Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Greetings, Hellraiser Family - Letter From Captain McGrue

It is so good to see Capt. McGrue is back in the swing of things after his injury and Purple Heart. He is a great commander and loved and respected by all. The Soldiers are in good hands!

3 November 2007

Greetings, Hellraiser Family,

My name is Captain Arthur L. McGrue III, and as of today, I am the commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company. I am truly honored to have this position bestowed upon me and I look forward to serving your loved ones.

I would also like to reintroduce my wife, Ursula, to you all. All of you should have had the opportunity to meet her either in person or telephonically. Ursula will serve as my Family Readiness Group (FRG) Leader, and we are energetic about the progress of our FRG. When I say our, I don’t mean Ursula and I, rather all Hellraiser family members. And Ursula and I need your continued support to strengthen our FRG and have it continue to grow. I have seen the progress already being made, and I want to both thank you and commend you for your participation in our FRG program.

In September I had the opportunity to meet some of you. I left with three questions that needed answering in my first letter. Unfortunately I cannot remember the third question, nor can I locate the email that I had the information written on, but here are the other two questions and answers now:

1) Will those Soldiers that took leave under emergency conditions before EML began be afforded the opportunity to take EML later?
A) Unfortunately not. Presently each Soldier is being afforded the opportunity to take EML based off of a certain amount of slots. Due to our company’s size, all of our slots are projected to be used. Therefore, there are presently no additional slots projected to enable a Soldier to depart the Iraqi Theater of Operations twice under leave conditions.

2) Will the unit return home early?
A) Presently we are not projected to return until our original return date, which is June 2008. There are no official words or statements that say we will return sooner. I ask that when the rumors begin regarding our return home, please do not allow yourself to get misled. I’m sure there are few things harder to take then to think a loved one is coming home early, only to return on the original date. I know the rumors will begin if they have not already, and I would not want any of you to get disappointed.

Again it is an honor to have this privilege to serve you and your loved ones, and Ursula and I look forward to a well-built and strong relationship with all Hellraisers.


Take care and God bless,




Captain McGrue
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Respectfully,

Captain Arthur L. McGrue III

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