here we go again...

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

2008-04-26T10:20:00.005-07:00

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.

On my way home

2008-04-21T22:40:00.004-07:00

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

Almost done!!!

2008-03-27T07:39:00.002-07:00

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.

For my Dad....

2008-03-11T03:50:00.004-07:00

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.

I really didn't do it officer.....

2008-03-11T03:34:00.004-07:00

So, it is not what it looks like from the pictures above. I promise. You will not see me on some news report somewhere about being mistreated in prison or something. This was just training for some of our ANP. My partner and I got "stopped" at a checkpoint and they searched our vehicle and found some illegal weapons. We tried to bribe our way out of it, but they refused. Probably the only time that will happen. If it makes you all at home feel any better, we ended up "killing" 3 of the ANP that were apprehending us. They forgot to search us when they pulled us out of the car, and when they began, I jumped one and my partner "shot" the others. They learned from their mistakes though. During the next scenario they were sure to search everyone. Well, we are still doing good here. Starting to get excited because time is getting short for us. But it seems to get busier as we get closer to going home, but I am not complaining. Thanks to everyone who has been reading this and giving the support. I will let those who have been sending packages know when to stop, to allow time for it to get here before we leave. Talk to you all soon. SSG Miller (Russ)

War is Hell.....but we make the most of it....with help

2008-02-28T22:22:00.005-08:00

So, as you may or may not know, being deployed is tough. But, once in a while we get to treat ourselves with some goodies. There is an actual Pizza Hut at one of the bigger FOB's that we get to go to every so often, and we do enjoy the tasty treats. As you can see, I was busy stuffing some peperoni in my face when one of my guys snapped a photo of me. It was some very delicious pizza though. Oh, the dog, she is a new K-9 with us, and the handler went to eat, so we had a little fun. We didn't get to many offers, I don't think people thought she was a working dog. Well, it is getting hot again here, already sneaking into the 80's some days. I will be home soon though, so not to worry. Take care, and see you all soon. Russ

Graduation

2008-02-25T06:14:00.013-08:00

So, we finally ended this interation of training with our ANP. It was a lot of fun, but I am glad it is over. I think that we accomplished some really good things during this training. We handed out certificates on the last day, (the hat look familiar?) and as you can see from the new video, some of my soldiers and I got interviewed. This story played on AFN in Europe a couple of times, so we were pretty excited to see it here. I got told that the Army press guys would be out at my station, so we just carried on like any other day. It was pretty cool to be on T.V. like this again. So on graduation day, we had a nice ceremony and handed out the nice certificates to all of my ANP that are at the station. It was a good day, and now it is time to check on my other stations. The ANP at this station took really good care of us, and they were always motivated to do training. I hope that they continue to work hard and implement the tools and lessons that we have taught them. Well, without reveling too much information, we are getting short on time here, which is a good thing. I can not wait to get back home to my family and spend some good quality time with the wife and kids. My little ones are growing up fast. I am working on some things that will keep me home for a few years, so that will be very enjoyable. Well, I will let you all know when to stop sending packages and letters and such. We all appreciate all the support that has been sent over here, and I am glad to know so many people are reading my blog and getting a new perspective on our lives and missions over here. Take care for now.....SSG Russell Miller

Welcome to the gun show!!

2008-02-14T03:09:00.008-08:00

These are some of the weapons turned in as talked about in my entry following this one. As you can see, there was a wide assortment, some British, some Russian, some Chinese, and some from where ever. Man, I really wanted to take some of these home, but that wasn't going to happen. We all had fun checking out the goods, and wishing we had some rounds for them to conduct a test fire or two. It was good to see the people willing to turn in the weapons to help their community, through the programs that have been set up like DIAG. Well, check out my other post from today for more info on the fun. Take care for now, SSG Miller....

I think I just became Royality......

2008-02-14T02:45:00.009-08:00

Well, this was quite a day. The ANP chief and the sub-governor of one of my districts had a Jurga, which is a meeting with tribal elders and government officals of the area on important issues. This particular Jurga was about a program to turn in weapons. It is called DIAG. The elders of the area have people turn in weapons, and they trun them into DIAG through the sub-governor and police, and the community gets money or projects for it. Some examples would be wells getting repaired, Mosques being fixed, schools, and other public places built or repaired. It is a great program for the people. There were guest speakers from the local area, as well as members from higher in the food chain. The turn out was great, and there were quite a few weapons turned in. Some of us would have liked to take some of the weapons turned in, if that was allowed. There were a few British Steins, a 9mm sub machine gun, Enfield's, AK-47's, and some other interesting stuff. The weapons are destroyed after they are turned in. As you can see, I got presented with a Lunguta, which is a traditional Afghan turben head wrap. The chief told me something about being a honarary member of parliment now. I asked how much it paid, and he just laughed. I don't know why..... Anyway, they fed us afterwards, and man what a spread. We had goat, lamb, beef kababs, and rice and bread. The meat was so tender and delicious. Well, I don't know if the Army will let me be in parliment while on active duty. Maybe I can come back in 20 years and when I retire and get the position again........

Time for some shooting....on the range

2008-02-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

So, we have had some fun in the past few days. We got to teach our ANP how to shoot a little better then they have been taught before. It was alot of fun teaching these guys how to shoot properly. They really enjoyed it as well. It was fun because every time we caught a soldier with his weapon on fire, or holding it the wrong way, he had to do 10 push ups. It was a great motivator, partially because they can't do push ups, and also it taught them the right way of doing things. Most of the soldiers caught on after their first 10 push ups or so. As you can see from the photos, we let a few of them shoot our weapons, and we got to shoot theirs. Most of my soldiers have never fired a foreign weapon before, so it was a good experience for them as well. Even my terp got to shoot my rifle as well. He is a pretty good shot. Our training portion is getting closer to being done, and we all have had a great time. The ANP are very motivated every day to recieve new training. I made up a certificate of motivation to give out each day to one or two soldiers who do a great job during the training. It is a great tool, because now they all want one, including the sub governor. I told him he has to participate in the training....I will give him one anyway, as a good gesture. Well, duty calls, as does the chow hall, so I will update again soon. Keepin' it real, close to Pakistan that is....Russ.

Everybody loves a good magazine

2008-02-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

So, during our immersion training with our ANP, we have been bringing the guys magazines and stuff to read. Some of them know english, and a couple can read it, but mostly they like the pictures. It is cool to see them get all excited about the pictures of places around the world, and especially from the states. We all try to show them pictures of areas that we are from, and they are just amazed. So, we are getting ready to have some ranges with the soldiers. We have been teaching them how to shoot better, instead of the "spray and pray" ways they have been using. We are all having fun teaching these guys some new and usefull tools to help them in thier jobs, and to also see the new confidence that we have instilled in them. I will keep you all informed of who the best shooters are. I have some special prizes for them. Well, it has been rainy here, but now the weather looks to be clearing up. It is still cool in the mornings and evenings. Well, gotta go for now, I have lots of paper work to do. Thanks for all the support from all of you out there, and keep reading as I will try to update as much a possible. Russ.

teach them, hurt them, fix them up....

2008-01-31T04:44:00.000-08:00

So, we have been staying pretty busy lately. I and my guys have been teaching our ANP a whole lot of good useful info and such. Some of it, as you can tell, is a little rough on them. But don't worry, we teach them some good first aid as well. These particular guys have their own medic, who has some real good training, so we send them to him instead of to our medic. It teaches them to use their system and resources. I can't get into all the details of our training and such, for opsec reasons, but it is going good. The ANP are highly motivated, especially when I yell at them like new privates for clearing their weapons before they are instructed to. Have to instill the discipline and fear in them you know. But, even if they do not understand my words, the tone and volume gets across quite well. Usually after I "get in their ass" one of the officers comes over and starts yelling as well. I am trying to get my terp to learn how to yell like me, but he is a naturally quiet guy. Oh well, we can't all be as loud as the ol' SSG. It is a lot of fun, and I am even putting more names and faces of these guys together. It is hard when there is like 14 Mohammads and 6 Amin's and 4 Khans. The go by nicknames like some of us do, so that helps. We have not hurt them too bad, just the pride of a few when we did some hand to hand combatives. It is funny because one of my instructors for that is the smallest guy in the squad. Had them fooled. Well, we are doing good still, looking forward to the end of this deployment. Thanks to all for the support and packages. More to come.

Bob Villa in Afghanistan...not really....

2008-01-22T22:36:00.000-08:00

So, we have begun some remodeling projects on one of my ANP stations. It is quite fun, as it gives us some new things to do besides just training them. We do love to train these guys, and they like the training, but it is fun to manual labor, and build some stuff. One of my guys is really involved in building a new wall for the compound. He has the concrete mixing down pretty good. I am working on a new room to put the weapons in. I am pretty sure that none of the people at the station have ever seen any cordless power tools. They were pretty amazed by them. One officer even filmed me while I was cutting some plexi glass. The chief was in awe of the set and asked where he could get one. I tried to explain to him about Home Depot, and he wanted to go. I told him that if he comes to the U.S. that I would take him there. It is still cold here, lows in the 20's at night and highs around 50 during the day. It has been sunny, which helps, but the wind comes off the mountains and chills us pretty good. Thankfully we have some good cold weather gear to help insulate us. Oh, the little girl is the stations cooks daughter. She is always running around and getting candy from everyone. Here name is Shanaz. Well, duty calls, so I need to keep it short. More updates to come soon. Russ.

Are you ready for some flag football!!!!

2008-01-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

So, we played our 4th game today, and won of course. I think the score was like 10-3. It was a easy game, which is good because I was sore from playing the day before. Our team is very diverse. We hav a good mix of people who can run, catch, throw, and play defense. If you have not seen the link on the right, then check out the creator of the TFL (Torkham Football League), on his own site. We all have fun, win or loose and it is a great way to kinda relax and blow off some steam in a productive way. Of course there is some trash talk, except from the "nice guys", but it is kept to a limit. I play center, (that's me in the tan shirt snapping the ball) as I can snap the ball, create open pockets, and can block the blitz pretty well. If I play defense, I am either safety or just guard a reciever. So, it is not all work over here, we do play as well. Maybe one day we will have sponsers, better refs, the NFL will call.....Oh, sorry just day dreaming. Well, you all keep reading and I will keep posting as much as I can. Russ.

Giving out some free stuff...

2008-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

So, we had the pleasure of doing another Humanitarian Aid Drop today. I picked a local school in one of my districts. They have around 2,000 kids or so at this one school. We took all kinds of school supplies, food, shoes, blankets, and other like items to them. I will let the pictures tell the words, but it was great. We had the ANP out helping us distribute all the goods. It is better to have the ANP pass it out, as it helps their image on the community. There were so many kids here it was crazy. We all had a lot of fun today helping out this school and the people around it.

What a bad-ass day!!!

2007-12-30T02:15:00.000-08:00

"Ok, here is how you put the round together to before you load it, this is how you aim. Any questions?" Said one of my ANP chiefs during a very wonderful class on the RPG (rocket propelled grenade) that he gave me and my squad. Some of us have been on the receiving end of these, so it was nice to finally be able to see it shot from the right side. The chief gave us a good class, and after ensuring the down range was cleared, I was allowed to shoot an anti-personnel round. It was better then I expected. I have had the opportunity to shoot many different weapons in the Army, but it is always fun to shoot something new, especially when it is a foreign weapon. It is good to have all of my soldiers knowing how to use one, just in case. It did not have much kick to it, but boy did that round travel fast. The chief shot a high explosive anti-tank round at the hill. I shot mine closer. The weapon is fairly easy to prep and aim, you just have to keep the front tilted upwards until you shoot. It was great fun, and if any of you ever get the chance to shoot one, take it. You will not be disappointed. SSG Russell Miller.

Merry Christmas....Santa's packin' heat....

2007-12-25T18:53:00.001-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SUNNY AFGHANISTAN!!! All of us here hope that it was an enjoyable holiday for all of you back home. We had the 82 Airborne singers come and perform some nice songs for us. I will try to get some of those pics up soon. As you can see, Santa made a stop here to pass out stockings and presents. It was pretty cool. He stopped to check out the RPK that the Afghan's use. Not as good as quality as our stuff, but it holds its own. So anyway, we had a pretty good dinner and passed out presents from different groups that sent them. From some wonderful lawyers in Portland, OR to the FRG and some 173rd Airborne supporters, and of course my wonderful wife and kids who handmade some delicious cookies and cards for the platoon. Everything was so great, except not being home with our families. Well, I have to get back to work, but I will up date again soon.

Thats some high speed looking ANP, and the food was good too...

2007-12-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

So, that is a real high speed group of ANP soldiers. These are some of the soldiers that we have been training for the past 11 months. They are a good group of guys, and take to the training well. They are always excited to see us and do some new training. One good thing about doing the training is that they usually feed us lunch if we are there. As you can see, we had some lunch the other day and it was tasty. It was real simple, just rice, bread, and potatoes. They Afghanis just got done celebrating Eid, which is a big holiday for them. It is a 4 day celebration, kinda like Christmas or Easter for us. They kill sheep, eat alot, and just chill out for a while. But, things are back to normal for us and them. We are getting ready for Christmas here, and I have a bunch of stockings to put together for the platoon. We have gotten an overwhelming amount of support for the holidays and beyond. It is so great to know people are supporting us over here. I will get lots of pictures for everyone to see, and I heard that Santa Claus will be making a special stop here. We heard he will be coming in by helicopter with gunship support. We definitely do not want ol St. Nick getting shot down or anything bad like that. Well, a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. I need to go prep some gifts, so enjoy, and more to follow in the near future.

busy, busy, busy

2007-12-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a while since my last post I just realized. We have been staying busy here with our ANP, training them and the like. It has really begun to look nice for the holidays around here. There is snow in the mountains, decorations around the FOB, and packages coming in by the truck load. And as you can tell from the blurry picture (sorry) it is getting colder as well. Just in the mornings and at night right now though. I am pretty sure that Santa will make his way here to pass out gifts and stockings to all. Some people here might get some coal, but most will get some nice treats, thanks to the great people who have been supporting us and sent stockings to us all. My wife and kids did make some yummy goodies for the platoon, and everyone was really thankful for the homemade goodies. There will be other gifts to come on Christmas, and I will get some nice thanks you letters out to those that are very deserving of it. i have a room full of boxes right now waiting to get passed out. Well, I need to get back to work, and also get some more holiday pictures taken for you all.

it's begining to look a lot like Christmas...

2007-12-07T04:18:00.000-08:00

Well, as you can see, the first snow has arrived in the mountains in the not so far distance to us over here. Yes it is getting colder here as well. But never fear, as the Army has equipped us with some great new cold weather gear. It is a 7 layer system that will stand up to some pretty brutal weather and elements. It has everything from silk weight undergarments to water proof gortex outer shells and parkas. I personally like the fleece jacket the best, and wear it all the time when it gets chilly. We have been slowly starting to decorate around here for the holidays. The hardest part about it is not being home with our families and loved ones. But I try to keep my soldiers and myself busy and we always talk about what we would be doing if we were home or what we will do on leave. It is great to have all the support that we have been getting from the home front. It makes a huge world of difference to have the car packages coming in the mail. We have started to put up some Christmas decorations around here. Yesterday, I was able to give out some tarps to a local school that does not have a roof. It takes a long time for reconstruction projects to get going, so we help out as best as we can before they start. We will be doing a big H-aid drop soon at school that has a couple thousand kids. I will have lots of photos of that when it happens. Well, thank you all for the continued support and love. I do pass the thanks of all my soldiers on to you all. Well, I must return to the numerous reports i am always writing, so more to come in the near future. SSG Miller

An early thanksgiving...

2007-11-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

So, we did some nice things for a village today, in the form of humanitarian assistance. We took a whole lot of H-aid items to this village of over 2,500 people. That is a rough estimate of the number of people. It is probably a lot more than that though. We took about 3500 kilos of flour, 1500 kilos of coal, hundreds of shoes, sweaters, and backpacks for kids, as well as tarps and plastic for houses and some toys of course. It was really cool and hectic at the same time. We had some help from our ANP of course and the local village elders as well. After we unloaded all the goods, we had the elders and ANP divvy up the goods, as they know most all of the people and could make sure the poorer families got stuff before the richer ones. This was our biggest h-aid drop so far, and it went pretty well. We are trying to do more of these, especially with winter approaching. It also helps to have our ANP there and make them participate in it. It puts a good face on the local government and shows the people that we are all on the same side. I know a lot of you back home don't hear about these things that we do, but know that they do happen quite often. I am pretty sure that there was a reporter from a local radio station there as well. Well, it is almost Thanksgiving here, so I am going to get some sleep before our big football games tomorrow. Should be quite fun. Take care and gobble gobble. SSG Miller (Russ)

Today's luckiest man in Afghanistan....

2007-11-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

This is exactly why driving laws, having proper equipment such as tires, brakes, and not being overloaded are very important when on the road. Luckily, the driver of this truck limped away with only a few scrapes, bruises, and maybe a small fracture on his leg. My squad came across this accident only moments after it happened and stopped to assist. We saw people frantically working to pull someone out, and thought the worst. We always travel with a medic, so he and I ran up to see ho we could help. I honestly thought that there would be no survivors or if so they would be in pieces. But by the grace of this guys higher power, he lived. As you can see, that is a large tree he went head on with, and ended up with his steering wheel in the drivers seat. Doc quickly evaluated him as I had a sit-rep called up and directed traffic around the accident scene. Soon thereafter, the drivers friends took him to the local hospital, so we let the scene to the ANP's. LUCKY. That's all there was to this. So, word to the wise, if your car feels funny, sounds a little weird, or you think there is no time to get somewhere, stop and check it out or slow down a little bit. You can afford to be a little late. Just some good advise from an experienced Sergeant.

a beauitful sunset over a mortar tube..

2007-11-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

So, at one of my stations today there was a beautiful sunset that just looked cool as the shadows crossed the mountains. It wasn't quite as nice as the sunset on the Oregon coast when I was there on leave, but it was nice. As you can tell, I am back doing my thing over here like always. I also was busy admiring a nice 81mm mortar launcher my station just got recently. I think I will have them let me shoot a few rounds. That is always fun to put a few rounds down range...especially when they make a big boom! If you have never shot anything bigger then a pistol or rifle, then you would be in for a treat to shoot a mortar, grenade launcher, or something along those lines. I will defiantly get some pictures or video if I get to shoot the mortar for you all. Well, this will be a short one today, as I am tired and have some more work to do. Thanks again for every ones support. It means a lot to us over here to know we have people concerned for us. More to come in the near future....SSG Russell Miller.

I'm back...

2007-11-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am back from a enjoyable R&R in the states with my family. It was a wonderful and relaxing time as you might have guessed from the beach photos. Sorry if I have not posted in a while or responded to e-mails. We had some communication issues here the past week. But be glad to know everything is good here. Oh a little important information for all. We have a new zip code for us here. It is 09310. The rest of the address is still the same, but just the zip code has changed. Do not worry if you have mailed things with the old zip, they will still arrive, but the new zip gets things here a little faster. On a cooler note, the weather here is actually starting to cool off a bit. The highs are now in the 70-80's and the lows are down in the 50's. It is so much nicer then it was this summer. Believe me, we are all happy about that. Wow, it is already mid November. Thanksgiving is coming up and then Christmas will be around the corner. Thankfully we have AFN now so we can watch football. Oh, that is the Armed Forces Network. It is like TV in the states without the adds and the shows are a season behind. But the news and sports are up to date. I am a little behind on email and postings, so please bear with me as I hit the ground running since I have been back. More to follow soon with pics. SSG Miller.

A little R&R

2007-10-26T08:25:00.001-07:00

Well, for all of you fans of my blog out there, just to let you know that I am doing ok and have not dropped off the face of the planet, I am home on some much needed R&R with my family. It has been so nice to see my little ones and hang out with them and my lovely wife. We have gone to the beautiful Oregon coast and had great weather while we were there. I will be able to have Halloween here with the kids as well so that is great. For all of you that have been sending the care packages, Thanks a bunch! We (all of my soldiers) do enjoy getting the boxes and appreciate it greatly. I am sure there will be a huge pile of mail waiting for me when I return. Oh, on that note, If you do send mail, there is a new zip code to ensure the mail arrives a little sooner. It is 09310. The rest of the address is the same, but just put in the new zip code. If you use the old one, no worries as it it still make it's way to us.

Schools in

2007-10-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to all who have sent us school supplies over here to pass out. School is back in session and just about every time we go out, we take at least a small box of stuff for the kids. Just thought I would post some pics for you all to see and tell you that the kids and us all get a big kick out of it. This was just a small portion of the kids, but we got busy and forgot to take more pics. Just to let you all know, I will be on R&R later on in October, so it might be a while in between posts. Thanks again to all who send us stuff. Peace from the SWA...Russ

Fresh coffee care of my Dad

2007-10-04T10:39:00.001-07:00

So, as it has cooled off here a bit, down to the low 70's at night, I have started drinking more coffee again. I know, cooled off to the 70's?? Well from being over 100 to 110, it is a big change. We are starting to get used to it. Anyway, I got some of my guys hooked on fresh ground coffee. They really like the grinder and filter set up my dad gave me before I deployed. We tried to give the locals some, but they wanted nothing to do with it. They were drinking their tea instead. It was good coffee, being freshly ground and brewed. Just wanted to let you all know that we are all doing good here and appreciate all the support and love you all send. Well, I am trying to play catch up on all kinds of work and posts, so more to come. Russ

So you want dinner?

2007-09-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, we stayed overnight with some of our Afghan counterparts and had a great dinner. Yes we eat on the floor, but they always lay down a mat. I tell you the bread is great, as is the rice and beans. They make goat as well as some potatoes that have some sauce that is great. I wish there was some Afghan restaurants in the states because I would eat there. The best part is there are not very many dishes to wash. You eat with your hands and then roll up the mats when you are done. Well, I have a lot to do today, so I will get this posted and put some more pics up. Later, Russ

Avacados, and painful rain...

2007-09-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

So, we were at a bigger FOB for some re-supply and they had lots of good looking avocados out. So, not getting such exotic stuff like that all time, a few of us indulged ourselves. I got about 11 of them, and thankfully they were not quite ripe yet. I have made some avocado and toast, guacamole, and it is so good. It is amazing how much you forget some of the conveniences of fresh produce, and 24 hours supermarkets. I know that it seems kinda weird to be all excited for some fresh produce, but it is a treat for us. So, anyway we got caught in a huge rainstorm as well. It just opened up in a matter of a couple minutes and was crazy. It hurt it was raining so bad. It is starting to cool off here now. That is a good thing. Also, Ramadan has started. That is the Muslim holiday that lasts for a month, where they can not eat or drink during the day. My terp gets up at like 0330 in the morning so he can eat and drink before morning prayer. Then he can not eat or drink until evening prayer around 1800. We try our best not to eat or drink in front of our terps or the ANP we work with, so as to show them respect. Well, I am way over due on posting this so I will get it going. Later...

Rememberence Day

2007-09-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

So, it was business as usual today, on this solemn day that has affected us all. Well, kinda

sorta. We ended up at a very nice Ceremony at a large FOB that we re-supply at. It was very moving for all of us. There were a few soldiers and civilians that shared stories of how 9-11 affected them. One guy was from NY, and his dad and brother are both firefighters. It is also his birthday, so he had called in sick to work and his brother and dad went fishing with him, so they were not in the initial call. He was very emotional, and it spread through the crowd as well. Before we left for the days mission, we had a moment of silence followed by a prayer for everyone. Yes, us Federal employees had a prayer at work. Go ahead and tell all the liberals and atheists. Anyway, I hope all of you took a few moments to remember, and pay respects to all those who were killed and to all the rescue workers who made the choice to go in and try to rescue survivors. I also think of the soldiers who have gave their lives, some of whom were people I knew.

Well, other then that, things are good here. We are all waiting for it to cool of some more, as it is still warm here most days. I hope to be home in just over a month on R&R!!! I need the break and it will be great to see my family. My kids are frowning up so fast. It will be nice to have a break and just relax for a while. I thank you all for reading my blog and sharing it with people you know. We are making good progress with our Afghan police. They are starting to get better equipped and they pick up all the training we give them. It is great to teach them something, and then watch them put it into use on patrol. I feel better each week knowing we are making a difference. Well, time to sign off, so take care and more to follow...Russ

Mail Call!!!

2007-09-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

So, we get mail delivered by helicopters most of the time here. It is pretty exciting when we hear the choppers coming. We all run out to the HLZ (helicopter landing zone) after they touch down. The birds are usually Chinooks, so they kick up lots of dust and the blast from the engines is terrible. They have two engines that blow right out the back, so when you approach the rear ramp, it is like a super sized hair dryer. But it is defiantly worth it to get mail and such. As you can see, we just got a load of packages from a great bunch of people from a Portland Oregon law firm. I put the boxes out and the stuff went fast. My troops send out a big thanks to all of you who help contribute to the packages. As you can see, my gunner was excited about the fudge stripes. We all enjoy the little pieces of home that everyone sends in the mail to us. You forget about the little comforts in life, and it makes you appreciate them more being deployed. Don't be confused though, there are good chunk of those we like to call "fobbits". These are the people who never go outside the wire and run missions, live and work in air conditioning, and have no idea what we who run missions do. I know they take care of stuff like chow and pay, but some of them live way to nice for a deployment. There are still troops over here who have it worse then us too. They only shower about every 3 days and eat worse food.

Well, there is also a pic of a little traffic jam in one of the bazaars. It is not to bad, as we actually have sirens on our HMMWV's like our patrol cars back at Lewis. They are quite nice for clearing traffic, camels, donkeys, and kids. I like to play different music through some of the areas over the PA system. They locals like it, and clap and smile and wave to us. It is pretty cool to see them enjoy some good music. If I can ever get this site to upload my videos, I will post them. Well, it is getting late here and I should sleep. Was driving for about 4 hours today. Stay cool and more later.

Oops, watch out for flying water bottles...

2007-09-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, just a little safety note for everyone. Be very careful if you toss someone a water bottle, especially if it is frozen and the guy who is supposed to catch it is not looking. Ok, let me set up the story. I was trying to give some of my ANP water, and they were in the back of a hi-lux truck, (basically a 4 door ranger) and as I tossed the last of 5 bottles, which was a frozen .5 liter bottle, the guy who had been catching them bent down to pick up another bottle he dropped, and WHAM!! Another guy got clipped right above the eye by the bottom of the bottle. I felt so bad when I saw it and ran over to see if he was ok. It didn't seem too bad until I got up to him and there was a gash above his left eye and it was a bleeder. I hollered for Doc, who was right there helped get the guy a bandage. We were on the move, so he had to wait about 5 or 6 minutes to get fully treated. After we stopped up the road a little bit, Doc got going on some sutures. The ANP soldier was pretty cool, he really did not want stitches. I felt so bad for the accident, but he was like "hey, it wasn't on purpose." Doc got him cleaned up good, and we had the guy come back so we could finish up better at the camp. I figure I will do something or get something nice for the guy. Least I can do. Anyway, just another bit of excitement here in Afghanistan. Remember, catch, duck, or make sure your buddies can.

Been kinda busy

2007-08-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well, hello to all you fans out there. I know it has been a while since I have updated. I am sorry for that. Things have been busy here, and we lost our Internet connections for a while. Yeah, it sucks not being able to just call customer service or have a repair guy come out. Anyway, we are up and running again. Well, let me tell you about the photos. On the top left is a pic of me and "doc" my medic. He is from the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He is a great guy and a stellar medic. We have a lot in common, as he was at Ft. Lewis before he went to Germany. So we know a lot of the same areas. Next two pics are of me when I was at one of my stations and had a meeting with some tribal elders. Let me explain. Each town or village is made up of numerous tribes, which can be upwards of 1,000 people, some related, some not. Each tribe has a few elders like a counsel, and then the elders pick one or two to represent them at meetings with the government. I met with like 27 elders from just one of my districts. I have 5 districts, each with dozens of villages and tribes. My smallest district has around 35,000 residents and my largest is near 85,000. Yeah, that is a lot to keep track of. We put some serious miles on when we are out and about. The ANP (Afghan National Police) and us have a good relationship and they help facilitate meetings like this one. It is good to meet with the elders because it puts a human face on the coalition forces in the area. The elders talk about security concerns in the area and different issues. I try to reassure them and tell them that this is their country, we are just here to help teach and guide the government and security forces. They elders and government officials run the show. Oh yeah, each district also has a sub-governor who is in charge overall, and he reports to the provincial governor. The whole process is starting to go good. They country is making some income, the people's trust in their government and security forces is building, and they enjoy having us around. We continue to do projects for the villages such as building schools, clinics, wells, and improving agricultural projects. We do humanitarian aid drops (h-aid). We also will be conducting med-caps, which is go to a village and treat the sick and immunize people. The pic on the right of me eating is at one of my stations and we had a light lunch with the chief. The food is pretty good here. They eat a lot of beans, rice, bread and usually some kind of meat like goat or chicken. We also like these little fried potato things they make in some markets. They have fries like we have, but these are thin round pieces of the potato that they bread with something and they are so good. We get about 2 pounds for a dollar or so. As good as the food is though, I do miss my wife's cooking very much. I can not wait to get home on R&R and indulge in some of her great cooking. Well, thanks to all of you for reading my blog and supporting us over here. It means a lot when we get mail. When the choppers land everyone rushes out to unload them because there is always some mail on board. It reminds some of us of the MASH intro, but without the wounded. I do need to wrap it up for now, nut I will update more soon. "Violence is not always the only option, but it is still an option."

birthday traditions...

2007-08-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

So, When it is someones birthday here, we kinda like to give them a little cake and icing. Well, it is usually shaving cream, shampoo, baby powder, coffee grounds, Gatorade powder, and what ever else we can find. We just ambush who evers' b-day it is and let them have it. These pics are of my driver. He tried to run, so he just got it worse. We started off with a cooler of ice water, and them let him have all the toppings. It was pretty funny. We always try to get them when its the female shower time, or if its a girl, during male hours. That way they have to stay all nasty for a while. I know it sounds mean, but it is really quite funny. They even got me, (see my birthday entry.) Well, I think that the worst part of summer might be done. It is cooling off to the low 100's during the day. It will probably heat up now that I said something. The locals tell us that winter in this part of the country is not to bad. It only gets into the 30's they say and not much snow. Sorry I have not been updating this more often, I have been kinda busy. I hope everyone back home is doing good. We are making it here. We play sports like volleyball, but I rolled my ankle the other day. I am ok now though. I still made the block though. I appreciate all the packages and support. Got to go, as it is late here and I need to sleep. Been up for about 20 hours. Take care and see you all soon. Russ.

meet shadow

2007-07-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

This is Shadow. I can't remember his name in Pashto, but shadow is their word for monkey. He is a cute little guy, who eats all kinds of stuff, and stands about 3 feet tall when he stands up straight. We don't get to near him as he is just a little aggressive when we have all of our gear on. Shadow is at one of our ANP stations and we discovered him when we were there the other day. Our ANP said he just showed up or got dropped off or something. That part kinda got lost in translation. Anyway, Shadow is cool to just watch play in his little tree they keep him tied to. He drinks out of water bottles and like I said he eats all kinds of stuff. The police mostly feed him fruit so as not to make him sick. They told us that he is about 1 or 1 1/2 years old, and will probably double in size. I hope that they keep him. It will be fun to watch him grow up and try to tame him down a little bit. Maybe I can talk to some of my SF friends and get them to vaccinate him. That would be pretty cool, but we are not allowed pets or mascots on our camp, so I will try to convince the ANP to keep him at the station for us. Things are good here other then that. We are supposed to be getting in like 1400 pounds of mail today. That is really exciting because it has been a while since we got any. Only about one more month of heat left, so that is a good thing. Some days it is not to bad, but then there are days where the heat just sucks the energy right out of you. And then throw some humidity on top of that and it is just crappy in all of our gear. But we stay hydrated and get a little break in the AC when we can, so we make do. I will keep you all posted on Shadow, if he is still at the station. Thanks for all the support and packages. My soldiers and I greatly appreciate it. More to come from the SWA (south west Asia). SSG Miller

cool breeze in a chopper

2007-07-30T02:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the other day I got to go for a little ride in a blackhawk. It was a nice change of pace from my truck. It also provided a nice 'big picture' prospective of my areas that I work in. Here are a couple of nice pictures of some of the area that we flew over. As you can see, even in the heat of summer, there are still some nice green area that get water. It was a very beautiful flight, as we passed over all kinds of terrain from valleys, to desert plains, to mountains. I saw some very remote villages, only accessible by foot. It is amazing that people still live like this. It is quite the eye opener from malls, Internet, cell phones, and instant everything in the states. There are people here who still use donkeys as transportation, dig wells for water, and grow everything the eat. They also build their own houses out of a mud rock mix, which is quite strong. Anyway, while i was up in the chopper, I could not help but think about skydiving again. Just something about it that hooks you. Maybe its the feeling of racing towards earth at over 100mph with just a piece of nylon on your back to keep you safe. Well, I gotta go for now. Always busy here, but I will post another entry very soon and show off a new friend at one of the stations. Russ.

cooled of today..

2007-07-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

Well, the temps here have cooled off in the past few days. It has gone from a warm 117 degrees to a nice 102. Yeah I know that doesn't sound like much, but when we are wearing all that gear, a few degrees makes a big difference. I would say that 95 percent of the time when I come back from missions, I am pretty soaked with sweat. From my head to my boots and even through my vest onto my truck seat. It is basically like sitting in a sauna with some winter clothes on and only a small fan blowing slightly cool air onto your face. Please don't try that one though, as we are trained and have become acclimatized to it somewhat. I will be thankful for winter, but will probably complain about the cold as well. Oh well, that's the life of a soldier. Well, now to explain the pictures. On the left, you will see some of my soldiers refreshing their skills at map reading and land-nav. I gotta keep them fresh and prepare them for future positions as leaders. It is a perishable skill if you don't use it. On the right, is a shot of me that my medic took when we were driving. Yes, I do have less space then it looks like up there. Not like riding in a nice SUV or my T&C. We do have some headsets that make communication much easier between us in the truck and on the radio as well. I no longer have to scream at my gunner in the turret or at my driver over all the radios and such. It makes our situational awareness much greater as a team. It also helps me control my squad better as we maneuver around our patrol areas. The locals tell us that it will start to cool off right after Ramadan, which is in September. So it will cool off here around the time I am supposed to come home on R&R. Oh, on that note, I will get a whole 18 days as opposed to 14. The DOD has extended the leave dates for us. That is a good thing for us. Well keep the mail and packages coming. Big items to send right now are Cheetos, and crackers. They are easy to snack on and keep our salt levels up after drinking so much water. Also, any snack items are always a big hit. We are not to picky. Thanks for the support and my love and thanks to everyone. SSG Miller.

Summer time fun...

2007-07-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

Well, here are some more photos for you all to enjoy. The top one is of us out at one of our ANP stations. I was talking with one of the officers in charge. They are pretty good guys and work hard most of the time. They deal with the same issues as we do, lack of supplies and never enough pay for the job. But they understand that they are doing good things for their country and it can be a rewarding job. The photo with the flag is from when I flew one for my son. I flew a flag for both of my kids, each on their birthdays. I will make each of them a nice certificates for the flag saying when it was flown and where. I figure they will like that when they are older. The last photo is from the other day when we had a sports day. We played flicker ball. It is like a cross between football, tag, soccer, and keep away. You have 2 teams of equal players, and a football or frisbee, and you pass it around to your team. If you catch it you have only 3 steps to move and then you must throw it. If the pass is dropped or not completed, it is an automatic turn over. It is a fast paced game and lots of fun. It is more challenging with a frisbee because it takes skill to throw it and catch it.

It is still hot here, and will remain so through August. It has been around 117-123 degrees here as the highs. We have been playing a lot of volleyball as well. I have been teaching my guys the basics of the game to help improve their skills. It is fun but we are always picking rocks out of the sand. We need to get some rakes to help smooth out the court. Well, I can't complain too much, we are in Afghanistan. Well have fun a thanks for all the care packages and support. Russ.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

2007-07-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

Well I don't know if we will have any fireworks here, but we are having a BBQ and I finally got to set up my pool my brother sent me for my birthday. It was so nice and me and my team leaders had a little NCO time away from the soldiers. The water wasn't cold, but it was very refreshing and for an hour or so it felt like we were at home or something. It is only 30 inches deep, but that is great for here as it makes it less of a hassle. I did catch a small sunburn on my forehead, but it was well worth it. We spent the day playing sports, (my team took 1st in volleyball), and just kind of relaxing and such. I hope everyone back home has a safe and happy 4th. I just imagine being home with family and friends, having a BBQ, maybe go swimming, and just relaxing. Of course a nice cold beer would be great, but we have neer-beer here. It isn't too bad, but at least it is cold. Things are good here, and it is really getting hotter. It is supposed to be around 117 degrees here today. Not bad. That is why we the sports at 0615 this morning. The people in the pool with me are 2 of my team leaders. We sat in there for almost 2 hours and we turned into prunes. I know word travels fast here because by the time we got out, we had some people saying things like I heard you all have a pool here and such. It is funny how you can hide a pool on a small camp in plain sight. They are probably just jealous, but if they asked I would let them in. Well, I am getting ready to eat, so take care for now and I will get more up here as soon as I can. Russ.

Little fun at night...

2007-06-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it was another hot one here today. Got up to around 112. Not to bad though. Been getting a little spot ready for my pool. There are some people here who kinda frown on it because of the mosquitoes and such that can breed in it, but it has a cover and also it is small enough that i can drain it out regularly enough to prevent vectors from breeding. I think I can get my hands on some chlorine tablets as well. Anyway, I thought I would show some of you all what the world looks like through my night vision. We were out on a night with pretty good illumination, so it was nice. The best part of being out at night is not only can we sneak up on people, but it is so much cooler. Granted I still sweat, but not as much. These photos are of my gunner, (the one with the big ol .50 cal), my driver and me (the one kneeling) providing security for our ANP partners, and me just watching the area. It was a quiet night so no bad guys. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. I hope everyone at home is doing good, as we are here. The time is going buy pretty fast. I come home on R&R in a few months!! I can't wait to see my wife and kids and our new house. It will be nice to just sleep in and eat some real food and not deal with everything here. I heard that our R&R might get lengthened to 18 days from 14. That won't be bad at all. We have been playing a lot of volleyball lately. I am trying to teach those in my squad the rules. It is fun though and a good stress reliever. We actually got some good sand from somewhere. I am not sure exactly where, but it makes a decent court. I will have to get some photos of us playing. It is the little things that you have to do here to take your mind off things and just de-stress yourself that count. I try to instill that in my soldiers as best as I can. Don't need them or myself bugging out over stupid stuff, when there are much more important things to worry about. Well enough of my rambling. If anybody knows of a program that makes movies for computers that isn't to complicated and can convert quicktime into a windows format or can tell me how to do that on my computer, please let me know. We have digital cameras that take movies, but they are in quicktime and my windows movie maker wont let me add that format for some reason. Ok, thanks and love and miss you all. Russ...Apocalypse-2.

Happy fathers day!!

2007-06-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

Well, to all you dads out there, this ones for you. Hope you are all having a good fathers day. I am, as it is warm here and I think we will be playing volleyball later. I am thinking of my family today and what we might do. It wouldn't be much different then any other day off, maybe sleep in...ha ha. Thats only if the kids let us. Then we would probobly go to the park if it was a nice day and maybe do some shopping and such. I can't wait to get home and be able to just hang out with the wife and kids. I miss just being in a house full of people, and dogs, and now a kitten, just running around having a good ol time. Anyway, the pics above are of one of the high schools in my area. We stopped to talk and find out info about the school and how many students and go there and such. When we got there, it was closed but the night watchman was good enough to talk to us. I belive this school has around 5000 students and 25 teachers. The school has only 12 or 13 rooms with hardly any furtinure. So most of the classes are outside. It is sad, but the kids and teachers drive on every day. We are trying to get more funding to help rebuild as many as we can. It is good to see so many kids here going to school, even the little bit that they do. It makes alot of this worth while. Well, gotta go hit the gym, so have a good one and keep the mail and support coming. Russ

Been busy...

2007-06-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well I apologize for not updating this in a while. I have been very busy here lately. We have been running at 110 MPH lately. On top of that, it has been getting much hotter. Only 115 during the day and in the low 80’s at night. A few days it has gotten up to over 120 in some areas here, and it is not even summer yet!! Well I had a good birthday. Got a small inflatable pool from my brother. I still have not set it up yet, as I am working on getting some chlorine. But, it will be very nice. My wife was about to buy the same one, but heard he got it, so she sent some other goodies instead. Thanks for the cookies honey, they were great! My mom sent some yummy chocolates from Costco. They got a little melted, but still were excellent. I thank everybody for the packages and letters of support. Every bit of mail that we receive here is great. We don’t have a PX, and the closest one is over an hour away, so the little snacks and amenities help greatly. The biggest thing we have been dealing with here lately is the heat. We are starting to get some what acclimated, but it is still very hot. When we walk outside, it feels like you just walked into a furnace. Plus add in all of our gear we wear, and that adds about 10 to 15 degrees. I’m sure there are some folks back in the states that work in factories or steel plants that can relate to the heat. It sure is not enjoyable. My hat goes off to all you hard working blue collar folks back home who bust your tails day in and day out in your jobs. We as soldiers respect you all and thank you for working hard and supporting us. I share all the letters and goodies I get with my squad, and I am trying to create a board to hang all the letters and supportive letters up so everyone here can see them. Oh yeah, the pictures above are of one of the Afghan Police stations that we are responsible for. I am meeting with some of the officers before a joint patrol. We are discussing the area, problems of the station, and things that have been improving. The run down building is a elementary school in one of my districts. These poor kids only go half days and most schools don't have buildings or furniture. We are working on identifying all of these and helping to rebuild them. It is really sad when kids back home take what they have for granted. Well, I gotta go take my squad for a run up a mountain. More later from the “sauna”. Russ

wet birthday...

2007-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

well, my soldiers got me on my birthday. They missed with a huge can of water, but tackled me and doused me with shaving cream and baby powder. It is kind of tradition here to get people on there birthday's with a different assortment of items. Usually shaving cream and powder, but sometimes Gatorade and other items like coffee grounds and toothpaste end up in the mix. It is all in good fun though. My guys plotted all day to get me, but missed with the water. It was hot so I probably wouldn't have minded that bad. later for now, Russ.

Almost my birthday...

2007-05-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it is another beautiful day here in the Stan. Highs are in the low 100’s, and we have had some pretty wicked thunder storms lately. I decided to take my squad for a little surprise walk this morning. We went up to one of our OP’s just after first light. It is only about 1.3 km in distance, but the elevation is a kicker. We went up about 531 vertical feet in that distance. That is we just walked right up the side of a small mountain, well hill I call it. But with all of our gear on, it takes a little bit of the oxygen out of you. We finished in under 30 minutes, which isn’t too bad, but we can do better. That’s ok though, as our times will improve each week. Yes it is my birthday on Thursday. Just another day here, but I can’t wait for my wife’s homemade cookies. I don’t care if they are all crumbs when they get here, it will be so good. We are staying busy mentoring the ANP (Afghanistan national police), and it is a good challenge. They are motivated to do their jobs and take it seriously. One key thing to make this all work is having a good interpreter. My terp is outstanding. He has been doing it for a couple of years and he is one of the best I have ever worked with. He just had his second child recently, a daughter. I think he will keep trying until he has a boy. Well, not much else is going on here, just doing our thing and trying to pass the time. Thanks to all of you who have sent packages and letters and emails. Every little bit helps the morale here. Gotta sign off for now,
Russ…

Happy mothers day!!

2007-05-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

SORRY FOR THE LATENESS….

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! Hope you all have an enjoyable one and I wish I could be there with my wife and kids so I could make her breakfast in bed. Thanks to everyone for all the packages. I usually get them in mass quantities, due to the infrequency that we get to pick up mail. I just got a few from www.operationcarepackages.org. Thanks to all of the volunteers and supporters of them. I am spreading around the goodies to my soldiers, so everything is being used and appreciated. Well the average high for the past few days has bee a balmy 105 degrees. Don’t worry; it cools off to the 80’s at night. Well, what else has been going on? We are staying busy as always, doing our thing here. We are helping mentor the Afghanistan National Police. It is similar to what I did when I was in Iraq during OIF 1. I like these guys better though. They take more pride in their country and work. They have pretty good training, so we don’t have to waste a lot of time with that. We mentor or oversee their progress. Kinda show them what works and what don’t.
The pic on the left is of some of the training of the ANP that we mentor. It is fun when they demonstrate on us and do something wrong and we can show them how easy it is to turn the tables around on them. The next pic is of us taking a break and just joking around and blowing off some steam. Then of course is some of my squad getting ready for another day's work. Then I have some playing cards we were using for target practice. I shot these at 25 meters, and also I shot a dime at 25 meters but we couldn't find it. Oh well.
I suppose some of you know my birthday is coming up this month. Yes I will be @( years old. No really, I will be 29. Don’t worry about getting me anything, save it until I get back. I have to pack up all the stuff I have when we come back, so I don’t want too much. Hopefully my leave will be in about 4 ½ months. I can’t wait. My kids are trying to grow up so fast with out me. That’s ok, though as the web cam and phone calls and DVD’s I get help a lot. We are blessed here at our camp to be small, but with some good MWR. I remember in Iraq, my phone calls to home had an 8 or 9 second delay and half of the time we got cut off. Things have improved here greatly. This country definitely has the potential to be beautiful one day, but it will take some time and work. Most of the locals we talk to are sick of the fighting and ready to move on and rebuild their country. Well, I will quit before I ramble on too much. Thanks for all the love and support from everyone. I will try to update this as regularly as possible. Love from near the Pak-AFG border…Russ

First spider caught....

2007-04-28T01:46:00.000-07:00

Well, its another beautiful day here in Afghanistan. Spring has come and gone, the rain has stopped, the grass is turning brown, it's over 100 degrees and climbing, and the spiders and scorpions are out. Yes, we caught our first camel spider out in our motor pool. I think one of his back legs is broken, but we are trying to keep him in good health until we can catch another scorpion and then we will have a battle royal to the death! I know it sounds bad, but it is great fun and cheap too. I am working on setting up the arena for the battles, and we are starting to build up our contender pool. I will keep you all updated as the bouts begin. Oh the other pic is of my brothers company he used to work for a long time ago. Didn't they go bankrupt? Well, they have a lot of their conex's over here. I have been receiving every ones mail and packages. Thank you a lot for them. Try to limit the chocolate, as it gets horribly melted and ruins everything else in the box. thanks to my mom for sending stuff for the kids at the schools, and of course my wife and kids for all the homemade goodies and finger paintings. Also, thanks to anyone who has sent stuff to us through www.anysoldier.com. You are all loved and appreciated for the support over here. Things are well, and we are staying busy and trying to adjust to the heat. It got up to 115 one day according to my watch, which is very accurate. I do love my suunto. Anyway, hope you are all doing well, and I think about you all daily. Keep us in your thoughts as well. Happy late birthday dad!! Russ.

A Day in my life....

2007-04-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

HELLO FROM AFGHANISTAN ONCE AGAIN. I THINK I WILL SHOW YOU A LITTLE INTO THE DAILY LIFE I LIVE HERE. ONCE A MONTH OR SO, WE GO OUT AND SHOOT AT THE RANGE. WE ARE VERY LUCKY HERE, AS WE HAVE A SMALL ARMS AND CREW SERVED RANGE HERE. THAT MEANS WE CAN FIRE EVERY WEAPON THAT WE HAVE. VERY GOOD TO KEEP UP ON THAT KIND OF PRACTICE. YES, THAT IS AN ASV. WE HAVE THOSE AS WELL NOW, SO I AM ABLE TO SHARE MY EXPERTISE WITH ALL THE JOES ABOUT IT. ONCE A WEEK, WE HAVE A BAZAAR THAT COMES AND TRIES TO TAKE OUR HARD EARNED MONEY. THEY HAVE SOME NICE THINGS, BUT YOU HAVE TO BARGAIN WITH THEM. IT’S THE CULTURE. IT IS FUNNY WHEN I SEE OTHER SOLDIERS PAY THE ASKING PRICE. IT WILL BE FUNNY WHEN I GET HOME AND WALK INTO FRED MEYER OR SOMEPLACE AND SOMETHING IS LABELED $19.99 AND I SAY $12. THEY WILL BE LIKE NO IT’S $19.99. I LIKE THE BARTERING; IT MAKES THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE MUCH MORE FUN. THE PIC OF OUR OFFICE IS MY DESK WITH A CAPTURED TALIBAN FLAG I GOT FROM ONE OF MY AREAS. KIND OF A NICE MOTIVATOR FOR THE CAUSE. ALSO GOT A CANDID PIC OF ME EATING SOME MEXICAN FOOD. IT IS NOT TOO BAD, BUT DEFINITELY NOT HOME COOKING. WE KEEP BUSY DOING MISSIONS, BUT WHEN WE HAVE FREE TIME, WE LIKE TO PLAY SPORTS, READ, GET ON THE INTERNET, AND JUST KIND OF CHILL OUT. WE USUALLY GET ONE DAY ‘OFF’ PER WEEK, SO THAT IS NICE. WE HAVE A BARBER HERE, AND HE DOES A PRETTY GOOD JOB. THERE ARE ALSO SOME LOCALS HERE WHO DO OUR LAUNDRY, AND ASSIST OUR COOKS. OTHER THEN THAT, THINGS ARE GOOD HERE AND IT IS GETTING A LITTLE HOTTER EACH DAY. IT WILL REACH AROUND 140 IN THE SUMMER. KEEP THE LETTERS AND GOODIES COMING. LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL. RUSS

Just a normal day...

2007-04-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

WELL IT’S ANOTHER GREAT DAY HERE. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 90’S AND LOWS IN THE 60’S. UP ABOVE I HAVE A GREAT PICTURE OF THE SUNRISE ON THE MOUNTAINS NEAR JALALABAD. THAT IS A HUB FOR ACTIVITY AROUND HERE. WE GET SUPPLIES, MAIL, AND WHAT EVER ELSE WE CAN ACQUIRE WHILE WE ARE THERE. THE OTHER PICTURE IS OF ME LYING ON THE HOOD OF MY TRUCK, TRYING TO ENJOY SOME SHADE. I THINK MY MEDIC TOOK THE PICTURE BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW UNTIL I DOWNLOADED MY PICTURES. THINGS ARE GOING GOOD HERE. STAYIN BUSY AS ALWAYS, BUT ALWAYS FINDING WAYS TO RELAX. I DO ENJOY ALL FEEDBACK ON MY BLOG, AND MAIL AS WELL. WE COLLECT ANY EXTRA STUFF WE GET LIKE HYGIENE ITEMS AND SNACKS AND PUT THEM IN A COMMUNITY PILE. ABOUT ONCE A WEEK, USUALLY WHEN I GET MY HAIRCUT, I TAKE A LOAD OF SHAMPOO, SOAP, AND SHAVING CREAM TO THE ASG, (AFGHAN SECURITY GUARDS). THEY REALLY LIKE IT. THEY DON’T GET PAID A WHOLE LOT, SO WE HELP THEM OUT HOWEVER WE CAN. THEY ARE GREAT GUYS, AND THEY HELP PROVIDE OUR SECURITY. GOT TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE WHO TAKE CARE OF YOU. THEY ARE ALL GOOD GUYS WHO WOULD GIVE THEIR LIVES FOR US AS THEY HAVE DAMN NEAR DEMONSTRATED MORE THEN ONCE. WE ARE LIKE A BIG INTERNATIONAL FAMILY. WE PLAY CRICKET WITH THEM AS WELL. I AM STILL LEARNING ALL THE RULES, BUT IT IS FUN. THEY TALK AS MUCH TRASH AS WE DO, BUT YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND IT HALF OF THE TIME. THE LAST PIC IS OF THE “GENERAL” AS WE CALL HIM. HE HAS BEEN BUILDING THIS GROTTO FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS NOW, AND IT IS TURNING OUT NICE. IT WILL HAVE SOME TREES AND A SITTING AREA THAT OVERLOOKS THE CAMP. WELL, MORE TO COME. LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL. RUSS.

the aftermath....of a flash flood

2007-04-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived the flash flooding from a few days ago. i can only show you a few of the pictures due to op-sec and force protection issues. But I will explain these as best as I can. The one on the left is of some of our hesco baskets, which are 4x4x8 feet tall. you can see the water line reaches almost to the top of them. This was on one of the side which took most of the water run off. It basically hit the wall, filled up and moved until it found a weak spot, the area in the right pic, and BAM, punched a hole. It washed over our HLZ (helicopter landing zone), and washed over a road and more hescos. The damage was quite extensive. But, we got it all cleaned up better the new, so no need to worry. Plus, it probably won't rain like that for the rest of the year. It has been getting warmer here, as the highs are still in the 90's most days. It does cool off to the mid 70's at night. Yeah, at night here it is as warm as it gets back home. Anyway, all of us are doing well and are working on our farmer tans. Yes, we are looking dark and tan on our arms and face, but the rest is still a little white. It is still green here because of all the rain, so I am enjoying that while it lasts. I am sure that it will all turn brown soon enough. Well, if you all didn't know, Ang and I bought a lovely house in Eugene. As soon as she gets some pics to me, I will post them. It is a lovely house as I have seen it on the web cam. The web cam is the best thing ever. I get to see and talk to Ang and the kids. That is a great motivator and morale booster for me. Well, I also signed up for www.anysoldier.com, so if you all want to show some support for me and other troops, go to that web site and see how to help. Also www.operationac.com is another one. I love and miss you all very much and thank you all for the support. Until later, Russ.

rainy nights...flash flooding...

2007-03-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

So this is my little makeshift shelter that we made when we stayed outside the other night. It was raining really hard with lightning and thunder. It was crazy. We had some flash flooding back on our camp. It was like a river

rushing through the outside of our camp. It washed down some of our retaining walls. A lot of the roads got some heave damage and lots of debris across them. There was one car that got washed into the ditch. The people were OK though. Other then that, it has not been to bad here. It has still been hot when it is not raining.

Well if you all don't know, there are huge poppy crops here. The afghan poppy supplies 90% of the worlds heroin. It is being eradicated, but it is still a problem. We cannot do anything about it though, as it is dealt with at a higher level.

Well, that's about it for now, so take care and much love. Russ

all in a days work...

2007-03-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it is really getting warm for March. It has been in the mid 90's the past few days. Nothing like sweating off the excess winter weight. We are staying busy as always and trying to keep hydrated now. Thankfully it is a dry heat. It cooled down to 91 in my truck today with the ac on. It was nice. I am starting to get mail more regularly now. That is a great morale booster for me and my Joe's. We are trying to see if we can acquire a swimming pool for the camp here. That would make these hot afternoons much more bearable. Well, we are usually out running around, so I guess it wouldn't matter much. We do get days "off" here, but those are usually spent doing maintenance on our equipment. That only takes about half of the day, so I give my guys the rest of the day off to relax and decompress. Everybody needs some alone time. I do love running missions though, as it makes the time go by faster and I like helping the local police and civilians.

Well let me explain the pics above. The one is of course at our camp of Old Glory and the Afghanistan flags. The second is of me and some of my guys and my 'terp' (interpreter) at a cave we found and cleared. No we didn't find Bin Laden. Sorry. But I still have some time and I will try to find that SOB. If I do I figure thats worth a few nights in the White House with the family. The caves that we found were pretty small and used by nomad herders for shelter during the rains. We know of some other large cave complexes, and I am very curious about those. The last pic is looking down from the caves to our trucks. Yes, it was a little hump up a hill. Doesn't sound too bad until it's 90+ degrees out, with well, I'll say 80 pounds of gear on. Some of my family tried on my IBA so they know how heavy that is. Well add in all my ammo, grenades, camera, knife (the one Jim gave me), and other assorted gear, and well my helmet and weapon, and it all adds up. Sound like fun? It is.

What else? Um, if you all have any questions, just post them on the comments and I will try to answer them as bet as possible. I can tell you that we are near Pakistan, can't say where, but we are close. Please give me feedback and questions, as it will help me write for everybody. So long for now. Russ

it's starting to get hot!!

2007-03-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it's another great day here in Afghanistan. It has been up in the 90's during the day. HOT! And it is only getting hotter. Word on the street here is that it gets near 140 in the summer months. Can't wait for that. Anyway, we are staying busy as always. We are starting to get our mail more regularly and that is always a big morale booster for us all. We have to do a lot of maintenance on our trucks as you see, as this terrain is pretty rough on them. Well, when you drive through mostly river beds and unimproved trails it takes a toll on your gear, and your body as well. After 6 hours or so of that, we are all tired. But we continue to do our PT to stay in shape so it doesn't affect us as much. I enjoy getting mail from everybody, and what I don't use I give to my soldiers. Powder is always a good thing, especially for the heat. I will get more photos on here, sorry I haven't put them on my computer yet. It is nice that our company got us cameras for each squad to have two. So we take a lot of photos. I already have 4 gigs of photos so far. I figure when I get back I will make some cool DVDs for everyone. Well, I will keep this one short as I have to get up at 0400. It's a great job. Oh yeah, Ang and I bought a house!! It is in Eugene and it is nice. I will put some pics and more details in my next post. Love and miss you all. Russ

What a drive..

2007-03-18T02:31:00.000-07:00

Well it’s the 18h of March. We are staying busy here as always. It has stopped raining and is getting warm again. Been in the 70’s during the day and mid 50’s at night. We have been driving through some pretty rough terrain. Most of the roads are just river beds and wadis that the locals use. Sometimes we lose the tracks after it rains or just in the couple of hours it takes us to cross an area. It gets kinda tricky sometimes, but our trucks were made for this type of place. Our drivers are good as well and can maneuver these big beasts like ballerinas when they need to. In the past two days, we have seen sheep and horses being born. It is insane. We will be driving along by some nomad herders and, POP, out comes a colt or a lamb. The only thing left now is to see a camel being born. If I see that, I will definitely take some pics. Thanks for all the love, support, and of course the packages. We are in an isolated area, so PX runs are limited. Each time we go out, we try to do what we call H-Aid drops. We get food, clothes, school supplies and what not and give it to little villages we come across. It is really nice to help out the people here. I can tell they are done with the 30+ years of war, and want to rebuild their country and make a decent living. Most people don’t like or want the Taliban or al-Qaeda here. The people have a different mentality then the Iraqi’s do.

The pictures above are of some of the areas that we go and patrol and try to do H-aid drops and do what we can to help some local schools. This school has over 2000 students and only 24 teachers. A lot of the rooms get water damage in them when it rains. They split the day into half and teach the little kids in the morning and older kids in the afternoon. Not much else to say except keep the love, support, and packages coming. Gold bond powder is great, as are q-tips, snacks, and magazines. Love and miss you all very much. Russ.

Pucker factor...

2007-03-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I was in BFE today. Thats (bum f*ck egypt) to you civs. We were driving on these "roads" as I'll call them, that were almost as wide as our trucks. Not only were we bordered by a cliff on one side, but it was raining and the mud was so slippery that we were praying the truck would stop or turn when we needed it to. More then once I looked out my window on the passenger side and could not see the ground below me. Lets just be thankful our drivers are quite capable. These "roads" here are mostly donkey and camel trails for traders to use. The picture is of one of the trader villages that people use to take goods across the border. They take everything from tires, to food, to entire cars. Yes cars. They take cars apart and put them on camels and take it across the border and then put it back together. All to save a few bucks. Crazy isn't it. I will get a good pic from my buddy and show you all. The other pic is a few of my joes. Hrad core crew. Well, it was a long day, so I will talk later. Kamryn is making tea for me so I must go and join her. Love Russ.

took a little walk...

2007-03-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

Well, we decided to go up to visit one of our OP's today. It was a good little walk. My squad and I went up to visit the guys and had some tea. They like drinking green tea here. It is not bad, always fresh and hot and everyone drinks it. Almost gets annoying. I can be in a hurry to get somewhere, and the locals will be like, hey stay and drink some tea. Even if you say no, they bring it anyway. It is kinda funny. It has been nice here, sunny and warm in the 70's. Sorry I don't have any pics, but I don't want to compromise security. I will post some pics of my room instead.

I share my room with another squad leader. It's not to bad, as I have a desk to do some work on and I have room to store all the crap I need here. I also got all creative and built a little shelf for my playstation 2 and my little tv. Yes, it is a little messy in this photo. I was still unpacking. I am enjoying some fresh ground coffee every morning thanks to a little help from my dad who gave me a cool hand grinder for the beans and a filter for my cup as well. Ang sent me some beans, so it is much better then army coffee. Keep the mail coming and snacks and hygene stuff is always good. Flushable wipes are a great item. Well, other than that things are good and we are staying busy, so time is starting to go fast here. Love and miss you all. Russ

The Khyber Rifles

2007-02-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

Well, today was a very historic and very memorable day for me and my soldiers. We got to visit Pakistan and the Home of the very famous and historic Khyber Rifles. Holy shit, was it incredible!! We got the royal treatment and welcome that is usually is reserved for Presidents and heads of states. They welcomed us and had some ceremonial dancers, a band, and a feast. We also got to tour their muesum. WOW. There was so much that we got to see that we were all in awe. I will put alot of pics on this one and write more later. Enjoy. Russ.

always training

2007-02-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it is now the 26th. Happy Birthday Ang. It is getting warmer here. We are stayin busy. Go to the gym alot, and play some serious ping pong. That is like a national pastime here. Some of the locals are awesome. They make Forrest Gump look like a chump. Anyway, the other day we were humping up some pretty good sized mountains. Hiking for all you civ's out there. It was good fun and a serious work out with all of our gear on.

This pic is from a range I had for my squad. Trigger time is always good. Plus it is fun as well. Yes that is a shotgun. Squad leader got to have some fun. The other one is my playing lifeguard. I was enjoying the sun and dreaming of some water.

Well, time is starting to go by faster now that we are working more. That is a good thing. I was hoping to be home on R&R for the kids b-days, but it looks like that wont be until later. Bummer. If anyone is wondering what to send, here you go. Snacks, candy, and hygene products are good. Also magizenes are good. Well anything to read from the world. Well gotta go for now. Love and miss everyone.

Another day in paradise

2007-02-13T04:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it is the day before valentines day and I am 6,000 miles away from my sweetheart. I love you Ang. :-)) It has been raining here since Saturday and boy it is great...NOT. Everything turns to mud, and the wadi's flood, there are rock slides, and most of our building leaks. Well, not my room. Anyway, today it actually cleared up a little bit. We have taken over for the unit that we replaced, but they still have a few people here. Funny, I ran into a guy I went to basic training with. He is still an E-4 (cpl). Funny how that works. Also here with us is a K-9 team from Hohenfels where we were at in Germany. The MP corps is truly small. I hope everyone is doing well. The chow here is good, we have a tv, a great gym with lots of weights, a cardio room, shooting range for all of our weapons, and pretty nice rooms to live in. I just got a digital camera today, so I will take and post pics. I share my room with one of the other squad leaders, so it's nice to be able to vent to each other.

Other then that, keep sending stuff, as what I don't use, I will distribute to my soldiers or the local kids. We do humanitarian drops about every other week to local schools or district centers, so it will all be greatly appreciated. Well, I love and miss you all, and e-mail me questions and other inquiries and I will do my best to answer them on here, with out giving out any thing I am not allowed. don't worry, ask, if I can't answer, I will let you know.

Russ

first post

2007-02-08T02:09:00.000-08:00

hey, this is the first post in my journal/blog. it might be pretty generic, but it will give you all an insight into our lives here