Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sergeant Lee’s loved ones:

Army Sgt. Carlie M. Lee III, a 23-year-old native of Birmingham, was killed in Chak, Afghanistan on Friday, along with Staff Sgt. Esau I. Delapena Hernandez of La Puente, Calif.

Lee’s mother, Norma Lee, said her son had just recently undergone surgery on his appendix and had not been out of the hospital for more than two weeks. She questioned whether he should have been back into combat so soon.

The soldiers were members of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment and deployed earlier this year with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lee, who joined the Army in 2006 and was on his second deployment to Afghanistan, had re-enlisted in December and was scheduled to return home in July.

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The Clanton Advertiser has a great article this morning about Army Specialist Justin Corn, of Thorsby, who recently returned from Iraq.

Corn believes the U.S. is making a difference in Iraq. In the time he was deployed to Iraq, he saw a big difference in the people from when he arrived to when he left.

A great story, and a poignant reminder of why it’s so important that we support our men and women in uniform!

Because he was in a remote location of Iraq, Corn and his unit didn’t have much contact with family and friends. “Whenever we got to a base, everyone would run to the phone to get their five minutes to call our families,” Corn said.

During his tour, his family and his wife both sent him numerous care packages, which included personal items and snack foods.

“You don’t know just how much you miss that until you don’t have it anymore,” he said. “Some weren’t as fortunate as I was, so I shared with those who didn’t get any packages.”

You can read the whole article here.

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Courtesy of The Anniston Star:

Army Reserve Col. Roy A. Hall recently graduated from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pa. He is the son of Thomas D. Hall of Weaver. He graduated in 1980 from Anniston High School and received an associate degree in 1982 from Marion Military Institute. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

Congratulations, Col. Hall!

Air Force Staff Sgt. Shane Law was recently decorated with the Air Force Commendation Medal. He is the son of Larry and Connie Downey of Piedmont. He graduated in 1993 from Piedmont High School and received an associate degree in 2006 from the Community College of the Air Force in Montgomery.

Congratulations, Sgt. Law!

Air Force Airman 1st Class Nicholas W. Byars recently arrived for duty at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, N.M. He is the son of Christopher W. and Sherry D. Byars of Jacksonville. He graduated in 2007 from Jacksonville High School.

Congratulations, Airman 1st Class Byars!

Army Pvt. Jesse D. Harper recently graduated from the Land Combat Electrician Advanced Individual Training course at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. He is the son of Timothy L. and Karen D. Harper of Anniston.

Congratulations, Pvt. Harper!

Army Pfc. Corbett L. Futral was one of more than 300 Army soldiers who participated in the “Spirit of America 2008″ performance for the residents of Rochester, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass., on Sept. 12 and 13, respectively. Futral, an infantryman with two years of military service, is assigned to the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. He is the son of Harry Futral of Oxford and Shannon Moreira of Gulf Shores. The private is a 2004 graduate of Gulf Shores High School.

Congratulations, PFC Futral!

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Published on The Birmingham News‘ Breaking News blog, a story about a troop of would-be officers for the Army National Guard participating in an accelerated Officer Candidate School who capped one of their training exercises by ending a seven-mile, full pack and gear march in 2 and half hours — concluding with a lap around the Talladega Superspeedway.

View the blog post and pictures here.

Courtesy of WTVY News 4, news of another library benefiting from Governor Riley’s connecting families program. The Houston-Love Memorial Library in Dothan has two computers dedicated to providing folks live access to see and talk with members of the military stationed stateside or overseas.

To read the whole article, go here. For more information on the web cam program, call the Houston Love Memorial Library at (334) 793-9767.

Last but not least, this isn’t Alabama-related but I can’t resist sharing: a great story from Right Pundits about Detective Ken Leonard of the High Point, North Carolina Police Department. He served his country in Iraq training local Iraqis to become policemen. He lost his feet by IED. After a long road of therapy and prosthetics, he has made it back onto the police force and has recently joined the blogging world. His blog is called “No Feet Required!” and he is up for John Walsh’s AMW All Star First Responders Award.

If you have time, drop by No Feet Required! — I’m sure Ken would love to hear from everyone!

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According to the Shelby County Reporter, the Pelham Public Library is one of the latest to participate in Connecting Families, a partnership between the Alabama Public Library Service and the Alabama Broadband Initiative that allows military families to see and talk to each other via Web conferencing.

According to Barbara Roberts, library director:

Signing up is fast, free and easy. All one needs is an e-mail address and an account with Skype, a software program that allows telephone calls, instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing over the Internet. Library aides are available to set up e-mail and Skype accounts for those interested. And the library is willing to arrange Web conferencing sessions after hours to accommodate families.

It’s great to see more libraries participating in this wonderful program!

For more information, call Roberts at [205] 620-6418.

The Montgomery Advertiser published news yesterday that the 926th Engineer Brigade, an Army Reserve unit headquartered in Montgomery, has returned from Iraq.

Welcome home, brave heroes!

WKRG 5 News reported earlier this week with a heartwarming story about Private First Class Marshall Joslin, a soldier stationed in Iraq who had received letters from 4th graders at Knollwood Christian School. He had stopped by to say thanks to the children who’d written to him.

Read the entire article and view the video here.

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Posted today over at The Birmingham News:

An Alabama Army National Guard training team now in Afghanistan is in the home stretch of its tour, and another team will be deploying in June.

Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons, a state Army Guard spokesperson, said the team to deploy later this year will have 16 members. It will be the sixth team the Alabama Army Guard has sent to Afghanistan to help train soldiers and police officers.

Timmons said the team members will have a send-off ceremony in late March, go to Fort Riley, Kan., for pre-deployment training and deploy to Afghanistan in June. The team’s time in Afghanistan should be about nine months, Timmons said.

An Army Guard team now in place in Afghanistan should be back in about two months, Timmons said.

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Courtesy of the Montgomery Advertiser:

Air Force Airman 1st Class Derrick T. Mooney graduated from the Utilities Systems Apprentice Course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas.

Mooney is assigned to the 187th Fighter Wing in Montgomery. He is the son of Barbara Jiles of Montgomery. The airman is a 2006 graduate of Jefferson Davis High School.

Congratulations, Derrick!

Army Reserve Pfc. Heather R. Attkisson has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

She is the daughter of Margo Riesco of Prattville.

Congratulations, Heather!

Army Reserve Pfc. Dana M. Allen has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

She is the daughter of Jimmy and Anita Allen of Prattville.

Congratulations, Dana!

Army Reserve Pfc. Kendrena L. Harris has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

She is the daughter of Laronda Harris of Montgomery. Harris is a 2005 graduate of Gadsden High School.

Congratulations, Kendrena!

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Our thoughts and prayers go out to Private Turner’s loved ones:

Army Pvt. Ricky Lee Turner of Athens was killed in Iraq Friday when an improvised explosive device blew up a military vehicle he was riding in. Turner joined the Army in 2007. He deployed to Iraq last month. A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Majestic Chapel in Athens. Funeral arrangements are pending.

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Our thoughts and prayers go out to Private McCune’s loved ones:

A 20-year-old Army soldier originally from Walker County has been killed in Iraq. Pvt. Sean P. McCune died Sunday in Samarra, Iraq, of injuries from a noncombat incident, Army officials said. He was assigned to the Army’s 25th Infantry Division. Army records list McCune as being from Euless, Texas, but he grew up in Walker County, northwest of Birmingham, and graduated from Curry High School in 2006. McCune’s mother, Sandra Gibson, told the Jasper Daily Mountain Eagle her son had wanted to enlist in the Army from the time he was 15. He enlisted in May 2008 and deployed to Iraq in October.

Gibson, who still lives in Walker County, said after her son graduated from high school she asked him to wait a year before making a final decision about enlisting. Even though he waited, she said he never wavered from wanting to serve his country.

Since deploying to Iraq, his few e-mails home were short and sweet, his mother said.

“I’m okay, and I love you,” he would write.

“He was fired up. He loved it. There was nothing about the Army that Sean didn’t love,” his mother said. She said her son wanted to become an Army Ranger.

Family members remembered McCune as a loving son and brother, who loved to make people laugh.

“He was mischievous to a fault. Whatever he could do to make somebody laugh, that was Sean,” Gibson said.

McCune loved joking around with his sisters — Amber McCune, 23; Natasha Gibson, 17; and Vicki Gibson, 11.

“He was a best friend. He would be there no matter what you needed, and he would make you laugh until your stomach hurt,” Amber McCune said.

“He was always good to talk to because he would listen to you about anything,” Natasha Gibson said.

Funeral arrangements for McCune have not been announced.

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Featured this weekend in the Tuscaloosa News:

Col. Charles H. Gailes Jr. will take command of the 31st Chemical Brigade from Northport during a ceremony Sunday at Fort McClellan Army National Guard Training Center.

Gailes, a Tuscaloosa native living in Huntsville, will receive the unit colors from Brig. Gen. Wendell B. McLain of Auburn. The Alabama National Guard brigade includes chemical and military police units across the state.

Read the entire article here.

Congratulations, Colonel Gailes!

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