Post by toeps on Nov 11, 2008 3:05:39 GMT -5
I wanted to share this especially with seeing how our own media portays the war. Most of us do not support the war but I feel we have an obligation to support our soldiers. May God keep them safe in rememberance of all Veterans on this Veterans Day.
www.naturalhorsetraining.com/WhisperingWayNewsletter-Holiday-08.htm
From
Sylvia Scott Whispering Way™
Natural Horsemanship Training
Dear Friends:
As many of you know, our son, Sergeant Trevor Scott, is serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army 101st Airborne (Able Company, 1/506th). Trevor's platoon will not be home for Christmas this year, and I spent the past couple of months pulling together personalized Christmas stockings that Trevor asked me to do for his entire platoon of 40 men, as a surprise for them to boost their morale on Christmas day. That massive stocking project is completed and shipped off to them now and it was a real honor to do this for them!
I wanted to share something with all of you since so seldom do we get to have a deep enough peek into what our soldiers endure every day there in Afghanistan, where fighting is now more intense than it was the year that Trevor served in Iraq.
Attached to Trevor's platoon has been a group of French soldiers, headed up by French Maj. Guellf. One of the wonderful things that the French soldiers brought with them and have left there is a satellite so that the soldiers could have access to the Internet, which we are so grateful for because that means we families can hear from our soldier in email more often! We hear from Trevor in email several times a week from there and I can't tell you how comforting that is!
Maj. Guelff was recently transferred, his deployment there up, and another French unit replaced them, but before he left, Maj. Guelff, with the backing of the French government, presented 3 men in our U.S. Army serving there in Afghanistan, with the French National Defense Medal. We're proud to say that Trevor was one of the 3 American soldiers presented this French honor medal. In the ceremony, after pinning the medals on the 3 men, Maj. Guelff gave a moving speech and I wanted to share with all of you here that speech, because it gives a unique view of what our American soldiers are like, fighting there in Afghanistan, and what they endure daily. I want to also share this so that over the holidays, you keep in mind our soldiers serving our country, away from their own families during the holidays. They serve our country so that the rest of us can enjoy peace on our side of the Earth.
Here is French Maj. Guellf's speech:
Since the first month we have been deployed to the South of Kabul. During this time, we have shared our everyday life with two American units, Able and Dog Company of the 1/506th Infantry Regiment. To someone who has not worked and lived with these soldiers they appear to be no different than any other unit. Having lived with them and gotten to know them, we have had the honour to live with one of the most highly recognized units.
We are involved in an exciting, but tough, adventure in Afghanistan. Following the tragic death of our soldiers from the 8th RPIMa, who gave their lives in this war against the Taliban, it seems convenient to return to everyday life, "common soldiers who live an extraordinary story." Who are they, these soldiers from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and what support do they bring to our guys of the OMLT? Only a few of them belong to Easy Company, the company which is the center of interest of the television series ["Band of Brothers"].
Easy Company now bears the name of ECHO COMPANY, and it became by necessity the logistical support company of the 1/506th. However, "Able" and "Dog" Company are two companies of this prestigious Battalion in which we have had the chance, and the honour, to work alongside. We have also been able to conduct combined missions with these companies. Shocked by what was said about American soldiers on the news in France following the death of our soldiers in the district of SUROBI, we indeed owe them these thoughts which will shed some light on these charming young men.
They have a terribly marked accent. They are American. Understand that in America they do not speak English. How many times was it necessary to write to them what I had to say rather then lose the precious time it would take to try several pronunciations of a word which would seem commonplace? Whatever their native State is, we never find the same accent. Even they admit that in certain crisis situations they cannot always understand each other due to the excitement in their voice and their heavy accent.
These are large men. From a young age they are fed Gatorade, protein, and createin. They appear as though they are head and shoulders taller than us, and their muscle structure reminds us of John Rambo in his prime. This handicap, which amuses them so much, often confuses the Afghan into thinking: we are weak, even for the strongest among us.
Their values are where we discover America, as it is often depicted: the values which are theirs are carried on here in their actions, amplified by the crowded conditions and the solitude of our post in the middle of this Afghan valley. Honour, Homeland. Everything reminds you of it: the American flag blowing in the wind above the combat outpost as we have seen drawn on their mail boxes. In spite of recruitment, often in the heart of the American towns infiltrated by gangs, nobody here has any other motive than to proudly represent the Stars and Stripes.
These soldiers are supported by those back home. Whether they receive a package from family or an anonymous donor, they send each soldier items they come to miss while deployed: Books, chewing gum, razor blades, powder drinks (GATORADE naturally!), toothpaste, etc. They are supported so much so that they are able to focus on the difficult mission that is theirs to accomplish.
It comes as a shock to view their successful ideals: the American soldier is not individualistic. The teams, the section, the platoon fight are at the center of all its attention. We who believe what it means to be an American have made a mistake. Even as difficult as it is to admit it, we do not hold the same values.
And what soldiers! We did not meet one bad soldier. Strange when we know how critical we can be! Even if some of them show a light stoutness, all of them give us lessons of everyday life as an infantryman. Beyond the port of the battle dress which never seems to bother them (helmet chin strap, helmet, ballistic glasses, rifle), the long hours of guard do not seem to truly bother them. Their only protection a wooden tower, which is only a square meter of plywood thrown above outer walls, maintaining 5 hours of guard. They use their night vision devices to constantly observe any possible danger. They are like statues, no entertainment and no breaks.
As night falls the operations on the combat outpost are the same. All movements are made in the dark: only some red head lamps indicate to us their presence here or there of a soldier in movement. Their vehicles move in the same manner. Their lights are covered while they drive at night. Everything is done in the dark, to include manual refueling their vehicles.
If you ask me how they are when they are in the fight? I would say if you saw RAMBO you have seen everything: always ready to quickly come to the aid of a team in need of support. It is one of their secrets: they change from their t-shirts and into their battle dress in about three minutes. When they arrive near the enemy position, their mode of action is simple and puzzling: they charge! Followers of the off-loaded assault, they throw themselves into the fight first and then ask questions, what limits the procrastinations. No badly posted soldier, no soldier who seems lost in the middle of the crash of the fights.
Without a doubt this is most surprising for someone who is used to being alongside our French platoons. They work ceaselessly, they come back to the combat outpost and immediately continue to work. Their daily tasks are being done even at 5 a.m. in the most beautiful order and without ever a complaint. A brief example of what we have seen while here: an American helicopter which stopped and hovered near one of our vehicles to see if everything was okay while we were in contact. They came in support of our troops even though they were unaware of how dangerous the situation might have been.
The American soldier is a beautiful soldier, a deserving heir of those who freed France and Europe, a deserving heir of those of 506 PIR, 101st Airborne. For those who honour us with welcoming us into their combat outpost and who every day displayed the most beautiful military qualities, for those who pay every day a heavy toll to the deployment of the Army of United States of America on the Afghan ground, for all this we indeed owed them this article in our blog; we simply hope in turn that we proved worthy of being considered a part of the "Band of Brothers."
If you would like to send our soldiers serving in Afghanistan a holiday care package, you can use Trevor's address there - he shares everything with his platoon (address it exactly like this):
SGT Scott, Trevor
3rd Plt, A Co, 1-506th
FOB Airborne
TF Red Currahee
APO AE 09354
You might put a note in the package with your name and email address so that he/they can email you to thank you personally for your thoughtfulness. Keep packages to the approximate size of two shoe boxes for easier delivery. The U.S. Post Office's APO flat rate shipping boxes (that you can pick up at your local post office for free) work well for this.
And this holiday season, please keep our soldiers who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in your hearts, minds and prayers. They need our unconditional support now more than ever!
www.naturalhorsetraining.com/WhisperingWayNewsletter-Holiday-08.htm
From
Sylvia Scott Whispering Way™
Natural Horsemanship Training
Dear Friends:
As many of you know, our son, Sergeant Trevor Scott, is serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army 101st Airborne (Able Company, 1/506th). Trevor's platoon will not be home for Christmas this year, and I spent the past couple of months pulling together personalized Christmas stockings that Trevor asked me to do for his entire platoon of 40 men, as a surprise for them to boost their morale on Christmas day. That massive stocking project is completed and shipped off to them now and it was a real honor to do this for them!
I wanted to share something with all of you since so seldom do we get to have a deep enough peek into what our soldiers endure every day there in Afghanistan, where fighting is now more intense than it was the year that Trevor served in Iraq.
Attached to Trevor's platoon has been a group of French soldiers, headed up by French Maj. Guellf. One of the wonderful things that the French soldiers brought with them and have left there is a satellite so that the soldiers could have access to the Internet, which we are so grateful for because that means we families can hear from our soldier in email more often! We hear from Trevor in email several times a week from there and I can't tell you how comforting that is!
Maj. Guelff was recently transferred, his deployment there up, and another French unit replaced them, but before he left, Maj. Guelff, with the backing of the French government, presented 3 men in our U.S. Army serving there in Afghanistan, with the French National Defense Medal. We're proud to say that Trevor was one of the 3 American soldiers presented this French honor medal. In the ceremony, after pinning the medals on the 3 men, Maj. Guelff gave a moving speech and I wanted to share with all of you here that speech, because it gives a unique view of what our American soldiers are like, fighting there in Afghanistan, and what they endure daily. I want to also share this so that over the holidays, you keep in mind our soldiers serving our country, away from their own families during the holidays. They serve our country so that the rest of us can enjoy peace on our side of the Earth.
Here is French Maj. Guellf's speech:
Since the first month we have been deployed to the South of Kabul. During this time, we have shared our everyday life with two American units, Able and Dog Company of the 1/506th Infantry Regiment. To someone who has not worked and lived with these soldiers they appear to be no different than any other unit. Having lived with them and gotten to know them, we have had the honour to live with one of the most highly recognized units.
We are involved in an exciting, but tough, adventure in Afghanistan. Following the tragic death of our soldiers from the 8th RPIMa, who gave their lives in this war against the Taliban, it seems convenient to return to everyday life, "common soldiers who live an extraordinary story." Who are they, these soldiers from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and what support do they bring to our guys of the OMLT? Only a few of them belong to Easy Company, the company which is the center of interest of the television series ["Band of Brothers"].
Easy Company now bears the name of ECHO COMPANY, and it became by necessity the logistical support company of the 1/506th. However, "Able" and "Dog" Company are two companies of this prestigious Battalion in which we have had the chance, and the honour, to work alongside. We have also been able to conduct combined missions with these companies. Shocked by what was said about American soldiers on the news in France following the death of our soldiers in the district of SUROBI, we indeed owe them these thoughts which will shed some light on these charming young men.
They have a terribly marked accent. They are American. Understand that in America they do not speak English. How many times was it necessary to write to them what I had to say rather then lose the precious time it would take to try several pronunciations of a word which would seem commonplace? Whatever their native State is, we never find the same accent. Even they admit that in certain crisis situations they cannot always understand each other due to the excitement in their voice and their heavy accent.
These are large men. From a young age they are fed Gatorade, protein, and createin. They appear as though they are head and shoulders taller than us, and their muscle structure reminds us of John Rambo in his prime. This handicap, which amuses them so much, often confuses the Afghan into thinking: we are weak, even for the strongest among us.
Their values are where we discover America, as it is often depicted: the values which are theirs are carried on here in their actions, amplified by the crowded conditions and the solitude of our post in the middle of this Afghan valley. Honour, Homeland. Everything reminds you of it: the American flag blowing in the wind above the combat outpost as we have seen drawn on their mail boxes. In spite of recruitment, often in the heart of the American towns infiltrated by gangs, nobody here has any other motive than to proudly represent the Stars and Stripes.
These soldiers are supported by those back home. Whether they receive a package from family or an anonymous donor, they send each soldier items they come to miss while deployed: Books, chewing gum, razor blades, powder drinks (GATORADE naturally!), toothpaste, etc. They are supported so much so that they are able to focus on the difficult mission that is theirs to accomplish.
It comes as a shock to view their successful ideals: the American soldier is not individualistic. The teams, the section, the platoon fight are at the center of all its attention. We who believe what it means to be an American have made a mistake. Even as difficult as it is to admit it, we do not hold the same values.
And what soldiers! We did not meet one bad soldier. Strange when we know how critical we can be! Even if some of them show a light stoutness, all of them give us lessons of everyday life as an infantryman. Beyond the port of the battle dress which never seems to bother them (helmet chin strap, helmet, ballistic glasses, rifle), the long hours of guard do not seem to truly bother them. Their only protection a wooden tower, which is only a square meter of plywood thrown above outer walls, maintaining 5 hours of guard. They use their night vision devices to constantly observe any possible danger. They are like statues, no entertainment and no breaks.
As night falls the operations on the combat outpost are the same. All movements are made in the dark: only some red head lamps indicate to us their presence here or there of a soldier in movement. Their vehicles move in the same manner. Their lights are covered while they drive at night. Everything is done in the dark, to include manual refueling their vehicles.
If you ask me how they are when they are in the fight? I would say if you saw RAMBO you have seen everything: always ready to quickly come to the aid of a team in need of support. It is one of their secrets: they change from their t-shirts and into their battle dress in about three minutes. When they arrive near the enemy position, their mode of action is simple and puzzling: they charge! Followers of the off-loaded assault, they throw themselves into the fight first and then ask questions, what limits the procrastinations. No badly posted soldier, no soldier who seems lost in the middle of the crash of the fights.
Without a doubt this is most surprising for someone who is used to being alongside our French platoons. They work ceaselessly, they come back to the combat outpost and immediately continue to work. Their daily tasks are being done even at 5 a.m. in the most beautiful order and without ever a complaint. A brief example of what we have seen while here: an American helicopter which stopped and hovered near one of our vehicles to see if everything was okay while we were in contact. They came in support of our troops even though they were unaware of how dangerous the situation might have been.
The American soldier is a beautiful soldier, a deserving heir of those who freed France and Europe, a deserving heir of those of 506 PIR, 101st Airborne. For those who honour us with welcoming us into their combat outpost and who every day displayed the most beautiful military qualities, for those who pay every day a heavy toll to the deployment of the Army of United States of America on the Afghan ground, for all this we indeed owed them this article in our blog; we simply hope in turn that we proved worthy of being considered a part of the "Band of Brothers."
If you would like to send our soldiers serving in Afghanistan a holiday care package, you can use Trevor's address there - he shares everything with his platoon (address it exactly like this):
SGT Scott, Trevor
3rd Plt, A Co, 1-506th
FOB Airborne
TF Red Currahee
APO AE 09354
You might put a note in the package with your name and email address so that he/they can email you to thank you personally for your thoughtfulness. Keep packages to the approximate size of two shoe boxes for easier delivery. The U.S. Post Office's APO flat rate shipping boxes (that you can pick up at your local post office for free) work well for this.
And this holiday season, please keep our soldiers who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in your hearts, minds and prayers. They need our unconditional support now more than ever!
