From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: Rex has departed his camp and is on his long journey home. Before he left he had a chance to chat with WUSF Radio’s Bobbie O’Brien. They talked about Rex’s recent visit with two female Afghan National Army officers. You can download that chat by click on this link 4-12 [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, ETT, humanitarian mission, news, war, WUSF | 2 Comments »
After yesterday’s interview with a former Mujahedeen commander, I was inspired to revisit him. I was prepared to meet the ANA Brigade surgeon but I couldn’t locate Mir Wais, the interpreter. I wanted to get his side of the story before confronting the ANA officer. Since he wasn’t available I opted to visit the garrison [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, corruption, Deployment, ETT, Inter-Services Intelligence ISI, Karzai, Mujahadeen, Pakistan, Taliban, war | 3 Comments »
At 22 years of age he was single and attending school in Kabul. The Soviets were already attempting to establish a Soviet-Marxist government in Afghanistan. Then in December 1979 after executing President Daoud and his family, the Soviet invasion began. The Soviets brutally attacked villages and provinces opposed to their presence. Because of these attacks, [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, ETT, Mujahedeen, Northern Alliance, President Daoud, war | 1 Comment »
It started off as a perfect morning. I had some extra time for breakfast and enjoyed a fluffy egg omelet, fresh fruit, and washed it down with some mediocre tasting coffee. Omid and I loaded the truck with large bags of clothing, blankets, and first aid kits. In addition, I had some boxes of hygiene [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, corruption, Deployment, ETT, humanitarian mission, Military, war | 4 Comments »
Like an hourglass that has been turned upside down and the sand granules slowly deplete and amass on the bottom, so is the amount of time we have left on our deployment. But the time is measured in days instead of hours. Our ETT mission has officially ended and everyone is busy packing their bags [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, Afghan rugs, Afghanistan, bazaar shopping, Deployment, ETT, humanitarian mission, Military, Pashmina, souvenirs, U.S. Army, war | 1 Comment »
Yesterday I mentioned that the ANA visited a village school and dropped off school supplies and Beanie Babies for the children. Today I had an opportunity to discuss the trip with Mir Wais, the interpreter who accompanied them and took these photos. Since there was so much stuff to transport, they piled everything into a [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, ANP, Deployment, education, ETT, gender discrimination, humanitarian mission, nation building, war, women's rights | 2 Comments »
After delivering the school supplies, our convoy departed the school and returned back to camp. But my day was only half over and after lunch, I would have to prep the items for the ANA mission the next day. Keeping my promise, I divided the inventory in half and waited for the ANA to come [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghan National Army, ANA, COIN, Deployment, education, ETT, humanitarian mission, war | 4 Comments »
The past few days has been nonstop planning, coordinating, analyzing, and preparing for these missions. The first leg of the mission had the potential to be the greatest blunder of my deployment. For OPSEC reasons, I can’t provide any more detail or pictures until later on this week. I even penned a catchy headline entitled [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Darulaman Palace, Deployment, ETT, Kings Palace, U.S. Air Force, war | 2 Comments »
Today was another opportunity to cross another item off my “Things To Do List.” Time is running out and the clock is rapidly ticking away, so I am steadily crossing items off this list. Omid, my interpreter, returned from his temporary duty at FOB Shank and I wasted no time putting him to work. Our [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, DFAC, ETT, ink cartridge, interpreter, U.S. Air Force, visa, war | 2 Comments »
No Tom Foolery here! It was one more thing I could cross off “My Things to Do” list. Today I had a unique opportunity to interview two female ANA officers. Judging by their attire they were wearing, you would easily mistake them for a housewife or local citizen and never know they were proud officers [...]
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, ANP, Deployment, ETT, female soldiers, military spouse, wife | 3 Comments »
