Commander’s Call
By
the time this newsletter reaches each of you we will have been here almost one
third of our deployment. I would like
to take this forum and personally thank each and every one of the spouses,
families, and friends for all their support you have provided to your
significant other. Every soldier in the
unit is working hard and doing great things, both personally and
professionally. I seriously doubt if,
as a unit, we will ever be able to do as much EOD work as we have here. In just two months we have done everything
from Range Sweeps to Explosive Ordnance Recognition Classes to over 100
incidents. Suffice it to say that the
pace is very fast and by all accounts will remain that way for the next several
months.
I
haven’t been able to access the damage the company received from Y2K. However,
several symptoms and/or strange things have occurred:
--Mysterious
locked latrines
--Anonymous
personnel (SGT Hart) actually considering an ultra marathon
--Rain
two days in a row
--The
brightest lunar illumination in 133 years
--Computers
that don’t work, regardless of what you do
A
special thanks to the rear detachment folks for holding down the fort until we
return. You are doing a very important
job and one that sometimes people forget.
Keep up the good work and we look forward to returning in the late
spring or early summer.
In
closing I would like to once again say thank you for all of your support and
care that you provide each one of your loved ones. I know that we could not be anywhere as successful as we are
without the support of our families.
-CPT Buckley
Rumor has it that the
attached picture is what several of us look like before our morning coffee
Notes from the troops
To
Angi, Thanx for being as strong as you have been while I have been gone. It is very nice to know that while I’m
deployed you are building our future together.
I’m proud to be your husband.
Mike
For
Tashina, I bet you are very excited about “Les Miz.” I am looking forward to our summer together. I’m very proud of how hard you are trying in
school. Don’t ever give up.
Love Dad
For
Mica. You are going to have to keep an
eye out for flying basketballs! I’m
glad it didn’t hurt anymore of your hand.
I am really excited to see you this summer. Keep studying hard in school, it will pay off.
Love Dad
To my wife Rene’
I
am very proud of you for maintaining a 3.0 GPA at WSU, as well as the job of
taking care of both kids.
So
with this thought in mind, upon my return, a one-week vacation anywhere she
would like to go.
To my kids Steven and Erika
Keep
up the good work in school, and I hope you enjoy the gifts I sent
P.S. Steven, stop giving your Mom a hard time!
Love you all,
-1SG Ehman
Dearest
Families: We have survived Y2K and are
patiently waiting to survive the next big dilemma...Valentines Day. We tried kissing each other under the
mistletoe during Christmas, it did not work either due to heterosexuality or
being to shy to kiss thy fellow EOD technician. What possible inert affection
can we use during this next major dilemma and national holiday, Valentines
Day. I am suggesting that we all write
poetry to each other this way there is no pressure on us to use physical interaction
and we can save it all up for you when we get home. Anyway, all the soldiers of
the 731st are fine, I know they all miss you very much because they come to my
room at 2 am carrying your pictures, crying and wanting to spoon. I have
honestly and diligently tried taking care of each and every soldier, and will
continue to do so until their all home safely. To my beloved Queen, Princess,
Champ, and Hero... Dad and John (and the other name you call me Chrissy which
of course I cannot print here) I miss and Love you all very much. And my boo
boo is doing much better, Thank You.
To all my wonderful sisters, especially that twin one... I don't say
this enough...I love you all.
- SFC Galinaitis
Mike,
I love and miss you very much. Things here
are going all right, except I miss you both.
I am getting better and better at making coffee. Give Michael a big kiss from me and tell him
I love and miss him.
Love, Sharon
P.S. “See” you on AOL messenger. J
P.S.S. 14 Pounds so far.
To Darlene
I love you and Miss
you very much, kiss the dog for me. P.S. Laundries sucks and send more socks
the other ones are pink now.
-SSG Smith
-SSG Gazzara
Dear All of the 731st Family,
As
most of you have heard, there is a baby in the tumm tumm!!! Both Mimi and I are as excited as can be
imagined. I want to thank all of you
for the support that has been given to her while I am here. I know that she is going through a lot of
changes that I am not aware of since we have never been pregnant. I have heard
everything from " you can kiss all that Eddie Bauer stuff good bye"
to, " say goodbye to sleeping nights". It's going to be an experience that I am sure will never be
equaled to anything we have ever gone through.
I am just grateful for all of those that have sent their congratulations
and prayers. The other thing that I may
need from you wives is to get Mimi used to changing diapers (she is so grossed
about the idea). I am sure that will be
an experience to witness, but most probably it will be me doing the
changing. Well that's all for now, may
all be well and as for you Mimi, Big hug, Big Kiss, and BABY IN THE TUMM
TUMM!!!!
-SGT Fernandez
Excited Daddy to be
Quotes from the Teams
“I went for the free t-shirt; make no mistake about it.”
-1SG
Ehman
“1SG Ehman, how important are 10 blasting caps anyway?”
-SSG
Roberson
155mm White
Phosphorus projectile disposal shot
“Cool”
-SSG Elmore, SGT Fernandez and strap hangers
If there is only one
road in and out of an air base, it is not one-way
-SGT
Richter
Tales from the Teams
Nightmares of the Promotion Board
It’s 200
points or zero, and no in between.
Q. What are the Army’s 7 values?
A. Wrong! Give me 20
push-ups and they will be elevated.
Q. What is the NCO creed?
A. Wrong! Get down,
give me 20 push-ups and they will be elevated.
This is how we do it here!
Fact, not fiction.
-1SG Ehman
Well life here has
slowed down a lot since our last newsletter.
For the most part I’ve just been going to the range and feeding the dung
beetles. If you want to know what they
eat just ask my wife. She has a picture
too. That’s about it, besides hanging
out with my good buddy Han Solo.
Before I came here I
just wanted to buy the world a coke.
Now I just want to buy it a stick of deodorant. Well why stop there, I think I’ll throw in
some car seats while I’m at it. I know
a few thousand families that could use them.
Speaking of horrible drivers the Kuwaitis drive a boat about as well as
they drive their cars. I never
participated in dodge boat jet skiing before, it’s kind of fun. Well that’s about it from me. I’ll just leave you with this final piece of
advice: Don’t eat jalapenos before you go and feed the dung beetles. I love you TMD.
- SGT Richter
Sports
There have not been a lot of sports since time, however
there was a ping-pong tournament; the winner was SPC Joseph while SSG Smith and
the CO finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. SSG Smith and
SGT Richter are still undefeated in spades; which is kind of a sport. We beat
SSG Roberson and who ever her partner is. We play the Brits and Air Force EOD
in Softball this Sunday; we will win or kill them. The unit for the most part
ran the New Years eve 10K Fun Run, (even SSG Smith) it was not fun I hated it
and the only people I finished in front of either died or lost a wheel on thier
wheel chair, the look on the Commanders face was neat to see when he saw I was
actually there. This has been sports with SSG Smith.
Y2K effects in Kuwait
SSG Smith has become irritable due to lack of nicotine.
One morning the sun did not rise. The likely excuse is due to the exhaust smoke from the power
station next-door, but we know it is Y2K.
Glossary of Terms
5K Zone: An area 5
kilometers from the Iraq border patrolled by the Kuwaiti MOD.
Blasting Cap: Small
explosive device used to initiate the main explosive charge.
Dumpster Diving:
Looking for folding chairs and other items left by units going back to
home station.
Grid or Grid Square:
Map reference lines, each line is 1000 meters apart.
Grunt: Infantryman
Gun Bunny: Artillery Crewman
Henweigh: About 3
pounds
Improsevious: Acting
in a manner not contusive with SFC Galinaitis’ standards and morals.
Joey Budafuko:
Tough-Guy.
Kabal: Living,
working, and training area that the Task Force occupies in Northern Kuwait. Not exactly life at the Plaza in New York,
nor the sidewalk in front of it.
KD: Kuwaiti Denair,
currently 1KD equals $3.30.
Kilometer or Klik:
1000 meters, .6 mile, 1 mile = 1.6km.
LBD: Little Blue
Dude, TCNs that work on base. Royal
Blue clothing can identify them.
MK81, 82, 83, & 84: US
aircraft bomb weighing 250, 500, 1000, or 2000 pounds respectively.
Meter: 39”
Metric Friday:
Wednesday
Mobile Dumpster Diving:
Dumpster diving in the back of a moving garbage truck.
MOD: Ministry of
Defense
MOI: Ministry of
Interior.
Projo: Artillery
projectile.
Shot: Demolition
Stupidity: Running
6.2 miles for a free t-shirt.
Sunday: Friday
Task Force: A
visiting unit comprised of combat and support personnel sent here to defend
Kuwait.
TCN: Third Country
National. Personnel from neither the
United States nor Kuwait.
Tommy Lasorta: SSG
Smith
Weather Forecast
Freezing and Raining.
Should be getting snow anytime now.
-SSG Roberson
731st EOD at WPAFB, Ohio
Congratulations
to the 725th EOD Team of the Year.
SSG Pierce, SPC Baldwin, and PFC Smith did a fine job of backstopping
our unit and a great job at the TOY. We
wish them the best of luck and skill for the DA TOY that they will win.
Finance
To view the current
pay rates you can go to: www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay
This site includes basic pay, BAS (Separate Rats), BAH (Housing), and reserve
pay. The military received a pay raise
this month and will receive another in July.
LES’s can be obtained
through DFAS (Finance) at building 1 on WPAFB.
You will need a current Power of Attorney. If you still have any problems, please contact SPC Labore at the
731st back at WPAFB, 257-4536/3072.
We can download the LES’s here in Camp Doha. If needed we can mail or fax a copy back as needed.