FRG Meeting



Key to the Home Front

Newsletter of the 79th MP Company

Family Readiness Group

January, 2004

Notes from Capt. Roberts

(As received in an e-mail dated 12/18/03)

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends back home. I pray that this holiday is the last we spend apart. I believe that although the miles separate each of us from the ones we love, our thoughts and prayers bring us closer each day.

We have had a very busy couple of months here in theater. As everyone knows, we had a change and we now reside in the Baghdad Area of Operation. This is merely a change in residence, for we all know that the 79th has operated all over this country. We continue to serve proudly and have gained respect throughout theater with all who we serve with.

Words cannot do justice to how proud I am to serve with the soldiers of the 79th. Our soldiers continue to set the standard, meet any challenge and complete all missions. They serve in a dangerous country, in austere conditions, and are asked to do various missions that challenge them physically and mentally. Each one of them has truly exemplified what the American soldier is. I know every one of you will hear the stories, good and bad, of our service here. You will come to realize the magnitude of how important our soldiers are and continue to be to this world.

I am thankful that behind every one of our soldiers there are great Americans supporting them - family and friends, making just as great sacrifices and going through just as valid hardships to support their soldier. You, too, should receive the admiration and thanks from every American. I thank you. We thank you.

I would like to also take this opportunity to thank Karen Butler for the wonderful job she has done. I will be at a loss now that she and SFC Gerald Butler are moving on to their next post. I appreciate, and believe we all do, the sacrifices she has made with this post. I thank her and wish her and Gerald the best. God bless.

I truly pray that all of us are safely back home this spring and reunited with our family and friends. Until that day, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful, safe Holiday season.   

Notes from 1st Sgt. Arpin

(As received in an e-mail dated 12/19/03)

I want to let the Family Readiness Group know that our thoughts are with our families during this holiday season. We are all still praying for world peace to break out. With Saddam being captured, we can only hope and pray that the hostilities will be done with. Our mission will continue until we are relieved. I know I speak for all the soldiers when I say that coming home will be the best Christmas present we could ask for (even if it isn't in December). Keep the thoughts, prayers and support coming. I hope the families can find support with each other during this holiday season. Merry Christmas and may we all have a happy new year! 

Notes from Shannon

(SFC Shannon Larsen is the FRG Liaison)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We are slowly counting down the days until our special troops will be back at home for good.  Soon they will be double digit midgets, as they say (The number of days left will be only two digits instead of three.)!  We were lucky to have Mark and Kenny home for Thanksgiving and it gave us an opportunity to get Caitlin baptized.  It was harder for them to leave again, but totally worth it they told me.  I am also happy to say that I have talked to several others who have been home on leave, and they all say they will be happy to be home, but that the job they are doing in Iraq remains important and necessary.  Keep up the good work, 79th!

During our December drill, we celebrated the Holiday with several families at the Drill hall.  We had a great meal and even got to sit on Santa Claus' lap!  He was able to get his elves moving early and distributed several presents and goody bags to the kids that were there.  Thanks for a great showing!  Several families took advantage of being able to get a picture taken and printed and even more bought the special "Team 79th" pins that were (and are) available.  All in all, it was a good day!!  A special thank you goes out to Rita Linde for her help in the photo corner!

I have a sign hanging in my bathroom....it was inspiration given to me by my mother when it seemed really "dark" in the days ahead:  I was pregnant (and maybe even moody and emotional?) and thought I'd be alone having a child while my husband went off to war.  Days are much brighter now, but I still get the same good feeling when I look at that kitty falling off his tree limb and hanging on for dear life....  Keep that in mind as our time being separated from our loved ones gets shorter and shorter!  Hang in There!!

Notes from Karen

(Karen Butler is the FRG Leader)

As you may have noticed in the e-mail from Captain Roberts, this will be my last newsletter for the 79th MP Company FRG. My husband, Gary, along with 15 others from the 79th that were left behind, were cross-leveled with the 391st MP Battalion out of Columbus, Ohio. They left Minnesota for Columbus on December 27th and left Columbus on January 7th for Ft. Dix, New Jersey for training. After that, off to parts unknown. Our son has also been deployed with the 1544th Transportation Company out of Paris, Illinois and is currently training at Ft. McCoy prior to deploying to Iraq. All has happened within the time frame of just a little over a month. Things in my house have been a little hectic to say the least.

As much as I have enjoyed working with the wonderful people in the Family Readiness Group, at this time, my energies will be focused on the FRGs associated with the units of both my husband and our son. As such, I do not believe that I will be able to give the 79th MP Company FRG the time and energy necessary to do the job in the manner in which is should be done. While I would like to continue to work with the 79th, circumstances dictate otherwise.

Victoria Brown has volunteered to take over as the FRG leader. Her phone number is (507) 292-0472 and her e-mail is VictoriaBrown07@. If you have any questions or need some information, please contact Victoria, SFC Shannon Larsen or SSG Brown, Victoria’s husband, who has replaced Gary as the training NCO for the 79th. Sgt. Brown is in the office at the armory on Marion Road.

My thanks to all who have done so much with the FRG over the past year. Without you, we could not have gotten this FRG up and running. To those of you who have family members with the 79th, it was a rocky year, but you are on the downside now. Your soldiers will be home before you know it. Perhaps you can give those of us who are just starting the adventure some advice on how to cope!

To those of us who have soldiers who just left, since our soldiers are associated with a different unit, we will need to rely on information passed along to us from the 391st FRG. I have a mass e-mail list for the 391st families from our unit that I am aware of. If I have missed anyone and you would like to be on the list, please forward your e-mail address to me at gkbutler@.

Help Needed!

As you may be aware, Kurt and Missy Brueschke had a serious house fire recently.  They lost almost everything, including two beloved dogs.  No people were home at the time, which was lucky, but dealing

with the devastation and loss is something that is going to take a long time.  Kurt has been in Iraq with Mark and Kenny.  Fortunately, the Army saw fit to send Kurt home on emergency leave (he made it back Friday). Hopefully he will be able to be released from active duty early in order to help Missy take care of things here.

I have had the chance to talk to Kurt and Missy and they have been busy this week meeting with insurance adjusters, fire chiefs, cleaning companies, etc.  I am not sure what they have been told.  Missy told me that most of the stuff in the house is either burned up (especially 1st floor and basement), and the second floor is mostly smoke damage (and

maybe water damage).  They are trying to save what they can.

Right now they are staying with Missy's parents in Red Wing, but the house is crowded!  They don't really have room for donations of clothing and other things at the moment.  More helpful would be cash or gift cards to Econo Foods, Wal-Mart and Target, all of which have branches in Red Wing.

They now have an account at Wells Fargo if you would like to help out financially.  You can make a deposit directly into their account.  Tell the bank the routing number: 091000019 and to deposit it into the

account of Kurt/Melissa Brueschke.  You can make checks out to Kurt Brueschke.  If you don't have a Wells Fargo near you, or want to send gift cards, you can send them to our unit:  79th MP Co - 1715 Marion Rd SE, Rochester, MN  55904 and I will make sure they get them, or directly to Brueschkes at: 107 Cannon View Drive, Red Wing, MN  55066.

A lot of you have expressed deep concern for Brueschke's and they really appreciate it a lot.  This is the time when you need, and can count on your friends and family!!

Please pass on as you see fit...

Thanks,

Shannon Larsen

79th MP Company Pins

We have pins for sale for $8 each to support the family support group.  If you would like us to send you one, email (or call Shannon) and include an extra $.37 for mailing.  Any proceeds will go towards sending packages, etc to our troops overseas.  This is very similar to what the pins look like, only they have "79th MP" written in gold across the white stripe on the two guys on the end.  They are very nice!

[pic]

Soon we are also going to try and get sweatshirts and perhaps t-shirts printed too!  Watch for that announcement...

  

Family Program Academy

The 88th Regional Readiness Command will be hosting a Fundamental Family Program Academy on March 5-7, 2004 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of the academy is to provide the necessary tools to establish and maintain a functional unit Family Readiness Group. The training is designed for Family Readiness Volunteers, Family Readiness Liaisons, Unit Commanders, Command Sergeants Major, Chaplains, First Sergeants and the unit full-time Family Readiness Point of Contact.

Space is limited to 200 applicants and applications are due in by February 1, 2004. The Army will schedule your transportation to and from Cincinnati, arrange a hotel for you and supply breakfast and lunch at their expense. You may also receive a per diem expense reimbursement. If anyone is interested in attending this academy, please let Shannon or Sgt. Brown know so they can get the appropriate forms to you.

News You Can Use

New relief fund for all service families

(Source: Well-Being Liaison Office)

Television and radio stations around the nation on Veterans Day began airing public service announcements appealing for public assistance to support the Armed Forces Relief Trust, a new nonprofit organization aimed at assisting with the escalating hardships facing service members and their families.

Four military aid societies – the Air Force Aid Society, Army Emergency Relief, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society – have come together to create the fund, with support from the National Association of Broadcasters. Information is available on the AFRT website at .

Regarding Taxes

Please pass this on to your troops. This info can be found at . See Publication 3 (Armed Forces Tax Guide) for details.

 

The IRS has an email address for soldiers or families to report directly to the IRS that they are serving in a combat zone. The address is: combatzone@.

They should provide: name of deployed soldier, date of birth, date of deployment and stateside address. (do not provide SS#)

 

Covered taxpayers that receive a notice from the IRS regarding collection or examination should return the notice to the IRS with the words "COMBAT ZONE" and the deployment date in red at the top of the notice and put "COMBAT ZONE" on the envelope so the IRS can suspend the action.  Taxpayers can avoid notice by notifying the IRS that they are serving in a combat zone. (see above)

 

Soldiers are granted a 180 day extension to file and or pay taxes, without penalty, once they leave the combat zone. The time a soldier entered the combat zone prior to the deadline, may be added to the extension, i.e. arrived 1 April filing due 15 April, add 15 days.

 

Military pay excluded from taxation will not appear on your W2 for filing purposes.

 

If you serve in a combat zone for one or more days during a particular month, the entire month qualifies for the exclusion.

 

When submitting tax returns, soldiers should write in red "COMBAT ZONE" and their deployment date at the top of the return.

CPT R.M. Butler

S-1

744th MP BN

Web Link

Don’t forget to check the web link for updated news and photos from the unit and FRG!

79thmpco/

79th MP Company Information:

1715 Marion Road SE

Rochester, MN 55904

Tel: 507-289-6869

Victoria’s Tel: 507-292-0472

Victoria’s e-mail: VictoriaBrown07@

Shannon’s Tel: 507-289-7731

Shannon’s e-mail: shannon.larsen@

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