Sailor @ MindSay

I would hate to think that this is part of the lesson I am intended to learn. How to survive (I did not say live) in another city away from home. I do not like what I have found here, and I know in my heart, that once I get my education I will go home and that is where I will make love and raise my family, look out my windows, make my bed, and swim in water that feels like it fits around me. We all have a Spirit that makes us a part of things and mine is truly as unhappy as I am.

It's my dad who is my guy and he's wanting me to see the world. Can you tell that he's a sailor? An extraordinary one. And a good fisherman. I said I will be happy to travel and he says he means for me to be able to move through the world and survive. Yes, I see his point. But he says too he cannot argue with my sense of home and belonging. He felt the same and stayed, made love and raised his babies, fed us and swam in the water that holds us. Ever felt that the ocean you were in was holding you like a mother would a child? That is the way it is for me, my family and ancestors.

I am playing my card. I called and asked for him to come and help me make a few decisions and help me. He thought I was going to whine and want to come HOME. I was, but I am reserving that. I need some advice on how to have some privacy again which is not happening at the moment and it is NOT too much to ask for. I need to be able to think clearly in this place and I find it disorienting.

So, he is coming end of next week and we're going to go over the things that I'm struggling with. I find too that I come around here on Mindsay looking to see who's hanging out, the problems, the questions and thoughts.

On June 19^th, 2004, a granite wall commemorating the soldiers who have died in the recent Middle East Conflicts was erected in Marseilles, Illinois.  The wall is over 50 feet long and stands six feet high.  As of March 6, 2005, the names of 2500 soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen and coastguardsmen who have fallen in Middle East Conflicts since 1980. 

You can visit the website at http://www.ilfreedomrun.org/

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2006 – A sailor assigned to 9th Naval Construction Regiment died due to enemy action while operating in Iraq's Anbar province yesterday, and the Defense Department has identified earlier casualties in the war on terror.  The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The Defense Department identified four soldiers and a Marine who died recently in Iraq or from injuries sustained there:

Marine Sgt. Justin L. Noyes, 23, of Vinita, Okla., died July 2 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Army Staff Sgt. Omar D. Flores, 27, of Mission, Texas; Spc. Troy C. Linden, 22, of Detroit Lakes, Minn.; and Spc. Joseph P. Micks, 22, of Rapid River, Mich., died in Ramadi, Iraq, July 8, when a makeshift bomb detonated near their Mine Protected Vehicle. All three soldiers were assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany.

Army Sgt. Duane J. Dreasky, 31, of Novi, Mich., died July 10 at Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, of injuries sustained when a makeshift bomb detonated near his Humvee in Habbaniyah, Iraq, on Nov. 21. Dreasky was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery, Lansing, Mich

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2006 – The U.S. military is stepping up operations in the Gulf of Guinea to enhance security in this strategic and resource-rich region, the commander of U.S. European Command's naval surface combatant warships told the Pentagon Channel.  U.S. military engagement along southwestern Africa's Atlantic coast has increased exponentially, Navy Capt. Tom Rowden, commander of Task Force 65, said during a Pentagon interview last week. It's increased from almost no activity in 2004 to 130 "ship days" in 2005 to even more planned ship days this year, he said.

The goal is to build long-term relationships that promote greater security and stability in the region, Rowden explained.  The region faces several potentially destabilizing factors: narcotics trafficking from South America, smuggling of illegal aliens into Europe, about $1 billion a year in illegal fishing, and pollution that threatens the coast and the local food supply, among them.

"We're looking at building the capacity and capability of the nations down there to secure the maritime domain to address these destabilizing activities," Rowden said.  Maritime security is critical for the region to benefit from its natural resources and prosper economically, he said. Africa provides almost 15 percent of the United States' oil supply, much of which comes from the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, the region is rich in timber, iron ore, copper and other resources.

"Our goal is to ensure a more stable maritime environment to ensure their ability to get those resources to market," Rowden said.  The focus is on helping African nations increase their naval capabilities, with help from the United States, he said.

Toward that end, the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land recently wrapped up a three-month deployment to the region, where its crew conducted a series of security cooperation activities. The deployment included port visits to Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Ghana, Angola, and the Republic of the Congo.

U.S. Navy training teams helped their West African counterparts increase their capabilities in damage control and ship maintenance. They provided survey teams to help develop more accurate navigational charts. They also helped the African navies build leadership within the ranks and strengthen their noncommissioned officer corps.

Meanwhile, U.S. Navy leaders met with senior navy leaders from more than 20 African countries in Nigeria during the late May Seapower for Africa Symposium to encourage them to work cooperatively to promote regional security. "No single country can do it alone, including my own," Adm. Henry G. "Harry" Ulrich III, commander of Naval Forces Europe, which has operational control of operations in most of Africa, told the group.

The USS Land's deployment and maritime symposium were the latest in a series of engagements that Rowden said are building important new relationships in the Gulf of Guinea. "One of the important things we need to realize about operating in Africa is that the personal relationships are absolutely vital in order to be able to begin to understand how we can best assist them in building that maritime capacity and capability," he said.

The African sailors have "tremendously" received the U.S. sailors, Rowden said. "There's no better ambassador for the United States of America than the sailor of the United States Navy," he said. "I was absolutely blown away by their ability to go out and make friends and the willingness on their part to give."