Blessings to all of you as I feel so richly blessed myself right now!
Since my last post, things have been happening! Brett was supposed to come home on his mid-tour leave by leaving Camp Bucca on September 16th. However, in true military fashion, the plans changed and while I thought he would be calling by Tuesday night I didn't hear from him until Friday evening! Talk about a mama bear possessed! I was threatening to SWIM over there to find out what was going on. When Brett did call I asked where he was and he said Germany. I asked how long he had been there and he said 5 minutes. Excellent answer, Brett!! To make a long story short he arrived in Omaha on Saturday afternoon after the servicemen on the flight were bumped to first class...thank you American Airlines!! We decided to go on to Des Moines and see Lindsay and Josh for the rest of the weekend. I was able to take Monday off from work (thank you!) and so we came home from Iowa then. It was great to see Brett and Lindsay reunite. For those of you that still have children at home, fighting, I can't tell you how awesome it is to have your children get together and not fight and argue but to geniunely enjoy each other's company. Ahhh, bliss!
We came home from Des Moines to Wood River and got another surprise when Michael came home from football practice. We were downstairs in the newly created "Man Cave" and Michael came down the stairs and he and Brett said their hellos and Michael was as tall as Brett! Brett seemed surprised by that and Michael seemed thrilled. I was a bit melancholy. I can't believe how much my children have grown up right before my eyes...where does the time go??
Brett will be home until October 6th. Feel free to give him a call (his cell phone has been reactivated to the same number) or call the home phone. He'd love to hear from you and I'd love to have him take a break from the computer. ;-)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Retraction??
So, if you are writing your own blog and you make a mistake do you have to print a retraction? Or is it called a correction? Or a blogger repair?? Anyway, I had Brett read the blog and make sure I was giving correct information about his job and boy was I way off base!
He isn't the mailman...he is actually an Administrative Assistant for Human Resources and his main job is updating records for the soldiers. They record leaves and absences and update each soldiers personnel file. He also distributes mail for only his unit (there are many units at Camp Bucca) and then he does the newsletter. I'm sure I'm still stating something incorrectly and I'll let you know what that is when Brett corrects me....and I'm sure he will!
We haven't had nearly as much contact with Brett as his personal computer went down. I can only imagine the withdrawals he is suffering! (Truth is I'm going through it just as badly because I like when he is in contact every few days.) He sent the computer to me and we got a repair number and shipped it off today. Hopefully it will be done by the time he has leave.
And now to leave. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself! I don't usually wish time away but I sure will be until September 16th! That is when his mid-tour leave begins so he thought he would be home within a couple of days after that. He's requested that I stock up on steaks and brats. Best thing about Brett is he'll do the cooking when he comes home too. (He thinks he's a better chef than any of us!)
That's it for now. Please continue to pray for the soldiers. Until next time....
He isn't the mailman...he is actually an Administrative Assistant for Human Resources and his main job is updating records for the soldiers. They record leaves and absences and update each soldiers personnel file. He also distributes mail for only his unit (there are many units at Camp Bucca) and then he does the newsletter. I'm sure I'm still stating something incorrectly and I'll let you know what that is when Brett corrects me....and I'm sure he will!
We haven't had nearly as much contact with Brett as his personal computer went down. I can only imagine the withdrawals he is suffering! (Truth is I'm going through it just as badly because I like when he is in contact every few days.) He sent the computer to me and we got a repair number and shipped it off today. Hopefully it will be done by the time he has leave.
And now to leave. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself! I don't usually wish time away but I sure will be until September 16th! That is when his mid-tour leave begins so he thought he would be home within a couple of days after that. He's requested that I stock up on steaks and brats. Best thing about Brett is he'll do the cooking when he comes home too. (He thinks he's a better chef than any of us!)
That's it for now. Please continue to pray for the soldiers. Until next time....
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I'm Here, I'm Here....
After being reprimanded for no updates (you know who you are, and thanks for the push:-) I am finally getting back to this. I promise to work harder to keep this going!
Update on Brett is that he is doing great for the most part. I really felt his transition to full-time military life was a bit rough at the beginning but he seems to have adjusted well at this point. When we talk to him, it's upbeat and for what he's living through, I think that's wonderful!
At first, Brett struggled with the fact that he didn't feel his job was "important." I assured him that even if his sole job was cleaning toilets, it would be important! He has been appointed as the mailman in Camp Bucca. As I understand it, his job is to sort mail and then notify the fellow soldiers that they have mail. He said they are always thrilled to hear from him!
Another job that Brett has is to write the monthly newsletter for the unit. Now this may not seem all that interesting to you but I am totally fascinated by this! If I had a dime for each time I had to push (yell, scream) to get him to do his assignments that included writing, I'd be quite a rich woman! And he tells me he actually doesn't mind it...change of pace, gets him out of his office. WHAT?? Can this possibly be the same Brett Dibbern that I know?? I so hope you are reading this, Mrs. Blake!
He has now decided that maybe irrigating wasn't so bad after all. He sent an e-mail one morning that said the temperature at 8:00 AM was 108! Can you even fathom?? Luckily they have air conditioning but I can't imagine that it could even begin to keep up. Mine at home has plenty of trouble on these hot, muggy days and it's not even close to those numbers.
The best news is that Brett has decided to come home over his mid-tour leave which will be Sept 16-Oct 6. He had said he wanted to spend his time touring in Germany but his buddy backed out and then another guy just returned and said it was terribly expensive due to the weak dollar. (I have no doubt that Brett would have gone alone but EXPENSIVE?? No way was he going after he heard that....those are fightin' words!) So, even though it's second choice, we are thrilled. I told him to let me know what he wants/needs when he's home and he said right now he'd be happy with a real bed and real food. I think we can handle that.
Please continue to pray for the soldiers. It's a very tough time of year with the weather and they need to know we care!
Until next time....
Update on Brett is that he is doing great for the most part. I really felt his transition to full-time military life was a bit rough at the beginning but he seems to have adjusted well at this point. When we talk to him, it's upbeat and for what he's living through, I think that's wonderful!
At first, Brett struggled with the fact that he didn't feel his job was "important." I assured him that even if his sole job was cleaning toilets, it would be important! He has been appointed as the mailman in Camp Bucca. As I understand it, his job is to sort mail and then notify the fellow soldiers that they have mail. He said they are always thrilled to hear from him!
Another job that Brett has is to write the monthly newsletter for the unit. Now this may not seem all that interesting to you but I am totally fascinated by this! If I had a dime for each time I had to push (yell, scream) to get him to do his assignments that included writing, I'd be quite a rich woman! And he tells me he actually doesn't mind it...change of pace, gets him out of his office. WHAT?? Can this possibly be the same Brett Dibbern that I know?? I so hope you are reading this, Mrs. Blake!
He has now decided that maybe irrigating wasn't so bad after all. He sent an e-mail one morning that said the temperature at 8:00 AM was 108! Can you even fathom?? Luckily they have air conditioning but I can't imagine that it could even begin to keep up. Mine at home has plenty of trouble on these hot, muggy days and it's not even close to those numbers.
The best news is that Brett has decided to come home over his mid-tour leave which will be Sept 16-Oct 6. He had said he wanted to spend his time touring in Germany but his buddy backed out and then another guy just returned and said it was terribly expensive due to the weak dollar. (I have no doubt that Brett would have gone alone but EXPENSIVE?? No way was he going after he heard that....those are fightin' words!) So, even though it's second choice, we are thrilled. I told him to let me know what he wants/needs when he's home and he said right now he'd be happy with a real bed and real food. I think we can handle that.
Please continue to pray for the soldiers. It's a very tough time of year with the weather and they need to know we care!
Until next time....
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Phone Call 04/22/2008
Brett was able to call and we talked for quite a while on Tuesday. I was able to get some answers to questions that you have been asking. The day Brett and I spoke I had seen the temperature was supposed to be 103 degrees. I asked him how bad that was and he said "103 degrees here is still not as bad as a hot irrigating day in Nebraska!" Now does that mean that 103 is tolerable or that he hates irrigating that much?? Knowing Brett, I'm thinking it's the latter. Actually he said if they stay hydrated it really isn't that bad. It's mostly a hot temperature and not so humid.
I had also been asked if they have air conditioning there. Brett said they have lots of air conditioning...even in the tents! He said they do have random power outages and that can certainly warm things up for a while.
Another question had been does he carry a weapon with him at all times. Brett said he is required to have his weapon on him at all times but it isn't as much because of threat as it is about responsibility. Once your weapon has been checked out to you it is to be on your person at all times except for using the restroom, showering or physical training. During those times it is permissable to have it locked up or have a buddy watching over it.
Brett told me his allergies aren't nearly as bad over there. He is taking Zyrtec but that has controlled the nose fairly well. Anyone who has ever been around Brett in the morning realizes the importance of this!!
One thing that he commented is that the bugs over there are pretty bad. He asked if I would send him some ant killer. He said the flies are pretty bad too. One thing that he commented (if you're eating right now you might want to come back to this...) is that they have tall poles and at the top of the poles are buckets with poison for the flies. To lure the flies to the poison he said they have bags hanging underneath the buckets and he didn't know for sure what was in the bags but it smells like "corpse." Now I'm not sure how many corpses Brett has smelled in his lifetime but he swears this is the nastiest thing ever. (He also said cattle manure was like perfume compared to this aroma. Ewwww!)
Brett's job is in the post office system over there. The post office is actually run by a contracting company as is the housing, laundry, chow hall, etc. Brett has to pickup the mail, separate it and put it on the website which notifies the soldiers that they have mail. Brett said everyone is always happy to hear from him because that means they've received something from home and that's very important to them.
Speaking of mail, I'd like to thank all of you that have sent notes to Brett. He has commented how awesome it is to get mail and to hear from home. Our soldiers really need that to get through and know they aren't getting forgotten while they are gone. (If they only realized the amount of time we spend thinking about them!)
On a personal note about the conversation, as I was talking to Brett, all of a sudden I heard LOTS of gunfire in the background. As my heart was pounding in my throat, I asked Brett if gunfire was indeed what I was hearing. He calmly stated that yes I was hearing correctly. I asked if that unnerved him or was of concern to him and he said, "Oh, there's a shooting range just on the other side of this wall that I'm by." He could have spared me the 5 years that were taken off my life if he would have mentioned that first!!
Until next time.....
I had also been asked if they have air conditioning there. Brett said they have lots of air conditioning...even in the tents! He said they do have random power outages and that can certainly warm things up for a while.
Another question had been does he carry a weapon with him at all times. Brett said he is required to have his weapon on him at all times but it isn't as much because of threat as it is about responsibility. Once your weapon has been checked out to you it is to be on your person at all times except for using the restroom, showering or physical training. During those times it is permissable to have it locked up or have a buddy watching over it.
Brett told me his allergies aren't nearly as bad over there. He is taking Zyrtec but that has controlled the nose fairly well. Anyone who has ever been around Brett in the morning realizes the importance of this!!
One thing that he commented is that the bugs over there are pretty bad. He asked if I would send him some ant killer. He said the flies are pretty bad too. One thing that he commented (if you're eating right now you might want to come back to this...) is that they have tall poles and at the top of the poles are buckets with poison for the flies. To lure the flies to the poison he said they have bags hanging underneath the buckets and he didn't know for sure what was in the bags but it smells like "corpse." Now I'm not sure how many corpses Brett has smelled in his lifetime but he swears this is the nastiest thing ever. (He also said cattle manure was like perfume compared to this aroma. Ewwww!)
Brett's job is in the post office system over there. The post office is actually run by a contracting company as is the housing, laundry, chow hall, etc. Brett has to pickup the mail, separate it and put it on the website which notifies the soldiers that they have mail. Brett said everyone is always happy to hear from him because that means they've received something from home and that's very important to them.
Speaking of mail, I'd like to thank all of you that have sent notes to Brett. He has commented how awesome it is to get mail and to hear from home. Our soldiers really need that to get through and know they aren't getting forgotten while they are gone. (If they only realized the amount of time we spend thinking about them!)
On a personal note about the conversation, as I was talking to Brett, all of a sudden I heard LOTS of gunfire in the background. As my heart was pounding in my throat, I asked Brett if gunfire was indeed what I was hearing. He calmly stated that yes I was hearing correctly. I asked if that unnerved him or was of concern to him and he said, "Oh, there's a shooting range just on the other side of this wall that I'm by." He could have spared me the 5 years that were taken off my life if he would have mentioned that first!!
Until next time.....
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Phone Call!
Brett called me! I will give a summary of the conversation:
Brett said they spent a few days in Germany, a few days in Kuwait, and now they are at their post at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Camp Bucca is a detainee prison so that will be their job. Currently they are living in tents but they should be moving into trailers in the future. Right now they are following the unit around that they will be replacing. The base has a small store, Pizza Hut, and a Burger King so it's similar to a small town. While they were in Germany, the USO gave them free phone cards so that was how Brett was calling me. The calling card he used was for 100 minutes but using it from Iraq, it only lasted 20 minutes. He said Wednesday is "Good Food Day" as the military allots more money for their meals on that day. Last Wednesday he had prime rib, baked potato, and corn on the cob. (Really roughing it, huh? He didn't even complain about the quality of the beef!) He said he is very fortunate in that his work schedule is 8 hours per day with one day off per week. He said many of the others are working 12 hour days with no days off. It just depends on their specific job. I asked him what was the most surprising thing thus far and he said the number of American civilians that are employed on the base. He said at times when you are walking around the base, it's like walking at the mall because of the diversity in age of those that are around. He said they are not to leave the base at all and the only time they see children is when they have visitation for the detainees and their families come to visit.
He did mention that he was stuffing his duffel bag and while he was pushing real hard, his hand came back and hit him in the face and broke his new glasses. Right now they are superglued. I told him it's nice to know that even though he is clear across the world, Brett is still Brett!
Brett said they spent a few days in Germany, a few days in Kuwait, and now they are at their post at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Camp Bucca is a detainee prison so that will be their job. Currently they are living in tents but they should be moving into trailers in the future. Right now they are following the unit around that they will be replacing. The base has a small store, Pizza Hut, and a Burger King so it's similar to a small town. While they were in Germany, the USO gave them free phone cards so that was how Brett was calling me. The calling card he used was for 100 minutes but using it from Iraq, it only lasted 20 minutes. He said Wednesday is "Good Food Day" as the military allots more money for their meals on that day. Last Wednesday he had prime rib, baked potato, and corn on the cob. (Really roughing it, huh? He didn't even complain about the quality of the beef!) He said he is very fortunate in that his work schedule is 8 hours per day with one day off per week. He said many of the others are working 12 hour days with no days off. It just depends on their specific job. I asked him what was the most surprising thing thus far and he said the number of American civilians that are employed on the base. He said at times when you are walking around the base, it's like walking at the mall because of the diversity in age of those that are around. He said they are not to leave the base at all and the only time they see children is when they have visitation for the detainees and their families come to visit.
He did mention that he was stuffing his duffel bag and while he was pushing real hard, his hand came back and hit him in the face and broke his new glasses. Right now they are superglued. I told him it's nice to know that even though he is clear across the world, Brett is still Brett!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
And the Fun Begins....
Well, I haven't been on for a while so it is certainly time for an update. Brett was able to come home for Easter which was really nice. I think he returned quite tired though as he spent as much time with family and friends as possible.
He was under the assumption that when he returned the deployment would take place within 72 hours. I told him to be sure and call when his flight returned to El Paso since we knew it would be somewhat close on the time schedule to report back to his base. Particularly if the flights were delayed as they were on his way home. However, I haven't heard a word from him since!!
God bless Sherie Peterson who is the liason between the unit and the families. Her husband is also in the unit and he reports to her and then the info is e-mailed to us. She has kept us informed to the fact that the unit returned to a "pack and run" order so she wasn't surprised that Brett hadn't contacted us but that all members of the unit are fine. They were first sent to Germany and had to wait there for a couple of days before continuing on to Iraq. They have now reached their location and are settling in. She said they are staying in tents at the moment but will be moved to more permanent quarters shortly.
I'm very anxious to hear from Brett but I will keep a "no news is good news" perspective and just keep the prayers going. I promise to keep everyone posted on this blog. Sometimes it just gets a little difficult to find ways to report when we have been told that confidentiality and safety are a must when we report to others about the soldiers.
Brett's new address to use is:
SPC Dibbern, Brett
530th MP BN
APO AE 09375
Please don't hesitate to drop him a line even if it's short. From everyone I have talked with, mail is a very big deal to the soldiers!
He was under the assumption that when he returned the deployment would take place within 72 hours. I told him to be sure and call when his flight returned to El Paso since we knew it would be somewhat close on the time schedule to report back to his base. Particularly if the flights were delayed as they were on his way home. However, I haven't heard a word from him since!!
God bless Sherie Peterson who is the liason between the unit and the families. Her husband is also in the unit and he reports to her and then the info is e-mailed to us. She has kept us informed to the fact that the unit returned to a "pack and run" order so she wasn't surprised that Brett hadn't contacted us but that all members of the unit are fine. They were first sent to Germany and had to wait there for a couple of days before continuing on to Iraq. They have now reached their location and are settling in. She said they are staying in tents at the moment but will be moved to more permanent quarters shortly.
I'm very anxious to hear from Brett but I will keep a "no news is good news" perspective and just keep the prayers going. I promise to keep everyone posted on this blog. Sometimes it just gets a little difficult to find ways to report when we have been told that confidentiality and safety are a must when we report to others about the soldiers.
Brett's new address to use is:
SPC Dibbern, Brett
530th MP BN
APO AE 09375
Please don't hesitate to drop him a line even if it's short. From everyone I have talked with, mail is a very big deal to the soldiers!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Brett's Post
Brett thought that I hadn't posted for a while so he did the next one...
We just moved out to the field, and we have Internet out here, so I'll post this since I have the chance. I only have about three more weeks at this place before we move to Iraq and I get to do my job. The running joke around here is "Don't worry, once we get over to the third world country, things will be much better." Everyone has told me that Iraq has the best food and equipment in the Army, and the living conditions are much better than in training. As odd as it may sound, I can't wait to leave the States.
March 6, 2008 8:38 AM
We just moved out to the field, and we have Internet out here, so I'll post this since I have the chance. I only have about three more weeks at this place before we move to Iraq and I get to do my job. The running joke around here is "Don't worry, once we get over to the third world country, things will be much better." Everyone has told me that Iraq has the best food and equipment in the Army, and the living conditions are much better than in training. As odd as it may sound, I can't wait to leave the States.
March 6, 2008 8:38 AM
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