Lead the Change

Response to some Iraq Questions

2007-05-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if there were more questions but these are the only ones I was able to download. I hope you enjoy learning a little bit about the Army and Iraq. -SGT Morgan

Is it easy to sleep with the war going on?

Where I live in Iraq we don’t hear a lot of bombs and gunfire. There’s an IED(Improved Explosive Device) team that operates near us so we hear what are called “controlled detonations” on a regular basis. When they find IEDs and VBIEDs (Vehicle Born Improved Explosive Device) there’s a big open field behind up where they blow them up to destroy them so they can’t hurt anyone. At first it was scary because we didn’t know what was controlled and what was real. After awhile though you get used to it and you start to learn the difference between the two sounds. Some nights I sleep better than others. It was actually harder for me to sleep when I went home for my leave because it was much more quiet and I worried a lot about what was going on back here and what my buddy’s were going through while I was being lazy at home.

Do you like being in the war and what got you interested in being a Soldier?

I can’t say I like being in war. I don’t think we’re supposed to like war. But sometimes it’s a necessary evil to accomplish better things in the long run. I didn’t join the Army because I wanted to go to war. I joined the Army because I’m in love with America. We’re so lucky to live where we live and to be who we are. I was in college when I enlisted. I joined the National Guard because I was bored in school and didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated. I thought maybe being in the National Guard would help me feel like I was doing something important, and it has. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans I got to help Americans first hand. And now, I’m helping Iraqis find a better way for themselves. If anyone thought this would be an easy road, they weren’t thinking. It wasn’t an easy road for Americans when we claimed freedom either. I like helping people find hope.

When you first started were you nervous or scared?

Of course I was scared. We trained for the worse possible mission. The worse scenarios. We trained to be on the road escorting convoys but we’re actually working at prison guards. I almost think being a prison guard is worse than being on the road. On the road you deal with bad guys but you have the opportunity to defend yourself. In the prison we’ve got thousands of the bad guys all in one place behind concertina wire and a chain link fence. They’re not the best behaved either. We’re constantly on guard. Constantly on our toes waiting for the next riot or escape attempt. Constantly watching our backs. The good news is that they’re slowly being tried and convicted by their own court system.

Scared and Confused

2007-03-20T07:46:00.001-07:00

Day 61

11/12/06

My life has been hard the last four years. About four years ago my stepdad was diagnosed with throat cancer. They first told him that it was just a cold. He was really sick for about three months. He went to a lot of different doctors before they found out that he had cancer. That weekend when he found out, I was at my dad’s house. Sunday night when my mom came and got me, my step-dad was with her. They told me they needed to tell me something.

I knew it wasn’t something good because they were crying. And that is not like them. They told me that he had cancer and that he doesn’t have long to live. I started to cry and freak out because he was the person who always took care of me. He took care of me when something bad happened or my mom couldn’t take care of me.

He was in the hospital off and on. I would go see him anytime I got a chance. He didn’t look like the same person.

For the first time, I had to see. I was so scared to see him like that. But I knew I had to and it would make him happy. When I first saw him, he had tubes everywhere. I really thought he was going to die. I had to live with my dad while he was in the hospital. I didn’t like it, but I knew my mom had to be there with him.

I cried myself to sleep every night.

A few days later, she came to my dad’s and said, “Guess who is waiting at home for you.” (She said it with a smile on her face). I smiled and cried at the same time because I knew he was getting better. When got home I was scared to hug him, but I did. I knew I would have too sooner or later.

I helped my mom out a lot. I also had family come and help us out. We couldn’t leave my stepdad home alone for the first week. He couldn’t get out of the bed by himself. During the time he was really sick, my grades started to slip. They started to slip because I wasn’t paying attention to the teacher. My mind was everywhere else. My teacher understood but wasn’t happy.

When he came home, I finally caught up on my work. I did that because I knew my parents wouldn’t be happy if I failed. Also, I really wanted to pass the 4^th grade. Guess what…I passed with flying colors!

Now, 4 years later, my stepdad is doing well and his cancer hasn’t returned.

technorati tags:cancer, family, phoenixacad

But He's Only 10

2007-03-09T08:09:00.001-08:00

By Chelsea

Myspace can be dangerous. If you are worried how to keep your kid safe on Myspace, you might want to read this. This is to the Parents. Have you ever thought of getting a Myspace to keep an eye on your child? Well if you have, you might want to consider it. For example, my mom got a Myspace. I didn't like the idea, but it made her feel better knowing she could see what I was doing.

Also, make sure your child has it on safe mode. There is a way to set your page so only your child and friends can see this page. While this is on safe mode, if anybody wants to add your child, the person must know your child’s last name or email address. For example, one of my friends wanted to add me. It wouldn’t let her because she didn’t know my email address. She also didn’t know how to spell my last name. So she called me and asked.

Finally, let your child know that you don’t have to add everybody that sends you a "friend request." Let them know that if they don’t know the person, they can "deny" or "block" that person. There are a lot of people on Myspace. Some of them are bad. One day my brother wanted a Myspace because some of his friends have one. The thing is that he’s only 10. My dad said no. He said no “because you have to be 14 to get one and your only 10.” My brother got mad. But he got over it.

In collusion, you should consider getting a Myspace. Safe mode is the best why to go, if your child has a Myspace. Lastly, talk to them and tell them about not having to add everybody that sends a “friend request.”

technorati tags:myspace, safety, web2.0, phoenixacad

Keeping them Safe

2007-03-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

by Kaden

There are many ways for parents to feel safe while their kids are on myspace. One, for example is to limit the amount of information their kid’s can give.

Also, the parents can do a screening of who talks to their kids. Third is to get a list of sexual predators, so that you can identify one.

Sorry, no name! Your kids can give false information so that the people don’t have anything. The kids don’t have to give out any info at all: they don’t have to give a real name, they don’t have to tell where they go to school, and they don’t have to divulge personal information. Then again, many people don’t give where they go to school. You can give false names, or other false info.

Hmm…this person looks okay. Parents, you can do screenings of who your kids meet on myspace. By getting a understanding of who they are, your children can be safe. If the people they are talking to are local, then invite them over for dinner to make sure they pass the test.

Oh no, it’s him! By having a list of registered sexual predators then parents can help their sons or daughters avoid them. When you know, you can prevent. A lot of predators have tendencies to do something that can give themselves away, use those flaws to your advantage.

Now of course, you can never be completely safe on the internet, but you can put the odds in your favor with all of the special procedures I mentioned. By doing those steps, parents can help to stomp out predators and create a healthy, care-free environment.

Luis' Ideas on Myspace

2007-03-08T13:04:00.001-08:00

This story I’m writing is going to be about how to keep Myspace safe. There are three reasons how to keep Myspace safe.

How they should keep my space safe for children. They should ban people from my space that talk about sexual activities or any type of words that can offend anybody. Another thing that is safe for people to go to myspace is that they should use fire block and people that don’t have permission to go to myspace will get banned from it for ever. The parents can block the inappropriate things like myspace. There is ways to prevent the myspace by there parents knowing the people there talking to. They can make the myspace page to be private and only accept people that want to be friends and be accepted to there page. Predators in Myspace can be varying badly because people could come to your house and kill you.

One way that it is inappropriate to talk to a person is if you threaten to kill him/her or to kill his or her family. Never allow a child to reveal his or her name, phone number, or MySpace. Always make a profile in any website with a made up name but never use your name. It’s always important to hide your identity from people you don’t know because they may hack in to your computer and find where you live and they may threaten your family or friends by coming to your house and take them hostage or just kill them.

There are tips I’m going to show you that can make myspace safe for kids. Here is a website that gives you helpful tips to keep you safe from myspace. Click this website MySpace tips. What is on this website is what you should not have done and what you should do when setting up an account. Like if you never reveal your name, and it tells you why not. Never reveal your birth, address, IM page, or your Myspace page unless you know him or she and you know that he/she won’t do anything bad to offend you or threaten you or your family. Parents can do something about the kids in Myspace and who there talking to.

In conclusion this tells parents how to keep Myspace safe from kids.

technorati tags:myspace

Tyler's Thoughts on Myspace Safety

2007-03-08T11:07:00.001-08:00

There are a couple of ways to keep your child safe on Myspace One way to keep your child safe is to have them change their profile to private. When they change their profile to private this puts on a security link. This means, if they are not on their buddies list, then they can’t see anything but the photo on the homepage.

Another way to keep your child safe on Myspace is to check who they are talking to. If you don’t know the people or recognize the people they are talking to then block them from your child’s Myspace.

The next way you can keep your child safe on Myspace is to make sure that they are not talking to any adults that you don’t know. Even if you know the people, keep checking up on their messages. The reason you should check their messages is to know you they are talking to and what they are talking about. Also, make sure that when they go and download something you know what website it is and to not give to much information. By giving to much information, you can give away valuable info and could lead to black mail.

But adult predators aren’t the only online predators. Some online predators can be teens. Some of the times, teens can leave threatening letters to other kids. Teens can also blackmail other kids on Myspace. They could start threatening that if they don’t do what they say, then they’ll start to spread rumors throughout Myspace.

In conclusion, there are plenty of ways to protect your child from Myspace predators. All you have to do is check up on their Myspace every once in a while. Make sure that they are not talking to anybody that you don’t know or recognize. Remember, you can’t always be too sure who’s out there watching you and your Myspace.

technorati tags:myspace, safety, myspacesafety, web2.0, phoenixchase, social

Some Thoughts on Myspace Safety

2007-03-06T12:02:00.001-08:00

By Missy

Myspace, every parent’s nightmare . Myspace is the one thing that scares my mom about the Internet, I do not think she is alone on that either. AIM might scare her a little, but the only thing I do when I’m on the Internet is check my myspace, add new pictures, and change my song stuff like that.

When Tom created Myspace, they thought they were thinking ahead, “you can only create an account if you’re 14 or older.” Like that’s going to stop us. The creators telling us that we had to be 14 made us want a Myspace more. I had one when I was 12, and I didn’t care what went on with it, I didn’t know that people could hack into my account, get my personal information, read my conversations. I know that there are sexual predators that attack on Myspace, but I can’t help that, and I don’t think there is any safe way to have a Myspace. Myspace is addictive, and now that I have one I can’t help but go on it. I know it is bad, and I know it will only end up doing bad things but I can’t stop, and I don’t think you can get other kids to quit going on myspace either

Trying to make Myspace safer is like taking nicotine out of cigarettes-it might work for a little while, but not for long, cigarettes are addictive because of nicotine if you took it out, there would be no use for it anymore. People would find a way to make cigarettes have nicotine, just like kids these days would do anything to make myspace fun.

Myspace is the only Internet web page I ever go on except for Photobucket, which I only go on for Myspace. There is no way to make it safe, I know that. So why keep trying. It is not our fault that there are a bunch of pedophiles out there. Why should we have to hide ourselves because of them? WE SHOULDN’T! Life isn’t always simple, myspace is all I have really that I know I can go on and not have to worry. I know exactly what I’m doing from changing my background to adding friends. Myspace is my sanctuary, and making it safe is pretty much impossible.

Keeping your kid’s password a secret might help though. If you kept your child’s password a secret than it would help stop his/her friends from going on and messing anything up on their profile, or talking to people they don’t know or talk to, it could keep them safe from one of their friends saying something wrong to someone they like, or someone that they don’t like, they might tell them how much they like them or how much they dislike them there are so many things keeping your kids password a secret benefits, I know that but I can name about 7 people that know my password, and I know a lot of other people who have told there password to boyfriends/ girlfriends, ex girlfriends/ ex boyfriends, friends, and parents should be the only ones to know their kids password, that way they can go on and check things out their password should be theirs and theirs only no one should ever know your kids password, or go on your child’s myspace. If anyone goes on to check your kids myspace it should be you or your kids no friends or anyone.

If you set their profile to private it would make it harder for people you don’t want your kids talking to , to talk to them, if you go on their myspace and check everything every once in a while, and have one of your own.

Doing any of that still wouldn’t make it totally safe, myspace is what it is, and it will always be that way, there is no changing how dangerous , or safe, or fun, or boring , or addictive it really is. Your feelings on myspace are all really just an opinion, some people might think its safe, and others might tell their kids that they can’t have one at all because they think it’s so dangerous.

Myspace, it may be every parent’s nightmare, or it may just be every kids dream.

Click here to get your own player.

Two Students' Thoughts

2007-01-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

Last night's homework was to read an article about the war and respond to it. Below are two responses.

Response 1)
Boom thats all we hear in the news people killing each other to have peace in there country. Terrorism is getting worse every day and there is nobody to stop racism and hatred against there own country or things that people have done in the past and now they are putting revenge on there aiming target. Every single day we are having news from Iraq and that Saddam Hussein was hanged for his bad behavior. In my opinion I can say that people should not use other country's as a battle field thats is just sad because before you know it were going to have dead humans around the world.http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/worldspecial/index.html?excamp=OVGNwariniraq

Response 2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Iraq_War
i think the war is alot better then just giving in. ever since i heard the son "have you forgotten" it changed my perspective, we think the war is bad because our family are in it but you don't think about what would happen if we din't have war. and if we gave in that would not be protecting or preventing what happened when the twin towers fell. i seriously think people need to think about what i said.

Thoughts?

32 degrees in Iraq???

2007-01-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

If you think the temperature never gets below freezing in Iraq you're very wrong. In fact, the Baghdad area has been averaging between 28 and 35 degress as a low. I wasn't ready for the 120 degree temperatures that promise to plague the summer months but I wasn't ready to be cold either. Then again, I wasn't ready for most of what I've encountered so far.

My name is SGT Jenny Morgan. In about two months I'll be spending my 24th birthday in beautiful Baghdad. Probably we'll celebrate by me doing 24 push-ups while my buddies sing "Happy Birthday" to me and we'll all eat a chocolate Otis Spunkmeier muffin since that's the closest thing we get to cup-cakes around here. Originally, I'm from Springfield, Illinois where 28 degrees and lower is normal this time of year. I pretty much grew up there and that's where I met Mr. Chase. We were friends in high school (which really wasn't all that long ago and we're not THAT old...thanks.)

I joined the National Guard when I was 19. Honestly, I got bored in college and thought it'd be an adventure. And it has been. Four years and seven months of adventure. I've been to South America on medical missions and got to help out in New Orleans when Katrina hit. But the Army also awarded me the money I needed to finish school and I graduated from college last May (something I think you all should experience). I graduated in May and started my journey to Iraq in June. Needless to say, I didn't get much of a summer break. Bummer.

With all the buzz around the media about the war in Iraq I thought it might be a good idea to link up with you so you can get a different perspective on what's really happening here (Mr. Chase thought it was a good idea too). While I can't talk alot about what goes on here, I'll try the best I can to answer any questions you might have about Iraqis, Islam, the military and the war. While I'm not a subject matter expert, I'm experiencing day to day what you read about in the paper. It's just that the paper doesn't always capture the picture the way it really was. So dig deep, think hard, and ask away.

SGT Jenny