POSTCARDS FOR MY SON AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HEAVY FIELD ARTILLERY OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE IN AFGHANISTAN---These are all combat soldiers on the front line of war. This picture was taken when they first arrived in Afghanistan in January---when the temps were not nearly as bad. We just received this picture in June. Greg is on the far right and this is his squad plus the other two Staff Sergeants like Greg and SFC Holt and 1LT Throckmorton.
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UPDATE 08/02/2007: There is much more positive information to pass on at this time. First, recent missions have gone well from our perspective and most importantly no American soldiers or other NATO soldiers have been injured. We are very thankful for that. Next---even though there have been two cancelled flights, Greg is on his way home for his mid-tour leave! News like this ranks right up there with the best of the best days!! We are all very much looking forward to giving him a hug and taking him out for his requested steak and beer!
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UPDATE 06/24/2007: A lot has happened since the last update. The bad news first. There have been many fire fights. Five soldiers have now been Killed in Action that were attached to, but not part of Greg's platoon. Again, they were not part of his platoon, but they worked side-by-side with these soldiers and were with them when they were killed.
One soldier from Greg's squad also went AWOL when he went home on his mid-tour leave and did not return. These losses combined with air temps in the sun of 140º and drinking water temps reaching 110º, only 2 meals per day when they are out on mission and news of the constant criticism of the war in Iraq (and their forgotten war against terrorism and drug trafficking in Afghanistan) have definitely taken a toll on these soldiers' morale at times. Now the rumor is that the deployments for these combat soldiers will be extended a second time and will now be for 18 months.
I can hear that they are fighting hard to deal with each of these issues and get back to a strong mental state. The care packages and postcards so many of you have contributed to, could not have been timed better! The Girl Scout cookies and those first 150 postcards arrived right after the first major fire fight and some horrendous living conditions at the first remote mission location.
The Easter care packages donated at Dr. Watson's Schoolhouse event were received right after a firestorm that could have easily wiped out the entire unit that was assigned to Greg's platoon. And the mega beef jerky donation by Van Man along with Crystal Lite To Go packets were received after their KIA losses. Greg went out of his way to say that the beef jerky from the company that Van Man found was the BEST any of them had ever had!!! Beef jerky is going a long way toward replenishing the protein deficit they are experiencing and the Crystal Lite helps make drinking HOT water bareable when they are sweating non-stop and have to drink so much.
Right now these guys are all at Kandahar Air Field in a safe zone, taking a badly needed time out from their missions. They are getting caught up on some sleep in A/C, they have access to food trailers and so they are getting caught back up on food and gaining some weight, and---they have been able to call and email home to their friends, family and loved ones back home!!! They were able to have a special ramp and memorial service for thosed KIA before their bodies were returned to American and Canadian soil. Also, the Saint Barbara medals have all been paid for and have been sent! They may even get to Kandahar before these guys leave on their next mission! Let's keep our fingers crossed that they do!!
Two things Greg has stressed in these recent phone calls is that their troops have been working side-by-side with Canadian troops, and they could not ASK for better and more cooperative assistance and comrades. He has also shared many success stories regarding the amount of drugs they have confiscated and the trafficking lines they are breaking. (They have confiscated enough drugs that the soldiers joke that there is enough to fill the sandbags with drugs rather than sand?!) These guys are extremely proud of the clear progress they have made in this area alone and so this is what they focus on.
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Immediately below is a thank you to you all who have been so generous in your support of these guys!!! It bears repeating that as a mom of a combat soldier, your donations and support mean the world to us all! ~Trailtracker, Lancaster, Ohio
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EMAIL FROM GREG ON 06/24/2007:
On behalf of the platoon I belong to, I would like to take a minute to say thank you to all who donated time, money, food and other things to send to us. Over here in Afghanistan sometimes a lot of us need a reminder of why we are over here. When we receive care packages from people who do not know us, that means a lot. It is nice to know some people back home are still supporting our troops on the ground over here. My platoon would like to say thanks for all the candy, beef jerky, post cards, posters and everything else that was sent over to us.
If you were wondering how things work over here, basically our schedule is like this. We'll go out for a period of time (usually 2-3 weeks--sometimes shorter sometimes longer) to do the mission prescribed by our chain of command. Upon completion of the mission we then will come back to Kandahar Airfield (KAF) for a break. We'll get our first hot meal, first hot shower and first comfortable sleep in a few weeks. About a day into recovery we'll receive our packages that more than likely had been here in KAF for awhile. They don't have the room to get us our mail when we are on missions, nor do we have room to carry much more than we already do. So when we come back here it's like a mini- Christmas in whatever month it is.
Your thoughts about us are much appreciated and welcomed. Thanks again to all who support our troops and my platoon.
Sincerely,
SSG Gregory J. Funk
82nd Airborne Division
United States ARMY
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UPDATE 03/30/2007: I finally got a phone call directly from Greg. This was the first true phone call in 2 months. Although he still couldn't tell me much, he was able to tell me that none of their guys have been hurt and are doing okay with no electricity or running water. They are part of a NATO effort to help with talks between the Afghan Army, the American Army and the Afghan farmers in the area representing the citizens. Open the link below, to see three of our soldiers and some other interesting photos if you are interested. The morale is a little shaky, but all in all, okay. Greg says they are more isolated in Afghanistan, cannot keep in contact via email etc. and their missions are much longer and so it is much more difficult there than it was for them in Baghdad, Iraq.
http://www.worldpicturenews.com/web/IndexPageLightbox.aspx?driverid=379251SOLDIER OF THE MONTH (APRIL '07)---Brandon Midel--- from list below. When Greg called, he asked me if I would please give extra consideration for Brandon. Even though the care packages listed below have been sent out and they will be receiving those in the next couple of weeks, hopefully, Brandon is the ONLY SOLDIER WHO HAS NOT RECEIVED ANY OTHER MAIL SINCE HE DEPLOYED IN JANUARY!!! His parents are not supportive, apparently. If you are reading this and plan to help, please consider writing a card to Brandon. I will be putting a special care package together just for him and I'd love to include your card!!
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UPDATE 03/21/2007: Over 150 cards, letters and postcards of support and 48 boxes of Girl Scout cookies are being mailed this week to these soldiers. They will hopefully get there by the time these men get back to their basecamp after a very long and difficult mission under harsh conditions due to terrain, terrorist attacks and now those attempting to run major amounts of drugs across the borders. Thank you to everyone who has stepped in to be part of this support. These cards and cookies will be like GOLD to these guys. The heartfelt messages and artistic and creative cards you have sent, make a distinct difference for someone's son, brother, husband, father, uncle, nephew, neighbor or best friend. Some may not have many family members at all and so every single gesture counts. You are all so very kind and I deeply appreciate your efforts!!
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My son, Staff Sargeant Greg Funk, the soldiers in his platoon and the rest of several Brigades from the 82nd Airborne recently deployed from Fort Bragg, NC to Kuwait and now to their final destination of Kandahar, Afghanistan. This is my son's 3rd deployment in 5 years. This is the first deployment for all but 5 of the soldiers listed below.
Greg and these other men are extremely proud to be part of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and are extremely proud to be defending our freedoms. Below is the link of the history of America's Guard of Honor and the men and women who serve in the 82nd Airborne Division. The elite of the 82nd ABN Division is our nation's fastest response defense in the event of an attack.
I WILL BE BRINING THIS PT STAMP WITH ME TO EVENTS.
THERE IS ANOTHER OPTION FOR YOU TO GET YOUR STAMP AND TO LET OUR TROOPS KNOW THEY ARE SUPPORTED~~ that is by mail. So this is sort of a postal, personal traveler too!
If you would like to participate, please send me an email and I will email you my address. I will be collecting cards or post cards and sending them over to Afghanistan in batches along with care packages for each soldier in their platoon. Time stands still for these guys and they appreciate anything you send, so it's not too late to send 4th of July cards, for example.
Your cards will be going to the Heavy Field Artillery platoon of the 82nd ABN currently based out of Kandahar AFB in Afghanistan. These are the soldiers who shoot the 155 Howitzers. Those are those big cannon-sized pieces of equipment that are fired from the ground. Right now they are out on an undisclosed location and mission and are living under very rough conditions.
Greg will share these postcards with the soldiers who report to him, his commanding officers and the rest of the men in his platoon. (There are women in the 82nd, but none in Heavy Field Artillery.)
Here is the list of soldiers from Fort Bragg, NC over in Afghanistan. You can either make your cards generic or write them to a specific soldier. BOTH have equal merit and are appreciated. (UPDATE 06/24/2007: There are now soldiers from the Porto Rician National Guard, one 13 Delta medic and one computer guy assigned to their platoon. This is GREAT news!)
If anyone wants a smaller group to send postcards to, the soldiers who have an asterick (*) placed behind their name, are those who are in my son's squad and who report to him plus the 1LT and the SFC. Those men are who Greg reports to. That is a total of 10 soldiers.
1LT Throckmorton, Christian*
SFC Holt, William*
SSG Funk, Gregory (my son)*
SSG Strange, Deandre
SSG Galinger, Barry
SSG Beauchamp, Luis
SGT Gonzalez, Harvey*
SGT Lebeau, Adam
SGT Gordillio, Manuel
CPL Hall, Christopher*
CPL Hamilton, Bryce
SPC Ramirez, Rafael*
SPC Delacruz, Jesus*
SPC Carnahan, Jameson
SPC Rasmussen, Jason
SPC Ramos, Manuel
Gross, Robert*
Hudson, Craig*
Lilly, Devionte*
Aguirre, Chirstopher
Pagan, David
Raupp, Justin
Rivera, Nicholas
Schrader, Benjamin
Swindle, John
Taylor, Gary
Walker, Austin
Ward, Matthew
Postcards (or letters too) can be hand-made or store bought. I promise that these guys love to receive these notes. It serves to strengthen their confidence that Americans back home appreciate their sacrifices under very testing conditions.
It would be awesome if you included your signature stamp and trailname!! I took Greg and his wife, Beth, letterboxing in NC this past summer while he was still on American soil!
***Also, Granny Butterfly has PT for her grandson Patrick and his wife Christina who are both currently serving in Iraq!!!
Thank you so much for any support you can give these soldiers! Thank you for letting them know you care and that you haven't forgotten about them.
Trailtracker (and proud Army mom)
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Additional history and information about the 82nd Airborne Division
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/82abn.htm
