Had a chance to chat with WUSF’s Bobbie O’Brien this week. Here is the link to that interview, which aired Friday in Tampa during NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” My Last Tour: 30-hour mission
Filed under: Radio interviews | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, driving, ETT, MRAP, war | Leave a Comment »
For the past two days I have been in class learning about all the gauges, knobs, and devices on various MRAP models. So now I am certified on all 3 of the MRAPs to include the Max Pro, Cougar, and RG-31 models. The only one I haven’t trained on is the new MATV. But the [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Army, BAF, Cougar, Darulaman, Deployment, dog, ETT, Max Pro, MRAP, RG-31, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, war | 4 Comments »
Imagine lining up over 100 vehicles in a line. Now imagine the drivers just got their driver’s learner permit a few weeks ago. These drivers speak a different language and you only have a handful of interpreters for several hundred people. Your mission is to travel with them through a city populated by almost 4 [...]
Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, ETT, Kabul Military Training Center, LTV pick-up truck, photography, U.S. Air Force, war | 2 Comments »
We had just returned from our ANA Memorial Service mission and were in our cubicles unpacking our gear. Word came down to repack our gear and plan for a multi-day mission. We were tasked to escort a brand new Kandak (several hundred soldiers) and a hundred vehicles to their new location. The original plan was [...]
Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Camp Phoenix, Deployment, ETT, M-240 machine gun, MRAP, suicide bomber | 1 Comment »
From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: Rex is on a mission and can’t write. So instead I am posting this recent video from the NATO Channel about the challenges children in Afghanistan face when they want to advance in their studies beyond high school.
Filed under: Videos | Tagged: Afghanistan, education, students | 1 Comment »
No sooner did I wake up from my nap; I was informed about a last-minute mission. We were going to FOB Airborne to observe a memorial service for 4 of our Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers who were killed by an IED. This would be a first for me. I have attended several memorial services [...]
Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Darulaman, Deployment, ETT, memorial service, overloaded truck, potholes, U.S. Air Force, war | 2 Comments »
Sounds like a catchy name for a movie or a thriller novel. But in this case, it is not. Forty two minutes could be a lot of time or a little bit of time. Two thousand, five hundred and 20 seconds, this is how much rest I got last night before being awakened and directed [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, Kite Runner, Mujahideen, night shift, Tactical Command Post, The Other Side of the Mountain | 1 Comment »
For the past 8 ½ months, I have written about my experiences, observations and opinions of being Air Force while being assigned with the Army. Admittedly, I have chided them on some of their processes and in turn, they have apprised me on some unique Air Force peculiarities. Of course, the outer planetary SNAFUs experienced [...]
Filed under: Deployment "snafus" | Tagged: Afghanistan, Ammonium Nitrate, Armyisms, Bagram Air Field, Camp Phoenix, Darulaman, ETT, HMMVW, Kabul | 2 Comments »
When soldiers walk past each other, first they look for officer/enlisted insignia and then their eyes gravitate towards the right shoulder sleeve in search of a combat patch; the patch worn on the left sleeve is worn as the unit patch. It wasn’t until I was assigned to an Army unit, I became aware of [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 173rd Airborne, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 8th of November, Afghanistan, Big & Rich, combat patch, Deployment, ETT, HMMVW, Sky Soldiers, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Vicenza | 10 Comments »
Today we had a special visit from Major General Curtis Scaparrotti. He is the 82nd Airborne Commander and Commander of US Forces in Eastern Afghanistan. He is one of General McChrystal’s key strategists and tacticians. The General and his staff came way of Blackhawk helicopter and landed in ANA land. This was an opportunity for [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, School supplies project | Tagged: 82nd Airborne, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Beanie Babies, Deployment, ETT, Major General Curtis Scaparrotti | 2 Comments »
