Fort Hood, TX

I received this today in my email and I wanted to share it with as many folks as possible. This is not my original work and I take no credit except to pass it on. Read it if you wish, pass on it if you choose. I live and work in a military community (Fort Hood, TX) and I know a lot of these same type of soldiers. I hope this honors them in the same way that they honor us every day:

A French On-the-Ground View of the American Soldier

Posted By DORIAN DE WIND On February 18, 2009 @ 10:29 am

Whether we agree or not with the former president's invasion of Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein, and whether we agree or not with our present president's plans to send additional troops to Afghanistan to continue to fight the 9/11 perpetrators, I know that all Americans are proud of our fighting troops.

Recently I received from a good friend an essay, translated from French, written by a French infantryman serving with American soldiers in Afghanistan . Jean-Marc Liotier translated the essay under the title "[1] American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman."(I am trying to locate the original essay so that those who speak French can enjoy it in its original form.)

As the translator says in his introduction:

...............The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of those who experience first hand how close we are to the USA....Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground...this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact - but that only makes it more authentic.

Enjoy and be proud!

"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events". Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company.

They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.

Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans.

Here we discover America as it is often depicted : their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by lack of privacy* and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that : the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the hearth of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people who provides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission. And that is a first shock to our preconceptions : the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention.

]u]And they are impressive warriors ! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.

And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the enemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting : they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short.

We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.

To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of their military excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".

This was such a fantastic article to wake up to this morning ... bursting with Pride, tears in my eyes - HUGE smiles across my face .. .I give it to YOU !!! .. OMG - how wonderful some French soldiers sent this out .. !!!!!!!!!!!.. it's about time ;)))


Article printed from The Moderate Voice: http://themoderatevoice.com

www.OverallREaltor.com

How well do you know your territory? It seems like an easy question to many in our industry. Many of us will answer we know know our territory either very well or reasonably well. Ask yourself a few questions: 1. Am I able to give good directions to restaurants? Hotels? Grocery stores? 2. Do I know the school district and specific schools in the area? 3. Where are the parks and movie theaters for their kids or pets? The largest military base in the world, Ft. Hood, TX, is in my territory. Most of my clients are new to the area. I always show the the soldier/client the closest gate into Ft Hood from each property. I love to talk about my hometown and my pride does show through. I take the time to learn what is happening on Ft Hood and the surrounding area. When your client asks a question about your territory; you should be able to answer with some degree of confidence. Why did I bring this up? This week I had a soldier/client who remarked that I certainly knew my way around the town and he was surprised the town was much bigger and had more to offer than he first thought. That comment didn't surprise me. What did surprise me is that he had talked to other Realtors in the area and no one had given him the information that I did in normal "car conversation" as we drove to the different properties. If you have ever moved into a new area you know you want to acquire as much knowledge as possible to help with the transition. WE are the experts in our field and we owe it to our clients to not only know the market but know the area. Take a few minutes to take the long way to the office or a different drive to the grocery store. You might be surprised to see that new Starbucks being built...I know I was!

I have to admit that one of the great things about living and working in the Fort Hood area is the opportunity I have to get to know and help military families.  While credit markets are suffering around the country, we are making home ownership a reality for military families on a daily basis.  The sourse of our ability to sell homes to these buyers is the VA guaranteed loan.  The qualifying standards for these loans has not changed and the local lenders have money ready to go for them. 

Just this week, we were working with a young soldier and his wife who originally approached us about a rental.  They quickly realized that in this market, they could own a home for the same, or less, than what they would pay for rent.  Additionally, with this particular transaction, we were able to negotiate with the seller to pay all of the buyers closing costs and prepaid items and, since there is no down payment required for a VA loan, they are actually buying a house for FAR LESSout of pocket than they would have had they rented.  As if that wasn't enough, they will also qualify for the new homebuyer tax credit ($7500 or $15000). 

Of course, as part of the process, we guided them on whether homeownership was right for their situation (ie. how long would they be here), how to buy so that, should they have to leave sooner than expected, they will have an asset that can continue to work for them (hold the house as a rental), and the possible pitfalls of the real estate investment business (stock away any excess positive cash flow for the inevitable unforeseen circumstance).  With all that in mind, they were ready to move forward.  Today, we found them a New House that met all their wants and needs, negotiated a deal where the builder would pay all of their closing costs and prepaids and would get them moved in before closing on a very reasonable Buyers Temporary Residential Lease.  They have been prequalified, will go to loan app on Monday and they will be closing in a little more than 2 weeks. 

Are these buyers happy?  You better believe they are.  Are they gonna say good things about our company?  Without a doubt.  Are we doing what's right for the client?  Absolutely.  Is the economy still strong in Central Texas?  HOOAH!!!  It's ARMY STRONG!!!

www.OverallRealtor.com  

If you are a first time buyer, getting ready to start looking for a home at Fort Hood, here's a quick peek into a real house hunt in the Fort Hood Real Estate Market:

My latest buyer already had a target subdivision and price range in mind when we met for our first consultation. He and his wife are first time buyers and are looking for a home that is close to Fort Hood and close to her work in Killeen. They also want their children to attend Copperas Cove schools, so it's been pretty easy to narrow down their choices.

They've been looking at new construction but just didn't find anything that quite fit their needs and time frame (before the holidays). So we moved on to looking at existing homes, which are a pretty good value in the market right now since sellers are paying most if not all of your closing costs.

The buyers picked five properties off the internet to see this past week, and here's what we found when we got to the homes:

Property #1 - First Impression: Big pile of rocks and dirt in the front yard (lots of work required to remove). Front porch and door were covered in dog paw prints. The interior was, frankly, filthy. Looking into the back yard we saw that the dogs had pretty much destroyed it, and they had chewed chunks out of the back porch posts, too!

Property #2 - First Impression: Nicely maintained yard. Attractive brick with stone accents. Spotless interior, nice floorplan with a fireplace and playscape in the back yard for the buyer's children. Well priced! These sellers are as perfect as possible for an unoccupied home.

Property #3 - First Impression was not good. Yard is full of dead grass and weeds, not a bush, tree or flower to be seen. And this home was occupied! Interior was surprising in that it was clean, neat and nicely decorated, perfect for showing to a buyer. Many buyers would never get past the dead yard to even consider this home. It was very well priced, though, and the buyers took a chance and went in to see the interior. It appears the seller is pricing the home low to offset the condition of the yard.

Property #4 - First Impression: Beautiful yard, neatly trimmed, healthy, green, with nice landscaping touches. Interior was clean, neat, with a big covered patio overlooking the healthy, landscaped back yard. This floorplan was actually the same as property #3. These sellers had painted several walls a variety of "interesting" colors that didn't appeal to the buyers. This was the highest priced home we looked at. This home had been on the market three days.

Property #5 - New construction. The builder had confirmed the home was finished and ready for buyers to move in. When we got to the address, we were greeted with a bare concrete foundation....... I guess he thought we were going to pitch a tent and use the Port-a-John out in the street!

After looking at these five homes, the buyers said they would call in the morning with their decision of which home they wanted. But it didn't take 20 minutes before they called back with their choice! Property #4 was the clear winner. We met the next morning, wrote the offer, and by the end of the day had everything negotiated and signed. They will be spending the holidays in their new home in Copperas Cove!

UPDATE 1/2/09: Rates were at 5.5%!

Great news from local Fort Hood lenders this morning! Late yesterday afternoon the VA rate plummeted from 6.75% to 6% and stressed buyers can, for the moment, give a sigh of relief.

If you've been waiting out the rates before committing to a home at Fort Hood, this could be the time to jump in. Rates have been volatile the past month, swinging between 7% and 7.5%, so 6% is looking pretty good today!