Story by Spc. James P. HunterMNC-I PAO

Lt. Col. Patrick McGaugh watched as his son, 1st Lt. Patrick C. McGaugh, platoon leader, 3rd platoon, Company B, 40th Engineer Battalion, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, prepared his platoon for a mission on the tough streets of Baghdad. They performed their pre-combat inspections and moved out to conduct a combat patrol in the Rasallah area of southwest Baghdad where they speak with local nationals, conduct assess-ments, cordon and searches, and raids. Their role is to prevent a rise in sectar-ian violence. McGaugh said it was a tough situ-ation for him watching his son leave be-cause it is his own “flesh and blood.” “It hit me pretty hard, but it also gave me the inspiration to continue to do my job well,” he added. McGaugh, chief of plans and operations, Army Central Command, 3rd Army Headquarters, sees daily casualty reports coming out of Iraq, so he knows exactly what his son is going through. He took the opportunity to see his son one last time prior to redeploying to the states. In November of 2005, the father de-ployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, as an individual augmentee in support of Op-eration Iraqi Freedom. But McGaugh, 50, who worked as an engineer building weapon systems for the military, had not served in a mili-tary uniform since 2000 after 23 years of military service. He received a call in late

2005 and was asked if he would reenter military service for just one year. He con-templated whether to do so, and when he received word his son would also be de-ploying, his decision came instantly. “When I found out my son was being deployed, that pretty much settled it for me,” he said. “I knew I felt I had a reason to be there.” His son agreed with his decision of reentering the service, describing him as a very straightforward, honest and all around good guy. “I was happy for him to get to do something,” he said. “I know it was im-portant for him to serve and especially since I might be around.” The son, in fact, was around prior to moving into Iraq. The younger McGaugh and his unit was stationed in Camp Buer-ing, Kuwait, but when violence broke loose after the Samarra events in Febru-ary, they were called forward. While there, though at opposite bases, they were able to meet up on three sepa-rate occasions. “It was nice to see someone from home, especially my dad,” the son stat-ed. “(I) feel a little guilty. Not everyone gets to see their family while they are de-ployed. It was a nice break for me.” But when the call came, younger Mc-Gaugh knew he had to leave his family again and move forward. With his son forward into Iraq and not a few camps away anymore, the father knew he had a centralized purpose and mission—to serve those fighting the op-position. His purpose was much clearer. It gave him the daily motivation and inspiration to continue to do his job be-

cause it gave him a greater sense of pur-pose. McGaugh knew his son was one of the many thousands of Soldiers involved in the efforts of securing Iraq. “It made it much easier, mentally for me, because I had a clear purpose every-day; to help Soldiers, and he was one of them,” he said. McGaugh understands that his son is in a tough situation and believes there are challenges he must overcome. He be-lieves the biggest challenge lies within the Soldiers. “(It’s a big challenge) to keep Sol-diers motivated in a frustrating situation where the enemy is difficult to identify,” he stated. “I think keeping Soldiers mo-tivated in that environment can be chal-lenging so they can continue to have a sense of purpose.” The younger McGaugh’s motivation for continuing on with the missions rests on the promise he gave to the U.S. Army. “It’s my job. I’m a volunteer, so I can’t complain,” he said. “I’ve got to do my job whether I feel like it or not.” On the day McGaugh watched his son gear-up and prepare for his mission in Baghdad, he was supposed to be es-corted to the flight line later that day by his son. While on patrol, the son’s platoon responded to a situation, which delayed his visit with his father. Throughout the situation, he did not allow the hold up to bother him because the situation needed attending to; mission first. After fulfilling their mission, he felt a little let down and frustrated that he would not be able to see his father off, See FAMILY, page 3

Victory TimesVol. II, Issue 121 Oct. 26, 2006Telling the Camp Victory story

In today’s Victory Times:

Page 2: Chaplain’s Corner, Camp Victory Three- Day Forecast

Page 3: This Week in Military History

Page 4: Vaccine protects service- membersfrominfluenzaPage 5: Camp Victory operating hours

Father, son serve in support of Iraqi Freedom

Page 2 Victory Times Oct. 26, 2006

“…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,…” Hebrews 10:22

ACCESS DENIED was printed in bold capital letters across my monitor. I could not get into my account without the proper password. Just about the time I get my passwords to where I can keep them straight from each other, it is time for a security change. That is just the way it is with working accounts these days. I have to have the exact and proper password. It seems my whole life is filled with passwords and access codes – computers, saving and checking accounts and even telephone cards for those calls back

to the states. Having the right access code and password can make my life a lot easier, and if I don’t have the right codes, well my life can quickly become quite complicated. Sometimes in my devotions, I go through times of frustration because I feel that I somehow don’t have the right “password” or “access code” when it comes to approaching God. I did a little Bible search and found out that the word access appears in only three places in the New Testament (Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:18 and Ephesians 3:12). Looking at these scriptures, I feel four things stand out in reference to my faith and access. First, I have access to God’s grace. Saint Paul writes in Hebrews 4:16 that God’s throne is the throne of grace. Second, I have access to God, my heavenly father. I can approach him just

like I approached my father as a child – arms open wanting him to lift me up. Third, I have access through Jesus Christ. Saint Paul wrote, “For there is one God and mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Fourth, I have access by my faith. Saint Paul reminds me to “draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” My bottom line for this late evening devotion was that God is not some distant and far away, inaccessible father. He is a loving father who wants to draw me into the life He offers by allowing me full access to himself through Christ Jesus. Every time my account announces “You have full access to your account,” I am reminded that I have full access to God as well. Now where is my access code to the Christmas account?

Chaplain’s CornerBy Chaplain Charles Herring MNC-IChaplainOffice

Access to God

Sunday

Camp Victory Three-day Forecast

Partly cloudyHigh: 86 FLow: 67 F

FridayMostly cloudyHigh: 89 FLow: 68 F

SaturdayIsolated T-stormsHigh: 84 F Low: 63 F

Page 3 Oct. 26, 2006Victory Times

This Week in Military Historywith Lt. Tom Lewis, Australian Forces

October26,1944,62yearsago,theUnitedStatesNavy,atthebattleofLeyteGulf,putthefinalsealontheJapanesenavalabilityto stop any invasion of the home islands. Aftersuccessesinthe‘island-hopping’campaigndevisedbyGen.DouglasMacArthur,thePacificCampaignagainstJapanturnedto how best to mount an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Two main routes were considered; the island of what is now Taiwan, and the Philippines, with the latter path winning out.OnOctober20,1944,U.S.ForceslandedontheislandofLeyte,thefirstoftheJapanese-heldPhilippineIslandstobeinvaded.In response, the Japanese Navy activated the complex ‘Sho-Go’ operation, in which several different surface and air forces would converge on the Philippines as ‘Center Force’ to try and drive off any attack. Five battleships – including the largest two ever built, the Yamato and the Musashi – 10 heavy cruisers and numerous other war-ships all were brought together to stem any attack. On October 23, while west of the Philippines, the ‘Center Force’ was attacked bytheU.S.submarinesDarterandDace.Threeheavycruisersweretorpedoedandtwosunk,includingAdmiralKurita’sflagship,Atago.TheadmiralthenmovedtoYamato,whichservedashisflagshipfortherestoftheoperation. On October 24, as the ‘Center Force’ steamed through the Philippines’ central Sibuyan Sea, it was repeatedly attacked by planes from U.S. aircraft carriers. Battleship Musashi was sunk and a heavy cruiser was forced to retire. Yamato and several other ships were hit but remained battleworthy. The American command thought the entire ‘Center Force’ had retreated, but it transited the San BernardinoStraitundercoverofdarknessandenteredthePacific. In the morning hours of October 25, Kurita’s ‘Center Force’ encountered a U.S. Navy escort aircraft carrier task group. In a long runningbattle,inwhichYamatofiredherbiggunsatenemyshipsfortheonlytimeinhercareer,oneU.S.carrierandthreedestroy-ers were sunk. Fiercely opposed by the escort carriers’ planes and the destroyers’ guns and torpedoes, Vice Admiral Kurita lost three heavy cruisers and his nerve. Though the way was almost clear to move onward to Leyte Gulf, where a climactic battleship gunnery duel would have certainly resulted, he ordered his force to withdraw and return to Brunei Bay. This marked the end of the Japanese FleetasamajorthreattoAlliedoffensiveoperationsintheWesternPacific.TheJapaneseNavywasnowvirtuallypowerless.

buttohissurprise,hisfather’sflightwasdelayed. Just like the old days, when the two would be involved with outdoor activities, spending quality time together, the two got to sit down, enjoy some chow and talk about the mission together.

McGaugh showed his father photos regarding their mission, giving him insight on the type of things he has been involved with. Both father and son redeploy soon. The father goes back to his wife of 28 years, Debbie McGaugh, and back to his job as an engi-neer, and the son goes back to his home station in Germany. They plan on reuniting during Christmas this year.

FAMILY

Story by Marine Cpl. Jessica KentMNC-I PAO

Flu season begins in October, and health-care professionals stress preventive measures to help servicemembers combat the virus. Influenza,whichafflictedmanyser-vicemembers here last year, is a respira-tory illness that spreads through coughing, sneezing or touching. Before it spreads this year, one preventive measure to take istheinfluenzavaccine. “The vaccine should be delivered over the next two weeks,” said Lt. Col. Eric E. Shuping, chief of preventive medicine, 3rd Medical Command, Multi-National Corps-Iraq. “Unit leaders should coor-dinate with the clinics that provide their health care, and immunizations should be started in early November.” With the exception of those who are allergic to eggs or have health complica-tions, Department of Defense policy man-dates that servicemembers take the vac-cine annually. “There is only one virus that causes the flu. However, it has many differentstrains. A predominant strain usually aris-es each year,” said Shuping. “That is why weneedtogetaflushoteachyear. Theshot from last year may not work for this year’s strain.” The vaccination may cause mild symptoms, but those symptoms could be worse for someone who contracts influ-enza and has not taken the vaccine. De-ployed servicemembers face an elevated riskofcatchingtheflu. “The military is at high risk because

of the living situation here,” said Lt. Cmdr. Eugene K. Garland, preventive medicine officer,Surgeon’sOffice,MNC-I.“We’rein close quarters and around each other a lot, while working or eating.” For those who contract the virus, symp-toms such as fever, headache, nausea and extremefatiguecouldmakeitdifficulttofocus on a mission. “Influenzacanbeaverydebilitatingvirus because of the symptoms, and you can get very sick from it,” cautioned Gar-land. “You won’t be one hundred percent to perform a mission.” To keep troops healthy and maintain unit readiness, health-care professionals seektobuilduparesistancetotheflube-fore it strikes. “Once vaccinated, the body develops (influenza) anti-bodies in two weeks,”said Lt. Col. Guillermo Quiles Jr., phar-macyconsultant,Surgeon’sOffice,MNC-I. “So when you are exposed to the virus, then it will not hit you as hard as if you didn’t have the vaccine.” In the United States, around 36,000 people die from influenza complicationseach year, said Quiles. These complica-tions are usually in older adults and range from pneumonia to dehydration and high bloodpressure.Influenzamayalsowors-en chronic pre-existing conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma and dia-betes. In his own experience, however, Quiles made a quick recoverywith the flu shotand did not suffer any complications.“Iwasrunningsomeflusymptomsandfeeling really bad,” he said. “They gave me the flu shot and Iwas good to go in

two days.” With a vaccine, Quiles stated, the flucould keep a person down for a couple of days at most. Without the vaccine, the vi-rus could affect them for up to 10 days. Considering this advantage, the shot is not much trouble. “It’s only half a millimeter of vaccine, and the needle is very small, very skinny,” Quiles said. “It doesn’t hurt and anyone can rest assured that they can go ahead and get the vaccine done.”Oncetheflushothasbeenadminis-tered, Shuping stated, it is important that servicemembers make sure the vaccina-tion is entered into the medical database. “It’s really important that the vaccine is documented, so that they don’t have to get the shot again,” he said. To further arm themselves against the flu, servicemembers and civilians shouldavoid close contact. Also, when cough-ing or sneezing, people who cover their mouth and nose can prevent germs from spreading. Frequent hand washing, espe-cially after a cough or sneeze and before eating, can help prevent the virus from spreading. “The medical clinic may consider ask-ing patients who come to the clinic with respiratory symptoms to wear a mask to prevent others from getting infected,” stated Shuping. Asfluseasonapproaches,servicemem-bersmaybuildresistancetotheflubyeat-ing healthy and getting plenty of rest. As with many other concerns in the armed forces, it also helps to stay fit throughphysical training and drinking plenty of fluids.

Page 4 Oct. 26, 2006Victory Times

Vaccine protects servicemembers from flu

Coalition CafeBreakfast 5:30 - 8:30 a.m.Lunch 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.Dinner 5:30 - 8 p.m.Midnight Dining 11 p.m. - 1 a.m.Sports OasisBreakfast 5:30 - 8:30 a.m.Lunch 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.Dinner 5 - 9 p.m.ShopetteOpen 24 HoursCamp Liberty Post ExchangeEveryday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.Fitness CenterOpen 24 HoursMNC-I STB MailroomMonday - Sunday 9 a.m. - noon5 p.m. - 7 p.m.Golby Troop Medical ClinicSick Call Hours:Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - noonSaturday & Sunday 9 a.m. - noonDental Sick Call:Monday - Friday 7:30 - 10:30 a.m.Saturday 9 - 10:30 a.m.Mental Health Clinic:Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Saturday 9 a.m. - noonPost Deployment Health Briefings:Monday - Friday 1 p.m.Pharmacy:Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - noon, 1 - 4:30 p.m.Saturday & Sunday 7:30 a.m. - noonLegal Assistance/ClaimsSaturday - Thursday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.Friday 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Personnel Service Support CentersMonday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.Sunday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.ID CardsMonday - Friday9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

MNC-I Commanding General: Lt. Gen. Peter W. ChiarelliMNC-I Public Affairs Officer: Lt. Col. Michelle L. Martin-Hing

MNC-I PA Sergeant Major: Sgt. Maj. Paul J. StevensonMNC-I Command Info Chief: Sgt. 1st Class Laurence R. Lang

MNC-I Production Chief: Staff Sgt. Jason B. BakerLayout/Design Chief: Spc. Curt Squires

Victory Times Staff writers/ photographers: Sgt. Brian James Anderson, Spc. Curt Squires, Spc. James P. Hunter, Cpl. Jessica Kent, Spc. Sean Finch

Victory Times is an authorized electronic publication for members of the Department of Defense. Contents of this electronicpublicationarenotnecessarilytheofficialviewsoforendorsedbytheU.S.GovernmentortheDepartmentof

Defense.TheeditorialcontentofthispublicationistheresponsibilityofthePublicAffairsOfficeofMulti-NationalCorpsIraq.

Victory Times welcomes columns, commentaries, articles and letters from our readers. Send submissionsor comments to jason.baker@iraq.centcom.mil.

We reserve the right to edit for security, accuracy, propriety, policy, clarity and space.

Page 5 Oct. 26, 2006Victory Times

Operating hours

Submit letters from homeIs your loved one deployed in support of Multi-National Corps-Iraq? Would you like to write him or her a

message in the Victory Times? Send messages, three to four lines of text to curtis.squires@iraq.centcom.mil. Ensure to include Soldiers name, rank, and unit.

New Location For Army National Guard

Retention Office

NOW LOCATED IN AREA 51GO INTO AREA 51 PAST FUEL POINT

TURN LEFT AT BUS STOPGO THROUGH FENCE ON LEFT SIDE OF MWR

LOCATED DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM PBOTRAILER 51TR8

STOP BY AND CHECK OUT YOUR OPTIONSSgt. 1st Class JOHN GRAY, THEATER RETENTION NCO