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Keeping in Touch With Loved Ones

Apr-28-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

Written by Sgt. Dennis Gravel, 138th MPAD

For Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Courage in Mosul, Iraq, it is not always easy to find ways to keep in touch with loved ones.

Being thousands of miles away from home is hard enough, which is why many Soldiers make keeping in touch with loved ones back home their second most important mission while serving here in Iraq.

�I use the Internet to stay in touch with my wife,� said Michael Allen, operations specialist with Kellogg, Brown, and Root, from Rockingham, N.C. �I try and e-mail her at least once a day. Staying connected with family members helps lift [my] morale when we get to talk to each other.�

�I think it�s important to stay in contact and let them know you�re alright, and it makes you feel good to hear their voices,� stated Sgt. Richard Werschin, HHC Brigade, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Werschin is from Huntsville, Ala.

According to these Soldiers, it is necessary to keep morale up by keeping in touch with home. It also helps to ease the anxiety of loved ones back home so they also make it through these difficult times, according to Spc. Scott Hicks, 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery and native of Greensville, S. C.

�It helps you get through all the hard times,� he said. �I get a lot of letters, but I don�t write a lot of them. I usually send e-mails. My mom is worried about me, since I�m her only son, so it helps her to hear my voice; I usually talk to my mom for 30 minutes.�

No matter what base you may work at in Iraq, you can always find multiple ways to keep in contact with people back home, such as the Internet, land-line phones, or cell phones.

Good deals can be found right at the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation centers or United Service Organization centers found on most Forward Operating Bases, as they have discounted or free phone and Internet services.

(via DVIDS)


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