Two Oregon Army National Guard soldiers in Iraq
An armored vehicle that is part of an Oregon Army National Guard convoy in Iraq.
This week I worked on a story about 50 Rogue
Valley residents who are stationed in Iraq
with the Oregon Army National Guard.
Mayor John Stromberg is staying in contact with the troops.
That’s how he learned that it was 130 degrees in Tallil, Iraq
this week, where the local troops are stationed.
At each City Council meeting, he gives an update on the conditions the soldiers
are facing.
Here’s a preview of the news story:
In Iraq,
where about 50 Oregon Army National Guard Troops from the Rogue Valley
are stationed, temperatures have reached 130 degrees this week.
Mayor John Stromberg has been mindful of this, as he has been
mindful of many of the details about the lives of the local soldiers stationed
there since late July.
After speaking to the troops at a deployment ceremony in Central
Point in May, Stromberg realized he didn’t want to forget the local soldiers as
they combed Iraq
for roadside bombs and completed other missions as part of Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
“I pledged for the whole time they’re over there — and it’s
going to be something like 10 months — that we would be mindful of them,” he
said.
Check the paper or the Tidings Web site on Saturday for the
entire story. We also plan to print excerpts from e-mails sent from army
commanders to Stromberg. To read a blog post the mayor wrote about the troops,
click here.
—Hannah Guzik
Photos courtesy of Capt. Karl Haeckler and the Oregon Army National Guard.
