NcDeuce
01-15-2004, 09:59 PM
A raid on a small village outside Mosul ended up leading to the renovation of a local school.
Earlier this month, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school in Kanash, about two months after the Screaming Eagles raided the village on suspicions of occurance of illegal activity.
Even though the raid on the village showed no such activity, Petraeus, who had joined troops on the raid, met with the local sheik and learned the local school was in poor condition.
Petraeus agreed to help renovate the school -- and so an operation that once began with M-4 rifles and M-249 machine guns became a mission of goodwill to offer Iraqi children a more comfortable school, conducive to learning.
Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division began reconstruction efforts on the school Nov. 17.
Capt. Scott Todd, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3/502nd, hired the Al Hasaka Company to head reconstruction efforts. Together, soldiers and the Iraqi contractors spent more than four weeks working on the school.
Rebuilding efforts were split into four categories -- construction, sanitation, electrical and furnishings. By late December, the facility's walls had been rebuilt and repainted. The windows were replaced, sewage systems were refurbished -- new toilets, sinks, heaters, fans, desks, light fixtures and chalkboards were bought and installed. The project cost was shy of $10,000, Todd said.
On Jan. 7, these renovations were presented to Petraeus in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the school. A swarm of bright-eyed children enclosed Petraeus as he cut the ribbon, signifying the genesis of the new Kanash School System.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20040115/localnews/228935-81754.jpg
Former Rakkasan trucks in cookies for returning troops
former 187th Infantry Regiment legal clerk who still feels connected to his Rakkasans wanted to sweeten their homecoming. So on Monday he brought them more than 20,000 cookies.
"Our donating the almond cookies to the Task Force Rakkasans is a token of our appreciation to our servicemen and servicewomen for the immense sacrifice, discomfort, challenges and pain of separation from family members and loved ones they have to overcome on behalf of America during Operation Iraqi Freedom," said John Yim, who was a specialist and corporal for the 187th at Fort Campbell from 1993 to 1995. He works as an engineer in Huntsville, Ala.
Yim, along with friends Reginald Law and his younger brother, Gaston Law, loaded a Ford pickup with 53 boxes of the cookies worth more than $1,500 and delivered them to brigade headquarters.
The three were able to get a good deal on the cookies from a Chinese food distributor in Alabama.
"I wanted to take care of my own boys," Yim said.
Besides receiving cookies, 3rd Brigade rear detachment commander Capt. Jared Heibert has been busy with everything from preparing three-day passes to coordinating with family support groups for the expected return of today's first planeloads of Rakkasans.
Soldiers with the 187th were among the first to leave Fort Campbell for the Middle East in February and March of last year, and most have been deployed for 18 months within the past two years. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team was also deployed to Afghanistan for six months in 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
A big homecoming ceremony won't be held until everyone is back and settled, which should be in the next couple of months.
"We're not doing anything major because guys don't want that. They just want to turn in their equipment and leave," Heibert said.
Cherrieann Diaz, wife of 3rd Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Diaz, said getting ready for their soldiers has been a whirlwind of briefings for families.
"Lots of people are excited and getting the house ready. Everybody's looking forward to the homecoming and being alone with their soldier. They're excited to the point of being nervous," she said.
The postwide reunion briefings give spouses an idea of what to expect when soldiers return. A similar class is given to the soldiers before they leave Kuwait and Iraq. The primary message is to take it slow and don't have unrealistic expectations.
"They're coming back forever changed," Diaz said. Since this is the longest Diaz has been away from her husband during their 19 years of marriage, she has found the family meetings helpful.
"They've offered a lot of support so we can tell if there's something not normal. We are lucky to have all this, and I learned a lot," she said. "Now I know that if he's quiet and withdrawn, I know to back off."
A good point Diaz learned was to get the number of a buddy who was also in Iraq or Afghanistan and discuss problems or questions when they arise. "I think the 101st has done a great job in getting us prepared," she said.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20040115/localnews/228931-81752.jpg
Cherrieann Diaz, wife of 3rd Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Diaz, and Capt. Jared Hiebert, 3rd Brigade rear detachment commander, sort through cookies donated to the Rakkasans by John Yim, Reginald Law and Gaston Law. The cookies will be at a homecoming reception for returning troops.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20040115/localnews/228931-81751.jpg
Former Rakkasan John Yim hands over a box of cookies to Brenda Linnington, center, wife of 3rd Brigade commander Col. Michael Linnington, and Cherrieann Diaz, wife of brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Diaz. Yim donated more than 20,000 cookies for the soldiers' homecoming reception.
Earlier this month, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school in Kanash, about two months after the Screaming Eagles raided the village on suspicions of occurance of illegal activity.
Even though the raid on the village showed no such activity, Petraeus, who had joined troops on the raid, met with the local sheik and learned the local school was in poor condition.
Petraeus agreed to help renovate the school -- and so an operation that once began with M-4 rifles and M-249 machine guns became a mission of goodwill to offer Iraqi children a more comfortable school, conducive to learning.
Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division began reconstruction efforts on the school Nov. 17.
Capt. Scott Todd, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3/502nd, hired the Al Hasaka Company to head reconstruction efforts. Together, soldiers and the Iraqi contractors spent more than four weeks working on the school.
Rebuilding efforts were split into four categories -- construction, sanitation, electrical and furnishings. By late December, the facility's walls had been rebuilt and repainted. The windows were replaced, sewage systems were refurbished -- new toilets, sinks, heaters, fans, desks, light fixtures and chalkboards were bought and installed. The project cost was shy of $10,000, Todd said.
On Jan. 7, these renovations were presented to Petraeus in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the school. A swarm of bright-eyed children enclosed Petraeus as he cut the ribbon, signifying the genesis of the new Kanash School System.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20040115/localnews/228935-81754.jpg
Former Rakkasan trucks in cookies for returning troops
former 187th Infantry Regiment legal clerk who still feels connected to his Rakkasans wanted to sweeten their homecoming. So on Monday he brought them more than 20,000 cookies.
"Our donating the almond cookies to the Task Force Rakkasans is a token of our appreciation to our servicemen and servicewomen for the immense sacrifice, discomfort, challenges and pain of separation from family members and loved ones they have to overcome on behalf of America during Operation Iraqi Freedom," said John Yim, who was a specialist and corporal for the 187th at Fort Campbell from 1993 to 1995. He works as an engineer in Huntsville, Ala.
Yim, along with friends Reginald Law and his younger brother, Gaston Law, loaded a Ford pickup with 53 boxes of the cookies worth more than $1,500 and delivered them to brigade headquarters.
The three were able to get a good deal on the cookies from a Chinese food distributor in Alabama.
"I wanted to take care of my own boys," Yim said.
Besides receiving cookies, 3rd Brigade rear detachment commander Capt. Jared Heibert has been busy with everything from preparing three-day passes to coordinating with family support groups for the expected return of today's first planeloads of Rakkasans.
Soldiers with the 187th were among the first to leave Fort Campbell for the Middle East in February and March of last year, and most have been deployed for 18 months within the past two years. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team was also deployed to Afghanistan for six months in 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
A big homecoming ceremony won't be held until everyone is back and settled, which should be in the next couple of months.
"We're not doing anything major because guys don't want that. They just want to turn in their equipment and leave," Heibert said.
Cherrieann Diaz, wife of 3rd Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Diaz, said getting ready for their soldiers has been a whirlwind of briefings for families.
"Lots of people are excited and getting the house ready. Everybody's looking forward to the homecoming and being alone with their soldier. They're excited to the point of being nervous," she said.
The postwide reunion briefings give spouses an idea of what to expect when soldiers return. A similar class is given to the soldiers before they leave Kuwait and Iraq. The primary message is to take it slow and don't have unrealistic expectations.
"They're coming back forever changed," Diaz said. Since this is the longest Diaz has been away from her husband during their 19 years of marriage, she has found the family meetings helpful.
"They've offered a lot of support so we can tell if there's something not normal. We are lucky to have all this, and I learned a lot," she said. "Now I know that if he's quiet and withdrawn, I know to back off."
A good point Diaz learned was to get the number of a buddy who was also in Iraq or Afghanistan and discuss problems or questions when they arise. "I think the 101st has done a great job in getting us prepared," she said.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20040115/localnews/228931-81752.jpg
Cherrieann Diaz, wife of 3rd Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Diaz, and Capt. Jared Hiebert, 3rd Brigade rear detachment commander, sort through cookies donated to the Rakkasans by John Yim, Reginald Law and Gaston Law. The cookies will be at a homecoming reception for returning troops.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news/stories/20040115/localnews/228931-81751.jpg
Former Rakkasan John Yim hands over a box of cookies to Brenda Linnington, center, wife of 3rd Brigade commander Col. Michael Linnington, and Cherrieann Diaz, wife of brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Diaz. Yim donated more than 20,000 cookies for the soldiers' homecoming reception.