It was mentioned to me recently by someone that they didn't realize we still had soldiers deployed from the Wadena unit. We do actually have 13 deployed, and there are several more from the local area that are deployed with other units. So I thought maybe I could take this opportunity to let people know about our locally deployed soldiers.
When our 48 Wadena National Guard soldiers were deployed, we were all extremely fortunate in having CPT Mike "Paz" Pazdernik, who took time out of his very busy schedule to send us weekly updates on how things were going over in Iraq. Our currently deployed guys are in Iraq with three different units, and we don't get that communciation anymore. We do hear from the soldiers and family members frequently and at our Family Readiness Group (FRG) meetings. The soldiers are doing fine, and complaining about normal soldier complaints like the food and the heat (currently 115-116 degrees).
Our Family Readiness Group continues doing fund-raisers to send care packages and calling cards to our soldiers. An example is our upcoming Third Annual Honor ride on Aug. 26 in conjunction with the Wadena VFW. We will be raising funds for those things, postage, etc. We also have four more from our local Wadena unit that will be deploying in a few months, and the soldiers love care packages and calling cards, and so we will still be raising funds. We also take care of the families by keeping in regular contact with them.
If you have a friend who has a soldier deployed, offer to baby-sit her children for a few hours and give her a break! If you want to help a deployed soldier, stop at his unit's armory -- they will find a need or want from a soldier and the FRG. And keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.
Karla Richardson
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Verndale
Family Readiness Group
