Some are going home

Well I wish it were me, but I still have work to do here in the wonderful world of Afghanistan. I am glad to see about 90 Vipers going home in a few days, our main body 1 is scheduled to be wheels up June third. I am on main body 2 and it can't get here soon enough. We will depart FOB Wolverine on or around the 7th of July for a wheels up from Kandahar on 9 July. I am being told that there is some mandatory training that we have to go through in Manas but hopefully that will only be a few days. I hope to be home by the ire to last week in July.

I am on the schedule a lot more now that we have fewer pilots here, we are shifting to pure QRF starting June first. That mission set will be TIC ( troops in contact ) or urgent medevac, we will posture for quick reaction force to support the ground troops. 

I spent the last week dealing with the BDE attorney because of one of our engagements. That's when I truly realized its time to get out of here. One of my teams was called in on two military aged males who were caring a PKM machine gun, once the AWT (attack weapons team) was on station the two males busted into a house where they shot at the low Apache then they made a run for it down a dried river bed. The team engaged the enemy and called two EKIA ( enemy killed in action) to higher. Then things got crazy, the GFC ( ground force commander) called for an immediate re attack so the AWT set up for an immediate re attack. They did all the right things they cot clearance to fire again from  the GFC and even got initials. But what they did not capture was why? They did not ask why the GFC wanted a re attack, under the laws of war once a target is considered to be out of the fight they can not be targeted. It took me a week to get the attorney off our back, the GFC two days after this engagement redeployed to the states. So the time it took to get sworn statements from him made it next to impossible to put this engagement behind us. What we were not tracking was that the GFC had a UAV (unmanned arial vehicle) in the stack that was giving home info that led him to be leave that the two males were still in the fight and he still considered them to be hostile and a threat. And that was all we needed to be in accordance with the laws of armed conflict. This is a different fight this tour, there are to many rules and there are too many people who sit behind a desk who have no idea what it is like to make those kinds of decisions especially when you are under fire. The ROE ( rules of engagement) is so restrictive this tour, I got it no one wants to have a bad shoot lord knows I don't but I tell my guys all the time that the right to self defense is without question. And that is why I know it is time to pack this place up and go home. This place has changed so many lives for the worse and the cost has just been to great. So many kids who came over here to fight our nations war will never be the same, and the outcome of this decade long war has not really changed anything. I would like to think that maybe just maybe we prevented some of these nuts from coming to America to do harm on our streets but I see in the news all the time of all the crazy things happening at home. Only God knows, but I know I am ready to go home. Well it's getting late and I need to get my beauty sleep so I will say good night for this one, night all

Flew in support of Romanians

Was a pretty good flight, today is Memorial Day and I can't think of a better way to spend it than in a crappy country 10000 miles from home flying an Apache looking over a ground unit going door to door looking for folks that are making road side bombs. No Grill out for me today, but that's ok, I will make up for it next year when hopefully I will be at home with my family and someone else will have the fight and do the right thing and keep these guys at bay. I hope that everyone has a great day and truly enjoys themselves, we are all doing fine over here in Viper Land and we can't wait to get home. Well it's been a sixteen hour day and I need to hit the sack, night all

DES Complete

Well we just got out briefed by DES and now it's time to take a breath and get back to work. Speaking of work I am on tonight and its almost 4 PM so I need to hit the sack, I brief at midnight, night all

Last but not least, TASK FORCE VIPER OEF 13

Could not be more proud to have been given the opportunity to stand in front of this formation as the Command Warrant Officer of this Battalion. These are some of the finest young Americans serving our great nation and it was my absolute pleasure to serve with each and every one of them.

The rest of the Command Team

Here is the rest of our Company Commanders and First Sergeants with the Command Team.

Command team photo

Well now that the light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel it's time to take som pictures. First up Me the BN CWOB, the Task Force Commander LTC Brian Schaap and the BN CSM Dove.

It's been a while

I know it's been a while, I have been getting ready for DES, they are the guys that come from Fort Rucker and try to help us figure out all the things we are doing wrong. One of their biggest things they like to help with are our records, it's so hard to maintain flight records. You would think it would be pretty easy but there are so many things that have to be documented in a certain. It takes dot the i and cross the T to the next level. And not to mention all the test and evaluations that will take place while they are here. 

Other an DES I am doing great I will be out of here in less than two months and I can't wait to get home to my family. As you all know I was offered a BDE job and with that will come much more responsibility but it will also come with some additional time to work a easier schedule. I know it doesn't sound like it would but it should. I am getting ready to have my out brief with COL Pepin on my OER (officer evaluation report) and I was told that he rated me as his number one CW4 in the entire BDE, this is the best I could hope for seeing how this is the OER that I will take to my primary zone CW5 board. I wish the numbers were better for next year but only time will tell. I am being told that big Army will only promote 10 to 13% to CW5 next year, it will be a slim group of folks that get picked up. I will know next August if I get picked up or not, time will tell. It sure would be nice to finish my career on the top of my rank structure, for a Warrant Officer CW5 is as high as I can go. But if it is not in the cards it will be ok, although the extra 1200 bucks sure would be nice especially for my retirement. And speaking of retirement November of 2016 will be here before I know it and then I will have to go find a real job. There are all kinds of jobs over here right now, and there was a point in my life when I think I might have come back here for one of them, but I look forward to spending some quality time with my family when I retire. I think I will take an EMS job and spend some time trying to save lives with my helicopter for a change. Time will tell and that's all I have these days is time, and I can't wait to spend more of it with my family. I love you guys, night all  

To all my mothers out there

I just had the best FaceTime session with my wonderful family and I wanted to put up a quick post to tell all of my sisters and nieces out there happy Mother's Day. To bring a child into this world is a huge responsibility and a life long commitment. But I sit here in Afghanistan thousands of miles from home and the joy my family brings me is something that you just can't explain. I hope everyone had an enjoyable day and I hope all of you were able to spend it with your Moms and children. I look forward to being able to be at home next year to spend this day with all of mine. Life is short, every day is a gift and it should be treated as such. So for all the Moms out there, I hope your day was wonderful. And to the newest Mom in our family away from home in California congratulations to the three of you. Cindy I am sure that new Grandmother is so excited and all ready planing her next trip to see you guys. I will see you all soon and I can't wait to be home with all of you. Night all

Mothers Day

Well once again I find myself sitting here ten thousand miles away from my wife and kids on yet another holiday. Marie I hope you have a wonderful day with three of the best kids on the planet, happy Mothers Day. I am not on the schedule to fly again till next Tuesday and I will spend most of my nights trying to get on top of all my paperwork. The CG has approved our course of action to finish retrograde operations here at FOB Wolverine and head to the house. So as for me I should be loading a plane to leave Afghanistan on 09 July in route to Manis Kazerkistan  where I will spend some time going through some mandatory classes to be reintegrated into society. I can't wait to see all of you, I just got done face timing with all of you in the side yard putting together Marie's Mother's Day present, a new trampoline. I will try to call back later I hope you and the kids had a great time today, it sure looked like Elli did, night all

Kandahar

Well this will be my longest day yet, you see I am now on nights and I work from 7 to 7. Tomorrow morning I meet the Boss and we are flying to Kandahar for some meetings. The aviation branch team came over and they want to meet all the command teams that are in theater so off we will go. It sounds like a typical day that I would just as soon pass, but when you add two General Officers and the CWOB of the aviation branch not much we can do but go.

Nights have been pretty quite we are spending more time flying around the FOB pulling security ourselves. Some of our contract tower guards have been seen buying drugs from the locals that they allow to walk right up to their guard towers to buy from. No one feels to safe at night with the foreigners guarding this place. Not to mention all the spotters that we have all around the FOB that report everything that goes on around here. We listen to their radio transmissions and we have interpreters translate the calls, most are about aircraft movements and what kind are taking off. We have pathfinders in some of the guard towers with sniper rifles and they are within the rights of the ROE to shoot them for hostile intent. Their are so many they just don't know where to begin, this place is getting crazy and many folks in the command have this opinion that If we don't bother them they won't bother us. I am quick to point out that I was there when they attacked my last FOB and we had insurgents coming through the wire and trust me we had not bothered the locals there either but it didn't matter they attacked us anyway. I flew for five hours that morning and reloaded twice, I made a lot of introductions, and I don't care to ever go through that again.

Well I will be out of here some time around the end of July unless something changes, I hope nothing changes. I will be in Savannah for just a bit of the kids summer vacation and I am sure we will do something fun. Speaking of kids, I am so lucky to have the best kids a Dad could ask for. Robby congrats on getting your 4.0 GPA your first year in school I could not be more proud of you. You are setting some great standards for your sisters to work for, you are a great son and I am sure you will do just as well next year. As for my girls, I could not ask for any better, you two ROCK I love everything that you two have become. Shirley I can't thank you enough for all my videos not a week went bye without getting one from you, THANKS. Elli I can't wait to get the next one and watch you play some ball, I miss going to the games with Mom and cheering you on I miss you guys all so much. Marie what did we do to be so lucky to have such wonderful kids, I miss you and I hope you have a great weekend, I love you guys

Went to nights

Well I have not written In a while because I have been trying to shift my schedule to nights. I now work from 7 PM till 7 AM it was a little hard at first but it's now almost six and I am still awake so I think I am doing ok. Although the boss sent me an email today telling me that he and I will be flying to Kandahar on the 7th to meet with General Magnum and his staff they are coming in from the states. So just when I get reversed out I will have to fly out early in the morning and spend all day at Kandahar, great. Well I don't have much to say I am trying to start to pack things that I don't need here anymore like all of my cold weather gear we are packing up many of our containers to get them out of here. Retrograde is in full swing and we have a lot to do, I hope to be flying out of here by mid July and home by the end of July. Hopefully that will be the plan and it will not change. Well I am going to get off of here and try to call Robby before I go to bed, night all