Amazing Tropic Lightning Soldiers at WRAMC

Here is a letter from a good friend of mine. He is writing to his Commanding General in Iraq about a recent visit to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

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Below is the letter I sent...

Dom

-----Original Message-----
From: Sparacio, Dominic J LTC USA USARPAC DIV 25 G7
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 4:25 AM
Subject: Amazing Tropic Lightning Soldiers at WRAMC

Sir,
I hope all is well with you and the Division in Iraq.

I wanted to drop you a note regarding some amazing Tropic Lightning (and
Cacti) Soldiers I visited yesterday at WRAMC. I was attending the Army
Equipping and Reuse Conference at Ft Belvoir and Mike Webb asked me to
visit our Soldiers.

I apologize as this is a bit long, but I couldn't make myself cut it
down to any bottom line - I had to tell the whole story.

-----------------

I arrived at WRAMC at about 0715. I was met by 1LT Ryan Occhiuzzo from
A/2-35 IN BN. Facially, he looks like he's about 14. He walked up to
me to introduced himself and held out his recently repaired right arm and hand
to shake mine. He couldn't quite squeeze my hand, but he tried. This
young leader proceeded to brief me on the status of every Soldier we had at
the hospital. He led me to the Mologne (sp?) House where the outpatient
Soldiers and their visiting families stay. We met SGT Dan Alderman,
A/2-35 IN BN, in the lobby. LT Occhiuzzo introduced me, asked Alderman
about his status, his parents who just left, his fiance, and his next
appointment. LT O then walked behind SGT Alderman, who lost his left
leg below the knee and was in a wheel chair, and proceeded to push SGT
Alderman and lead me back to the hospital. It was clear that this was a
daily event for them.

SGT Alderman was a little quiet when he shook my hand, but within a few
minutes he started talking to me and basically didn't stop for the next
2-1/2 hours. He has clearly taken on the role as senior NCO and also
proceeded to brief me on the status of all of our Soldiers as we walked
back to the hospital.

On the way into the hospital we met PFC Charles Shackleford, 25ID G3,
and SGT Ramon Perez, 40 QM CO, and sat down in the hospital DFAC to
talk. These guys were told they will be flying back to Hawaii next
Friday so they were pretty happy. PFC Shackleford was telling me
stories about LTC Ault and other G3 folks who I know. SGT Perez was
relatively quiet but is excited to get back to Hawaii as his wife is
pregnant and is already 1cm dilated (when I left later in the day, LT
Occhiuzzo was going directly to the Med Hold HQ to see if he could get
SGT Perez home earlier than Friday - LT O said he could handle it and
wouldn't need my help).

I left PFC Shackleford and SGT Perez. LT Occhiuzzo and SGT Alderman then
took me to see SPC Steven Curry, A/2-35, in his hospital room. SPC
Curry also lost his left leg below the knee. His wife had just left the day
prior to go back to school to take an exam - she will return this weekend. It
was clear, from the intial banter between SGT Alderman and SPC Curry, that
thes Soldiers were not letting their (similar) injuries stop them from
living, let alone Soldiering. They are in competition to walk first, then run
first. They are wanting to go on one of the next hospital ski trips,
for amputees, to Colorado in January!

While in SPC Curry's room, SGT Alderman proceeded to explain to me, in
what I initially thought was gruesome detail, every step of surgery they went
through and how the healing process occurs in an amputated limb before
they can begin to use a prosthetic. These guys are tracking their own
process day by day until they can get up on a prosthetic leg. SGT Alderman
already knows which 4 legs he wants (daily walking, running, swimming and
cross-country). He told me that some guys leave with up to 9 legs. SPC
Curry seemed excited about the skiing and snowboarding legs. SGT
Alderman told me he (Alderman) weighed about 240 in Iraq and is now down to about
190. SPC Curry was joking about how skinny his legs were.

At about 0900, the four of us proceeded out of SPC Curry's room and went
down to the Physical Therapy (PT) room where Curry had a 0900
appointment. On the way down, he and SGT Alderman were arguing over the best way to
store their crutches in their wheelchair as they wheeled themselves down the
hallway. Also, all three Soldiers (including LT Occhiuzzo) were saying
"Hi" to, shaking hands of, and even hugging other amputees, nurses, and
doctors we passed. It was amazingly clear that there are some great people,
Soldiers and civilians, taking care of our Soldiers and that there are
some incredible bonds developed between the amputees that meet there.

In the PT room, the same greetings occurred. As Curry went off to start
his appointment, SGT Alderman gave me the grand tour. He also introduced me
to an Army Captain (I should have written down his name) who was "in
charge" of PT. Alderman told me that if you wanted to improve yourself, really
wanted to improve yourself, this Captain was the guy to go to. It was obvious
Alderman had developed a great respect for this young Captain/Doctor.

LT Occhiuzzo and SGT Alderman then took me to see PFC Hubbard, A/2-35,
in his room. PFC Hubbard was SGT Alderman's driver and was hurt more
seriously than Alderman in the same incident. PFC Hubbard lost his right leg
above the knee, had some damage to his face, had broken both of his thumbs and
had some bad stomach wounds. Although he arrived at WRAMC 2 days before
Alderman and several weeks before Curry, he was clearly behind them in
the physical healing process. PFC Hubbard's mom was with him. Fortunately
for them, she lives about 45 minutes away.

SGT Alderman told me that Hubbard weighed about 145lbs in Iraq and that
he's down to about 115. Hubbard was obviously under medication and was
complaining that the meds make him tired all of the time. He and his
mom were joking about how he woke up the day prior and stood up, forgetting
he didn't have a right leg, and fell across the room. His mom was in great
spirits as she was scolding him, apparently again, for trying to stand
up and walk to the bathroom.

It was obvious that SGT Alderman and PFC Hubbard were close. They told
me how they were asking about each other at every stop along the way from
the IED strike site to WRAMC, sometimes yelling (at least that's what the
medical folks told them as they drifted in and out of consciousness) at
people to find out where the other was. They proceeded to talk about
the actual IED strike, the Soldiers who pulled them out and evac'd them.
The Soldier who died in the incident "saving them". I was struggling to
hold back my own tears...

As PFC Hubbard apeared to be getting more tired, we left him and his
mother. SGT Alderman had to head to his own PT appointment. We all walked in
that direction. Along the way, between more "Hi's", high-fives and hugs, SGT
Alderman told me that PFC Hubbard had asked him if he (Hubbard) would be
"fixed-up" in time to rejoin 2-35 for the next deployment...

SGT Alderman then asked me what his own chances were to rejoin 2-35, who
he deployed to Afghanistan with previously. He immediately told me that he
could still carry and qualify on his weapon and "knew" he was going to
be able to max his PT test - he described a scene where he would run, with
his prosthetic running leg, past some of his own and other Soldiers during
the 2 mile run and smirk at them for being so slow...

I left LT Occhiuzzo on his mission to get SGT Perez home in time to his
his child's birth in Hawaii.

------------------------

Sir, I hope this story made your day, because it sure made mine.

It was an incredible honor and opportunity to visit these Soldiers on
your behalf.

Although, in no way do I wish another Soldier would even need to be sent
to WRAMC, I highly recommend that any/all of our leaders make it a point to
visit our wounded warriors there.

I also hope that the Army does these guys justice and helps them stay in
if that's what they really want. As for LTC Browder/CSM Angelucci and
2-35, I can't imagine that you wouldn't want these guys back in your unit.


V/r,
LTC Dom Sparacio
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Us Death Toll in Iraq

The death toll for American service members just approached 2000.

Over the weekend I found in my local book store a book by Michael Moore entitled, "Will They Ever Trust Us Again? " . I wouldn't say it was written by Michael Moore but it contained e-mails from servicemen and women from OIF to back home. I am not a Michael Moore supporter, but the letters in the form of e-mails struck a chord that seemed all to familiar as a one who spent some time in the sandbox.

A common thread in a lot of the letters is a feeling of being torn as serving as a loyal American soldier with a reverent " Ours is not to question why " attitude to then actually wondering about the situation and questioning why. Freedom is certainly not free, and there are those of us that has to stand up and defend those freedoms when our leaders ask us to do so...but this situation that a lot of us has found us in has us puzzled as to whether OIF falls into that category. I think most uniformed personal understand and were willing to do what needed to be done in Afghanistan for OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom), but OIF has a lot of us scratching our heads.

Subject: FW: Body Armor is your friend

Just got this from an MP buddy of mine...Really shows the value of the vest. Please feel free to pass on, just kindly remove e-mail addresses and names when forwarding.



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There has been a lot of rhetoric about problems with vest, here is an example of it working--thank god for our troops.

Subject: FW: Body Armor is your friend




For those of you who have not seen this...

Lesson 1: Always wear your Level 4 vest...
Lesson 2: See Lesson 1...

check this out... body armor works



This is an example of the value of the IBA (interceptor body armor)

Memory Foam

Memory Foam

Memory Foam

This was the type of foam I used on my air mattress in my tent:

Memory Foam

Italk (Voice input for the IPOD)

I am thinking of setting up a podcast for this weblog. One piece of equipment that I am going to puchase is this.

Finally, Back in the USA !

I am writing this after being back in the USA now since Feb 1st.

It feels great. More on this later, just wanted to post this up as a book mark.

Strange story in the news today.

A Tough Day

Today we had an incident in our area of operations that I can't really comment on at the momement. I am just placing this post in the blog to hold this place for when I can come back and actually comment.

Stand by...

A New Year

I was thinking of entitling this post as Happy New Year, but considering the recent spike in the use of the word "tsunami", it actually makes one become very humble.

Being out here in the desert away from home also makes one a bit more humble and reserved then my experiences of New Year's past.

In any sense, may 2005 bring as much peace and happiness possible to all who reads these words and any that you may know.

-Regards,

MAJ K

Tsunami death toll tops 116,000

Well, as suspected the toll has increased today. It just keeps going up. I can't help but think that the UN needs to mobilize military forces in order to deal with this catastrophe. This is where organized, trained people could do marvelous things.

Stand by...

Amazon.com is helping out with disaster relief

American Red Cross Disaster Relief
At least 80,000 people have lost their lives in East Africa and South Asia in the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunamis on December 26. Thousands of people in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and Indonesia are still missing; many others have lost their homes and livelihoods. Sri Lanka and Indonesia suffered the highest number of deaths, but India, East Africa, Seychelles, Maldives, and Thailand were all affected by the tsunami waves, which reached as high as 20 feet. Aid workers and volunteers are focused on stopping the spread of disease and delivering food and drinking water to survivors. The American Red Cross reports that emergency assessment and first-aid teams were on the ground quickly and are already working with local groups to support relief efforts. Your financial donation will help provide medicine, clothing, food, and shelter for victims of the East Africa and South Asia earthquake and tsunami disaster. Thanks in advance for your participation during this critical time. The American Red Cross name is used with its permission. For more information about the American Red Cross, please call 1‑800 HELP NOW or e-mail info@usa.redcross.org.

Podcasting

Just learned about "podcasting"...Very interesting. Perhaps I need to look into this technology.



Update: Dec 8, 2005:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4504256.stm

Wordsmiths hail podcast success

Podcasts can be listened to on music players such as the iPod

The term 'podcast' has been declared Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

The term is defined as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the internet for downloading to a personal audio player".

The word is derived from a combination of "broadcasting" and "iPod".

It will be added to the online version of the dictionary during the next update early next year.

Rising popularity

Podcasts have grown quickly in popularity over the past 12 months as they are an easy way of getting digital content and playing it when and where you want.

The term was coined by journalist Ben Hammersley and although originally derived from combining "broadcasting" and "iPod", this definition has become something of a misnomer as podcasts can be listened to on any digital music player.

Some have criticised the term for giving too much credit to Apple, which had little to do with the development of the technology and some have tried to suggest alternative terms such as blogcasting or audioblogging.

Podcast was considered for inclusion last year, but we found that not enough people were using it, or were even familiar with the concept Erin McKean, New Oxford American Dictionary

Podcasts have become popular because anyone with a microphone, computer, software and a net connection, can produce one themselves.

Their rising popularity is challenging conventional radio's broadcasting and business model.

As a result, many radio stations such as the BBC are making their shows available as downloadable MP3 files.

The BBC began a seven-month podcasting trial in May. Around 20 programmes are taking part in the trial, including Radio 4's Today programme and Five Live's Sportsweek.

Podcasting received a big boost in June, when Apple added a podcast directory to its iTunes online music store.

Chris Moyles is the BBC's most popular podcast

"Podcast was considered for inclusion last year, but we found that not enough people were using it, or were even familiar with the concept," said Erin McKean, editor-in-chief of the New Oxford American Dictionary.

"This year it's a completely different story. The word has finally caught up with the rest of the iPod phenomenon."

Losing words

Among the words that did not make it were two other terms popular in tech circles.

One was lifehack, which refers to a more efficient way of completing an everyday task.

The other was rootkit, defined as software installed on a computer by someone other than the owner, intended to conceal other programs or processes, files or system data.

The term hit the headlines when Sony was found to have included a rootkit as part of the copy protection system on some of its music CDs.

Other words that did not make it include bird flu, sudoku and trans fat.

Tsunami death toll could top 60,000

I first heard it was around 6,000, then it went to 10,000, increased to 22,000, and as of this headline it looks like 60,000. I'm sure it's going to rise, but I certainly hope the increase in numbers stops soon.

It's very strange perspective being hereand watching news events.

Stand by...

UNICEF estimates at least a third of dead were children

I just donated to Save The Children .

CNN is reporting that a third of the victims were children.

What's going on?

It's a strange feeling being away from the states an hearing about the news stories from the "outside". It's also strange to being on the "inside" of stories that are airing in the US.

Then along comes a story like this, where the world has lost around 23,000 (at last count and probably will go higher) and all of a sudden there is a third newsworthy area because of a natural disaster of unheard of proportions.

What exactly is going on? One minute people are walking along in nice weather, and the next minute they are just swallowed up by waves? Very strange...Very sad.

Today, in our area of operations, a third country national, found out he lost his entire family in India. The soldiers took up a donation to give to him as he was leaving this evening to tend to matters. These workers come here and are deployed in every sense of the word. hey usually are supporting multiple people (5-10) and get paid about 300 dollars a month. Just a heart wrenching development.

Stand by...

Tidal Waves?

Strange...My wife just sent me the movie The Day After Tomorrow (which I have not watched yet) and today I hear that they may have lost 10,000 people in Asia at last count to "massive tsunamis".

Massive tidal waves actually exist? Very strange...

Christmas in the Desert

Well, just experienced my first Christmas away from home. I think the most impressive thing is how well the soliders that I serve with cope with being away from family.

These young men and women shared a holiday meal and then put on a couple of skits during a talent show. This sort of self entertainment is a time honored tradition in the military and it's always fun time had by all to be able to laugh amongst ourselves.

I ended up calling my family through the use of a satellite patch. I opened my gifts they had sent me through the Army Post Office system. A couple of DVDs (Starsky & Hutchand The Day After Tomorrow) and a grey sweat shirt. Considering it actually gets cold here at night, this simple gift will be useful and then become quite sentimental for the years to come.

In today's news apparently a couple of key suspects were caught. Hope that trend keeps up.

Well for now, Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings to All!

Standing by...

My Apple IPOD Photo Just Arrived

Well, I just got my Apple IPOD Photo. It arrived via the Army Post Office system.

This little device is going to alow me to take my music AND pictures wherever I go in this groovy place. Funny, how music and photos can make you feel closer to home. Spent a pretty penny on it, but after a year here and how it makes me feel right now, it's well worth every single cent!

Stand by...

DVD's

One of things that we do out here is watch a lot of Dvds. It helps take our minds off of where we are at and helps with the boredom. The latest series that have ben watching is The West Wing. Even though the dialouge seems like it is made for TV I find it quite entertaining and stimulating.

Stand by...

So close to the Holidays

I was afraid that when I started this blog that it may not have all that many "happy" posts.

I was hoping that I might find things to write about such as the strengths, and professionalism of today's solider. Really remarkable things that these yong men and women do out here every day...plus they do it with honor and integrity. I guess I will find the moment that I can write about such things.

However, now is not one of those times.
We just lost 14 troopers. They were simply having their noon meal when an explosion occurred. My heart goes out to their families.

Stand by...

Hit and Run

Heard news today in a briefing that we lost two soldiers to a vehicular accident.

Called home a few moments later to let my Mom know it wasn't me, didn't have a chance to call home and mention that to my wife. Sent her a short e-mail. I hope she gets it before she hears about it on the news.

Stand by.

Eleven Months....Eleven Long Months

It is 3:38 in the morning here (6:38 PM EST) on a Saturday Night..Well actually my Sunday morning but a Saturday night nonetheless in good 'ole NY.

Anyway I've now been here close to eleven months in the beautiful (ok not so beautiful, Middle East).

After all this time, I naturally do miss my family, but moreso I miss what I've missed. When I left, my four month old newborn daughter was in a baby carrier and my seven year old son had all his teeth, when I returned for 2 weeks of R&R leave, my daughter was defying gravity and actually scampering away from me and my son was toothless (sans incisors).

We have one more month to go. My troops and I have worked hard towards mission completion, because that's what we do. But years from now, the jury will still be out as to the political side to this mission. When you wear the uniform, the saying goes "Ours is not to reason why..." and for the most part that holds true for the good order of any unit. I now know though, that I will be strongly contemplating a future stint in politics.

That is all for my inaugaural post. Till next time...stand by.

-MAJOR K