his helicoptor did catch some small arms fire on the way out, over ramadi - ping ping ping ping and sparks... guess that makes the quiet sound so much sweeter and the ocean look much more beautiful!

he said it was like a tremendous weight was being lifted from his shoulders as they flew away from that damn city. ahhhh, i can feel the tremendous relief too! i hope they just forget about him and leave him there until his tour is over... unlikely, but a nice thought, huh!

he said there is a chili's restaurant there on base and he went in and had himself a big fat steak i bet the sight of something familiar - chili's was so sweet!

Yes, to be able to see Chad's fellow soldier friends will be a good thing I hope Lori. You will get to hear their stories of survival and how they feel things are going for the Iraqi's. I trust a soldiers take much more than news sources.

it just such a huge huge relief to hear his voice without the stress "in the background" that a mother hears! it is absolutely the best thing to know that for a few days, he is not getting shot at! can you imagine that?

What a great retreat. I'm sure Moms's thrilled that boy is eating a big 'ol steak!

Many blessings, enjoy your visit with the 'bro's'

i'll post the first part of the article:

~~~~~ "Guard unit suffers injuries in Iraq

Four from southeast Iowa's 224th Engineers hurt in two incidents.

By JAMES QUIRK Jr.
[email protected]

Four Iowa Army National Guard soldiers, all members of Mount Pleasant-based Company C of the 224th Engineer Battalion, suffered injuries in two recent incidents in Iraq.

Sgt. David J. Hinkle, 27, of Mount Union, Spc. Jacob Shumaker, 20, of Wayland, and Spc. Steven Flanagan, 21, of Marion were hurt May 20 north of Ar Ramadi, according to Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard public affairs officer.

"(Hinkle) received shrapnel wounds and was evacuated to the U.S. Army medical facility in Taqaddum, Iraq," Hapgood reported in a press release Wednesday. "He has since been evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility in Germany for additional treatment and is anticipated to be transferred to a U.S. Army medical facility in the United States in the next several days."

Hapgood said there was no condition report available on Hinkle as of Wednesday.

Flanagan and Shumaker "were treated at a local U.S. Army medical facility and later returned to duty," Hapgood reported.

Flanagan, Shumaker and Hinkle were injured and their armored personnel carrier destroyed at about noon local Iraq time when an improvised explosive devise -- commonly called an IED by soldiers -- detonated near their vehicle, according to the report.

The second incident occurred at about 2:30 a.m. local Iraq time Sunday in Ar Ramadi, when Sgt. Michael Mortimer of Montrose was injured after an IED detonated next to his personnel carrier. Mortimer was conducting route clearance operations, according to Hapgood.

Mortimer was treated for his injuries at a Baghdad medical facility and has returned to duty" ~~~~~