Stryker Brigade News

My daughter and grandchildren returned to alaska to await the homecoming of their soldier.In the face of this extension not only are we very proud of our son in-law but are also proud of the way our child has coped not only with the sadness this brought but also with setting up a household while taking care of two small children.She is also serving her country,thousands of miles from home.

I would like to say how proud I am of my husband and the wives during this time of hardship. I cann't say that I am proud of Mr. Rumsfeld and the way he handled the meeting Saturday. It seemed to me that he was either passing the buck on someone else or side stepping every question that was asked. Even though Rumsfeld said that we have no right to be angry at him because the soldiers were becuase they wanted to be there, I think a year is long enough for them to be there, not 16 months. Yes, every soldier knew when the signed up to join the military knew there was a chance they would have to go to war, but for him to but it into context the way he did, wasn't right. Then he said that he wished he could wave his magic wand and give everyone what they wanted. That was his response when someone asked if 120 day deadline came and passed if there was another Stryker Brigade in place to relieve our soldiers. He said that he wasn't the one who makes the decision on when the soldiers come home. He may not be the one who says when they come home, but he had no problem signing the extension keeping them there.

Your daughter most certainly is serving her country as are so many soldier families. My prayers are always for our soldiers and their families left behind.
Sadly for my son and many other soldiers, all to many wifes were much to immature to handle the position of warrior wife and leave their soldier while they are deployed. This makes the soldiers tour ever so much more difficult.
I am so proud of our soldiers and their families holding down the fort at home.
May God bless each and every one of you.
Sincerely,
A Stryker Mom

I am one of those wives-taking care of things on the homefront. I can say we appreciate the people who do notice what we do for our part in this deployment-thanks goes out to you. People tend to notice the soldiers and their hardships-which are countless-however their wives and family members go through their own hardships only of different sorts! The kids, pets, bills, houses, cars, weather(Alaskans know what I mean!), and countless other stressors weigh heavily on those spouses left behind to handle it all. We tend to go un-noticed until something like an extension happens. So while we keep our soldiers in our prayers-remember the wives too!!

It angers me that mr. rumsfeld passed the blame to casey. He signed the extension and it is his ultimate decision. He also blew off questions about the substandard treatment of our soldiers! He lacks integrity and that is a sad thing for someone in our country having so much power. Our husbands are told they are too "dirty" to eat in the chow hall and they live in tents without air conditioning much of the time. He did not address any of this, it was all about making his self look better. Of course he didnt want the media there, they might expect him to be honest!