Last Government Housing

We landed in Kuwait to begin outprocessing 9 March 2011. We stayed there until 12 March before boarding a flight to the States. Here are some photos of the outside and inside of my last government issued housing.

Bagram Photos

From Kabul, I went to Bagram and stayed at our ATFC compound there for about five days on the way home. While there, we had an awards ceremony for LT Alex Schraut who I went through training with coming over here and going back. Pictured here is a group shot with some of our folks in Bagram. Alex and I are centered in the photo.

Coworkers

From left to right is Eric Leverone (heavy south Boston accent), me, Mr. Noori (one of our translators who lives in San Francisco when he's not working in A-stan) and Chris...a Booze Allan contractor.

Frappe Close Up

McDonald and Me with Glasses

Ryan McDonald was excited to get his new glasses in the mail so we posed together since I had similar looking glasses.

Church

Some photos of the small church (called "The Rock") at ISAF where I was a regular Sunday morning guest from mid October 2010 to the end of February 2011. Chaplain was Maj Dixon via the Air Force.

Name Tag

The last week I was at ISAF, I stuck my name tag from the back of my hat to the velcro wall in the coffee shop where I have been a regular customer via frappe's. The Hodges name will live on at ISAF.

Aaron and Me

Here I am with my chocolate mocha frappe buddy and Treasury Dept. employee...Aaron Thomas.

Farewell Dinner

Here are a few photos from my farewell and awards dinner held 9 February.

Frappe Failure

Looks like my frappe obsession is worse than I thought. I had one 1 February and every day since. Oh well.

Frappe Obsession

Here is a group of us on the occasion of my last frappe at ISAF 31 January. In the 10 1/2 months I have been here, I have had one of these darn near every day and at $5 a piece, have spent about $700 just in frappe's (sorry Kelly). I always get chocolate mocha, and they are delicious. It's pretty bad when the local Afghan who works at the cafe says, "You want the usual, sir?" when I approach the counter. So, I declared a "Frappe-Free February" my last month at ISAF.

Pictured are (left to right) SGT Raquel Lewis, Aaron Thomas, Me, Keeley Kuperus and Ryan McDonald. I'll miss you frappe's!

Dining Room

Here is our dining hall where I have eaten about 700 meals (seriously...) since I have been here. I don't think I'll ever eat at a buffet again! For lunch, there is always pasta, chicken and a beef product. Breakfast is the best because they either have pancakes or French Toast, the best grapefruit I've ever had, good OJ and assorted cereal.

Kabul Street Scenes

Some random photos shot from our bullet proof Toyota pickup by Dave Loya.

Favorite Photo

This is my favorite photo. It was taken by Dave Loya, a Coast Guardsman assigned to our department for six months. It was taken on the streets of Kabul. The child's emotion is real, and this photo could easily be in a magazine. When Dave left, he printed this photo out for me on photographic paper and signed the back.

Lighter Moment in the Office

I received five care packages once from an east Michigan organization called Desert Angel. Inside was a lot of stuff including this hairnet. That's me with Air Force Technical Sergeant Etienne Tousignant