General Pace Visit

Since my last post, much has happened, for me one of the best things that happened was a visit to KAF, (Kandahar Airfield), by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Peter Pace. I was so excited to meet him and talk to him. Gen Pace is leaving his post as Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff soon, and chose to visit soldiers and sailors down-range to say "Thanks for your service to this nation" I was truly impressed with his sincerity and care and concern for soldiers. He also gave many of us his COIN. This i will cherish!!!!! For those that don't know General Pace,

General Peter Pace was sworn in as sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sep. 30, 2005. In this capacity, he serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Pace holds the distinction of being the first Marine to have served in either of these positions.

"Notice the Big Smile!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Traveling with General Pace was a Medal of Honor Recipient Harvey C. Barnum Jr, who distinguished himself during the Vietnam War for his courageous acts. 18 December 1965, U.S. Marine Corps, Company H, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and date: Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam 18 Dec 1965.

LT Barnum received this honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. When the company was suddenly pinned down by a hail of extremely accurate enemy fire and was quickly separated from the remainder of the battalion by over 500 meters of open and fire-swept ground, and casualties mounted rapidly. Lt. Barnum quickly made a hazardous reconnaissance of the area, seeking targets for his artillery. Finding the rifle company commander mortally wounded and the radio operator killed, he, with complete disregard for his safety, gave aid to the dying commander, then removed the radio from the dead operator and strapped it to himself. He immediately assumed command of the rifle company, and moving at once into the midst of the heavy fire, rallying and giving encouragement to all units, reorganized them to replace the loss of key personnel and led their attack on enemy positions from which deadly fire continued to come. His sound and swift decisions and his obvious calm served to stabilize the badly decimated units and his gallant example as he stood exposed repeatedly to point out targets served as an inspiration to all. Provided with 2 armed helicopters, he moved fearlessly through enemy fire to control the air attack against the firmly entrenched enemy while skillfully directing 1 platoon in a successful counterattack on the key enemy positions. Having thus cleared a small area, he requested and directed the landing of 2 transport helicopters for the evacuation of the dead and wounded. He then assisted in the mopping up and final seizure of the battalion's objective. His gallant initiative and heroic conduct reflected great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. Pictured below is Retired Capt Harvey C Barnum Jr.

This deployment has afforded me the opportunity to meet and converse with some of the most distinguished and influential people around. People like Lt Barnum risked it all, and he was honored with the highest military award given. The Congressional Medal of Honor.

Not long after being on the greatest high, (meeting Gen Pace and LT Barnum), I was notified of the death of my sister's husband. This kinda took the wind out of me. With this not meeting the definition for "Emergency Leave" status, I had to take my R&R leave to attend the funeral, which I gladly did. I knew that my mom wanted me there, so I was thankful that COL McGrath afforded me the chance to support my family. It is great to have leadership that is sympathetic to families as well as the individual soldier. Thanks COLONEL..... Below is a picture of my sister Terri, whom I love so dearly.... (Please keep her in your prayers)

Pictured below is my daughter Bre standing. She, along with my other children did not want me out of their sight. They are really making it hard to leave, but you know, duty calls....

I guess you can tell from the photo, we are Southerners, we will make a coffee table out of an old TV!!!!!!!!!!!!! funny huh..... While home I took the time to go by and visit family and friends, and a picnic or two.... My church, (Poplar Springs Baptist Church), had a picnic with fish, hotdogs and hamburgers. You know it is hard to pass up a good cook-out, but my wife made sure that I went to the gym later.......

Finally, while I have one more week home, I think of my friends and comrades back in the war zone. I have met and made friends with some great individuals. Pictured below is a few of these friends. In the green uniform are members of the Afghan National Army, as well as US personnel from the Air Force. The Air Force and the Navy has really stepped it up by supporting troops to the war fight. They are sending us some of their best personnel. We, (all the services) are doing our part to supporting this Global War...

I want to say a huge thanks for all your continued prayers and support. We all appreciate it... God Bless.....

Humanitarian Assistance

This past week has truly been great. I am assigned to an awesome staff with great leadership, so I am happy. I want to let you all know that we truly do a great deal for this country. Not only are we fighting the Taliban, but we are trying out very best to show the people of Afghanistan that we truly are here to help them. In saying that we conducted a Humanitarian Mission to one of the local villages called "Alizay Kulay Village" This village housed nearly 40 families consisting of approximately 20 persons per family. Our mission was to take medical supplies and other humanitarian items to the villagers. Many of Afghanistan's villages are a great distance from medical attention, so many of them perish from common diseases or problems. Prior to being accepted into the village, we had to gain approval of the village elders that run the village. Below is a picture of the two elders that our team met with to gain access to their village.

We were able to deliver not only much needed medical supplies, but other nice to have items like toys for the kids and food, as well as school supplies. You could really see the joy on the faces of the children.

In the picture above is a few of the children in their home. These homes are Kalats, made of mud primarily, but they live very meager lives. Very little have changed about their culture since hundreds of years ago. Much of the way they live is they way they have always lived. The girls when they become young ladies must cover their face when in the presence of strangers.

The primary objective of the VMO mission was to unite the Afghan National Army with the local Afghan populace, thereby enhancing their significance with their own people. Having Afghans taking care of Afghans is really where the U.S is trying to get. Conducting these types of operations is vital to success in this country.

These people are very proud, they are also very poor. This particular room have multiple uses, for prayer, for meeting, etc. We were not able to converse with them without the aide of valuable Interpreters. Being here in Afghanistan has truly been a great experience.

The picture above is of a group of Afghan women with a little boy. It is their custom to completely cover themselves with no skin visible. They truly live rough lives, being here clearly helps all of us to stay grounded, knowing that we all are Blessed to be Americans. You can see a book lying behind one of the females, I don't know if they were reading it or looking at the pictures. But in this region of Afghanistan women are forbidden from being educated, but that culture is slowly changing. We have to remember that change does not come overnight. Especially in this area which have a high Taliban influence on the people.

I am very proud of ALL of our servicemen and Coalition partners, whom has shared this great burden. We all are working together to fight this global war. I ask your continued prayers for our soldiers and the Afghan people. Until next week, I ask you to continue to PUSH. "Pray Until Something Happens". Thanks to Lt Cdr Steven Parks for these wonderful pictures.......

Independence Day

This past week has been sort of relaxing. We had a wonderful Fourth of July Celebration here in Kandahar. There were many events to help soldiers bond and take a break to enjoy the festivities, minus the fireworks.... (I missed seeing the beautiful fireworks though). We had a 5k fun run to start the day in which I participated in. Many people don't equate fun to run, but it was great to see several hundred people running around the base. But we all found ourselves reminiscing about the cook-outs back home, the fellowship, the parties, etc. It was great to hear every one's version of how they celebrate the fourth.. As for many of my comrades, they are not all on a base like KAF, to enjoy the festivities, but down-range on a remote FOB, doing the same thing, trying to stay focused on the mission but finding time to reminisce on this special day. I am so pleased to received the numerous emails wishing us a safe and Blessed Fourth. You just don't know how much that support means, we feel that we are not alone, that we are still connected to home. The below picture is LT Hampton McNeil and I following the run. He definitely is a much faster runner than I am, but we all ran the entire way... The command did a great job of reminding us the real meaning of this day. The sacrifices that so many have made and a huge thanks to us for making this sacrifice. I realize that we can not do it alone, it takes a nation/community to fight a war. I am so appreciative for all of those that have gone out of their way to call my family, do things for them, as it really helps us/me to remain focused on the fight we are in. I am truly thankful.....

You all know that I have a heart for children, and these kids are some special children and they will always have a special place in my heart. If we are going to change the minds of these people, what better generation to start. I am so proud of my service here and to this nation. WE all try not to get caught up in the politics of this war, but leave that to the politicians. It is my prayer that WE as a nation do the right thing, that we pray for wisdom for our leadership and our soldiers that are making critical decisions that could impact future lives and generations. I know that God has a plan, and what we are doing here is part of His plan. It is also my wish for a wonderful Fourth for you all as well.....

RC- South

This past week has been dedicated to re-structuring of the RSAC, (my current organization), and the ANP, (Afghan National Police) under the command and guidance of ARSIC, (Afghanistan Regional Security Integration Command). What this basically means is that many of us will have a new boss. RC-South stands for Regional Command- South, that is the area we are conducting operations in, in the southern region of Afghanistan. Very little changes with this structure other than it focuses my duties and responsibilities to a particular area. Instead of being responsible for managing the communications for an organization to managing comms for the entire southern region and all the agencies within that region. So I am glad I have no hair..... just kidding, I look forward to this new challenge. My new boss is a Canadian, so I am getting use to the accent, and he is trying to get use to mine. God is truly in the midst of what we are doing, and I feel his presence all around me. So I thank you all for the prayers. The below pic shows how many nations are here supporting this effort.

As we travel from KAF to one of the outer FOBs, we pass by this local store, many of the troops call it the Afghani Wal-mart, but the truth of the matter is that it services the local area, as it is within walking distance of the nearest village. Though it is a shell of a building, it has managed to support this area for many years. However, the local villagers are in most cases held subject to what these little vendors provide, which is fruits, drinks and a few other items.

With the huge numbers of Coalition partners here, I am meeting and getting to know many other soldiers from different countries. Below is a picture of me standing beside a British QRF, (Quick Reaction Force) vehicle. These guys don't play, they are serious about force protection and support. If something happens, you are glad to see these guys coming.... I would be remiss if I didn't say a huge thanks for all the support we have gotten from South Carolina.... What I am finding out is that many of the National Guard soldiers receive care packages from home, but many of the active duty soldiers do not. This is not a slam on our active duty brothers, but this really shows me how Blessed we are to have the support of our State, friends and family. However, whatever I get, I definitely share with my fellow active duty soldiers, as well as those of us from the great State of South Carolina.

As I complete this week's post, I am reminded to recognize our Independence Day, which is tomorrow. There is a big celebration here on KAF, beginning with a 5K race/run. I will be involved in the run, not race. I just want to finish and be a part of this great event. We are having a Kandahar Idol Contest, and guess what, I am not participating in that one for sure, other than to root on the contestants... So as we celebrate our Independence, I pray that Afghanistan and Iraq years from now can be happy for their independence. You know that word carries a new meaning for me. Enjoy your Independence Day............