Hello Classmates,
Regardless of your thoughts on the war, one of our own is currently serving in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. Art Pembroke recently had a letter about serving over there published in the Helena Independent Record. I've quoted it below. If you'd like to reply to his article, there is a link at the end of the actual article on the IR's web page (i.e. click on the link and read the actual article on their web page).
The article can be seen at:
http://www.helenair.com/blog/record/index.php
Thank you Kimmy O'Connell/Skiftun for passing this on.
For those that don't know, his job means he has to ensure that our computer systems are as secure as possible, both unclassified systems and classified systems. In this day in age of information technology, that puts him at high risk! Imagine getting enough information to take down the US Military's ability to use computers.
We’ve seen hundreds of Helena soldiers leave. But we don’t
always talk to them when they’re over there.
Here’s what City of Helena
employee and Chief Warrant Officer Art Pembroke is up to:
9/25/2006 -
My name is CW3 (Chief Warrant Officer 3) Art Pembroke and I am currently stationed in South West Asia. I am a Montana National Guardsman from Helena, Montana. My civilian job was with the City of Helena and Lewis & Clark County as the Director of Information Technology. I am serving as a member of the Regional Computer Emergency Response Team for Southwest Asia or RCERT-SWA as it is known in theater. We are based out of Camp Doha, Kuwait but travel routinely to various sites in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan conducting assistance operations and training.
Life over here is significantly different than what I was used to before I came over. The heat took some getting used to as we have been over the 110-115 degree mark almost every day since we arrived in June. The hottest day I have endured so far was 136 degrees when we were working at a camp in Iraq called Camp Bucca. The further north into Iraq you go the more the temperatures drop, but they are still very hot (100+). We are moving into the cooler part of the year now and expect the temperatures to finally start dipping below 100. But as with all things, we have adapted to the temperatures and after the first 3 or 4 weeks you don’t notice the heat as much.
The living conditions vary from base to base. Here at Camp Doha we have pretty good conditions compared to some of the smaller field camps in the theater. I live in a 2-man pod (stacked trailers in a warehouse) that is about 8 feet by 20 feet and have a bed to sleep in. When we are out visiting sites, we stay in the transient quarters (tents). All of the ones we have stayed in are air conditioned so it is not too bad. You get used to whatever living arrangements are available and make the best of it. The food over here is OK. They serve you three square meals a day (four if you want to go to midnight chow) and usually there is a variety day-to-day on the menu. My observations on the chow is that the chow halls in Iraq are much better than the ones in Kuwait. I like to think that they are going the extra mile for those soldiers that are really in harms way up there. Due to security concerns, we have not really been able to get off the bases to see the cultural side of the areas we go to. They have in the past offered day trips to some of the local markets, but those have been pretty few and far between (better safe than sorry I guess).
What do I miss? My son’s the most. I am a single parent of two great boys, Tom (age 20) and Rick (age 16). The hardest part of honoring my commitment to the Guard has been not being there for my son’s during this time. My family and friends have been wonderful about seeing that they are looked after and loved, but I still miss being just Dad. The other things I miss are my friends, coworkers, church family and the beautiful scenery of Montana. I had not expected to miss the scenery around Helena as much as I do, but when you are staring out over miles and miles of barren desert (with camel heads every now and then) you can not help but long for the mountains, lakes and simple beauty of home. The scenery in Afghanistan and in Iraq around Baghdad at least has some water and trees. But nothing compares to Montana.
The thing I would like everyone to know is that each soldiers story will be different, some better, some worse. The one common link is that we all are honoring our commitment to the Montana National Guard, the United States and our fellow citizens. We really appreciate the support we receive from you. Keep the letters, email’s and photos flowing to your soldiers to let them know that they are remembered. Nothing is more heartbreaking than to see the face of someone who has not heard from home in awhile when mail call comes around.