www.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/ Telling the MND-B Story Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 Holiday Homecoming (Photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Soldiers with the 1st Cavalry Division, who served a 15-month deployment in Iraq, march across Cooper Field at Fort Hood, Texas during a homecoming ceremony, Nov. 21. See Story on page 3. Troops Make Most of Thanksgiving in Southern Baghdad By Spc. Nathaniel Smith 4-1 Inf. Div. Public Affairs BAGHDAD Across the United States, most families celebrate Thanksgiving with their families with turkey and football. Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad celebrated as well with the only family they have while deployed: each other. Spc. Desiree Iversen, an intelligence analyst with Headquarter and Headquarters Company, 610th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division from Cottonwood, Calif., said spending Thanksgiving dinner with her section was a pleasant proxy to spending the day with her family. It was nice. Even though we work together, we don t socialize and we work on different shifts, she said. I got to spend some time talking with them. You kind of adopt a new family when you re out here, she added. Sgt. Charles Patton, a multi-channel transmission systems operator with Company C, 4-1 Brigade Special Troops Battalion from Monroe, La., said he tries to keep his head up while away from his wife and son on the holidays. I d much rather be spending it at home with my family, but we re here and I m trying to make the most of it, he said. I think that s how a lot of guys feel about it, they d rather be at home, but you re here so you have to make the best of things. For Patton, who is celebrating his second Thanksgiving holiday in Iraq, being away doesn t get easier. Some people get used to it, but I don t, he said. You just have to make the best of it and keep a positive attitude. That s what I try to do. Iversen, who hasn t been home for a Turkey Day since being in the Army, felt differently. The first year, I was devastated, it was really hard. Every year I was with my family, she said, but last year was a little easier and this year I don t feel anything really. It s just another day. To Spc. Ahmed Ahmed, a linguist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th IBCT from Buffalo, N.Y., it was not just another day as he celebrated his first See Falcon Page 2
Holiday Page 2 Nov. 23, 2007 Soldiers on FOB Falcon Enjoy Turkey Day Feast Falcon From Page 1 Thanksgiving as a citizen of the United States. It s kind of special because it s my first one as a citizen and I don t have to worry about getting my citizenship, the former Yemeni said. This is my first time having the full joy as a citizen. It s a special day for me. I will remember this for the rest of my life. I had my Thanksgiving for the first time as a citizen, I was in Iraq, and I was serving my country. For all, whether it s the first holiday or one of many, the day is about giving thanks. Patton said he was most thankful for his loved ones. I m thankful for my family most of all. My family s really supportive of me. They understand I m in a position where I do what I have to do, Patton said. That s part of being a Soldier. You have to go out there and take care of business. Ahmed was thankful to get the chance to serve his new nation, but he looks forward to the future. I m thanking God that I m still alive, we re actually doing a good job. That s what makes today a special day, he said, but my next Thanksgiving is going to be even better because I m going to be my wife in the States, celebrating as an American. Iversen, the mother of a little girl and wife to a husband who is currently deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry (Photo by Spc. Nathaniel Smith, 4-1 Inf. Div. Public Affairs) Spc. David Schubert, a chaplain s assistant with the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, digs into his Thanksgiving Day turkey at the Forward Operating Base Falcon dining facility in southern Baghdad, Nov. 22. Regiment, 4th IBCT, said she is grateful for her child and her husband s well-being. I m thankful for my daughter. I m thankful my husband s okay. I just hope he comes home safe and able to see our little girl grow up. Arabic Phrase of the Day shukran Defined: thanks Iraq 3-Day Weather Report Today High: 74 Low: 48 Tomorrow High: 72 Low: 49 Sunday High: 73 Low: 51 Commanding General: Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil, Jr. Public Affairs Officer: Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl Command Information Supervisor: Master Sgt. Dave Larsen Editor: Sgt. Jerome Bishop Staff Writers: Sgt. Mark B. Matthews, Spc. Angel D. Martinez, Spc. Elvyn Nieves, and Pfc. April Campbell Contributing Writers: Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert, Staff Sgt. Randy Randolph, Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma and Spc. Nathaniel Smith Contact the Daily Charge at VOIP 242-4093, DSN 318-847-2855 or e- mail david.j.larsen@mnd-b.army.mil. The Daily Charge is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army. Contents of the Daily Charge are not necessarily official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or the 1st Cavalry Division. All editorial content of the Daily Charge is prepared, edited, provided and approved by1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs Office.
Page 3 Homecoming Nov. 23, 2007 Families Thankful for Troops Return By Spc. Nathaniel Smith 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs FORT HOOD, Texas - It is the day before Thanksgiving, a little after 1 a.m. when five passenger buses packed with 1st Cavalry Division Soldiers rolled in front of the roaring crowd of more than 250 people like Hollywood superstars. In the warm hands of Central Texas, troopers with the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade and 2nd Brigade Combat Team returning from a 15-month deployment to Iraq reconnected with their family and friends at the division s parade field here Nov. 21. For Lawrenceburg, Ky., native Jamie Neal, wife of Sgt. Russell Neal, the quick ceremony meant the conclusion of a difficult time. It s been hard, she said. But I m glad he s doing what he does. During the beginning of the tour, Jamie had to go through the birth of her second child, 10- month-old Grace, all on her own. Neal, an apache mechanic with 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment of the Warrior Brigade, went home to see his wife, 3- year-old son, Isaiah, and his baby daughter six weeks after she was born. Neal headed back to Iraq. Later, she remembered receiving news of her husband s threemonth extension in Iraq and the feeling angry. That night I put the kid s to bed and cried myself to sleep, Jamie said. Luckily, the long road of separation has come to an end for this family. Jamie said she was anxious to see how the baby would react to her father. Grace heard her father s voice on the phone, but this was the first time in eight months the father and daughter would come face to face. I am extremely happy to have him back home with his family, Jamie said. The Neal family isn t the only family thankful this Turkey Day. Fourteen-year-old Mercadez Jenkins of Temple, Texas, along with her mom, sister, nephew and brother also reunited with her father, Staff Sgt. George Beasley, a truck driver with the (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim, 2-1 Cav. Div. Public Affairs) (Photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) Ten-month-old Grace Neal looks into her father s eyes, Sgt. Russell Neal, an apache mechanic with 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, for the first time since she was 8-weeks old at a homecoming ceremony held on Fort Hood s Cooper Field Nov. 21. Wagonmaster s 15th Brigade Support Battalion. He calls me his little monkey and I call him my big gorilla, Mercadez said. The first thing I want to do when I see him Black Jack Officers Serve It Up Capt. Lexie R. Gibbs III, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Black Jack Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, carves a piece of pot roast for a Soldier during the Thanksgiving Day meal at the Black Jack Bistro Dining Facility on Forward Operating Base Prosperity in central Baghdad, Nov. 22. is jump on his back and say, Welcome home my big Gorilla! Despite keeping in constant contact via email and telephone, Mercadez hasn t physically seen her father since Christmas. But Thanksgiving this year with her father and much more food, she said, has everyone more excited and in the holiday spirit. On this eve of Thanksgiving we truly are thankful, said Brig. Gen. Frederick Rudesheim, the Fort Hood installation commander, as he addressed the returning troops before releasing them into the waiting arms of loved ones. He closed with a little reminder that, as Soldiers and family members come together for the holidays, to keep those who haven t made it home yet in their prayers.
Page 4 By Pfc. April Campbell 27th PAD CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq The line into the Pegasus Dining Facility was longer than usual at lunchtime on Thanksgiving Day this year. Soldiers waited patiently for what might be the finest meal they eat during their deployment here. While Soldiers were unable to eat with their families back home, many seemed to find comfort in dining with their fellow Soldiers. New York native, Pfc. Denis Anton, a personnel administrative clerk with the 401st Military Police Company, 92nd MP Battalion, 18th MP Brigade, arrived early with two friends to be the first people into the DFAC for the meal. He said they often just grab a to-go box for lunch, but for Thanksgiving they wanted to sit down and eat together. In the absence of his family at home, those he lives and works with Thanksgiving Nov. 23, 2007 Soldiers Gather With Second Family for Holiday Meal (Photo by Pfc. April Campbell, 27th PAD) Canton, Miss., native Capt. Katina Sutton, commander of the Command Post Detachment, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, serves Thanksgiving dinner to Soldiers in the Pegasus Dining Facility at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad, Nov. 22. have become more like family than just coworkers, Anton said. When the DFAC opened at 11 a.m., Soldiers were served everything from ham to sweet potato casserole, by First Team officers and senior noncommissioned officers, many wearing their Stetsons to the event. Soldiers, such as Anaheim, Calif. native, Spc. Marcos Luevanos, a cavalry scout with the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, seemed to leave the dining facility having had a positive Thanksgiving Day experience. The meal was an opportunity for him and his friends to eat good food, relax and joke around, said Marcos. While nothing can match eating Thanksgiving dinner at home with his family, the food was tasty, the line did not take too long and it was nice to eat with his Soldiers, said Sgt. 1st Class Jesus Encinas, an intelligence cell NCO in-charge with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. For Encinas, a Naco, Ariz., native, eating Thanksgiving dinner with other Soldiers was actually a taste of home. The Soldiers I ate my meal with today were single, and I would have invited them to eat Thanksgiving dinner at my home if we were at Fort Hood, he said. The Army is supposed to be like family. It was eating Thanksgiving dinner with my second family. A Thank You From the Top Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno (left), Multi-National Corps-Iraq commanding general and Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Ciotola (right), the top noncommissioned officer for MNC-I, express their gratitude to the troops, like Trenton, N.J. native Pvt. Cedrick Ghant David (center), a food service specialist with Troop C, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, at a combat outpost near Taji, Iraq Nov. 22. (Photo by Spc. Shejal Pulivarti, 1-1 Cav. Div. Public Affairs)
Page 5 Holidays Nov 23, 2007 Troops Spend Second Consecutive Thanksgiving in Iraq By Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs CAMP TAJI, Iraq Soldiers from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, were treated to turkey and all the trimmings Thanksgiving Strike Style (Photo by Cpl. Nathan Hoskins, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs) 1st Air Cavalry Brigade staff officers, from left to right, Maj. Fred West, Lt. Col. Tom Jessee and Capt. Darin Howe serve the Thanksgiving meal to Soldiers, civilians and contractors at the dining facility Command Sgt. Maj. Cooke Dining Facility Nov. 22 at Camp Taji, Iraq. (Photo by Sgt. James P. Hunter, 2-101 Abn. Div. Public Affairs) (Left) Sgt. 1st Class Michael Shoe, platoon sergeant and native of Corpus Christi, Texas, 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), serves Soldiers a Thanksgiving Day meal at Joint Security Station Maverick in western Baghdad, Nov. 22. for their second consecutive Thanksgiving in Iraq. The festivities were bittersweet for most. It was a second holiday steeped with tradition spent on the opposite side of the globe as their families, but it also was a step closer to redeployment. In the countdown, this is another step along the way; we re that much closer to going home, said Spc. Mindy Saindon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Spearhead Battalion, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div., a native of Derby, Kan. Saindon is one of many 1st ACB Soldiers that will also spend a second consecutive Christmas deployed to Iraq. The Soldiers find ways to deal with spending so many holidays away from family and friends in the states. You look at it as just another day, except on this particular day, we get yams, said Spc. Dawn Murgia, also from HHC, 3-227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, drawing laughter from her battle buddies sitting nearby. Despite eating their holiday meal in a dining facility in Iraq, the air of celebration was almost palpable amid the hundreds of decorations and intricate holiday displays created by the dining facility s staff. The Soldiers also had the treat of being served by those they normally serve under. It was a real boost to have the chain of command serving us our holiday meal, Saindon said. The brigade and battalion leaders took turns serving out heaping portions of food to the Soldiers, civilians and contractors. It s comforting to me that she is there with my son now, so my son doesn t have to go another holiday with both of his parents deployed, he said. For other Soldiers, even the variety of foods served for the holiday meal didn t make up for spending the holiday away from family and it wasn t the same as home cooking. My grandmother cooks better, said Spc. Erica Avent, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st ACB, a native of Fuquay-Varina, N.C. Avent also was deployed to Iraq last Thanksgiving. Last year, the families on both my mother s and father s sides got together, and I was able to talk to them with a webcam, she said. It s hard to deal with being here a second time on Thanksgiving, because this holiday is really about family. It s not about food. Still, some of her grandma s sweet potato casserole could have improved things a little, she said.
Page 6 Celebration Nov 23, 2007 (Photo by Staff Sgt. Randy Randolph, 2-82 Abn. Div. Public Affairs) Fayetteville, N.C., native Staff Sgt. Ian Lewis (left), a section sergeant with Troop B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Falcon Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, talks with fellow Fayetteville, N.C., native Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Meyers, the top noncommissioned officer with the Falcon Brigade, during a Thanksgiving meal at Coalition Outpost Callahan in Baghdad s Adhamiyah District, Nov. 22. Lewis said his family of paratroopers keeps his spirits up while deployed during the holidays. Airborne Troops Tighten Up Over the Holiday Season By Staff Sgt. Randy Randolph 2-82 Abn. Div. Public Affairs BAGHDAD Staff Sgt. Ian Lewis, a cavalry scout section sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, says during the Thanksgiving holiday he is thankful for his family of forty. The Fayetteville, N.C. native is not speaking about a large clan of relatives back in the states, but members of his platoon from Troop B at Coalition Outpost Callahan in eastern Baghdad s Adhamiyah District. After spending three deployments in Iraq, Lewis has grown accustomed to bonding with his troops during the holiday season. He said that instead of getting depressed about being away from his wife and children, he uses the time wisely, getting closer to his guys and sharing feelings he can t necessarily share in combat. Me and my guys have been together a long time now, Lewis said. We really pull together during the holidays and try to keep each other s spirits up. Everyone is going through the same thing, being away from their families, so we try to become tighter as a family here, he said. I m real thankful that my guys are safe, said Lewis. But being with my guys out on the streets, seeing what other people here don t have makes me thankful for what my family has back home, as well. Just to have power, sewage and a decent home; that makes me think about how great I really have it. Lewis first sergeant, 1st Sgt. Donald Knapp, from Mylan, Ind., said he encourages A General Serving Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, Multi-National Division-Baghdad s deputy commanding general for support, serves Thanksgiving dinner to Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad, Nov. 22. Brooks served dinner alongside leaders from the 1st Red Devil Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., and currently attached to 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. his paratroopers to seek each other out while deployed during the holidays. Knapp, who has seen most of his family grow up and move away to different parts of the states, considers his paratroopers his only family now. I m closer to my paratroopers than I am with my family, Knapp said. I spend more time with them than I do with anybody. We are together 24 hours a day, and have been through close combat together. That especially brings you closer during the holidays. As another Thanksgiving Day drew to a close, Lewis said he s happy to be amongst his family here in Baghdad. Although he misses his wife and children, he looks on his troops with pride. We do a pretty good job together, Lewis said, pushing his chair back from the table after his Thanksgiving meal. Everything has turned out all right, but right now, I have to go. The mission never ends. (Photo by Spc. Courtney E. Marulli, 2-2 Inf. Div. Public Affairs)
Page 7 The Global War on Terror is on everyone s mind. It is in the news, in our sitcoms and on the big screen. It is especially on your thoughts when you are sitting in Iraq, and the threats are very real. I don t think there is a single person out here who hasn t questioned the motives of entering this war; why we didn t start out with up-armored humvees or why we have to be here for a 15 month-long tour. The Global War on Terror has become one of the subjects that is taboo at the dinner table right along with religion. Nearly everyone has a passionate opinion about the best idea to get the U.S. out of Iraq, but it is interesting to see these thoughts and ideas acted out on the silver screen. The movie Lions for Lambs is chock full of political ideology. It is presented like a good novel, swapping between three completely different scenarios connected through one desperate theme - war. The first scene is in a senator s office in Washington, D.C. Sen. Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) is trying to give reporter Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) the inside scoop on new tactics being used in Afghanistan that, he believes, will lead to the end of the war. On the other side of the United States, we are taken to California where political a science teacher (Robert Redford) tries to convinces a gifted student (who is also an underachiever) that doing something anything, for any sort of cause is better than just cruising through life. The good teacher wants his student to stop being a lamb - Movies Nov. 23, 2007 Who s the Lion and Who s the Lamb? Random Reviews Sgt. Nicole Kojetin watching everything pass him by - but be a lion, by doing something to change the world. The professor is sharing a story about two of his gifted students, Arain and Ernest, who are now serving in Afghanistan. These students were now Special Forces Soldiers who were the first push in an operation to set up outposts high in the mountains. As they were flying to their landing zone, their Chinook began taking heavy fire and one of our two troops fell out of the helicopter. In the true sense of being a battle buddy, the other one jumped out, too. Back in Washington, D.C., the senator is in a panic as the events in Afghanistan aren t going as planned. As he talks to the reporter on one side of the country, the professor presses his heavy-handed personal beliefs on us. To be honest, during the first 20 minutes of this movie, I didn t know what was going on and why we were skipping through three generally unrelated scenes. It didn t help that in the bootleg version I was watching, I couldn t really see what was going on in Afghanistan because the scenes were too dark. However, my journalistic side was peaked by the drama in the senator s office. The senator is dealing with a reporter who refuses to see anything other than the death and destruction. Watching the make-believe senator shoot down her theories and try desperately to push out the message that he wants delivered was interesting. One of my favorite moments was when Streep s character asked Irving what he thinks was a complete failure during the war. His answer was PR. Public relations? Flawless! This truly is an information war. I think we are all tired of only seeing blood on the news. I know that our Soldiers are doing amazing things out here in Iraq. Where are those stories? Think about the little things. The little kids will remember the Soldiers who gave them bottles of water. They will remember that Soldiers gave them a brand new school, complete with a backpack full of supplies. I love seeing those stories (that we send out every day) make it into the mainstream media. It is nice to see that Soldiers aren t just hired guns, and to see them portrayed as the wonderful humans I work with every day. That moment in the senator s office was completely plausible, fake operation aside. The questions were nothing new and certainly leading. It sucked me in, though overall, the movie wasn t very good. Still, it was definitely thought provoking. (Two out of five stars.) Lions For Lambs