Sunday, June 10, 2007

Alot of stuff happened since i last blogged. Two embedded people from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Amy Schlesing, a reporter with the paper, as well as a photographer named Staton Breidenthal both came and stayed with Charlie Company for about a full month before going to the crazy world of the Anbar province.

During their time with us, we had our first casualty. Specialist Erich Smallwood was killed when a large IED exploded near under his humvee. I had only seen him a couple times, but it horrible to know that we have lost our first guy as part our own deployed unit since World War 2 (when we were an artillery unit).

On a more postive note, we have finally dealt with the issue of getting an Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) to Specialist Christopher Centers, who was shot in the head by a sniper, but lived and was even able to come back and continue doing missions. I asked SSG Ewald, one of our radio guys who had simply lost his ACH and who still had a older model helmet as well, to give Centers his helmet. This wasn't much of a problem, as he has stayed inside the base the whole time we have been here, so safety was much less of an issue. So the story pretty much ends for now, although we still haven't heard from our CIF about the ACH they were supposed to get Centers.

It still though should be noted that the fact that the Iraq Funding Bill was over 3 months late due to Congressional squabbling affected one of the avenues of how Specialist Centers was supposed to get a helmet, as there were attempts to get his ACH from a supply sgt's connections back in the US. That route was complicated by the fact that stateside units were in a budget crunch as the Army had to prioritize them lower due to budget problems, and so making it harder to get a helmet to for a guy that just got shot in the head. Just another guy caught in the crossfire of Capitol Hill's political wars I guess, and just another reason why we should all thank our local congressman.

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hi, Hunter. I'm from Bay, Arkansas and I found your blog from a link on Ryan Vaughan, the KAIT-Channel 8 weather guy's blog.

I knew Erich Smallwood very well. He used to attend my church in Trumann, Arkansas, our hometown, with his uncle and other family. Since his death I believe another member of the 875th from Vilonia has died.

I know several members of the 875th personally and know the families of even more.

I wish there was more we as civilians could do to cut through all the bureaucratic red tape to make sure that all our soldiers were properly equipped and had all you needed to be as safe and comfortable as possible.

Please know that I and my church are praying for you all and that we support y'all as you serve in Iraq.

Thank you for your service and for your sacrifices. You are not forgotten.

God Bless,

Diane Jennings

11 June, 2007 02:59  
Blogger Unknown said...

Dear Hunter,

Thank you for your service and for your reports in this weblog.

The Center for Rural Strategies has begun a website about news/features from the rural U.S. called the Daily Yonder, and includes you proudly on the blogroll.

http://www.dailyyonder.com/blog-roll

Thinking of your safety and courage,
Julie Ardery
The Daily Yonder
http://www.dailyyonder.com

23 June, 2007 13:08  
Blogger Ryan said...

Hunter,
I hope all is well. Everyone back at home is looking forward to seeing you guys back in NE Arkansas.

Take care,
Ryan Vaughan
K8 StormTEAM

20 August, 2007 18:42  

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