Thanks sweetness.. I am so sorry I have been so missing here..My pc crashed and I have to use the hubbys laptop when he isnt using it at work ..that and the fact I am still so distracted with Iraq its hard t o stay on course.. Tay is back at Ft Campbell safe and sound I will have to post some homecoming pics..it was wonderful to say the least and Dusty may be home for some well deserved rest and relaxing soon. I just dont know how I can send him back to hell though. But heres the thing I cant do much about that and he wouldnt have it any other way...so I promise to try andget here more often... Youre never far from my thoughts.. Love ya Sis

So much to update on and so little time.. well not really I am just tired. But I will do a quick one. Tay Tay is possibly going to Saudi Arabia for a year long deployment. Dusty is going back to Iraq soon, way too soon (for another year.) He has only been home since Sept . Also he got married and they are expecting their first child in August, which he will more than likley be gone by then. Lets see what else Harmony my daughter also got married I inherited 2 more grandchildren, and another due the end of April , and Sadie will be 7 in a week. Lord time flies. This is just a little of this and that. I went from one grandaughter to 2 grandaughters, 1 grandson, 1 grandson in the oven and one unknow... needless to say I have a few more gray hairs. I miss you all here Sorry to have been gone so long. I will try to do better I promise Love yall Cindy

Well will wonders never cease? Lordy, lordy! Good to have you back sis. Thanks for the quick synopsis! We're glad to hear that you are still alive and kicking.

Wow, things have really progressed, and the boys (relative term) going back? whew! I know you can't be happy about that. Congrats on all the grandkids and almost grandkids. And our little Sadie is 7 already. Can't believe it. Mine turned three in November. Yikes!

We look forward to more.

Big smiles and hugs,

M

Thanks Sis It looks like Saudi Arabia may be off the table for Tay which means a trip back to hell.. Dusty will be leaving sooner than we thought but no date yet. I miss you like crazy. Love ya a little Cindy

Oh dear! That is not good news. Miss ya too! So glad you stopped in again.

Well Tay Tay is still at Ft Campbell and I am hoping he will stay there until his enlistment is finished. Dusty on the other hand is back in the desert. To my dismay.. He will be there for 15 months. I will enclose a couple pictures. The one with the guys on a hill is in Kuwait. and one of some camels.. The other is thier new home not a real nice looking place. I will do my best to keep you all updated... Thanks for always showing support & respect for the boys. The prayers are always appreciated too.

Camels

New Home

Kuwait Dusty third fella

Hey sis!

Dusty looks healthy, happy (well as good as can be expected), and strong! 15 months huh? That must seem like an eternity to you!

Glad you included the photo of the camels too. Sure gives us a real feel for the DESERT!

Of course he shall remain in our prayers. Let's hope Tay-Tay stays put!

From Stars & Stripes

Suspect in soldiers’ abductions in Iraq is detained

By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Saturday, November 17, 2007

OWESAT, Iraq — Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and the Iraqi army detained a man on Friday suspected of abducting two soldiers missing since May 12.

Ibrahim Abid Aboud al-Janabi was detained after his sister, who says her family imprisoned and tortured her, told soldiers that al-Janabi mutilated and buried two soldiers’ remains in a sand pit a quarter of a mile from their home.

Soldiers dug holes at the initial site but came up empty. They will continue looking for remains among the vast sand dunes.

“We’re going back out there later this evening,†said Capt. Cliff Kazmarek, commander of Company B, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade.

The woman also gave soldiers information on roadside bomb and mortar locations, then told them about three of her other brothers’ insurgent activities.

Spc. Alex R. Jimenez and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, both of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, were abducted after an ambush on an observation post near Yusufiyah this spring.

The body of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who was also abducted May 12, was found in the Euphrates River on May 23.

There is a 252 million dinar (about $200,000) reward for anyone who leads soldiers to Jimenez and Fouty, 101st Airborne Division soldiers said.

Acting on intelligence tips, the 3-187 conducted an air assault on Owesat, landing forces by helicopter at 4 a.m. in the farming village about 15 miles southwest of downtown Baghdad.

After entering other homes as part of a clearing operation and preparation for a new patrol base, Company B came to a house on the Euphrates River where a woman, 23, was locked in a small second story room.

The woman told interpreters that she had been electrically shocked and imprisoned for seven months.

“The conditions of the room, the smell and marks on her body indicates she’s telling the truth,†said an intelligence officer whose identity could not be revealed for security purposes.

At first, the family tried to convince soldiers that the woman was locked up because she was crazy; however, interviews with neighbors disputed the story.

Then she began establishing her credibility by naming high-value insurgent targets already on the soldiers’ lists and matching names to pictures. She also led soldiers directly to a pressure-pad roadside bomb.

The 23-year-old woman was taken into U.S. custody for protection, U.S. officials said.

Ibrahim and his three brothers were taken away in U.S. Black Hawk helicopters with Iraqi army escorts. All but Ibrahim will likely be taken into Iraqi custody, officials said.

Massive kickoff for Marne Courageous

Baghdad, Friday, 16 November 2007 12:06

Operation Marne Courageous kicked off in the early morning of Nov. 16 with more than 600 Coalition Forces and Iraqi army soldiers moving into two villages near the border of Anbar province to drive out al-Qaeda in Iraq, and lay groundwork for a sustained coalition presence.

Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), were joined by about 150 Iraqi army soldiers in the air assault on the Sunni villages of Owesat and al Betra, west of the Euphrates River and approximately 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

Troops were transported in four helicopter lifts across the Euphrates, utilizing two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and eight UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. A Marine reconnaissance platoon, as well as Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in neighboring Anbar province, secured the landing zone.

Once on the ground, the U.S.-Iraqi force was supported by an air weapons team of Apache and Kiowa helicopters, while approximately 70 Iraqi Concerned Local Citizens assisted in securing the outlying perimeter.

While U.S. and Iraqi forces moved through the villages, other troops set to work constructing a bridge across the Euphrates to allow for the transport of materials and supplies to build a patrol base in the area. The base will allow for a sustained Coalition presence in the area of Owesat, part of Baghdad’s southwestern “belts.â€

No enemy fighters were killed or captured during the assault.

Prior to the air assault, U.S. F-16 fighter jets dropped two 2000-pound bombs on an island in the Euphrates that was believed to be used by AQI as a staging ground for attacks. The bombardment was part of a “terrain denial†strategy, cutting off a potential AQI escape route and denying the enemy a location to regroup.

Marne Courageous’ main strategic thrust is to clear AQI extremists from the area of Owesat, establish a coalition presence, and develop a concerned citizens program in the area as a bulwark against further enemy activity.

Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of the 3-101st Abn. Div. (AASLT), described the mission to journalists Nov. 11. “We’re going to put a footprint there. We’re going to establish a forward operating base,†he said.

The mission was also conducted because Coalition Forces believe the al-Qaeda operating in the area were involved with the May 12 attack which resulted in two missing/captured U.S. Soldiers, Pvt. Byron Fouty and Spc. Alex Jimenez belonging to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The 3-101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) took over the mission of the 2-10th Mtn. Div. (LI) at the end of October.

“The Soldiers that were captured and still missing from the 10th Mountain are now part of the Rakkasan unit, and also part of the Task Force Marne unit. And the mission I have is to exploit every avenue to try to identify where they are,†Caraccilo said.