Sunday, April 12, 2009

Kit's 33rd Birthday


Kit turned 33 on March 9th. This year he "celebrated" his birthday at Camp Striker, just outside Baghdad, Iraq. He managed to get through the day without any of his soldier buddies knowing it was his birthday, so he didn't have to do 33 push-ups for them. The "care package" we sent didn't make it there until a week later. 

Kit is a medic in his second tour of duty in Iraq. The first time he went, 2 years ago, he has in Ramadi, in the Anbar Province. He was assigned as medic for an army Cavalry reconnoissance unit that went out mostly at night. He earned his gold spurs with that group (a Cavalry honor) for a battle situation in Baghdad where his unit was surrounded in a house and pinned down until the Marines could rescue them. 

He then spent 14 months based in Baumholder, Germany. While there, he earned his silver spurs by surviving a grueling Spur Ride challenge (another Cavalry tradition--look it up).

This time in Iraq, he has mostly worked in medical clinics, though he spent three months with a supply convoy unit, and he helped guard a desert outpost tower for a few weeks. His current 14-month Iraq tour is almost over. He'll return to Germany to finish his 4 year commitment, then come home to Colorado in November. We are all eagerly awaiting that day. His plans are to go to college, work as an EMT, climb Colorado 14ers, and stay in Colorado the rest of his life.

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