Posted on 07/16/2007 8:21:16 PM PDT by SandRat
TIKRIT, Iraq, July 16, 2007 — The first thing Command Sgt. Maj. Guy Boschee does when he wakes up every morning in his hooch in Iraq is give thanks. The first thing his daughter, Spc. Hope Boschee, does every morning when she wakes up in her tent in Afghanistan is give thanks.
“I think about all the good memories I hold dear to my heart, and thank the Lord for giving me a great family, and another beautiful day on Earth,” Guy said.
Hope is thankful for her family and her father. “Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” she said.
The father and daughter oldiers are members of the North Dakota Army National Guard. They call Eureka, S.D. their home. Both volunteered to deploy with units that needed additional soldiers and specific military occupation specialties.
They attended weekend drills together October and November 2006 before deploying to their respective corners of the Middle East for one-year tours.
Hope arrived at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, shortly after the 2007 New Year as a camera operator with the 1/188th Air Defense Artillery.
Guy followed in April, with the 34th Engineer Brigade, as command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region North district, in Tikrit, Iraq.
“My dad told me he was volunteering to go with a unit because he wanted us to do our tours at the same time to make it easier on our family,” Hope said who encourages her three sisters at home to stay strong, “and believe in Dad and me. We’ll be home in no time!”
For two and one-half years, Guy was the command sergeant major for the 1/188th ADA — his daughter’s current unit. He has seen the unit go through three different deployments to Afghanistan.
“The leadership in that unit is seasoned for the type of mission they have,” he said. “The commander and first sergeant are caring and they want what is best for the unit and the soldiers. I have the most confidence in the unit, and I know Hope has some of the best leadership the Army has to offer.”
But it’s her dad Hope looks to for guidance. “My father has always taught me to work hard, and to take the days as they come. That life is too short to get upset. I look up to him. We’ve had disagreements but managed to keep our strong bond, and we’ve become even closer since I joined the military and since we’ve both been deployed. I don’t know what I would do without my dad’s guidance in my life.”
The two Boschees do not expect to see each other while in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Travel is limited and must be mission essential. They stay close to each other through weekly e-mails and try to talk on the phone twice a month.
Hope said she misses her dad and can’t wait for him to step off that plane a few months after she gets home next January. “I’m proud of him and his accomplishments in life and in the military,” Hope said, adding, “He may seem like a tough command sergeant major but really he has a very soft heart and is very understanding. And, sometimes he’s a goofball!”
“We’ve all made sacrifices (for this mission), but to our communities and businesses, thank you for giving us and our families your total support,” Boschee said. “As military personnel, we will come back better people than when we left, and we know you’ll welcome us home with open arms.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Guy Boschee poses for a photo with his daughter, Spc. Hope Boschee. He is deployed to Iraq and she is in Afghanistan with units from the North Dakota Army National Guard. Guy is the command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North district and Hope is a camera operator with the 1/188th Air Defense Artillery. Both soldiers are deployed for a one-year tour. U.S. Army photo
Praise GOD for such Americans!
What’s so great about America?
You might have seen this already. In case you didn’t, I didn’t want you to miss it.
I too give thanks. My eternal thanks to God for giving our country such patriots.
I didn’t....
Thanks for the ping!!!!
You see, there is some good news afterall!...Gods speed for their safety...
Thanks to the Boschee family!
I feel for their wife/mother.
I had a husband and a son in Desert Storm.
Worrisome times, but incredibly proud of them, too.
This closing sentiment can't be repeated often enough. Bless them.
.
ping
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