Keep those prayers coming...

Our sister unit, 1/82, suffered an Apache crash on Friday. One pilot was killed and the other injured. This is our first hit of the deployment and we hate seeing this stuff happen, especially so early. Please keep these families in your prayers, and the guys over there serving even while they lose friends around them.
On Saturday, Brian suffered a hydraulic failure to his aircraft and had to make an emergency landing. Thankfully they were able to make it back to the airfield before landing. This is an answer to all your prayers - so please keeping them going as well. Prayers DO work.

FROM THIS MORNING'S FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Three N.C. soldiers killed
By Jennifer CalhounStaff writer

A Fort Bragg helicopter pilot and two soldiers assigned to a local National Guard battalion died this week while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Brent S. Cole, with the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Bragg, died Friday after the Apache helicopter he was flying crashed near Tarin Kwot, Afghanistan.
Cole, a Linden resident, was an instructor pilot and safety officer. He was 38.
In Iraq, two servicemen assigned to the 252nd Combined Arms Battalion in Fayetteville, died Thursday when their unit was attacked with improvised explosive devices near Baghdad.
Maj. Jason E. George, 38, an Army reservist from Tehachapi, Calif., and 1st Lt. Leevi K. Barnard, 28, a national guardsman from Mount Airy, died from injuries sustained in the attack, according to a news release from the Department of Defense.
Cole was from West Virginia, but had been stationed at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade since September 2007, according to a news release from the 82nd Airborne’s public affairs office.
Lt. Col. David O. Jernigan, Cole’s battalion commander, said Cole was the finest Army aviator he’d served with.
“He was a combat-proven warrior, a loving husband and father and a great hero who was dedicated to serving his country,” Jernigan said in a statement Sunday.
Cole is survived by his wife, Vanessa, his son, Carson, who is 10, and his parents, Jack and Helen Cole, all of whom live in Linden.
The family declined to comment on Cole’s death, but his wife, Vanessa, released a statement Sunday:
“He was a loving, dedicated husband and father who adored his family to the highest degree. As a military officer, he was a consummate professional who always led by example and was revered by his peers and leaders alike.
“His loss is devastating to the family, Army Aviation and to our country. His family and I are proud to have had him in our lives and he will forever remain deep in our hearts.”
The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade was only recently deployed to Afghanistan. The brigade took over aviation operations in southern Afghanistan at Kandahar Airfield in mid-May.
A memorial service for Cole was held Sunday in Afghanistan.