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Well,
after a long bitter sweet absence, 612th once again has their
own personal access to the internet. Most of my own family
thinks I'm either dead or have disowned them because of the lack
of emails I have sent home. For the last couple of months
the soldiers of 612th have had to endure the coming and going of
thousands of soldiers in and out of our beloved Camp Stryker.
While Stryker is where we call home, for most it serves merely
as a stop over location for soldiers heading home for good or
out for leave and pass. Every couple of days there are
brand new faces helping crowd the internet cafe, DFAC, and gym.
The mission OPTEMPO has kept its
typical frantic pace. So far the unit has completed
some 300 missions totaling over 97,000 miles. Despite
our company having no experience prior to this deployment
with convoy operations, the soldiers have definitely made a
name for themselves with all the other organizations we work
with due to the high standards and professional manner in
which we've conducted our work. All the credit for
this fact goes straight to each and every one of your
loved ones. They all embraced a totally new job over
here and have excelled beyond expectations.
During our down time we like to
partake in numerous activities. Several of the guys love
to get the grill and radio out and have a barbecue.
Sometimes when the sun's beating down, the music is playing, and
you have the smell of beef and pork cooking in the air, this
place is almost bearable. Other soldiers like to play ping
pong, head to the basketball courts, or play softball.
Many of you already know, our soldiers have the resilience and
creativity to create even the dreariest place into something
bearable. Some soldiers have run a few short miles of CAT
5 (Ethernet) cable from tent to tent in order to link together
their x-box game consoles. This provides them with an
outlet to spend an hour or two taking out their aggressions or
letting out their stress while living vicariously through their
game personalities.
Other than that, we have officially
past the five month mark of the deployment and time seems to be
going by fast. With the holidays approaching, our soldiers
will begin to think even more of their loved ones at home.
This is why it will be even more critical to you all to continue
to show the love and support that most of you have been giving
thus far. Our soldiers love to share the stories of their
kids' first day at school, the family vacations that you've
taken, and countless other heart-warming stories from home.
So thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to deploy
with some of the greatest soldiers in our Army today and
entrusting me with their safety. I truly got the better
end of the deal. Until next time, take care of yourselves
and your families and I will take care of your loved one.
-Graham Parker
(2LT) |
