Holiday cheer warms ‘Cold Steel’

By 1st Lt. Patrick Stallings
3rd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. PAO


MUQDADIYAH — On an early Friday morning, Pfc. Jesse Gonzalez prepared his truck at Forward Operating Base Normandy to go out on patrol, and even though he was about to spend the next several hours in harm’s way, he couldn’t help but smile before he left.

“Fridays and Mondays are the best,” said Gonzalez, Troop C, 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

“We get back from patrol and get to dig through the packages that friends and family send, read the letters they write and share a few laughs about the patrol,” said Gonzalez, a Beaver Dam, Wis. native.

“It’s amazing what mail can do for a Soldier,” said 1st Sgt. Walter Sims, who is responsible for the well-being and morale of the Troop C “Cold Steel” Soldiers. “When you come back from a tough mission, it can just turn your day around to find a package with your name on it.”

The Army mail network manages to push an enormous amount of care and concern packages every week. Soldiers receive care packages and letters from friends, family, and even strangers who want to support them.

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(Photo: Photo: An Iraqi boy holds up a notebook he received from Soldiers of the 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. After realizing the need for school supplies in the local area, the Soldiers’ families sent supplies to be delivered throughout the Diyala province’s schools.)