After leaving troubled Iraq, Green Bay unit back in U.S.

[seemslikeadream]

.....

Danger at every turn
The violence, especially in Al Anbar, clouded every mission.

Maj. John Hope, 47, has small rocks embedded in his right hand, right arm and forehead. He was in the back of a Humvee in mid-January looking for improvised explosive devices on the road, but, distracted by a suspicious-looking tire, he missed the volatile pile of rocks that suddenly showered him. Goggles saved his eyes.

Hope, a West Point graduate and stockbroker in civilian life, acknowledges that the explosion was a "new experience," but says he knew what he signed up for. The rocks will grow out of his skin. The scars will fade. And he's planning to join the 82nd Airborne as an active duty officer.

Twenty unit members were injured, Ponkratz said. So far, 19 Purple Hearts have been awarded.

It was the one medal Spc. Stephanie Hermes didn't want.

When an explosion threw her from her vehicle in January, she suffered shrapnel wounds and deep muscle bruising, and her hips fell out of alignment. Hermes, a 27-year-old from Little Chute, had considered extending her stay before getting hurt. After the attack, she largely avoided contact with the local population.

Hermes keeps telling herself that not all Iraqis are bad people. It's a belief she's struggled to maintain. When she talks about the incident now, her eyes flash in distress, and her smile is tight.

"I felt, like, why are we helping these people after they keep blowing us up?" she said.

more
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/apr04/223230.asp

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Is the major nuts?

At age 47, he is going to jump school??? I wonder what Mrs. Hope thinks about his scheme.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

2. do ya think the iraqi's asked themselves the same Steph

"I felt, like, why are we helping these people after they keep blowing us up?" she said.

dingbat

[saigon68]

3. They are from my home town

I doubt too many of them will re-up for the bennies. Another unit here was told that you will go back again in 2 years for another tour somewhere.

I can't imagine the wives and husbands are really happy

[seemslikeadream]

5. Some good news for Green Bay

even if it's just a little



USS Green Bay (PG-101)
Named for Green Bay, Wisconsin, the first US Navy ship to bear the name, the USS Green Bay (PG-101) was built by Peterson Builders Inc, Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin and launched 14 June 1969 and commissioned 5 December 1969 at Boston MA. Decommissioned 22 April 1977 at Little Creek VA and stricken from the US Naval Vessel Register 1 October 1977. For more commissioning information, click the text in red to visit the web site by plank owner Tom Donaldson dedicated to the USS Green Bay (PG-101) Commissioning.

:hi:

[ugarte]

4. Who attacked who?

"I felt, like, why are we helping these people after they keep blowing us up?" she said.

Or, why do they keep blowing you up if you're 'helping' them?