Christmas in Afghanistan

Merry Christmas from Afghanistan everyone!!! I sure hope everyone is enjoying this great holiday with their family and friends. Just remember I am thinking of each and every one of you during this day of celebration.

So I haven't posted in a while and apologize for that. It has been quite an adjustment over here. I can't believe I have already been here one month. Now just five more to go.

To catch up just a bit...work has been quite interesting. Due to the slow fighting season I have had tons of time catching up on some books I have neglected to read. But then there are days when the crazy enemy decides to bomb a base or kill a dignitary or just want to kill a soldier. The unfortunate part of my job is I see everything in theater and mostly the bad things that happen to our brave service members and Afghan partners. Its the Afghan partners i want to talk about briefly. From the ones I have met over here most if not all just want a more peaceful country and are glad that this force of nations are here to help rebuild their country in a more stable, peaceful country. It's extremely sad to see how many of our brave service members die in these conditions but keep in mind it is not nearly the number the Afghans are losing each day in this fight. I know that the media wants you to hear all the bad stuff but what they neglect to tell you is all the brave Afghan people who are giving their life for their country as well. Yes I know we all hear about the insider attacks and Afghans that turn on each other but those numbers are so far few from the ones that put their lives on the line to save this country. Ok I think I've said my peace on that.

I guess my rant wanted me to let you know what a great country and life we have back home. There are so many times I have taken what we have for granted and not realized that there are so many other people in the world who struggle everyday just to live. So during this holiday season grab your love ones and hold them tight. Tell them you love them so much, because each day could very well be our last.

So with that I want to tell all my family and friends during this holiday season...I love you. Each of you have a had a special part of my life and hope that we all can have many more.

Josh

Jetlag sucks

Hello everyone! I am probably gonna keep this post fairly short as I'm still suffering from jetlag. It's been six days since I've been here and I still feel extremely sleepy. I'm hoping my body catches up soon to the new time zone. In other news...I finally finished all my in-processing and newcomer's briefings. I wouldn't wish newcomer's briefings on anyone. WOW! Apparently they like to give you as much useless information in a two day event, and with my body not yet adjusted it was a brutal two days of trying to stay awake. After today's half day of "mind blowing" briefings I went into work and found that even though I have some downtime there it was much better than watching death by powerpoint briefings.

So tomorrow I begin my full day of work. All I can tell you is the work is pretty fascinating and that's probably as much as I can talk about it. The people I work with are extremely easy to work for and with. My superior officer is a LtCol in the German Army and has a vast knowledge in my career field and has great humor.

To give you all a little more about the area...the air is not a pleasant smell. It reeks of burned feeces and anything else they can find to keep them warm in the winter. It definitely makes you appreciate the good clean air we have back in the states. The mountains are beautiful to look at in the morning as their tops are covered in snow. Oh did I mention the air smells like the back end of an ox? So needless to say when I come home I will most likely have a bad odor.

So I have been receiving a lot of requests to send care packages here, but unfortunately I cannot post my address on here. So if you would like to help send items please email me at jwdesigntx@yahoo.com and I will forward you my physical address. Some items I have found that might make my stay somewhat more enjoyable are below. Of course if you would just like to send a note or card that will be just as appreciated. Please don't feel like you have to purchase any of these items.

Care package ideas:

• 3-prong European plug converters
• Toilet paper (weird request but yes a nice roll of Charmin soft goes a long ways)
• Breakfast foods (oatmeal packages, cream of wheat, strawberry or blueberry nutrigrain bars, Kashi bars (anything peanut butter), little packages of cereals, and anything else you can think of...I'm not that picky, plus I know someone here will love it.)
• Snacks (chocolate chip granola bars, Powerbars, Twizzlers, Red Vines, candy, etc.)
• Febreeze
• plastic bowls and silverware
• travel size hand sanitizer
• Mio drink flavorings (except tea flavor)
• Pens and mechanical pencils
• swiffer pads
• Anything you can think of...

I know this list might be small but really I know myself and the rest of my coworkers will appreciate anything you can provide.

Thank you all for all your prayers and thoughts. Until next time Khuda Hafez.

Josh

Let the adventure begin

So I began a new adventure in life...deployment. I have been in the military for more than 15 years and finally have had my first deployment experience. To back it up a bit. The first thing before any deployment in the Air Force they want to make sure you are completely trained for any contingencies that might happen. So I was sent off to Fort Dix, NJ at the beginning of November for an 11 day course on combat situations. Needless to say the weather was quite interesting. I arrived there two days after Hurricane Sandy decided to destroy most of the area and then two days after being there it decides to dump eight inches of snow. Only to find a couple days later it warmed up and then cooled back down to dump some more rain. As far as the training, it was a great learning experience. When you are in the AF you don't have the opportunity to train in combat environments so everything there was of a foreign concept to me. But with the proper instructors they were able to clarify and train you in many different scenarios with a final field training exercise that combines everything you learn into the worst case scenario you could be in.

Once I was done with the training I was able to go back home for about five days and enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. The following day I loaded up all the gear the AF deemed that they felt I needed and flew off to Charleston, SC to catch my military rotator that took me the rest of the way to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. From here I caught a C-17 cargo plane that took us into Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, only to find that I would spend a day waiting for my final flight into Kabul. While at Bagram my eyes were opened to a new experience of conex building with latrines and transient tents with about 50 people on bunk bed style beds with no sheets. The weather wasn't as nice. As it is beginning winter here and the tents don't have the luxurious central heat/air we have back in the states. Luckily the following day i was able to get on the next flight in to my final destination.

When I landed the adventure truly begins as I am new to foriegn travel and foreign places. The pace on the installation is a little quicker but slower in others. The people I work with have been nice enough to allow me time to acclimate to the new time zone and area. The first day I was able to receive my room with a bed with linens and a blanket. I probably had the best night sleep in the three day travel time it took to get here. Over the next couple of days I spent in-processing so that when I started my training and work there are no hiccups in the system. Unfortunately the process is a bit slower than I'm used to as the base is filled with other foreign national military that have a different take on getting things done on a timely basis. The great part of it is meeting the different countrymen. We have Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Spaniards, Latvia, British and of course good ole Americans.

So as I begin my day here I will be able to start my training for the job I will have for the next six months and hope that I am able to fulfill the shoes of my previous predecessor. So until next time Khuda Hafez.

Josh