Bring Home 172nd Stryker Brigade!

To:
President George Bush
Sen. Ted Stevens
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Rep. Don Young

August 31, 2006

Dear President Bush, Senator Murkowski, Senator Stevens and Representative Young:

I am the wife of a Fort Wainwright, Alaska, 172nd Stryker Brigade soldier and I almost didn't write this letter. You see, lately I don't have much confidence in our government and don't see how writing a letter will do anything to help our situation. However, after reading the letter that Senator Murkowski sent to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, it was apparent to me that some of you do care what happens to us and maybe there IS something that you can do after all...at least I'm hoping.

As I'm sure you have heard a thousand times over, the news of this extension devastated my husband and me to the core. His number one priority was getting ALL his men home safe and sound. With only 7 days to go, and a flight scheduled, we finally were able to breathe a guarded sigh of relief. We also had vacation plans and were looking forward to visiting some of our favorite places in Alaska before winter hit us again. Then we received the news that they, indeed, would not be coming home as planned. I have to tell you that my husband is the model soldier. He is the STRONGEST soldier I know and for the past 16 1/2 years he's been in the Army he has been unwavering in his commitment to our country. This news emotionally crushed and shattered us both! His exact words to me were, "I don't know if I have anything left!" I, too, didn't think I could give any more! I had been holding my breath for 12 months and I was looking forward to finally being able to breathe!

Once the news began to sink in, we realized that this was just one more thing with which we were going to have to deal. We knew going into this deployment that they could be there for longer than a year, but we were almost there! In their minds, our soldiers were home! However, realizing this was something we had no control over, we adjusted our plans and set new goals. I pulled the flat-rate boxes and labels back out, put the Welcome Home decorations away and decided that we WILL make it through this set back.

When our soldiers arrived in Baghdad, they were greeted (I'm being sarcastic here) by some of the units already deployed there. They were picked on, taunted and ridiculed by the other soldiers like they were in high school! They kept saying that our soldiers were there to relieve them so they could go home early. They said that our soldiers were being punished because they had not done a good job in Mosul (obviously they do not hear the news) and that they were "Not moving fast enough"! That, besides everything else, brought morale to an all-time low!

Communication was dropped from once a day to once every few days or less and I know we are lucky to even have that, but communication is our strength and our lifeline through all of this. Here it is weeks later and the communication situation has not improved. Our soldiers have to ride a bus for 35 minutes to get to a phone or use the internet or go to the PX.

The last two items I mentioned are things we don't like, but we are dealing with them. What I'm about to tell you needs addressing NOW!

Senator Murkowski, you said in your letter to Secretary Rumsfeld that you expected our soldiers to have the equipment and protection that they needed and I am here to tell you that they DO NOT! My husband told me that they do not have the proper equipment OR maintenance support. Here are some questions for you to address:

1. Why are the Bradley units that are there now not being utilized? They can put nine people on the ground just like the Strykers can.

2. Why are other units going home and not being extended to help our guys? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep EVERYONE there and get the job done?

3. Why is the government spending billions on new vehicles for the Iraqi Police WITH air conditioning and the Strykers don't have a/c? All they need is a small box to put in each Stryker and they can all be air conditioned. A necessity in the 100 + heat over there!

4. Why are the chow halls not staying open 24/7 so our soldiers can eat when they return from missions?

Last week, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid us a visit and could not give us a straight answer for anything. I asked him "If at the end of the 120 days the job is not done, are you preparing another Stryker brigade to take their place and, if not, why?" Here is a link to a video clip of that question and his response to me:

I'm very concerned that he couldn't tell me they are preparing another Stryker brigade to take their place. I'm afraid they are going to extend us again! Our soldiers can only take so much; they are exhausted! They have done their time in this war and we know they will probably have another rotation, like others have, but let them come home and be with their families while another FRESH brigade goes in.

So with that said, I don't know what you can do about these items, but I would hope that you could fight on our behalf until the situation is improved or until they come home. We are counting on you...You are our only hope.

Thank you for the support that you give to the 172nd Stryker Brigade and I thank you for taking the time to listen.

Ft. Wainwright , AK
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