7/1/2010 - Started out with a BANG!

Sorta!  At least last night it did!  While sitting at work around 10:00pm because that's what we do in Kandahar.  Work! The local Taliban launched a series of rockets, probably pre-positioned on delayed timers because that's how they roll.  After the three alarms and the "ALL CLEAR" sounded, we made our way to our rooms to try and get some well deserved rest.  Yeah right!  I laid in bed thinking about all the work, the recent events, the upcoming events, the phone calls, the email, the workload a strategy on how to stay focused to get as much done as I can and keep my sanity.  Finally about 12:30am, I dose off for a nap.  4:30am rolls around, I force myself to lay in bed and try to rest.  At 5:30 I finally lose that battle and make my way to the shower.  After the shower, I make my way to the dinning facility.  Should I sit and eat or get a box to go?  Box to go!  Let's get this day started since I spent all night thinking through it and laying out my plan in my head.  Off we go!  While sitting at my desk I open my email to see what could possibly have happened in the few hours I've been away!  What's that, the vendor did not show.  Another vendor is not responding to calls or email, whose that on the phone?  Hold on!  I send out a few "Let me get your attention emails", more phone calls, more email, vendors are starting to show up like they do everyday!  Firefighting is on!  Let's get it!!!!  Take a deep breath and realize the whole day is out of my control.  Why?  Because I'm allowing it to be!  Got to stop that as quickly as possible.  Hold that call, I'm with someone and already doing 5 things.  The flames die down, the smoke begins to clear.  Now is a good chance to break away and go to the gym!  I get in a 3 mile run, do a hundred or so sit ups and head back to the room for a shower.  I feel better!  However comma!  I walk down the hall towel around my waist and take a nice shower controlling my breathing and head back to the room to get dressed.  Oh yeah!  time-line, it's now about 6:30pm.  Jeff and I usually do PT around 4:30pm or 5:00pm.  This breaks up the day and gets us fresh for another few hours of evening work.  Anyway, I head back to the room, towel around my waist and grab the door handle to the room!  Yep!  Locked like Fort Knox!  One of our roommates, I'll call him LT Lazy Ass because at any given time during the day, he's in the room.  He's knows our routine, evening PT, shower and head back out!  Do you think he might have taken 10 seconds to walk 74 feet down the hall to see if I was in the shower.  Oh No!! Let's just lock the door!  So for about 35 minutes I stand in the hall waiting for someone to walk in so I can ask them to go to billeting to get someone to open the door.  Score, I get a neighbor at the other end of the building to do my deed!  He and the housing runner arrives with the key!  Oops, the runner says!  I have the spare key for room 7, your in room 1.  He's a pretty sharp pencil!  I say, yeah, this is a problem.  I guess you'll be right back!  Yes Sir, right back!  Another 10 minutes pass and we have entry!  I get dressed and yes, the stress level is back up to 100% by this time.  I walk over to the chow hall and get dinner to go!  Stay calm, I tell myself.  You just learned a valuable lesson.  Take your key with you and remember always to "never" seek out LT Lazy Ass when it's my turn to leave the room.  Make sure it's all locked up.  Nice and tight!  Karma!  Finally back to the office a little after 7:00pm.  Email is full again, phone rings!  SSG can you get me some gravel for Saturday?  Of course, let me look into this and rush something through.  About 8:00pm almost as a well rehearsed play!  The siren blows, we all hit the floor for a couple minutes and recover.  Just a couple minutes later, the siren blows again.  On the floor we go!  Almost like football tryouts!  Up, down, up, down!  Of course, we all make the best of it and share our thoughts as to why the rockets are flying.  Unhappy vendors for slow pay issues, vendors making their point for us to award more contracts, etc.  We do a few more things and then blow out at 10:00pm.  Calling it an early night so we can get re-charged for tomorrow.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to share on the events of my day!  As you crawl through this mess and as I write about, I draw one conclusion.  You can't make this stuff up!  It's real and in full color! 

I think I covered a lot of ground with that story.  Folks, it's been awhile since I've updated my blog!  I apologize for that, but also recognized, I just have not had the time.  It's already 11:30pm and I'm probably an hour away from falling asleep.  Once I get done here, I've got to take 30 minutes or so just to unwind!

Jeff and I are learning alot about our skill and others are now looking to us for answers.  Jeff spends alot of time researching the FAR and case studies to confirm what are the best options available to get things done.  Steps that are efficient, legal and ethical.  I continue to try and set the pace in managing large projects and do contracting.  Folks ask our opinion, seek our advice and ask our thoughts on a regular basis.  I'm sure I can speak for both of us!  The pressure to get things done is always high, but the feeling of being asked to do the things we do and provide advice and recommendations, speak volumes for what have and will continue to do while deployed.

Anyway, before I start to ramble on!  Let me do a quick spell check and hit the post button!

I love and miss everyone and hope everyone can stand in the hall one day with a towel and the thought of "How the hell did I allow this to happen"?

Later!

6/20/10 - Father's Day in Afghanistan

Being deployed certainly comes with a price.  We have talked about this previously, however!  Being apart from your family on holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, special events, etc. is still a bummer!  I've been at work since about 6:00am on this Sunday/Fathers Day and it's now 6:00pm.  All day as I'm working through the endless pile of things to do, I'm thinking of each one of my kids, their faces, expressions, laughter, angry moments and reflect on how I miss them.  We're all grown up and doing what we do and if home, it would probably be me and my wonderful wife out and about doing something.  The kids calling and saying "Happy Fathers Day".  Kids, you don't know how much that means to me and how much it means to your Mom when you tell her "Happy Mothers Day" or just a simple out of the blue "I Love You"!

Mom and I truly blessed with each one of you!  Yes, even though we have our moments, you are loved beyond measure.  I'm proud of each one of you for the choices you have made and the choices you will make.  Each one of you will continue to do great things and conquer the world or at least your piece of it!  I love you and thank you each for all the joy you bring me each day!  You are my strength each and every day!

Just as a side note and a general update. 

The last couple of weeks are of course busy for me at work.  The local Taliban have not launched rockets our way for several days.  This of course is a good thing.  However, it makes everyone a little nervous as though they are saving up!  In the upcoming weeks Kandahar City, which is outside our base, will have some increased activity.  We have troops rolling in everyday and occupying several locations near the city.  We anticipate activities to increase.  All will be good as our base is strongly fortified and difficult to penetrate.  I look at these young soldiers, some that barely look old enough to drive and they are faced with some serious challenges.  In charge of other soldiers, equipment, the security of their missions and the safety of the friendly local Afghan people.  All in the name of freedom.  I say this because many of the young men (and older ones too) are fathers.  I just hope they are thought of as my kids think of me!  For those that are not, I ask that
everyone simply say a "Happy Fathers Day" in their honor. 

The living conditions out in the field where most of these units are positioned remind me of the day back in Desert  Shield/Storm.  I did my time in a GP medium with 16 other soldiers, eating MRE's, showering bird-style with bottles of water, washing clothes by hand in buckets for over ten months.  My time here at Kandahar is an office, a sheltered building with a bed and access to dining facilities.  In the scheme of things, comparably, it's not so bad!  I just hope that what I am doing to get these soldiers the things they need in the field improve their situation in some way!

There is more work to be done and plenty of it!  I'll try to get another update out soon!  In the meantime, I hope everyone stays well!  

With mounds and mounds of love! 

R2

6/6/2010 - A few hours off!

Who would of thought a few hours off would be so good?  I managed to take about 6 hours off for myself this afternoon.  No I didn't just lay around, that's not me!  I did some laundry, dusted my little space off, walked to the PX, bought some M&M's, copied some music from the laptop to the iTouch and thought what the heck?  Might as well publish a post.  Nothing fancy, nothing real exciting on this side of the world.  We did have our usual rocket attacks and yes, they scored a hit in front of one of the living quarters.  Women's quarters at that!  Minor injuries from what we know.  Oh yeah!  Back to a few hours off.  Did I mention after working roughly 16 hours per day consecutively over a two week span how nice it feels to get a few hours to yourself?  It feels good!  Better if I had my wife on the back of my bike headed somewhere, anywhere! 

Renee spent a few days with the kids in California.  Sounds like the birthdays went well, the cakes turned out great and life was good!  Next year we go together! 

Time continues to pass fairly quickly due to the long demanding hours and workload.  We are over the 10% mark and R&R is scheduled for Christmas and New Years.  Can't wait to see my wife and family.

Did I mention?  Ricky was a young boy, he had a heart of stone...no, no that's the song playing on my itouch.  Sorry, got lost there for a moment.

I really don't have much to report.  The views, smell, dirt and heat are all bout the same!  Just doing time on a work release.  At least that's what it feels like at times.

Anyway, I hope everyone is fine and doing well.  I miss everyone and think of the laughter and good times often.

I'll sign off for now.  Until next time, take care! Later

R2

5/27/2010 - The Surge and the Pond

The Kandahar Airfield "Poo-Pond" made the news!  I had a few minutes early this morning to get caught up on a little news and low and behold, there we were.  http://www.stripes.com/ had The "Poo-Pond" as one of the featured articles.  For those that did not get a copy of the article forwarded, you may have to do a search on the website.  I guess what's interesting is the article provides an overview of the awful smell that is now a daily part of life here at the ranch.  But lacks the words to adequately describe the smell.  Why?  Because when the wind blows just right, there are no words to describe the smell!  I don't care if you have ten babies lined up with green poo in their diapers, it's not even close.  Around here, its simply a part of the elements you learn to adjust too. 

Readers, continue to follow the news and good sources of news like the "stripes" over the coming weeks.  The whole world is aware of the surge and some of the broad stroke time lines.  Even we don't know the real plans, which at our pay grades is good enough for me.  But, I can tell you, we are taking care of a lot of troops with regard to Contracting.  Business is good, we continue to work long, long days with no end insight.  The long hours are kind of a bitter sweet.  12-14 hour days, seven days a week are not something a person would typically look forward too.  But, the days go fast and so does our time.  We are roughly at the 10% mark and counting. 

The four of us are already making plans for R & R and will submit our leave request for approval.  Until the leave request is official, I'll keep the time line quiet.  Don't want to get hopes up to soon.

Got the Cotton Row coming up Monday.  Looks like the four of us will be making history by being the only deployed team running the race 1/2 way across the globe.  More on that next week.

Other than that, it's been fairly quiet since our last little barrage.  We continue to keep a watchful eye and not let our guard down.  We know more is to come and we stay prepared.

Folks, nothing much more exciting to report this round.  Just wanted to get something in print and let you know we are all doing fine and we appreciate everyone for all that you do to support us and keep us mindful of the reasons were here doing what we do!  Freedom is a beautiful thing!!!

Be good, laugh a lot and enjoy!

R2

For Your Viewing Entertainment....

Just a few pictures for you while I have a milli-second! I'll update my blog again soon!

L to R - Habib, Rich and Han. They are the Interpreter's

Fine dining, Sandbox style...our Chow Hall

Jeff with our Interpreters

Rich hard at it! How do you like my work table? Oh, the metal chair with a file box? Yep, that's it! 

 Our Villa in the vario

Sparky, the janitor. If he leaves early from work, chances are there will be a rocket attack. Coincidence?

Skyping with my lovely wife!

Before leaving Camp Shelby. Getting cards ready to send home!

I hope you've enjoyed the picture show!

R2

5/16/2010 - Rocket Attack & The Professor

The title of today's blog is not meant to scare you or get you concerned.  It's just a way of life here in Kandahar!  At 8:00PM, we heard the boom in the distance and then the Irish voice over the speaker "Rocket Attack, Rocket Attack".  At 8:15PM, we heard the same voice give the "All Clear, All Clear".  Sometimes we get the warning before the attack and sometimes not.  To date, it's never been a barrage of rockets only singular.  That's because the bastards probably have not figured out how to setup delay devices on more than one rocket in multiple places.  I will give them credit as to their crude delay devices.  My understanding is they use things like a block of ice.  Once the ice melts, the the rocket is launched.  Depending on the weather, it the delay could be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or so.  Our guys are still able to shoot a reverse trajectory and track these guys down.

What's the protocol when this happens?  Simple.  Drop to the ground no matter where you are, gym, work, walking down the street, chow hall, latrine, etc. and wait a minimum of 2 minutes.  Seek shelter as soon as possible and then wait for the "All Clear".  Jeff and I try to follow the protocol as much as possible.  However, we also use some common sense.  If we are already in a somewhat fortified location like say your sleeping quarters, well, we stay put.  Then we make the call to the chain of command for accountability and then all is good!

Now on to the Professor!  Who is this masked villain?  As we (Jeff and I) peer through our room window to the outside, we see a tall stature individual peering over a couple of shall we say up and coming students in which he is giving a lecture.  A lecture on frequency, signals, not enough power, low strength, complaining units, etc.  Literally, the Professor is using all his available tools to convey his case, finger pointing, voice fluctuation and I'm sure, if we could see his face, he would be using expressions to further convey his lecture.  Why do I speak of the Professor?  Forgive the language, but who gives a F_ _ _?  This guy is so freaking annoying, it is worse than finger nails on a chalk board, styrofoam being snapped and scrapped, fingers being rubbed on the lips of crystal drinking glasses.  The poor students eyes look glazed over from the lesson of the day.  I'm sure as I sit here that the students only wanted to smoke their cigarettes and did not realize what they were in for.  To further expand on this whiting fellow, our buildings set pretty close to one another, they are made of very thin aluminum material so there is no noise barrier.  We can here the wind blow on a good day!  Jets, helicopters and planes are common place.  You get use to that!  But the Professor, No Way!  I'd rate him up there with Snore Zilla on the richter scale.  The Professor basically sits outside his building taking smoke breaks and preaching to whomever will listen.  Usually other smokers.  He does this a various hours in the evening from about 8:30PM to 9:30PM and then 10:30PM.  And yes, he continues to talk and talk and talk.  Last night he and his students were out from about 12:00 midnight to 1:30am.  Yes, his voice carried and it kept me up.  Not tonight though!  If he begins his lecture tonight at the wrong hour, I believe Jeff and I both may get in some target practice.  All he has to do is tone it down a bit and life would be good!  Unfortunately people like the Professor are people seekers in which he hopes everyone looks and listens to him.  So, he talks at the top of his lungs.  Oh, we only hear him take one breath during the recent lecture of about 30 minutes.  I know I'm ranting, but!  Jeff and I were both trying to get some reading in and neither of us could concentrate.  We keep reading the same stuff over and over again.  We finally gave up!  He's back!!!!!!We can hear him outside!  He's on-time, it's now 8:35PM.  Someone call his family.  PLEASE!!!!!

This last week has been busy!  Believe it or not working the hours we work, time seems to fly.  We get tired by 8:30 - 9:00 and look forward to some down time in the rack.  We are starting to get in a rhythm, wake-up, shower, Skype, breakfast, work, lunch, work, gym, work, dinner, work, Skype, bed and start over. 

Today, Jeff and I arrived at the office and I basically had an OCD attack.  We work in a crude office environment which can be organized more functionally.  The dirt and dust is a given, but hell, when you need a folder, a pen, a paper clip, etc.  You can't freaking find one.  So, Jeff and I took charge and organized an area of the office today.  I'm sure there will be more organization coming in the next several weeks.  We will get this office shaped up the way we want it, SOON!  Hell, we will be here a year, so why not?

I'll let you go for now, this update has gotten pretty lengthy.  I'll try my best to keep folks up to date as often as possible and as honest as I can with the situation.  Blog updates may turn out to be weekly simply due to the long work week.  So, stay on board and keep a watchful eye for updates.  Maybe next week I can tell more about the Professor.

P.S.  My niece Beth had her first baby girl this week.  Charlotte!  Healthy and beautiful!

Love to all,

R2

5/8/2010 - A Day In the Life

NOTE:  Information below is public, so I'm not giving away any secrets.....

Brig. Gen. Camille M. Nichols, commanding general with Joint Contracting Command - Iraq/Afghanistan, visited Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, March 27, to ensure that her unit, which is responsible for all of the contracts in theater, meets the needs of the service members who live there.



Why did I post this you ask?  Well, the RCC (Regional Contingency Contracting) office (this is where I work)here at Kandahar also had a drop in visit from our Commander.  I tried to post a picture, but bandwidth wouldn't allow it.  What's interesting about this, is there is a little history with a few folks that I'll keep anonymous.  BG Nichols presented in an Acquisition summit and voiced her concern over the readiness of the National Guard serving as Contracting Officers in Theater.  Well here we are and doing a fine job, if you ask me.

About the job:  Jeff and I are learning a lot as fast as we can.  We both picked up a predecessors night mare.  Meaning when a KO (contracting officer - not sure why we use KO, instead of CO) does not do a thorough job of maintaining their files and records, the new guy has to clean up the mess.  One thing we have learned over the last couple of years is that a good KO keeps good files.  KO's obligate the governments (tax payers) money and is 100% under the scrutiny of investigation by audit agencies, CID, FBI, etc.  Turds that leave a mess like the one Jeff and I are cleaning up should be slapped.

Our day at the office starts about 8:00am to 8:00pm 7 days a week.  Depending on workload, we may get a 1/2 day Sunday.  During these hours, yes we get to go eat and do PT, run to the PX, and get a haircut when needed.  In the evening time, we find time to get our laundry done.  That's another story.  Needless to say, we stay covered up busy all day and when we get through a day, we are slap tired and only want to give our pillow some head (hey, watch what your thinking).  The most important thing Jeff and I try to do as often as we can is Skype with the family.  However, this poses its on challenges due to the time difference, Internet bandwidth and if roomies are sleeping.  It is a task managers nightmare!

Back to the laundry.  So, there is thousands of troops here from all over the world.  But, there are only a few mobile laundry facilities.  I got up the other morning at 3:45am, thinking surely no one is doing laundry at 3:45am.  Wrong!!!  Everyone else had the same idea.  Later that night about 9:00pm, I simply waited my turn and finished up about 11:00pm.

Days are long and starting to go fast.  As though it seems.  Leaning is the key for the next week or so and then the workload will double again.  At present, I'm managing about $12M of commodities that range from beds to washers and dryers (ironic), gravel to forklifts.  $12M is only a start.  Once this gets to full speed, I imagine the value will be north of $25M.

I better wrap this up since it's about time to catch a shower and start the day.  If you have not read Renee's blog, you should.  Especially yesterday's.  She talked about our best friends, the Whitten's.  And she is 100% correct in how we feel about our friends and how are friendships have developed over the last 12 years.  We love them dearly and look forward to one day sitting on someones porch rocking in our chairs and drinking a beer or a glass of wine.  Thank you Whitten's for all that you do! 

And thank everyone, family, friends, commanders (COL Edge, I know your reading our blogs), work friends and anyone I might have missed.  Your support and love makes this whole deployment much easier to handle.

Love to all, R2

5/3/2010 - Kandahar, Afghanistan

I've finally got a chance to do a little blogging.  It's 6:00am here and 8:30pm back home.  Where to start, where to start?  This place is a major metropolis of soldiers, vehicles and dusty pollution.  The dirt roads here are actually made up of a very fine talcum powder dust.  There is freaking dusty dirt everywhere.  Everything you touch and breath is dust.  I only hope my lungs and allergies will survive.

Jeff and I arrived here last Saturday after flying for many hours and being in transit for more than 30 hours.  We found very quickly, that we needed to fend for ourselves as there was not in formal in processing to get living quarters, meal badges, an introduction to the base, etc.  So, we did what comes natural.  We bitched and complained, then we started fending for ourselves and making things happen.  We share a 6 man room with 2 others, so there's only 4 in the room which is good for now.  Trust me, 4 is already cramped.  If and when the room fills to 6, I will absolutely hate it!

We had our first full day of work yesterday.  Projects and other stuff is starting to filter our way which is good.  We will start to cut our teeth on work that no one wants to do and then quickly build up to the busy work.  In the meantime, we will learn the systems, the customer, the vendors and the supporting resources to get the job done.  Days are long.  More by design than anything else.  I believe folks feel obligated to sit in the office > 12 hours a day.  Whether they are busy or not!  Kind of crazy if you ask me.  I mean if the work drives that, then o.k., but if not, why be there, just to be there?  I could back at my room, skyping, face booking, reading the news, sleeping, working out or simply being bored.  At least, I would be in control of that.

I've got a few pic's, I'll try to upload and will continue to upload as I can. 

Now on to the bad news for this location.  Jeff and I are fairly safe based on where we are located, so don't read into this more than it is.  If you follow the news, you know that this time of year over the next few months is typically when the Taliban get active.  Moving around planting their little IED's and rockets with crude delay timing devices.  This area has had three rocket attacks outside the area in the last few days.  With the upcoming buildup of military in the next few months, the attacks are projected to be more frequent.  That's if you read the news.   I'm sure there will be attempts.  However, what the news doesn't fully report is that we have troops outside the wire hunting these little f_ _ _ ers down and keeping them on the move.  And as more of our troops move into the area, it will be increasingly more difficult for the Taliban to do what they do!  I post all this to inform you, not scare you and to let you know we are safe and that yes, this is an active location.  Keep us in your thoughts, know that we are as safe as we possibly can be and that home is our destination, not Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Folks, I'll try posting some pics to FB now.  Hopefully, my connection will allow it.  If not, be on the look out, they will be there soon.

Love to all,

Rich (R2)

4/28/2010 – A Trip To Remember

Let me start off by saying “Wow”! Be sure to check out Todd’s blog at http://youresendingmewhere.blogspot.com for more of the same type update.

April 26th, 2010 – Monday

0345hrs, wakeup, grab a shower, do final pack of bags which include 1 incredibly large rucksack, 2 duffle bags and 1 carry.

0500hrs, stage bags, grab some breakfast, be back and ready to go by 0600hrs.

0600hrs, accountability formation, things are moving as planned. We then take a short ride on post via school buses to the final processing facility. Here we get weighed with personal carry on gear and our ID cards scanned to generate the flight manifest.

0700hrs, load on commercial buses for our ride down to Gulfport/Biloxi Regional Airport. After sitting on the bus for about 30 minutes, we find that our plane is still in Shannon, Ireland. Now things begin to go from “as planned” to a more traditional style military exercise; “Hurry Up and Wait”! So wait, we did! Next formation to be 1830hrs. In the meantime, we take up temporary staging at a near by barracks. From here, the team decides to walk back to our original barracks and retrieve our vehicle to get around with. Only to find that the folks at the replacement center turned the vehicle in to post transportation. Dumb asses, or as we call them “Long Ears” or give the sign (peace sign – two fingers up). This is a Huntsville unit vehicle, not a Camp Shelby Vehicle. CPT Floyd keeps his cool, gets a runner to go and retrieve our vehicle. I guess the four duffle bags in the back of the van were not enough to give clues that “oh”, this may not be a Camp Shelby vehicle. Well, we get this squared away, go grab some lunch and then collectively decide, we have to find someone on Camp Shelby reliable enough to leave our vehicle with so it and our bags makes the journey back to Huntsville. We stop by the post transportation office which helped us with our shipping container (ISU 90) and ask for their help. No problem and our confidence is high that they will take care of the van and bags for us. Moving on now!

1830hrs, we actually re-load to the commercial buses and begin our trip to Gulfport. We arrive at 2115hrs. We are thinking, excellent, the trip is back on track and only a few hours behind. Nope! We arrive to the airport only to find that we are in a holding pattern. The wait begins!

April 27th, 2010 – Tuesday (Yes, we’ve moved into another day).

0130hrs, the plane arrives, but we don’t start boarding until 0330hrs and finally get airborne about 0445hrs. What did we do while waiting at Gulfport from 2115hrs to 0330hrs, we enjoyed sitting on the concrete, laying around waiting and watching some stupid horror flick on one of the laptops.

The plane is a 757 small for the number of troops and the amount of baggage to be flown. The soldiers on baggage detail are promised 1st class seating for all their help and effort. Unfortunately, due to the amount of baggage, the excess baggage had to be strapped into the 1st class seats. So these soldiers basically got screwed! Let me explain something about a 757 and soldiers packed on this type of plane. There is literally no room! Take a minute, go grab the smallest chair in your house (make sure it sits straight up, no back leaning), place four imaginary walls all around you (front, sides and back). Sit like that for hours and hours. You’ll get the idea! I sat in the middle, Todd to my right and Martin to my left. Good thing we know each other because, elbows and thighs we did rub. Poor Martin, his legs are linger than ours and the guy in front persisted on leaning his chair back. Martin was not having none of that. He quickly told (asked) the “Long Eared” fellow to “NOT” recline. There is no room! If only I could paint this picture with precise accuracy so you can get an idea of how cramped we were. Onward we go to Bangor, Maine.

0745hrs, the plane arrives to Bangor. We get a chance to get off the plane, stretch our legs and brush our teeth. Hats off to the Bangor, ME USO team. The USO folks really do it up for the incoming and outgoing troops. If you’re reading this, you should take a minute to look these folks up and drop them a thank you note.

0945hrs, we depart Bangor on our way to Shannon, Ireland arriving at 1500hrs. We again are allowed to get off the plane and stretch our legs. An announcement is made that we can enjoy a beer (no more than one) if we like. Our team opted out, but the majority did purchase their one beer (or so)! Uh oh! Word comes back that our replacement flight crew is not willing to fly the plane with bags loaded in first class. The plane in their inspection is overweight! Holy shit! We just flew two legs in an overweight aircraft. This is really no surprise as the landings at both Bangor and Shannon clearly exhibited overweight. What’s the solution? Leave bags behind and allow them to follow. That’s the plan, 53 duffle bags and two soldiers get left behind and will catch the next flight. Also, while we are staged in Shannon, the authorities rummage through the plane and snatch up all knives and Leatherman’s (mine included). What the flip? An airplane full of soldiers going to the same flippin place, carrying M4’s, M16’s, M240B’s and M9 pistols. We can carry guns, but not a knife? Get the flip out of here. I got to tell you, our Shannon friends really pissed a lot of people off with these tactics. However, the root of the problem really traces back to Camp Shelby. CS should have known this and should have taken the steps to inform everyone and to properly handle the overweight issue. Let me put a wrap on things to get us to Kuwait.

1900hrs depart Ireland

2230hrs arrive Romania (we are not allowed to de-board) This sucked!

2345hrs depart Romania

April 28th, 2010 – Wednesday (Yes, we’ve moved into yet another day).

0320hrs arrive Kuwait

1300hrs, we get processed through all the goat races of in-processing, temporary living quarters, briefings, etc. This is about 2100hrs local Kuwait time. The team and other 104 soldiers grab a shower, shave and head to bed for some long overdue and needed sleep.

April 29th, 2010 – Thursday (Now I’ll cover this in local time).

0900hrs wakeup, the rest of the team is still catching some “z’s”. I take off to explore, find a cup of coffee, the internet café, call my sweet loving wife (0130hrs her time), let Renee know, we made it and all is ok. Get over to the PX, pick up a few items and begin my blog write-up. We are now in a holding pattern waiting for the bat phone to ring which is our green light that we will move to staging for the rest of the trip to Afghanistan. This could be a few days!

To my lovely wife, if this “ACER” computer of mine continues to flake, I will be sending for a new one! ACER sucks!!!!!

Lastly, several other picks are available on FB, enjoy!

Love to all, I’ll keep you posted as much as possible.

4/24/2010 - Quick Update

Thought I'd drop a quick note out to all and let you know we pop smoke and go wheels up soon. Just waiting it out at CS until we depart.

Today, the team got a break, went to the mall (in uniform), grabbed a bite to eat and then went to the movies. Watched "Kick Ass". The movie was pretty cool. Caution though, it is rated "R" for a reason. Language and killing galore. But for some teen age kids and a little hellion girl, the flick is pretty good.

Tomorrow is laundry day and a little R&R in the barracks. Then we see (wait) for our next phase.

The storms blew through and they were intense. The way our barracks sits, if it weren't for sandbags, we would have had a flood inside. The drainage flowed right in front of our palace.

What else, packed out our shipping container only to find that they usually get broke into once they arrive in country. Glad most of the items on board are not too mission essential or personal in nature. One would think, if we can defend nations, we can defend shipping containers. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The transportation officer told us a story about a shipping container leaving AFG and arriving in the states loaded with concrete bricks. Everything inside stolen and probably placed on the black market. At least they were smart enough to weight it down with bricks to avoid suspicion.

Anyway, we are ready to get this party started and back home ASAP. The good news; our replacement team out of a neighboring state has been alerted that they will be replacing us next year. We now know replacements are already beginning their training cycle. Fan-freakin-tastic!

Talk to you all later. LOL

4/22/10 – Getting Caught Up

It’s been a few days since I last blogged.  After this update, it may be a few days before I get another chance.  With that, I’m just going to jump right in an get started.

Camp Shelby (CS), Mississippi, what an interesting place.  I got to tell you though, if it weren’t for the team being here with a Government vehicle, I think we all would have gone absolutely nuts!  Having our own vehicle to go from appointment to appointment, to the PX (post exchange (store)), off post to the local Wal-Mart and to basically move around on our own was priceless.  Many times I felt as though we might be taking advantage of the system.  Other soldiers would see us come and go.  I could sense that they were looking at us like - "what the HECK, over"?  However, what they fail to realize is that our team is a unit.  A unit approved to have the vehicle and the privileges that come along with it.  Trust me; it did not take me long to get over it and frankly who cares if the other soldiers get over it?  If the tables were turned, they would do the same.

Training here at CS overall was pretty sub-standard.  The training we did in January 2010 at Pelham, AL although cold and brutal at times, was far more superior.  At least, the trainers were combat veterans and the courses they provided were much more effective and informative.

In the very near future; the team departs from CS.  We will travel to Kuwait, via one coastal stop and two international stops.  Once we arrive in Kuwait, we will go through a couple of days of in-country processing and then move to Afghanistan.  Once in Afghanistan, we will then do some more in-country briefings and ship out to our final destinations.  At which time, we will conduct some more (you guessed it), in-country processing.

While here, the team has managed to get in a few good Physical Training (PT) days, running and a little gym work.  Each of us has set personal goals of losing a few pounds here at CS and once we are across the water half way around the world.  Many soldiers once deployed don’t stay in shape depending on their job gain weight.  We are going to do our best not to fall in this trap.  At least for me, I have not set any unreasonable goals of being the next Mr. Universe.  I’ll stick to running and toning and let the young guys go after the high profile titles.

As part of my out processing, I was purposely infected with the Small Pox virus.  I can expect to see it bubble up in 1-3 days and leaking between 4 and 12 days.  Oh yeah, I’m not supposed to get the area wet.  How the heck will I shower?  Very carefully I guess.

Now on to some personal stuff.

The journey apart has been underway for a week or so and continues.  Separated like the air from your lungs when you exhale - Just hoping that your lungs fill back up with the air you need.  400 days was the start and now were counting down!  400 days away from my wife, my best friend, my companion of life.  How will I hold my breath for 400 days?  Renee is the air I breathe; how will either of us endure?  Faith in each other!  Faith in our love story that has been playing for over 12 years now.  Faith in our Lord that His path is to strengthen our souls and time on earth.  Faith in our Government that this mission is one of World peace and the peace of others.  My strength of faith is with my Lord.  My fate is with my wife!  Renee is my being, my life!  Her beautiful eye’s, blond hair, warm hands, snugly fit to my body and skin.  Renee is what I know.  Renee is who I trust beyond measure.  She stands at my right side whispering “I Love You”!  I whisper back, “I Love You Too!  “I Love you 10,000 times”!  Renee, to you and our children – I love you!  I will come home safely.  I hold you in my heart and arms every day.

To my Children: I will miss you all dearly while I am away.  I only ask that you watch out for each other, take care of each other and keep Mom informed.  Mom is our strength, our single point of reference, our center.  Without her, I believe we would all be lost.  PLEASE, PLEASE, treat Mom respectfully; help out from time to time. 

Josh, don’t wait until being asked to take out the trash.  Just take it out!  Also, pay close attention to where your “BALLS” are at all times.  Treat your family with respect.  Give up your seat from time to time. 

Brandon, take a deep breath.  Don’t let life get away from you and try not to scare people too much.  Society might not be ready for your energy.  School, school, school!  Take advantage of the time you have, chill out and continue to make people smile and laugh.  Please remember, Mom love’s you like no other.  She is there for you anytime you need her.  Just ask!

Nick, this goes for you too!  Yes, you’re independent and you’ve done everything by the book.  Crossed your “T”’s, dotted your “I”’s and raising a wonderful family with a wonderful wife.  Continue to take care of Melissa and Landden.  Drop Mom a note from time to time as she would love to hear from you.

Melissa, Keep them boy's straight as I know you will.  You’re a great Mom and loved dearly.  Stay in touch with Mom as I know she likes talking to you on her way home from work.  I hope you all enjoy each other in June and that Landden and Nick both have a great birthday. 

Kelley, I have always loved you as my daughter and will always do so!  I will miss you very much, our movie times, our talks from time to time, your smile and the way you love to hate your brother.  I believe one day, Josh will know how much you truly love him.  Take care of Beau!

Beau, you take care of my Kelley.  I know you will!  Mom and I love you very much and want you to know how glad we are that you bring joy and happiness to our daughter.  Keep playing the music you so love to play.  I, as we all do, hope one day, this turns around and pays off.  It may be in Platinum, it may be in gold or silver.  It may be in fantastic memories.  However, it turns out, it is you being true to who you are. 

Folks, that's it for now and a few days.  I'm going to get this posted and Skype with Mom.  I love you all dearly and will see you soon.



Here are a few pictures from Camp Shelby:


This is the mattress cover I was issued upon arriving. Fortunately, a bed sheet is placed over the mattress cover. Pretty freaking gross.

My wall locker

 Guess what bag of pharmaceuticals is mine?








My Quality Inn, Government issued bunk while here at CS. Look uncomfortable? Wait till I post what I get on the other side. This will be a total upgrade from what’s coming.

4/17/2010 - Made the News - www.WAFF.com

Alabama guard deploys first contracting team

Posted: Apr 15, 2010 3:25 PM CDT Updated: Apr 15, 2010 3:44 PM CDT

MONTGOMERY, AL (WAFF) - On Tuesday, April 13, the Alabama Army National Guard deployed its first contingency contracting team (CCT) to Afghanistan. Capt. Todd Floyd, Capt. Jeffery Campbell, Staff Sgt. Daniel Martin and Staff Sgt. Lesly "Rich" Richardson make up the four man team also known as the 1960th CCT. The team is only the second CCT the Army National Guard nationwide has deployed to Afghanistan.

According to Lt. Col. David Cooley, battalion commander for the 1169th Contingency Contracting Battalion, the 1960th will augment the contracting staff of the Joint Contracting Command – Iraq/Afghanistan (JCC-I/A) and assist them in procuring needed commodities, services and construction projects in support of operations in the joint theater.

"Basically our job is to help grow the infrastructure for the U.S. military and the Afghanistan National Army," explained Capt. Todd Floyd, commander of the 1960th. "When a large base is established, we move onto a more geographically separated location and build a smaller base there."

Cooley says the team will also assist commanders in the planning and execution of Commander's Emergency Response Programs (CERPs) which focus on urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects for local populations.

The team is scheduled to be on active duty for 400 days, including a brief training period at Camp Shelby, Miss., before heading to Afghanistan.

Cooley says the team has undergone extensive training in preparation of their mission. "Team members were required to complete two years of progressively difficult on-the-job training to become Level II certified in contracting," explained Cooley. "They were also required to complete coursework from the Defense Acquisition University."

Floyd said that in order to be on the team, members must have a bachelor's degree and at least 24 hours of business credits.

"We are trained and ready," said Floyd. "In my opinion, this team is the cream of the crop and I'd match them up to any unit in Alabama."

Between the four team members, they have seven deployments under their belts. Some team members have already deployed together during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Soldiers on the team come from various military and civilian backgrounds. Cooley says this gives them a varied and unique skill set. "The main factor in determining the success of the 1960th is their dedication and maturity, both as individuals and as a team," said Cooley.
©2010 WAFF. All rights reserved.

4/17/2010 - Band of Brothers

The team dogged me for quite some time for not having watched the 10 Series 1-hour episodes of "Band of Brothers".  Our original plan was to wait until we got settled into Afghanistan.  Of course that changed a couple weeks ago.  Now each of us are going to separate locations.  While here at Shelby, we have been fortunate enough to start the series and so far we up through episode 5.  Tonight, we should be able to knock out 6 and maybe 7.

Why do I mention this you may ask?  Only to say, that CPT Floyd, CPT Campbell and SSG Martin and I continue to bond as friends.  We've basically spent the last 12-18 months training together, working together, and getting our families together in support of this journey.  It's extremely helpful to have the friendship and bonding through this whole significant event.  I would hate to have gone this far on my own.  There are several soldiers processing through Shelby in this situation, forging new friendships that will probably on last a couple weeks.

I believe that my "Band of Brothers" will last a lifetime.  Event though we are expected to go to the four corners of Afghanistan, our time together thus far is and will prove to be a solid foundation.

That's about all that was on my mind this morning.  Thought I'd share.  Were off to get some good Army breakfast.  Later!

4/16/2010 - Combat Patches

Something that continues to bother the team is seeing soldiers (let's call them E-6 and above) walking around without a combat patch.  Each of us have deployed multiple times and can't figure for a minute how many of these folks for the last 10-15 years have avoided going to serve in the effort.  We talk about it every day; trying hard to look past it so not to be bitter.  The only thing we figure, folks like this have done an outstanding job avoiding the whole deployment effort.

Were just saying; if you've been in, near or part of the military in the last 10-15 years, you should have at least gone once.  It's almost disgraceful to those that have gone before and prepare to go.

Just an observation, I thought I'd share.  Later!

4/14/2010 - Camp Shelby, MS

Just a quick note to all!  The team arrived safe and sound.  As soon as we arrived, there was immediate discussion to split the team up.  E-7 and above in one barracks, E-6 and below in the other.  As we walked through are temporary digs, we found that the existing barracks were all crowded and only top bunks available.  Each of us were pretty pissed.  CPT Campbell turned on the charm, talked to a Major and convinced the Major to allow us to take up space in an empty barracks.  So far, so good!  However, there was a walk through tonight and it sounds like more troops are coming in.  Which means, they will move in with us.  These are open bay barracks, about 75 or so to a building.  Bunk beds.  The only problem is; once you get the lower enlisted in this environment, they become loud and it becomes a zoo very quick.  SSG Martin and I will have to manage this if it becomes a problem.  We just hate being bad guys!  But, we also like our privacy and a nice even keel environment.  In-processing started, I have a couple of more things to complete and then everything is a "Go"!  We also learned that we may not leave until early May.  That will suck!  We are ready to get this started and get to where we need to be and start our mission.  The sooner we start, the sooner it feels like we come home.  Days are still counting down eitherway, so I'm good with that!

I need to go, others are waiting to get a chance to check there email and talk to family.  I'll leave you with this for now and get back ASAP!

Love to all my family, friends, the families of the Team.  Everyone is truly missed!  By the way, I'm going to get the team out for a run tomorrow.  Time to get in shape!

R2

4/1/2010 – So!

My day started great. My wife cracks me up. If you have not read Renee’s blog http://renee-waitingtoexhale.blogspot.com, you’re truly missing out! I truly love my wife 10,000 times and would gladly give up my motorcycle for her. Jake on the other hand…….No really, even Jake! I look forward to many more laughs and documented humor (truths).

My day ended great. Got to spend time with Landden, Nick and Melissa. That’s after they drove up while an unexpected snow storm moved into the Hesperia, Victorville area. Snow in the high desert, odd for this time of year. It will be over a year (2011) before I can see them again, give them a hug or get a hug. I will miss them greatly! Nick and Melissa are great parents and doing an outstanding job raising the little guy. Got a few good pic’s that I hope one day Landden can look back at and remember. I’ll never forget!

Todd joined us for Dinner, which turned out to be the worst Mexican food and service in a long time. Todd’s food was late to the table and about half way through his meal, he realized his plate is not what he ordered. All of our plates still had about half the food remaining. Just down right, “no good”! Phil Sandoval can’t wait to get back to you! We stopped by “Cold Stone” for a bowl of ice cream to make up for the sucky meal. Okay, we were going to stop anyway. Are you kidding? Spent another hour with Nick, Melissa and Landden watching American Idol before saying “see you soon”! I managed to hold my tears until I got back to my room and then I started reading blogs and updating you on mine.

Todd and I have two more days before were home. Can’t wait to see my girl!

3/29/2010 – Taking a break from training this weekend.

Saturday, 3/28/2010 – Spent the day with Nick, Landden, Melissa, Melissa’s family and other close friends of Nick and Melissa. This turned out to be a pretty full day. Todd enjoyed the mix of people, personalities, food and crazy home videos. Landden had a good play day, took a good nap and got a new three wheeler. Of course, I enjoyed myself and time with Nick and Landden. Melissa turned out some great “wet” burritos, yum!

Sunday, 3/29/2010 – Guys day out! Todd Floyd, Joe Crowell and I picked Nick up at 10:00am this morning, drove to the San Bernardino National Forrest, “Big Bear”. Made a quick pit stop in town and then returned to our start point of the day’s journey for hiking in the mountains. We had evaluation changes from 4,000 to 6,000 feet plus. The weather was excellent, sun, wind, snow and lots of fresh air. We were hoping to see a few animals; only a few buzzards, a hawk, a couple of blue birds, 2 ground squirrels and 1 lizard. Still pretty cool though!

We hiked, in my estimation 6-7 miles, this involved climbing up and down the side of the mountains, jogging for the challenge and exercise. Yes, this old guy kept up with the younger guys – Too Easy!!!

After the hike we drove back down the mountain and had some lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Got to listen to a couple Valley Girls talk about her “Ex-In Laws” or Friends “In-Laws” and how well the new nose job was such a success. Then sitting on the other side were two guys smoking a Hooka Pipe. We were like, “Oh no there not, are they? Yep, they broke it out, set it up and filled it with flavored tobacco.

We ended the day by watching Repo Men. Kind of an odd plot that could very well be realistic in the future; I sure hope not though.

Tomorrow, we get back to training and work.

Oh yeah! CPT Floyd learned that our team is more than likely going to be split once we arrive “Down Range”. It’s quite possible that all four of us will end up in four different locations with four different CCTs.

Keep checking back for follow-ups.

3/27/2010 – 17 Days to go

Just wanted to drop a quick note to the readers and let you know, the 1960th CCT continues to prepare. This pic is of a training site here at Ft. Irwin and an example of what’s ahead. The team we are working with continues to extend valuable insight and training from their past experiences. We are like sponges and taking in all that we can to ensure we do the best possible job “Down Range”. I believe I speak for each member of the 1960th CCT; we love and cherish our families and friends, their personal sacrifice, continued support and more importantly, their understanding while we take this journey and do what we do and what we believe in. Although the days grow near, so does our return.

By the way, Todd (our team lead) has also started a blog. You may want to add this to your list.

http://youresendingmewhere.blogspot.com

Stay tuned!

3/23/2010 - Going to the "Dust Bowl"

Today, we take a trip to several training sites to see what our money is buying and the impact of a good and/or bad contract. The location dictates why we call it the "Dust Bowl". I'll leave your imagination to fill in the blanks.

After we get back, we have a few more contracts to review, negotiate and award. Followed by a few modifications to existing contracts.

The clock is ticking, the calendar is moving fast. I'll post more updates soon! Stay tuned!

3/19/2010 - Training Continues

Just a quick update: Headed to Ft. Irwin, CA (the National Training Center (NTC)) for about 15 days. This is where the last several months of training basically gets proved in. Can we apply what we learned? It also sets the stage for our mission in the sand box for the next several hundred days. Time is flying by. I truly hope the days away go just as quickly for the team and my wonderful wife.

More to come...

3/14/2010 - Packing for the Trip

Packing things out for my all expense paid trip to Afghanistan.