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.

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.

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

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)