Despite delays caused by regime overthrow in Manas, a volcanic eruption in Iceland, a refueler strike in the Azores and delays caused by aircraft maintenance…. After 60 hours of sleeping in chairs – I am home at last! Warmest thanks to my wife Liisa’s former teaching assistant Sarah Wilson for this homecoming video. (If you [...]
Filed under: Videos | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, homecoming, Sarah Wilson, U.S. Air Force, war | 22 Comments »
A long year has finally come to an end. We are still spending our last days in Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait waiting for the “Freedom Bird” to transport us to BWI Airport. Here we will say our goodbyes and each of us will take a different connecting flight back to our homes and to [...]
Filed under: Missions | Tagged: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, Ali Al Salem AB, ANA, Bronze Star, Deployment, ETT, Kuwait, U.S. Air Force, war | 19 Comments »
As I write this entry, we are on board an Air Force C-17 aircraft flying to Al Udeid AB, Qatar. Originally, we were supposed to fly into Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan. But ever since the uprising it has affected our travel plans. One day they are accepting inbound and outbound flights. The next day all flights [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Afghanistan, Al Udeid AB, Deployment, ETT, Kabul, Kabul International Airport, KAIA, Qatar, U.S. Air Force, war | 7 Comments »
Here is a link to this week’s chat with WUSF reporter Bobbie O’Brien. We talked about the latest school supplies delivery mission, the preparations for it and how the children reacted. To hear the story, click here. Also congratulations are in order for Bobbie and her editor Joshua Stewart; the pair has won a regional [...]
Filed under: Radio interviews, Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, U.S. Air Force, ETT, WUSF, war, ANA, news, humanitarian mission, education, Afghan National Army, RTNDA, Edward R. Murrow Award | Leave a Comment »
Now that we had a solution, it was time to implement an action plan. The next day, my teammates and G-Company, 186 BSB combined forces and loaded a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) with the boxes packed full of school supplies. Before loading them, we stacked them in the parking lot by type of item [...]
Filed under: Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, U.S. Air Force, ETT, photography, war, ANA, convoy, humanitarian mission, Afghan National Army | 6 Comments »
Now that our mission is over, I will reveal what I couldn’t yesterday about the potential of being the biggest blunder of my deployment. It took some real finesse and some sheer luck to resolve the situation. Some 173rd teammates and I joined forces with G Company, 186 BSB and our mission was to perform [...]
Filed under: Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: 173rd, 186 BSB, Afghan National Army, ANA, convoy, Deployment, education, ETT, G Company, humanitarian mission, school, U.S. Air Force, village elder, war | 8 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: Missions, Mentoring ANA | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, U.S. Air Force, ETT, war, ANA, Afghan National Army, Darulaman Palace, Kings Palace | 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: Afghanistan, Deployment, U.S. Air Force, ETT, war, ANA, Afghan National Army, ink cartridge, visa, interpreter, DFAC | 2 Comments »
This week’s conversation with WUSF’s Bobbie O’Brien covered our mission to a girls school to drop off donated school supplies and President Obama’s visit to Afghanistan. The story aired Monday during NPR’s “All Things Considered” and will run again this morning in the Tampa Bay area during “Morning Edition.” Or you can click on a [...]
Filed under: Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, U.S. Air Force, ETT, WUSF, war, news, charity, humanitarian mission, education, Karzai, corruption | Leave a Comment »
Judging by the picture, it appears to be a nondescript worn out tent previously donated by UNICEF several years ago. The tent has holes in its roof and the cloth sides are badly deteriorating held together by dry-rotting rope attached to a metal pipe frame. But upon closer inspection, I witnessed a flurry of activity [...]
Filed under: Missions, School supplies project | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, U.S. Air Force, ETT, war, charity, humanitarian mission, education, Combined Transition Advisory Group, CTAG | 2 Comments »
