West Point Class of 1989

I recieved this picture from Greg Gadson last month of him and James Raymer, both in their battalion commands in Iraq.  I thought it would be a good idea to start "profiles" on some of our classmates so that we can catch up on what everyone is up to.  James and Greg both sent their official bios which I’ve used to write the following.  [Note:  Greg was seriously injured by an IED o/a 7 May 2007.  Please keep him and his family in your prayers.]

LTC Greg Gadson:  Greg has commanded the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (Fort Riley) since August 2005.  Greg is married to the former Kimberly Thomas (I2) ’89 of Lee’s Summit, Missouri and they have two children.  Previous assignments include:

• Platoon Fire Direction Officer, Firing Battery Platoon Leader (Desert Shield/Desert Storm) and Battalion Fire Direction Officer for 5th Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, III Corps Artillery at Fort Sill
• Division Targeting Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 82nd Airborne Division Artillery, Battalion Adjutant, 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, Battalion Fire Support Officer, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Commander, Battery C, 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, and Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd Airborne Division for the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg
• Personnel Distribution Officer, Human Resources Command, in Alexandria, Virginia
• Special Assistant to the Commanding General, United States Army Pacific at Fort Shafter
• Chief of Operations, Multinational Division North, Bosnia-Herzegovina, (Stabilization Force XI), 25th Infantry Division (Light), Battalion Operations Officer, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, Operations Officer, 25th Infantry Division, Executive Officer, 25th Infantry Division Artillery, Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom V) at Schofield Barracks

• Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth

• Platoon leader, company executive officer, and Battalion S-4 in the 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks
• Assistant Battalion S-3, Company Commander, and Battalion Maintenance Officer, 37th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg
• Olmsted Scholar, San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
• G-3 Plans Officer, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Red Cloud, Republic of Korea
• Battalion Operations Officer, 44th Engineer Battalion, Camp Howze, Republic of Korea , Camp Ar Ramadi, Iraq, and Fort Carson

• Two (2) Master of Military Arts and Science degrees from the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth
• Joint Forces Staff College
• School of Advanced Military Studies
• Army Command and General Staff College
• Defense Language Institute,
• Infantry Officer Advanced Course
• Engineer Officer Basic Course. 
• Registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti with 37th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade (SEP-NOV 1994)
• Operation IRAQI FREEDOM with 44th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in Ar Ramadi (AUG 2004 – JUL 2005)
• Operation IRAQI FREEDOM with 20th Engineer Battalion, 1169th Engineer Group, 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad (NOV 2004 – present)

————————————-

Tom,

There is a local Iraqi District Council member who has dedicated much of her time to locating and assisting the refugee families who have fled to our area from all over Iraq. This area is a little safer than most, so we have several hundred of these families here — Sunni, Shia, whatever. They often arrive here with little besides their clothing, a few small suitcases, and a carload of children. Jamilia, the council member, invited many of these families to a local government office that was secured by Iraqi Police for the purpose of giving out food and water. And she invited us too. So, we loaded up one of our trailers with many of the clothes, shoes, stuffed animals and school supplies that you and your friends have sent us. There were hundreds of Iraqis there with their families. We pulled up and opened the trailer, and you would have thought we were giving out gold bars. Hundreds of them gathered around us to get whatever we had to offer. And they were grateful. I saw li ttle kids holding stuffed animals bigger than they were. I saw families helping their children try on the new clothing and shoes.

We have not thanked you and your friends for sending us these things. We have been busy here and there are never enough hours in the day. Please thank them for me. It was a great event and a great day, and all the boxes of gifts that you guys sent us made a big difference.

I was only able to take a few pictures, but here is a picture of SGT Plows giving a stuffed animal to a tiny little person. It is a cute picture, and very meaningful in this environment. As you know, many of the Iraqis are fed lies about us by the insurgents and radical Imams and those who want us to fail here. They are told that we are oppressors and infidels. And, unfortunately, many Iraqis believe the lies because they don’t get to interact with us and find out the truth. On that day, with the hundreds of refugee families, they got to see us for who we really are.

Thank You,
Bill

—————————–

Patricia Anslow (C3) ’89, commander of the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 875th Engineer Battalion, was promoted to the rank of colonel on Thursday, 22 March.  Anslow currently commands the 500-man battalion, which is six months into a yearlong deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Congratulations, Patricia!  Read the entire article in the Jonesboro Sun.

Tom Deierlein (C1) ’89 is still recovering from a serious hip injury sustained by a sniper round in Iraq.  His spirits are high, though, during his recovery as this video on Fox NY news shows.  As always, Tom is making us proud.

Nate Lamar (A3) ’89 won one of four district seats (three at-large seats are elected in Presidential years) on the Henry County Council (a county legislature in Indiana) with 62% of the vote and won all precincts in the district.  He says:

I didn’t realize this until yesterday when I finally crunched all the numbers (a little difficult for us HPA types!), but I’m thankful that I also "led the ticket," garnering the highest percentage of votes of any Republican candidate with major party opposition in my county.  The 89 year-old female dairy farmer incumbent finally decided to retire, so this resulted in the open seat for which I ran for a four year term in this rural district.

Congratulations, Nate! 

Tom is being transported to the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital via Germany.  We are expecting him in the US by the Weekend.  He was shot in the left hip Saturday Morning and has since had at least one surgery.  He is expected to go through 4-6 months of recovery and will no doubt be in touch with everyone via email shortly. 

His Family and I are doing fine and will be joining him as soon as the doctor will allow us to.  He will be coming home for good and is finished with his tour.

He still took a moment to remember Sept 11th also sends his "Best Wishes" to everyone.  I will send out more updates as I receive them.

~Hiwot

Thank you everyone for well-wishes and prayers! 
  
Tom is on his way to Walter Reed Army Hospital today, Fri the15th.  He is expected to arrive sometime after Midnight.  His pelvis was shattered from the gunshot and will have to be reconstructed by an Orthopedic Surgeon.  This is expected to take 4 -6 months of rehab at a minimum.  
 
He is still in a lot of pain but is getting good meds.  Depending on his next surgery, he might be able to take visitors as early as next weekend, Sep 22nd.  No doubt, an email to follow with directions and visiting hours will follow shortly.  He’ll still be a little uncomfortable and cranky (His words) so we’ll have to take his visits slowly in the beginning.  
 
I’ve spoken with him regularly and have relayed your messages.  Dynamic Logic has been kind enough to create a very thoughtful website to consolidate a lot of the well-wishes.  I will continue to check my email daily as well.   The website is:

www.dynamiclogic.com/tom
 
Thank you again for your Love and Support.  It really means a lot to all of us, including our Families.  Many of you have asked about an address to send cards.  I will include the address in the next email after we are sure that Tom will remain at Walter Reed.  There is still a slight possibility that the Army may move him to a different hospital to recover.

All, once again, we can’t thank you enough for all of your prayers, well-wishes, and support.  Tom looks better as the days pass.  He’s been at Walter Reed for a week now and most of the tests, diagnoses, prognoses are complete.  Tom’s left rear pelvis, most of his Sacrum, and right rear pelvis were shattered by the tumbling round that pierced him. (7.62mm caliber)

The most important thing for him, is to start his 3 months rehabilitation that entails a non-weight bearing restriction on his pelvis.  Basically, he will be confined to a bed and reclining wheelchair while we wait and see how much his body will heal itself.  Early to mid-next week, he is planning on heading down to one of the top spinal cord injury rehabilitation centers in the VA system for his injury that is located in Tampa Bay Florida, Home of Special Operations Command. 

He has a continued positive attitude about the future, however, there is very little that the doctors can tell him until he recovers and heals over the next 3 months. 

For those of you that are close by and are interested in visiting him at the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, he is now up for short visits of 10 to 20 minutes.  Many visits may be interrupted by doctor rounds or therapy.  He has switched rooms to room #5861.  You can also simply call him on his Temporary Cell phone number of (703) 655-0162.  We are still waiting for his belongings to return from Iraq and then his old cell phone of (917) 287-5961 will be valid. 

Walter Reed Medical Center

6900 Georgia Ave

Main Hospital, Ward 58, Room 5861

Washington, DC

The best hours are: 12pm-3:30 and 5pm-9pm.  Feel free to contact me at (212) 729-1781 and I will be able to let you know how he is feeling for the day as far as visiting goes.  He has a single room and it can get a little cramped. 

We are still not exactly certain that Tampa will be his next stop for Rehab, but there is a high chance.  Once we are settled in to Tampa, and have an idea of his new rehab schedule, Tom will definitely love to have visitors to help alleviate the boredom of 3 month’s bed rest as well as personally say "Thank you" for everyone’s support.  While he would really like to have visitors in Walter Reed, he is mostly interested in visitors in Tampa.

Thank you again for all of the emails.  We have been without Internet for the past week and are now re-connected thanks to Dynamic Logic.  If anyone has further questions, don’t hesitate to call or email me.

Heartfelt Thanks,

~Hiwot