Dear Mom.....

Staff Sgt. Clifford Fraipont of Fountain, Colo., moves quickly with his team to clear a room during Close Quarter Combat training May, 21 at Fort Hood, Texas.

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Liesl Marelli,
3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas – Deploying Colorado Guardsmen continued building upon their foundation of Close Quarter Combat training at Fort Hood, Texas, May 21.

The Soldiers, who are assigned to 1st Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard, incorporated their Medic Platoon in the training to help simulate how to treat a casualty while also trying to clear a room or a house.

Using a “glass house” – an area staked out on the ground and taped off to simulate  a room – the Soldiers worked in small teams as they practiced clearing rooms and hallways. The 1st Platoon sergeant and the Medic Platoon sergeant call out scenarios such as, “Third man was hit. Lower leg injury.”

With that, the Soldiers figured out what kind of security they needed and started performing buddy aid.

The pressure didn’t let up. If the Soldiers didn’t react properly and quickly enough, the platoon sergeants added to the pressure.

“What are you going to do now? Where’s your call to higher? Who is pulling security?” They shouted at the teams.

 “I learned a lot I didn’t know from the classes on what to do if we get a casualty under fire, what to do if we [get] a casualty while clearing a building and the proper procedures for clearing the building using the [techniques from] the Close Quarter Range,” said Spc. Sean Dolan of Colorado Springs, Colo.

The platoon trained recently on the Fort Hood Close Quarter Combat range and decided to continue training on their own to both enhance their knowledge and practice building their muscle memory.

The muscle memory consists of many tasks such as muzzle awareness, teambuilding for small teams to clear rooms and conducting buddy aid while their adrenaline is pumping and the clock is ticking.

“I wanted to give [our] certified Combat Lifesavers the opportunity for additional experience,” said Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Byerly of Johnstown, Colo.

With the help of the Medic Platoon led by Sgt. Jason Sorenson, the Soldiers practiced applying tourniquets, safely moving a casualty and how to administer intravenous fluid in the field.

Not all were a first-time “go” but the medics helped walk the Soldiers through the process. Going step-by-step, all the Soldiers were eventually certified on the process.

While in Iraq, the teams will always have Combat Lifesavers as well as medics on hand. The more Soldiers know about combat care, the better they will be to handle anything that comes their way.

I'm here...

And the local discount store doesn't carry:

But we're doing O.K.

Had to find some quite time, so we made a "Zen" garden. No noise, no cussing, and hopefully no rockets.  The tranquility garden is going well.  Couple chairs, a sign, but WE know what it's for.  Sometimes we're mom, dad and the preacher!  Have to have a place to just compose ourselves all over again.

Our group is settling in. Many on their first tour. Have several hundred we watch over, with just about a dozen of us in this Medial Group. Marines and Army - all come to us. We can't go out - what's to see out there with all the sand anyway?

What I wouldn't give for a glass of water.

Our Programs

Water for the Troops

The Water for the Troops program started as a result of a letter from a U.S. soldier, now on his third tour in Iraq, to his mother asking for something (anything) she could send to make the water taste better. An excerpt from that soldier's letter reads:

Dear Mom;

"........oh and send anything you can to make the water more palatable. It's pretty bad. Maybe drink mixes, anything. They assure us it's safe, but we can hardly swallow it ... and WE have the "clean" water"

When your friends ask about us, please tell them we're doing O.K. There is some stuff that would make it easier. May be they would think of sending a box or 2. I sent you the list.  All 400+ of us would really love it.

hugs, Da Boy