Sad Day

As many have already blogged about sweet, precious Kayleigh went home today, officially. I don't know as her parents had wrote about, if she was already with Jesus, my heart says she has been with him for the past few weeks, but today her Mommy and Daddy had to say goodbye. Please be in prayer for them. I have Kayleigh's graphic on the side of my blog, just scroll down and click on her link.

As some of you already know, and many have probably heard about the soldier who killed 5 other soldiers, injured 5 and is in custody, he was stationed out of Germany, well he was from our Battallion, and even more so, he was from our company. Chad knows him. I do not. His wife is here. I ask that you pray for the victims of this sad and awful crime, also please pray for Sgt. John M. Russell's wife and rest of his family. His wife is a little "safer" in the fact that she's here in Germany and doesn't have the awful US media hounding her, but his parents, son, exwife, etc are not so "lucky". They need our prayers. They are effected in ways that many don't think of or consider.

We're 1 1/2 months from the end of this deployment. So very close. Why he did this I don't know. I know how blessed I am, as far as Chad's friend and coworker was the one who was the one who's weapon was used in this awful act. There are details I know, but are not being released pending further investigation. Please will you pray for our company and our battalion as a whole. All of us here, just seem to be in a sort of shock. I just honestly don't know how this could happen, I mean I do, but well I'm trying so hard to not let this turn into a rant towards the Mental Health in the Army, but let me just say this. There are HUGE changes that need to be made. This COULD have been prevented. From what I know, the command did what they needed to do, and from what I know the mental health did NOT. These are not surprises to anyone who's in the military or married to it. We all have known since the beginning of this war that the mental health had a lot to be desired, that soldiers are suffering, that families are suffering. This is simply not ok. This is sad, awful, horrible, disgraceful. It infuriates me. It's personal. My husband is on his 5th deployment, his 3rd to Iraq. I know it gets to him at times. I know it wears him down...emotionally and physically. I know it wears me down doing everything alone with him deployed. It effects our children. The more Daddy is gone, the harder it is. Let me dispurse a myth....here's the myth: The more deployments you go through the easier it gets.

HA! Honestly I think our first deployment was the easiest, looking back. Why do I say that? Because you don't know what to expect. You know you're going to miss him, you know it's going to be hard, etc...but it's all the things you don't know that make it easier and harder. After one, you know what you went through last time, what you need and what you want, you see your children hurting .
This must change.


I am cutting this short, I'm ehausted and heading to bed.

God Bless