这是在我邮件里找出的"Deployment Update #2", 但没发现"Deployment Update #1", 已发Email向Michael要了，收到后将与大家共享。

Hello Everyone and greetings from Afghanistan!

Hope everyone is well.  I'm now situated in my vacation home.  You're more than welcome to visit if you're looking for a good vacation spot. :-)

Ok, on a more serious note.  After stepping off the C-17 military aircraft and walking off the tarmac at Bagram Airfield, it definitely brings back memories of deployment life again.  The scenery in Afghanistan actually reminds me of Tucson, desert with mountains.  We are currently experiencing the "windy season" where winds constantly blow for about 4 months which is equivalent to Iraq's "sand storm" season.  The dust is bad enough but combined with the howling wind really makes it uncomfortable.  It gets in your face and eyes constantly.  Yes everyone, the luxury of USA life went out the window and it is back to the basic necessities of life all over again.  The good thing is that food is pretty good here courtesy of Kellog Brown & Root (KBR) (Vice President Cheney's former subsidiary company).  We get fresh fruits which is amazing.

Afghanistan is not like Iraq.   In fact, it's worse than Iraq.  There are hardly any paved road networks out here.  But there are roads if you consider dirt trails as roads.  The entire country is mostly mountainous making it very difficult to travel.  Not to mention most of the country is covered with mines from the old days when the people of Afghanistan were at war with the former Soviet Union.  We're still helping the Afghans to demine their country today.

The region that our U.S. forces have oversight and control is in the eastern region bordering Paskistan. Our insurgent or Taliban friends are hiding near the border and operating in this region.  Our coalition forces include British, Polish, Australian, Canadian, and German forces. Since we have the best fighting force in the world, we get assigned the hottest spot in Afghanistan to secure.  Now if you are wondering what the threat is like over here?  Well, I can say the threat is certainly real. Since I've been in this country, we have experienced insurgent activities.  We recently had a suicide bomber who tried to penetrate our forward operating base (FOB). Our route clearance teams have discovered numerous improvised explosive devices (IEDs) emplaced all over the roads. Two weeks ago, one of our convoy got hit with an IED and also took small arms fire from insurgents.  One of vehicles got hit with a rocket propelled grenade (RPG).  The incident injured two soldiers who had to be medevac to Germany.  One took shrapnel to the head and the other in the legs and body.  Both will recover but they definitely won't be back for duty. Had their vehicle not been equipped with reinforced armor, the two soldiers would not have survived.  Thank goodness the equipment worked when it was needed.  Incidents such as these remind me of the preciousness of life.  You just never know what will happen.  For my part, I have no desires to be a hero.  I just want to complete my mission and go home.

Until my next update.

-Michael

Ps. Attached pics-1-My new home, comfortable huh? 2-City of Sharana just outside FOB Sharana

huh? 3-My cold weather training, it was cold!