Great Day

Wow what can I say, I think things always happen for a reason. My day starts out like any other day here in Afghanistan I am asked to take pictures of the reenlistment ceremony followed by our Path Finders graduation. The first I am all for the second one makes me a little nervous. You see the Path Finders that I talk of are local Afghani nationals that come on our fob and are trained by our Path Finders on how to hook up sling loads and clear landing zones. And I prefer those guys stay off the FOB all together. So anyway back to my story, I am standing out side for over an hour for both of these to take place and I start to feel a little sick. I finish taking pictures and I give my SIM card to our PAO ( public afars officer) who will then try to put them all on their computer make a DVD and bring all the pictures to work and put some of them up on our Facebook page. Anyway I am off to my room to take a couple of Tylenol and try to start feeling better. Wishfully thinking after about another hour I am in the bathroom throwing up, yuck... So I go to the CP ( command post) and let the battle captain know I will not be flying tonight. Off to my room where I turn off all the lights and try to take a quick nap and hope to feel better. Not much luck so I get up go into the office where SFC Bascome tells me I have mail, so off to the orderly room to get my mail then off to my room. I received the most wonderful package from my family that I think I could ever receive. Candy, home made brownies and the best video that a home sick Dad could ever ask for. I also received a birthday card that had personal notes from all the people that I care the most about. I thought about posting what they said to me on my blog but I want to keep those things private. But guys that card made my day, and I miss all of you so much. The video was amazing and I wish I could have been there for some of that cake Shirley it looked great. I am 9000 miles away but I felt like I was there with you guys. I love how you guys talk to the video like I am in the next room and I especially love how you include me in the day to day things. Shirley the reference to me when Elli was recording you in your room and Iggy was chewing on the box and Elli kept looking away with the video camera made me laugh so hard it hurt. I love you guys so much. I hope that things continue to run as smooth as they seem to be running and that you all have a great new year and all do well in school. Robby I loved your note in my card and I want you to know that I am proud of you and I know you will continue to do amazing things at school. I am going to write more tomorrow but for tonight I am going to try to get some sleep and hopefully I will feel better tomorrow. Night all

Short post

I had a nice day off and I am in bed getting ready to try and FaceTime with the family but I wanted to get on here and talk real quick about a series that I have been trying to watch. It's all about WW2 and what Hitler did with the Jews. That man was pure evil and I just can't figure how it was allowed to happen. But as I watch this series that I have at home as well on the hard drive under documentaries it just makes me sad that this could have happened. But what I can't understand is that sometimes it seems like they just walked to the slaughter and put up no fight. I just can't understand how that part of it could have happened. I am sure in their minds they knew what was about to happen and they had the numbers to make a difference but they continued to go along with it, it is so sad. The people in this country are so different they know they are out gunned and they know they can not win against the US but they will fight with all of their being right wrong or in different to the bitter end. Even if it means that they will sacrifice their life for their cause, I can't figure them out either. I am not saying that I have sympathy for the insurgents over here that is not the case at all. I want for these people the same things that I would want for my own kids and under the rule of the Taliban that will just never be. Because we all know that the value of a woman over here is just a little more than a goat and I don't think that will ever change. We hear stories about local woman who are having acid poured on them because they want to go to school and learn and it breaks my heart. There is a local woman that works on the FOB in the laundry tent that you can tell she had acid thrown on her face I can only wonder why, it's so sad was she trying to learn to read or was it some other crazy reason. What is wrong with this world, why are people so crazy. We will be shutting this FOB down when we leave and we will be pulling out of Afghanistan in 2014 and I can't help to think of what will happen to all the people that work on the FOBs all over this country, what will happen to them? They will not be safe most of them live and work on these FOBs because they are not safe in the local towns all ready, they surly will not be safe once we leave. Many are from other countries but some are local and those are the ones I worry about. Like the brothers that ran BlockBuster back at FOB Salerno from my last tour the stories they use to tell me about the escapades they use to go through just to get on FOB Salerno to sell us DVD movies that they would smuggle in from China to support their families. I worry about all of them, I would love it if I could feel like the two years I spent in this country really made a difference. And no one would be in harms way after we pulled the plug and withdrew all of our troops. Well crap it looks like once again I have gone off the reservation on this post and just started talking about all kinds of stuff. I preach all the time for people not to stress the small stuff and trust me most things are small stuff, but the older I get the more I can't look past what I know is going on around me and not let it get to me. But this place will not be changed one bit for the ten years we have spent here, and that truly makes me feel sad. Sorry to end this post on such a downer but I am going to try to talk with the family before I go to bed, night all

Game Face

I tell people all the time to get their game face on we have a mission to accomplish over here. Sometimes its easier said than done, we do have an important mission to do but this place can take a lot out of you if you let it. I try not too but it has a way of wearing you down anyway. I am still flying five times in any given week on a rotating schedule that allows me to vary my off days and cover down on all the things that I am responsible for. I try to make my rounds every day to try to keep the peace between all my airframes and to settle things at the lowest level. But sometimes I am just a little too late and things get elevated to an all new level. I feel like I am a cat heard er sometimes and I just need a bigger stick to help me keep people in line. I am a big advocate of people need to work things out at the lowest level, primarily because it helps to build the team. But sometimes it just aggravates the situation when it gets elevated. Well most of you probably think I am talking in riddles right now so I will add some context to this ramble. My day started out when I meet up with the Task Force Commander to do his APART. He asked me if I knew anything about what was going on with the maintenance on the OH-58D's and I told him no. After our flight I went to the 58D guys and addressed the issue and apparently they are having some trouble with our AMO (aviation maintenance officer) who I will admit does have some people skills issues but none the less I thought he was in check. The bottom line is if they would have come to me I could have addressed the situation and resolved the problem so much easier. Hopefully after our conversation this will never happen again and I explained to all parties involved that if kept at the appropriate level people do not come across like they are unwilling to work together by the Boss and that is what I want.

So on a lighter note the Boss and I flew together tonight and we did his APART and for the most part it was an enjoyable flight. I have been so busy lately doing progressions and check rides that I have not had a chance to do many actual mission flights for some time now. Not that I am complaining though most of the mission flights are flying 6 to 8 hours and that sounds like too much work. I am happy logging 2 to 4 hours a night when I fly. The terain around here is pretty like I have said before we are sitting at 6500 feet and the mountains around here are anywhere from 8K to 12K high and we are located in a great big central vally with a mountain ridgeline to our south that stretches for miles. They have been snow capped for most of the time we have been here and they are pretty to look at.

Elli, again I want to thank you for your journal, I have truly enjoyed reading it. I try to only read a page when I know I have time to write back and that is exactly what I have been doing. How you kept that a secret is beyond me. It kind of makes me feel like I don't give you kids enough attention. I know Shirley probable feels that way and she may not be to far off track, but I know from here on out you will have my ear. I love you kids more than you will ever know you are my inspiration and you help me get through the really tough days. Marie I hope all is well it sounds like things are working out pretty good with Sam I never doughted it for a minute and I hope you guys continue to have a great time during her stay, she is a great kid as well. Ok I have rambled on for some time now its time for me to hit it, night all

My birthday

As you can guess my Birthday went pretty well, just got to talk to three of the best kids in this world and they all wished me a happy Birthday so what more can a dad ask for. I told them to go out and celebrate my Birthday for me by going to my favorite Italian restaurant and I think they are going to see Sam at work which is ok too. It's a close second to the best Italian restaurant in town. I think that I am a lucky man to have three great kids that truly know what is important in life and every day that goes bye they continue to impress me with their actions and their strong convictions on what is right, thanks you three. As for me I had a good flight with Dave and I have but three more minutes of my birthday and then it will be the 20th of January. I received a care package from Skyline chilly today and a Birthday card from my sister Sue thanks for both Sue. I will have to send you a picture of the chilly party that I am going to try to throw. I just need to talk to the cooks at the chow hall and see what I can get them to help me with as far as cheese and pasta and onions and what not. As for FOB Wolverine we are still standing tall doing the best we can trying to make our small part of Afghanistan a little safer for the rest of the Afghani's. I hope to get done flying tomorrow early as I can so I can get some dinner before the chow hall closes. It's getting to be a trick these days doing all of these APARTS doing a day out night return takes me right through the dinner time. Tomorrow it's me and the Boss, I am doing the Colonels APART and we will get together around 1300 and do some table talk and then head out to the Aircraft to fly for about 5 hours or so. I hope the weather holds out so we can get him done. Well I think it's getting late so I am going to cut this post short, I hope you all enjoyed my birthday as much as I did and try to remember that life is short, don't sweat the small things that just don't matter. Enjoy the loved ones around you and try to let them know how you feel as often as you can, night all

30 minutes till I am 47

Well here I am again having a Birthday in a small room in a country no one would ever want to visit let alone stay for nine months. But it's ok, I got this, I do what I have to do so others can live normal lives. I have less than four years till I can retire, then some other guy or gal can spend their Birthday in some remote location that I am sure I will not want to visit either. As for me I was off today and all I had to do was give three pilots briefs to my entire Task Force to bring them up to speed on some of the changes around FOB Wolverine. Tomorrow I fly with one of my good friends Dave Lewis, he and I will do his instrument check ride for his APART. Dave has been at Savannah for some time he is a close friend and its nice to have him here to talk to sometimes. Prior to going to flight school Dave was with the Rangers he is on his fifth deployment second as an Aviator and I am lucky to have him here with me. I know that he and I will be close friends for many many years. One thing you can always count on in the Army is the quality of the people that you will get to know. The friendships and the bonds that you develop as a Soldier with other Soldiers will last a lifetime. I can't really explain some of it but I think a lot of what keeps us together is the fact that we truly understand what's at steak. I fly with Dave on missions over here as his wingman and he flies as mine as well. And there is something to be said for a person that will watch you fly through gunfire to protect troops on the ground and will fly through that same gunfire to cover your break turn to keep you safe. And the crazy thing is I don't even have to ask him to do it.

I am a so slow at typing on this iPad, I will be 47 in two minutes, I am not sure exactly when I was born but its almost midnight. Well now it's midnight so Happy Birthday to me. I hope this year is a good year and that all the people I love continue to be around to enjoy it with me. I miss Marie and the Girls and Robby I am so proud of you and all you have done at school. I always new you had it in you and I know you will get a 4.0 next semester as well. I look forward to FaceTiming with you guys this weekend and I hope that the four of you celebrate my Birthday at my favorite Italian restaurant, and you all know where that is. You guys will have to send me some pictures from those new high speed phones that you all have. Well Elli and Shirley should be getting off the Buss soon so I think I will cut this one short so I can try to FaceTime with them tonight. All my love to everyone on my Birthday, night all

Pretty tired

Well flew three hours, not a long flight but it made me pretty tired. Tomorrow I will be able to take another ambien before I go to bed I am not on the flight schedule Friday but I have to give three pilots briefs. I am doing three to make sure all my pilots are able to get to one and receive the information that I am trying to put out. We have a lot of policy letters coming down from BDE (brigade) than I need to put out. I forward them to my flight operations officer who scans them and put them in my reading card file that I am responsible for but Alex manages for me. Alex is first generation Romanian who came to the US as a teen and he is one of our PI's ( pilot). So anyway even though I am off Friday I will still spend all day at the office doing classes, one at 1100 another at 1500 and then the last one at 1900. It will be a long day but I have to make sure the information gets out. Most of it deals with ROE( rules of engagement) and some with minimum equipment that the aircraft needs to have to take off.

Well I tried to FaceTime with the girls at 3:15 PM and now it's 3:35 PM so I think I will try one more time before I go to bed hope all are well, will write more soon, night all

Finally asked the Doc for help

I finally gave up, I don't sleep we'll as most of you know so I finally went to the Doc and asked for some help. The name of my help is ambien and it helps pretty good. Of course I can only take it on nights when I am not flying the next day but none the less it helps me get a restful night sleep. Last night Mike Carman and I did his APART and after we were done we both went to see the Doc. It was about midnight but that did not stop us and the Doc was glad to help us both out. Mike is going to team one tomorrow and he just needed something to help him adjust to his new shift. He will start briefing at 0500 in the morning, ouch. I am on team two for the most part I brief sometime around 1300 or so and my shift ends anywhere between 2300 and 0200. On this shift I have the potential to fly folks daytime and nighttime so it makes it easy to do APARTS and progressions.

There has been lots of rumors as to when this FOB will close, I am not in the rumor business so I stay clear but if we are not here for nine months it sure would not hurt my feelings. We have a Seal team that wants to come here and set up shop since we are in the middle of their area of operation, can't say I blame them I have grown pretty fond of this place. The food is not to bad and the mountains to the south of the FOB are actually quite beautiful to look at. I am on tomorrow to do Ross Small's APART he has all his day task complete so it should beretta quick. I hope to get as many APARTS done as I can. Dave Lewis is coming to team two between Dave and I, I am sure we will be up to date in no time.

I am going to try to FaceTime with the girls here in a little bit I have struck out the last three night in a row. No one answers and I try to call five or six times a night. I hope the iPad is ok, I know Elli is taking good care of it. I also know the girls are back in school and they are all pretty busy, I miss them and I hope they are doing well. The weather here is cold and nasty just like I figured it would be before I even got here. And to make matters worse the burn pit is about a half mile if that from where I live work and sleep. So it always stinks of burning plastic and God knows what else, I am sure we are all breathing so horrible toxins that we will read ten years from now may cause cancer. In fairness to the ARMY they did put the burn pit down wind but it seems that more times than not the wind blows that crap right over us. I will have to do some homework on that one, ill keep you all posted. Well I think it's time to try to call home so I will sign off for now, night all

Trying to stay motivated

Well so far so good, I am trying to stay motivated however it is really tough sometimes. We are being pulled so many different directions and yet we still need to always do the right thing. What makes it so hard sometimes is the simple fact that this country will never change, once we pack up and move out these people we resort to the same barbaric things they have been doing for over a century. It will never end, and as hard as we try to help them out of the stone ages they will fall back to what they know. And that in itself makes me so sad I relate everything to how I would like for these kids to have a chance and no mater how I keep playing it out in my head it always ends the same way. There is no future in this country for anyone the poor will remain poor and the drug-lords will remain in power like the thugs they have been for decades. And when I say drug lords I am not suggesting that they are rolling in the dough because that is not the case. The average Afghani makes two thousand dollars a year but a drug grower might make five thousand dollars a year. As you can see the real money is made on the blood sweat and tears of these peasant opium growers. And they will never get rich off what they grow its is just a little better than the average wage in this country.

I miss Marie and the kids, I am ready to close this chapter and move on. It's hard to try so hard to make a difference when I know in my heart the fight will never be won. With the draw down being played out in the political arena and the end date written in stone by the commander in chief, this fight is over. All I can do at this point is do my best to make sure all of my guys are doing the right things that will keep them out of harms way and get them home.

Eight months to go, unless we get out of here early for some reason and no one really knows what the time frame is for retrograde operations, time will tell. On a positive note I have the best family a man could ever ask for and for that I am truly blessed and thankful. I will be trying to FaceTime with them tonight as soon as I post this so on that note I am out of here, night all

Long day

Long day going to bed I am on to fly tomorrow too. I hope all are safe and sound at home I miss you guys and I wish I could be there. I will be off shift day after tomorrow and I hope to face time with Marie and the kids on Saturday, night all

Keeping Busy

Well I do my best to keep busy around this place most of the time. I fly I work I do paperwork till my eyes bleed I eat and I sleep then I start the process all over again, its a never ending vicious cycle. As most of you know from the last time I was here this is not the fighting season it is to cold for fighting, snow and sandals just do not mix. This gives us a great opportunity to train our guys and get them ready for the fighting season which historical starts about March April time frame. Flying in the mountains can be a wonderful thing the scenery is breath taking and the snow capped mountains really are something to see. We have no idea what this spring will deliver to us rumor has it they know we are leaving and some think they do not want to provoke us into spending any additional time in their country, again time will tell. i try to keep up with the news back in the states as best I can, its hard with the slow Internet we have but I do the best I can.

I got to face time with Marie and the kids the other night, and when I say kids I am including Sam Smith, she came down for a extended visit to spend some time with Marie and the girls. I am sure it will be nice to have her there and I hope they all have a great time. Sam, welcome and stay as long as you like.

I will try to put some pictures up tonight but I will have to shrink them so it doesn't take all night again I hope all is well and I will write more soon, night all

TOA Complete

Well we officially took over all responsibilities of our FOB today. Task Force Viper is in the house. I was off shift today and I spent most of my day doing all the paperwork that is required for us to run operations on our own. I spent most of my time running all around the FOB making sure everything was in order and all the "T" are crossed and the i's are dotted. I did find a little time tonight to sit in my room and watch a movie called Hope~Springs. it was a cute moving except for it Kept restarting like 45 times because it was a poor copy I picked up in our office that one of the Hawaii guys must have bought from the Bazaar. None the less it made me think of home and lots of other things as well. Tomorrow I am on the schedule to fly one of our new Captains and give him a PIC eval, we need more Pilots In Command to help with the work load. I have flown with him a few times and for the most part I think he is more than ready. We are being told that we might me closing FOB Wolverine and going somewhere else at a time to still be determined. Nothing like unpacking all of my stuff trying to make this place more like home just to have to pack everything up in a couple or a few or 5-6 months or who knows when just to move to some other God forsaken place over here. I try to stay positive and I try to set a positive example for all my new guys but it is hard sometimes. But I know that negativity spreads like cancer and it does no one any good so I have to stay positive to help keep people up beat and on track.

I have been reading a page from Elli's journal every night when I know I have time to sit here and think about my day and write her back on the back page of the one I read. She has no idea what that journal has done for my morale she truly is a little saint. And speaking of saints Shirley and her video that I have now watched over 10 times is a blessing as well. Thanks girls I love you so much....

Well like I said we are now in charge of FOB Wolverine all the Hawaii guys are gone and we control everything that goes on on this FOB right wrong or indifferent. We will make a difference however the rules have changed and our mission is so much different than last time. We will do our jobs to the best of our abilities and we will protect the ground units that we support to the full extent of our capabilities.

I have been taking my share of pictures but you all know the deal the pictures are large and the internet is crappy so it will take forever to put pictures up but I will shrink some and try to put some up of this area soon. At least the internet is working with FaceTime and I have been getting the chance to FaceTime with Marie and the kids pretty often I am happy for that. Speaking of FaceTime I think that is what is next on my agenda for tonight. I hope all are doing well and I hope to catch up with all of you soon. Now that I am secure I can write a little more freely and if any of you know anyone that can't log on please tell them to shoot me an e-mail so I can add them to my approved list, night all

The new year

Well it's 2013 and for the most part not much has changed, I still work 7 days a week and fly 5 or 6. This place has changed so much from the last time I was here we are definitely shutting this place down and trying to prepare the Afghanies for what challenges they will face. As for FOB Wolverine we will be moving to a new location is this same province so we can still cover our same mission set just a downsized footprint. We will probably be sending our small gunship the OH-58 home early along with some of our UH-60s our new footprint will be much smaller. As for me and our Apaches we will be here till the end of our tour along with our CH-47s. They will keep the work horse aircraft till the end of the deployment, lucky us... I am not bitter though I am happy for the guys that will be able to go home early I think we are all ready to go home from this place though. I can never in a million years ever see this place as a place that I will ever be able to come to just to visit. We had a long conversation about that in the chow hall tonight, I wonder if anyone ever thought that people would ever go to Germany while the war was going on, or perhaps Japan? And now look at those countries, but I can never see this country being a place safe enough to ever come too.

On a sadder note one of our Soldiers tried to take his own life last night, he received bad news from home and and it was more than I guess he could deal with. I feel sorry for him I know how hard it is sometimes to deal with all that goes on over here and as much as you try to explain it to people you just can't get the point across. The night before last we had another Soldier injured from a rocket in one of our 58s they were doing a firing voltage check and one of the rockets went off with him directly behind it. The thrust from the rocket burned through four layers of his clothing to his chest where he received third degree burns to 40% of his chest and neck. The flew him out of here to a trauma unit near here and he is now in route to Germany. He is still in critical condition with a shattered kidney and some other damaged organs as well. The rocket flew about twenty feet in front of the aircraft impacted a hesco barrier which is nothing more than a five foot by five foot basket that we fill with gravel and sand. The rocket had a ten pound war head that blew up inside the hesco which absorbed all the blast. I pray he recovers and I pray that they are able to save his kidney. In my mind there is nothing over here worth putting any more of these young kids lives in harms way, he was a private trying to do the right thing and he had an accident and now his life will never be the same. He will have to have skin grafts to most of his chest and neck and he will never forget this place and he was only here for three weeks. I am glad that at least he will be able to go home and be near his new wife and child while he recovers.

I am the oldest Soldier in TF Viper, I try to do my part to keep things up beat and to give direction and motivation to all the Soldiers in this Task Force. I try to talk to as many folks as I can every day in my day to day routine. Most of the folks in this Task Force could be my kids more than half are twenty years old or less. Everyone here knows that I have one job and one concern, not how many hours we fly, not how many missions we support and not how many enemy we remove from the battle field. My job and my primary focus is to get all of us home safe, I could give two shits about place, we have been trying for ten years to make a difference over here and these people just can't seem to grasp the basic concept of freedom. All they have ever known is war and fighting, they have been fighting for generations it's all they know. I do truly feel sorry for them as a people I would love for their children to have the opportunities that my children will have but I feel even if we stayed here for another thirty years it would still not be enough time.

Wow I got a little long winded tonight, I got to FaceTime with the kids and my mind has just been racing tonight. But it is now one in the morning and I need to get some sleep. I will write again soon till then, night all

3.2 hour flight

Was a pretty easy night, left around 1600 to do a simple CCT and I got redirected to do a CH-47 escort into a less than friendly area. Not to shabby and here we sit in the ready room waiting for any follow on missions that may come our way. I am off tomorrow and I am looking forward to relaxing the best I can I know for sure I will sleep in. I do have a meeting with the commander and one of my pilots in reference to his OER (officer evaluation report) at 1300 but I am always up by then anyway. Well again a fairly easy mission I am going to get off of here and start packing up my flight gear and get ready to call it a night, night all

Bathroom Closed

Well what can I say, for the last two days we are limited to using the portable toilets. The weather has kept the trucks from being able to haul away the Black Water so the first thing they close are the bathrooms. The shower rooms are still open for now but they will be the next to close if they cant get the trucks through.

I am on shift tonight, I will be giving one of our pilots his CCT (combat crew training) flight. Once he is complete with that he will be put on the schedule to fly with one of our PIC (pilot in command) to take him on a mission flight and then he will be FMQ (fully mission qualified). As for me I am flying about five days a week and its not to bad this area is so much smaller than the area we had to cover last time. I just got a call we may have a urgent medevac mission I have to go.....

Long Day

I lied yesterday, today is the coldest day that I have ever experienced in my life. The day started a little earlier than I would have hoped, one of my Warrant Officers had a NG (negligent discharge) which means he was playing with his weapon and it accidental went off. Fortunately no one was hurt however it will take him out of the fight for a while and make it harder for us to fill seats. He will be back up once his 15-6 investigation is complete. Ultimately his career is over he and the Boss will have to fly to Kandahar and see the Commanding General who will give him a GOMAR which will go on his permanent record and keep him from getting promoted. So basically his career is over he will not get promoted with a GOMAR and once he is a second time non select for promotion the army will put him out.

On a lighter note Mike and I are on shift tonight and the weather will keep us on the ground all shift. I think I am the only one in our shop that has not fallen in the snow it is such a winter wonderland here at Wolverine. And we are not even in the cold season yet. We are being told that Jan/Feb are the coldest months here. Oh boy I can't wait I just love the cold weather.

So like I said in an earlier post I received a journal from Elli and I have been reading just one page a night. Last night I read a page and wrote back to her just like I hope to do every time. I think if I am too tired to write back to her I will save reading a page for the next night. When I opened my mail on Christmas day and received Elli's book and Shirley's movie I truly felt like I was home for just a bit. Thanks Girls...

So the living conditions on FOB Wolverine, other than the snow and the cold weather are not so bad. It is a 10 minute walk from where I work and sleep to the chow hall and the gym and chapel. I live in TOC (tactical operation center) village with most of the primary staff. The Boss wanted me to live in the TOC with him and the SGM (Seargent major) but I told him that with all the sleep problems I have I think it would be in every ones best interest for me to live in TOC village. Not that TOC village is fare its only 20 yards from the TOC but I live in a eight foot by 18 foot trailer with its own heat and air conditioning. I am not to disappointed with the living conditions here my room is much bigger than the one I had on my last trip the only down side is that i am living in a tin trailer and not a hardened bunker like last tour. Although on this tour we have a AGIS (don't know what it stands for) Balloon on a tether that is 1500 feet above our FOB that has amazing optics that allows us to look out 30km. So we are able to react to any threat that should come near or try to attack our FOB. FOB Wolverine has not had indirect fire hit the FOB in over a year now that they have the balloon.

The food on the FOB is pretty good it is so much better than Manas and Kandhar where we stoped on our way in to Afghanistan. No real milk just like last time but they try hard to make it nice. We have steaks and lobster on Fridays just like last time most of the time and on Sunday nights they have wings night and they are really good. All and all I am hoping to loose a few pounds anyway so missing a few meals here and there wont kill me. My shift which is from 1100 to 0100 sometimes only allows me to get one meal a day but like I said I wanted to loose a few pounds. Not to mention all the walking we do here, besides the chow hall the flight line is also a ten minute walk from where I live. We have to cross two revines to get to the flight line and when the snow is deep that takes some time. So far the snow is only three or four inches deep but this place has had snow falls as deep as a couple of feet. Remember we are sittin at 6500 feet above sea level. The highest peaks in the Smokies are only in the high 5000. Well its late and I am going to hit it, night all....

What a Day

I lied yesterday, today is the coldest day that I have ever experienced in my life. The day started a little earlier than I would have hoped, one of my Warrant Officers had a NG (negligent discharge) which means he was playing with his weapon and it accidental went off. Fortunately no one was hurt however it will take him out of the fight for a while and make it harder for us to fill seats. He will be back up once his 15-6 investigation is complete. Ultimately his career is over he and the Boss will have to fly to Kandahar and see the Commanding General who will give him a GOMAR which will go on his permanent record and keep him from getting promoted. So basically his career is over he will not get promoted with a GOMAR and once he is a second time non select for promotion the army will put him out.

On a lighter note Mike and I are on shift tonight and the weather will keep us on the ground all shift. I think I am the only one in our shop that has not fallen in the snow it is such a winter wonderland here at Wolverine. And we are not even in the cold season yet. We are being told that Jan/Feb are the coldest months here. Oh boy I can't wait I just love the cold weather.

So like I said in an earlier post I received a journal from Elli and I have been reading just one page a night. Last night I read a page and wrote back to her just like I hope to do every time. I think if I am too tired to write back to her I will save reading a page for the next night. When I opened my mail on Christmas day and received Elli's book and Shirley's movie I truly felt like I was home for just a bit. Thanks Girls...

So the living conditions on FOB Wolverine, other than the snow and the cold weather are not so bad. It is a 10 minute walk from where I work and sleep to the chow hall and the gym and chapel. I live in TOC (tactical operation center) village with most of the primary staff. The Boss wanted me to live in the TOC with him and the SGM (Seargent major) but I told him that with all the sleep problems I have I think it would be in every ones best interest for me to live in TOC village. Not that TOC village is fare its only 20 yards from the TOC but I live in a eight foot by 18 foot trailer with its own heat and air conditioning. I am not to disappointed with the living conditions here my room is much bigger than the one I had on my last trip the only down side is that i am living in a tin trailer and not a hardened bunker like last tour. Although on this tour we have a AGIS (don't know what it stands for) Balloon on a tether that is 1500 feet above our FOB that has amazing optics that allows us to look out 30km. So we are able to react to any threat that should come near or try to attack our FOB. FOB Wolverine has not had indirect fire hit the FOB in over a year now that they have the balloon.

The food on the FOB is pretty good it is so much better than Manas and Kandhar where we stoped on our way in to Afghanistan. No real milk just like last time but they try hard to make it nice. We have steaks and lobster on Fridays just like last time most of the time and on Sunday nights they have wings night and they are really good. All and all I am hoping to loose a few pounds anyway so missing a few meals here and there wont kill me. My shift which is from 1100 to 0100 sometimes only allows me to get one meal a day but like I said I wanted to loose a few pounds. Not to mention all the walking we do here, besides the chow hall the flight line is also a ten minute walk from where I live. We have to cross two revines to get to the flight line and when the snow is deep that takes some time. So far the snow is only three or four inches deep but this place has had snow falls as deep as a couple of feet. Remember we are sittin at 6500 feet above sea level. The highest peaks in the Smokies are only in the high 5000. Well its late and I am going to hit it, night all....

Too cold

Well just a couple of days ago it was not to bad outside, today it feels like its 100 below. The heater in my room is doing the best it can but it is just no cutting the mustard. Oh we'll I guess that means it will be time to go to bed early and get under the covers. I was off shift today and I was in the office from sun up till just an hour ago it's now 1106pm so much for a day off. I will be on for the next three days and the weather is going to be brutal. I woke up to snow this morning and it hasn't quit all day. I hope we have a mild winter here but I don't think we will. After all we are sitting at 6500 feet Above sea level. It is also going to be a brutal Sumer from what I am hearing from the guys we are replacing. Our area of Operation is no where near the size it was on my last trip over here. This place is much smaller but there is plenty to keep us busy. We have many miles of porous border with Pakistan and we know what comes out of that country, plenty of trouble.

I read another page of Elli's journal tonight and I wrote back to her and I hope I can keep it up. She started writing in that thing last April and kept it a secret all this time, she is such a precious little thing and I love her so much. Both of my girls are angels, between Ellis journal and Shirley's home movies I will not miss a beat being away from home this trip.

As for the Vipers, the team is coming together nicely, we are taking over the fight from the Hawaii guys and they are slowly heading back home. I could not as for more, pilots are in the books studying and staying sharp they all know that this place is no joke and you have to respect the flight conditions over here. We are flying at altitudes higher than what they are use to and we are heavier than normal with extra fuel and ammo all of my guys are doing the right thing and doing a great job. I hope that they are able to Carry this momentum through the rest of our nine month tour, if they can do that I will get them all home safe. Well it's getting late and I am on for the next three days straight so I might no write for a couple of days but I hope all of you are doing well and that you all have a happy new year, night all

Christmas

Wow what an amazing day, got two packages that lit up my day to the tenth power. Shirley made me a movie DVD which I watched twice all ready and I received a journal from Elli that she has been writing in for some time now that is chocked full of great letters that I cant wait to reed. and to top it all off I got to face time with my family and watch them open presents this morning. except for being in Afghanistan I can't complain one bit, thanks Marie for all that you do and all that you have done.

As for this Blog though I am trying to figure out how to get the security working right. I am sure I will get it eventually and when I do it will be so much nicer to not have to watch everything I say. I am sure it will come with some growing pains, Well I am going to cut this short and work on the security of this Blog for a bit Merry Christmas everyone.

Went Secure

I think it will be so much easier to do this from a secure site I will be able to talk more openly about what I want to talk about I am sure there will be a few hick ups but I will work through it. I flew four hours tonight and we dealt with a few IED in placers but for the most part it was a pretty quite night and I am exhausted  so I am going to bed. All my love to everyone and I will write more tomorrow because I get an off day. Night all

Going Secure

Hello to all, Blogger has come out with an option to go secure and I think for what I am doing on here that would make a lot of sense for me. I will try to set it up in the next few post I think all it will require is for everyone to log in and use a password. I know it may be a little less convenient however I think in the long run it will allow me to talk about more things in my blog. I will for sure keep you all posted when I go secure and I will send passwords out by e-mail for sure.

I was off shift today so I was able to work on my room a bit but I spent most of the day in my office getting things ready for the RIP to be complete. I think the Hawaii guys are ready to get out of this winter wonder land and get back to the island. tomorrow I will be giving one of our PIC (pilot in command) his AMC (air mission commander) check ride. We are hurting on AMCs right now and we need to grow a few more to make our shifts work out. I am sure he will do fine he was over here with us the last time.

 Christmas is just a few days away and once again I am not at home, I wish I could be but I know Marie will make it nice for the kids. And now that the kids are older I know they will make it nice for Marie as well. I hope that they have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year as well. I hope this deployment passes quickly and although its only nine months long we get no mid tour so it is going to be a hard stretch. This will be the longest time I have ever spent away from my family and I think it is going to be hard on all of us. Well time to hit the hey happy holidays everybody, night all

Almost Christmas

Well it's a few days from Christmas and I can't help but to wonder how things are at home. I am sure all will be fine it just sucks to have to miss yet another one with the kids. I hope that things continue to be quite here so we can all try to enjoy the holiday a little. This country has not changed one bit since I was here last. The people are still dirt poor with no clear direction for a future and no hope for a better life. It seems that all we do is for not.

I had a long discussion with one of my new pilots who is right out of flight school today, he is kind of young and he told me he has some concerns about his ability in the aircraft when it come to doing his job. I shot gunnery with him this year and he did ok, he was a little slow but he did ok. He told me that he is afraid that if things get rough and if he were to make any mistakes in the process of keeping any of the ground troops safe he feels he would never forgive himself. I had to think about that for a bit before I said anything, I finally told him that the ground forces are doing their job the best that they can and they too will make some mistakes and that he needs to stay in the books and try to do his best as well and that some things are just out of our hands and in the event that something should happen to go horribly wrong he will always know that he did his very best and it is what it is. I am not sure if what I said helped or not but I know that I have thought through that same thing. I know that we will have some tough days ahead of us but as long as we do our best we should have no regrets.

I was given this opportunity for a reason, the opportunity to take a Task Force to combat and see to it that I keep them safe to bring them all home in one peace. I too have concerns and I too worry, I know that if something goes wrong and things get bad I will feel like I should have trained harder. Task Force Viper will be successful I will make it my business to stay on these guys to do their very best and to be the most professional Aviators that they can be. We will leave here in nine months and we are all going home together, so help me God. Night all

First mission flight

Dec 21 2012, first mission flight today. It went well only 3.5 hours, me and the boss followed around a 58D and got a pretty good lay of the land for the most part I was pretty happy with the outcome. Plus it was Friday so we had steak and lobster in the chow hall when we got back not to shabby. The only thing that makes it better is if I can catch the girls on line later. I miss them something fierce, you to Robby. I hope they are having a great Christmas break I wish I could be with them. It's nice to know that Marie will make it a special time for them though. I received my first package from home today too. I ordered a lens from B and H Photo weeks ago and should have gotten it before I left, but it was coming out of New York and with all the storm damage it arrived the day after I left. The girls could have just put it in the mail but they loaded the box with my favorite candy and then sent it on its way, thank you ladies!!

We have a few more weeks with the guys from Hawaii before we take over and the RIP is going well. Morale is high and all my guys are doing a great job, I am lucky to have been able to build such a wonderful team. The terrain in the south is much different than the last place I was over here. It will take some care when it gets hot to watch the power Requirements for all of our A/C we will be challenged by the hot temps we will all have to be carefully.

Well I am a few weeks into my rotation and though I thought I was getting sick I was able to get past it and I feel like a hundred bucks, knock on wood. I am still having trouble sleeping but it is what it is. Last night I laid down at nine fell asleep after 11:30 woke up at two and had to get up at 04:45 for my mission. I am sure the Doc will help me out if it gets too bad. Oh we'll speaking of sleep I am starting to nod off as I type this so I will try to keep up with this blog to the best of my ability but till next post night all.

Getting settled

Trying to get situated and tomorrow is my first flight, can't wait to get things started. Today is the 18th of December and I am ready to go all should be good. The guys from Hawaii that we are ripping with are doing us right and I think we will be in good shape once they leave. I have received all of my things except my refrigerator that I brought from my office in savannah.

Trying to post this again today the 19th of December and still no Internet, I stopped by their office yesterday and they told me it would be back on they said it is because we have so many additional people on the FOB and the system is only designed for a certain amount which I hope is the case and we are over crowded and will be until the RIP is complete once the 25th go back to Hawaii I hope it is back to normal. They have two providers on the FOB Basxnet which is the US contract for 110 a month and they have the Italian net which is 180 a month. I got on with Basxnet to see how it would work and for the most part I was able to FaceTime with Marie and the kids just fine, but I think I may cal it and go with the Italian net just till the rip is complete.

Well time to get up and get ready for my first flight today should be pretty the snow covered mountains all around us look amazing

Day two at KAF

Well I have just a little more training and hopefully I will be out oh here tomorrow, next stop Wolverine. The weather here at KAF is much warmer than Manas but the living conditions here are terrible. I will post when I get to my FOB till then, night all

Robby's Birthday

Well we are in Kandahar and life is not so hot. We are living in a GP medium and I am sure we will all be sick before we get out of here. Not much airflow in a small tent like this stacked from front to rear with bunk beds. The Internet here is horrible and I will try to add these to my blog once I get to Wolverine. Today is Robby's B-Day and I sure wish I could have talked to him. I did however go over to the USO tent and post to his Facebook page,I tried to text Elli but I guess she just left her page up. I miss them so much this trip and I am not even there yet

Getting ready to leave Manas

Well we are all sitting here in the terminal hoping to load a plan for Kandahar soon we have been locked down now for two hours waiting on the Air Force. Hopefully they will get us out of this Siberian outback soon, night all

Getting sick

Well it did not take me to long to get sick, not sure if it was the winter weather or possibly living in a great big fest tent with another 200 guys who are also coughing and sneezing but none the less I have a nice head cold and it will make things so uncomfortable given my currant living conditions. I hope it passes quickly however I am sure that it will not. Today we did roll over training me Mike and Jerry were part of a five man crew and once they flipped our vehicle we were suppose to egress most of the other crews we watched waiting our turn were out in less than a minute. For us it was more like five, the doors weigh a crap load and we think the controller made sure they were all locked, he was suppose to leave on open for us to egress through when we finally got out we received applause from others who were waiting their turn. I think I am in love with this iPad it will sure be nice to have this trip I just hope the Internet is better this trip, till next time, night all

Hello to all from Manas

Day two in Manas

Well I tried to sleep in that got me till 0300, then got up took a shower and went with Mike and Jerry to get some chow not much else to do we have some roll over training to complete today and that is all that is on the schedule it will start at 0730. Tried to FaceTime with the family but couldn't get through so I figured I would try to post a quick message to my blog. I think we are out of here tomorrow but time will tel. It has been snowing all night and it is cold and nasty outside not something I am use to. I hope for my sake our training is inside. Till next time , night all

My home for a few days

Manas

Safe and sound in Manas, so fare so go. We will be here a couple of days and then it's off to Kandahar all and all I can't complain the trip has been pretty smooth. Me Mike and Jerry are like the new three musketeers TF SIP, Master Gunner and Safety keeping it real. I think I will be using my IPad an awful lot over here this trip it is so easy to use and the battery last all day. I will betraying to FaceTime with Marie and the girls in a few hours when they get up for school and I can't wait.

It's about 25 degrees outside and I am not use to it at all. It is a miserable temperature and we have snow all over everything. We are living in big open bay fest tents and it is infection waiting to happen       If I can get out of hear without a full blown cold I will be lucky. I will try to write more as soon as I can, till then, night alll

safe in Germany

Safe and sound in Germany, I will keep you all posted. I just got to FaceTime with Marie and the kids it doesn't get any better I miss them so much all ready, night all

My firs post from my Ipad

Well except for the extremely small keyboard I think this is doable. This will be my go to device when I get to my FOB. I will keep you all posted on my journey from savannah to Afghanistan the best that I can. It's about ten o'clock in the morning on Sunday the the ninth of December and I leave tonight at eight. I hope to be able to have Internet during my journey we depart Savannah to Germany then to Manis Kazerkastain? Not to sure of that spelling on that one then off to Kandahar Afghanistan   For some last minute training then final stop Wolverine. To much to finish today with last minute packing till next post, night all

Friday Night

Two more nights in my bed then its planes trains and automobiles half way across the world to Afghanistan Where I will spend the next nine months flying around trying to keep the good guys safe and the bad guys at bay. I sure hope this trip is as good as the last one, I was there thirteen months and we brought everybody home in one piece I pray we are that lucky this time. Tomorrow Marie and I and the kids are going out to my favorite restaurant, Carabbas, can't wait. Well I know this is short but I am tired so I am going to hit it, a quick shower and off to bed for me, night all

Last day of work....

I wish, last day of work in Savannah I had a lot to do at the office to close everything down. Pack all my stuff turn in my computer, print out 20 copies of our battle book and drop them off at the printers to have them cut and bound. But hey its all done now its time to spend some quality time with the family until Sunday night when they drop me off. Below is my new address for the next 9 months.

CW4 Robert Senefeld
HHC 1-3 ARB
Task Force Viper
FOB Wolverine
APO AE 09383

Please don't feel obligated to send cards filled with money or anything but if you want to I guess it will be OK. Below are a couple of time conversions to help with what time it will be in Afghanistan from the east coast.

Savannah/Ohio                            Afghanistan

Midnight                                      08:30 a.m.
07:00 a.m.                                   3:30 p.m.
Noon                                           8:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m.                                     12:30 a.m.
6:00 p.m.                                     2:30 a.m.

Just some times to help understand what time it is over in Afghanistan. Well again time to get off here and spend some of my last few precious minutes with the kids, night all

Just a few days left

Its 5 December 2012 and I am leaving for Afghanistan once again this Sunday. So on the 10th of December its off to the land of the not quite right, again, I hope the time goes bye quickly. I hope to only be there for nine months I will try to post to this Blog as much as I can. This trip I will be covering down as the Task Force SIP/CWOB and I know I will be busy. But hopefully it will make the time pass quickly. Well I need to get off of here and spend some needed time with my little ones before I leave so stat tuned and I will keep all of you posted, night all

Just got back from Falcon Focus where we trained our new Aviators how to fly in the mountains, what a wonderful month that was. Its Aug 19 and I am slated to go back to Afghanistan this Dec, we have a lot to accomplish between now and when we leave. I am now the BN/Task Force SIP and I have never taken my job so seriously, I feel that I have never been under this kind of pressure in my life I have so many kids right out of flight school and I know that they are a long way from being ready for what is in front of them. The flying in Afghanistan is the most challenging flying most of us will ever see.

I will be trying to get on here more often now that we are so close to deploying, I think we have a pretty good staff and our senior warrants are tops and we just had a change of command and we have a new commander, LTC Brian Schaap, I just did most of his progression out in New Mexico during Falcon Focus although he hasn't flown in over two years he has great control touch and should be a Pilot in Command pretty quick. He is so much different than the last commander, I made a suggestion to him just before lunch and after lunch he executed and that was that. We have needed a decision maker for some time and he is here now and ready to get to work. Well time for me to put Elli to bed, night all..

RWIFE

Once again back at Fort Rucker, this time for the IFE course. Less than one year to enjoy my time at home with Marie and the Kids, its hard to believe that I have been out of Afghanistan for over a year all ready. This next deployment I will be going south, I am not sure which FOB I will be at but we are going to the south east this time. Back to Afghanistan for one more trip, only 9 or 10 months this time but no two week break some where in the middle. Well its 0023 in the morning I fly nights for this course and I need to get my rest. Night All

Staff Course

Having a not so wonderful time back at mother Rucker going through the Staff Course. Lots going on at home, Family, work Robby trying to get into a good collage. I will be out of here " Ft Rucker that is" in a few more weeks and I think I need to take some time off. We have been told that we are on the patch chart for 2012 and that we need to get ready so I am sure I will be busy busy busy as the new 1-3 ARB SIP, Night all

I am Back

Not much to say other than I am going to continue my post about my life in the Army and try to catch up on all that has happened since I have been home from Afghanistan. I will try to catch everyone up on all that has happened. But first a quick update on today, we have two new Senefelds in the house. Marley our new dog and Iggy our new cat, pictures to follow, night all

BAF

Not much to say about BAF, 400 guys living in a big tent all waiting to get sick from the years of dust and filth. But lucky for me I am still healthy after 5 days all ready in this tent so I can't complain. I am being told that we might fly to Manas late tonight and that would be great time will tell and we will see. I have been spending a lot of time with Bob he and I are trying to keep each others spirits up. It is kind of hard to do in this place there are so many things to bring you down, nothing to do and nowhere to go and the worst of it is there is no privacy at all we are stacked in here like sardines its crazy but this time next week and i will be at the house so what am I complaining about right, Right. Well chow tonight was pretty good after all it was veterans day and they try to make holidays as nice as they can. I will try to get a post out at Manas but you never know what will be available so till next time, night all

The Light is brite

Wow I am at a loss for words; I don’t know where to start. I guess it’s because this is the end, tonight at 2200 I drop off my bags and then at 0200 I load the C-130 for BAF. In a few hours I will go to eat my last meal in the chow hall and wait till I load the plane. I will not miss this place, but I will miss all the great people that I have met that aren’t Vipers. Most of them are from the 101^st and they still have some time before they get to leave. I wish them all the best and continued success in the challenging mission that they have in front of them.

My next post should be from BAF we are expected to be there for 4 to 6 days. I can only tell you that I am not looking forward to it, we will all be living in a great big fest tent and if one person is sick well you get the picture. After that I will be in Manas which is in Kirgizstan don’t know about the spelling but that is what it sounds like. We should only be there for a couple of days and then it will be off to Savannah by way of either Germany or Ireland. I am so excited to be going home after all that I went through this year and I can’t wait to spend time with Marie and the kids. I am a lucky man, I have been given so much and life has definitely allowed me so many great opportunities. This year will not go down in my history book as my favorite year by any means, but I know that we have made a difference over here and I am so proud to have been a part of it. Until BAF, night all

Going Home

Going home!! What can I say, I am excited to be going home but I hope for the best for Task Force Tiger Shark’s in what is ahead of them. This country still needs our help and I hope they are able to make some great changes before we withdraw completely. I spent all day today at the post office trying to get my last minute things off to Marie it totaled three more boxes with insurance over 110 bucks go figure. But after all the horror stories from TF Tiger Shark and all of their personal containers being broken into in the wonderful Country of Pakistan what’s another 110 bucks. I also packed up my flight gear into one of our containers for shipment home it was bitter sweet but more sweet. I flew over 750 hours in about 10 and a half months taking away the midtour trip home and a few weeks on the front end and the back end. I wish I would have kept better statistics on what all I did over here as far as missions are concerned but I did not. All I know is as a task force we flew about 900 to 1100 hours a month and that was just the Apache’s. As for munitions we shot over one hundred and fifty thousand pieces of ordinance. The rest will go down in the history books and speaking of history books I was interviewed for my part in the FOB attack on 28 Aug just the other day by a military historian. They told us that it is standard set for anyone who is put in for an Air Medal with a V device, I felt a little silly at first but I think I was able to keep it to the facts. That was by far the craziest day of my tour the interviewer seemed a little stunned when I answered her question as to at what part on that day was I most scarred. I told her that I was more scared running to our TOC with the machine gun fire going all over and running through the concrete barriers towards the TOC and finding myself looking down the barrel of an M-16 being held by a frightened teenager. I told her that once I got to the aircraft I was good and once we were airborne even with all the tracer fire coming up from what seemed like every direction I was great. I was sitting in my office and I had five hours of work to get done that morning, and that is just what we did. Five hours later FOB Salerno and FOB Chapman were safe and it was over. This would turn out to be the second biggest engagement that Task Force Viper would be in this year and once again no US or coalition forces killed.

My last flight in country was with Jennifer Hakeman and we flew 4.7 hours last night and we also flew some flags so I am going to add a picture with this post and I am going to try and get the rest of my packing done tonight so I am going to cut this one off, so till next time, night all

Almost Done

Getting down to the wire, only 5 more days and one more flight before I leave this place. I am trying to do all the last minute packing and shipping so that my trip home is easy on me and quicker through Customs. We are slated to leave Manas on 13 November but this is always subject to change. I do know that it is really cold in Manas and all I have left for cold weather gear is my fleece jacket so I am going to freeze my tail off for sure. We are still having engagements which I was sure would slow down drastically once the weather got a little colder but it is what it is. I am in the middle of my turn over with the new Task Force Master Gunner and once that is done and I fly my last flight I will be finished and just waiting to fly out of here. I will try to post updates as to where I am and when I am flying for my trip home, night all

Task Force Viper

We just took this today and I think it turned out great, I am the guy all the way to the left in front. The HHC Company Commander was not at the right place at the right time so I stood in for him. Night all

Moving

Last few days have been pretty busy; two nights ago we thought our FOB might be getting attacked so I ended up flying around the FOB for like 6 hours. While we were providing FOB security we noticed that on the south eastern side of our runway our ground security force was launching a ton of 40mm illume rounds. Not that it’s a big deal for us they cannot be shot too high but it was more about was something going on in that location that we were not seeing. I mean after all this was where the Taliban tried to assault the FOB on their last failed attempt, and we all know how that attack turned out for them. So we work our sensors all over that area and we see nothing so we write it off as some kind of unplanned training event. So back to our mission to keep the FOB secure and that is just what we did for about another two hours till the Pistols launched and did a BHO “battle handover” with us. We reported to them that we were experiencing a bunch of NSTR “nothing significant to report” and that we would be glad to call it a night. So we land our two Apache’s and we head to the CP “control post” and we start our debriefs and what not and then we see on the TV Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera reporting live from Afghanistan on FOB Salerno talking about FOB security. What a small world I did not even know he was on our FOB and let alone he was patrolling with our ground security guys, good for him.

So a couple of days later and I am packing up my room getting it ready for the new guys that are here and I have to move to a new room for the last weeks that I am here in Afghanistan. No complaints out of me that means that I am one step closer to going to the house. I am probably looking at about 5 to 6 more flights in this country and then a couple of big jet flights and I will be at the house with Marie and the Kids. It has been a long year and I am ready to go home but I do understand that I have 5 to 6 more flights out there in bad guy country and I need to keep my game face on till I am done and I am heading home. The 10^th Mountain guys are ready to take the fight to the bad guys and I hope that they have as good of a year as we did here with Task Force Viper. I feel that we made a huge difference in our area of operation and that the changes we made will make a difference for many years to come.

I will have IO Global Internet in my new digs so I hope to be able to have time to make a few more post before I get on the big plane to get out of here. It’s a lot slower but I will be able to make it work. I almost got to take an aircraft back to FOB Shank the other day I was trying to switch out with another pilot so I could go and try to catch up with Barry before I get out of here. I hope that his tour goes as quickly as mine did and that he has no serious issues. His area is about the same as mine except for the living conditions are not as nice. And it gets a lot colder over there he is sitting at about 7000 feet MSL and I am at 3800 here. My coldest winter day required me to wear a sweatshirt and his will require some serious cold weather gear, hate it for him. He also started a Blog and I am looking forward to following his adventures I hope that he has a good year.

I turned in a leave form for 6 Dec 2010 till 7 Jan 2011 I am looking forward to some time off. I have not had that much time off in I don’t know how long but I am so looking forward to it one month with nothing to do but spend time with my family. When Marie and the kids get out of school for X-Mas we will have to see what the plans are but I think we are hoping to go home for a visit. Not totally sure what the timeline will be yet but I am sure we will get it worked out soon. I will be the only one not going to school when I get home it will be strange for a bit, Marie is doing most of her classes in the evenings right now and it will be nice to spend quality time with the kids when I get home. I will hopefully get some down days where we can spend some time at home before she goes to school and then meet my girls at the bus stop; I always liked to do that. Well at least for Elli I think Shirley would be a little mortified if I showed up when her buss arrived. Needless to say I can’t wait to be a Dad again and I can’t wait to be a Husband too. Well guys that’s about all that I have on my mind for now I think I will get back to packing my stuff so I can move tomorrow before I go to fly, till next time, night all

18 days left

Help has arrived, we are going through our RIP process and the light is getting bright. I have friends from 10^th Mountain and it is good to see them. I only wish that Barry could have come to my FOB but instead he will be going to FOB Shank. I am on the flight schedule fewer days each week and that doesn’t hurt my feelings one bit. I flew last night and we took fire from a ridgeline near Zerok it was right at dusk and hard to see the bad guys. They are getting pretty good at not moving once we are on station and they only shoot after we pass their position. So we had a position and we set up for race track patterns on their known location and we shot just about everything we had on that ridgeline. The shooting stopped and we went back to the house. This time of the year the fighting comes to a screeching halt it just get to cold up in the mountains for them. Most of them go back to Pakistan and bed down there for the winter. And this will give our replacements the time they need to perfect their flying in the mountains and their procedures for doing business.

I will be getting on a C-130 in just 18 days to go back to my life and for that I am so thankful but this place I will never forget. I will remember the people I met, things I have seen and most importantly things that I have done over here to try to make a difference. I will look back at this tour as an event that truly changed my life for the better. I don’t really expect many to understand what I am talking about but I feel that I have grown so much in this short year and I needed it so much and it truly will affect the rest of my life.

As for life in Savannah, wow what can I say it is going to be awesome I am looking so forward to everything that Marie and I and the Kids are going to experience in the future. Family is so important and we must all remember that whatever happens to us we can always count on our family to pull us through. I am not sure when our Internet will be cut off but I will try to keep everyone posted on me getting out of here somehow. Night all

10th CAB in the House

Wow what a day, reality has finally set in, help has arrived. Tenth CAB is here to replace us and I am sure glad to see them. Today we gave them their academics and tomorrow they start flying. They will not be turned loose to go out and do great and wonderful things for God and Country for week or so but it is nice to have them here on the ground with us. They are not all here yet it is a process that takes a few weeks, it’s a phased event some of our guys leave and some of their guys arrive. I leave on main body 7 which is leaving Afghanistan on the 7^th of November. After I leave their will only be a handful of 3^rd CAB Soldiers in country. It has been a long year and we have done a great deal over here in that year and I am proud to have been a part of it all. I feel that this tour has helped me in so many ways that I may never truly know the full effects of everything that has happened to me over here. I have seen so many things that I will never forget and some of those things have had a significant impact on my life but I know that I am a much better person because of it all. I truly see more and feel more and I definitely want to experience more. And I can’t wait to get home to start a new chapter in my never ending life with Marie and our three kids. I am not sure how much longer I will have Internet but I will try to keep my Blog going even after the Internet is disassembled and packed for shipping back to the states. I put my first three boxes on one of our conexes today and my room is starting to look a little less lived in and I like it. I am on the flight schedule tomorrow and it’s after 2300 so I need to post this so I can try to Catch Marie on Facebook till next time, night all

Long Day

Well the day started out like any other day, but it just kept going and going and going. On a positive note my good friend Barry has arrived safe and sound at FOB Shank and I am sure he will do great and wonderful things over here as well. I hope his tour passes as quickly as mine did for me. Tomorrow will be the first day of academics for the new group of Aviators that we just got and I am glad they are here. I flew six and a half hours today or should I say to night and we did every mission under the sun or should I say moon. from escort to TIC to deliberate hasty infill. Need less to say it was a very busy day and I am glad it is over. I was hoping to catch my true love on the computer tonight before I go to bed but I am sure she is busy school all ready. I will have to catch up with her tomorrow. I am down to 24 days and a wake up before I get on a plane and get the heck out of here, and I can't wait. I am off tomorrow except for teaching a class or two and loading my action packer and a couple of bags in a container so I will try to get on tomorrow and post a bit more but till then, Night all

Back at Salerno

I am back at Sal and things are going pretty good, we have a lot to get done in these last few weeks. The new Unit is starting to show up and there is a lot of training to get done to get these guys ready to take the fight. I was gone for just over a week and in that time I missed out on a lot of packing and loading opportunities. I have a lot to catch up on and a lot to do as far as packing is concerned. I will me mailing a lot of my things home to try to cut down on space in our containers. We have space but it is limited and we have all acquired many things since we have been in Country. I have many things that I am hoping to sell to some of the guys that are coming to replace us I think it will be the easiest way to lighten my load. I figure 50 cents on the dollar and I should be able to get rid of my things pretty quickly. like my refrigerator and one of my TV's some containers and a few other things that made my stay here just a little more comfortable. well I am not sure how much longer we will have Internet so I will try to post as much as I can in these next few days to explain all of the hows and whats of what we are going through. Till then just let me say that I am ready to get home to Marie and the kids and I am still glad that I was a part of OEF TEN Task Force Viper, night all