Commander's Update - from June 18, 2009

Some projects are now finally coming to a close, while others are just beginning. The general theme I give when asked about our progress is that the soldiers are doing amazing things and doing all they can with what they have.

As previously mentioned, the movement and receipt of materials is the greatest challenge, and that’s been the thorn in the side of 1LT Sam Smallwood at COP McClain. He and 3rd Platoon are currently charged with vertical construction of the new Jordanian Combat Outpost. They’ve already completed several guard towers and buildings there, despite the issues they’ve faced. I’ve had on the forefront of my mind a visit to see those soldiers for many weeks but just managed to make it out to see them in the last few days. The reason for the delay is the same as those we face for the transportation of building materials: increased threat, lack of air support available, and competing priorities for transportation assets throughout the theater. It took two weeks to get a flight from our Company Headquarters location, which had to be routed north through Bagram and then down south to FOB Shank. From there, I had to convoy to COP McClain as there are currently no air routes that go to the location. While en route, we received a message that there were two different possible IED (Improved Explosive Device – roadside bomb) locations we would approach before reaching our destination. Both had been cleared before we reached the Combat Outpost, and there were fortunately no other incidents. The soldiers were working, doing their laundry, and eating lunch when I arrived. All are tired but doing very well, given the circumstances. We were able to bring a few back with us to FOB Shank to fly out for their mid-tour leave. I would say they were the happiest of us all, of course.

The return trip to FOB Sharana was a long and exhausting experience as well. SGT Bob Persch, the unit’s acting Warrant Officer, accompanied me on the visit to see 3rd Platoon. I’m not so certain he was glad he had agreed to come along after we’d returned though. We woke at 2:30 a.m. on the 16th in the hopes that we would be able to fly directly from FOB Shank to FOB Sharana. No such luck. The flight scheduled to leave was given priority for the shipment of ammunition, which makes sense, I suppose. We instead flew back to Bagram at around 9:00 a.m. and stood by for a flight scheduled to leave for FOB Sharana late that evening. The departure was pushed back again and again, as is often the case. We donned our gear and stepped out on the flight line at about 1:30 a.m. and approached the ramp of the C-130 transport plane. As we looked up at the Air Force crew and empty cargo deck on the back of the aircraft, we received the finger…indicating we should turn ourselves around and return to the terminal. It turns out that plane was rerouted for Kabul. After many more hours of waiting, we were finally on a small civilian transport plane at around 11:00 a.m. SGT Persch and I weren’t alone though. We were joined by several folks from the 877th Engineer Battalion’s advance party, who had recently arrived to begin setting up logistical support for their main body. Upon return, I caught up on the unit’s events from the previous two days. There had been some sort of equipment failure that caused all communication in and out of FOB Sharana to be severed, both email and phone. I had a lot of catching up to do. Exhausted, I fell into bed at about 6:00 p.m. that evening, almost 40 hours after we began the trek “home.” Did I mention travel throughout Afghanistan is difficult? If I have ever been frustrated by a 15-minute delay in a flight at home, I imagine I’ll have a much differently outlook in the future.

The Brigade Tactical Operations Center expansion is now complete, and we’re very near completing the post’s new storage container yard. The soldiers have started work on the new Morale Welfare and Recreation facility, Entry Control Point, and road leading from that site to the FOB Sharana air field. We’re also knee-deep in Winterization throughout eastern Afghanistan but facing the same challenge in transportation of the supplies we’ll need at each of the locations. It’s largely a game of patience, and our soldiers have become well-versed in displaying it.

Also, we receive boxes daily from different folks for our soldiers. Usually, these are directed to a specific person, but on occasion some are sent to the unit as a whole and contain various types of “goodies” for everyone. Today, we received 25 of 38 boxes from my co-workers at GE, containing books, movies, magazines, music CD’s, snacks, etc. An amazing amount of effort from those friends and from people from all walks of life are received here, and it’s ALL very much appreciated by every single person in the unit. As always, thank you to everyone for your continued support.