In Remembrance

Part of the process of getting out of here is remembering those that have gone before us. It struck me the other day as we were making plans for coming home parties, car purchases, and vacations, that not everyone that got on the plane with us is making the trip home.

One of the benefits that the Guard sells to young soldiers is that Guard is family, and I think this is true is the sense that you get to know your fellow Guardsmen over the years better then you would in an active duty or reserve unit as personnel are changed out more often. Most of the soldiers that you drill with are from your hometown, went to the same schools, and know the same people. The Nebraska National Guard has lost 8 or our brothers and sisters during OIF. While the loss of every soldier is a tragedy, our fellow Guardsmen usually hit a little closer to home. I didn't know any of these soldiers on a personal level, but they've all had a lasting impact on me, and my fellow soldiers, that I wanted to share.

The first 2 soldiers we lost were early in the war. MSG Linda Ann Tarango-Griess and SGT Jeremy J. Fisher were killed in action on 11 July 2004. I remember getting an email at work with a link to the story and feeling incredible sadness, shock, and disbelief. Most of us thought the war would be over quickly and without much loss of life. The fact that our fellow soldiers had paid the ultimate price was hard to believe.


The Nebraska Guard went over a year without another casualty. SFC Tricia L. Jameson was killed in action on 14 July 2005. SFC Jameson was a medic that had volunteered for her deployment to fill a spot that needed a soldier, and had only been in theater a short while. She was responding to an attack when her ambulance was targeted by a secondary IED, a particularly cowardly attack. The Combat Medic Training Center here at Balad is named after her.

Another year passed, and on 31 July 2006, SGT Joshua Ford was killed in action. His death occurred after we arrived in theater, which made it that much harder. Every soldier knows that there is the possibility this will happen, but as a coping mechanism, most of us think that it won't happen to us or anyone we know.

Unfortunately, the year between combat deaths pattern didn't hold. Task Force Saber lost our first soldier, SSG Jeffrey Hansen, on 27 August 2006. SSG Hansen was the victim of a tragic accident where his vehicle rolled over into one of the many canal roads surrounding Anaconda. SSG Hansen had been around the Cav for a long time, and was well known by many and loved by all. His memorial service was held here at Anaconda, I served on the rifle team and was part of the 21 gun salute. It was an honor to participate and allow the soldiers from his unit and those that knew him the best to attend the memorial.

A short 2 days after B Troop and the rest of the 1-167 had grieved for SSG Hansen, SGT Germaine Debro was killed in action. He died on 4 September 2006. For an already grief stricken unit, this was an incredibly tough blow. SGT Debro had volunteered for this deployment to serve with his friends and paid the ultimate price. I went home for leave a few days later, and attended his funeral in Omaha while I was home. It was obvious from the crowd and the speeches what kind of a man SGT Debro was and how much he was loved by his family and friends. The IED Training Lane here at Anaconda was just recently dedicated in honor of SGT Debro, in order to provide training opportunities to other soldiers and increase their chance of survival.

SGT Randy J. Matheny died in combat on 4 February 2007. His sister is a Staff Sergeant in a unit that is stationed here at Anaconda, and he would often spend time with her when he had a stop over during a convoy. His brother is also a member of the Nebraska Guard. His sister's unit held a small memorial here on post for him, and once again it was clear that SGT Matheny was a hero to those that knew him.

The final Nebraska casualty was SPC William L. Bailey III, who was killed in action on 25 May 2007. His unit was stationed here, and I attended his memorial. SPC Bailey was a father of 5 and had a lifetime of service. He was a volunteer firefighter in Bellevue, and had rejoined the Guard in 2005 after fulfilling his initial obligation because he wanted to serve.

One thing that struck me about each of these soldiers is that most, if not all, were volunteers. Not just volunteers to join the Guard, as we are all, but volunteers to deploy to Iraq and do what needed to be done. I know that most of them could have stayed home, having already done duty in Kuwait, Bosnia, or a prior deployment to Iraq. But they didn't. Their unit, their state, and their country needed them, and they answered the call. And they paid the ultimate price. This may be cliche, but "Where do we find such men and women?" I am proud to wear the uniform and to have served in the Nebraska National Guard with MSG Tarango-Griess, SGT Fisher, SFC Jameson, SGT Ford, SSG Hansen, SGT Debro, SGT Matheny, and SPC Bailey. God bless you all. We will never forget you.

KOLN, Dumbest Story of the Day, Most Inspiring Story of the Day/Week/Year

My interview is posted on KOLN's web site. Our filter doesn't let us view any streaming video so I haven't seen it yet, but the word on the street is that it turned out well. The only correction was that at one time they mentioned my wife and daughter. Benjamin didn't take offense though, he is confident in his masculinity. Thanks again KOLN! They obviously don't have to do this, and my understanding is that they pick up a significant portion of the cost to do the satellite feed, so that is outstanding as we like to say in the military.

Here is the first line of the dumbest story I've seen in some time: NEW YORK - ABC news anchor Chris Cuomo was unhurt Tuesday after the convoy of military police he was riding with in Iraq was struck by a roadside bomb. And this is news why? Any idea how many of our Humvees get hit by IEDs every day and soldiers Charlie Mike (aka continue mission)? You can rest assured it is a lot. I think if we put out a news story each time this happened we'd run out of room on the internet. I'm sure that Chris didn't write the story and I imagine he is probably embarrassed that it got published, but who knows. I will say this though, the new uparmor kits on the Humvees are saving lives. You should see the new doors, I'll see if it is okay to post some pictures of them on here. The armor level of the trucks our guys rely on to stay alive has drastically improved in the 10 months we've been here. When you hear or BDE commander say that we are the best equipped, best trained force in history I don't think he is exaggerating. For a National Guard Brigade Combat Team, I can't imagine there is much stuff out there that we don't already have.

This is the most moving story I've read in quite a while. If you can read this without something getting in your eye, well, there may be something wrong with you. It is about a Minnesota soldier that lost both of his legs and 2 buddies in an IED blast. Here are some quotes:

"President Bush told me I was a hero," said Kriesel, a 2000 graduate of White Bear Lake High School. "Can you imagine that? He put his arm around my wife. Laura Bush was there. It was surreal. I don't think of myself as a hero. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all.

"So this is my life right now. My wife is here all the time, and that's great. And I have my TV schedule down. My favorite time is when Seinfeld is on. Then I relax. Actually, any day I don't have surgeries, I just relax.

"Three-quarters of my days are good days, if not great days. I'm here. God put me here. He was looking out for me."

Wow. And, to top it all off, SGT Kriesel's wife has a story of her own. Her employer went well beyond any requirement or policy to support her during this time. I got the following press release in my inbox tonight, and I can't find it anywhere on the Web so I'm going to post the whole thing. The highlights are that her boss worked to get her a passport in 2 days, arranged for her to fly to Germany and back, and then members of her company donated over 7 months of paid vacation time so she could be home with her husband. They've raised thousands of dollars through donations and are now working on getting enough money to buy them a new house to accommodate SGT Kriesel's injuries. Unbelievable. I know it is long, but it is worth your time.


America Supports You: 'Eagle' Flies to Military Family's Aid
By Samantha L. Quigley - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2007 – Injured in Iraq, Katie Kriesel's husband is facing a long recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here. But her employer, Eagle Global Logistics, is making sure she'll get to stay by his side.

On Dec. 3, Katie, of Cottage Grove, Minn., got the call deployed servicemembers' spouses dread. Her husband, Minnesota Army National Guardsman Sgt. John Kriesel, had been seriously injured by a roadside bomb south of Fallujah the day before. "He lost both of his legs -- one above the knee and one below," Katie said. "He had a shattered pelvis and sacrum (a bone at the base of the spine) that they've had to fuse to his lower back, and then he had both bones in his left forearm broken in several places, (a) fractured right wrist and then some internal injuries to his abdomen." He arrived at Walter Reed on Dec. 8, and though he's only a third of the way through 12 weeks of mandatory bed rest after back surgery, Katie said he's doing very well.

Thanks to her employer, Katie is doing well, too. When she received that fateful call, she turned to her friend, Nancy Matthews, for moral support. Matthews also happens to be Katie's supervisor and knew Katie would need more than moral support. "I went over to her house that afternoon and just started doing stuff and playing with the kids until we could get some more news," Matthews said. Soon, John's condition stabilized and he was moved from Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. With two challenges confronting Katie - she had no passport and needed a flight to Germany - Matthews sprung into action. "I started pulling stuff off the Web on applications for passports, and then put in motion some of my colleagues in Chicago," Matthews said.

Eagle Global Logistics is in the cargo business. "As soon as I got in on Monday morning, I started talking to the (vice presidents) at Northwest Airlines that I know that work with cargo ... asking them if there was any way that they could get Katie and her mother over to Germany as quickly as possible." Soon, a Chicago colleague was walking Katie's application through the regional passport office. She was able to pick it up at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport a couple of hours before her 9:30 p.m. flight departed Dec. 4.

The flight, compliments of Matthews' efforts and airline industry connections, found Katie and her mother flying first class. "My employer actually got me Northwest vouchers to go to Germany, and all I had to pay was the tax on them," Katie said. She was to return to the states with her husband via military medical transport, but was bumped at the last minute when additional wounded servicemembers making the flight back required that more medical personnel be aboard. Distressed that she wouldn't be arriving at Walter Reed with her husband, Katie again turned to her boss for moral support. Again, she got much more than that.

Matthews arranged return transportation with Northwest for Katie, her mother and a military escort who had traveled to Germany with them. The support didn't stop with coordinating travel, though. Matthews knew this wasn't going to be a short-lived ordeal, so she turned to her 150 employees. "We're all a family here, even though we aren't related, and they knew John was over there," she said. "We told them that Katie was going over there and that we were going to try and do everything we could to help." In the first four hours, $2,200 was collected, Matthew said.

Perhaps more valuable than the funds, which Katie said grew to tens of thousands of dollars, is time to spend with her husband while he recuperates. John had been home for two weeks of leave in October, and Katie used two of her three weeks of vacation at the same time. "They set up a way for people all over the company, worldwide, to be able to donate vacation time to me," Katie said. "I have seven months of paid vacation time that people have donated, and it just keeps coming in."

So does the support from Eagle Global Logistics offices worldwide. They have given both financial support and paid vacation time, and the Chicago office took care of Christmas for the Kriesels' boys, Brody, 4, and Elijah, 5, so the family could celebrate the holiday in John's room. "They're in it for the long haul, and that's just so amazing to me," Katie said. "The support just continues and doesn't lessen. If anything, it grows, and that, to me, is just completely overwhelming."

Indeed, the support does continue to grow. Matthews said the company is planning a fundraiser for the Kriesel family in late spring. The hope is John will be able to take convalescent leave and attend so he can thank everyone for their support. Though John is very positive, he does have bad days, his wife said. To help both John and Katie battle the occasional blues, the company has created a distraction. "We are desperately trying to get enough money that we can build them a new house that can accommodate John's injuries," she said. "When John has had his really bad days and he's cried about having to sell their house, ... (we say), 'OK John, I'm sending you a plan book. I want you to pick out your perfect house.'"

Though Eagle Global Logistics has never had another employee encounter such catastrophic circumstances, Katie and John's situation was a wake-up call, Matthews said. The company now has created a corporate fund to assist other employees who encounter a similar situation. "If a corporation, for instance, wants to donate tax-free funds, they can donate it through this account that Eagle is creating," she said. "They can designate it just for John and Katie, and then if someone else has a tragedy of this magnitude ... other people can apply for aid."

While the level of support coming from Eagle Global Logistics and its employees seems phenomenal, Matthews said she isn't a bit surprised. "We all just told John we would take care of Katie while he was gone - Katie and the kids - and we did," she said. Katie, overwhelmed by the outpouring, said the value of the support is much greater than its monetary value. "I will never look for another job, ever in my whole life. I mean that very honestly," she said. "I will be with that company forever, because how would you ever replace that? "You can't put a dollar value on that," she said.

Individual donations to benefit the couple should be made out to the John and/or Katie Kriesel Benefit Fund, and mailed to EGS, Attn: Nancy Matthews, 3169 Dodd Road, Eagan, MN 55121.

5 Years Later - A Soldier Remembered

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I'm sure everyone remembers what they were doing that day. For me, I had just started at ConAgra about 2 weeks ago. We had our sales managers flying in for a quarterly review. I remember one of them saying there was a problem with the flights because of a fire at the WTC. We watched it on TV down in the Executive Conference Room. I remember watching in horror as the first tower fell and then the second shortly thereafter. My wife was still in Grad school at the time, and we were both in Omaha, and we had plans to meet for lunch at Trinis in the Old Market. We had lunch and talked about the days events in shock. I remember wondering if I would get called up to pull security, which I did a few months later, 30 days at Eppley Airport. We watched Fox News around the clock for the next few weeks it seems like.

For some, the memories are still more powerful and more painful. The family and friends of SFC Jose Orlando Calderon-Olmedo are one of these groups. SFC Calderon died at the Pentagon on 9/11, one of 245 victims of this senseless and cowardly attack. SFC Calderon was 44 at the time of his death and was originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was assigned to the G1 (personnel) staff so he worked in an office with people who do the same jobs as the group of guys I work with here, albeit at a much higher level. SFC Calderon had 19 years in the Army, and was looking forward to getting his 20 years and his retirement.

I was able to get in contact with one of SFC Calderon's co-workers, and she was kind enough to provide me a personal story about Jose. Her name is Sylvia and she had this to say:

I met SFC Calderon when I was assigned to G1 at the Pentagon in March of 2001. As I assumed my duties I learned that he was our Supply Sergeant for the entire directorate. Because most of the senior NCOs were assigned in our office, SFC Calderon would find his way to our area on a daily basis to say hello and we would sit and talk, drink our coffee, and discuss NCO business and also talk about our families and most importantly talk about what we were all going to do after we all reached retirement. You see, SFC Calderon had 19 years and all he ever talked about was retiring the following year.

As we all got to know each other, we started spending at least two days out of the week running out to Fort Meyer and Fort McNair for lunch. It was because of SFC Calderon having a Pentagon parking pass we were able to do this. He would come around and pick us NCOs up and haul us over there to enjoy a good meal at a reasonable price, and of course fellowship with each other. This running to Fort McNair or Fort Meyer on a weekly basis soon became something that we all looked forward to and became apart of our weekly thing to do.

On Sept 11th, 2001, everything changed.

Of the personnel who were unaccounted for on that day, little did I know that there would be no more weekly trips taken or conversations with Jose.

The weeks went by and then the months and still Jose was still listed as missing.

His vehicle that he drove weekly to take us back and forth was still where he had left it on that day. His OIC asked for someone to volunteer to drive his vehicle back to his wife, because she did not have a driver's license. I stepped up and volunteered to do that task, because one I felt I owed it to him and two I knew where he parked his car everyday, for he would try to park it in the same area all the time as we returned back from our weekly trips. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

His memorial service was one that was coordinated beautifully by the G1 family. Although he was still listed as missing, I knew that soon he would be given the burial service that he so much deserved.

Unfortunately, in December my job required me to be TDY, and it was during this time that I was away; he finally was given the burial service that he earned and so well deserved, so I missed his burial service. Although I missed his burial service, I had him and his family in my thoughts and prayers that day.

Every year as we get closer and closer to Sept 11th, I think of Jose and his family. I pray for him and his family and hope he knows what a great NCO he was.

Jose, it you could hear me now, I would like to thank you for all you did for our country and tell you what a great hero you were and that you are truly missed. I would like to thank you for all those trips to the DFAC you took us on; despite the hectic traffic we faced coming and going. Those trips were memorable to me and became a part of my life back then, something that I looked forward to. I never had a chance to share that with you, how I looked forward to our trips and I never had a chance to thank you. So once again thank you. It's the little things that people do for others that are important and meaningful to some.

Thanks Sylvia for sharing this information about SFC Calderon. I know it has helped me to better understand the tremendousous loss that all American's felt on that fateful day. You can follow the links below to view 2 of the many 9/11 tributes. These particular websites have guest books and I've linked to the entries for SFC Calderon.

Legacy.com

September11victims.com

Please take some time out of your day to remember the 2996 innocent lives that were lost on this day 5 years ago.

SSG Jeffrey Hansen

Bad news from Iraq. We lost a soldier last week, SSG Jeffrey Hansen. His vehicle rolled into a canal on a combat patrol outside of our base. It is a obviously a tragic situation and everyone here is deeply saddened. You can read more about it at the following links. I did a story sometime back about the Patriot Guard Riders (last link). They will be supporting the family during this difficult time. The memorial service here at Anaconda is scheduled tomorrow, and the funeral service at home is Tuesday in Minden. Please keep SSG Hansen's wife and family in your thoughts and prayers, and also the other 3 soldiers involved in the accident.
Omaha.com

Omaha.com

Lincoln Journal Star

Patriot Guard

SPC Joshua Ford

This Article, the second one by our embedded reporter, pretty much sums up how I feel right about now. I'm slated to go home for my 15 days sometime in September. The soldiers that are quoted are a New Jersey unit that is attached to us. They are pretty unique bunch, the first one quoted, SGT D, has the thickest Bronx accent you can imagine, and he has a bunch of "sayings". For example: Am I beautiful or what, baby? You know you love me baby! Who's better than me, tough guy? I could go on all day, but again, this is one of those things that you probably have to be there for.

Another Nebraska Soldier died in Iraq this week (see stories at WOWT and Omaha.com). SPC Joshua Ford was from Pender Nebraska and was assigned to a transportation company, which means that most likely he was out on the roads all of the time. He is the 4th Nebraska Guardsman to die in Iraq and the 41st soldier from Nebraska and Western Iowa to die in the war on terror. His dad says in the article that while he was home on leave both he and Joshua discussed the feeling they both had that he might not come home. Obviously pretty tough on a family. Every death over is tough to take, but our fellow Nebraska Guardsmen hit pretty close to home. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend.

Patriot Guard Riders

Today is Memorial Day. This holiday takes on special meaning when deployed to a Combat zone. It was a little bit odd because due to the mission it was really just another day. They had a service to remember the fallen soldiers that have gone before us, but we didn't make it over. The tempo has ebbed up again, so there is much to get done as always.

I read an article on Omaha.com about a soldier from Nebraska that died here about 2 weeks ago. I was at first angry because the group from Kansas was there to protest. I for the life of me can't figure out how any American could live with themselves after going to harass a family of someone that just lost a loved one fighting for their country. Where does that enter in your mind that is an acceptable path to get your message heard? I actually pity them for choosing this method to get their message out, I know that deep down they know what they are doing is wrong and will pay for the actions by losing a little bit of their humanity in the process. There is, however, a positive out of all this. The Patriot Guard Riders were formed to offset the people who show up to protest. I couldn't believe it when I checked out their website that they have around 56,000 members. Here is their mission statement:

The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us. We don’t care what you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a "hawk" or a "dove". It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where you’re from or what your income is. You don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect. Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors. We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

I found it incredibly encouraging that something so positive could come out of something so evil. The whole thing is volunteer as well, and the amount of organziation it takes to attempt to cover as many funerals as they do is impressive to say the least.