Well we are in to the final countdown!! 7 Days until Tino leaves Iraq for home! We are all anxiously awaiting his return home! It will also be the halfway mark of his tour! He will be home, hopefully in June/July.
Did you see that DICK CHENEY the VP was in IRAQ? Well Tino was one of the soliders that was involved in security for his visit! The First SGT sent us a letter with a littel detail, here it is:
Local Unit Provides Security for Vice President Visit in Iraq
Story by MAJ Patrick Monahan
AL ASAD, Iraq (Dec. 18, 2005) – When a distinguished visitor such as the Vice President conducts a shortnotice
stop to visit with the troops in Iraq, there are lots of behind-the-scenes details to be accomplished.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Unit currently
stationed at Al Asad, Iraq to provide security for the base, recently saw to many of those details when
Vice President Dick Cheney made a stop there to visit with troops.
Long before the arrival of the high profile guest, members of the battalion were busy conducting
patrols outside and inside the base and ensuring that a myriad of other details were accomplished so that
all areas were clear of potential threats the visit went off without a hitch. The unit also provided a security
escort as the Vice President moved around the base, ensured that the locations he visited were secure,
and provided stand-by emergency medical assistance capability. Lieutenant Colonel Mike Konzman, the
Battalion Commander, explained the mission of the unit. "We make sure that there are no threats inside
and outside the base, like enemy mortar teams or someone trying to shoot down an aircraft with a missile
or RPG. Usually, when a high visibility visitor like the Vice President travels, a lot of secret service
personnel come along with him to see to many of the security measures. For this visit, only a small detail
arrived ahead of time, so we picked up a major part of the security requirements" explained Konzman.
Providing security for visitors to the base is not new to members of the unit. "We’ve done this
type of security before for other VIPs, but never for someone like the Vice President, so there are more
security measures involved, more patrols, more things to check", said First Lieutenant Christopher
Jackson of Whitley City, Kentucky, an officer with Company D, 1st Battalion, 149thInfantry, from
Middlesboro Kentucky, one of the units assigned to the 109th Infantry.
A squad of soldiers from the battalion escorted Cheney around the base in armored Humvees,
the same type of vehicles that are routinely used when the unit conducts security patrols or convoy
escorts throughout western Iraq. Security was so tight that most of the soldiers in the Battalion didn’t
know Cheney was visiting until he arrived. "They didn’t tell us who it was until right before he arrived" said
Corporal Derek Marinaro, of East Stroudsburg, PA. "Usually we know a few days ahead of time who is
coming. We were all trying to figure out who it was going to be". Marinaro was lucky enough to sit with
Cheney and several other Soldiers and Marines as the Vice President conducted a question and answer
session with the service members.
Cheney visited the base to thank all the troops in Iraq for the hard work surrounding the recent
elections. "I think it’s great that someone like the Vice President comes here all the way from the States
to show his support for us, and it’s awesome that the Battalion is involved in guarding him for the visit"
said Sergeant Bill Fasceski of Honesdale, PA. "It makes me feel proud that what we are doing is making
a difference and everyone back home sees and knows we are making a difference" said Fasceski.
Pretty cool huh?
