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