100 Days

So today, 19 June, we have been in Afghanistan for 100 days. Here are some inspirational words from 1SG Blouin:

"All y'all,

On 19 June the Main Body will have been in Afghanistan 100 days.  We mobilized some 158 days ago.

Thus far we have traveled over 2,500 miles in convoys providing various guidance, Battlefield Circulations, CLPs, mail deliveries, etc.

The BAS (Battalion Aid Station, where they have lollipops and Big Bird Band-Aids) has treated a plethora of injuries and illnesses.

Our R&R program is in full swing with 12 Soldiers gone at any given time.

We've seen PFC's get promoted to Specialist, two Specialists to Sergeant and three Lieutenants promoted to Captain.

We've established "Holy Joes" coffee shops in two locations now with a new facility due to open soon.

Plans are prepared for expansion of the TOC area.  The COPs and OPs that we support are getting established or expanded.

We have completely rearranged and cleaned up the Motor Equipment Park (a.k.a. Motorpool).

We've had two UPL tests, two weight-ins, one APFT and a promotion board.

Everyone in the battalion is now sporting their combat patch and is no longer a "Slick Sleeve".

By now we should have our sections' battle rhythm tight with everyone in their roles.

The Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Bruins are champions in their sports, with the Red Sox soon to follow suit.

We took some time to celebrate the Army's Birthday with a BBQ and a cake.

And for those keeping track, our oldest was born in Sep 1956 and our youngest on Feb 1992; only five of us are 50 or older.

We also continue to support numerous Ramp Details for our fallen brothers in arms.

So now we have some 200 or so days to go.  We should not focus on how long that may seem, but instead consider how quickly the first 100 went.  Take the next months in milestones.  We have more 5K and 10K fundraiser runs than you can shake a stick at, the 4th of July, Labor Day, the 10th anniversary of the date which brought us here (9-11), and the Allied response on 7 Oct that same year, Columbus Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, we will vote in "Off Year Elections" and observe Thanksgiving and Pearl Harbor day ("A date which will live in infamy").

December will eventually lead us to welcoming the replacements and into the holiday season and the new year.

While we go through all of these days we have to remember to stay focused on the task at hand.  Go about your jobs with a sense of urgency, asking what you can do to help make things better.  We still have many more convoys to go out and BOM to pack and deliver.  Our goal should be to make the transition for the incoming units much better than our transition went.

Let's not forget that we are Reservists on active duty for the moment.  We are better than most of our Regular counterparts because many of us do this as a part time profession.  We want to go home with some sense of accomplishment.After all, we all volunteered for this and are here willingly.

Make the most of your situation, become better for it, take lots of pictures, continue to write or call home.  Build your memories, as this opportunity may never come your way again.

Finally, consider that CPT Burns and I are here to get the company through the mission.  Our doors are always open to everyone.  Come in and take a load off, have a coffee or any of our CL-I (Food) that we have.

And let's get home.

TOP

"HIGHLANDER-7"

I thought I would share that with everyone :) Also, Happy Father's Day!

The Power Broker

It's HOT here! Wow, its HOT. 110 degrees is just not a normal temperature for humans to live in. Yeah yeah it's a dry desert heat I got all that, but there are no clouds, there are no trees, and when the wind does blow it comes with dust and sand. The troublesome part is people who have been here before keep telling me that it's only going to get hotter. We still have June, July, and August. Ay dios mio! First, they put us in one of the coldest places on Earth, Ft. McCoy, WI where it snowed almost every other day, then to one of the hottest, glorious Kandahar, Afghanistan.

This past weekend I ran a 10K to support the Canadian Air Force and of course for Memorial Day. I unfortunately didn't get any photos of the event. I barely made it across the finish line. The first half I was good, running good and feeling good. I hit the 5K mark around 28 minutes. But then I just hit a wall... and the second turn around was never coming. I regrettably started walking and drank some water. I finally hit the turn around and made it to the finish line in 68 minutes. Which is awful when you compair to the professional runner who did it 35 minutes. Whatever guy... have your trophy. I'm not bitter.

All I can think about as I walk around on this dusty and arid Airbase is how I would redesign the whole place and introduce irrigation to these people and have paved roads with sidewalks all lined with palm trees and Starbucks. It would be so much more civilized. I just got a book in the mail that I ordered. It's called Robert Moses and the Modern City. It's amazing what Moses did for New York. London had Christopher Wren, Paris had Georges-Eugene Haussmann, and New York City had Robert Moses. I can only dream of having any kind of impact on a city or place. When I found out that the Battalion was going to have a charrette on a design to add a building for the Medics and Chaplain, I asked if I could be apart of it.

To the Battalion Commander's surprise and delight he was impressed when I told him that I had a degree in Architectural Engineering. So what was initially suppose to be me just involved in and give my two cents in how I could help, turned into me coming up with and designing the entire complex the BC envisioned for our area of operation. I turned out a product of an as built of our battalion area showing how inadequate the medics area and chaplain space are and then proposing four layouts of an additional building to be build near our exiting buildings. The Naval Commodore wasn't too keen on the whole idea but did like the presentation that was put together for him. So my grandiose drawings were "pretty" but a little on the unrealistic side. I felt like I was back at Wentworth in a critique of my school work. LOL

We'll see what happens with the plans and where we'll go from there. Until then I can dream of grand things. Perhaps the Mayor of Kandahar is looking for an Urban Planner that can redesign Kandahar after the Taliban leave. Something that will bring more hard working Afghans to the city and introduce to them infrastructure like water treatment plants, power plants, a sewer system, and of course a cricket stadium. We would also have to come up with a commerce that doesn't revolve around the poppy harvest too, so an industry would have to be founded. Perhaps a carpet factory... it's what put Yonkers on the map! Haha.

Anyway back to the grind.

Disney Anyone!?

Greetings

It's been awhile since I last wrote. Not much going on. Still going through the daily grind. I got a few care packages!. Thank You - Mrs. Osterman and Thank You - Chris Pinto. It's very much appreciated. :)

So my whole plan was to go to Europe on my 2 week Rest and Relaxation (R&R). I had it narrowed down to either Central Europe to visit Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Poland. "They don't want to spend their summers learning the Fox Trot. They want to go to Europe. 22 countries in 3 days." - name that movie. The other choice was Great Britain. But alas, I've decided to come home for R&R. For one, my good friend Patrick's Wedding is on 17 September so I'll definitely be there! :)

Then I'm trying to organize a Walt Disney vacation, because I receive and extra 20% off my military discount if I go during my R&R. So, now I'm looking for any takers who want to go with me. I want to go between 19-24 September. I'm excited to go because I haven't been since I was 9. The part I really want to go to is Epcot, because as a kid I HATED Epcot, it was so boring just to visit all the countries. One of the countries was Canada... really!? Go all the way to Florida to learn about Canada? Even at 9 I knew that was ridiculous.What Epcot is really geared towards are adults who want to visit and eat and drink through Europe and who don't really want to experience European culture (ahem Maggie). Hahaha. Plus in September is not Africa hot in Florida and all the brats... I mean children will be in school!!

Anyway email me if you're interested in going.

Not much else going on right now. Well, nothing interesting...

Happy Easter

  

Happy Easter! It totally doesn't feel like a holiday here. Just another day. The folks at the DFAC put up some decorations.

The funny thing about this Easter Rabbit is that we're not allowed to eat it. Which makes us thing that it's actually a carboard cut out with frosting over it. Well, maybe they'll cut him up for the dinner crowd, this photo was taken in the morning.

Here is a photo of what's left of the girl scout cookies sent to us by Troop # 10137 from Poughkeepsie, NY. Thanks Mary and Nina :) Everyone loved them...



One of my SGT's girlfriend is a grade school teacher and she had her kids write letters to us. Here are the two that I wrote back to.

Oh yeah... and of course there was my promotion and the promotion of my Executive Officer CPT Owens.

Here are some photos



Still LTs




Being sworn in by LTC Scott




And... We're Captains!

 So over all it's been a busy week. :) Stayed tuned for more...



Groundhogs Day

Hey Everybody,

Sorry I haven't written in a while. Things have been crazy and boring at the same time. Its kind of like groundhogs day around here. If you purposely don't do something different the days just blur together as one continuous routine. Today, the thing that I did different was I went out to the DX station where you turn in old uniforms for new ones. So I currently have new boots on! :) It's the simple things I know, but it was different and it got me out of my office for a half an hour.

I keep telling myself one of these days that i'm going to walk to the other side of KAF to go to the Cambridge DFAC, it's on the British compound and according to EVERYBODY it serves the best food. There are seven DFACs on KAF. Oh DFACs are 'Dining FACilities.' So the closest one is Monti, it's ok the food is kind of bland and anything worth eating is on the short order side (deep fried foods), Its the most frequent of attendance just out of sheer convenience. Its literally steps away from where our housing is. Then theres Independence which is my personal favorite. It sits by itself in the corner away from everything so it's always a challenge to get someone to go with you. The most popular one, by far, is Asian. They obviously serve Asian food, the stir fry is actually incredibly good. It's a little disappointing because it's not like Chinese food back home, it's like actual Asian food. It's really popular because it's usually healthy food and most people who work here on KAF are Asian, because i'm in... Asia. Then theres Niagara and Luxembourg and the reason they're always so full is because they're so near the boardwalk. So people just tend to go to either one of those out of laziness. The last one is the North Line DFAC. I've never been up there because you need to drive up around the airfield to get to it. I really don't have the patience to go up there for what I know will be Army food.

Then, if you're up for it, theres actual restaurants on the boardwalk. Theres TGI Fridays, KFC, Nathans, Momma Mia's, and Burger Joint. I can safely say that I haven't spent a single penny on the food at the Boardwalk. With that said I have eaten at Momma Mia's. The CSM treated the Company Commanders and the 1SGs to dinner there last week. It was ok... but I have a huge bias, because NYC makes the best pizza in the world... EVERYBODY knows this as dogma. But all the other restaurants are expensive and just not worth it. I mean I get seven options for free food!

The weather here has been a little crazy the past few days. We've been having thunder storms and down pours. It's a little weird when in rains in the desert. The rain just runs over the ground and pools and collects. It doesn't absorb into the ground. There are actual canals for when this happens. For the first month I was here they were bone dry, but in a matter of minutes theres running water through them and as soon as the rain stops, the water drains just as quickly. I like it when it rains though, it reminds me of home.

I'll write more in a few more days.

Picture Time...

As promised some photos from my journey to Afghanistan...

Medics in training back in Wisconsin

All bags ready to go

In the hangar in Wisconsin

   

Mountains in Kyrgyzstan

Me and SFC Lacroix on the C17 to KAF

Moose in his uniform

Our deck area during sand storm

Canadian area during sand storm

Barrier art work

PFC Napolitano becomes SPC Napolitano



Sunset in Kandahar

Boardwalk... NY baby!



Kandahar Afghanistan

     As-salaamu' alaykum - or Peace be Upon you. This is my first blog and my first entry into my first blog. A good friend told me at home to document and write about my experience while deployed to Afghanistan. So this is my attempt to be as much as a writer as I can be. It's not easy for us Engineers to string words together to try and convey thoughts without trying to draw pictures.

     I arrived here three weeks ago and have been very busy transitioning with the outgoing unit that we were replacing. The hand over was as seamless as it could be and we're now on our own to pick up where they left off. Although it's only been three weeks it's felt more like three months. It seems like we've already gone through a lot since our arrival here. The weather has been nice, the highs have been in the lower 80's and the night lows have been around 60. So it's a far cry from the negative temperatures in Wisconsin.

     A brief comparison of where I am: I basically live at Kandahar's version of JFK airport and I'm stuck in East New York, Brooklyn. The actual city of Kandahar is as far and out of sight as Newark, NJ. As far as I can tell there is no 'Nice' part of Kandahar and I am glad to report that the 'Blow out' hair cut has not made it to Afghanistan. So I finally found an area where Long Island hasn't influenced. :p

    I will update every so often and tell you of funny stories that happen and post pictures of the bizarre things that I'll see. So stay tuned and comment.