Random Saturday Thoughts...

It's hard to believe we are already half way through the first month of this new year. The days pass ever so quickly, which cause weeks to simply evaporate.

So many events fill a week. As these events occur, they are merely life...
That is, until the time is taken to review......

My heart is so full of pride! John has been promoted to Senior Airman! He made BTZ (Below The Zone), which is a HUGE accomplishment! John was selected as one of few from among many on the entire base... 6 months early!!!! I am so very proud of my son! This promotion is true affirmation that my son is where he is meant to be, doing what he is meant to be doing. John, I do love you so!

Prayers are needed for my oldest daughter, K. She may have a herniated disc. With three little girls under the age of four, she is in needed of many prayers (and some good meds). How very grateful I am, to know my daughter and grandgirls are being cared for by J. My son-in-law is a loving husband and a remarkable daddy. Of course, Nana will be there to help out as needed. K, love you so.

Such horrible devastation has occurred in Haiti this past week. Our military is stepping in to care for and protect people of Haiti. We are America!

Shay is still en route to her final destination in Iraq. Unfortunately, her plane departed earlier than expected and I was not able to give her a hug. Her mom has been able to speak with her, so all is good. I have Shay's address, please e-mail me if you would like to mail a card or package! Please keep Shay in your prayers, as well as her family.

How was your week?

May Almighty God Bless and protect each and every Airman, Soldier, Sailor and Marine.

May God calm the anxious hearts of the families of those serving our nation.

May God's healing hands touch my daughter's back.

May God continue to guide my sons, as they proudly serve our country!

His Star Has Turned From Blue to Gold

ROMEOVILLE — A Romeoville soldier who followed in the military footsteps of his father and grandfather, has been killed in Afghanistan.

Army Spc. Kyle J. Wright, 22, was killed Wednesday in the line of duty when the Stryker vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Kyle Wright, a 2006 graduate from Romeoville High School, was the only person who died in the incident, said his father, Rich Wright, of Romeoville.

Flags fly at half-staff outside Army Spc. Kyle J. Wright's home in Romeoville on Thursday. Wright, a 2006 graduate of Romeoville High School, was killed in the line of duty on Wednesday in Afghanistan. “They were interdicting drugs and weapons on the main highway in Afghanistan,” he said.

“He was a hell of a stand-up kid. ... He was a professional soldier. He took it very seriously. He had three Army achievement medals. Everything he did, he did to the full extent,” said Rich Wright who is an employee in Valley View School District with his wife and Kyle’s stepmom, Tiffany Wright.

A day before Kyle Wright was killed, he sent an e-mail to his father with a link from a CNN story about interdicting approximately $40 million in drugs.

“It was the third big bust that they had. They were doing a hell of a job as far as interdicting,” Rich Wright said. “They were interdicting the drug trafficking along that road and clearing the road of IEDs. Obviously, they didn’t clear them all.

Full military honors
Rich Wright’s son-in-law, Sgt. Zachary Greene, who is also deployed in Afghanistan and was Kyle Wright’s supply sergeant, identified the body at the air base at Kandahar. He will escort the body home.

“It’s like a nightmare that’s not going to end,” Rich Wright said. Rich Wright had planned to leave Thursday afternoon for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Kyle Wright requested a funeral with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery and Rich Wright said they were trying to make that happen.

“There was nothing extraordinary about him. But then he was extraordinary in every way. He had a sense of honor. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who stand up and those who don’t. He was a stander-upper,” Rich Wright recalled.

Third generation
For the Wright men, joining the military was an honor.

“I’m a vet. His grandfather was a vet. He was third generation,” Rich Wright said.

Kyle’s grandfather, 1st Sgt. Ruben John Wright, is buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, Korea and Vietnam for 27 years. Rich Wright was a medic in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, serving six years. Kyle Wright was in the Alpha Company, Second Battalion, First Infantry Regiment, Fifth Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division deployed in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2006. He learned Arabic at Defense Language Institute at Fort Lewis where he was stationed in Washington.

“(Kyle) was in the Army’s newest Stryker brigade. He was fluent in Arabic,” Rich Wright said.

Kyle Wright was deployed to Afghanistan in July and planned to return a year later.

Mustang love
Flags throughout Valley View School District flew at half staff Thursday following word of Kyle Wright’s death.

Kyle Wright attended Timber Ridge Middle School and Plainfield South High School for his freshman year before transferring to Romeoville High School where he graduated in 2006.

Lindy Steeves, assistant principal at Romeoville High School, has a picture of Wright in his military uniform on her wall in her office.

Steeves recalled Kyle Wright’s love for his Mustang.

“He had a Mustang. He was taking autos. He brought his Mustang to school all the time. The auto teacher helped him repair the Mustang,” Steeves said. “One of the things that he was very passionate about was — he wanted to go into the service. He wanted to serve his country.”

Kyle Wright is survived by his father and stepmother Rich and Tiffany Wright, his stepbrother Justin Rhodes and stepsister, Kayla LeVine, all from Romeoville, and his mother, Lynn Perry and sisters Krystal Greene and Kelly Wright of Webster, N.Y., and his grandmother, Joyce Wright of Missouri. He has two nephews.

Stepsister Kayla LeVine, 20, grew up with Kyle Wright, attending Romeoville High School together.

“Kyle and I grew up to be very good friends. ... He was just a regular old kid. ... He did well in school. He always wanted to go into the Army,” she said. “He always wanted to be a military guy. His father was his role model. He really looked forward to going into the Army and following his father’s footsteps, and he always just wanted to make his dad proud. ... That is what he wanted in life was to make his dad proud of him.”

Stepbrother Justin Rhodes, 16, a sophomore at RHS, said he wanted to follow Kyle’s footsteps and join the military. He is currently in the U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC — just like his big brother did at RHS.

“He was my role model. He was who I wanted to be like. He was the one who got me into skateboarding, riding bikes, fast cars,” Rhodes said. “He taught me everything a teenager needs to know. ... His first car was a Mustang. He always had a thing about fast cars.”

Fighting for freedom
Levine and Rhodes said they learned a lot from their older brother.

“Freedom isn’t free. Freedom is not free and that saying will get tossed around your whole life. Until it really hits home you never really realized what that saying is,” LeVine said. “He died serving for our country — for our freedom.

“In our home, we respected the people who fought for our freedom. Our family is a very military-oriented group. We are very proud to be Americans,” Levine said. “Things are not handed to you in life. Everybody fights for something for everybody else. That’s what Kyle was doing. Kyle was fighting to keep our country safe.”

Kyle Wright got to come home briefly in November, visiting his family in New York, Washington and Romeoville.

“We were fortunate enough that he got that early release because if not — the last time we saw him was in the summer,” LeVine said.


By CATHERINE ANN VELASCO STAFF WRITER - THE PLAINFIELD SUN

Operation Deep Freeze

1/8/2010 - MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The 2009-2010 Operation Deep Freeze season is still underway, but the 10th year for C-17 Globemaster III's on "the ice" supporting National Science Foundation research in Antarctica has already been a success.

"This season is proving to be the busiest on record," said Lt. Col. Robert Wellington, 62nd Operations Group deputy commander and 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron commander, working for Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica.

"We're nearly two-thirds of the way through 68 scheduled missions and we've transported more than three thousand passengers and almost three million pounds of cargo," Colonel Wellington said.

Operation Deep Freeze is the U.S. military's support of the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Antarctic Program, and involves coordination of airlift, aeromedical evacuation support, emergency response, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, port cargo handling and transportation requirements.

Team McChord Airmen of the 62nd Airlift Wing and 446th Airlift Wing jointly conduct the Operation Deep Freeze C-17 mission.

Col. Kevin Kilb, 62nd Airlift Wing commander, recently visited the 304th EAS in Christchurch, New Zealand, observing firsthand the hard work, planning and preparation Team McChord Airmen put into each mission.

"This is a very important total-force mission that we're extremely proud of at McChord," said Colonel Kilb.

"We're at ten years now supporting Deep Freeze with the C-17, which has really revolutionized how the Air Force has supported the National Science Foundation," he said.

The first McChord C-17 touched down on the ice runway outside McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Oct. 15, 1999. Prior to this, McChord Airmen completed Antarctic flights with the C-141 Starlifter, which had supported Deep Freeze operations since 1966.

The C-17's reliability and versatility has really cut down our environmental footprint, reduced operating costs and increased our support of the National Science Foundation, said Colonel Kilb.

"In addition to the amount of cargo we can carry, the most significant difference between the C-17 and the C-141 is the capability to complete missions without refueling," said Lt. Col. J.W. Smith, 313th Airlift Squadron assistant operations officer and 304th EAS directing officer.

This capability is possible due to the increased range of the aircraft.

Since the current season kicked off Sept. 25, Team McChord Airmen have completed an average of three to four missions each week, transporting passengers and cargo.

The average mission takes approximately 10 hours of total flight time between Christchurch and Antarctica, with one to two hours spent on "the ice".

Airmen conducting the mission include seasoned veterans and first-time participants. After extensive pre-mission training at McChord, Airmen receive a full day of planning and preparation upon arrival in Christchurch.

"We always bring experienced instructors and they teach the new guys, to keep that experience alive for future seasons," said Colonel Wellington.

"We only bring the best to Operation Deep Freeze," he said. "There are a lot of unique challenges here, with the weather and the extreme cold temperatures; it's a graduate-level program [of Airmanship]."

The 304th EAS receives weather briefs from a specialized unit in Charleston, S.C. Using advanced computer models that break down the weather patterns hourly, an analysis of the local weather in Antarctica is provided to the squadron. This information is invaluable, as it's used to determine whether a mission can be launched on schedule, or if there is a need to delay or cancel a specific flight.

"We have the most specialized models and briefings," said Colonel Wellington. "We want to operate as efficiently as we can."

To save fuel and reduce risks, he said, missions are generally delayed or cancelled if there are significant weather concerns. Such delays impact about 25 percent of scheduled missions, but reduce the chances that a C-17 en route to Antarctica will have to turn around in-flight.

"So far this season we've only had one flight out of 46 that has had to turn back due to weather," said Colonel Wellington.

Airmen face other unique challenges in the harsh environment, including working in sub-zero temperatures and taxiing through snow on an ice runway - critical for increased safety and traction on landing.

"On this rotation, we haven't had many significant maintenance challenges - we have a great airplane and everything has been working extremely well," said Senior Master Sgt. Joe Gahan, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

"This mission is one of the most difficult peacetime missions because of the harsh climate and the Antarctic environment as a whole, but it's also one of the most rewarding because we understand the importance of the scientific research being done," Colonel Kilb said.

"It's a great example of the cooperation, not only across the inter-agency spectrum and with our industry partners, but within our Air Force. It's an incredible example of total force teamwork to support very important science," he said.

Operation Deep Freeze missions are expected to continue until late February when Airmen transition from the main season to redeployment.

by Staff Sgt. Eric Burks
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs






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Check out these interesting links for more information:

CoolAntartica.Com

History.Navy.Mil

You Never Let Go

(Powerful words-please pause my playlist on the right sidebar)

You Never Let Go

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth


Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

~Matt Redman

Godspeed, Shay!

Please take a moment today to give hugs and lift your prayers for Shay's Mom. Shay is leaving Fairchild AFB today, to begin her deployment in Iraq.

Shay attended Tech School at Wright-Patterson. She and her mom met my son, John and they enjoyed a lunch together. Shay's Mom is retired from the Army; she understands first hand what it is like to walk in her daughter's boots.

My hope is to meet Shay at BWI, before her departure. She makes her Mom proud. Shay is a brave young woman, dedicated to our Nation. I have no doubt she will serve our Country well.

Shay, my heartfelt thanks for your sacrifice. May God watch over you and protect you. May God comfort the heart of your Mom, who loves you so.

Godspeed, Shay!

Col. Bob Howard - American hero!

Robert L. Howard
July 11, 1939 – December 23, 2009


Thanks to my dear friend, K for sharing this video with me!
(please pause my playlist on the right sidebar)

Love. This. Photo.

ARABIAN SEA (Dec. 24, 2009) Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) sort through 34,400 pounds of mail delivered Christmas Eve. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is on a routine deployment to the region. Operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations are focused on reassuring regional partners of the United States commitment to security, which promotes stability and global prosperity.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Mercil)

Please keep in mind...every single box mailed to a soldier makes a huge difference!