Moondust

I received an interesting request from a third grader the other day. His class is doing a class on different types of dirt. His mom said she knew a Soldier in Afghanistan. I can only imagine how wide his eyes must have gotten, "there's dirt in Afghanistan." Oh yes my young friend there is indeed dirt here. Not much else really. But we don't call it 'dirt' around here; we call it 'moon dust'. Just like the regolith on the Moon, this stuff gets everywhere. After a lengthy walk, you have dust in places you didn't know you had. And it wreaks havoc on our equipment and supplies. Its worst property is also its best and the main reason why people can survive in Afghanistan. The dust absorbs water better than a sponge. Add a teaspoon of water and the stuff turns into miry clay faster than you can blink. This is great if you want to rebuild the fortress at Ghazni or plant crops just before the winter rains but terrible if you have to walk 4 miles across it for some odd reason unbeknownst to you. So here are a few pictures of the moon dust. When I get back to North Carolina I can send you pictures of that other wonderful substance, red clay. :)

Thank you Nathaniel Baldwin and Martin Lange

It was 1910 and 1957 respectively when one of the most pervasive instruments came into being and then improved upon. No I am not talking about the iPod though it is the spring board for this post. I am talking about headphones of course. Kate and I were chatting the other day about getting a new iPod. Kate has not been able to find hers since our holiday in NY. This led me to asking for new headphones, wireless if possible. A wireless headset would be nice for when I am working out. I am currently using the Sennheiser travel headset Uncle Jim got me for Christmas. My earbuds have gone where the wild things are. Typical of me however is when I went looking for a set to show Kate, I couldn't find anything less then 100 clams. /Sigh Its like the time we went to Carmax to peruse their offerings and I found every marquee brand on the lot. But I digress. So headphone; I am going to get a nice pair for 30 dollars. I will use them for the gym and keep my portable headset for iTunes. Why does this all come up. Well at this writing, I can hear Hip-Hop, Katy Perry, Call of Duty 4, George Lopez Live, and two 19yo Soldiers discussing the finer points of how to pick up a girl when they go home on leave (they shall remain anon to keep their dignity). So thank you Nate and Marty for helping me stay sane while sitting in my hooch writing my blog. God Bless you both.

Care packages

Hello everybody. I assure you this post will have a happier tone than my last post. The deployment is progressing as well as it can. Some days go faster than others, but thankfully I have settled into a mindless routine. I wake up, check email, play a video game (or nap if there is no Internet), have raymen for lunch, work off the raymen in the afternoon, check email again, eat dinner, then sleep. There is very little deviation from this cycle. Not much excitement here I am afraid.
There are a couple sources of excitement every now and then: an email from Kate, a chance to chat on Skype for a few minutes, and mail. I have received packages from Katie, but now I am starting to receive other packages. The most recent packages are the reason why I am updating my blog. Andrew and Patti sent a most welcome box. It included some of my favorite snacks: Doritos, Pop Tarts, Cup of Noodles, raymen and Clifbars. The box was promptly squirreled away into my wee living space and unlike Hammy, I will not forget where I put it. The other box was a complete surprise. Rich Bond sent a box of canned goods which are now proudly displayed on the kitchenette shelf. Some of the cans have already disappeared. The fruit that was included is in Andrew and Patti's box as fruit of any kind is hard to come by. Rich is a fellow veteran of a foreign war, and we were able to chat about a great many things during our stay in NY during pre-deployment leave. We were all gathered together as a family to celebrate Sarah Knaggs' dedication. Any chance I have to meet family and get to know them better are great times. As a Soldier, I don't get very many opportunities to do that, and that is something Rich as a fellow Soldier can understand.
Thank you Andrew, Patti, Rich and my darling wife who have sent packages so early in the deployment. Your generosity is very much appreciated. I hope you are all well and I look forward to hearing from you again soon. Take care and God speed.

Another year, another one gone

This has been going on for too damn long. I can’t believe that for the better part of this decade I have had to say goodbye to people, people who mean a lot to me. And it never gets easier. First my parents, Pop Pop, Kyle, and Becky, then the god damn Towers, now the US Army. I can remember the ones that have gone ahead too soon. The trend has been since I joined the Army to lose one medic in combat every odd year. This year I was hoping to buck the trend. I had hoped there would be no McCarthy, no Campell, and no Restrepo. But it was not to be. This year it is Winkleman. He was a young man full of life and one of our best medics. The first time I met him was at PT formation when he was so smashed he could barely stand up. Despite this he still managed to make the 4mile run that morning. After that day, I got to see another side of Wink. During sick call hours, Wink was always busy, seeing who ever needed to be seen. Soldiers knew that if Wink was taking care of them, they were in good hands. Sad now that Wink is the hands who made him who he was. The fury inside is subsiding now and I am finding it hard to write anything further. So I will end with this: Winkleman it was an honor and privilege to have met you and to have served with you. God speed.

Sunrise in KAF

Sunset in Afghanistan

Kandahar