Sgt. 1st Class Kenya Berry, from Milledgeville, Ga., Headquarters Company, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, makes a recording of herself reading to her son Nov. 26 at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq.By Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – With their deployment reaching its ninth month, Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team have been away from their children for some of the most cherished times. However, with the help of a video camera and the U.S. mail service, Soldiers now have the opportunity to be actively involved in their children’s lives.
According to Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Witt, from Pierce City, Mo., chaplain’s assistant for the 3rd BCT, Soldiers are able to sit in front of a video camera, record messages to their children and send the messages back home to the U.S.
“This is a way for Soldiers to keep in touch with their families,” Witt said.
Witt explained the project helps children recognize their parents and loved ones through video clips. He also emphasized it helps boost Soldiers’ morale.
“It makes me feel closer to my son while I’m over here,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kenya Berry, from Milledgeville, Ga., Headquarters Company, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion.
Witt was inspired by a similar program at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, where the unit spent approximately three weeks before deploying to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom V.
At Camp Buehring, Witt made a video of himself reading a children’s book for his twin 19-month-old daughters and thought it would be a good idea for 3rd BCT Soldiers when they arrived at their permanent forward operating bases, combat outposts and patrol bases.
Approximately six months later, Witt said he gathered all the necessary equipment and, with the battalion chaplain assistants of the 3rd HBCT, started the program. The program currently has more than 300 participants.
Pfc. Courtney Stephens, from Jacksonville, Fla., the chaplain assistant for the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, said Soldiers from her unit read books, sing songs, show pictures, and teach lessons to their children through the project.
“Some people get on camera and hold up letter cards and number cards and teach their kids colors and stuff like that,” Stephens said. “It’s a great way for these parents to be involved with their children’s education.”
Witt said the program will help in the reintegration process when the 3rd BCT Soldiers return home. The children will recognize their parents’ faces instead of just hearing their voices through phone calls.
Stephens remembers one active participant explaining the difference between his first redeployment in 2005, and his return home for his 18-day environmental morale leave during 2007.
“One Soldier told me when he came home the first time he was over here, his daughter looked at him, kind of turned her head, then ran back to her mother,” Stephens recalls. “When he went home on leave this time, he said his daughter ran up to him and was excited to see him.”
Stephens explained some spouses and families back in the U.S. have specific times they play the tapes for their children.
“Some families play the videos before the kids go to bed,” she said. “Some play them when the kids wake up or before school. The Soldiers come in about once a week to make a new video so the kids don’t see the same one over and over again.”
Berry sends learning videos home to her 4-year-old son Christian.
“I read books, sing songs, teach colors and numbers,” she said. “He gets really interactive with the video. My family tells me he talks to the TV. He says things like ‘mommy wait, go back,’ like I’m really there reading to him.”
She will be going on leave soon and said she is preparing her son for her return.
Soldiers who are interested in recording messages and sending them home to their children and young loved ones should contact their battalion chaplain assistants.
The 3rd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., has been deployed in support of operation Iraqi Freedom V since March.
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – With their deployment reaching its ninth month, Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team have been away from their children for some of the most cherished times. However, with the help of a video camera and the U.S. mail service, Soldiers now have the opportunity to be actively involved in their children’s lives.
According to Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Witt, from Pierce City, Mo., chaplain’s assistant for the 3rd BCT, Soldiers are able to sit in front of a video camera, record messages to their children and send the messages back home to the U.S.
“This is a way for Soldiers to keep in touch with their families,” Witt said.
Witt explained the project helps children recognize their parents and loved ones through video clips. He also emphasized it helps boost Soldiers’ morale.
“It makes me feel closer to my son while I’m over here,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kenya Berry, from Milledgeville, Ga., Headquarters Company, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion.
Witt was inspired by a similar program at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, where the unit spent approximately three weeks before deploying to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom V.
At Camp Buehring, Witt made a video of himself reading a children’s book for his twin 19-month-old daughters and thought it would be a good idea for 3rd BCT Soldiers when they arrived at their permanent forward operating bases, combat outposts and patrol bases.
Approximately six months later, Witt said he gathered all the necessary equipment and, with the battalion chaplain assistants of the 3rd HBCT, started the program. The program currently has more than 300 participants.
Pfc. Courtney Stephens, from Jacksonville, Fla., the chaplain assistant for the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, said Soldiers from her unit read books, sing songs, show pictures, and teach lessons to their children through the project.
“Some people get on camera and hold up letter cards and number cards and teach their kids colors and stuff like that,” Stephens said. “It’s a great way for these parents to be involved with their children’s education.”
Witt said the program will help in the reintegration process when the 3rd BCT Soldiers return home. The children will recognize their parents’ faces instead of just hearing their voices through phone calls.
Stephens remembers one active participant explaining the difference between his first redeployment in 2005, and his return home for his 18-day environmental morale leave during 2007.
“One Soldier told me when he came home the first time he was over here, his daughter looked at him, kind of turned her head, then ran back to her mother,” Stephens recalls. “When he went home on leave this time, he said his daughter ran up to him and was excited to see him.”
Stephens explained some spouses and families back in the U.S. have specific times they play the tapes for their children.
“Some families play the videos before the kids go to bed,” she said. “Some play them when the kids wake up or before school. The Soldiers come in about once a week to make a new video so the kids don’t see the same one over and over again.”
Berry sends learning videos home to her 4-year-old son Christian.
“I read books, sing songs, teach colors and numbers,” she said. “He gets really interactive with the video. My family tells me he talks to the TV. He says things like ‘mommy wait, go back,’ like I’m really there reading to him.”
She will be going on leave soon and said she is preparing her son for her return.
Soldiers who are interested in recording messages and sending them home to their children and young loved ones should contact their battalion chaplain assistants.
The 3rd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga., has been deployed in support of operation Iraqi Freedom V since March.
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