Well, we are happy to hear my brother should be coming home in mid June from Iraq. For all of you with family members in the military, our thoughts and prayers are with you as well.
Here was an excerpt from his most recent email:
"Hey Steve
Thanks for checking in. Judy sent do milkyways and almond joy's which was very nice of her. Mike sent some very expensive chocolate that got melted, once melted it never quite tastes the same. Things here are variable to say the least. Today Muqtada Al Sadr, declared a temporary ceases fire... funny I would have never known, I got caught working out in the gym across the street, it's essentially a large trailer with flimsy aluminum roof, similar to a gym just a few blocks away that got hit a month ago and killed several troops.. today I was working out when the C-RAM's went off (devices that track incoming rockets and mortars, that alarm you and give you 2-6 seconds to seek shelter, just enough time to hit the floor)... then once the blast goes off you run literally for your life to the nearest hardened bunker. I have been in this bunker now twice in 3 days, on Friday the Mahdi dropped about 7 mortars on us in about 20 minutes, at that time I was trying to get some coffee at the local Green bean across the street. We are all now feeling the burn of being in this intense environment for some 6 months, but the last 2 months of daily Mortaring had really taken a mental toll on people. The Army is walling off Sadr City with T-walls (18 foot concrete slabs) this is literally blocking the Mahdi's ability to fire mortars and to resupply from Iran, so hopefully when complete it will slow things down a bit. "
