One of the MANY things that I miss......

Zac's goofiness, and sense of humor......I miss so much.
I hardly laugh anymore......Zac ALWAYS made me laugh. All I wanted on Christmas Eve, was a nice picture of my husband and a good one of us......Do you guys know how hard that was!?!? =) Little did I know, whoever was taking the picture was in on Zac's idea.....(hence why I was cropped out of all of them!!)

I know a few people out there that need a good laugh....I hope I helped! I definitely had a good one, while I was posting these! =)

Mission accomplished!!!!!

As I Sit and Cry

My good friend, and (soon-to-be cousin :)) Alisha, wrote this for me and Zac, in honor of us, how ever you want to say it......

She said, "I wrote what I felt that you feel. That inner wife is inside screaming, you need to quit hiding and quit saying that I am going to be tough. I know you are a very strong person, but sometimes you just have to let it all out and that is okay. It is really okay."

I can say I am strong
I can say that I won’t cry
But that day I had to let go
And say goodbye
Ripped my heart right in two
I cannot believe I will be without you
You make me whole, you make me one
You live in me; together look what we have accomplished
And done.

I promise I will hold you in my heart
Day in and day out and pray to God
They pull you out
Out of the depths of hell
You have to stand
But know, the brave like you
Will sit at God’s right hand
I don’t understand, I don’t know why
I ask God to help me as I sit and Cry.

Please don’t forget that I love you
I know our love will hold you strong
And as our little daughter sits in heaven
Holding you in her hands, just like you daddy,
Dream to hold her in your arms.

To Zac Hackett you are such a brave man
A kind heart and warm hand, you are willing to forgive
To fight for what is right. God will cherish you forever
So hold your head high and do not forget the ones back here who love you
And support you in whatever you do, Keep looking forward
It will come soon, you will be back home, your work will be through.

Alisha is marrying Zac's cousin Jake, in May. And I am in the wedding! :) So, cheers to my cousin-to-be!

Pictures from Fort Stewart

I was told about these pictures being online, so I thought I would share. They just show a wide range of things that are going on down there. Zac isnt necessarily doing all of them, since these pictures are of the 76th Brigade, and not just his specific unit.

Pictures: assisting to a casualty from a simulated attack drill.....

This is actually one of Zac's soldiers, Nakia Peterson, So I am sure that Zac was nearby! =)

I am positive that Zac is somewhere in the picture too. Its Company Team Fox, and the guy pointing is his boss, SFC Bennett.

Since Zac is a squad leader, he has a little extra perks, and privileges....This is similar to his sleeping arrangement....

.....And this is everyone else......yuck.


Now, I know that pics of guys that arnt Zac isnt as fun, but this just shows the kind of things that they ARNT allowed to do.....THEY HAVE TO EAT STANDING UP!!!!! What the heck!? Its to keep them from loitering for too long. I think this is ridiculous. Let them catch their breath for a minute. GEEZ!!! The little things that we all take for granted. These guys are so exhausted. Out of the 24 hours, they are busting their ass probably between 18-20 of those hours.


CSM Cox, who is in command of the entire 1-293rd

Training includes using actually Iraqis, and people role playing Iraqis....

Oooh, somebody got in trouble! Can you imagine doing push-ups with all of your gear on, and body armor!? Zac said said they got issued 4 more plates for their body armor, and they can hardly move.....

......Taking a break between tactical training and range firing.

Far left.....Zac's boss SFC Bennett.

I am hoping this was a picture of guys heading to bed.....but I highly doubt it. There are many nights that they get only 3 hours of sleep! =(

Zac's boss, that I have mentioned before, is actually heading to Iraq earlier than the other guys. And Zac is going to have to take his place for a while......which is in charge of 48 guys!! This means, even less sleep, and more busy than he is now. WOW Poor Zac. The way I look at it is, at least they think he can do it!!!! My husband is a bad ass! =)

Another update from Fort Stewart aka: "Hell"

Its hilarious how LTC Hadley makes it sound like they are all having a great time......Dont let him fool you. The guys are miserable. They have to eat standing up.....wear 60 lbs of body armor and gear all day long.......Zac said that prisoners have more freedom than they do. =( Not to mention the lack of sleep- and spending HOURS out at the range...... I worry about what Zac is eating, I know that the chow hall feeds them breakfast and dinner, and they have an MRE for lunch. But who knows how great the meals actually are coming from the chow hall. He is probably missing my cooking! (haha!)

Nightfighter Family,

It is Thursday evening, January 24 and I am waiting for our evening Update Brief, which we conduct every evening at 7:00 PM with all the company leadership.­ I just wanted to take a minute and let you know everything continues to go on schedule pretty much as planned.­ Last night myself and the seven company commanders had a productive 3 1/2 hour meeting with the training brigade in charge of of our validation and it went very well.­ I think they were surprised at how well our leadership at company level is tracking the training progress of each and every soldier within this battalion.­ I of course was not surprised, I know I am very fortunate to have the officers and NCOs that I have, it makes executing complex training plans like this one much easier.­

Feel free to connect into any of the FRGs I am sure any of them would welcome you with open arms.­ I want to thank all the volunteers that organize events, it is truly what makes things work back home for us.­

Just so everyone knows we are about 1-­2 weeks away from having our training pace really pick up.­ Many of our units will spend multiple days/nights in a row in the field as opposed to our barracks.­ This will of course limit communications home, but we will continue to keep everyone posted on progress.­ If emergencies arise contact your FRG or rear detachment who can pass messages on to us and we will ensure the message gets to them as quickly as we can.­

Continue to support your soldier and each other, we truly are all in this together working toward the same common goal.­ Which is a successful deployment and a safe return trip home for everyone.­

Proud to Serve

LTC Jerry Hadley
Nightfighter 6

Salute to my hubby

Today was super hard for me. I dont know why. I have been trying to be so strong....but thats just it, I put up a front for others, but today at work I just couldnt do it anymore. I broke down twice. And not just a tear or two, I am talking, hysterics, sobbing, couldnt catch my breath, tears just streaming down my face.

I know he is smart. He is VERY smart, and an amazing soldier.....but sometimes that isnt enough. And I cant fathom the life he is going to live over there. The heat, the sand.....I hope the wallet size pictures I sent him of us and me will bring him comfort. He can take them out of his body armour and look at them, and know he is loved so much....and not just by me.... but by everyone that has ever known him.

So, on a lighter note....here is a salute to my husband, my best friend, a wonderful father, a talented soldier and just an amazing person all around.

Please continute to keep him in your prayers. Do I even have to keep saying that anymore, is it just a given? =)

Update from 1-293rd

Nightfighter Family,

It is early Wednesday evening and I have spent the entire day checking on our soldiers out at the training sites, and I can tell you I am excited about what I am seeing.­ Three of our companies TM C, TM D TM F (A/113) are fully engaged in collective training and the soldiers are loving it.­ TM C and TM F have spent the last two days living out at another location.­ This training closely replicates what we will be doing while in Iraq.­ The training being provided by First Army is outstanding, every soldier and leader I spoke with the past two days have had positive feedback.­ TM D has started a three day training event that focuses on operations in a urban environment.­ All of our units now have their training set of vehicles and equipment and are moving themselves to their daily training events.­ In short all the hard work this battalion has done over the last 6 months is paying off, because we have truly hit the ground running.­ The living conditions here continue to get better every day.­ We had a couple days where the dining facility was working out a few bugs, but that is behind us.­ I have been to all the dining facilities our soldiers are eating at and they all are doing a fine job.­ The soldiers are served a hot breakfast and hot dinner every day, lunch is a MRE.­ There is a mobile PX on our base camp the soldiers can use as time is available, the hours have been limited to date but we are getting ready to extend them.­ We are still working internet conductivity issues, I am hopeful that within the next week there will be a "internet cafe" the soldiers can use doing their limited down time.­ I say limited down time because we are keeping them very busy and the time they do have off most of them are spending resting.­ I hope these updates are helpful, I will continue to keep you informed to the best of my ability.­ I appreciate all your support, we will continue to train hard and take care of each other.­

"Follow Us"
Nightfighter 6

From Georgia

Here are some parts of a letter recived from ourfamily website. Since this blog isnt secure, and I am not sure what info is too risky to post, I deleted places, and names. Just incase. =)

Nightfighter Family,

It is Sunday morning January 6th and all seven companies arrived here safely on the morning of the 4th and we have been very busy since we got off the buses.­ Everyone has a bed, a place to store their equipment, hot showers and hot food (2 times a day).­.­.­ what more could you want.­ The soldiers are working very hard to draw all their necessary training equipment sets and preparing for the upcoming training that lies ahead.­ The past six months we have focused on individual level training for the soldier, we now begin our collective level training at squad/platoon and company level.­ This is where we will really build our team and focus on the mission set we have been tasked to execute in theater.­ The trainers from 1st Army have put together a very aggressive plan that will keep all of us busy, but busy is good, it makes time go faster for everyone here.­ We are still working through some computer connectivity issues at company level so there probably will not be much email traffic from anyone for quite some time.­­ Thanks for the wonderful support from all the families at the RCA Dome it meant alot to the soldiers.­ I also want to thank all the FRG Members that helped pack the over 1,000 "Goodie Bags" for all of us! Those bags were really appreciated by everyone in the unit and came in handy on the long bus trip down here.­
I hope your new year is going well, we will take good care of each down here.­ We are going to stay focused and positive, everyone is going to train hard and go to bed tired.­


Best Wishes

January 2, 2008- RCA Dome

Before jumping into the Farewell Ceremony,

There is so much I want to say, but I dont know how. But first, I want to thank everyone that sent Zac a letter! He loved them all! He received letters, typed and hand written, cards, songs of hope burned to a CD, courage tokens, pins, I could just go on and on. But one in particular that he loved the most, (and he couldnt help but show me!) was some art work done by our nephew, Andrew who is 6 years old. It is a picture of Zac in his uniform, hat and all, carrying his gun and an American flag. It has Zac's name on it, mine (aka LaLa) and Drew. And it says, "I will miss you." He ask his mom yesterday (my sister), when they would be able to go see Uncle Zac in Iraq......he doesnt have a clue. Its so sweet and innocent. I told him a while ago that Zac will come home next time Santa Clause comes. That is the only way I know how to describe it to him. He remembers when Zac was in Mississippi for the hurricane relief, and he still mentions it. So he knows to an extent that Zac is doing "Army stuff." Andrew's little brother Xavier who is 4, just doesnt have a clue at all. But, here is the precious art work......

.....And some pictures from the day. In attendance was, Zac's mom and dad, my parents, my two sisters, brother in law and 3 nephews. I am not really smiling in any of them......I didnt have anything to be happy about. It was one of the hardest things to do, to say good- bye to my husband. My eyes were red from crying and my face was splotchy =(

Zac and his parents

I dont think the program turned out very well when I scanned it, so it may not be legible. There were 12 guest speakers....which I thought was alot, but they did keep them short. Some that you would all recognize.......Congressman Mark Souder, Senator Richard Lugar, and Governor Mitch Daniels ...... there were speeches also from Colonel Courtney Carr, and Major General Umbarger......and the President of the Indianapolis Colts! (kind of sad that he got the biggest applause! haha)

The 76th Brigade Combat Team starts to file in. (can you see where approximately 3,400 soldiers were behind the blue curtain?)

Where is Zac???

Wait, I think I see him!!!!

There he is!!!!! SSG Zachery Hackett!!!! Do you think he saw me? =)

My dad, and both sisters also took some pictures, so I may have some more to post.

Please keep Zac in your prayers. He needs to come home and get me pregnant! =)