The 737th -- Editor's Note

[darrels joy]

The 737th -- Editor's Note

No, we haven't forgotten.

Since chief photographer Brian Fitzgerald's daily coverage of the approximately 150 men and women of the Army Reserve 737th Transportation Company ended in early March, readers have told the Yakima Herald-Republic they want to know more about the unit's experiences in the Middle East.

If one thing has been constant for the 737th, it's change. Originally destined to haul fuel and other supplies from Kuwait into Iraq, the unit's mission in February and early March instead consisted largely of providing base security and escort protection for civilian convoys within Kuwait. Some drove armored Humvees while escorting military convoys into Iraq.

Since then, with the situation in Iraq intensifying, the 737th's mission has changed again. It's not always been easy to keep in touch with the soldiers ? working in a war zone, they've had difficulty finding time to sit down and write e-mails to the hometown newspaper.

But that's what we've asked them to do: write a few paragraphs describing their experiences, their lives and their missions, then send them to us to share with our readers.

Today the Herald-Republic kicks off an irregular series, titled "Letters Home," with an update on the 737th's activities from company commander Maj. Bud Bittner. There are also excerpts from an interview with Sgt. T.J. Rabe of Sunnyside to accompany the feature story on him, his wife, Kristin, and the recent birth of their first child.

We'll continue to publish comments from other soldiers in the 737th as they're made available.