Me and my crew

Yes, I am still alive, just have been very busy and un-motivated to blog.  Blogging was fun/new at the beginning now it is like work, and I have enough of that.  Things are really getting bad in AFG, we have lost two people out of our Task Force in last month.  One was a friend and in my job I had to go pack up all his earthly belonging and ship them back to his family, talk about a hard thing (wife and two kids) tell me that doesn't hit close to home.  Pray for me this gig is wearing on me, only have around 35 days until my relief is here, thank God.  Also want everyone to pray for a friend of mine Brian Simonson, we shared an office in Guam, and were at Naval Postgraduate School together, he gets to AFG in the next couple of weeks and will not have the luxury of being at a very secure base like the one I am at.  We don't know where he will be stationed but I do know what he will be doing and it won't be at as big a base.  Just pray for him and his family he is coming at a very violent time, the last 3 months have been more violent in AFG than Iraq.  Thanks once again for all your prayers and support.

23rd Psalm from Afghanistan

The LORD is my squad leader,

I don't have to do more with less.

He makes me lie down in clean B-Huts,

he leads me beside the 24-hour DFAC.

He restores my 14 hour work day;

He guides me to an empty row of seats on the rotator

for his name's sake.

Even though I patrol down a highway littered with IED's,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Your NVG's and your GPS, they comfort me.

You prepare a home cooked meal for me in front of the terrorists.

You give me a long hot shower.

There's no rationing at Friday night surf and turf.

Surely liberty and extra pass days will follow me all the days of my life.

And my country will never need me to deploy again.

This was on the back of the bulletin at church on Sunday, thought someone might enjoy

I have been gone

I know all of you have been waiting for my latest post, I am sorry it took me so long.  I have had a few factors to overcome to allow me to post:  1.  I have been out on business trips twice since my last post, and 2.  My XO opened his big mouth and ruined the gig a few of us had on getting free Internet.  #1 was a blast I went and saw places that I will never forget, and that is about all I can say.  Of note it was 114 degrees at one place I visited, when you walked outside it was like Mike Tyson hit you in the face, man that is hot.  #2 well I was able to work that out obviously or I would not be posting as we speak.

Sorry I don't have any pictures from my trips wish I did but never had my camera on me when the Kodak moment arose.  Last Sunday was half way night officially, this is a Navy deployment thing were you celebrate being half way done with your deployment.  So all of my peeps and I went out and celebrated with pizza and hair cuts, not that is taking it to the extreme.  So now it is all down hill, half way through with deployment and only approximately three months left.  I hope they move as fast as these first three.  Well I was supposed to go on R and R this coming week but I moved it back to the end of June, mostly because I here the weather in Qatar is much more hospitable then than in May.  For those of you wondering, the word on the street is about 120 degrees every day sounds fun, I will be sure and take pictures to document the sweaty fat man tours.

OUT

Highlights from my recent business trip

View from the back of the Chinook, on my way to my destination

Now I know a lot of you are wondering why I am traveling, well here is the long and short.  I had to go out and do a site survey at this remote FOB where I will be building a set of barracks for the team we support there.  So when I got there on Friday I did all the work and met with all the people that I needed to, so Saturday I was able to hang out.  So what did I do, well I kicked it with the Minnesota Viking Cheerleaders for the morning.  E-Dog get your chin of the ground, don't be to jealous, but see what happens on an IA, maybe you should volunteer.

Proof

So after I hung out with the Viking's girls, I got the unique opportunity to go on a mission with our team at my vacation destiny.  So as all you faithful readers know I work for TF Paladin, who is the Counter IED TF for AFG.  So what that means when we get notified there are IEDs that are found, or worst case one of our vehicles hits it we go exploit the device.  That is where the CSI/Unit comes in to play.  So Saturday afternoon I got to go out on a mission, an IED had been found and we went up and blew it up and exploited the sight.  Was quite a day, temperature was about 107, got to ride in an up-armored Hummer for about 3 hours each way, actually felt like a real solider.  So here are some pictures of my field trip to the zoo mom:

Village we stopped at, though I wasn't alive in biblical days it was like a time warp back

Kids playing 100M from the IED location, and you think our streets are bad

IED hole after we blew it up, man that was cool

So after we got back to the base it was bed time.  So I got up this morning to some sergeant beating on my door, let me back up, my helicopter ride home the next day had been cancelled, so I was going to be stuck in outer AFG for two more days. That was going to be more fun than I should be allowed, so the sergeant was knocking on my door to tell me that there was another flight that just got turned on, but I would have to go up to the LZ (landing zone) and work a drug deal to get on it.  So I did, I got on a Blackhawk and got the scenic tour of Northeast AFG, was pretty stincken cool.  So the last place we stopped in Jalalabad we picked up some passengers.  This poor young girl, and I do mean young, she could not have been in the military much longer than breakfast, was sitting across form me.  So we take off and get down in between the mountains and we are banking left and banking right as we follow the main highway through, and what does miss breakfast do.  You guessed it she loses her breakfast, luckily she pulled out her cover, hat for you non military people and chuncked the groceries in her cover.  You can see it in her hand, I know you are thinking why did you take a picture, and the only reason or answer I have is for this blog, I thought you all would get a kick out of it.  Well now I am back in BAF and back to the grind stone, but keep yourself dialed in because I do have another business trip coming up, and I hope it is just as much fun.

 

I MADE IT

To all you who have been wondering if I made my business trip, I did. I took a helicoptor on Friday to my destination. It was the ride of my life, I was on the last seat in the back of a Chinook, with a tail gunner hanging out the back cargo door right next to me. Got some good pictures will post when I get home to BAF. The pilot flew that chopper through the mountains like a Porshe on a winding road, one dude got sick, it was like a good roller coaster ride, with guns. Though there was one time when we lost a lot of altitude very quickly and it was even a little nerve racking for me. I have had a good time, got to do some really cool stuff that I will go into more detail when I get, because I cannot do it justice without pictures.

Just checking in

So my first trip of the week got cancelled, and we will see what tomorrow brings for my next.  Things other than that are pretty slow right now.   

So I found out that AFG has a huge issue with homosexuality, don't ask me why, I just got wind of it.  So a good buddy of mine here had to go out to this remote FOB (forward operating base) which was actually very close to where Pat Tillman was killed, but that is a whole other story.  So this FOB has two sides the ISAF/NATO side and the ANA (AFG National Army) which is half the reason the US is here to train up the ANA.  So my buddy is hanging out on Wednesday night, and someone says make sure you stay in your room tomorrow it is man-love Thursday. So my buddy is like what are you talking about, and he goes on to find out that the ANA hooks up with each other on Thursday. Now I know you are thinking why Thursday, well I don't know, because Tuesday sounds like a much better day to me, yeah right.  So all that to say next time you are in AFG watch your six on man-love Thursday.  For those of you who are now thinking what is my six, that would be the six o'clock position which would be your rear.

When I started this blogging gig I thought I would have so much to say, but I don't.  Maybe it is because everyday here is Groundhog day.  You know it is bad when you track the days by what is being served at the DFAC.  Like tomorrow is surf and turf, now that is something to get excited about.  Tonight was BBQ, I always look forward to that, but the highlight of my week is the drive home from BBQ when I get to lay out the window and yell at all the Air Force people, now that is exciting.  I was thinking tomorrow as I ride the helicopter to my business destination maybe I could fire off a few rounds just to make sure my weapon still works, that would be exciting.

Well that is enough rambling for this post if you want to even call it a post.

Good Book

I just finished a book yesterday I would like to recommend to all, "The Kite Runner".  The book has to do with AFG living and the story of one young boy growing into a man.  Now if you are lazy like me, I hear it came out on movie late in 2007.  Easy read and well worth your time.  Keep me in your prayers I will be going outside the wire next week twice.