I have officially arrived in the ‘Stan and things have been very busy for last three weeks. A quick rehash of my travels since leaving the states; Colorado Springs to Banger, Maine; to Leipzig, Germany; to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan; to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan and finally to Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Ahhh Jalalabad, home sweet home for the next year. It took a total of 20 hours flying and 4 days of traveling to get here, but we are ready to get working.
Today marked the completion of our transfer of authority with the unit we are replacing. Over the last three weeks we have completed the process of learning what the outgoing unit has been doing, what has worked for them, and areas that need more of our attention. Now the mission is officially ours and we are calling the shots.
The Forward Operating Base (FOB) that I’m living on is better than I thought it would be. The facilities are adequate, living quarters are decent, and the food is not too bad. One of the saving graces is a nice gym and a 3.5 mile loop to run around the runway / flight strip. Running will surely save my sanity while I’m here. Despite the temperatures ranging between 115-120 and increasing daily; running early in the morning (around 4:30 – 5:00am) is a must.
The next posting will include pictures, until then I’ll continue to keep my head low to the ground… just in case.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
First post from the 'Stan
Posted by Mike at 7:27 AM
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8 comments:
Thanks for the report.
That's only 7.4 laps for an marathon distance :-) and about 9 laps for the jungfrau marathon!
Take care!
Sandro
You tell him, Sandro! We can sit, have a cocktail, and watch him run up that mountain.
By the way..why do you need to keep your head down? I thought you were over there playing football.
Good to know you arrived safely. Tim missed you by just a few weeks, but he was not staying around to say hi. Sorry :) We are packing out and heading to VA this weekend. We feel your pain....
You should know that since you've been gone, Britin has gotten fat, sold Jack to a farm, and Baylee is married.
I'm pretty sure you're better off in Jalalabad.
Alox pretty much said it all, as usual. Happy to finally hear of your adventures - keep 'em comming.
I think I figured it out Britin. "Keep you head down" is the number one rule in golf. Therefore, there must be some nice courses in Stan. Ok, not really. Glad to hear from you Mike. Keep it coming.
Good to hear from you. Love the pics of you, Britin and the kids on the page. Thought you'd be interested to know the Lioys are moving to Charlotte, NC Sept 1. Your folks and us are still anchoring the 'hood, though. We'll be looking for the new pictures.
Mike,
I hope you are doing well. You and Britin have a beautiful family.
Take care,
Jen Harris
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