Friday, April 11, 2008
From the Front
Baby left at doorstep finds new home
by Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B
April 9, 2008
BAGHDAD – Spotting irregularities is a tactic that is drilled into the minds of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers throughout training and in practice while in Iraq. Soldiers recently watched as a car pulled up to an entry control point at Forward Operating Base Callahan in northern Baghdad. They continued to watch as a woman stepped out of the car holding a bag. Once the woman dropped the bag near the gate, internal alarms were ringing and a careful search was called for and conducted.
That search yielded a newborn baby wrapped tightly in several cloths. Soldiers raced to the bag, retrieved the child and brought him to the aid station to be examined. “We unwrapped it to make sure he was alive – and he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t dead, he wasn’t injured,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Briscoe, the Aid Station NCOIC at FOB Callahan. “He was a perfectly healthy baby. I’m guessing three to seven days old. He was in perfect health. There wasn’t a scratch on him.”
This unlikely sight brought images of the Las Vegas native’s two children to mind. “It was like my kids were newborns again,” said Briscoe, who serves with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
After the medics were satisfied the baby, who by this time had drawn the nickname “Alex Callahan” after the Soldier who found him and the name of the base, was in no need of immediate medical attention, the focus shifted to what they would do with the child.
An interpreter working at the base volunteered to go to a nearby store to buy diapers and formula while another interpreter took care of Alex. Briscoe said the aid station became a hub of activity as word spread throughout the small base of the new arrival. “I’ve fed him twice, just holding him, watching him, making sure that he’s alright,” said Doreen Haddad, an interpreter with 1-68 AR, who helped care for Alex. “I’ve changed his diapers twice. I wanted to give him a bath, but I wasn’t able to.”
While a forward operating base isn’t the ideal location for a baby, Soldiers and those working at FOB Callahan ensured that Alex’s stay there was as comfortable as possible.
The baby is to be adopted by the brother of a local national, who works at the base. The brother and his wife have been married five years and have been unable to have a baby of their own. The interpreters at FOB Callahan have taken a collection to donate to the family to help care for the baby.
Despite the thousands of miles that separates the Soldiers from their Families in Colorado, one constant remains with this baby and those they left behind. “He’s sleeping and pooping – just like a regular baby,” Briscoe said.
by Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B
April 9, 2008
BAGHDAD – Spotting irregularities is a tactic that is drilled into the minds of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers throughout training and in practice while in Iraq. Soldiers recently watched as a car pulled up to an entry control point at Forward Operating Base Callahan in northern Baghdad. They continued to watch as a woman stepped out of the car holding a bag. Once the woman dropped the bag near the gate, internal alarms were ringing and a careful search was called for and conducted.
That search yielded a newborn baby wrapped tightly in several cloths. Soldiers raced to the bag, retrieved the child and brought him to the aid station to be examined. “We unwrapped it to make sure he was alive – and he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t dead, he wasn’t injured,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Briscoe, the Aid Station NCOIC at FOB Callahan. “He was a perfectly healthy baby. I’m guessing three to seven days old. He was in perfect health. There wasn’t a scratch on him.”
This unlikely sight brought images of the Las Vegas native’s two children to mind. “It was like my kids were newborns again,” said Briscoe, who serves with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
After the medics were satisfied the baby, who by this time had drawn the nickname “Alex Callahan” after the Soldier who found him and the name of the base, was in no need of immediate medical attention, the focus shifted to what they would do with the child.
An interpreter working at the base volunteered to go to a nearby store to buy diapers and formula while another interpreter took care of Alex. Briscoe said the aid station became a hub of activity as word spread throughout the small base of the new arrival. “I’ve fed him twice, just holding him, watching him, making sure that he’s alright,” said Doreen Haddad, an interpreter with 1-68 AR, who helped care for Alex. “I’ve changed his diapers twice. I wanted to give him a bath, but I wasn’t able to.”
While a forward operating base isn’t the ideal location for a baby, Soldiers and those working at FOB Callahan ensured that Alex’s stay there was as comfortable as possible.
The baby is to be adopted by the brother of a local national, who works at the base. The brother and his wife have been married five years and have been unable to have a baby of their own. The interpreters at FOB Callahan have taken a collection to donate to the family to help care for the baby.
Despite the thousands of miles that separates the Soldiers from their Families in Colorado, one constant remains with this baby and those they left behind. “He’s sleeping and pooping – just like a regular baby,” Briscoe said.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
5 stars
An email from Gunner today:
ABW,
here are my 5 star accommodations. wish you were here. I love and miss you
Gunner
I love how even though it isn't much they will make it home. He sent a picture of the whole room (which of course was a mess), and they had put up blankets, to have a little privacy and put them in the dark when they were ready to sleep. I'm sure over the next 15 months they'll make it a place to call...home doesn't sound good, although I guess for 15 months it has to be something more than just a place to sleep.
I heard about the possibility of the tours getting shortend, but like Erin and I discussed, we would believe it when we saw it. We both agreed, that knowing the army, it would be the new people that came in. At least we can say we were right! Tonight is trash night though, which puts us at 5 down and 60 left. Hey, it's progress!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Pictures from Iraq
Gunner sent these pictures over today. He was able to get on the web cam for a short bit till it bogged down the connection. Junior saw him and started screeching "My Daddy! My Daddy!" and laughing uncontrollably.
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