Mission Success and Back Home

SPC Bailey Bullock
166th Engineer Company
2nd Platoon

Since my last entry, things have gone well for the members of 2nd Platoon. We have successfully completed our first mission and did it with flying colors. By the end, we finished a full week ahead of deadline. This was done with a lot of hard work while on a seven-day-a-week schedule, but we gutted it out and got the job done.

We have now returned to our home station at FOB Sharana and rejoined the rest of our company. I have to say it is good to be back. It is funny how quickly a place can begin to feel like home, though it is less the place and more the people there that make it so. It's great to see our friends again. We are getting some much earned down-time also. Because of our hard work, our Commander, MAJ Thompson, has allowed us to take a few days to get settled back in and rested up. We all needed to recharge.

We will soon begin work on new missions, although we aren't exactly sure what those will be and when they will start. (By “we” I mean all of us below the squad leader level. Our leadership knows what we will be doing, but the details are being ironed out, so the rest of us haven't received that info yet.)

This is a brief tangent, but I want to apologize to all of you who have family members or friends in the other platoons. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to report any information about their activities and well-being, but I and my platoon have been apart from the rest of the group for awhile as you know. Since I can only write what I experience, I haven't been able to update you on them. But on a good note, I know have a little bit of information about them now.

First platoon has been working on a couple of projects here at Sharana for the past month and a half. One group of has been working on a horizontal mission. They are clearing and expanding an area on the FOB that is needed for storage and staging of material and needed items. It has been hard work, but they are making good progress. It is going to take them awhile to complete because of the size of the area being cleared, but they are getting the job done. A second group in First Platoon has been working on an expansion and renovation of the brigade TOC, which basically is a headquarters. I have to say that they are doing a great job, having seen their work myself. The amount in which they are expanding this TOC is almost large enough to be considered a new building added on to the existing one. It is a complicated project as well being that the new area is being tied into the existing building. I think it will look great when it is done.

Our Maintenance Platoon has been hard at work for the last month and a half as well. They have kept the work going for the rest of the group as it turns out. From what I was told, they have more than one vehicle or piece of equipment to work on each day, and it has been that way from the beginning. And as the other platoons keep doing their work, they keep creating more for the maintenance crew. It's a beautiful circle, don't you think? That's is the one thing about the work we are doing over here. It is not ideal for our equipment, so there are always things that need to be fixed. Maintenance keeps us all going. From a troop carrier with a flat tire, to a generator that won't start. They take care of us. For those of you wanting news about Third platoon, I apologize that I don't have any information. The day that we arrived back here they left out on a mission of their own to another FOB. When information of their progress gets back to us, I will pass it on as soon as I can.

I just want to take a second to thank all of the family members and friends of the 166th Engineer Company who are back home. From what I have seen, you have all done so much to keep our spirits up over here. From sending letters and packages, to being available to receive a call at three o'clock in the morning because that is the only time your soldier can call you. We just want you to know that we recognize the effort, time, love and sacrifice that you are putting forth. We know that you are in this with us and that makes all the difference in the world. It doesn't feel like we are quite so far from home. Thank you.