There was an air of quiet excitement in the bus as we headed toward Comanche. I spent most of the time speaking with Mrs. Hallilogic about our library project, which lead to other discussions. I reiterated our plan to donate the library in memory of SPC Doerflein's daughter, Rhianon Thomas, who passed away shortly after birth. That story prompted her to tell me about her 15-year-old son who died during their war with Serbia. He was sick and couldn't get the much-needed medicine. Soldiers blocked the roads to their town and medical supplies were low. Well, how does one respond to such a story?

Our first stop on Comanche was the Task Force Conference Room. When we stepped off the bus we were met by Major Delaney, SGT DelaPina, SGT McCroy, and CPT Bresser (SFOR 11 Blackhawk Cdr.). The battalion staff had hot cocoa ready for the children. After settling down for a bit LTC Kelly welcomed the group and introduced the staff. The students presented gifts to LTC Kelly (large cross-stitch), Major Delaney (handmade lace), and me (Bosnian coffee set).

Next stop was to see the M-1 tank and M-2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The soldier who did this were great. The children were allowed to crawl all over the troop carrier and spin the turret. Once the children got off the vehicles the tank driver gave a little demo and then drove off. He had the children ask a question and then he moved the tube as if the tank were shaking yes or no in response.

Next on the agenda was lunch. Major D escorted the children to the dining facility while I checked on the pizzas. All the escorts were very helpful attending to the children's needs. They were waited on hand and foot. A couple of our folks from TF Pegasus joined us while we ate to include LTC Kelly.

After lunch we made our way down to the aircraft. The P troop folks had a crew standing by to talk about the aircraft and the mission and to answer questions. Of course, everyone wanted to sit in the cockpit. Many pictures were taken. We moved over to the Blackhawks. Naturally the larger aircraft allowed for a greater amount of exploring.

I used some humanitarian funds to purchase a Polaroid camera. With it I took pictures of every child while they sat in the cockpit with a flight helmet on. I simply wanted each child to have something to take home as a souvenir of the trip. This small gesture was a huge hit. In addition I took group shots at each stop. The teachers got those pictures.

While we were in the hanger, SGT Marotta had a great idea. We had a huge shipment of toys, sent by the Family Support Group, in boxes in the hanger. He let each children go to the boxes to pick out one toy. That exercise got a lot of smiles. A few young boys picked out fire trucks. That was interesting since our next stop was the fire department.

As expected the fire fighters put on a great show. They gave a quick tour of the fire station and the vehicles. Then they sounded the fire alarm and showed how quickly they could get dressed and get their equipment ready. They rolled out a hose and sprayed it down the street. Finally, they got in the vehicle and demonstrated how the truck mounted hoses worked. Even I found this very entertaining. It was especially interesting for our visitors because most of the firemen were Bosnians.

Now it was time to leave. We boarded the bus and departed Comanche. Along the way we dropped off teachers as close to their homes as possible. When we reached the school the teachers invited us in for coffee. We stayed for about an hour, enjoying Java and having many interesting discussions. Finally we closed out a busy and fun-filled day.