thank yous and prayers

This letter is from a local man now serving in Iraq. Please read.

To: Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 8:17 PM
Subject: Hello from Iraq

Hello all,

My soldiers and I are still well. We are busy of course with the surge. Currently we spend much of our time escorting loads of concrete barriers to knew security sites around Baghdad. This is so all of the units coming in have secure sites to conduct their offensive operations out of. So far it seems we are making some progress. Many Iraqis have expressed that they feel safer with US troops closer by in their neighborhoods. The people can work on rebuilding their schools and such without having to worry so much about being attacked while doing it. I doubt that we will ever completely end the violence. But we hope we can get to a point the Iraqis can take the reigns and we can minimize our presence here. We are tired and the troops just want it to be finished but done right. I cannot imagine how guys who have done two or three tours must feel. It is getting warm here now. Soon it will be blazing hot during the day time. Nights will not be much better. Right now we are all just glad the rainy season has passed. We were getting so tired of the mud. But soon we will be complaining of the dust storms I am sure. In about eight more weeks I will take R&R leave and go be with my family for two weeks at Fort Riley. It will be so good to see them and get away from here for awhile. Six months is about the limit of a soldiers ability to deal with the stress of deployment effectively. Then it begins to really chip away at your patience. I am holding out for a couple more months so my little girl will be out of school and I can be with her as much as possible.

She will turn eight years of age on 14 April. I have missed so much. She is growing so fast and becoming such an intelligent and wonderful young lady. She did not comprehend at first how long her Daddy would be gone. She has begun to ask when I will be coming home. Its hard to tell her I won't be home for another two months. After that I have to explain to her that I have to come back for a few months before I can come home for good. That is at least until they send us over again.

People at home have no idea what our soldiers must endure to ensure their freedoms. That is unless they to have once served. So every time you see a service member thank him or her. It really means so much to us when people express their gratitude. At one time our soldiers would get applauded at airports and have people trying to buy them drinks or meals. Lately my soldiers have said that a few of them have experienced peoples gratitude while traveling home. But some say most people now look at them from afar as if they are unapproachable or are from outer space. Maybe people don't know what to say. All they have to say is thank you. Soldiers understand this. With all of the bad press it really raises a soldiers spirits just to hear those simple words.

Well I hope everyone at home is well. I am looking forward to visiting Alabama in October providing our tour is not extended. At this point anything is possible. Keep the faith and keep us in your prayers.

SFC Mosher
US Army
Baghdad, Iraq