Adam Drechsel update

Soldier with area connection up and walking, will be fine
By Susan M.A. Larson, Fergus Falls Daily Journal
Spc. Adam Drechsel, 24, Fargo, is back in the United States after being injured last week near Fallujah.Drechsel is a former Fergus Falls resident and Pelican Rapids High School graduate. He is the son of Carrol and Pauline Drechsel of Fergus Falls and Kay and Steve Anderson of Pelican Rapids.He was driving a Bradley on patrol when it hit an improvised explosive device.“He called me to say they hit an IED and he was injured,” his wife, Lisa Drechsel, said. “I was so shocked, it was about a day before it really hit me that it was real.”Drechsel suffered a fractured vertebrae and a fractured right index finger. He was taken to a hospital in Germany to stabilize his condition. He is now in Georgia, undergoing back treatment. His family will go there to visit him soon.“He’ll be fine,” she said. “He’s been up and walking a little bit here and there.”With Drechsel were Spc. Tony Sellner, 23, Dalton, and Staff Sgt. Tyler Halvorson, 35, Fergus Falls. Sellner and Halvorson each sustained a concussion and bruises. All are members of 136th CAB, Detachment 1, stationed at Camp Fallujah.

Hurt soldier still in hospital
By Dave Olson, The Forum
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. – One of three area Minnesota National Guard soldiers injured Sept. 26 by a roadside bomb in Iraq remains hospitalized in Germany, according to Sharon Casey, a spokeswoman for a troop family readiness group in Fergus Falls.Casey identified the hospitalized soldier as Spc. Adam Drechsel of Fargo, who is part of the 2-136 Combined Arms Battalion, which trains in Fergus Falls.Drechsel and four other soldiers were riding in a Bradley armored fighting vehicle when it encountered an improvised explosive device, Casey said.She said Drechsel, who is expected to make a full recovery, eventually will be transferred from a German hospital to one in the United States.Two other area soldiers, Sgt. Tyler Halvorson, Fergus Falls, and Spc. Tony Sellner, Dalton, were also injured in the blast, Casey said.Both men were treated and released from a medical facility in Iraq and will be returning home later this month for a regular rest and relaxation break, Casey said.She said last week’s incident was the fourth of its kind involving area members of the 2-136.None of the incidents have resulted in fatalities, she added.