Family and Friends,
The sun has returned to
Yesterday those of us who were available participated in a Combat Patch
Ceremony. We were presented our Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or combat patch
as it is more commonly referred to, for our service as part of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. We have initially been awarded the combat patch of the military
police brigade we are assigned to. Additionally, our soldiers will
qualify for several other combat patches based on our affiliation, and joint
combat operations, with other units during our time here. It is quite
possible that our assignment as a military police organization could yield
authorization to wear as many as five brigade or
divisional combat patches. This is a common, and often unique, feature of
military police organizations.
Only a small number of our soldiers were able to attend the actual ceremony due
to mission requirements. Those of us able to attend were honored to
represent all of Apache.
The ceremony started with a prayer from the battalion chaplain, followed by the
National Anthem. Next, the brigade commander presented a combat patch to
the battalion commander. The battalion commander then presented combat
patches to his executive officer and to each of the company commanders.
After receiving my patch, I turned and presented patches to each of the platoon
leaders and the first sergeant. The platoon leaders then completed the
process by presenting patches to their soldiers.
The song “American Soldier” by Toby Keith played in the background as each
soldier received their combat patch. The words to songs like that carry
so much more meaning now that we are here.
Following the presentation of the patches, the brigade and battalion commanders
spoke. They talked about our many accomplishments in such a short period
of time. The brigade commander remarked that he has seen more positive
change in the past three months than he has seen in the last two years.
The battalion commander reminded us that our combat patch is symbolic of our
dedication, determination, and sacrifice. Both commanders talked about
our role and place in history.
The mission continues. We all remain very busy. We have grown
accustomed to the 16 hour days. A standard shift or patrol for our
soldiers is 12 hours. Add in the one to two hours of preparation and
recovery on either end and our soldiers work 14-16 hour days almost every
day. There really isn’t such a thing as a day off. When they do not
have a mission, they spend their day maintaining their vehicles, weapons, and
equipment.
Lately, the soldiers have been spending their limited free time helping to
build and prepare for our upcoming move to the new, temporary tent area.
Our first platoon will move to the new area this coming weekend. The rest
of us plan to move over the following week.
We’ve been told that the rest of 1-194 AR back home has been alerted for
mobilization next year. Our understanding is they will mobilize somewhere
around March 2006. The upcoming deployment will not include those of us
who are currently deployed. Next March, we will have only been home for a
couple of months. We will not be eligible for deployment that soon after
returning home. We will come home and switch roles with the soldiers who
have been back home supporting us. It will be
our turn to support them as they prepare and deploy.
We stay in regular contact with the soldiers back in
Morale continues to be high and your Apaches continue to do great things every
day. I have attached a couple of photos. The first is a picture of
1st Squad, 3rd Platoon. They found a couple of palm trees near our camp
that made a great photo opportunity. The second photo is of some of our
soldiers pulling security in the city of
I will try to include pictures, whenever possible, in future updates.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We love and miss
you all. We will continue to make you proud.
Mike Pazdernik
CPT, AR
Commander, A CO, 1-194 AR