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Schneider: Mom, Sparrow help troops in Iraq keep cool

Apr-26-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By John Schneider, Lansing State Journal

The temperature in Rawah, Iraq, routinely climbs past 120 degrees these days.

Add another 30 or 40 degrees to the interior of Sgt. Larry VanderMolen's Stryker, a tank-like battle vehicle.

It's no wonder VanderMolen sent his mother, Julie Innes of Owosso, this urgent plea last week:

PLEASE SEND ICE.

Sgt. VanderMolen, who's 22, is a graduate of Owosso High School. He's a member of the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, in Rawah.

In an e-mail home, VanderMolen asked his parents for disposable cold packs. The soldiers put them on the backs of their necks, on their wrists, under their helmets - wherever they'll fit - in an attempt to keep their body temperatures down to a low broil.

VanderMolen described a recent incident in which the driver of his Stryker passed out because of the heat.

In an e-mail to me, Innes wrote: "This poor young man sits in the front of the Stryker, totally surrounded by steel, near enormous engines that continuously put out heat."

All under a blazing desert sun.


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