Added: Alphas in Iraq

Newly posted, extended feature by Kathy Taylor Dejoie, Editor of the IMDiversity.com African American Village, with LTC Ivery Taylor:

In an extended feature from our February edition THE BLACK COLLEGIAN, Alphas in Iraq features the stories of several soldiers currently stationed in Iraq. Bound as members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, these men have found friendship and a vital support network to sustain them in the harsh warzone conditions. THE BLACK COLLEGIAN feature published excerpts from a number of the brothers describing in their own words what life is like and what the war means to them.

These soldiers of the 13th Sustainment Command provide logistical support to many thousands of troops, and their stories convey movingly how even the simplest things -- from Sunday dinners to music nights -- help them stay focused on their mission amidst intense pressure and longings for home and family.

Through the course of preparing the story, Dejoie wrote, she "gained a new level of respect and admiration for, not only these proud members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, but for all our soldiers serving in Iraq. Communicating with these men, some of whom are not much older than my own sons, shifted my view of them from 'soldiers on a mission' to sons, brothers, nephews, dads and cousins."

Hear them in their own words at Alphas in Iraq, and in the extended online-only feature at the African-American Village.