My thoughts exactly!!! My son is with the Janesville unit, and we are all so proud of him. We made a"flat Kyle". Shape bought at Michaels craft store, dressed him up, added a picture of our soldier. We take him everywhere with us, as do his friends. Then we either send him pictures by mail or computer. Our soldier has very much enjoyed getting these pictures and we have a blast doing it. So anyway, Lets keep our comments positive..

I would like to say to all of the 132nd. A big THANKYOU. You all are doing the best. Not everyone can do what you do. We all can't wait till your safe return. Also I see Frenchy you made the paper. We like the comments you made very postitive. Glad eveyone is safe and doing well under the contdistion. God bless.

It's really sad that this blog has turned into what it is today...a sounding board for complaints. This is my second deployment and I know how time away from home, long hours and bordom can set in after a period of time. This blog was put together to give our home town an idea of what it's like being deployed, through our experiences, both good and not so good. In a "perfect" world, the FRG would be fully staffed and have the support of "ALPHA" companies entire family network. Unfortunatly, that's not always the way things go. "ALPHA" Soldiers need your support. They really don't need to hear about "disgruntled" spouses, on how bad the FRG is doing or any other problems for that matter. Soldiers want to read this blog and know they have community support. As a mid-range leader with ALPHA, my job is to help get these Soldiers through this deployment and back home to thier families. I need your help to keep thier spirits high, not to depress them with friviluos complaints. If the FRG needs help, help them...volunteer, but don't drag negative comments into a community blog. Janesville is my hometown and I'm honored to be a part of the community. So, with that, remember when the Soldiers read encouraging and upbeat comments here, you're helping them to stay encouraged and upbeat.

To the troops- We miss all of you and we can't wait until all of you are home safe. The FRG walked in the Labor Day Parade to honor all of you and to encourage the community not to forget the 132nd and all of the soldiers who are currently deployed. The response was overwhelming!! Keep up the good work and remember that we will be there to welcome you home.

curious121- you have no idea what has been going on with the FRG because you don't even go to the meetings. It's very sad that we have 120 deployed soldiers and it usually is me, my husband, Cindy, and a family from the dells area. Maybe you can complain if you ever decide to go to a meeting. Cindy has been doing the best she can while raising two children and working full-time. The FRG is not an easy thing to oversee. We discover tons of roadblocks. There are rules that we must abide by. Since you think for some reason that you are so much better, then I suggest you step up to the plate and take the job on. I think you are someone who sits on the side-line and judges everyone else.

curious...The FRG lead stepped down. A lot of the reason is because of people like you who offer nothing but complaints and criticism and little else. Maybe now you can step up and show us how to do it. Or are you all talk????

Curious.... Offer to help. Right now the FRG is only about 3 people who have very busy lifes what with work and children. When you work 8 hours a day plus having to run around two children in different age groups plus upkeep around the house...There are only so many hours in a day. You offer criticism very easily, can you offer YOUR time as easily?

There are so many opportunities for families to get discounts to different events that honor military service, but this information doesn't typically get to the families until after the event or only a few days prior. Many other units within the 132nd know this information significantly sooner than we are notified. Many units also have monthly meetings to create a family feeling that is similar to that which is developed by the deploying soldiers...since we all have that major event in common. Janesville has had 1 FRG meeting during the entire deployment...plus the picnic which many families didn't get notified about until only a week prior to the event. Other FRGs are also raising money for a return party, but the Janesville FRG has done no such thing...they can sell items to raise money and it sounds like the community would be receptive to helping/purchasing items to show their support.

I am a fellow soldier of Alpha Company 132 and i can honestly say we are all hard workers at the jobs we were designated and get stressed at times that people will release at the wrong place like the soldier who used anothers name. We all get stressed but all we really can do is go on with our day and try and get rid of the built up stress. Some people have a problem relieving this stress and as an after math the soldier who used farve 113 unleashed his anger out instead of talking to someone. Sure its confusing to some if others jobs are easier but if its what their good at they should be placed there and do there part. Plus i believe Topsgt132 is right curious121. You are not providing enough detail. Keep it up Alpha and stay vigilant. We dont have much longer till we head home.

Ran out of room...curious121, what info does the FRG possess that they didn't put out to the families? You make the accusation but give no facts to support it. Our FRG has put out every bit of information that they are authorized to put out to the families. Our FRG is also trying to get together a family newsletter to send out to the families. Of course, it's hard to do it by yourself. SPC Morrow is also helping with that matter. The FRG gathered contact info for all the families of Soldiers deploying with Company A. Every Soldier in the unit is treated the same whether they were from the Janesville unit originally or joined us from another unit. I would expect that their families are treated the same.

I wasn't going to comment but it looks like this isn't going to go away. The comment was pulled because the person who wrote it used "foul language" The Gazette made that decision, not anyone in the military. Frank Schultz will back me on this.

The truth, believe it or not, is that the comment was posted by, not a private, but another soldier who knew that private. Some of the facts about that private were/are true. I won't tell you which ones because, quite frankly, it's noones business. The soldier who did this did it because he had done something wrong that day and got in trouble and was mad. He vented and made it look like another Soldier had posted it. He made the clues so obvious that any one in the unit knew who the poster was. We did not believe it was the Soldier who was being incriminated. If he had issues, he would have discussed them with the leaderhip here. I've known this private for over a year and know how he operates.

You are correct that the unit is made up of Soldiers from other units in the Brigade (roughly 50% are from other Battalion units). The unit, however, is based out of Janesville and that is why the Gazette is publishing the articles. The Soldiers have been told (at least it was put out to their leadership) that they can contact their hometown papers and get a contact person and SPC Morrow will work with that person to post these articles. SPC Morrow simply does not have the time to try to research and contact the hometown newspapers of 120 Soldiers and the newspapers of their families. His duties require him to cover the whole base. He is doing this as an additional task. The onus is on the Soldier not the Public Affairs person. As far as the articles themselves go, any Soldier can submit an article to SPC Morrow and, in fact, have been encouraged to. The article is checked for accuracy and content to make sure that the writer is not talking about classified info nor about a topic that they have no knowledge of.(i.e. a PFC would not talk about Company operations. They would talk their job, team or squad)

The FRG does take care of the families. I have had Soldiers ask about assistance and have given the FRG contact info to a number of my men and women. This info was available to them before we ever left Wisconsin. With everything going on they probably forgot to give it to their family. The FRG cannot just randomly put out info to the families. They get the go ahead from State, Brigade and Battalion level officials. The Company Commander over here cannot tell the FRG volunteer to put something out unless he gets approval. Otherwise we would have let the families know we were at Camp Bucca about a month before it was official. Given that our FRG is a small group they are doing the best they can. They tried to host a picnic for the families and judging by the pics, maybe 25 people showed up. You can lead a horse to water.....

Any questions?

For one thing this column is written by an Alpha Company soldier to let the community know what is going on with their local unit that was deployed, I realize that there are other soldiers from our area deployed but it is their units responsiblity to get information out on what their unit is up to, not Alpha Companies. Also the comments were removed because the private told alot of untruths about higher ranking soldiers. The state is not just supporting Alpha Company families they support all of them, the state has noting to do with this column. Also the FRG's only give out information that is given to them, they don't know everything that is going on with a unit. No matter how hard some FRG's try some people are still not happy.

I wonder why it seems that all of the comments about the conditions overseas are from higher ranking military members and when a pvt comments, it is removed. I understand the pvt comments were not what the military would want out there but believe there may have been some truth to them. There also is a lot of focus on Janesville when there are many soldiers that come from places outside of Janesville and are given little to no info from the FRG because the soldier's weren't originally from Alpha company. As a state people need to come together to support ALL of the families.

Not the soldiers I know.

See Beetle Bailey. Don't all soldiers complain?

farva113 sounds like you are a whiner and a complainer. The leadership work just as hard as you do doing their jobs, they don't all get days off some work 7 days a week 12 hour days. Stop whining!

Thank you to everyone in Alpha Co. for your dedication and sacrifice to this country. We know what you have given up to help our country, and we will forever be grateful to you and others who have honorably served the greatest nation in the world. God Speed.

It's wonderful to see local support for the troops but I wanted to put in my 2 cents worth too.
I'm a New Zealander and I have 'adopted' an A Co soldier through Adopt a US Soldier. I also have two others I support, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
It takes such little effort to email and send snail mail and it doesn't matter where you come from; I like to send through postcards of NZ, and I hope it brightens their day.

Hello Janesville,

The moral is high in the unit, some of the soldiers are starting to take time to go on R and R leave (Rest and Relaxation). We get 15 days of leave to go to any authorized destination in the world. Some soldiers are going to Germany, New Zealand, Australia and I am going to Antarctica. Some of the soldiers enjoy watching the Milwaukee Brewers play at Miller park so they planned their time to spend a few days watching baseball.

We enjoyed a safety fair yesterday with displays set up from the safety department, fire department, preventive medicine, the FET (FOB (Forward Operating Base) Engineering Team). The new policy is to wear a reflective belt during the hours of darkness, the safety fair provided a good reminder with a static display set up by the FET of what happens when a person does not wear the belt.

If you have any questions, please ask, we can answer anything that does not compromise our safety. MSG T

tom1, I apologize as I didn't read your entry right below mine. Yes, Tina and I facilitated the event and it was OUR pleasure to be able to do it, however; when we asked the community, businesses, Gazette, Veterans, Volunteers...no one ever hesitated and were so happy to be asked and thrilled to help out. It was one of the most heartwarming experiences to be a part of. You had better believe that when Our Alpha Co comes home, we will be asking again for everyone's assistance! Be ready, because when it comes to our Soldiers, I'm not afraid to ask for the world from anyone! I'll even start a list now! If you, your business or organization would like to be a part of the welcome home celebration in early 2010, feel free to EMAIL me at lucy@kutterharley.com. No phone calls please. The wonderful FRG Volunteers are limited as to how they can get donations...I am not and would love to help them with this. BUT, as Stan Milam said in his show earlier this week...there is no pressure to donate and do only what you feel comfortable with. God Bless our Alpha Co and all of you for showing such wonderful support to them AND thier loving families!
Lucy

Hello Alpha Co!!!! I am so looking forward to your return party! It won't even compare to the send off we able to do for you! I heard the Harley Posters went over well with the guys...ladies, I am looking for some calendars for you as well. I wish I had enough for all of you! There is another gift from our MDA TUB RUN Committee (that I'm proud to be a part of) that you will ALL receive shortly. Just a little something as we think of you everyday! If there is ever anything that any of you need...you can always reach me on our Face Book Page! Love you all and be safe! Your friend at Kutter - Lucy

Yes CO A did get a very nice send off thanks to 2 special ladies who took it upon themselves to organize the event, if it wasn't for these ladies CO A would not have had such a nice send off, Janesville would not of been as involved, these 2 ladies became aware of it through some of the soldiers while they were trying to organize the send off. Thanks should be given to these 2 ladies and their business. They are Lucy Anderson and Tina Russell. That is who should get credit not the city of Janesville.

As a soldier deployed with Alpha Company I think the previous soldier had it exactly right. Janesville did open its arms! For that I want to say THANK YOU!! I am from about 3 hours northeast of Janesville and at first complained about driving that far when I was use to driving just minutes from home to the armory. I have made amazing friends in the unit and consider this an amazing experience!! I wouldn't change a thing so far!! At first sight I have a very simple life. I'm a single soldier who has left a dog behind as my most prized possession not a child or an entire family. Please remember that our families are picking up the pieces we have left behind. My dad is taking care of my "baby" (being the dog of course!) for me and his neighbor has helped by taking her for walks on days when dad works 12 hours to get her out/doing something and a potty break. I have to say that was the MOST AMAZING thing someone could have done for me and my dad! My dad always said that he didn't mind taking her but he REALLY REALLY worried about the 12 hour days because with commute time he is away from home about 13 or so hours. Now he goes to work does his job without worry and still GREATLY helps me out! Just let families know you care! Our family members let us know what is going on at home and that positively changes our lives twice really! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR CARE, CONCERN AND SUPPORT!

Hello James

Greetings from UW-W Vets Office; I'm happy to see you and all the others made it safely to your base. I'll keep up with all your events this way and we will see what we can do to send some mail to all of you.

What does a US Soldier expect for support from a hometown during and after a being deployed in a combat zone?

A simple thank you and welcome home.

Thanks to all those who support us here. I am with Aco 132nd but am not from the Janesville area. In fact I live about 3.5 hours away. I was attached to Aco 132nd for this deployment. I think the city of Janesville did a get job in supporting. The hotel gave us a pace to stay at a good price, the YMCA let us workout there for free even though they had classes and other paying customers, the VFW gave us a great going away party, and all the restaurants and businesses in the area accepted us for the short time we where there. I don't ask for much and this was great of the community to help us out. In my last deployment things were a little hard to come by like things “blu” said his son liked. But now those things we can walk over to the PX and get without any issues. The things I liked the most where when local school had their kids send cards and drawings they did. They always put us in a good mood to hear what the younger generation has to say!

Will that out of the way now on to what this blog is for!

The weather is getting hotter by the day but on a good note the sun is always out. The wind and blowing sand are also on the rise which delays some daily tasks. We all live in pods that are like trailers so the area we living in looks like a big trailer park. The showers are very nice and we are able to take shower every day. The dinner facility is open 24/7 for sandwiches and other stuff and the serve 3 meals during the day and 1 at night. The gym we have it one of the best gyms I have been in. This gym tops most of them in the states. So expect to see your loved one come home in shape! As posted before we are in a safe area here in Iraq. Well I will sign off on and get back to the wonderful weather here and thanks again to everyone in the states.

Thank you to all our troops. As a father of an active duty soldier, The first deployment of my son was the toughest.(he has been deployed 6 times in 6yrs) Thank God for email and phone cards. We were lucky enough to receive a call at least once a month. You can't believe how great it was to hear his voice, and to get his emails. Our FRG set up drop boxes for Care items and had several packing days. The drop boxes were at local business. I remember my son saying the prized items were razors, shave cream, socks, deck of cards, hand held games and beef jerky. The care packages are normally shared with all the troops not just your soldier's unit. Remember the area the troops will be in and send your items accordingly.

May God protect you and bring you home safe. We Will Never Forget You!

I agree with tom1cass2. People often forget just how many families in our area are missing a member of their family because they are deployed. It would be great to see the city step up and just offer donations to the family readiness group, not the unit, because we are two seperate entities.
The state puts very tough restrictions on the family group regarding fundraising and donations and tom1cass2 is right that we aren't supposed to go out and ask for help.
This is my second deployment that I have gone through and I know it would be great to get help with lawn work and snow removal. I know that during this tough economy people need to make some extra money. So if people would be willing to step up and let us know you are willing to help out it would be great!
I also think area businesses should be showing their support by offering military discounts. We sacrifice so much each day and never get recogonition from anyone other than fellow military or our spouses.
It is hard for people back home to imagine what our soldiers go through in a single day. We take so much for granted. I can't wait to welcome home our soldiers and hope the community steps up to help out too!
Also snail mail is the best way to show your support for the soldiers. If you know someone who is deployed make sure to write to them. There is NOTHING better than a piece of home.

Ah e-mail is wonderful, back when I married snail mail is how I kept in touch. :)Thank you to all the soldiers!!!!

Most of the soldiers invested in laptops before being deployed. We email everyday to my son or use skype to see how he is doing. I put The Gazette on his favorites so this Blog will be very important to him and the ones that don't have laptops, share them. Please say positive things on the blog, they will read them. We are very proud of the soldiers!!!!!

topsgt: Is there any way to become pen pals with those who do not receive mail? When my husband was in the service he told me that he felt bad when they would get mail (he was in Navy) and he would have so many of my letters that he got at once and others got nothing. He of course shared his letters but he felt for those who never got anything. I live in the area but I am from NC so I don't know any of the soldiers from this area but I would have no problem being a pen pal or sending a note from home just to help someone know they are not forgotten!

tom1cass2.....I agree, I too hope that the city does do something when these men and women come home! They deserve it, and I am more than willing to help!

Thank you Janesville Gazette for posting this! This is wonderful! GOD BLESS ALL OF OUR TROOPS! I am a strong supporter of our troops and will always be! I have a brother that is 25 and have been in the Air Force since he turned 18. We have been through several deployments and such and it has been hard. We express how hard it is to him and he always says "Please remember that I love you all and that this is what I WANT to be doing for our country"! I miss you little bro and cannot wait for you to come home and visit! Thank you all of your troops for serving for our country and doing all that you can do to protect us!

Great forum, and I am glad to learn about how and what we can do to help. A friend of mine is being deployed next month and I am going to send him some care packages and ask him to give some to those soldiers who never seem to get any mail. Thank you Gazette for a useful blog, it is a refreshing change to see some blogs that hopefully won't be steeped in negativity and complaining, people get the wrong idea of Janesville when they read some of your regular posters that thrive on the negative. Remember, 60,000+ people live here, and the vast majority of them are good, caring people.

In all honesty we are doing fine here as you will see in future blogs. Sometimes the days are long and we miss home The weather is hot and dusty. But morale still seems high and the job isn't what you would call dangerous. Care packages seem to get shared and we have a little troop store where you can take the stuff when you get too much. That way other soldiers can use it at no cost and it doesn't get wasted. A few letters letting us know we aren't forgotten (we have some soldiers who never seem to get mail) would be the best thing really. Or, as belisamasana put it so well.."If you know someone who has a deployed service member, give them a call or stop by and see if they need help with anything around the house." Or babysit for an hour or two for them if they have little ones. If we know our families are taken care of it lets us concentrate on our jobs better. My sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us and continues to support us and I also appreciate the concern over how to help.

When my husband was deployed one of his co-workers came over and helped me with my lawnmower that I was having issues with. The man that plows our driveway in the winter did it for free the winter my husband was gone. My neighbor started to snow blow our sidewalk (and still does it :) It's the little things like that that make a huge difference in the lives of those "left behind". Our handyman husband and perhaps handy wife are gone and we're left to fend for ourselves, sometimes not having a clue on how to fix something. If you know someone who has a deployed service member, give them a call or stop by and see if they need help with anything around the house. The kindness of strangers and friends will never be forgotten.

oldtimer...she does help. She does her husband's household tasks, runs the kids everywhere because the husband isn't there to help, pays the bills and many other tasks. She is also the unit volunteer for Family Readiness which means she also is the point of contact for any family member who is having trouble and doesn't know where to turn which quite often happens with young wifes and husbands new to the military. She publishes a newsletter that gets sent out to the families so they know what is going on. She is also a caller on the phone tree so any information about the unit and its activities gets out to the family as quick and as accurate as possible. She is in the process of helping plan a picnic for the families of the unit. And she does this without ever once complaining to me. I could go on and on but you get the idea. If someone were to suggest something I am sure she would also be there. Not trying to cause problems oldtimer, just giving a bit more info.

I can help, the military does not allow me to ask for any donations. I can do things on my own which I do. We use to be able to go around and ask business to help with care packages but we are not allowed to do that anymore. I am sorry if I sound like I'm complaining I am not, I just don't want our soldiers to be forgotten. I am also not asking people to go out and spend lots of money on care packages, the soldiers just want to know that they are not forgotten, a note or a card saying that you remember them or thanking them for what they are doing would make our soldiers feel appreciated. You can get ahold of me through the gazette if you would like to get more infomation, I don't feel comfortable putting alot out on the web, I am sorry for that. Thank you all!

tom1 Why cant you help???

That would be great but as a family member of a deployed soldier I can not go and ask for donations or go to any companys and ask for anything to be sent to the soldiers. Please feel free to get a hold of me through my user name on the gazette, I would be happy to give you some help on what could be done. Thank you all who care about out troops, it makes a deployment easier.

fs, I agree a lot of people would love to help, our neighbor has a husband who served in Iraq and she organized a neighbor hood program and put out a bullentin on things that the troops could use, the neighbors were wonderful and contriubuted, she put flags along the driveway, her kids sold cookies to help with shipping etc, and most of the neighbors also kicked in with money. So dont use this blog to complain, go out and do something, apparently you have a computer so make some notices and specify a date and things they can use and pass them all over especially your neighborhood, Iam a WWII veteran and an American Legion member and we help all the time.

tom1cass2, I think many people would love to lend their support but aren't sure what exactly they should do. Perhaps this blog can serve as a clearinghouse for ideas. -- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

THANK YOU Gazette-If you have any family members in Iraq or Afghanistan you can't seem to get enough news about our soldiers. I am so proud of each and everyone of these men and women that is serving OUR country for OUR freedom. I totally agree with tom1cass2, we need to support our soldiers better. We talk to my son who is serving in 32nd Alpha Company and he always ask if Janesville is still remembering them. Beleive in the soldiers even if you do not beleive in the war-They are so proud.

My husband is the 1st Sgt for A CO and to be honest I am really disappointed in the lack of support that Janesville is giving to this unit and any other service member from the area serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. I only know of 3 places that really are supporting them. I just hope when they come home that the city will do something for these men and women they have given up alot to do what they are doing for the freedoms we have. Thank you gazette for putting in this blog keeping people informed on what our soldiers are doing.

LOOKING FORWARD to reading this blog regularly! THANK YOU for making time to share your experiences in Iraq with us, Specialist James Marrow!

KNOW that YOU ALL are in our prayers daily and we SUPPORT YOU! I dare to HOPE that when you come home to WI and the USA, YOU will have REAL support while still in service and as veterans. For me, a KEY concern has been the talk-talk about SUPPORT THE TROOPS even while the Bush administration was CUTTING Veterans Administration budget year-by-year. It is MY conviction that REAL SUPPORT of the TROOPS means not only when you all are in HARMS WAY, but when you are home and then as veterans!

Praying for your safety!

John