Commander’s Update – from October 13, 2009

My initial plan was to forego taking leave during this deployment; however, with the news of an addition to the family I couldn’t give up the opportunity. With the two weeks behind me, I can only say that I’m extremely thankful to have made the trip. Our son is amazing, and leaving him was one of the most emotionally difficult things I’ve ever experienced. He’s also, if I do say so myself, pretty photogenic.

Having returned to Afghanistan, I find no great surprises in terms of progress. My intent when taking command was to ensure that the company would be able to operate with or without my presence, that the unit leadership is encouraged and capable of taking initiative and making decisions autonomously. They’ve done a fantastic job over the course of the last month, and I can’t be more proud.

Of course, most of the actual work comes at the hands of the NCO’s in the company (kidding), but I have managed to get a couple of photos showing what 1LT Penn and 1LT Vick have been doing lately.

Our project in Bagram is complete, and we were able to maintain our timeline to wrap it up by the 1^st of October. We were also able to complete the Winterization assessments of the Afghan National Army operating bases ahead of schedule.

We’ve tried, for the most part, to maintain platoon integrity in the missions we’ve received so that 1^st Platoon is the main effort in working on completing the Container Storage Yard, 2^nd Platoon is the main effort in the Winterization projects, and so on. The mission in Bagram, however, was so large that it required more than just one platoon. With that project and with key leadership beginning to take their R&R leave, we’ve somewhat been thrown off of our rhythm and have moved more toward focusing on assigning skill sets needed as opposed to keeping platoons together as a whole. We have ten or twelve soldiers from each platoon working together as teams on each ongoing mission, allowing us to shift platoon leaders and platoon sergeants to manage as needed. 3^rd Platoon remains at FOB Shank, working for the 168^th Engineer Company, to complete expansion projects there.

Some projects seem to be never-ending. The container storage yard continues to come back time and again with additional needs. The latest is the addition of a B-hut and interior fencing to separate it from the rest of the area.

We’ve also been working for some time here at FOB Sharana to tear down the HESCO barriers (wire and canvas baskets filled with dirt to protect against any enemy indirect or small arms fired at us), replacing them with more permanent concrete barriers.

Another project on which we continue to work is the new Entry Control Point (ECP). We pick up additional projects with a greater priority, and that reduces the number of soldiers we have available to maintain a steady work rate. Nonetheless, the project is a large one and is coming along very well.

Winterization is ongoing as well, but we’re beginning to make some serious progress toward completing the work at all of the sites we’ve been assigned. We did receive the majority of the materials we will need but are finding that moving all of it still proves difficult. I expect that, if all goes well, we’ll meet our deadline of 15 November for finishing that project as a whole.

We’ve picked up a few new projects as well, both here at FOB Sharana and at one of the Combat Outposts nearby (COP). We’re improving housing and pouring concrete slabs here and working to expand and better fortify the COP. Again, these are combined efforts with soldiers from 1^st, 2^nd, 1613^th Engineer Company soldiers, and assistance from the Arizona’s 920^th Engineer Company soldiers who are responsible for the earthwork portion of the missions.

Despite the continued fast-paced environment here, folks still make time for enjoying daily life. One such instance was celebrating SPC Roley’s birthday last month.

In the coming months, I expect to receive several other projects here at FOB Sharana. We’ll also begin taking steps toward preparing for receipt of our replacement company, the 226^th Engineer Company from Kansas (Winfield, Kansas, ironically enough). We don’t yet know the exact timeframe for our redeployment, but we continue to anticipate returning in February 2010.

As I’ve said in every other update, our soldiers continue to do amazing work and they do it without the slightest hint of a complaint. It’s beginning to ease into the colder months here, with highs in the upper sixties and lows in the upper forties each night. I think it’s a much-welcomed change throughout the country as well. Families and friends at home continue to support us with care packages containing all sorts of much-needed items, including blankets, which are starting to be put to use. Our thanks go out to everyone who keeps us in their prayers and remembers the soldiers of the 166^th Engineer Company each day.