No sooner did I lie down and fall asleep; I awoke at 0500 hrs. The sun was already blinding and after 3 hours of sleep, it was not a welcome sight. But we had a mission to prepare for. Like a nest of mice, we scrambled out of our cots, shaved, brushed our teeth and [...]
Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan elections, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, photography, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, war | 4 Comments »
After numerous delays our convoy was on the road. We drove to another location and swapped out our HMMVWs for some MRAP vehicles. The MRAPs would enhance our capabilities. By mid afternoon, we finally arrived at our staging location. It still looked the same with the drab color landscape and bombed out buildings. The sun [...]
Filed under: Food and living conditions, Missions | Tagged: Afghan elections, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, ETT, Military, MRAP, U.S. Air Force, war | 2 Comments »
Latest guest opinion piece for Daily American, the newspaper in Somerset County, PA. It was published on Friday, August 21, 2009. It was modified from an original blog post, which first appeared here July 9th under the title “Winning this war with education.” Daily American Guest Column 8-21-09
Filed under: Guest columns | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, education, ETT, opinion, Taliban | Leave a Comment »
This video report by Nick Schifrin of ABC News aired on Friday; click on the link below to watch this story that features Mizan Forward Operating Base. Frontline Firsthand in Afghanistan Shared via AddThis This link is to a photo gallery also featuring Mizan ABC News-Afghanistan: Look Inside the Mizan Forward Operating Base
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: ABC News, Bravo Company, FOB Mizan, news, Nick Schifrin | Leave a Comment »
From SMSgt Temple’s wife Liisa: Rex is safely back from the elections mission but too tired to write; he’ll post again tomorrow. Meanwhile he asked me to post a news video he is interviewed in. Here is the link. American Forces Network Afghanistan: Naan Bread Bakery
Filed under: Food and living conditions, Videos | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT | 3 Comments »
At first glance if you read our supply tasking list, it looked rather normal. Sleeping cots..check sleeping bag…check cases of water….check ammunition…check Then after the essentials are marked off, a few more items were penciled in. Refrigerator…check….folding chairs…check…….volleyball…check….sirloin steaks…check….hamburgers and hotdogs…check…coffee maker..check. It almost appears if we are going on a picnic. Nothing could be [...]
Filed under: Food and living conditions, Missions | Tagged: Afghan elections, Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, MRAP, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, war | 4 Comments »
Here is the link to the latest interview with WUSF Radio’s Bobbie O’Brien. It aired yesterday during NPR’s All Things Considered and again this morning during Morning Edition on WUSF Radio in Tampa, FL. Topic was the upcoming elections and the preps for it. My Last Tour: Afghan Election Threats
Filed under: Radio interviews | Tagged: Afghan elections, Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, news, Taliban, war, WUSF | Leave a Comment »
The clock is rapidly ticking down. In three days the Afghanistan presidential elections will commence. The Taliban have stepped up their antics in attempt to dissuade voters from visiting the polling sites. A few days ago, the capital city of Kabul was attacked by a vehicle suicide bomber. As a result of this heinous act, [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Afghan elections, Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, Afghanistan, ANA, ANP, Deployment, ETT, Hamid Karzai, Kandahar, Taliban, war | 2 Comments »
This is a video report detailing the funeral services for Capt. Matt Freeman in Savannah, Ga on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 courtesy of WSAV-TV. more about “Saying Goodbye to Capt. Freeman“, posted with vodpod
Filed under: Videos | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, Marine Captain Matthew Freeman, news, U.S. Marines, war | Leave a Comment »
