Thanksgiving Day

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, although by the time I post this, it will be Thanksgiving day in Afghanistan. It’s been a busy few days, as we were out on another dismounted mission. Technically it was an air assault mission, which might sound fancy and dangerous, but really it only means that instead of walking out the front gate, we took a helicopter ride up into the mountains, then we walked about 2 miles after the helicopter dropped us off in a small dried-up river bed. It was a lot of fun, and was one of the things I was really hoping to do while I was in country. I was slated to do one back in June, but it was called off due to safety concerns. Anyway, the mission went well. We were with the same scouts we were with a couple weeks ago, but this time the weather was slightly warmer. Scott and Nisar were with us this time, so we nearly had a full team, just 1 member short. SSG D is on leave, on the way to his cruise of the Mediterranean. The days were pleasant, and the nights were cold, but not as bad as last time. Part of the reason was that the weather was a few degrees warmer, and thankfully, we took much more snivel gear (the official military term for coats, sleeping bags, jackets, gloves, hand warmers, etc.) We all looked quite funny wearing our “marshmallow” suits around, but they do keep you warm. We had a productive time, and now we are kind of in limbo. It sounds like we’ll be heading out to Zerok in a few days, but we’ll see. We did take a lot of good pictures, and I will post them on my facebook when I get the chance. That being said, if you want to see my pictures, just join facebook. It affords the pictures some privacy, as I can limit who sees them quite easily. Still no snow, at least not below 10,000 feet. I hear rumors it might start soon, but at this point, I’ll believe it when I see it. I posted a movie on facebook. One of the frames is a video of me firing the 120mm mortars. They give off quite the kick. If you ever get the chance, don’t forget to plug your ears, and be glad you’re not on the receiving end.
Hard to believe it, but November is rolling by, and December is going to be here before you know it. I do want to give a plug to a company called roadID. http://www.roadid.com/ makes an ID bracelet for runners/active people, in case of anything. I ordered one last year, and decided to have a team bracelet made to remember our deployment. Deeanna called and placed the order, and when the owners found out what it was for, they gave us the entire order of 11 bracelets for free. So if you like to run, bike, jog, camp, exercise etc., I would highly recommend the product, and the company. I’ve gotten a couple emails from company employees thanking our team for our service, which has been very nice.
On to politics, in case you didn’t notice, America didn’t implode when President-Elect Obama was elected. To hear a couple of guys in my platoon talk, you would think that we are experiencing the climax of the Book of Revelation. It’s amazing just how conservative some of the guys in the Utah National Guard are. Fortunately, I come from a team of moderate independents (definitions for “moderate independent” differ- in Utah this means blazing left wing liberals, while the rest of America would probably say moderate Republicans) It’s all about perspective.
Things are going well, and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. I know Deeanna and the kids are heading to her parents for the holiday, which should be a good time for them all to relax. We are all quite excited here because KBR (a contractor that provides food and other services) is taking over all of the base’s services tomorrow. It sounds like Thanksgiving dinner is going to be their debut at OE, and we can’t wait. I know it won’t compare to grandma’s homemade stuffing, but again, it’s all about perspective. Well, This is getting to be too verbose already, so I’ll simply end by saying happy Thanksgiving, and we’ll see you all in a few more months.