Building Schools in Afghanistan: Not as Simple as ABC -- Politics Daily

Building Schools in Afghanistan: Not as Simple as ABC -- Politics Daily

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Greetings Everyone!

The Security Force conducting Escalation of Force training

Stopping traffic for our broke down vehicle outside Kabul in the switchbacks. Long day...



My humble abode

Got some new pics I took in my room today. Keep in mind that my room is not fully ready yet, so my bed isn't made and most of my stuff is still in bags. Went out on a mission today to Mahmoud Raqi to discuss elections with an elections official. The meeting seemed to go good and we discussed security for election day, which is August 20th. We also discussed the process for the election and some of the preparations. It just gave us an idea of how things will run. I think I established really good rapport with the election official and I invited him to visit in Bagram soon so that we could discuss things in more detail.

Got a package from Mom and Dad today. The beef jerky came in real handy during the mission, and as i type this i am gorging myself on Gummy Savers. The candy will go to the kids, along with the pens and coloring books. Thanks for the goodies, Mom and Dad.

The next several days promises to be very busy for the team. We have lots of missions coming up and we look forward to getting out into Kapisa and finding new things to work on and improve. We are also planning on getting to know the people and finding out what they want. Well, that's all I got for now. I will talk to everyone soon. Enjoy the pictures.

Sorry for the hiatus, folks. Just moved back into my room a couple of days ago, so I'm busy re-unpacking. Been on a couple of missions this week but was too busy to take pictures. One of our vehicles broke down just outside Kabul and it took us a while to get it recovered. then a long trip home to Bagram. Things are starting to pick up mission-wise here and we are slowly finding our stride. Once I get some pics ready I will post them for all to see. I need to get some pictures that other people have taken.

Hope to talk to some or all of you real soon!

On patrol in Nijrab Valley, Kapisa Province

View of the mountains surrounding Nijrab Valley

Me posing for the Hollywood shot...

Afghan kids helping recover one of our MRAPs that missed a turn

Picture on the observation deck at FOB Morales Frazier

Spent two days out at FOB Morales Frazier out in Kapisa Province. I spent one day meeting all the key players at the base, and the 13th on a patrol into the Nijrab valley. We checked on several projects we have running, including roads and schools. We did manage to get one of our MRAPs stuck in a ditch and some Afghan kids helped us recover it and get it out. Some of the scenery is incredible, as you can tell from the pictures. Will post some vids on my next post. I have to convert them to Windows Media Player format, and sometimes that takes a while. Everything is going well over here. I just received some pics of Tabitha and the kids today and REALLY, REALLY miss you guys. I hope Austin has a good first day of school and that Brandon can hit pause on his growth so that I don't miss any more! Tabitha, you are hot as always!

New Vids and Pics from Outside the Wire

First Mission

Went out on my first mission today. It felt good to get out and shake the cobwebs out and adapt to this new environment. Here's a video of me interacting with a little boy and a picture with Graham Auten and I after the patrol.