Wisconsin native claimed by IED in Afghanistan

Kevin Graham, an Army specialist who grew up in Wisconsin and still has family here, was killed Saturday by an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Read his story in the Racine Journal-Times by clicking here.
According to coverage in The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington, near Fort Lewis:

His death is the 16th for the Strykers of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. And 10 of those deaths have fallen on a single battalion, the 1-17.

Since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, only five other Fort Lewis Stryker battalions have lost 10 or more soldiers, and those were sustained over a full 12- or 15-month deployment. The 1-17 and its parent brigade have been deployed less than three months.

Kevin Graham, 1982-2009

Monthly Wisconsin National Guard update

Read the state guard online magazine updating the 32nd's progress in Baghdad's International Zone and elsewhere. Read the Wisconsin State Journal's very brief summary, with a link to the magazine, here. Or click straight to the magazine here.
- Steve

Emergency leave confirms -- baby Carter is the man

Robert Grinage is back in Iraq after an emergency trip to Wisconsin to help care for his son, Carter, while the youngster's mother recuperates from a serious car crash.

Well I am back home from the great state of Wisconsin. Carter Matthew is doing great. We had a lot of great times while i was home on E-Leave. We went mudding with the Jeep Stroller. Went farming, Went to a Barron High School Football game.
Let me tell you he is going to be a chick magnet. Carter made me pull over in the middle of the night to change his pants. He actually said in an English voice. "Father can you pull this buggy over. I seem to have wetted my trousers." I was shocked when i heard it. HAHAHA. No I was kidding about the talking part. But he really made me pull over in the night and change his pants. But i don't care tho. Its just another great memory i have with my main man.
Carter's mother, Jaci Laursen, is doing great by what I am told. She came home to Cumberland WI, three days before I left for overseas again. And she was and is still in high spirits. I would like to say thanks to all who sent flowers, and the prayers. The Laursen and the Lindquist, and the Grinage family's thank all who have prayed for Jaci and my son Carter during this time. Thanks again.
Carter, dad will be home sooner then you think. Then we can go sledding. Ah sledding, what havoc can me and you bring on the snow hills. Love ya Carter Matthew Laursen. Love Dad

I lost my son -- let's save other returning warriors

From Kathy Rodrick of Racine.

Hello, I am a mother of a Marine who recently committed suicide.
I have a few ideas that I would like someone to listen to and maybe adapt. Let’s do this so we can help our soldiers. First, according to the VFW NEWS WISCONSIN, the VA’s Suicide Prevention Program Adds Chat Service. This is a wonderful idea but I think it is too hard for soldiers to access. How many people do not have a computer and how long will it take to begin talking to a live source. I think that a business card with the front of it saying something like, “SUICIDE IS NOT PAINLESS TO THE LOVE ONE LEFT BEHIND” with the phone number of someone they can speak to instantly. This is something they should be given at their debriefing, something they are told to put in their wallet. At this time, I would impress upon them that it is not the strong person that thinks they can handle this on their own. It is the STRONG person that calls this number and ask for help. Also, Mandatory Counseling!

We need to impress upon our soldiers that it is the strong that seek help. They are not weak. Other people have these thoughts.

Even if we stress that they need to come to these group meetings to help their comrades, we all know that by helping others we are actually helping ourselves. Let these meetings be in the outlying areas, not everything at the VA. It would make it convenient for our soldiers and maybe they would find it easier to attend. Have the counselors and psychiatrist be mobile for our soldiers, they were for us.

Second, maybe they need to find someone outside of the military who has been through this to talk to these returning soldiers so it becomes humanized. I don’t have all of the answers but I do know the pain that this has caused a loving family.





Cpl. Kevin E. Rodrick 1977 - 2009

Major Wisconsin Guard operation ends as last detainee leaves Bucca

The Army announced this afternoon that the final 186 detainees have been moved out of Camp Bucca today. Several units of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers had been operating Bucca's detention facilities.
Several Wisconsin units continue working on other missions at Bucca.
--Steve

What's wrong with this picture? Wisconsin troops destroy beer in Iraq

From the Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office in Baghdad:
"Because U.S. soldiers are not allowed to possess or consume alcohol in a combat zone, a 5-ton truck crushes beer left behind at a foreign compound formerly occupied by those who don’t have such a rule. Alpha Troop, 105th Cavalry reports there wasn’t a dry eye on the base as the beer was destroyed. Photo provided by Troop A, 1-105th Cavalry." For more from the PAO, go to madison.com/wsj.

We're recycling Camp Bucca

Lt. Col. Leah Moore of Monona is 6,714 miles from home at Forward Operating Base Bucca, aka Camp Bucca, in southern Iraq. She is the base deputy commander. When not deployed she works as the Wisconsin National Guard deputy surgeon in Madison, and commands the guard armory in Portage.

At FOB Bucca, there are several permanent infrastructures originally built to sustain Army forces and missions. These include a brick factory capable of producing up to 1 million bricks per month, an ice plant capable of producing up to 45 tons of ice per day, and a Waste Water Treatment Plant with the ability to sustain a population of over 50,000 people.

In addition -- and most importantly -- we are also currently overseeing the completion of a new water treatment facility capable of producing 2 million gallons of water a day. FOB Bucca is located above the largest aquifer in the region. The new water treatment facility is able to drill down to the water, retrieve it, and then treat it so that it is drinkable. While deployed here, our goals are not only to see through the completion of the construction of this water treatment plant but also to complete several projects that will provide local cities/villages direct access to our water, waste plant, brick, and ice factory assets in the near future. We also intend to provide the vocational training required to sustain these assets after our departure.

As far as the future of Bucca -- based on our location and established assets -- there are many potential uses. As of yet, a final decision has not been made on which if any of the uses will come to fruition. Regardless, we work daily not only to sustain normal operations incumbent to running a FOB (i.e. logistics, engineering, housing, safety, and contracting operations) but also to prepare the Base for its re-missioning (whatever that may be).

The challenge is to keep what we need now, anticipate what we may need in the future, and reallocate the difference to help out our fellow forces and minimize waste and cost. So far, we've identified and reallocated over 8 million dollars worth of supplies and equipment that may have otherwise gone to waste. We are very proud of our work and success here.

- LTC. Leah Moore


New York Times photo at left depicts a portion of Camp Bucca's detainee facilities months ago. Thousands of detainees have been moved north to other facilities for release or transfer to Iraqi custody.


More from Moore: LTC. Moore, who works full time in the Wisconsin National Guard medical office in Madison, was among the experts quoted in Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal article on new efforts to combat suicides by military personnel and veterans.