Monday, April 30, 2007

Uneasy Alliance Is Taming One Insurgent Bastion

By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: April 29, 2007


ON THE JOB TOGETHER Iraqi policemen and American troops patrol near Ramadi in Anbar. Ramadi’s police force has sharply increased in the past year.

RAMADI, Iraq — Anbar Province, long the lawless heartland of the tenacious Sunni Arab resistance, is undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing and the insurgency appears to be in retreat.

“Many people are challenging the insurgents,” said the governor of Anbar, Maamoon S. Rahid, though he quickly added, “We know we haven’t eliminated the threat 100 percent.”

Many Sunni tribal leaders, once openly hostile to the American presence, have formed a united front with American and Iraqi government forces against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. With the tribal leaders’ encouragement, thousands of local residents have joined the police force. About 10,000 police officers are now in Anbar, up from several thousand a year ago. During the same period, the police force here in Ramadi, the provincial capital, has grown from fewer than 200 to about 4,500, American military officials say.

At the same time, American and Iraqi forces have been conducting sweeps of insurgent strongholds, particularly in and around Ramadi, leaving behind a network of police stations and military garrisons, a strategy that is also being used in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, as part of its new security plan. Yet for all the indications of a heartening turnaround in Anbar, the situation, as it appeared during more than a week spent with American troops in Ramadi and Falluja in early April, is at best uneasy and fragile. Municipal services remain a wreck; local governments, while reviving, are still barely functioning; and years of fighting have damaged much of Ramadi.

The insurgency in Anbar — a mix of Islamic militants, former Baathists and recalcitrant tribesmen — still thrives among the province’s overwhelmingly Sunni population, killing American and Iraqi security forces and civilians alike. [This was underscored by three suicide car-bomb attacks in Ramadi on April 23 and 24, in which at least 15 people were killed and 47 were wounded, American officials said.]

Furthermore, some American officials readily acknowledge that they have entered an uncertain marriage of convenience with the tribes, some of whom were themselves involved in the insurgency, to one extent or another. American officials are also negotiating with elements of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, a leading insurgent group in Anbar, to join their fight against Al Qaeda. These sudden changes have raised questions about the ultimate loyalties of the United States’ new allies.

“One day they’re laying I.E.D.’s, the next they’re police collecting a pay check,” said Lt. Thomas R. Mackesy, an adviser to an Iraqi Army unit in Juwayba, east of Ramadi, referring to improvised explosive devices. And it remains unclear whether any of the gains in Anbar will transfer to other troubled areas of Iraq — like Baghdad, Diyala Province, Mosul and Kirkuk, where violence rages and the ethnic and sectarian landscape is far more complicated.

Still, the progress has inspired an optimism in the American command that, among some officials, borders on giddiness. It comes after years of fruitless efforts to drive a wedge between moderate resistance fighters and those, like Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, who seem beyond compromise.

“There are some people who would say we’ve won the war out here,” said Col. John. A. Koenig, a planning officer for the Marines who oversees governing and economic development issues in Anbar. “I’m cautiously optimistic as we’re going forward.”

A New Calm

For most of the past few years, the Government Center in downtown Ramadi, the seat of the provincial government, was under near-continual siege by insurgents, who reduced it to little more than a bullet-ridden bunker of broken concrete, sandbags and trapped marines. Entering meant sprinting from an armored vehicle to the front door of the building to evade snipers’ bullets.

Now, however, the compound and nearby buildings are being renovated to create offices for the provincial administration, council and governor. Hotels are being built next door for the waves of visitors the government expects once it is back in business. On the roof of the main building, Capt. Jason Arthaud, commander of Company B, First Battalion, Sixth Marines, said the building had taken no sniper fire since November.

“Just hours of peace and quiet,” he deadpanned. “And boredom.”

Violence has fallen swiftly throughout Ramadi and its sprawling rural environs, residents and American and Iraqi officials said. Last summer, the American military recorded as many as 25 violent acts a day in the Ramadi region, ranging from shootings and kidnappings to roadside bombs and suicide attacks. In the past several weeks, the average has dropped to four acts of violence a day, American military officials said.

On a recent morning, American and Iraqi troops, accompanied by several police officers, went on a foot patrol through a market in the Malaab neighborhood of Ramadi. Only a couple of months ago, American and Iraqi forces would enter the area only in armored vehicles. People stopped and stared. The sight of police and military forces in the area, particularly on foot, was still novel. The new calm is eerie and unsettling, particularly for anyone who knew the city even several months ago.

“The complete change from night to day gives me pause,” said Capt. Brice Cooper, 26, executive officer of Company B, First Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division, which has been stationed in the city and its outskirts since last summer. “A month and a half ago we were getting shot up. Now we’re doing civil affairs work.”

A Moderate Front

The turnabout began last September, when a federation of tribes in the Ramadi area came together as the Anbar Salvation Council to oppose the fundamentalist militants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Among the council’s founders were members of the Abu Ali Jassem tribe, based in a rural area of northern Ramadi. The tribe’s leader, Sheik Tahir Sabbar Badawie, said in a recent interview that members of his tribe had fought in the insurgency that kept the Americans pinned down on their bases in Anbar for most of the last four years.

“If your country was occupied by Iraq, would you fight?” he asked, smiling knowingly. “Enough said.”

But while the anti-American sheiks in Anbar and Al Qaeda both opposed the Americans, their goals were different. The sheiks were part of a relatively moderate front that sought to drive the Americans out of Iraq; some were also fighting to restore Sunni Arab power. But Al Qaeda wanted to go even further and impose a fundamentalist Islamic state in Anbar, a plan that many of the sheiks did not share.

Al Qaeda’s fighters began to use killing, intimidation and financial coercion to divide the tribes and win support for their agenda. They killed about 210 people in the Abu Ali Jassem tribe alone and kidnapped others, demanding ransoms as high as $65,000 per person, Sheik Badawie said.

For all the sheiks’ hostility toward the Americans, they realized that they had a bigger enemy, or at least one that needed to be fought first, as a matter of survival. The council sought financial and military support from the Iraqi and American governments. In return the sheiks volunteered hundreds of tribesmen for duty as police officers and agreed to allow the construction of joint American-Iraqi police and military outposts throughout their tribal territories.

A similar dynamic is playing out elsewhere in Anbar, a desert region the size of New York State that stretches west of Baghdad to the Syrian and Jordanian borders. Tribal cooperation with the American and Iraqi commands has led to expanded police forces in the cities of Husayba, Hit, Rutba, Baghdadi and Falluja, officials say.

With the help of the Anbar sheiks, the military equation immediately became simpler for the Americans in Ramadi. The number of enemies they faced suddenly diminished, American and Iraqi officials said. They were able to move more freely through large areas. With the addition of the tribal recruits, the Americans had enough troops to build and operate garrisons in areas they cleared, many of which had never seen any government security presence before. And the Americans were now fighting alongside people with a deep knowledge of the local population and terrain, and with a sense of duty, vengeance and righteousness.

“We know this area, we know the best way to talk to the people and get information from them,” said Capt. Hussein Abd Nusaif, a police commander in a neighborhood in western Ramadi, who carries a Kalashnikov with an Al Capone-style “snail drum” magazine. “We are not afraid of Al Qaeda. We will fight them anywhere and anytime.”

Beginning last summer and continuing through March, the American-led joint forces pressed into the city, block by block, and swept the farmlands on the city’s outskirts. In many places the troops met fierce resistance. Scores of American and Iraqi security troops were killed or wounded. The Ramadi region is essentially a police state now, with some 6,000 American troops, 4,000 Iraqi soldiers, 4,500 Iraqi police officers and an auxiliary police force of 2,000, all local tribesmen, known as the Provincial Security Force.

The security forces are garrisoned in more than 65 police stations, military bases and joint American-Iraqi combat outposts, up from no more than 10 a year ago. The population of the city is officially about 400,000, though the current number appears to be much lower.

To help control the flow of traffic and forestall attacks, the American military has installed an elaborate system of barricades and checkpoints. In some of the enclaves created by this system, which American commanders frequently call “gated communities,” no vehicles except bicycles and pushcarts are allowed for fear of car bombs. American commanders see the progress in Anbar as a bellwether for the rest of country.

“One of the things I worry about in Baghdad is we won’t have the time to do the same kind of thing,” Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of day-to-day war operations in Iraq, said in an interview here.

Yet the fact that Anbar is almost entirely Sunni and not riven by the same sectarian feuds as other violent places, like Baghdad and Diyala Province, has helped to establish order. Elsewhere, security forces are largely Shiite and are perceived by many Sunnis as part of the problem. In Anbar, however, the new police force reflects the homogeneous face of the province and, most critically, appears to enjoy the support of the vast majority of the people.

A Growing Police Force

Military commanders say they cannot completely account for the whereabouts of the insurgency. They say they believe that many guerrillas have been killed, while others have gone underground, laid down their arms or migrated to other parts of Anbar, particularly the corridor between Ramadi and Falluja, the town of Karma north of Falluja and the sprawling rural zones around Falluja, including Zaidon and Amariyat al-Falluja on the banks of the Euphrates River.

American forces come under attack in these areas every day. Still other guerrillas, the commanders acknowledge, have joined the police force, sneaking through a vetting procedure that is set up to catch only known suspects. Many insurgents “are fighting for a different side now,” said Brig. Gen. Mark Gurganus, commander of ground forces in Anbar.

“I think that’s where the majority have gone.” But American commanders say they are not particularly worried about infiltrators among the new recruits. Many of the former insurgents now in the police, they say, were probably low-level operatives who were mainly in it for the money and did relatively menial tasks, like planting roadside bombs.

The speed of the buildup has led to other problems. Hiring has outpaced the building of police academies, meaning that many new officers have been deployed with little or no training. Without enough uniforms, many new officers patrol in civilian clothes, some with their heads wrapped in scarves or covered in balaclavas to conceal their identities. They look no different than the insurgents shown in mujahedeen videos.

Commanders seem to regard these issues as a necessary cost of quickly building a police force in a political environment that is, in the words of Colonel Koenig, “sort of like looking through smoke.” The police force, they say, has been the most critical component of the new security plan in Anbar Province and the key to sustaining the military successes.

Yet, oversight of the police forces by American forces and the central Iraqi government is weak, leaving open the possibility that some local leaders are using newly armed tribal members as their personal death squads to settle old scores. Several American officers who work with the Iraqi police said a lot of police work was conducted out of their view, particularly at night.

“It’s like the Mafia,” one American soldier at an outpost in Juwayba said.

General Odierno said, “We have to watch them very closely to make sure we’re not forming militias.”

But there is a new sense of commitment by the police, American and Iraqi officials say, in part because they are patrolling their own neighborhoods. Many were motivated to join after they or their communities were attacked by Al Qaeda, and their successes have made them an even greater target of insurgent car bombs and suicide attacks.

Abd Muhammad Khalaf, 28, a policeman in the Jazeera district on Ramadi’s northern edge, is typical. He joined the police after Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia killed two of his brothers, he said.

“I will die when God wills it,” he said. “But before I die, I will support my friends and kill some terrorists.”

The Tasks Ahead

Some tribal leaders now working with the Americans say they harbor deep resentment toward the Shiite-led administration of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, accusing it of pursuing a sectarian agenda. Yet they also say they are invested in the democratic process now.

After boycotting the national elections in 2005, many are now planning to participate in the next round of provincial elections, which have yet to be scheduled, as a way to build on the political and military gains they have made in recent months.

“Since I was a little boy, I have seen nothing but warfare — against the Kurds, Iranians, Kuwait, the Americans,” Sheik Badawie, the tribal leader, said. “We are tired of war. We are going to fight through the ballot box.”

Already, tribal leaders are participating in local councils that have been formed recently throughout the Ramadi area under the guidance of the American military. Iraqi and American officials say the sheiks’ embrace of representative government reflects the new realities of power in Anbar.

“Out here it’s been, ‘Who can defend his people?’ ” said Brig. Gen. John R. Allen, deputy commanding general of coalition forces in Anbar. “After the war it’s, ‘Who was able to reconstruct?’ ”

Indeed, American and Iraqi officials say that to hold on to the security gains and the public’s support, they must provide services to residents in areas they have tamed. But successful development, they argue, will depend on closing the divide between the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, which has long ignored the province, and the local leadership in Anbar, which has long tried to remain independent from the capital. If that fails, they say, the Iraqi and American governments may have helped to organize and arm a potent enemy.

To see the article online, Click Here!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

A super sweet picture of the Old Man






Thursday Thirteen #15


So there's this book written by Sarah Smiley called Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a military wife. It's really, really funny. She writes about all the crazy mishaps that happened to her after her husband left for a last minute 9 month deployment and I'm dedicated this week's TT to it. Because with what I've got, I can re-write it. Luckily the biggest thing we did this past year, buying the house, went as smooth as it did!

13 Mis-Adventures of Anna Mary

1. Our car was recalled. What are the chances, I swear. I'm taking it to the dealer again this weekend actually.

2. Took Sophie on an emergency Vet visit because the poor thing took two steps, got sick, took two more steps, got sick. She got kitty Parvo. She's always had a clean bill of health- it was so sad, but she's all better now.

3. I got a black eye from smacking my head on the wall rushing to pick up the Old Man's phone call. After all the sports I've played growing up, I've never got a black eye in my life! (Oh never mind. I forgot. I did at an N'Sync concert once when I was 14...don't ask. :) )

4. I got a flat tire at work. And another at home. And another in the city. And found a plug in the other. Yes, I have replaced all four tires in nine months. Luckily they were due for replacement anyway.

5. I had an all out brawl with RCN cable company that lasted months! They wouldn't disconnect our cable since it was in the Old Man's name (despite my POA) and even went as far as telling me to tell my husband to call them from Iraq to cancel service himself! It's fixed now, but boy, the nerve of those people!

6. I very proudly went to Home Depot and came back with quite an expensive selection of flowers to plant. I even gave the two Green Thumbs a call to boast about my selection. (My Aunt Carolyn and Mom can grow and craft unlike anything I've ever seen) They pooped already. Apparently my interpretation of sun exposure was a bit different than that little plant information sign stuck in the soil.

7. Went to a new hair stylist to get highlights for Christmas and she turned my hair green! I had to go to work like that and live with it for two days until she fixed it. I haven't told anyone about that one cause I was so embarrassed, but now I can laugh about it...sometimes.

8. I planned to go home for Christmas so I did the usual drive up to the usual airport that I usually take when I go to FL, BWI. Except this time, I got halfway up there during rush hour traffic, forgot I was flying back into a different airport, and had to drive all the way back home to park the car and take the metro. Yikes.

9. I picked out the house on the block with the loudest neighbors EVER! And it wasn't the music, the parties, or the conversations. It was doing you know what...I had to listen to it for a whole month straight before I had the chance to introduce myself and subtly tell them I recently moved in and I can hear right through the walls!

10. U.S. Air took my Jarhead Red! We all didn't forget that now, did we?

11. I got Strep Throat three times!!! The last time I got that was when I was 8 years old- and LOVED it cause all I ate was sherbet all day! Now it was just a big time off from work waster and miserable few weeks having to take care of myself.

12. I borrowed Pops drill so I can hang shelves and was all excited as I was about to embark on a usual, very manly thing to do around the house. I tapped for the beam in the wall and was proud that I found it so started drilling and put the shelves right up! Looking proudly at my accomplishment, the first time successfully using a drill, I realized I drilled and drilled...right through the wall and out the other side! (this is the first time the Old Man is hearing about this so don't panic. I spackled and repainted. Ship shape!)

13. The icing on the cake? I got summoned for jury duty on the day the Old Man is scheduled to return from Iraq! Ahhhh, at this point, all I can do is laugh!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
Welcome to Thursday Thirteen! Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Friday, April 20, 2007

An update on the Old Man (and his Old Lady)


So let's talk about how AMAZING it is that they're finally almost home! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! (I googled "Almost Home" to get a fun picture and look at what I found. How cute!) I am literally so physically exhausted from all this emotional nonsense I can't wait just to get a hug from my husband again! I can't even imagine how excited he must be about the thought of coming home after working tirelessly for 9 months straight. You read the post below from the CO, right???!!! (insert big sigh of relief since there's now a light at the end of the tunnel)

The Old Man and I have been talking a few times a day now that he's back to Hurricane Point. They are transitioning duties to the Marines in 3/7 and will be leaving HP soon to start their travels back to the states. The Old Man has been working a pretty regular schedule "on post" and during his free time he is contacting colleges and trying to work things out for next Fall or Spring. Of course, he has found time to buy that flat screen and surround sound system he's always wanted. And he bought me a steam cleaner!! (I'm teasing you Old Man!) That sounds terrible doesn't it? In his defense, I actually asked for it. We bought silk drapes and I never thought I'd hear the words, "I'd love a steam cleaner!" come out of my mouth, but yes, they did. And the Old Man remembered and I'm ecstatic!!! I can finally steam our drapes!!! Boy, if that doesn't make me sound like an old, married bag, I don't know what does! :)

So anyway, moral of today's post. We'll be praying for all of you Marines in 3/7. Thanks for being there so our boys can finally come home!!!!

Oh and Gloria, my favorite, most compassionate and understanding lady-friend ever, if you are reading this...I hope you don't mind that I now love your competition. You see, the UPS delivery man and I are now good friends. But that's only because my husband keeps sending things home for me to set up so that when he comes home- soon, he doesn't have to. I'm sure you understand! :)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

A letter to the families from the Commanding Officer

Dear Families and Friends of 1/6,

I want to thank each of you for your continued support and commitment to our mission here. Despite the extension your loved ones remain strong and professional. They are 1/6 HARD.

Your Marines and Sailors have accomplished so much during our time here in Iraq. We have exceeded expectations. We consistently hear from those who come here whether it be reporters or official representatives… all comment on what a difference they see from the time they spent with us back in August/September to now. They are simply amazed and question why the progress we are making isn’t making headline news. They are overwhelmed at what we have done and continue to do in helping secure and stabilize this part of Ramadi. I am sure everyone is starting to focus in on the details of when we are coming home. I will provide you with the projected timelines below:

Our projected window for return looks to be around 17-22 May. We will arrive on different flights/planes on different days. Remember we are moving over 1000 Marines and Sailors half way across the world.
We will enjoy some time off in the local area during Memorial Day Weekend from Friday May 25th until Tuesday, May 29th ; however, Marines and Sailors will not be allowed to leave the Jacksonville area until 1 June. The post deployment leave period where everyone will request leave will begin at 1200 on 1 June and end at 5pm on 26 June - This leave period still requires that each individual receive specific approval for his request.

The Advanced Party which will be a very small group, is anticipated to arrive sometime during the first week of May. Our 1/6 Military Transition Team (MTT) remains on schedule and should return around the April 23-24 time frame.

Additionally, May 25th is the scheduled date for the battalion Memorial service where we will honor our fallen brothers.

As we get closer to these dates, please know that you will be informed. We will update the 1-800 number as often as we can and as always, you are welcome to call our FRSNCO, SSgt Martins at (910) 451-2407 or (910) 546-9133. Once your Marine or Sailor is informed of the specific plan/flight that he will be assigned, he will be able to contact you with that information or you can contact our FRSNCO who will also have that information. For security reasons, I know you understand why we will not post those types of details on the website.

Please be patient. Your Marines and Sailors will not have those specifics until approximately one week prior to our return. Anything you hear otherwise is a “rumor” and should be treated as such… I know it is frustrating -- but let’s remember that our priority remains to keep these guys focused on the mission at hand and I need your help now more than ever to accomplish this.

Again, I thank you for your continued support of 1/6. God bless you all for the strength and sacrifice you have shown in supporting these brave men.

In your service,W. M. Jurney
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps
Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion 6th Marines

Monday, April 16, 2007

The Marine


It's the Marine, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.

It's the Marine, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.

It's the Marine, not the politicians that ensures our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It's the Marine who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag.

The final inspection

The Marine stood and faced God, which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, Marine, how shall I deal with you? Have you always turned the other cheek? To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said, "No, Lord, I guess I ain't. Because those of us who carry guns, can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays, and at times my talk was tough. And sometimes I've been violent, because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny, that wasn't mine to keep... Though I worked a lot of overtime, when the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help, though at times I shook with fear. And sometimes, God, forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place, among the people here. They never wanted me around, except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord, it needn't be so grand. I never expected or had too much, but if you don't, I'll understand."

There was a silence all around the throne, where the saints had often trod. As the Marine waited quietly, for the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you Marine, you've borne your burdens well. Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets, you've done your time in Hell."

A letter to the 1/6 family and friends from the Chaplain

Dear spouses, parents, grandparents, former members, and friends of 1/6,

Well another month closer to our return. As I travel about the city, I see these guys doing great stuff to help the good people of Iraq lay a foundation for the future of their children. How exciting and rewarding. Yes we have had some tough times our here, but no kidding the good we have done will have us leaving here proud.

This past Sunday was Easter Sunday. I encouraged those present at services to not only believe in God, believe in Jesus, but to see that the whole Easter event had everything to do with each one of us. Like an old oak tree in the middle of a field of wild flowers that embraces the initials of so many who had fallen in love, so does the cross embrace all of us. We have all had our names inscribed in the tree of life by a God who calls us his children.

As the sun came up and shined light on you all back home, so did it also shine light on us and the good people of Iraq. As we celebrate the rising of God’s Son, who also shines light on the whole world, let us be filled with joy in this new life.

With hearts filled with the love of our savior, a fresh spring, and a home coming we are set up for success and a wonderful summer. Be patient and strong, encourage us to remain diligent and steadfast in our mission right up to our last day.

One of my favorite pieces of advice is from my father who said to me when I was at a past job, “work the next three months as though you are there for six” Be surprised by the last day” These words have helped me in the past and I will certainly use them now.

We miss you all very much, Sara start making the ricotta cheese, I’m getting hungry.

Sincerely
Chaplain Jamie Stall-Ryan.
StallryanJJ@mnf-wiraq.usmc.mil

Monday, April 09, 2007


Happy Easter from Captain Poopy!

Isn't he the cutest ever???



Happy Easter everyone! I hope you had a wonderful day! The Old Man and I got to talk quite a bit yesterday, which was nice because I didn't get to go home this year. He did the usual. Worked, went to the gym, and ran his normal 500 miles in 5 minutes before he went to bed. I stayed around the house fixing up a few things then ordered Chinese. Old faithful on the Christian holidays when everything else is closed. After realizing how stinky it was being alone for the holiday this Sunday we decided, Christmas dinner is at our house this year!!!!!!!!!! We're giving you 9 months to plan so there better not be any excuses! :) Oh, wait a minute, I'm gonna have another cute, little nephew or niece around Nov 26th so that might not work out! I'll have to remind the Old Man about that. OK, so, Christmas dinner is in Florida this year!!! :) We're giving you 9 months to plan so there better not be any excuses! :)



Thursday, April 05, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #14


Thirteen WONDERFUL things that signify the deployment is winding down and THE OLD MAN WILL BE HOME SOON!!!!
(Thursday Thirteen is back! Yay!!!)

1. The shipping deadline has passed!!!!!!

2. The weekends are easier now knowing that soon I'll be spending them with my husband!

3. The Old Man enrolled in school and is taking steps to set up things for himself when he returns!

4. I said farewell to Gloria, the wonderful, wonderful- now friend of mine who works at the Post Office .

5. My husband is calling everyday since he is done with his infamous Rotations!

6. I threw out my free USPS postal supplies and my Sams Club giant size bubble wrap is almost out!

7. I have my "Gotta look good" hair/mani/pedi appointment scheduled!

8. My journal is getting harder and harder to fill!!

9. My husband is starting to ship things home he can't carry!!!

10. We're bought our plane tickets to visit our families and our hometowns!!

11. We're planning our Aruba "1 year anniversary, thank GOD this is over, boy did I miss you" trip!!

12. WE BROKE THAT DAMN 50 DAY MARK!!!!

13. And I'm not saying who, what, where, when, or how...but there is some talk about a Welcome Home Party in the air!!!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

Welcome to Thursday Thirteen! Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

I AM THANKFUL

I love this!!

FOR THE WIFE WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES,
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT,
BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH..

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY,

FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL,
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

An update on Lcpl Matt Bradford

Hopefully you all have been checking in on Lcpl Bradford's blog and keeping him in your thoughts and prayers. Lcpl Bradford was stationed in Haditha, Iraq and was severly injured on January 18, 2007. Matt's strength and spirits continue to get stronger every day. Last night he updated his blog himself for the first time since he was injured- a sign of how far he's come!

Click Here! to stop by his blog.

Longest weeeeekkk everrrrr!!

*big sigh*

So we're not supposed to write specific anything online, but I just have to say... This countdown is STUCK on 50! I swear, I feel like for the past month I've been saying 50 something more days and it's driving me crazy!!!!!

Hurry up and get home already Old Man!!! This countdown thing is just getting ridiculous! :)

I love you!