Jack Taylor

Hi All,
Just wanted you to know that we got another email from Jack Taylor yesterday. He stated in that email that he has not received any snail mail/packages from any of us. The delivery system stinks over there. Could all of you please email Jack. He would love to hear from you. His address is jacktaylor@gimail.af.mil
As most of you know Jack's birthday is this Saturday, May 31st please send a birthday greeting to him that day.
Here is the latest pic from Jack.

Thanks everyone!!!

Tracey

[Ryan]

Thanks for the update, Tracey. Jack has been e-mailing me back and forth as well. He said that they are no longer on 12 hour shifts, so he has a lot more time now for e-mail. He is glad to get it! I'll have to send him another few e-mails to let him know what's going on I hope everyone can drop him a note to say hello!

Ryan

[April]

ive been emailing him and sending pics etc. as much as i can in an email. im sure hes the only one over there getting excited about getting a fish picture. lol.
so..send him a pic on his emails also. im sure hed like any tidbit he can get.

[TheDiscusKid]

Come home soon Jack


Bruce

Heard from Jack again today and he finally received some of the snail mail that we had sent....only took a month but he still has not received the care package that was sent...that was two months ago!
Just wanted you to know


Tracey

Jack OLD BUDDY

and yes! you are getting OLDer ;D Get home soon man

[glow=red,2,300]"Happy Birthday" [/glow]

Your Friend
Beth

[Carol_Roberts]

[move] Happy Birthday Jack [/move]

[April]

Happy Birthday Jack!!!! sent you your card email. faster i decided. : ))

[brewmaster15]

I sure hope he got more of the snail mail /packages that were sent to him :-\.

Hope you had a great day Jack!!!!

-al

[Mike_Wells]

Happy B day Jack...


Good luck and be safe bro..


Mike

[CARY_GLdiscus]

Happy B-Day Jack


Also bring that gun home I need it for someone LOL!


Cary Gld!

[April]

LOL Cary. hope you dont need it against your dear mother!!

here is a copy of Jack's latest letter....Randy




Jack

June 3, 2003

News from Iraq,

I have been at Kirkuk over a month now. Conditions are fine and getting better weekly. They are in the process of building a tent city here for roughly 2200 Air Force personnel. Once completed, we will start to move in. This is unlike Tallil. We moved before the area was completed and had some struggles with the setup. This area will have shower facilities, washers and dryers, recreation areas and 8 people to a tent. That will give us extra room to build shelves and make it our home for the duration. It means packing everything up again but it will be great getting a permanent home. The tents we are in are fine but there is 27 of us together. We have a 2 shift operation so you have to be courteous of the other shift. I have gotten used to carrying a calumet light stick in the tent and using it as ambient light. We do have air conditioners to cool things off. Temperatures have reached 110 at times so it would be miserable trying to rest. The heat warms the water bottles that we shower with. So we do have hot water when there isn't rain or clouds. We actually had 2 rain showers in the last week. All that does is make one huge muddy mess.

Our work days have shortened as well. We support the flying schedule which consists of a 2 turn 2. That means 2 airplanes fly a mission and then go back up later that day again. Not a bad work schedule at all. In essence, the bombs and missiles have stopped being dropped. The pilots provide close air support during any type of Search and Rescue mission. We have had helicopters crash as of late so we have helped the recovery efforts. There are still factions of thugs out there and the efforts are to catch as many as possible. Several convoys have been fired upon by these groups. We are restricted to base here so there isn't any action happening. I'm safe as can be but there is always potential for a mortar attack or rocket propelled grenades. The Army raided a house that had mortars with the base coordinates in it. So we still watch out but aren't as susceptible as when we first arrived.

Thanks to all who sent cards for my 40th birthday. Not all have arrived yet so I'm still waiting. The same with packages. Some still haven't arrived from our last location. The new address is working well. Mail has made it here in as little as 7 days !!!!!! So we just keep a eye on the transport planes that land and hope they carry the mail in. There was and probably still is a big backlog of mail in Bagdad as well as Germany. The flights to Kirkuk are somewhat limited due to the runway. Not all transport planes can land here. The last and biggest setback with mail is having it forwarded. Mail from Tallil has to go to Germany to be rerouted back to Kirkuk. So hence the same limited flights daily !!!!!! The wheels of change are slow !!!!!! I received 18 boxes one day from Grainger. That was the largest group of packages addressed to one person so far. We had fun opening them up and all shared in the contents !!!!! We really appreciate the efforts of everyone who has helped us endure the time away from home. E-mails have been a life line to the outside world.

The city had local elections and swore in a new mayor and city government. This is a much anticipated event here and the local people are so happy to be done with the Saddam regime. There are still 4 ethnic groups here so everyone is not happy. They are learning to work with one another to make the country work. The Air Force is cleaning this base up and hopefully will return it to the local people one day.

Now the most important question on our minds. When will we be home? That question should be answered in a couple weeks for sure. Right now it could be as late as November 30. I will let everyone know for sure when the word is official. I know the president said most of the troops will be home in July. But as a Air force A-10 unit, we still have a commitment to support missions as part of the Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) Our cycle starts July 15 through November 15. Then you pack up, wait for airlift, and then head for home. We will know details very soon.

Once again, that you all for what you have done for our morale and well being. Times have been rough at first but they are sure turning out well. My calendar is marking the days until I make it home.

Jack

[Kap]

Happy Birthday, and come home soon! BTW, what's the discus situation over there?

[Debbie]

Happy birthday Jack. Come home save and soon. Wow the big 40!