5th Day...

U.S. Army Spc. Brian Stancill from Dalton, Ga., of Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, sits inside an armored Stryker vehicle before patrolling a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008.

(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

"The promise of going home to see family and loved ones is something that sustains soldiers through the long hours."

Scott Hadly, Ventura County Star

Afternoon and happy Saturday...

I have been following the reporting/blogging of Scott Hadly, an embedded reporter from the Ventura County Star. This past Friday he wrote an interesting article about the R&R program and how it is viewed by warriors from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. It brought back memories for me...I expect it will do the same for you.

Additionally, the info hounds have been sending me numerous photos of the 2nd SCR in action for the 5th day in the Diyala province supporting Operation Iron Pursuit and Operation Eagle Pursuit. Those photos are provided at the bottom of the blog.

Also, some news articles that might be of interest to you...

Iraq says 265 arrested in anti-Qaeda offensive

IA tracks down AQI fleeing from Diyala (Salah ad-Din)

Filthy Iraqi drinking water raises cholera fears

Enjoy!

Troops welcome R&R program, which offers free travel and the chance for a break

By Scott Hadly
Friday, August 1, 2008

In a gray Army T-shirt, black shorts and a heavy M-249 machine gun slung over his shoulder, Derek Toledo was already starting to relax.

A day after spending 12 hot, dusty hours on patrol looking for al-Qaida hideouts in the reeds and palm groves near an abandoned village, the 21-year-old gunner was on "recovery time" last week, a rare day off. But even more important for the young Army private was that he was going home the next day.

"Eight hours and a wake-up, then I'm going home," said the Shiprock, N.M., native and member of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment operating in Diyala province.

Toledo, who likes the excitement of being in Iraq, hadn't spoken with his parents for more than a month, and he didn't know what to expect when he got home. As he rubbed a homemade tattoo of a cross on his hand, Toledo talked about a girl he hoped to see when he got back.

"She's not my girlfriend now, but I hope that she is before I get back," he said.

His four-day journey home began the next day with an hour-plus flight in a Blackhawk helicopter to a sprawling air base in Balad. After a long orientation about the do's and don'ts for soldiers while on leave, they take a relatively uncomfortable flight to a base in Kuwait, where they wait again, go through another long day of orientation, have their bags searched and then finally get on a flight home.

Toledo, who first flew to Dallas and then to Albuquerque, was among the last in his battalion to be heading home for two weeks of "R&R," rest and relaxation, a break in the 15-month Army deployment to Iraq. Begun in 2003, the program provides free travel to both Atlanta and Dallas airports as well as spots in Germany.

For Toledo and the men and women in his battalion, their time in Iraq will be done in October. Before their time is up, the soldiers will get a chance to go home or spend time in Qatar to break up their long duty in the war zone. The soldiers often are putting in 10-, 12- and even 20-hour days, and the military attempts to give them a few hours of down time while serving in Iraq, along with a chance to head home.

The promise of going home to see family and loved ones is something that sustains soldiers through the long hours. It's what makes timing the trip home so important.

Pvt. Dan Stepp, of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, was one of the first in his battalion to go home last fall.

"I'd just got here and they said, OK, now you're going home,'" said Stepp, a 20-year-old from Georgia.

When he got home, everyone asked him what Iraq was like, and he had to tell them, "I don't know. I just got there."

When he came back from R&R, he had the hard reality of another 13 months in the country with no break. That's why some troops try to wait until late in their deployments to go home.

"You don't want to do it too soon because then you'll get back and you'll still have all that time before your deployment is up," said Lt. David Stanley, a military policeman and platoon executive officer based in southern Iraq.

Stanley waited a full year before taking a break, mostly because he wanted the 173 other members of the platoon to get a chance first.

"Especially the married guys," he said. "I can't imagine doing this married."

Every day, planes carrying troops from Iraq and Afghanistan unload in Dallas and Atlanta, carrying men and women home for a short pause in their deployments. Because the Marines tend to deploy for six months at a time, they don't typically use the flights unless they're heading home for good or going out to join a unit.

For Army Capt. Shawn McNicol, 27, the trip home after six months in Afghanistan offered him his first chance to see his new daughter, Rowan Jane, born four months into his more than yearlong deployment. He and his wife decided he should wait to come home until his daughter was a few months old, when he'd be more help with the baby.

"It's important to get through the gate with a strong start," McNicol said.

Hundreds of soldiers and Marines return home on leave from Iraq or Afghanistan every day. Their time off and the flights home — the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport alone has seen more than 200,000 since the program started — is something the troops tend to focus on, and the thoughts can sustain them through tough times.

When the soldiers and Marines get off the plane, one of the first people they see is Donna Cranston. Cranston, 50, has helped organize an enthusiastic group of volunteers who wave flags, applaud and hug the troops as they file through the terminal.

"We just want them to know they're appreciated," Cranston said last month as she first greeted more than 100 returning soldiers and Marines. She was also there a few hours later, when 100 more men and women in uniform headed back to war.

The program, called "Welcome Home a Hero," is similar to one in Maine, where more than 500,000 troops have passed through as their planes are refueled and crews swapped out. In Atlanta, too, USO volunteers are greeting troops coming home.

After getting a hearty handshake from retired cowboy boot salesman Bert Brady, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Cooper, 23, marveled at the embrace from strangers. Laden with candy, a box of Girl Scout cookies and Twinkies, Cooper, who was headed back to Camp Pendleton to see his wife, said it only reinforces that he's home.

"It's amazing," Cooper said. "Especially considering I didn't think I was going to make it. We did patrols every day. It's serious every day."

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Chris, give us a shout when you can. We love you son!

v/r,
- Collabman

U.S. Army soldiers from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, patrol in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Iraqi boy eyes a U.S. Army soldier from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, as they visit his family's home during a patrol in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Iraqi woman smokes as a U.S. Army soldier from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, visits her family's home during a patrol in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Iraqi girl eyes a U.S. Army soldier from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, as they visit her family's home during a patrol in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A U.S. Army soldier from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, enters a home during a patrol in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Iraqi man opens his front gate for U.S. Army soldiers from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment during a sweep of his village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S. Army soldiers from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment verify an Iraqi man's identification and check for his name on a list of wanted terrorists as they conduct a sweep in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A U.S. Army soldier from Hawk Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, left, photographs an Iraqi man before searching for his name on a list of wanted terrorists as they conduct a sweep in a village near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)