Soccer Balls and Camels

Today we got to go out and hand out soccer balls to the local kids. The kids here LOVE to play soccer and this is their biggest request when the Soldiers go visit them. It was nice to see how happy they got when we were able to deliver something they really wanted. Their happiness is very sweet, I think we might get a little taste of what Santa feels like when he delivers toys to all the children in the world.

Oh, we also got up close to some camels, that was a little weird. We were nervous but I think the camels were nervous too, the first one ran away from us.

Beanie Babies for Our Troops

We'd like to give a shout out to our pal Michael who is doing a great thing to support his dad (our friend SFC Albrecht). Read below and see if you can help!

Michael is working on one of his service projects to get to his next rank in Boy Scouts and we need YOUR help. A couple months back Kevin was telling him about a box of Beanie Babies that he received to hand out to the kids in his area. One of Kevin's missions is to go out and meet with the local Iraqi's in the area. The children in the small town they are near have nothing. Michael thought this would be a great way to reach out and show charity.

The organization we are going through is called Beanie Baby Ambassador Program.

As Michael was doing some research, this part in the About Us section stood out to him...

"I grew up in Germany after World War II.The years after the war were not years of plenty in Europe. As children we rarely had chocolates. but whenever NATO troops (American troops in our area) exercised their yearly maneuvers, my sister and I invariably were showered with candies and other rare treats by these camouflaged strangers. Big smiles underlined their kindness. We didn't need language. "

Michael feels that he can support his dad and the Soldiers he serves with by doing this project. If you are interested in donating beanie babies (doesn't have to be Ty brand or new, just be sure they are clean and in good shape), leave a message with your contact info (we moderate comments so no one will see it) and we can send you our address. Thanks for your support!

Commo Checks

Hey everyone! Today we got to hang out with our communications friend SPC C! He let us help him do commo checks.
"Spartan 6, this is Stanley 2, prepare to receive.""Spartan 6, this is G.I. Stanley, communications are green, out"

Warm Blankets!

Wow, we got some nice blankets in the mail today. Usually we get to go help the PSD Platoon go out and give things away to the local Bedouins but these blankets were for the Soldiers here. SFC Albrecht's good friend Lisa, her mom and friend Debbie helped make a bunch and these were some of them. We didn't want to give up this blue one but the Soldiers would enjoy them more!

GI Stanley Out!

Office Time and Patrolling

Hey! We haven't been around for a while but we are still hanging out, here's our latest update!

Here is SFC Albrecht welcoming in the Stanleys for some office work to start off the day.Oh wait, we cant' start off the day without a healthy breakfast. We had a yummy sausage sandwich, fruit and water and Gatorade. Army life isn't all about guns and bad guys, there's paperwork that needs to get done and thank goodness we have computers to type it up on!We even each have our own computers, how is that for luxury!After a few hours of office work, we joined SFC Albrecht and his platoon to do some patrolling the area. We helped scan sector for a bit.Here's a pretty neat landmark we had a chance to stop at for a bit...pretty nice and a good history lesson for us! (Look up city of Ur if you are wondering what that is behind us!)

"GI Stanley Out"

Blanket Mission

The Stanleys were invited to go out on a mission that would involve handing out blankets to the local Bedouins. They were very excited, they had to enjoy the luxury of their favorite blanket for a moment before heading out.
Here they are getting ready to get in the vehicle.
"Wow, it's kind of high up here!"
"Wow, what a cool guy, think he'll let us drive?"
Checking out the goods, "These blankets look comfy!"
"We have the best seat in the vehicle...unless we stop suddenly!"
"Oh wow, these kids are great! We love making new friends!"
"This is our best buddy, SFC A, he likes these kids a lot too, we can see why!"

Until Next Time,

GI Stanley Out!

The Stanleys In Iraq

Well the Stanley's have been going through some intense training and briefings to ensure they are prepared for their time in Iraq. They have been MIA for a while, I thought they might have gone AWOL, but pictures have been found and it seems they have just been enjoying Kev's comfy blanket and pillow that was sent from home.

Iraq Bound

Well finally after a month or so, the Stanley's are headed out. We thought we'd make the most of their trip over there and send them with some goodies for the Soldiers. Hopefully they won't eat all the yummy snacks on their way over.

Stanley Misses Movement

Well on June 10th, when we bid farewell to Kevin, we didn't notice that the Stanleys missed movement. While we were all hustling to get Kevin to the manifest area, we forgot to wake them up. They will now be travling aboard the Priority C-130 and meeting up with Kevin and the rest of the team once they get settled with an address.

The Stanleys will be performing extra duty with the boys while he waits to join his team.

G.I. Stanley prepares to deploy

Well, we had all the Soldiers over for lunch before they all deployed. We thought it would be important for them to meet their new teammates. This is the team the Stanleys will be working with in Iraq.

G.I. Stanley Tours Fort Hood

Introduction!

Hi, I'm G.I. Stanley. This blog originally chronicled my adventures through a 15 month tour to Iraq with my friend Kevin. This project has been rolling around in Nadine's head for a while but it took our Minnesota friends to get us moving. They asked us to be part of their son's Flat Stanley project. We jumped at the opportunity to give our Stanley's a tour of Fort Hood. We chose to create two Stanley, a G.I. Stanley and Boy Scout Stanley as we feel both represent us well.

Upon finishing our tour, we thought his would be a great project to continue as Kevin heads to Iraq. We wondered why kinds of things the Stanley's could see and what adventures they might have.

Upon Kevin's return from Iraq in 2009, G.I. Stanley and the Albrecht Squad enjoyed three years of time together as a family without too many lengthy separations.

Kevin was recently sent to Korea for a one-year unaccompanied tour while his family stayed behind in Missouri.  We are excited to see what types of adventures G.I. Stanley will have in the beautiful country of Korea!

This blog will be where we post pics and adventures (abiding by OPSEC rules of course!).

So that is how this blog came to be! Pictures will be posted soon!