From Steve (have a Kleenex ready)

Greetings from a speck in the Philippine Sea. This will be my last letter from this speck as I'm leaving for another farther south soon. The tempo here has been like a metronome on crack and I've heard the Philippines, with all its volatility, will be no different. Much of what I will be doing there is secret but some things we just don't know yet. This makes for an exciting trip as we bounce around from place to place putting out fires and leading resistance forces against Abu Siaf and other terrorist organizations I had never heard of before. There are only 8 of us going and we will be split up into groups of two or three.

Elections started this week there and the terrorists have made it necessary for the Philippine government to heighten the threat level. This requires overtime from the military, and the advisers (us) who are attached. This should make the time fly by as I gain valuable experience.

I have already been given a lot of rope to run with as I am in charge of palletizing every one's equipment and everything involved in that. They also put me in charge of ordering any expendable items needed for the trip. I ended up boxing up $3000 worth of markers, tape, tacks, notebooks, etc. On top of all that, I am one of the two pay agents on the trip which means that tomorrow I go to the bank and draw lots of money and become the bank/banker for my little group. Its exciting to have someone trust me enough to give me all that responsibility. It's also a little scary. It will be more money than I have ever seen before, let alone carried with me! I will also be carrying my camera where ever I go so I'll do my best to let my pictures represent 1000 words so I don't have to type so much.

Today I went to the memorial service for SGM Bradly Conner. He was killed in Iraq on my birthday. My friend, Jason, was driving the vehicle they were in when it was hit and is in the hospital with non-life-threatening but ugly shrapnel wounds.

Though the chapel was packed with men in uniform, even standing up in the back, it was very quiet. The environment here at Torii station is generally laid back and talk of war is usually somewhat matter-of-fact and casual. In that chapel today, war jerked us back into reality turning our resolve into concrete. Most of us in the room knew who he was or knew him personally. It hit us all as hard as the shrapnel hit my friend.

These cowards are still as real and dangerous today as they were the day they flew the planes into the Twin Towers. Many people in Washington can't understand the kind of resolve it will take to overcome. Thank the Lord for a President who has the deep roots it takes to stand amid the ever changing fickleness of the Washington storm.

Emotional patriotism fades with the evening news or the protest down the street. True patriotism doesn't let emotion blur the focus of true victory no matter how far away or difficult. It is rooted in the deepest parts of your being, intertwined with the roots of a true faith in God and a love of family. Every one of us would have been on the next flight to Iraq if it were offered. It is every one's responsibility to have a determination to see the war in Iraq to a victorious resolution. Not only the soldiers. Please pray for his wife and 3 young kids.

I hope everyone has a good week. Be strong in your resolve! Your country and your God need that of you.