Saturday, April 26, 2008

It was a hell of a trip, but I am home...pt. 1...

































Well, as you can see, we had about a 14 hour flight home, just from Germany, after a 23 hour layover and 8 hour flight before that. But thankfully, we were on a C-17 and had a good amount of leg room. The flight crew was from the Alaska Air National Guard, and they let us come up in the cockpit and check out all the cool toys and views. I went up there just as we went "feet wet" over the Atlantic ocean. The last piece of land that we crossed was England, as you can see from the pic of our flight path. As you can see, the accommodations are not like your typical civilian air craft. We do get to sprawl out in the back and where ever we can to sleep. Headphones are a must on these flights as well. But the C-17 also has outlets so we could continually recharge our toys for the flight. It was a smooth flight, and I don't think any of us would have complained because we were on our way home. We were originally scheduled for a mid-air refuel, but that got canceled at the last minute, so we had to make a stop in Canada. My camera died about half way thorough the flight, so I will be getting some more pics from my buddies to up date some more. I will also try do do a "year" in summary of pictures as well. Thanks to all who have and are supporting us and all the rest of our troops. I some more pics on here soon. SSG Russell Miller.

Monday, April 21, 2008

On my way home


Ok, well I am really excited!! I know I have not put any pics on lately, but some of my camera stuff has been packed up. I will get a bunch of pics on here when I get home, which should be in the next 24-48 hours. I am so happy and can not wait to see my family. We are in transit right now, so I have been jumping on wi-fi hot spots here and there. I look forward to getting home and I will give you all some good updates and pics. Later for now,


Russ

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Almost done!!!

Well, first of all, sorry for the long gap in between my posts. I have been kinda busy around here getting things ready for our relief to show up so we can come home. I know, I thought this day could not come soon enough either. We have still been working with our Afghan counterparts, and are trying to ease the transition for them. They are kinda sad to see us go, which makes me feel good in a way. I guess we have made a difference over here and left our marks. In a small way, I too am kinda sad to be leaving the ANP, after having made such good progress so far, but the bigger part of me wants to go home and be with my wife and kids. They need me more, and I sure have been missing them too much.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

For my Dad....





Well, I know that this is not quite as nice as your garden Dad, but some of my ANP have begun building a new garden to grow some trees, flowers, and vegetables. They already have a citrus grove, and they have been planting around 200 trees all around the compound. When I went to the station, they were all excited to show me their garden that they had been working on. One of the ANP officers even offered to come to the U.S. with me and help me work on my yard at home. They said that they were going to grow cauliflower, onions, and some spices of some kind. I will let you know if it starts growing before I come home. Just thought you would like to see a garden in Afghanistan. Well, take care, and I will see you all soon. SSG Russell Miller.