From Dan Williams

Howdy Folks,

I figured it was about time for one of my monthly updates, though it doesn't seem like much has changed. I think we have all got into a fairly steady routine over here, and for me time is flying by. I suppose that is a good thing, however I'm not getting caught up on the little side projects I was hoping to accomplish. If I'm going to do the whole Grad school thing when I return I have to study for the GRE, should be taking two classes, and contacting folks for reference letters...

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes. I'm trying to reply to everyone, however it will probably be a couple of days until I accomplish that. It was a fairly normal day of sleep and night of work, with the exception of my desk being trashed, I mean decorated. Seems my mom decided to conspire with MSG Hall to ensure there was a mini-party. The big hit was the magnetic lawn dart game that they tacked to the wall, I'm sure the guys on the other side of the wall were not as thrilled. Sorry no pictures, due to policies. It was entertaining.

I've had a few questions about the weather. Its hot and dusty. The highs during the day are averaging about 115-120, at night I'd say its about 85-90 degrees. This is another reason I enjoy working nights, I get to avoid the hottest portion the days. The few times I have been walking around during the day it reminds me of opening the convection ovens and standing in front of the door getting blasted by the heat. I really don't think I'll ever adjust to the hot weather since I go from my air conditioned CHU to my air conditioned office. Time will tell.

Things around the base seemed to have stopped progressing. I'm sure they haven't, but it seems that way. Deadlines keep getting pushed back. The new Px and such is supposed to be opening September 1st. The new Living area we are supposed to be moving into hasn't broken ground yet. The new Gym and USO has also been pushed back and will open in phases. It think the goal is to tease us about all the new stuff that may open before we leave... though there is a beauty shop open now. I can't wait to get my eyebrows shaped (that was a joke, though some of the guys have paid for it). The good news is the current situation is more than livable, the current Px now has shelves stocked with at least the things we need (like deodorant and shampoo) unlike when we first got here.

I do have some photos of around base uploaded to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2140786&id=69201841&l=6a37f5262b

These have been up on Facebook for about two weeks, about how long I have been meaning to send out this update! Mainly of things around base and our living situation. I know I'm not in any of the pictures, I'm horrible about getting my picture taken. Sorry.

For those unaware of the benefits of a deployment, one is R&R Leave. Basically the Government flies you to a destination of your choice for 15 days of leave. This allows military members to refresh and recharge their batteries. I will be going on leave at the end of July into August. Originally I was thinking about hitting up Europe, but decided to save up some money and return to good ole Wisconsin. I'm still trying to plan out (loosely) what I'll be doing so if you know of something going down the last week of July or the first week of August let me know. Unfortunately I won't be able to spend time with everyone, but I hope to make the most of the time home.. I am definitely looking forward to a nice comfortable bed, long showers, and setting sail with the Captain!

Thanks for the ongoing support!

Dan

P.S. According to the "Donut of Misery" I'm 32% done with this deployment...

Kevin Miller Home Soon!

Greetings Friends, I really should have sent an update a few weeks ago letting everyone know not to send any packages or mail, but just didn't get around to it. The good news is that we will be leaving country in the very near future. If anyone sent packages that arrive after I leave, my replacement will let me know and either forward it to me or share it in Kunar (if treats for the troops or items for the Afghans). I will try to do a good wrap up either en route or once I get back to the states.

For now, know how much I appreciate all the cards, packages, thoughts, and prayers that have been sent my way. The support of so many people at home has meant an immeasurable amount. I can hardly wait to see as many of you as possible upon my return, although I'll need to give my family their share of my attention first.

God Bless all of you and, once again, thank you!!
Kevin

From Dan Williams

Figured it was about time for another update. If this is the first update that you’ve received sorry, I had misplaced a list of folks that I just added to my list.

I’ve have finally reached my final destination and the majority of the rest of my unit has arrived. It now actually feels like the deployment is getting started. Things aren’t as bad and down here as I was expecting from the stories. Though I was spoiled after spending six weeks up in Baghdad.

We are currently living in Containerized Housing Units (CHUs), think of it as a big trailer park. Each trailer is divided into three rooms with their own entrance, window, and air conditioner. Each room is supposed to be shared by two people but we are slightly over strength here so we have three people per room. It doesn’t bother me much, but I’m one of the guys with a real bed!

Work right now for us is in a big warehouse style building. Everything is new and we are still trying to get situated. Rumor is we will be moving to the connected building shortly so hopefully we will get that over with soon so we can get settled and everything. I'm also transitioning to night shifts so today and tomorrow are going to be filled with lots of Mountain Dew. I'm usually not too picky about my work schedule but I think I'll enjoy working nights. Its still a 12 hour shift but there should be less brass (officers) around.

Outside of work and our CHUs, things are still fairly bare. There is a PX but the shelves are empty most of the time. There is no coffee shop, but we have two Subways, a couple of internet café trailers, and a few local shops.

The British also have a restaurant set up, which supposedly we are going to keep open; they have burgers, milkshakes, etc. It looks like a northern Wisconsin bar, kind of cool. There is an Auntie Anne’s pretzel place but I haven’t found it yet, then again I haven’t been looking for it. Slowly but surely the base is being Americanized. Everyday more T-walls go up and things are getting built.

The weather here has been nice, however it’s getting warmer. The high temp has been right around 100 degrees for the last couple of days, and it looks like we are going to hit 109 on Tuesday. Fun times! A lot of dust/sand in the air and when it rains it is muddy rain that smells like mold, its kind of disgusting.

It appears packages are taking about a week from the states. For those that haven’t mailed things overseas before, the post office offers a discounted flat rate priority mail box for APOs. I don’t remember how much it costs to mail, but it is usually the best deal since the weight doesn't matter. Please package things well as the boxes get tossed around quite a bit, bag any liquid bottles, and you’ll have to fill out a customs form (it’s fairly easy).

I’ve been asked by quite a few people for things that they could send that I would enjoy. Basically anything I get will get shared with folks I work with or hang out with, here are some things that go over well: Individual packaged snacks, candy (no chocolate – it melts too fast), drink packets for water bottles, those foiled packed tuna packages, crackers, seasonal candy and decorations, current magazines, girl scout cookies, microwave popcorn, normally I would say no hygiene products but the PX sucks here so they would probably be appreciated by some.

For right now the best way to communicate with me is via email. I might be on FaceBook every once in a while, but I know I won’t be online to chat via AIM or anything. I also plan on responding to any letters so feel free to try and keep me busy!

No links to any pictures this time around, as I've only taken a couple and still have to figure out the best way to get them online. Thumb drives are banned right now. I'll try to have pictures next update, which should be about a month, unless something exciting happens. If you are curious about anything, ask, and I will try to answer it.

Keep it Real and thanks for the support!

Dan

From Dan Williams

Howdy Folks!
As some of you are already aware, I am now in Iraq. Shortly after mylast update a small group of us departed Ft. Lewis for Kuwait. Wewere ready to pop smoke and get out of Ft. Lewis and away from thecraziness. There were three of us from Wisconsin in the group and wewere seen off by the three highest National Guard folks in Wisconsin.The Adjutant General (TAG), the Deputy Adjutant General (DAG), and theState Command Sergeant Major (CSM) met up with us at the Airbase andsaw us off. Some of the Minnesota folks were quite impressed thatthey came all the way to Washington to see off three of theirsoldiers. I'd like to believe that as well, however they were goingto meet up with the rest of the WI folks at Ft. Lewis and wish themall good training and safe travels that evening, catching us was justa bonus.

The flight overseas was long and uneventful. It was a civilian planethat was contracted by the military. Luckily there were ample emptyseats so we only had to occupy the aisle and window seats- plenty ofroom! I slept the majority of the time only waking for refuelingstops and the occasional in flight meal. For those that are curiouswe flewwith our weapons under the seat, but still had to check our knives andmulti-tools...

Our first stop on the trip was Kuwait, which is the gateway for allTroops going into theater. We had a few certifications / trainings wehad to complete there, but once we got that out of the way, we werejust waiting for a flight. Kuwait is fairly sweet, especially sincewe had nothing to do and there is a ton of MWR activities (fun stufflike computer labs, movie theater, pool, table tennis, etc.)Experienced my first sandstorm, which was pretty cool.

I have a few pictures of Kuwait up at:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2134970&id=69201841&l=5354b52a99

We left Kuwait on a C130. I was kind of disappointed since I had aC17 in my mind. The flights I took on a C17 when in Afghanistan wereawesome compared to this one. Lets just say it was fairly tightquarters and the seats weren't the most comfortable. I understand whypeople jump out of them...

So I now find myself in Iraq, not yet at my final destination but astep closer. We are currently working with our counterparts from goodole' 10th Mountain. We will be conducting on the job training (OJT)for a while and hopefully some day making it to our final destination. Then the rest of the 34th should show up and we'll take charge andwin this Global War on Terror (oops... I mean this OverseasContingency Operation!)

So far it hasn't been too shabby. Our counterparts have been veryreceptive to us being here and I'm learning a lot. Still trying tofigure out this base and everything it offers. I've made it to the Pxand the Green Beans Coffee Shop (man I forgot how much I enjoyed theirSpice Chai Lattes!). So far I have resisted the temptations of theBurger King, Subway, Popeyes, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. They evenhave Baskin Robbins in the chow hall next to the desert bar with awide selection of cheesecake, cookies, pies, etc. This is nothinglike M.A.S.H.... and no Korean snack bar though (loved that place whenI was in Afghanistan).

I will hopefully have a few pictures of my stay here at VBC up at thisaddress shortly. I still need to take them, but I plan on doing thaton Sunday. (we will see)http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136698&id=69201841&l=2f65bdc38aI'm telling you the link now, because I probably won't send outanother email for about a month, unless something exciting happens...

For those that want my address, sorry but I don't have one yet. Dueto the fact we will be moving they don't want us to have mail arrivejust to discover we are already gone. As soon as I have an address Iwill let folks know what it is, I promise!Thanks for the support!
Dan

P.S. For anyone associated with Scouting... I'm amazed at the amountof Trail's End Popcron and Girl Scout Cookies around here. Almostevery office has some. Those send popcorn to the Troops programactually work! Thanks!

If by chance you don't want to receive my updates by email anymore,just let me know and I will take you off of my list. Don't worry Iwon't be hurt...

Update from Kevin Miller

Greetings All, I really wish I was sending a good thorough update, but that's not likely to happen for quite some time. We're super busy doing a lot of great stuff with the Afghan Police, but that doesn't leave time for much else. I will tell you that I was able to go home on leave in February and it was truly wonderful to see my family and at least a few friends. While home I was reminded that my job in Afghanistan is incredibly easy compared to what my wife is dealing with back in Wisconsin. Please continue to keep her, Samuel and Matthew in your prayers. The good news is that I spent very little time (relatively speaking) in transit compared to most (see the Vampire 6 Blog Posts at http://www.afghanistanshrugged.com/ to get an idea of the norm for travel to and from leave). I actually made the trip from Wisconsin to Asadabad in three days, which I think might be a record, so was able to get right back to work. Of course, I expected to have some layovers in Kuwait or at Bagram Air Field and would have maybe gotten an update done if that had happened. Since I don't have time for a real update, I thought I would let you enjoy these pictures that I managed to get uploaded while home on leave. Kevin

From Dan Williams

Howdy Folks,As promised I'm going to be trying to provide some semi frequent updatesthroughout my journey to Iraq. So here we go with the first one...

Its been almost three weeks since a small group of us left Wisconsin to joinup with the 34th Infantry Division Headquarters (Minnesota National Guard)out here in Washington. We had a small send off ceremony before flying outof the Dane County Regional Airport. I didn't see any news stories aboutthe sendoff, we were kind of overshadowed by the deployment of the rest ofthe 32nd Brigade in Wisconsin a week later. Our flights went very smoothlyeven though we flew out on Friday the 13th. Arriving at Ft. Lewis was alittle more chaotic with our bus driver getting lost and a little confusionabout what we were supposed to try to knock out before the start of a threeday weekend.

Ft. Lewis has been entertaining, chaotic, and frustrating... all at once.We've knocked out a bunch of individual training tasks and certifications.Zeroing and qualifying on our M4s, throwing grenades, sitting through funbriefings, and other random tasks. I was able to catch up with 1SG (RET)Gaikowski, who was the First Sergeant of 232nd MICO when I went toAfghanistan, and with 1SG Harris one of the other company First Sergeantsfrom my Afghanistan Deployment. Even ran into one of my Instructors fromUtah who was returning from Afghanistan himself. It was great catching upwith some familiar folks. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to catch up with morefolks or experience Seattle or other areas of Washington. We were onlockdown and had limited free time. The group that I am with was given asix hour (really only 5 hour) pass, however due to some confusion in whatcertifications were transfering from WI I had to try to get everythingsquared away instead of going out for a bit.

I haven't been taking too many pictures but I busted out my camera coupleof times. I posted some pictures here:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2134493&id=69201841&l=b4a5eYou shouldn't have to be a member of FaceBook to view them, let me know ifit doesn't work for you and I'll try to find a different medium.Well thats about it for now, if you have any questions feel free to askaway. It sounds like I'll be having internet access however I won't knowfor sure until I get there. Once I get over there I'll be suspending mycell phone account so you probably won't be able to leave me messages soemail is the prefered method. I currently don't have an address foroverseas. There is a little bit of controlled chaos since the unit we arereplacing is currently moving to a different Foward Operating Base (FOB).Once I have an address I will get it out to folks.
Keep it Real,
Dan

From Kevin Miller

Afghanistan Update #11 – Christmas at FOB Fiaz
Happy Holidays Friends,

I wanted to get a rundown of our Christmas activities out to people in a timely manner and even managed to get the pictures uploaded into an album to send out with his update. A real Christmas miracle!

My Sergeant Major is a self-proclaimed Scrooge, so he would prefer that Christmas be just another day. He is not a big believer in celebrations of any sort or of pretty much any activity that detracts or distracts from our mission. However, he does know that this opinion is not shared by everyone and that the younger soldiers often need the celebrations and some of the distractions. Consequently, we had several holiday related activities mixed in with our mission activities over the past few days.

The first of these was a USO Tour that was scheduled for the Asadabad PRT from which we get most of our direct support. The tour included several entertainers – none of which I have heard of – and three Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders. Of course, the cheerleaders were the big attraction for our younger guys so we made arrangements to be at the PRT at the scheduled time. After waiting about an hour past the scheduled time, we were just going to leave when a Chinook helicopter approached. We waited and found out it was the USO troupe.

The cheerleaders set up in the DFAC to sign autographs and have pictures taken. I got pictures of several of our guys with the cheerleaders. The Sergeant Major in charge of the group noted that some singer was going to perform shortly. None of us knew who he was so we headed back to FOB Fiaz.

The next day was Christmas Eve. We had scheduled a foot patrol to the Provincial ANP Headquarters (PHQ). The weather was pretty much perfect – sunny and cool. Unfortunately, our new guys hadn’t acclimated to the elevation here and probably hadn’t done too many foot patrols recently, so they struggled a bit. Even so, they didn’t gripe and should get better with time. During the foot patrol we passed the soccer fields near FOB Fiaz and walked along the Pech River. It was actually a pretty scenic route.

At the PHQ I met with BG Jalal and some of his staff. I noted that we had a nice walk to the PHQ. BG Jalal said that we could have enjoyed it more without all our protective gear and weapons and that Asadabad is perfectly safe so we don’t need all that stuff. For the most part, he’s probably right, but we obviously can’t take that chance. BG Jalal and I then headed over to a Security Meeting with Governor Wahidi and others from the ANSF (Afghan National Security Force) and CF (Coalition Forces).

On the way back from the PHQ we crossed an area where a small dam runs out into the river. We also passed the Sub-Governor’s Compound where the Deputy Chief of Police has his house. He was outside and asked me to stay for lunch. I had to decline, but did take a picture with him. We also got up close and personal with some of the local livestock that roams freely throughout the area. I was hoping to get a nice side-by-side portrait with one of the cows, but he didn’t like that idea so I settled for more of a group photo. I almost felt like I was back in Wisconsin.

Once we got back to FOB Fiaz we had to get equipment put away and everyone had to get out of their wet clothes and boots. Fortunately, the sun continued to shine and it was fairly warm, so things started to dry fairly quickly. Some folks heated a few things for lunch and several people watched Christmas movies in the MWR building – including A Christmas Story (“You’ll shoot your eye out!”) and some Hallmark Hall of Fame type movie. There was a quick run to the PRT to pick up mail and a couple other things. I ended up getting several care packages from people back home and the timing was perfect as you will soon see. I also worked to put the finishing touches on the Christmas Eve Worship Service I was planning.

After supper, another Christmas movie was being watched – though this one was a far cry from Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was called Four Christmases and I think showcased one disastrous family gathering after another for a married couple whose planned Christmas trip was cancelled due to bad weather. The movie was put on hold when we started the Worship service. About half the people on our FOB attended and it went pretty well with several Christmas hymns, prayers, a Psalm reading (98), the Christmas story from Luke, and a homily of sorts. The homily was interrupted twice by phone calls that couldn’t wait, but that’s the way things go in a combat zone. We ended with a singing of Silent Night and even turned most of the lights off for that; unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to find candles. Maybe I should have used chemlights.

After the service, many of the guys finished watching Four Christmases while I went back to get some work done. I waited until pretty much everyone was asleep and then went into the MWR building to set up a Christmas Tree and presents. One of the ETT guys was practicing guitar in the MWR and one of the interpreters was in looking for a movie to watch. Otherwise, things were pretty quiet. We didn’t have a big tree, but did have several smaller ones. So I set them up with some garland and other decorations on a table. Then I laid out items from the care packages that arrived that day. There were blankets, sweatshirts, other shirts, DVD’s, packs of candy bars, cans and bags of nuts, and numerous other items. I added some candy canes and it was all set.

So – a huge thank you to everyone who sent care packages with stuff for the soldiers here!! Of course, thanks to everyone who has sent anything; it is all really appreciated!

The next day everyone awoke to find that Santa had in fact visited FOB Fiaz. Almost all the “gifts” left under the trees found homes with someone. The movies will all end up in a movie library we have, but most were grabbed by people to watch right away and then will be available for others to watch. I even think Sergeant Major Scrooge appreciated it a bit. At least he didn’t make any disparaging comments about the entire hullabaloo.

While it was Christmas Day, we did have some missions to run. We had to escort one of our colleagues from the PRT to the PHQ and then back later in the day. We also had to drop off two SECFOR from our old team who had stayed to help train up the new SECFOR. I talked in a previous update about the outstanding soldiers in our old SECFOR. This was a great example. These two could have been relaxing at Camp Dubs or Camp Phoenix in Kabul just waiting to get on a plane to go home. Instead, they volunteered to come back to FOB Fiaz to help out. They worked incredibly hard the entire time they were here and would have stayed longer if we didn’t have to get them back. It’s unfortunate that all the U.S. soldiers aren’t as dedicated as these two; if they were, we could accomplish what needs to be done here much, much faster. In any case, we got them on a Chinook and watched as they began their journey home.

By the time we finished all our missions for Christmas Day, our big meal was about ready. We were not able to fry up a turkey as we did for Thanksgiving. When our head chef went to get it ready the night before, it had some pretty ugly green spots; and while this is the Army and we typically like things that are green, the consensus was that the turkey would be best not used. Instead, we had some turkey patty type things as our turkey substitute (they’re actually not bad, unless you’re comparing them to deep fried whole turkey). We also had most of the fixings that we enjoyed at Thanksgiving and all ate very well.

After dinner we had some volleyball games making for a good end to our Christmas festivities. I do want to note that our new SECFOR (did I mention at some point that SECFOR is short for Security Forces?) are much younger overall than our previous SECFOR. Consequently, several of them are still eating like teenagers causing us to go through food and milk at a much faster pace than previously. Anyone who has been around teenage boys I’m sure can relate.

On a personal note, I was able to video chat with a few family members on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And I even got to watch and chat with my sons and wife as they opened presents on Christmas morning. It’s obviously not the same as being there, but it was very nice none the less.

Of course, we are in an Islamic country, so the people in the area are not celebrating Christmas. I took some pictures – included in the photo album – of Asadabad and the area on Christmas Day as we drove through. It doesn’t appear any different than most days. However, as we drove through, there was a different feeling for me. I think it is the sense that comes from carrying Christmas in ones heart. While the world around us may not have actually changed any, it looks different knowing what Christmas truly represents. I also noted to the guys in my truck that Muslims could celebrate Christmas because they believe that Jesus was a prophet from God – just not that he was the Son of God and our Saviour. As it turned out, the Afghans with whom we work regularly – our interpreters and day workers – all wished us “Merry Christmas” and joined us for our meal. My old interpreter from JBAD even called me today to wish me a merry Christmas and to pass along those wishes to my family back home.

So that’s a quick synopsis of Christmas in Konar Province. I believe it was a pretty good Christmas all things considered, but I am quite certain we will all be happy next year when we can spend Christmas in person with our families at home.

As a final note, I wanted to share some blogs I just learned about that I think many of you will really enjoy. These are others serving in Afghanistan on Army or Police Mentor Teams and, while I have only read a little of their stuff so far, what I have read is very well written and entertaining – though one of the bloggers makes no apologies for spelling and grammatical errors. I must also tell you that they are not afraid to “tell it like it is.” And, for the most part, they don’t pull any punches.

Now, that differs from my approach. I prefer to stick with the positive aspects of my experiences to the greatest extent possible and prefer not to air dirty laundry very often; when I do, I try to provide some explanations for why I think the problems exist. That being said, the issues pointed out on these blogs are – unfortunately – pretty accurate from my experience. The extent of the problems varies from command to command and area to area, but I have experienced some of these myself and can tell you they are real and create very real challenges to accomplishing our mission. That being said, some of the changes I believe are coming in the organizational and command structure for U.S. forces in Afghanistan should help improve many of these challenges – though probably not before we leave.

So here are links should you want to get some other perspectives on the Afghan experience (and please don’t be offended by their colorful and occasionally non-PC comments; they reflect a level of frustration being felt by many here in Afghanistan):

http://afghanistanshrugged.com/

http://billandbobsadventure.blogspot.com/

It’s time now to get this sent out. I truly hope all of you had a blessed Christmas and have a wonderful start to the new year!

Merry Christmas!!!

Kevin