Stryker Brigade News

The families of the 172nd SBCT all felt a wide range of emotions when word was received of the 120 day deployment extension. Anger, fear, resentment, pain, depression. Regardless of what we might think of the Army, the Pentagon or the Administration, we love our soldiers, support them and are hoping and praying for their safe return home. When all else are against you, the love and support of your families will be there for you forever. Stay safe. We love you.

172nd Stryker Family

When I first read this article, AFTER my husband forwarded it to me from BAGHDAD where he is PROUDLY serving our country with the 172nd Stryker Brigade, I was extremely ticked off.

There may be wives out there who have absolutely no self respect and may or may not do these things that are said to have been done, but this wife has not. I am a strong woman, good mother, good wife, and have too much pride in my family to let this one go. I support my husband with every part of my being. This is his JOB, what he did way before I ever met him, something he loves to do, and his respect for the uniform is the first of many things that I admire about him.

It seems to me that maybe someone should focus on those of us who support, not the ones who degrade themselves, their family, the soldier, and our country.

My husband will come home, when their job is done, and I will be here with open arms to keep loving and respecting him with all my heart and soul.

I was interviewed by NEWSWEEK, however, they chose not to mention anything I said. I must have been one of the "Some 172nd wives are too proud to complain" group.

I don't think I'll ever understand why some of the press only want to tell the negative side of a story. However, that is what they chose to do because it sells better than printing the good our soldiers are doing.

My husband is my best friend. Do I want him home? With all my heart I do. But I believe that there must be a reason why God put him in that place at this time in our lives.

This can either bring people closer together or it can tear them apart. They have a choice to make. I, for one, am not willing to give into any bitterness or dark feeling and chose to only see the good that can happen. I refuse to become like others who would rather have pity, instead I chose to carry my head proudly. I am the wife of an American Soldier.

Hello Everybody, I have a friend that is over there that is in The 172nd.Also i was sad and upset that her Brigade got there tour extented.

Also if anyone would like to talk to me and become friend . I would be happy with that.

One thing we all must remember is that no one handles things the same. When I read this article, I realized how lucky I was to be able to handle this extension. We must remember that not every one is the same. Some people are having a harder time due to pre-existing problems. For many people this extension pushed them over the edge. It might be money problems, lack of childcare or psychological conditions. Not everyone is so lucky to have a strong support group. I know that if I did not have my friends I would defiantly be visiting a psychologist right now. Yes, there are way more of us who are not dealing with suicidal children than those who are, but you cannot forget about them. You have to take the sweet with the sour. Everyone knows that there are plenty people doing fine and hanging in there. How often do people hear the minority? I loved the fact that this article will be published next week. If everything was one way or one sided we would not have democracy. It is freedom of press, one thing our men are over there fighting for and believe in. So let our reporters get the bad side of the story, it might not be your side, but it is some ones. We all should know by now that bad news is good news for reporters. If there was one thing that I have learned it is that there is no cookie cutter problem and there is no cookie cutter answer, for anyone. To say that someone is not proud because they are having problems is wrong. I am proud of my solider, but I have not believed in the administration since day one, it only sets me up for heartbreak. I had a really hard time dealing with this, I will admit it. It does not make me less proud. We cannot ignore the problems that would make us less human. We are all children of Humanity, no matted how good or bad our cards were dealt.

I encourage you to email me with any questions or even if you just want to talk. We are all in this together like it or not. Sisters of the Strykers.

I just wanted to comment from a different angle. I am the mother of a soldier in the 172nd. He is fairly new - joined the brigade in May. He was just deployed for the first time on Friday, Sept. 8. He is proud to be wearing the uniform of an American Soldier and walks very tall because of it. While we all worry about our soldiers, I know that this is what my son wants to do and believed in. For that I am very proud.

We were fortunate to spend time with the group of 20 who were deployed with our son. They are all great young men who are proud to be serving our fabulous country. It was an honor to meet and talk with each and every one of them before they left.

Our thoughts and prayers are with every man and woman serving our country but especially for the 172nd Stryker Brigade. We are proud of all of them.

We watch the websites and search for news about the 172nd because we are not a part of any FRG so far.

I personally know the wife whose child was suicidal and in the hospital. I personally know wives who are pregnant and facing a delivery alone, which they planned to share with their husband who should have been home. I know many other wives with many other problems. The ones I dont know are the ones who are doing great! I know many who are too proud to complain but they too have the problems. I think this article did an awesome job at representing the reality of the extension and kudos to vellota and his wife for not being to "proud" to participate. I also agree with the comment above. Admitting the problems and expecting solutions does not make us unproud, that makes us human!

I am sorry for all the children and wives who are not handling the extension very well. I ahve children too of many different ages. They are handling the deployment with grace. Why? Because of how I handle the deployment. Does that mean they don't love or miss their daddy? Heck no. We just find ways to keep ourselves busy, email daddy and for the little ones we type it up for them. If I am having a hard time the kids will not see that. They need a mother who is strong and proud of their daddy! It has been a long year and you should be proud of yourselves for making it this far. We have only a few more months left. Children who are suicidal or having trouble with their pregnancy would be having problems regardless. On every soldiers orders it states there could be a 12 - 18 month deployment. On others it states until the mission is complete. Yes it does hurt to not have them back but we all new that the military is what it is. It's not here to hand out free college educations and not expect something in return. If this is what people thought then no amount of education will help them. It is time for us to be strong for our husbands!! We have the luxury of hopping on a plane and going to visit family and friends. We have unlimited time to make calls to people who will comfort us. When they call it's our turn to comfort them, it's the least we can do. My husband has helped me tremendously throughout our marriage and I'll be danged if I am not going to be there for him to vent his frustrations to. I want my husbands focus to be completly on his mission, not worried about me. A distracted soldier is a dead soldier.My husband has been injured along with many others. I just know he is doing what he is proud to be doing. I know he'd rather be home and spending time with his kids and hunting but this is a sacrifice WE chose to make. No one forced us to sign up. ANd as I was told many times when he forst joined, the Army didn't issue them a wife. It's done and over with so suck it up and drive on!!!!! My prayers are with ALL our soldiers all across the globe that God will keep his protective hand over each one of them and their families to be comforted. Get involved in charities. When your helping those who have it worse off you appreciate what you have. There are single moms out there that do this as a choice, at least ours will be home soon.

If you're feeling sorry for yourselves, go and find a VFW or an American Legion and talk to some Vietnam Vets, or Korean or even WWII vets and their wives. They will tell you during war, there was no set time for return, there were no e-mails or webcams. There was no PX or even guaranteed mail. Even when my husband was in Desert Storm, he was in a tent in the middle of nowhere, inside Iraq, not in a building with air conditioning. Please have some dignity, and don't shame your soldier or his unit. If you can't do that, then he definitely needs to find a different career.