Not everyday you receive a letter from a 2-star General...

Dear Moira,

I would like to welcome you to the Multi-National Forces - Iraq family. As you know, Ben arrived safely on June 1, 2008, is rapidly adjusting, and is already establishing himself as a key player on my staff. The fight we face will only be won with selfless dedication of people such as Ben, and his success is directly attributable to the support and encouragement he receives from home. The contribution that Ben will make in Strategy, Plans, and Assessments cannot be understated.

For the record, SPA is not a reference to a health club, though we do have an adequate weight room. As our name says, SPA entails three focus areas -- strategy, plans, and assessments. Our role is to give General Petraeus the best insight and well-formulated plans we can to support his role as Commander of the Multi-National Force serving in Iraq. We take his vision of how the mission here needs to be accomplished and turn it into a specific strategy spanning multiple years. We then write the plans that will be executed in order to bring this strategy to fruition. Finally, we assess the execution of the plans to see if they are being effective or not... and to determine if the strategy remains sound. This is all done through close coordination with the US, British, and Australian embassies; the inter-agency; and the Government of Iraq.

The task is not easy, but, as you can see, it is vital to our chance to win this fight. This is indeed a dangerous environment so we greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I am well aware of the significant sacrifice our families make that allow us to deploy. This is my second one-year deployment in four years and my eleventh six-month or longer deployment in 32 years: In addition, my wife, Nancy, and I have sent our son-in-law once and our son twice to this fight.

Thank you for your dedication and support in this critical time. I greatly admire your willingness to shoulder the burden of sacrifice and separation this fight requires. I truly believe this is a fight for our children's and grandchildren's freedom. Please know that you have my eternal gratitude, respect, and prayers. God bless you...

Semper Fidelis,
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Major General, USMC

(Handwritten): Ben is here and doing great...as you'd expect. Thanks for your sacrificial support...especially with 5 children. We had four so I do understand (or Nancy does). God bless you.