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| Jeffrey Reichelt on duty. |
Reclamation Employees Serving Their Country
Jeffrey Reichelt was a staff member at the Yuma Area Office for three years prior to his Army enlistment and is on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Reichelt was a hydro technician in the Water Operations Group through the Student Temporary Employment Program. As a chaplain's assistant, Reichelt’s primary role in a combat environment is protective service in conjunction with preparing the chaplain for Sunday and/or memorial services. Normally his unit is stationed in Germany. However, he is on his second tour in Iraq, specifically in the Ramadi area, northeast of Baghdad and just east of Fallujah. His father, Russ Reichelt, is the director Yuma Area Office Technical Support Office. Jeffrey Reichelt sent his observations via an e-mail which his father shares:
Letter from Iraq
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| Jeffrey Reichelt on duty. |
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Jeff Reichelt , left, with Captain Steve Kosylo, the chaplain he is assisting in Iraq. |
Greetings once again from the desolate and cold deserts of Iraq. We left Kuwait a few weeks ago and, as during my last deployment, the days have started to blend together once again. You wake up, do stuff, eat, do stuff, eat, ponder what else to do, eat, sit down and ponder tomorrow – then sleep. And, no rinsing – you just repeat. I say no rinsing due to the fact that during these past few weeks, I’ve been the dirtiest I’ve ever been. It rains just about every other day and turns our entire FOB (Forward Operating Base) into one huge mud pit.
So, what else is going on here? Well, for the chaplain and myself, we were finally able to claim the Chapel as ours (after the guys we replaced left). One morning I left before breakfast while he was sweeping his office. On my return at noon he was still in there pouring water all over the floor, scrubbing it with a straw broom, and then laying down a brown t-shirt to soak up all the water, wring it out, and repeat.
Later that evening, there I was throwing buckets of water across the concrete chapel floor, going at the clots of mud with a cheap straw broom. This was, in my eyes, rather pointless in the sense that all the mud will just be tracked back in. It was, but not to the extent that it was before. I seriously think you should be a little bit more realistic about a battle with dirt being waged within a desert environment. Maybe that’s just me.
The chaplain says I like to live in dirt and I reply with a smile, “Yes, I do. I grew up in the desert.” Yay, Arizona!
Lately, we’ve been holding prayer meetings every night at 2100 (9 p.m.) and have held a fairly stable group of members. The chaplain is trying to get 2000+ people to be praying specifically for our group over here. So, any of your prayers are well appreciated and desired. If you’re able to put it out to any of your churches and friends, please do.
The majority of what I’m writing about is mud and cleaning mud, but perhaps that’s for the good, as it means that we’re not too overly busy in these parts. The living conditions for most are quite bad. Roofs leak, holes in walls, etc. Bird flu is creeping around somewhere over here, so we’re advised not to touch birds, cats or any kind of animal that hasn’t been killed months ago, cooked, frozen, and shipped to our cooks. Sanitation here is horrible.
The re-enlistment guy has been on my back lately, but he knows I’m a lost cause. I find it funny because I’m the only chaplain assistant in our brigade that’s not re-enlisting.
Anyways, I apologize for the length of the letter, but hopefully it brought a smile to your face. I already can tell that it’s going to be a long year, and I continue to stand by my old statement (that I learned last deployment) that you shouldn’t live close to your supervisor. I’ve already sought my sanity counseling in nightly visits with my friends and whatnot. And perhaps soon – poetry will spring forth once again.
I pray that you all are doing good, and staying safe. Hopefully you’re enjoying good food and the company of others. I’ll be trying to do the same (minus the good food).
14 months and counting,
~ Jeff Reichelt