2009-11-13

Iraq Diaries: Back from Iraq

Sergeant Matt Nedrow of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade recently returned from Iraq. He talks about what it’s like to be home.

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The military describes the reintegration process

Additional support for vets is available from NGOs

A state grant is helping returning vets get jobs in PA

2009-09-14

Bradford Homecoming

More soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard came home yesterday, after a tour of duty in Iraq. WPSU’s Cynthia Berger was there when friends and family welcomed soldiers home to Bradford and Ridgway, and collected this impression.

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The Bradford Era reports on the homecoming

. . . and the Ridgway Record, too

Watch a slideshow of photos from the Bradford Homecoming.

2009-09-02

Homecoming

Small groups of soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker are returning to their Central Pennsylvania hometowns this week. WPSU’s Cynthia Berger was in Bellefonte yesterday for one reunion.

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Altoona soldiers come home

Bellefonte soliders return home

Watch a slideshow of photos from the Bellefonte homecoming

2009-08-27

Protecting the Lawmakers

For six years, the world has watched Iraq's fledgling Democratic government struggle to take shape. Soldiers in the Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade are getting a first-hand look at that process as they provide security for regional lawmakers. Scott Detrow, of member station WITF, was in Iraq recently and rode along with the soldiers in the security detail.

2009-08-12

Audio Diaries: Ready to Return

This recording includes two late-night diary entries from platoon sergeant Matt Nedrow, a Bellefonte resident; the first was recorded in March, when he was a bit more than halfway his one-year tour of duty . . . and a little bit homesick. The second entry was recorded in July, when the end of the mission had started to seem like a reality.

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PA’s Stryker Brigade is getting ready to come home

2009-08-11

Audio Diaries: Living Out of a Dufflebag

In the past 7 months, Sgt. Jason Burrowes has lived in more places than he can count. He says, soliders have a knack for making any place a home.

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Visit the “Stryker Brigade News” website

2009-08-05

Audio Diaries: Nasser Wa’ Salaam

Sgt. Matt Nedrow of Bellefonte describes the terrain and the people of Nasser Wa’ Salaam, the small town near Baghdad that lends its name to a military Joint Service Station

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More about the training of Iraqi law enforcement

A journalist’s blog about patrolling in Nasser Wa’ Salaam

A military project in Nasser Wa Salaam

2009-08-04

Audio Diaries: Living in Iraq

The 2nd 112th Infantry is based out of Camp Liberty Iraq—that’s part of the large “Victory Base” Complex, at the border of the Green Zone. That’s the official address. But for about two months, earlier this year, some of the men were stationed at a smaller facility. Platoon Sergeant Matt Nedrow describes his unit’s temporary home, and the men’s mission.

2009-07-31

Military Service Station

This month, Scott Detrow of member station WITF in Harrisburg is on assignment in Iraq. Today’s story about Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade looks at the small military bases called "joint service stations." These bases need fuel, water and food -- and it's the 328th Brigade Support Battalion's job to get those supplies there. . . .

2009-07-30

CharlieMed

This month, Scott Detrow of member station WITF in Harrisburg is on assignment in Iraq, reporting on the members of The Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade. Soldiers who are injured or sick at Camp Taji make their way to a squat building nicknamed, “Charlie Med.” Detrow paid a visit on a slow night...

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The Patriot-News reports on the Stryker Brigade

2009-07-24

Impact of War: The Challenges of Communication in Iraq

Communicating and cooperating with the Iraqi Army is one of the main challenges members of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56h Stryker Brigade are facing during deployment. As part of our ongoing "Impact of War" series, Scott Detrow -- of member station WITF -- goes along with a platoon as it searches for buried weapons with Iraqi soldiers.

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Listen to Other “Impact of War” Stories

Visit the WITF Website for Stories, Blog Entries & Tweets from Scott Detrow in Iraq

2009-07-21

Interview with the Brigade Commander

The Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade is a bit more than two-thirds of the way through a nine-month tour in Iraq. As part of WPSU's ongoing "Impact of War" series, member station WITF’s Scott Detrow recently sat down with the unit's commander, Colonel Marc Ferraro, at the unit's headquarters at Camp Taji.

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Find More WPSU “Impact of War” Stories

Follow WITF’s Scott Detrow as He Reports from Iraq

2009-06-10

Hostile Training

There's “Microsoft Office for Dummies.” There’s “Gardening for Dummies.” But there’s NO book called, "War Zone Reporting for Dummies." Meanwhile, reporter Scott Detrow--from NPR member station WITF--is about to go to Iraq . . . to report on troops from the Pennsylvania National Guard who are stationed there. In this segment of WPSU’s "Impact of War" series, Detrow describes the week-long training course, held recently in Georgia, that helped him prepare to report from a war zone.

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About the training course that prepares reporters for war zones

2009-03-12

Audio Diary: To Kuwait

For the past year, in the run up to deployment, three soldiers the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade have been recording their experiences, to share with you. In today’s audio diary installment, you hear from platoon sergeant Matt Nedrow, who documented the flight overseas. The destination is Kuwait—the last stop before Iraq. The plane takes the northern route, and makes several stops along the way.

2009-03-11

Audio Diary: Back at the Gap

Four thousand members of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade are now on patrol in Tajii, north of Baghdad. Three soldiers have been recording their experiences, to share with the listeners of WPSU. This week you hear from platoon sergeant Matt Nedrow and Sergeant Jason Burrowes, in “audio diary” entries created before the deployment. The soliders had a few days home at Christmas. Then, they went “back to the gap”—Fort Indiantown Gap, near Harrisburg. There, they made some final preparations before deployment. In this entry they reflect on their time at home with loved ones, and the mission ahead.