82nd and Fort Bragg stories

[2RHPZ]

Bullet wound doesn't stop Sgt. Tibbetts

By Kevin Maurer

If the bullet had entered Sgt. Lee Tibbetts' neck a few millimeters to the right, he would be dead.
Tibbetts was shot Jan. 31 while on guard duty at Victory Main, the U.S. Army's headquarters in Baghdad. It was fired from about 200 meters away and went through his neck near the jugular vein. The fire fight started 45 minutes before the end of Tibbetts' shift. He and Spc. Justin Peralta were in a guard tower overlooking Highway 10 in Baghdad when the dogs started barking. Seconds later, the Iraqis started firing.

SGT. LEE TIBBETTS
Age: 30
Unit: Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
Military Job: Infantryman; team leader
Hometown: Fayetteville

''You could hear it hitting the tower," said Tibbetts, a team leader assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
Tibbetts didn't notice the wound until he knelt to reload his rifle. ''I felt the blood dripping down my neck. I stuck my finger in the hole, and it went all the way up to my knuckle," he said.
The paratroopers continued to fight until help arrived to relieve them. Tibbetts said the wound burned, but he knew the injury was not that bad because the blood was not spraying. Once the area was secured, he was rushed to a hospital in Baghdad.
Tibbetts said the wound didn't hurt as much as the needle that doctors used to inject dye to make sure none of his arteries were damaged.
Tibbetts called his wife, Amber, from the hospital. She is a civilian nurse at Fort Bragg's Womack Army Medical Center. The first thing he told her was that he had been shot.
''My heart stopped," she said. He assured her that he was fine and that he would return to duty in the next few days. ''Hearing his voice made a difference. He swore up and down that he was OK," Amber Tibbetts said.
Tibbetts was in the hospital for two days before he returned to his unit. The Army asked if he wanted to go home, but Tibbetts said no because he wanted to make sure his men were safe. He could not forgive himself if something went wrong and he was not there. ''I would always be thinking, 'If I was there, would I have done something different,'" he said.
Amber Tibbetts was not surprised. ''He wants to be there for his troops," she said. When she saw him a few months later, she was shocked that the scar was so small. ''You wouldn't know it was there if you weren't looking at it," Amber Tibbetts said.

Afghanistan tour
The deployment to Iraq was his second combat deployment in the last two years. His unit deployed to Afghanistan in 2003. He said Iraq was much more dangerous. ''It is like the bad guys are everywhere," he said. Tibbetts believes most of the Iraqis are pressured by peers into hating Americans. ''Probably half of them want us there, and the other half don't want us there. But the half that does isn't going to say anything," he said.
This is Tibbetts' second time in the Army. He first joined in 1991 because his father was in the 82nd Airborne Division. He volunteered to deploy to Somalia and was attached as a medic to the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y. He left before the famous battle of Mogadishu, where two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and 18 U.S. soldiers died. Tibbetts said what he saw in Somalia is similar to what he saw in Iraq and Afghanistan.
''It seems like it is the same scenario everywhere we go. People that need help, we try to help them. But there is always somebody else that does not want us there so they pressure all the people who want us there," he said.

Return to Army
After leaving the Army, Tibbetts worked eight years at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. He is a Fayetteville native and was born at the hospital. He rejoined the Army after he went on a call to help a close friend.
Tibbetts decided to come back to the Army as an infantryman, not a medic. He wanted to do something a little more exciting. ''You see someone kicking down doors and laying down rounds, you want to do that," he said.

[2RHPZ]

Recovery from war injury is Sgt. Wills new mission

By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer

Sgt. Jason Wills put on his uniform last week for the first time in seven months.
He easily slid his right arm into his jacket. He tied both of his shoes.
The simple tasks would have been impossible seven months ago, when Wills started his recovery from a shrapnel wound to the head that paralyzed the right side of his body.
He still stumbles over some words and carries a curved scar and an indention on the left side of his head. But those are the only visible effects of the wound he took in Iraq.
Wills, who is 22, joined the Army in July 2001 to get away from small-town life in Oakwood, Ill. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 and then to Iraq in August 2003.
Wills had been in Iraq for about four months when his unit was attacked by insurgents in Mahmudiyah, a small city south of Baghdad, he said. The paratroopers had just turned around on the highway when two rocket-propelled grenades hit the truck Wills was in. He was in the gun turret when shrapnel slammed into his head. He crumbled into the truck.
''It was instant," Wills said. "It was too fast."
The paratroopers were still under attack, so Staff Sgt. Jeff Robinson jumped into the turret and returned fire. He had no idea Wills was injured. ''I didn't realize how hurt he was until after the firefight," Robinson said.
When the short battle was over, soldiers rushed Wills to the aid station. Some said his head injury looked so bad that they didn't think he was going to make it.

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Sgt. Jason Wills receives the Purple Heart from Col. Pete Johnson.

Sgt. 1st Class Jose A. Rivera of Fayetteville did not survive. He was hit in the same attack that wounded Wills.
But Wills did make it. He was evacuated to the military hospital in Baghdad, where doctors performed surgery. He was then flown to an Army hospital in Germany.

Wife's support
The day of the attack, the battalion's rear detachment called Wills' wife, Amy, to let her know he had been wounded. ''It was a very intense time. We knew Wills was serious, but we didn't know how bad it was going to be," said Capt. Andrew Steadman, the rear detachment commander at the time.
Three days after the Army told Amy Wills that her husband was wounded, she got a call from Germany. The doctors held the phone to Wills' ear and told her that he could hear her. ''I remember telling him that everything was going to be OK and that I would see him in a few days and that everything was going to be fine," she said.
Spc. John Wickham was at Fort Bragg on emergency leave when he heard that his friend had been badly wounded. ''I flipped out and went to my church to pray. I cried out pretty hard to God," said Wickham.
When Amy Wills learned that her husband was going to be transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Wickham gave her a ride to the hospital.
Wills arrived at Walter Reed at 1 a.m. on Veterans Day.

He couldn't move his right arm. His speech was slurred. And when doctors asked him questions, such as what month it was, he would answer with something like ''dog" or ''forward." Wills said he could understand the questions, but could not say the correct word. ''He knew what he wanted to say, but it didn't come out right," Amy Wills said.
Wills was in therapy every day at Walter Reed. Progress was slow. He had to learn to talk, walk, write and eat all over again.
''He came in there not being able to walk or move his arm, and when he left he was able to walk and he had made a fist in his right hand," Amy Wills said.
After his stay at Walter Reed, Wills was transferred to McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Va. The hospital provides specialized care for traumatic brain injuries.
Wills said he was in therapy from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. ''Each hour, I had something different," Wills said. ''You get frustrated, but you have to do it."
Marian Baxter, a clinical nurse specialist and brain injury case manager at the hospital, said the hospital has treated 18 soldiers. The hospital is one of four brain treatment facilities in the VA system.
Wills said the rehabilitation, especially the speech therapy, was hard. But he was glad just to be alive. ''I am happy that I am trying to say it," he said. "It could be different."
Baxter said treating brain injuries is an evolving field and Wills' recovery is not typical.
''Not everybody has that good recovery. Whatever recovery that person is going to get, they will get 80 percent in the first few months. You want to try and get someone into rehab as soon as you can," Baxter said.
Amy Wills moved to Richmond with their 2-year-old daughter, Jaylie. Wills said he would finish therapy and see his daughter and it would motivate him to work harder. ''In a couple of years, she is going to be doing stuff that I want to help her with," he said. "I am going to get it back to normal. That is what I tell myself. Keep trying and trying."

Back in uniform
Wills and his family now live in Danville, Ill. Amy starts beauty school in the fall. Wills continues to go to rehabilitation three times a week. He expects to be medically retired from the Army.
Staff photo by Marc Hall
Amy Wills touches the scar left by the shrapnel wound to her husband's head.

But he put on his dress uniform one more time last weekend for the 3rd Battalion of 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment's ball at the Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville.
Wills and his wife were celebrities. As they moved through the crowd, soldiers would come up and greet them. Robinson, who sat at the same table as Wills, was happy to see his unit mate. ''I am glad he is still with us here," he said.
It was the second time he had seen the soldiers with whom he served in Iraq. When the 3rd Battalion paratroopers came home in April, Wills visited them at Fort Bragg.
Wills spent Easter at Wickham's house. Wickham said his speech was slurred then and he could barely use his right arm. He was amazed at the improvement in Wills last week. ''Every single time I see him, he has gotten better. It is hard to believe it has happened," Wickham said.
The paratroopers showed a video tribute remembering all of the soldiers killed in Iraq, including Rivera. Rivera, 34, was a platoon sergeant. His widow, Sonia, attended the ball. Wills said it was hard to talk with her.
''I was at a loss for words," Wills said.
Sonia Rivera said she is happy Wills made it and is doing well. ''I wish my husband made it too," she said.
Wills received his Purple Heart at the ball. He stood with his wife as Lt. Col. Pete Johnson, the 3rd Battalion's commander, pinned the medal on his uniform and talked about the sacrifice Wills had made.
Amy Wills wiped away tears as she returned to her seat.
''He made a huge sacrifice," she said. "I had to watch him every day struggle and be frustrated."
He has made a lot of progress, and there is more to do. He does not know what kind of work he will be able to do.
''The only thing that really matters to me is getting this back to normal so that I can do what ever I want to do," he said.

[2RHPZ]

Video game features 82nd Airborne in Iraq

By Kevin Maurer

Taking part in a fire fight on the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, is now only a click away.
Kuma Reality Games has built an online video game that allows players to participate in re-created versions of actual military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. They include trying to capture Uday and Qusay in Mosul, Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan and a raid on the Fallujah Police Station.
Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division are featured in the ninth mission, ''Fallujah Abizaid Attack." The mission is based on the Feb. 12 ambush of Gen. John Abizaid, commander of Central Command, and Maj. Gen. Chuck Swannack, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. The game re-creates the attack and response by paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Kuma Reality Games, headquartered in New York, released the game in May. It can be downloaded from the company's Web site for $9.99 per month. For every subscription, Kuma Reality Games donates $1 to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The fund provides grants to the families of military personnel who have been killed during the war on terrorism.
The company is offering a free subscription to everyone with a ".mil" e-mail address until June 30.
Each month, subscribers get a new mission. The missions come with an overview of more than 20 pages of information about weapons, a chronology of the battle and satellite photos of the scene.
Keith Halper, chief executive officer of Kuma Reality Games, said he hopes the games educate people about what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Halper considers them an addendum to television news.
Halper said the goal of the games is to make them as real as possible, but the missions are not meant to train the next generation of soldiers.
''We are not really training war fighters. It is really about communicating information," he said. ''We have to deliver it to them in a form they understand. It is more powerful then traditional news gathering. We can enhance real events in a lot more informed way."
Gamers will remember the information, Halper said, because they will have to use the information. Millions of Americans are starting to abandon television and are playing video games as their primary source of entertainment, Halper said. He sees the game as a way to appeal to a generation of video game players.
Missions are selected based on location and the event. If the company already has a model of the town or location, the game can be made much quicker and cheaper. On average, it takes about two weeks to produce a mission, said Dante Anderson, director of game development. He has helped design several games, including Duke Nukem: Time To Kill and NAM.
The attack on Abizaid and Swannack was selected because the company already had Fallujah mapped out, and an attack on a general is a big event, Anderson said.
At first, the site attracted mostly video game players. But, as word got out, Halper said, more and more news junkies logged on to the site. He said the gamers would mostly discuss the finer points of the game on the message boards, but non-gamers have expanded the topics of discussion to ask questions about policy.
''Game technology has advanced to a place where you can do important things with it. There has to be something more important we can do besides zapping aliens," he said.

[UkrainianAmerican]

Sgt. Lee Tibbets is one lucky sonofab*tch! woot

[2RHPZ]

Published on: 2004-07-02

82nd commander awaits call to deploy

By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer

The commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division said Thursday the unit has not received a deployment order, but he anticipates parts of the division will deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan within the next year.

Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell said he anticipates that the division will deploy at least one of its three brigades within a year. Caldwell said he does not know where the soldiers would go, but has told his commanders that if they are basing their training on real-world situations, Afghanistan should be their model.

The 82nd's three combat brigades have been at the center of the war on terrorism in the past two years. The 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment was one of the first units to complete a one-year deployment to Iraq. The 504th and 505th parachute infantry regiments have sent paratroopers to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The whole division has only been home for four months. The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment returned from Iraq in April.

Caldwell took over command of the division in May. He said he is happy to be back at Fort Bragg and is honored to be commanding the 82nd.

He was senior military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense at the Pentagon before coming to Fort Bragg.

Caldwell stressed that the 82nd is the nation's ''911 force," and said that in the last 30 days, the division has focused on making sure it is ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

''If President Bush picks up that phone and dials 911, on the other line he hears, '82nd Airborne Division - Sir, what can we do for you?' " he said.

[A Soldier]

I love the 82nd and I can only hope that once I complete Jump School I get a slot with them. I would enjoy staying close to home and be at Fayetnam

[Uncle Sam]

I was in the 82nd, and you just can't kill us! :D

[2RHPZ]

82nd supplies Ranger leaders

By Henry Cuningham
Military editor

This summer, for the first time in recent memory, the men selected to command the Army's three Ranger battalions are coming from the same place - the 82nd Airborne Division.

Lt. Cols. David Haight, Richard Clarke and John Castles are completing their two-year assignments as battalion commanders in the division at Fort Bragg and reporting to their new jobs. The new assignments will be for two years as well.

''I don't believe we've ever had all three commanders out of one division,'' Col. Craig Nixon said.

Nixon is the commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, which has its headquarters at Fort Benning, Ga. The Ranger regiment is part of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, which has its headquarters at Fort Bragg.

The Army selects three Ranger battalion commanders out of about 200 lieutenant colonels who have commanded battalions, Nixon said.

''Our first criteria is to put the very best officers in the command,'' he said. ''That is based largely on their career pattern and their battalion command time.'' About 50 would be the strongest candidates due to past Ranger experience.

''It is unusual to have them all come out of the same division,'' Nixon said. ''It is unusual for us to change all three battalions in the same year. I would characterize it as unusual, but really not surprising if you look at the people that are competitive, the relationship over the years between the 82nd and the Ranger regiment.''

The 82nd Airborne Division has nine infantry battalions at Fort Bragg and a total of about 15,000 paratroopers. The 75th Ranger Regiment has three battalions in different locations and 2,200 Rangers. Ranger battalions usually work more independently and on more sensitive special operations missions than conventional units.

''We are both airborne units, so there is an airborne connection,'' Nixon said. ''Historically, both (are) strike forces. We have fought together from Just Cause on and recently, have fought side by side in Afghanistan and Iraq, so there is a lot of crossover between the two units. It's a great division.''

In 1974, Gen. Creighton Abrams, the chief of staff of the Army, directed the formation of Ranger battalions that were to be ''elite, light, and the most proficient infantry battalion in the world.'' The battalion commanders must have successfully done the job elsewhere.

''Rich Clark, Dave Haight, John Castles have all served in the regiment before,'' Nixon said. ''They are all exceptional warriors, all coming out of combat operations in Iraq.''

Haight commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. On June 17, he took command of the 2nd Ranger Battalion at Fort Lewis at Tacoma, Wash.

He said one of his biggest challenges in taking over was deploying soon after he took command, said Haight, 42 from Fairfax, Va..

Not a newcomer

''Luckily, I've served in this Battalion twice before, so I'm not a complete newcomer," he said.

Clarke was commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

''It has been a fantastic two years,'' said Clarke, 41, a 1984 West Point graduate from Beaufort, S.C. ''I could not have imagined on 10 June 2002 how much we would do in that two years, deploying both to Afghanistan and to Iraq.''

He has served as a Ranger company commander and regimental staff officer. In 1994, he was preparing to make a combat parachute jump into Haiti when the U.S. invasion was canceled at the last minute.

''I was putting my parachute on when the airborne operation was canceled,'' he said. ''I never went to Haiti with the battalion, but we were prepared to go for that.''

He will take command of the 1st Ranger Battalion at Hunter Army Airfield at Savannah, Ga., on July 15.

Castles was commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.

''It's certainly been a memorable two years with getting ready for and deploying to Operation Iraqi Freedom,'' said Castles, 40, of Fredericksburg, Va. ''We went in expecting a couple of different things from conducting an airborne assault into the heart of Baghdad with the division and then quickly transition to conducting combat operations along key supply lines in the heart of Iraq up around the Euphrates River.''

Six years in Rangers

He has spent six years in Ranger units and will take command of the 3rd Ranger Battalion at Fort Benning at Columbus, Ga., on July 16.

''It's an honor to get that recognition,'' Castles said as he was leaving command at Fort Bragg. ''I can't say that I'm any better than one of these guys up and down the street. It just kind of fell out that way. I will go there and give my best.''

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[2RHPZ]

Soldiers honor a comrade

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Sgt. Corey R. Mracek was killed by an explosive on Jan. 27 in Iraq.

Sgt. Corey R. Mracek's lifelong dream was to jump with the 82nd Airborne Division. He would never get the chance.

Less than a month after Mracek arrived at Fort Bragg, he deployed to Iraq. He died Jan. 27, near Iskandariyah, Iraq, when he was stuck by an improvised explosive device. Mracek and other soldiers were headed back to their base camp after finishing their patrol when they spotted what looked like a trash bag on the side of the road.

Second Lt. Luke James, Staff Sgt. Lester Kinney and Mracek got out of their Humvees to investigate when the bag exploded. All three were killed. Mracek was 26.

About 55 paratroopers from his unit, Battery A, 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, jumped Tuesday in memory of Mracek. His name was on the jump manifest, giving him one official jump with the 82nd. ''He never got to jump with his airborne brothers. He will be with us today," said Spc. Jesse Runge, who served with Mracek in Iraq.

Mracek was a fire support specialist and forward observer assigned to the 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. He deployed with paratroopers from the 82nd's 1st Brigade. The battery commander, Capt. Norberto Menendez, gave the eulogy at Mracek's funeral. In it, he promised to get him his sixth jump.

''We are just making good on a promise that we made in February," Menendez said.

Soldiers in paratrooper training complete five jumps in Airborne School before they are awarded their jump wings. The sixth jump is considered the first as a bona fide paratrooper. Mracek told friends that he looked forward to getting back and getting his first jump with division.

Town turns out

Mracek was a native of Hay Springs, Neb. Menendez said the almost the whole town attended the funeral. The townspeople lined the street in the snow when the procession drove by. ''If you didn't cry at that funeral, you don't have a soul," Menendez said.

Sgt. 1st Class Eddie Crocker said Mracek's nickname was Morale Check because he was always in a good mood, and the paratroopers had trouble ****ouncing his name. Crocker was Mracek's platoon sergeant.

After arriving at the unit, Crocker said Mracek quickly prepared to deploy. His professionalism and hard work preparing impressed the paratroopers, including Afghan veterans who had already been in combat. ''I was more than OK going to war with the man," said Spc. James Blakley, a 20-year-old artilleryman from Texas.

Several of the paratroopers said it was an honor to take part in the jump Tuesday. Spc. Michael Butler and Mracek worked together as a team. Butler was on patrol with Mracek when he was killed.

''It is for one of our fallen paratroopers. I want to make the last jump for him," Butler said.

First Lt. Michael Tumlin, the battery's executive officer, jumped with Mracek's boots and beret in a backpack. After the jump, the battery gathered around a memorial, made up of Mracek's M-4 rifle, desert boots, helmet and beret, and took a photo for his family.

After the photo, Menendez signed Mracek's jump log, finally making him a paratrooper.

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Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 505th PIR sit in the grass watching paratroopers descend.

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[2RHPZ]

70 Troopers from 82nd relive Afghan combat jump feb-'03

Published on: 2004-05-27

Medals go to 70 who made history

By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer


First Lt. Henry Moltz was about to make his first combat jump when he realized that the static line of his parachute was out of place.

82nd Airborne Division paratroopers sail toward the ground during a combat jump last year in Afghanistan.
The line was hanging around his knees, instead of hanging properly over his shoulder, as he approached the door of the C-130. Fellow paratroopers were yelling at him to fix it, but there was nothing he could do at that point. He was the first jumper and was seconds away from going out the door.

"I turned in the door and acted like nothing was wrong," said Moltz, a 24-year-old Texan. "I knew that no matter what happened, I was leaving if I had to use my reserve or not." His main chute opened fine and he landed safely.

Moltz was one of about 70 paratroopers from BCompany, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who jumped in Afghanistan in February 2003. It was the first combat jump by the 82nd Airborne Division since Panama in 1989. In a ceremony today, the paratroopers will be awarded a Combat Parachutist Badge with one bronze star to indicate a combat jump. The star is centered on the shroud lines below the canopy.

The paratroopers had been in Afghanistan for about a month and had been running missions in the eastern part of the country when they were ordered to pack up their gear and move to Bagram air base. The mission was kept so secret that the soldiers didn't know what they were doing until almost a week after they arrived at the base. "Rumors were flying around. I wasn't sure we would jump until the parachutes arrived," said Spc. Raymond Mullenix, a 21- year-old Florida native.

Even getting the parachutes was a furtive operation.

The paratroopers covered the parachutes with their ponchos as they carried them into the building where they were training.

"We had guards around the buildings," said Spc. Eddie Camacho, a 22-year-old team leader from New York City.


Secrecy remains

Parts of the operation are still classified. The paratroopers' mission was to establish an outer security perimeter around the drop zone to protect soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment as they carried out a different mission. They expected to meet some resistance from al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

The drop zone was in a remote part of western Afghanistan. The paratroopers said it was flat and sandy, but surrounded by mountains. "It looked like a white piece of paper with mountains around it," said Sgt. 1st Class John Setzer of Binghamton, N.Y. Setzer is 31. He was one of the jumpmasters and was a platoon sergeant in the company.

The paratroopers jumped at dusk. "We could see forever in every direction for miles," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Buchko, a 24-year-old forward observer in the 319th Airborne Field Artillery. He was attached to the company.

Most of the paratroopers said they had little time to look around before they landed. Master Sgt. Brian Severino, B Company's first sergeant, said he felt like he was in the air forever. All of the paratroopers said it was a hard landing.

Once on the ground, the paratroopers assembled in less than 20 minutes, faster than they ever had at Fort Bragg. "It was flawless," Moltz said. They met no enemy resistance and completed their mission. They were picked up the next day by helicopter and returned to Bagram.


'Quiet professionals'

While the paratroopers were still in Afghanistan, news of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's jump into northern Iraq was reported. Setzer said no news reporters were with the 82nd when his group jumped. He said it was a matter of pride that they received little press attention. "We were definitely the quiet professionals," Setzer said.

After the jump, the hardest part for the paratroopers was keeping their mouths shut. The jump was not declassified for almost a year. When Setzer and Severino returned to Fort Bragg, people were talking about rumors of a jump. Some of the instructors at the Advanced Airborne School said they had heard about it, but that it was probably a lie, Setzer said.

"A lot of people were jealous," Severino said. "It was very difficult not to rub it in people's faces. One company out of nine got picked to do the mission."

Camacho put it this way: "We were told by our battalion commander that 70 of us are going down in history for a combat jump and that right there is the greatest honor a soldier in the 82nd Airborne could ever have."

[2RHPZ]

Soldier's injury in Iraq also hits family at home

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When Staff Sgt. Jose Gonzalez was hit by shrapnel from a roadside bomb in Baghdad, the wounds extended beyond his leg and shoulder. They hit his family.

His wife and three sons were first worried about his survival, then about whether he would ever be the same. On top of those fears were financial concerns - would he be able to stay in the Army? And if not, what would become of him and his family and the life they had built?

Instead of celebrating the return of her husband from his deployment to Iraq in December, Lourdes Gonzalez had to nurse him back to health while taking care of the couple's three boys: Michael, 13, Brian, 8, and Christian, 3.

Capt. Jill Breitbach, chief of psychology services for the 82nd Airborne Division, said all homecomings are stressful for families because of high expectations. Wounds add to the stress.

''When somebody comes back with physical injuries, that throws a monkey wrench in it," Breitbach said.

Roadside bomb

Gonzalez was in the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. He was on patrol when he stopped to report the location of a roadside bomb.

Gonzalez, who is 34, said he was on the passenger side of an armored Humvee picking up his radio when he realized that he was inside the "kill zone" of the bomb. He said he slowly closed the passenger-side door and started to walk around the Humvee when he heard a click. Then the bomb - a 155mm artillery round strapped to the back of a guardrail on Highway 5 - exploded.

Shrapnel ripped across Gonzalez's right shoulder, leaving a deep gash. Another piece of metal tore into his left thigh. The blast, which he said felt like a sledgehammer, knocked him down.

''Blood was shooting out of my leg like a water hose," he said. "I could barely move my arm."

Gonzalez said he thought he was going to die in the street. But a medic strapped a tourniquet to his leg and rushed him to a hospital.

He had surgery, then was flown to Germany. When he was well enough to move again, the Army sent him to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Gonzalez said the flights to Germany and to the United States were agonizing because the wound on his shoulder was deep, exposing the nerves. Every bump caused excruciating pain.

Holiday heartbreak

When Gonzalez was hurt, his family was home in Puerto Rico to celebrate Christmas. Gonzalez, who was injured about a month before he was scheduled to leave Iraq, had planned to join them.

Lourdes Gonzalez, who is 34 and more comfortable speaking Spanish than English, said it was hard to get a straight answer from the Army about what happened to her husband. She focused on one thing: ''God, thank you that I have my husband."

Two weeks after Gonzalez was wounded. he returned to Fort Bragg. He was bedridden and could barely move his head because of the wound on his shoulder. His wife had to help him do everything.

She had to learn to change his dressings before hospital officials at Fort Bragg would let him go home. Lourdes Gonzalez said she almost passed out the first time she saw his leg wound. The hole in his leg had the diameter of a 50-cent piece and was as deep as her index finger. She had to remove and replace several pieces of gauze stuffed in the wound. Lourdes Gonzalez said she cried the first couple of times she had to change the bandage.

With his father injured, Michael Gonzalez also had new duties. He washed dishes, watched his brothers and helped out in other ways so his mother had time to tend to his father.

''I told her not to cry," Michael said. "I told her that Dad was going to be fine."

Healing process

Initially, the prognosis for Sgt. Gonzalez was not good. It looked as though he would not recover sufficiently to stay in the Army.

''We went through some headaches," he said.

Gonzalez and his wife were looking into post office jobs before doctors finally told him his injuries would not force him out of the service. In May, he re-enlisted.

That was three months after he was first able to get out of bed. Since then, he has made slow but steady progress. He can walk without a cane and drive a car again. He tries to help out around the house, and his wife is on him constantly to keep him from pushing himself too hard.

"Sometimes he forgets that he is injured," she said.

So Gonzalez mainly helps with the children, getting them dinner and to bed.

Michael said that before his father was wounded, they wrestled and played basketball. He misses the roughhousing, but believes his father will come back fully.

''I know he will start playing with us again," Michael said.

Gonzalez said things are getting back to normal. Since he is wounded, he spends a lot of time at home with his children. In between doctor's appointments, Gonzalez watches movies and plays video games with the three boys. But most important, he said, he is just spending time with them. His youngest son, Christian, has become his shadow, he said.

Soon, Gonzalez will have additional surgery to repair his shoulder. The surgery will set him back, and he said he does not believe he will be fully recovered until next year.

When he is well, he won't hesitate to return to Iraq if he is ordered.

''This is what I do," he said. "The soldier's job is to fight wars. If you don't want to do that, get out."

[2RHPZ]

1st COSCOM leader gets star

Col. Yves J. Fontaine, a Belgian who came to the United States to study in 1971, became the Army's newest general on Wednesday at Fort Bragg.

The 51-year-old ordnance officer was promoted to brigadier general in a ceremony at the 1st Corps Support Command Memorial.

Fontaine said a professor of military science ''saw some potential in a young immigrant from Belgium, convinced a young man not only to join the U.S. military but to obtain U.S. citizenship.''

At Fort Bragg, Fontaine has commanded the 82nd Forward Support Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Special Operations Support Command.

''Gen. Fontaine's influence spreads across the post, not just here with 18th Airborne Corps,'' Lt. Gen. John R. Vines said. Vines is commander of Fort Bragg and the 18th Airborne Corps.

Vines and Fontaine's wife, Kathleen, pinned the stars on his collars.

Fontaine has been commander of the 1st Corps Support Command since July 18, 2003. The 1st COSCOM has about 5,000 soldiers on Fort Bragg. The command provides logistical services including fuel, transportation, clothing and maintenance.

''Perhaps it is the key organization in 18th Airborne Corps,'' Vines said. ''If 1st COSCOM fails, 18th Airborne Corps will fail, and 18th Airborne Corps, in many cases, is carrying the main effort of the Army. It will be doing that in Iraq next year.''

Bound for Iraq

The command is affiliated with about 10,000 to 12,000 logistical soldiers throughout the 18th Airborne Corps, which has units from New York to Texas.

In the fall, 2,000 to 3,000 COSCOM soldiers will deploy to Iraq to support logistics systems, he said. Reservists will bring the total number of logistical soldiers to about 15,000, he said.

Fontaine's native language is French, and he speaks some Italian and German. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he was liaison officer to the French 6th Light Infantry Division.

He was chief of staff of U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg from December 2001 to July 2003 during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

''Senior leaders make tough calls and hurt people's feelings on occasion,'' Vines said. ''On some occasions, they take offense, and they strike back by making allegations that are unfounded. We've had several general officers here on Fort Bragg who were subjected to that. One of them just pinned on that star.''

Fontaine was nominated for brigadier general about 14 months ago, but an Army investigation delayed the promotion, Vines said.

''I had to make some hard calls about integrity issues of some employees,'' he said. Fontaine said the matter involved civilians, but he declined to elaborate.

The Army is authorized 307 generals, and of those, 22 were born outside the United States, said Justin Ward, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon. Figures were not available on how many were not U.S. citizens at birth, he said. Some were the children of U.S. citizens who were overseas.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/photos/2004/aug/m05fontaine.jpg

[2RHPZ]

82nd turns 58 - Happy Birthday!!!

Fort Bragg celebrates airborne birthday

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Fort Bragg paratroopers celebrated the creation of the Army's airborne forces Monday with a ceremony at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.

After the ceremony, paratroopers thanked Louie Davis, 82, of Columbus, Ga., who participated in the Army's first official parachute jump on Aug. 16, 1940.

Davis, who was 19 at the time, almost didn't jump. "Every time I would see someone jump out, my stomach would come up," he said.

So he turned to tell the jumpmaster he wasn't going to jump when the instructor hit him on the back and knocked him out of the plane.

Once the parachute opened, Davis said he relaxed and enjoyed the view. "I know I had a grin on my face from ear to ear," he said.

Davis went on to join the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the CIA that performed special operations missions during World War II. He said he made his last jump a long time ago, but he still considers being part of the test platoon one of his greatest achievements.

"It means a lot. It is one of the highlights of my life. I am thankful to be here," he said.

Gen. Dan K. McNeill, commander of Army Forces Command in Atlanta, talked about the present, not the past, in his keynote speech.

McNeill, a North Carolina native, is the former 18th Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division commanding general. Forces Command is the 18th Airborne Corps' higher headquarters.

The general said today's soldiers are the best the Army has ever put on the battlefield and that they are winning the war on terrorism.

"We are winning it today," he said. "No matter what you read in the newspapers or see on TV. It is going to take some time, but the outcome can only be one. We will win this thing."

The 82nd Airborne started the celebration Monday with a four-mile run. The 15,000 soldiers got the rest of the day off.

While the run and ceremony were meant as a celebration, the division took a moment to re member all of the paratroopers killed and wounded over the last two years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[2RHPZ]

Paratrooper Killed; 25 Injured In Training Accident At Fort Bragg

POSTED: 8:35 pm EDT August 26, 2004
UPDATED: 9:08 pm EDT August 26, 2004

FORT BRAGG, N .C. -- One paratrooper was killed and 25 paratroopers were injured in a single-vehicle accident at the corner of Lamont and Longstreet roads Thursday.

The accident involved a light medium tactical vehicle assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

One paratrooper was ****ounced dead upon arrival at Womack Army Medical Center. The victim's name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

One paratrooper was airlifted to University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill and one paratrooper was airlifted to Cape Fear Regional Medical Facility for treatment. The remaining paratroopers were taken to Womack Army Medical Center for treatment.

The accident is currently under investigation.