Bryan Tull, a Hoover resident and broadcast specialist with the United States Army, visited Shelby Academy students Jan. 24 while on 10-day leave from serving in Iraq.

Students from Debra Collins&8217;s 2nd grade class began e-mailing Tull in September when Collins learned he was in Iraq. Her class previously had been e-mailing her own son while he was serving in Afghanistan.

Tull brought pictures to the school, and showed students what everyday life was like for him in the Army. Being a broadcast specialist E4, Tull spends time reporting news from all over Iraq and the middle east.

He told students, &8220;I tell soldiers&8217; stories both good and bad. We&8217;re not Army propaganda, we do both.&8221;

He told his own story, however, to Shelby Academy students about how he wanted to follow in his father&8217;s footsteps by serving in the armed forces.

He also talked about the schools he and his unit visited while in Iraq, explaining

the differences between American and Iraqi cultures and how Iraq was modernizing in many areas.

He showed one picture of an Iraqi boy clutching a soccer ball Tull said he gave him, and said he and his comrades would throw candy from envoys and tanks whenever they drove by children.

The students at Shelby Academy had e-mailed several questions to Tull while he was in Iraq, and during his visit he answered several of the questions such as, &8220;Do you have any pets in Iraq?&8221; and &8220;Where do you go to church?&8221;

However, the students had many more questions for Tull, and wanted to know everything from where he slept and the names of the bad guys to what were the benefits of being in the Army.

Tull has four and half months left in Iraq, where he is based in Balad at his station, Anaconda