Merry Christmas Kelly, Taylor and Turner

Merry Christmas Kelly, Taylor and Turner. I miss you very, very much and wish I could be home to wake up with you on Christmas morning. Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers every minute today, and I love you very, very much.

I hope you like your presents Taylor. I love you buddy!

Christmas Eve Story

On Christmas Eve, COL Dolieslager read a WWII inspired message about what it's like serving America away from home over Christmas. It was really good.

Christmas Decorations

Thanks to a young female Army Sergeant, our office looks very Christmas-y

My Birthday

For my birthday, our director bought two cakes at the Serena Hotel Bakery plus, my boss had his mother send a cake from Illinois. I was also sung to via speaker phone from other ATFC workers at Bagram. Everyone in the office also signed a card.

ISAF Cat

One of many cats on our base. They are all well fed and will be depressed when we eventually leave because they won't be treated as well among the Afghans.

Office

Here is a long shot of our Admin office. That's me in the back corner.

Jared Donnelly and Afghan Kids Doing Push Ups

When we walk to Camp Eggers, we are swarmed by kids selling things and asking for things like food, etc. One night, one of my coworkers (Coast Guard Intelligence Specialist Second Class (IS2) Jared Donnelly) said he would give the kids Pepsi's if they did push ups with him on the sidewalk of the street. They did and he awarded them with the delicious soft drink! Jared left Afghanistan 15 December and will eventually join his wife and two Boston Terrier dogs at his new assignment in New Mexico

Me in the Office

Here I am trying to save the world and end the war one PowerPoint presentation and a chocolate mocha frappe at a time!

Kelly's Christmas Gifts

Kelly sent me some Charlie Brown Christmas window clings. We also discovered they stick to doors and used them to decorate our SCIF door. SCIF stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.

Christmas Tree

Nice having a Christmas tree and lights in front of my desk by the window!

Good Morning America

On 8 December, Good Morning America broadcast their morning news show live on our base. I watched some of the broadcast take place (about 100 feet from my office) and took some photos of George Stephanopoulis. The news crew was in Afghanistan for about four days doing various stories.

Army/Navy T-Shirts

On 11 December, we celebrated the Army/Navy game by making up some t-shirts. The back of the shirt reads, "When Army Strong Isn't Strong Enough. U.S. NAVY!" We wore these shirts with our regular uniform pants off and on during the day of the game which was broadcast at midnight (Afghanistan time).

Me and our Civilian Leaders

Here is me with our two civilian leaders: Left of me is Frank Calestino (with the beard), our deputy director and Treasury Dept. representative. To the right of me with the reindeer antlers is our director, Kirk Meyer, a DEA agent from Chicago. Kirk has been in Afghanistan four years and will leave July 2011. Frank has been here two years (Iraq for two years prior to Afghanistan) and will also leave July 2011. Two very smart people! Frank has an MBA from Georgetown (and was also working on a PhD at Georgetown). Kirk knows everyone in Afghanistan and really needs to write a book about his experiences here. I've been in a hundred briefings with these guys and every one is still interesting and amazing.

Coworkers

Here are some people I work with that include, front left to right: Florencia and Kirk Meyer and back left to right: Mitch Neal, Jim Gehringer, Ryan McDonald, Brian Johnson, Lacy and Dominick. Our department is a mix of military and civilian employees from various government agencies including DEA, FBI, and the Treasury Dept.

ISAF Gym Challenge Shirt

Every month, ISAF has a fitness challenge where one can earn a t-shirt either by participating or by earning it via a score. I earned this one doing a bunch of exercises that included a stationary bike, sit-ups, side box jumps, bench presses, shoulder presses, box step ups, treadmill run, and rowing under a certain time. My time for this one was 21:53. It's called the gym challenge and it's held every two months.

Welcome Winter!

Well this is our first big snowfall and it is only December 5th! I caught Taylor and Turner outside as Taylor was snow blowing the driveway. Turner was happy to be out in the snow and especially happy to find something to smell. It doesn't take much to make the dog happy! Not sure how Taylor is feeling about doing the snow blowing.

Aerial View of Kabul

As you can see from these three photos, the air quality isn't too good in Kabul.

Thanksgiving Tournament in Kalamazoo

Yesterday Taylor and his varsity hockey team won their game 5-1. Taylor added to the go ahead goal for his team when the score was tied 1-1. A little while later the team came up with 3 goals right in a row to finish the game with a win. Today his team is in the championship and they are hopeful for the title. The first home game for the season will be next Friday. Lots of excitement planned--the team has a new horn that will sound when the team scores a goal and there is talk of a fog machine that will be used when the players take the ice. Not to mention the usual posters of the kids hanging from the glass. Looks like a good season is ahead--they are undefeated with 5 wins so far....

Thanksgiving in Kabul

On Thanksgiving, our department had a progressive dinner at three U.S. Embassy apartments. Our director, Kirk Meyer, offered his apartment as a dessert stop, and two other people offered their apartments as the main course and appetizer stops. Us military folks spent the evening gazing at the apartment's TV's, high ceilings, kitchens, separate bedrooms, balconies, etc. At the end of the evening none of us wanted to go back to our living quarters!! With me in the photo is Mitch Neal (left) who works at the Treasury Dept. in DC and Petty Officer Jared Donnelly who is in the Coast Guard. The solo photo is LT David Loya...also in the Coast Guard. We have some great people working in our department.

Embassy

Here's a photo of the U.S. Embassy which is a very safe five-minute walk from our base. I spend a lot of time eating at the Embassy dining hall and during the summer, went there about five times a week to visit the swimming pool to cool off. Hard to admit I went to a swimming pool while in a war zone but I'll take it!

ISAF Turkeys

While walking on the base a few days before Thanksgiving, I saw these two turkeys in the back of a pickup. Right after I shot this, one of the turkeys started flapping its wings and dust and feathers flew everywhere.

Freedom Banner

There are two of these hanging up on the base. There are signatures and handwritten notes of thanks from people all over the world.

Barracks Hallway

When I first looked down this hallway where I would be living, I thought how in the world am I going to live like this. But, it's amazing what you can do...especially when you have no choice. My room is way down on the left. There are three to a room usually so in this hallway lives about 75 people competing for five VERY small showers, sinks and bathroom facilities.

Office

Here's one section of our office. That's my desk in the back right corner. We have another room, too. Here's the window I stare out of when I sit at my desk. Nice to have a window!

Oops. See caption below...

Special Photo

This photo was hung in a tunnel on the way to the American Embassy. I passed by it almost every day in the summer when I walked from our base to the American Embassy (about 10 minutes in a protected and safe area) and cooled off in the Embassy pool at the end of a long day. Yes, I'm not ashamed to say I went to a swimming pool in a war zone. This photo shows a man proud of his small shop. I love his slight grin and the pride he shows in this photo.

New Desk

Doesn't take much to make you happy in a war zone. I was thrilled when I moved to this desk in the corner by a window and had my own phone on the desk! No more walking 100 yards and hoping a phone was available to call my dad and sister. True bliss! Moved to this desk around the end of October. We're supposed to get new furniture (Herman Miller) in mid-December and that should be my last change in office movement, etc. before I leave. But I'm staying in the corner by the window!

Me and the General

On Sunday, 7 November, GEN David Petreaus had a photo shoot for everyone at the base. About 300 people showed up to take advantage of his thoughtfulness. It's been an honor to serve with this man and seeing him almost every day. I predict his next assignment will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and down the road, maybe even a run for president. You heard it here first folks!

Bye Dad---see you in 5 months

Got to add this one to the blog--Taylor and Tim as Tim leaves to go back to Afghanistan (very early) on a Sunday morning after his 2 week leave home.

Now...Hockey Season Begins

Last night marked the official beginning of the 2010-2011 hockey season for the Jenison/Zeeland Varsity Hockey Team! Taylor's team started the season off with a win--9-3! It started off a bit rough, but when they got together as a team, they started to put the puck in the net. His next game is tonight on their home ice, so hopefully, they will add to their win:) New socks made the uniform a bit more exciting--vertical stripes! Hopefully, the next step is to get the names on the back of the jerseys.

Tennis, Tennis and more Tennis!

Well..I've been a little busy with work and need to update a few things on the blog. My goal is to get more organized with the blog in the last few months and really document more of our life while Tim is away.

I have to say the last few months have been busy and full of excitement for our family and our son, Taylor. His tennis team did an awesome job this season which ended in an undefeated season. The Zeeland East Varsity Tennis Team won the OK Green Conference title for the first time and they placed second at the Regional competition. This earned them a chance to go to the State finals. They competed very well and ended up with being place 13th in the state--not bad at all. I'm guessing that there are at least 200 schools in Division 2 in Michigan, so placing 13th is mighty good:)

On a personal note, Taylor and his doubles partner were OK Green Conference Champions and ended their season with a overall record of 24 wins and 10 losses (they were 6 wins and 1 loss in the conference matches). This also broke their own record from last year of wins and losses. It was an amazing year of tennis! And to top it all off, Taylor and his partner were named to the Holland Sentinel's All Area Boys Tennis Team! Way to go, Taylor!!