Are politicians ignoring the costs of War?

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Pols ignoring costs of war By: Mike Barnicle January 3, 2012 05:12 AM EST

Council Bluffs, Iowa – On a day when so many in Iowa will assemble  to start the process of picking a president, Mary Ellen Ward will drive  a short distance to St Joseph’s cemetery to say a prayer for the soul of her son. Sgt. Thomas Houser died exactly seven years ago, Jan. 3, 2005,  while serving with the Marines in the violent city of Fallujah, Iraq. He is one of 70 from Iowa killed in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting two wars   that have had so few serving for so long as America plods into the second  decade of a new century, exhausted and isolated from battles that crush  the families of the fallen at home. “I was just looking at a picture of Tommy and his older brother Joe,” Mary Ellen Ward was saying the other day. “It was taken on Oct. 31, 1987. “He would have been about five years old. His brother was seven. A Halloween picture. Joe was dressed as a Ninja. Tom was in camouflage. He always wanted to be a Marine. “The last time I talked to him was Christmas Day, a few days before he was killed. He was going to play flag football in the sand. He was on his second tour.” “How old was he,” his mother was asked. “Twenty-two,” she answered. “He was only 22.” “It’s funny,” she was saying, “but the last time he was home, just before he left for his second tour of Iraq, we went shopping, just the two of us. And I had this feeling, this strange feeling, that I’m never going to see him again. I knew…I just knew.” Across Iowa, the candidates appear in cities and towns like fast-moving clouds pushed across the flat landscape on a wind of ambition. Here is a Gingrich, then a Romney, a Santorum, a Paul, a Bachmann or Perry smiling, glad-handing, promoting, promising, pleading to be sent forward to New Hampshire and beyond by the handful of Iowans who will show up at caucuses Tuesday night. “I don’t have much interest in it, politics,” said Mary Ellen Ward, who works for the state Child Support Recovery Unit. “And I kind of hate to say this but I think  we ought to get everybody out of there, out of Congress. Why does it cost so much to run? I don’t understand that. Why do they get free health care, better health care than the rest of us do, for nothing? They get a nice pension too. They shouldn’t be serving more than two terms either. And none of them talk   about the wars. It’s like it’s not there to them.” She lives with her husband Larry in a city framed by the mythic elements of the  country’s history. Council Bluffs sits at the edge of the great Missouri River, separated from Omaha, Neb., by waters that divide two states and dominate the landscape. It was once a huge railroad center when America moved mostly by train, before the automobile, the interstates, long after Lewis and Clark came through on the way to the Pacific. The town, like most, has a narrative to it, a story that is both parochial and universal: It was built by pioneers who suffered and prospered yet greeted each sunrise with a  sense of optimism. Now, in a country confronted with and confused by political people, including an  incumbent, all submitting a job application for the position of president of the United States, anxiety about the immediate future fills the air. The economy has  flat-lined for three years. Washington is totally isolated from the rhythms, the mood, the fears and apprehension felt by most Americans. And the wars drag on, touching only the few who serve and their families who remain here, praying nobody knocks on the door at night to tell them a sniper, an IED, an ambush or a fire-fight has claimed a son, husband, daughter or dad. So on Jan. 3, 2012, as candidates organize and hope for a finish that will fuel a continued campaign, Mary Ellen Ward will again - and daily - think of her son Tommy: Sgt. Thomas E. Houser, USMC, 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company,  First Marine Division, killed on this day in 2005 in Iraq. And she will barely notice the passing parade of politics because she has other concerns, another worry, one more mother’s burden: Her oldest boy, Joe, is scheduled to depart with the Marines in two months. For Afghanistan.  For another tour in a war that has made much of our nation weary and too many of our politicians silent. Mike Barnicle is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist and regular on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”.

© 2012 POLITICO LLC

Special moments in 2011

April

I officially retired from the United States Army after serving more than 21 years. My friend LTC Darren Blagburn and my beautiful fiancé set up a party that included my family and friends here in Boise and those from out of town.

My mother and I before the ceremony

Me and my girl on my last day wearing a uniform



My brother Will makes a toast

My family

My retirement gift from my Cynthia and my friends

Me and LTC Darren Blagburn

Me and Cynthia

August

Cynthia and I ran our first race together called the Boise Foothill XC12k it was so fun to run with her.  You can see it on her blog at http://rundreamlaugh.blogspot.com/2011/08/foothills-xc12k-race-recap.html

Then we ran the Project Athena 10k

We rounded out the month with a great run called the Dirty Dash at Bogus Basin. I got to meet Cynthia's very awesome sister Elisa whom I had never met before and run with one of Cynthia's friends Linzi.



Me, Linzi, Cynthia, Dash (our mascot) and Elisa Our team name was the "Dirty Booty Chaser's"

December
It was Vegas time with my brother Will, Tiffany his wife, Jason my cousin, and Bill and Tiana.  Cynthia went to run the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon and I went to support her and play a few slot machines, haha. There was speculation that we would get married but that was not in the cards. Maybe 2012 will tell a different story.

Cynthia and I on the strip!!

Will, Tiffany and Cynthia

Jason, me and my little brother Will

I am excited to see what new adventures will happen in this coming year and I hope that all of you will stick with me and continue to support my endeavor to get information out to our Veterans and Soldiers. No matter what your stance is on the war and in politics let us not forget that it’s the Soldier that bears the responsibility of being faithful to our United States and its citizens.

I hope my stories will help another Soldier realize that they are not unique in their experiences and writing is an outlet that can be powerful not just for the person writing but for those that read it. I challenge you to open that door maybe just a crack and peek in then write about it. This page will always be an outlet for my fellow Soldiers old and new to express themselves without fear of being judged.

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives, and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday”

-inscription on John Wayne’s Headstone



Happy New Year!!

Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.

 - Eric Zorn

This is a piece I did with the hopes of getting published but I was told that it was not a piece that was "original" I guess with so many other stories coming out about Navy Seals and Green Berets the Infantry Soldier who walks the streets every day and does not wait for "high" priced targets is not that interesting. Well I leave it up to you my friends to tell me what you think. 
My name is Eugene Hicks and I am a platoon sergeant of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division from the Stryker Brigade Combat Team of Fort Lewis, Washington. My battalion has been deployed in Mosul, Iraq, since October 2004. 

My story contains some of the trying times that my platoon has experienced while here in Iraq. To be a soldier is to have one of the most demanding and strenuous jobs in the world because everyday you step outside you are unsure of what will happen but with the knowledge that what may happen could change everything that you ever knew or maybe even be the end of it.
As the level of violence in Iraq escalated, I began to think about the reasons why we soldiers trudge on day to day into the uncertainty of war. Recently, I also completed my sixteenth year of military service and the answer became more apparent. Even though there is so much uncertainty in what will happen to a soldier in his day, there is one thing that he can be certain in. Any soldier can trust that his fellow soldiers will be at his side every step of the way, ready for anything.
I have been in this job for so long and have made it through so many challenges because I have found soldiers that I can trust my life with, and these same soldiers can trust their life with me.

Thank you for the providing an opportunity to give a soldier the chance to tell his story.

Sincerely,

Eugene J. Hicks


“UNTITLED”
I am a platoon sergeant in A Company 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, part of the Army’s newest battlefield concept the Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). Each Stryker platoon consists of four Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV) and 45 soldiers. The platoon subsequently breaks down into three line squads and one weapons squad. Each Stryker has a driver and a vehicle commander, who controls the Remote Weapon System and manages the maintenance of the vehicle.

The Stryker has taken much criticism over the last few months. When responding to the criticism, our battalion commander LTC Eric Kurilla, stated in a press release that between October 2004 and January 2005 his unit's Strykers sustained 16 direct hits from roadside bombs and 36 direct hits from rocket-propelled grenades. "I've not lost a soldier’s life, limb or eyesight from any of those attacks,” Kurilla said. "We have a lot of soldiers alive today because of these vehicles." I agree with LTC Kurilla and can honestly say that it has saved my soldiers lives countless times. In the last six months my platoon alone has been hit by eight Improvised Explosive Devices, one Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device, a direct hit by Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), and a lot of small arms fire. Having had all this happen how has it affected the soldiers in my platoon and myself and what helps us continue on? Well, I hope to tell you in one soldier’s story.

People say they join the Army for patriotism: the love of their country driving them to fight for freedom and democracy. I do not disagree with this reason, but it is much like the token “beauty pageant answer.” It is the one that sounds great and the one a civilian accepts and understands. Yet I venture to say that we fight for simpler reasons; the soldiers to the left and right. I know that this proverb has been used repeatedly by reporters in news broadcasts and in newspapers the world over, but I feel it goes to show that it is a strong driving force for soldiers.

This being the case, one may ask, “Does hardship and loss bring people closer together?” The answer to this question may vary as one’s reasons for joining the Army but, because we are soldiers, we know that the person we are talking to now may not be there tomorrow; we are left with two options: grow close (which in the long run makes the loss even harder) or keep a distance. How do you choose? I believe the chaotic scenes that many of us have had to endure, have taught us that life is fleeting so stay close, watch each other’s back, and leave no one behind. 

On November 11, 2004 my company and platoon would participate in our first Operation in Mosul. The platoon would be the main effort for the company, essentially this means we will be the first ones on the objective to establish a foothold for the rest of the company to maneuver from and bring the fight to the enemy. As we moved down a main street we immediately came under small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) fire. As soon as the ramp dropped the rounds could be seen impacting around and on the vehicle. The platoon dismounted the Strykers and moved to breach points. Small arms fire continued to impact around us, as we cut through locks and opened rolling aluminum doors to get inside both to search and to get cover. We attempted to get into several rooms but they were bolted and locked from the inside; to get in we used the ‘Wally Bomb” aptly named by one of my squad leaders SSG Nova Johnson for a large water impulse charge after one of my soldiers SGT Wallace. This breach charge will open any door or gate. As we began to clear the individual rooms, we would receive fire through the windows. A round impacted the wall a foot away from my body in one of the rooms I entered. Nevertheless, SSG Harmer, SGT Wallace, and I ended up clearing several rooms as a team. 

The intensity of the firefight had yet to climax. I attempted to move from the building my first squad occupied, to another building right next door occupied by my third squad. PFC Ayres and I exited the doorway as a RPG slammed into the side of the building about ten feet away, throwing us to the ground. I looked at PFC Ayres making sure he was all right and then brushed it off with “Shit! That was a close one.”

We bounded to the next building and then got orders to link up with the platoon leader (PL) and reinforce another platoon that was in contact with the enemy. When I got this call I was sitting down behind a wall looking at SSG Lenny Diaz and SSG Nova Johnson as aerial burst RPGs exploded over our heads and bullets cracked hitting the walls around us. I called the PL back and let him know we would be down shortly as we were receiving heavy small arms fire. After about ten minutes, we were able to move and head toward the PL’s position. Once we got there, the fighting began to slow down, it all seemed to go so fast, but in reality it had been four and a half hours since we had first dismounted. We got the order to mount up and head back to the Forward Operating Base (FOB). We arrived with no casualties and no dead. It was a glorious day. We had been baptized by fire, fostering the bond between all the soldiers. From here on, the respect and confidence in the leaders would grow. Our platoon would grow. Indeed it had been a glorious day.

On December 21, 2004 at 12:04pm the realities of this unconventional war would become apparent. I had just sat down to eat lunch with officers from my company when I looked up and saw the explosion. When I saw it, it moved in slow motion.

 The image I have fixed in my mind is a lucid moment from the madness, one of condiment packages. The little ones, the ones you get from fast food restaurants filled with ketchup, for your fries. I saw them flying as if they were confetti, no longer condiments packages, but mere pieces of plastic caught up in a hurricane. That is when the force of the blast hit me.

  I followed everyone else out of the dining facility and out to the bunkers that were provided in case the dining facility was mortared (which it had happened already before). Once I was out there I could hear people crying for help, I told my friend Lieutenant Kyle Dewald that we had to go back in and help, so back into the dining facility we ran.

What I saw was what only evil men can do; it was a chaotic and utterly ghastly scene. Immediately seeing one of my soldiers grabbed my attention and shifted my focus; my soldiers where in here, and I had to find them to make sure they were unharmed. PFC Ayres was the first one I saw and he immediately assured me that everyone he was with was all right. I sent him to collect the first aid boxes that were placed around the dining facility (these were ammo cans painted white with a red cross, containing first responder items.) Next I saw Sergeant Pense, a member of my company sniper team, had blood lacerationceration on his scalp. I helped bandag him up and happened to look to my right where I saw Sergeant Pena and Sergeant Montoya doing CPR on our Company Commander. They had it under control, and I knew that I would not be able to help them I knew I would probably only get in the way. I began to move around the blast area to see where else I could be of help.

 I came across a woman who had suffered terrible burns and had blood on her face and in her hair. She was crying. I stopped to help and reassure her, while she attempted to grab her friend who lay next to her, she was dead. She was quickly evacuated on a table that had been turned into a make shift litter. I began to walk around again to see what else I could do. I felt useless, like there was something more that I needed to do and yet could not. 

I saw a kid laying face first in his plate of food with a hole in the back of his head about the size of a silver dollar. There were bodies and body parts strewn everywhere. The blood on the floor mixed with the condiments and made a sticky mess, which all those heroes that day would trudge through as they saved numerous lives. This day, one of which I will never forget, my company commander died and a close friend SPC Clint Gertson, who would later die in a sniper attack, was also wounded. The reality of fleeting time became apparent.

Here in Mosul, while the platoons are out on patrol, explosions are commonplace. One can hear these audible reminders and then hear the reports start coming over the radio about locations, followed by a Battle Damage Assessments (BDA) if the explosion was near coalition forces. These explosions are heard at night on the Forward Operating Base when you are trying to sleep, or when you are sitting on your Strykers getting ready to roll out on patrol. The echoing sounds and damages of these explosions are a constant reminder to us soldiers that we are surrounded by war.

My platoon was out on patrol conducting cordon and searches and Tactical Control Points, when we heard a huge explosion loud enough to be heard eight kilometers away. We found out over the radio that a vehicle bomb had hit Combat Outpost Tampa. We were directed to come and assist in the casualty evacuation and the defense of the COP. When we arrived, the platoon was immediately met with mortars and small arms fire. My platoon leader directed the weapon squad and I to dismount and assist in casualty evacuation. My Stryker pulled up close to the outer barricades and we dropped the ramp. As we exited the vehicle we were met by two burning Strykers. Everything on top of them was smoking; the driver’s hatch and the rear troop door were open. As I looked in I saw the vehicle commander still inside, debris and dust swirling everywhere. He was still manning the Remote Weapon System firing on insurgents that were moving on the west side of the COP. As I looked at the carnage, small arms fire continued to impacted around us. 

We then ran to where we thought was the entrance only to find a dead end room. We ran out and found stairs leading to the second floor. As we got to the second floor we took defensive positions on the east side of the building. I set up two M240B Machinegun positions, as rounds impacted the walls outside the building and inside the rooms we now occupied. The two gun positions started to return fire on the enemy, who were attempting to swarm the COP. CPL Mikael Medina and PFC Robert Ayres were firing down a street at insurgents moving between buildings as SPC Roehrig and SPC Slaughter fired at a window that was being used as a hide for insurgents to fire from. The PL called for a situation report. “We are receiving heavy small arms fire and are returning fire.” I then got directions to displace back to my vehicle for new orders. At this point I responded that we had good cover and “we are good here, for now.” There was a lull in incoming fire so we displaced and headed for the stairs to get back into our Stryker. As we loaded up, all of our hatches were closed to prevent mortars from falling inside and to prevent the boys from taking shrapnel, if we happened to get hit on the top. I got in the Stryker and got on the radio and let the PL know where we had loaded up and had no casualties. The next order would take a few minutes to register and made me stop to take a breath. “I need you to go back in and get a generator that is either inside or on the roof,” was the order that came over the radio. I took my Combat Communications helmet off and put my helmet back on, took a breath and looked at my boys in the vehicle. “Grab more ammunition, we are going back in.” I received a few puzzled looks but everyone was ready to go. “Okay, on three the ramp is going to drop and we are going.” The ramp dropped and again we made our way through the carnage and back into the building. As we got up there 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company was collecting their gear, getting ready to exit the COP and we would help re-enforce their withdrawal. We helped them pack up their gear, but we could not find the generator.

Again we were given the order to load up and ran down the exposed stairwell (the face of the building had been badly damaged by the Suicide Vehicle Bomb) and loaded into our Stryker. With the smoke still lingering in the air and the F-18’s flying low over our heads, the explosions, as always, could be heard while we regrouped and headed back to our Forward Operating Base. I was later awarded an Army Commendation Medal with “Valor” Device for this.

So why do we as soldiers do this every day? I am sure people are left asking this question after reading about the life of a soldier at war. I answer the question by saying “We have too much invested in this not too.” The lives of our fellow soldier’s, our lives, and the job we have been sent to do. How do we handle this day-to-day reality? Well the only answer I can give is the American soldier is a lot more resilient than I think people give us credit for. We trudge through this every day, but we are able to get up every morning, not knowing what fate may have in store for us this day and we still go out into the city of Mosul, again to do our job. The best analogy I can give is one used by our Battalion Chaplain one of a marathon. Ask a novice marathon runner how he is doing at mile one and he may say, “This is great, not as bad as I thought.” Ask the same question at mile 13 and you may get a different perspective of it. “This is really bad” or “What on earth possessed me to do this?” But too much has been invested to quit, so he continues on until it is completed. This is why we do it, for each other. We are that novice runner combined as a platoon. We all have to help each other out to make it to the finish line.

 I do this for 45 extraordinary soldiers who have forever changed my life and taught me the meaning of brotherhood, camaraderie, and are a true band of brothers, soldiers who stand together through adversity and complete the mission no matter how hard it may be. These are only a few events in a yearlong tour, but again it is only one soldier’s story. 

Enough Said!!!!

LT Raub Nash my PL and SGT Paul Farmer

SGT Wallace doing what he did best tearing stuff up!

Me, SPC Ayers (he would be killed in Iraq in 2007) and SPC Heit

The dog of war: Sgt. 1st Class Zeke helps Fairbanks-based soldiers deal with stress

Therapy dogs are a great service to Soldiers suffering from some of the associated symptoms of PTSD. We have these dogs at my work and they are so great and lovable. They also have more credentials than some of the counselors, haha.  If you know anybody that suffers from PTSD and would like a companion visit your local Vet Center they can guide you in the right path.

The dog of war: Sgt. 1st Class Zeke helps Fairbanks-based soldiers deal with stress

 By Cheryl Hatch/For the News-Miner

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MASUM GHAR, Afghanistan — Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry 21st Battalion of Task Force Arctic Wolves hang around talking and smoking cigarettes at the entrance to the dusty brigade headquarters of Forward Operating Base Masum Ghar in Kandahar province in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Zeke approaches, and the soldiers flock to him, dropping to their knees.

They want to pet Sgt. Zeke.

Zeke is a black Labrador and therapy dog, part of the 113th Medical Detachment Combat Stress Control, an Army Reserve unit mobilized to support the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division’s “Arctic Wolves” in southern Afghanistan.

“Whenever you see a dog, it makes your day a bit better,” said Spc. James Sroka, 22, from Pinckneyville, Ill., as he ran his hands over Zeke’s back again and again. He misses his dog.

It’s a common reaction, said Sgt. Paul McCollough, 28, Zeke’s primary handler, from Santa Fe, N.M. “Everything stops. The guys come out of nowhere.”

Zeke serves as an icebreaker for the members of Combat Stress Control. He’s approachable when social workers and therapists may not be.

“We’ve had more contacts today than we’ve ever had,” said Maj. Renee Reagan, 45, of Charleston, S.C., a clinical social worker who works at the Veterans Affairs office in Charleston when she’s not on orders with the Army.

There’s no problem visiting with a dog.

“There’s still that stigma — talking with a therapist, behavior health,” McCollough said. “There’s no stigma associated with coming up to talk to a dog. A dog’s non-judgmental.”

The Combat Stress Control team is designed to be both proactive and reactive. Its members visit combat outposts, with or without Zeke, and meet with soldiers to discuss relationship and home-front issues, operational stress and combat stress.

“We treat the wounds that don’t bleed,” McCollough said.

And they’re called in when soldiers are injured or killed. Twenty soldiers from the Fairbanks-based Stryker brigade have been killed since the deployment began in April.

“When there is a traumatic event, we’re out there for one to three days,” Reagan said. “We meet the soldiers typically by squad. We get them to talk about it, the event and their feelings. We try to identify any at-risk soldiers and can meet with them individually. Our role is basically to help the soldiers where they’re at.

“The leadership is very supportive of us,” Reagan said.

And of Zeke.

Zeke has been in the Army five and half years and, like many Fort Wainwright soldiers, is a veteran of multiple deployments.

“This is his third deployment,” McCollough said. “Been there. Done that.”

“It’s pretty bad when a dog outranks you,” said Staff Sgt. Adam Dye, 30, from Chattanoga, Tenn., laughing as he bent to pet Zeke. “I love dogs. He’s the mellowest dog ever.”

“I think dogs raise the morale for everyone around,” said Pfc. Tanner Neal, 21, from Sweet Home, Ore. “I’ve got five sitting at home waiting on me.”

Like other soldiers, Pfc. Christopher Sauber, 24, misses his dogs. He has five at home in Athens, Ohio. He said he appreciated Zeke’s visit.

“It helps you get away from this place,” Sauber said. “It’s relaxing, like a piece of home.”

Cheryl Hatch was a recent Snedden chair in the University of Alaska Fairbanks journalism department. She and photographer JR Ancheta, a UAF student, are embedded with a Stryker brigade unit in Afghanistan.

New Plan to Help Vets Find Work After War

I find it amazing that 11.5% of Soldiers age 18-24 are unemployed. If companies would look beyond the stigma that is associated with serving in combat and those associated with serving in the military they would find some of the most disciplined, honest and responsible employees around.
I find it very disheartening that a law has to be passed to help those who served the nation get jobs. Corporate America should be doing their part to help our veterans and Soldiers. Creating a new foundation would be fine ONLY if you hire veterans to staff or run. A vet is often a better advocate for another vet.  

New Plan to Help Vets Find Work After War
By Kelly David Burke

Thousands of American troops are returning home from overseas. Those whose military service is ending will be entering the civilian job market at a time when employment is tough for anyone to find.

"Our troops are coming home and we need to be ready," Sen. Michael Bennet says. He has proposed legislation to create a National Veterans Foundation that would operate much like the National Parks Foundation already does.

"Rather than creating a new bureaucracy or entity to take the place of existing organizations supporting veterans, the foundation would better utilize the public and private resources that already exist at no cost to the taxpayer," according to the Colo. Democrat.

Bennet says the need was great even before the decision to end U.S. involvement in Iraq and reduce the number of troops serving in Afghanistan.

"The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans in 2010 was 11.5 percent and for young veterans, 18 to 24 years old, it even spiked to 21.1 percent." And he adds, "Recent estimates indicate that veterans comprise about one quarter of the total adult homeless population."

A new foundation would not replace the many existing organizations that already offer help to veterans. Rather, it would create a kind of clearinghouse of information to make it easier for veterans to find help that already exists.

"Without this type of collaboration," Bennet says, "in some communities, veterans can fall through the cracks in the systems that support them."

Bennet says a working model for the foundation already exists in Colorado Springs, a city home to five major military installations. Retired Air Force Major Gen. G. Wesley Clark (not to be confused with retired U.S. Army General Wesley K. Clark who ran for President in 2004) says the Colorado Springs region is a community that understands the needs of America's veterans.

"Well I think it's important to understand up front that in the United States approximately only 1 percent (of the population) have served in the military. This community we have probably 25 percent who have served or are still serving in the military."

The Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments recently created a web-based Network of Care.

Sallie Clark, who chairs the PPACG, says the Network of Care gives veterans and their families in the area the ability, "To look in one place to get whatever service they need. Whether that's employment, whether that's dealing with mental health issues, whether that's working through family challenges when they come back from overseas."

Charlotte Nal, whose husband David is a 1st Sgt. in the Army, says the site is invaluable for the area's veterans as well as the families of those still serving.

"I think a national foundation would be excellent, especially for someone who can't have access to the site that's accessible here. It could be very important for them."

Bennet's office says several Republicans are considering whether to cosponsor his bill to create the foundation, which would also work to educate the public about the need to provide service to those who have already served us.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/27/plan-to-help-vets-find-work-after-war/#ixzz1hqGvIICy

Sunday Mass on a makeshift altar

Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer

This is one of several articles written by journalist Christopher Torchia whom CPT Michael Kovalsky and I became good friends with while in Helmand. Chris and Paolo stayed with us, patrolled with us and ate with us for the 38  days we were fighting along side the Marines. I have several other stories written by him that I will include in later posts.

Me, Christopher Torchia and CPT Michael Kovalsky Helmand, Afghanistan

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CPT Kovalsky and the Soldiers of A Company 1-17th.

At the bottom right of the picture you can see 3 boxes that was dinner. Even while you give thanks you still need security.

CPT Michael Kovalsky

The U.S. Army brigade's Catholic priest spits, smokes, cracks jokes and has come under fire like so many other American soldiers. He keeps altar bread in an empty grenade canister. On Sunday, he donned purple and white vestments over his uniform and celebrated Mass on a makeshift altar of four stacked boxes of MREs.

Capt. Carl Subler stood in the dust at an earthen-walled compound and prayed for the safety of those assembled, half a dozen soldiers who are fighting the Taliban near the contested town of Marjah in southern Afghanistan. He also prayed for peace in a country that has known war for decades. The men kneeled in their faded uniforms and some took communion, a reflective moment in a time of war.

"I find that my prayer life kind of suffers when I'm back home. I can pop a top on a cold one and watch TV," said Subler of Versailles, Ohio. "I find the more creature comforts are taken away from us, in many ways, we look to God with even more hope."

A busy Subler gave Mass on Sunday in three patrol bases — "Keep it rolling, baby," he said —in the Badula Qulp region of Helmand province, where the Army is supporting a Marine offensive against an insurgent stronghold. He is the only Catholic chaplain in the 5th Stryker Brigade, which has lent 400 soldiers to a mission that has waged daily firefights as forces push the Taliban out of villages.

"When you're separate from your families, sometimes you feel powerless to do anything when they're in trouble," Subler said during the service. "When you're over here, you kind of feel helpless."

On the roof above, a soldier in helmet and flak vest scanned surrounding fields for any threats. A man moving in a treeline, or a distant motorcycle rumbling down a track, or a tractor rolling too close to the base could all mean trouble.

Explosions and gunfire are routine in the area, though just one loud boom was heard during the Mass.

Subler noted that the passing of Ash Wednesday last week and the beginning of Lent, and he drew a parallel between the suffering of Jesus Christ and the emotional and physical pain of soldiers who miss home, fight and witness the death and wounding of comrades.

"You are in good company when you suffer," the priest said. The men recited the Lord's Prayer, voices murmuring in unison.

Subler, who carries a small chalice and a little bottle of wine in his assault pack, said he visits units by hopping rides on military helicopters or on Stryker infantry vehicles, a frequent target of insurgents who plant roadside bombs.

Sometimes, war intrudes.

"There's been sporadic shooting while I was celebrating Mass," said Subler, 34, who started his military career as a radar operator in the Navy. There was a time, he said, when the Taliban hit a unit he was traveling with, firing machine guns and grenades.

"We ran like hell," Subler said. "I never did well in track in high school but I wish there had been someone out there with a stop watch."

Subler has spent time with soldiers who were gravely injured by explosives, an unnerving experience because he would then go back out on the Strykers with troops in the field. After a while, he said, he accepted the constant danger:

"You know, 'Lord, I'm in your hands.' Whatever happens, happens."

Subler went to seminary in Columbus, Ohio, later went to parachute school and was based at Fort Lewis, Washington. He worked as an army chaplain in Iraq for four months and celebrated Mass at St. Peter's in Rome last month. The hushed atmosphere there contrasted with the noise surrounding many of his services in Afghanistan: men shouting, vehicle engines grinding.

The chaplain talks privately to troops about marriage and other problems that are sometimes exacerbated by instant computer messaging and other communication they enjoy on bases. Often, a soldier will argue with a loved one back home, then take his dark mood out on a mission.

As a chaplain, Subler does not carry a weapon, even though soldiers have offered him pistols when he is on the road with them.

"If it gets to the point where the chaplain has to start shooting, then...," Subler said.

There followed an expletive.

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