2010 January « Afghanistan My Last Tour

Back to work

Posted on 01/20/2010 by Rex Temple

Well today was my first day back to work since contracting an eye infection. Last night I put my contact lenses in and stored my spectacles in their case. I’m still a bit leery about having to use steroid eye drops until I leave country. But I am feeling energetic and reinvigorated and looking forward [...]

Filed under: Mentoring ANA | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, ETT, Hamid Karzai, Kabul, narcotecture, Poppy Houses, Property Book Officer, Taliban, United Nations, war | 5 Comments »

Radio interview with WUSF

Posted on 01/19/2010 by Rex Temple

Here is a link to the latest radio piece with WUSF Radio’s Bobbie O’Brien. It ran yesterday in Tampa during NPR’s “All Things Considered” and will run again today during “Morning Edition.” Talked about corruption and a new literacy program for Afghan National Army soldiers. My Last Tour: Missing Library Books

Filed under: Radio interviews | Tagged: Afghanistan, All Things Considered, ANA, Bobbie O'Brien, corruption, Deployment, ETT, literacy program, Morning Edition, NPR, war, WUSF | Leave a Comment »

Trip to Eye Doctor and Traffic Snarl

Posted on 01/18/2010 by Rex Temple

The past several days I have been penned up in my room on quarters for fear of spreading an eye virus. At first, this was a great opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest and tidy up my room a bit. But after a few days of imprisonment, I became bored and edgy. [...]

Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghanistan, bribe, bullet-proof armored vehicles, Camp Phoenix, corruption, Deployment, FOB Shank, HMMVW, insurgents, Kabul, MRAP, Serena Hotel | 5 Comments »

Culvert Clearing Crew Ride

Posted on 01/17/2010 by Rex Temple

I was unable to sleep at night and kept pawing at my eyes. The eye drops the medic gave me provided little relief. Around 0530 hrs, someone turned on a fluorescent light and I retreated from it like a vampire. My right eye had become red and swollen and was extremely sensitive to any light. [...]

Filed under: Missions | Tagged: culvert clearing crew, Deployment, ETT, Eye Infection, FOB Airborne, IED, Max Pro MRAP, U.S. Air Force, war | 9 Comments »

COP Conlon, Eye Infection and IED

Posted on 01/16/2010 by Rex Temple

The ride north on the “Highway of Death” was pretty much a repeat of the drive south. We stopped at a few more ANA COPs and OPs. At one OP, a herd of sheep was roaming freely about. I didn’t see anyone guiding them, but the thought of savory taste of lamb kabobs was starting [...]

Filed under: Food and living conditions, Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, COP Conlon, ETT, Explosive Ordinance Disposal team, Eye Infection, FOB Airborne, IED, Internet access, MRAP, MWR, war, Wardak Province | 6 Comments »

Day Two: The Highway of Death

Posted on 01/15/2010 by Rex Temple

Thoughts of tomorrow’s mission weighed heavily on my mind. We were traveling further south on Highway 1. It has been nicknamed by the US soldiers as the “Highway of Death” or the Afghans refer to it as the “Highway to Hell”. Highway 1 extends 300 miles from the capital city of Kabul to Kandahar and [...]

Filed under: Missions | Tagged: ANP, COP Carwile, COP Conlon, Ditschka, Ghazni Province, Highway of Death, IED, MRAP, Taliban, Wardak Province | 4 Comments »

Part II: Stay at COP Sayed Abad

Posted on 01/14/2010 by Rex Temple

First of many stops was an ANA observation post perched high on top of a steep hillside. Our MRAPs pulled off the highway and maintained a security posture while the ANA LTVs climbed up the switchbacks leading to the OP. Our Marine brigade commander accompanied the ANA General on the trip along with his interpreter. [...]

Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, COP Sayed Abad, Deployment, ETT, U.S. Air Force, war | 19 Comments »

Wardak Pre-Mission and Day One

Posted on 01/13/2010 by Rex Temple

On a concrete basketball court, long strands of white tape formed segmented grids. Each square grid was marked by their respective longitude and latitude degrees. Shale rock would serve as a border outlining the route and signify the mountainous terrain. A toy Jeep was used to demonstrate the route and the various stops that were [...]

Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Combat Outposts (COP), convoy, FOB Airborne, Highway of Death, IED, MRAP, Observation Posts (OP), Taliban, Wardak Province | 1 Comment »

Back from mission

Posted on 01/12/2010 by Rex Temple

From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: Rex is back from his mission and will post again tomorrow. If you live in the Tampa Bay area, you can catch him on WUSF Radio tonight between 4 pm and 6 pm during NPR’s “All Things Considered” or tomorrow morning during “Morning Edition.” Or you can click on this [...]

Filed under: Missions, Radio interviews | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, combat outpost, Deployment, ETT, IED, war, Wardak Province, WUSF | 1 Comment »

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Posted on 01/11/2010 by Rex Temple

Rex is out on a mission and asked me to update his readers about the latest developments with the “School Supplies for Afghan Children” project. It’s been a busy week. On Tuesday I picked up another carload of donated supplies from WUSF Radio and TV on University of South Florida’s Tampa campus. The station has [...]

Filed under: School supplies project | Tagged: Afghanistan, education, Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr, humanitarian mission, military spouse, U.S. Air Force, war | 4 Comments »

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