on our journey?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord God,
You have called your servants to ventures
of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
St Michael & All Angels Parish Church, Shefford, UK
http://www.sm3a.org.uk/prayer_of_the_month/lutheran.html