Commander's Update - from April 20, 2009

The unit departed from the Indianapolis, Indiana (where we'd spent our first month in training) at the end of March and made several stops until our first leg's destination at Manas Air Base, where we spent a few days before flying into Bagram.

The unit spent the first few days in Afghanistan conducting additional in-country training. Personally, I spent the first couple of days doing the same training, getting settled, and starting inventories on equipment there.

I hopped a flight from there to Kandahar late in the evening a few days later to start inventorying our equipment...the unit main body left for FOB Sharana shortly thereafter. I spent the next week flying to different bases throughout the south and southeastern portion of Afghanistan wrapping up equipment inventories and rejoined the unit a few days ago for the Transfer of Authority ceremony with the B Co/62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy).

I expect that the 166th EN CO's company headquarters will remain here for the immediate future. That may change, based on mission requirements, but my hope is that we'll be able to call this location "home" for the duration. The missions we'll be assigned will be, in large part, scattered throughout the country. The same was true for the unit we have replaced, which is the reason the equipment I inventoried was not centrally located when we arrived...hence all of the travel at the outset.

The soldiers have been conducting additional training on first aid, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected - MRAP (the vehicle we'll use to convoy from one place to another), etc. They also focused their efforts on building the supply storage facilities and unit operations center and barracks improvement projects.

We sent out the one of our platoons to complete a guard tower construction project at FOB Wolverine, and I expect they'll be on-site there for several weeks before completing the work there.

We're in the planning stage of several projects here at FOB Sharana, which will focus on increased security and facility improvement on the base.

Despite the many challenges of an operating environment requiring personnel to work independently throughout the country, we're all doing well...morale, as it's always been, is excellent. We have everything we need, really. Soldiers have purchased cell phones to call home, and they also have the ability to call for free or use the internet on any of the more established bases. In the case of those going to less established locations, the unit has satellite phones to ensure they retain the ability to keep in touch with family members back home. Our Family Readiness Group, headed by my wife, Lindsay, and by Nikki Whatley, Lindsey Barbee, and Amy Burleson has done a fantastic job of keeping friends and family up to date on our activities and any news pertaining to our lives here in Afghanistan. The FRG's involvement has been and will continue to be integral to soldiers' morale.

For the soldiers, the most difficult part of the mission is likely the flexibility required for an ever-changing set of mission requirements. We're in a rough part of the world that has multiple infrastructure requirements. The increase in the number of US soldiers coming into Afghanistan then requires additional life support, like housing, office space, etc. We have to provide for both sides, and that puts a good deal on our plate. However, we've received an amazing amount of support from our current Battalion Headquarters, the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy). Our homestation Battalion Headquarters, the 877th Engineer Battalion, will be joining us in the summer and will assume responsibility from the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy).

There really has been no "typical" day so far. Depending on where we are and the training or preparation required, we've had to adjust to each day's needs. I expect that once projects are fully under way, we will begin our days at around 6am and work until dark or 6pm. When soldiers aren't working, they take pleasure in playing pool at the FOB Sharana Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facility, playing cards, watching movies, calling home, working out at the gym, reading a book, or sending email to friends and family. Generally speaking, the unit has not encountered any heavy enemy activity so far. There have been a couple on instances of enemy indirect or rocket fire on the unit's locations, but there have been no resulting injuries. I think most of the soldiers feel relatively safe, depending on their location and mission; however, it's well-known throughout the unit that we're in a combat zone. There is no doubt in the mind of any individual that any feeling of safety is fleeting. One moment may be quiet, while the next is filled with explosions and/or gunfire. We work every day to avoid complacency and to be ready to fight if and when required.

Afghanistan could be a beautiful country, no doubt. The mountain ranges are something else, that's for sure. The weather is crazy...two places, only 50km apart, have entirely different landscapes, temperatures, and precipitation patters...very strange really. It's definitely a rough place to live.