Hi Guys,

I just got the following update from Martha Raddatz on facebook…

        This update comes from LTC Tim Karcher’s wife Alesia this morning at 4:48 am. Tim had a difficult night, but I just spoke to Alesia and she said the doctors say he is improving a bit, although he is still intubated. Alesia is now putting updates for family, friends and supporters on caringbridge.org Go to the website and type in Timkarcher (one word) and you can see Alesia’s journal updates, and leave your responses.

From Alesia Karcher July 10, 2009 4:48 am

I was actually updating our journal last night when I received a call from his floor nurse to come back. Tim was in respiratory distress. Yesterday had been okay but not as good as the prior days. He received 2 more units of blood yesterday. His breathing had become more labored and his abdomen a little more distended as the day progressed. He had started to use O2 by late afternoon and had not had that for the past couple days. Tim's RN monitored the situation closely and called in the MD. I did leave the hospital, not feeling altogether comfortable. Tim still likes me to go back to the Mologne House by dark. I know, we've been married a long time, but he still likes knowing I'm somewhere safe at the end of the day. Once the protector, always the protector. Tim has been intubated and moved back into the ICU. MD is currently working on the fluid in his lungs and treating for a possible blood clot in the lung. They will do a scan this am but have to coordinate with dialysis as his kidneys are not working well enough to excrete the dye. Oh, so many things to balance. They are also treating him with a course of antibiotics for poss sepsis. Rest assured, prior to being intubated, Tim was aware and calm. He states he is just riding along with God's plan for his life. Now that we've had a small step back, today we can start moving forward again.

John McCorkle

LTC Timothy M. Karcher

LTC Karcher is from St. Louis, Missouri and is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia.  His education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri and two Masters Degrees from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, the Armor Officer Advance Course, Command and General Staff College, and the School of Advanced Military Studies.

After completion of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, LTC Karcher was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Irwin, California, where he served as a rifle platoon leader, company executive officer, battalion motor officer, and assistant operations officer. Following attendance at the Armor Officer Advance Course, LTC Karcher was assigned to Germany, initially commanding Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment and subsequently commanding Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment.

Following his commands in Germany, LTC Karcher served as a small group instructor at the Infantry Captains Career Course, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon completion of the Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies, LTC Karcher was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he initially served as a Corps Planner on the III Corps and Multi-National Corps – Iraq staffs.

While deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom II (OIF II), LTC Karcher transitioned to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, in June 2004. In almost four years with 3rd Brigade, LTC Karcher has served as the Battalion Operations Officer, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, the Battalion Executive Officer, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, and the 3rd Brigade Operations Officer.

LTC Karcher recently redeployed from OIF 06-08 with 3rd Brigade, where he served as a Brigade Military Transition Team (MiTT) Chief and Provincial Police Transition Team Chief in the restive Diyala Province, northeast of Baghdad.

LTC Karcher’s awards and decorations include: the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, the United States Army Ranger Tab, and the Airborne Badge.