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

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...

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....

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..

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.