Middle of Nowhere

I used to tell people that I lived in the middle of nowhere. I was wrong.

Homeboys!!

Well it's inevitable that when deployed with a bunch of rednecks from South Carolina you know several and they remind you that no matter what you think of your rank and your job, you're as much (if not more) of a redneck as they are. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I present Exhibit A.....

SSG Lonnie Russell, Jr.

Flowers in the Dust

Mom had asked me about this flower in my "Bigger Gun" post. Somehow she saw it in the background. Well, I had seen it as well. I thought that the contrast between the dust, chain link fence, concertina wire, and this flower seemed somewhat like a metaphor for Afghanistan. So I snapped a picture and doctored it up a little. To date, this is the only flower I've seen in Afghanistan.

My Maps

I've travelled a little bit. Not as much as I would like. Some of it has been whether I wanted to or not. Here's my maps.

Candy Terrorist

Can you pick out the terrorist in this crowd? It's the boy in the middle....sort of. While we were on patrol the other day we came across these kids. They were very curious but kind of stood off from us. That is until I brought out the candy. They were on me "like a spider monkey". The boy in the middle was the most pushy. He pushed the boy on the left out of the way to get to the last piece I had.

If you look real close, you can see a yellow building in the background. That is their school. They teach older kids in the mornings and the younger kids go in the afternoon. As far as schools go, this one is pretty nice. It's got about 5 rooms and a play yard. With the Taliban out of control in this part of the country, they also teach girls at this school.

Sunset Over Phoenix

Hey Everybody,

The sunset the other night was real pretty. I climbed up to the second floor deck at "Legoland" (Conex boxes that are used as housing) and got this shot. Just as I was taking it, a C-17 came into frame going to land at KIA (Kabul International Airport). As desolate and barren as this place is, you sometimes find beauty. It's usually fleeting, though.

Bigger Gun

Mom looked at the last pic I posted and thought I needed a bigger gun. Well, Mom, to put your fears to rest, I submit the following:

Do you feel better now? LOL. What you didn't see in the other pic was the 12 other guys pulling security around us. Trust me, we had plenty of firepower for what we were doing. Gotta run.

Making Nice with the Locals

Hey Everybody,

A quick one today. We went out on a short patrol this morning (Sunday...7 day work weeks) to meet with a local business man who owns a flour mill. The purpose of the visit was tactical but we do it in a way that gives the locals some ownership of the project and makes them happy to help. Can't tell you what the real purpose of the visit was (I'd have to kill you) but we made sure that his suppliers weren't being stopped at any illegal checkpoints, that his electricity was reliable, and that he didn't have any issues with our nearby base.

Things are otherwise good for me. It's still hot. It's still dry. I finally found out that I am going south to work with the Afghan National Police. I start training for that mission on the 5th. Can't tell you exactly where I'm going (not because I'd have to kill you...I really don't know yet). Anyway, here's a picture from this morning.

Pray for improved communications home, cool weather, and no more Oriental food at the DFAC.