Well it has been awhile since I added anything to our blog, so here's a little update on the homefront. Taylor has started Lacrosse and he's practicing every evening. The team has had quite a few games, but no wins as yet:( Taylor scored his first goal the other night. I am starting another long-term teaching assignment next week and will be teaching 3rd grade until the end of the school year. So...we are keeping busy. There has been lots to do with the yard--I'm glad Taylor is old enough to take on so much responsibility:) Just wait until he can drive--there will be so much more he'll be able to do! I know that he is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to be able drive all alone in the car. Hopefully I will be able to handle his new found freedom--he still has a while before it happens though.

Turner is enjoying the weather and the chance to get out and get more walks. I can't wait to get him to the beach to run around and go swimming. Tulip time is next week and for those of you who don't know about Tulip Time here in Holland well, it is a tourist's dream (if you like tulips). The traffic around town next week will be insane and we will have many "out of towners" that will not know about "Michigan lefts." All in all it is an exciting, but a busy time--the kids even have a few half days of school due to all the parades.

Dorm Entrance

Here is the entrance to my dorm (on the right) and another photo of the front and a street on the base (dorm is behind the wall). I really love its location because it's in the center of the base. I walk out and dozens of people are walking around. It's also about 30 yards from the dining hall. The food isn't great...kind of tasteless and European. They tend to serve the same stuff every other day. Best meal is breakfast where I usually have cereal, milk and toast with jam or honey.

Power Plugs

Here is a power plug in our room. Being European, you have to use a two-prong plug to plug into the socket and then plug in your regular American plug on the backside of the European one. I was fortunate in that Barb and Russ had a Brookstone worldy plug set they gave me before I left.

Best Place on Base

This is a garden where I spend time reading, listening to birds, rustling tree leaves and watching cats lounging in the sun. Let me tell you, after the tan sand and buildings in Kuwait, the blowing sand of Udari Range and the overall sandy landscape of Afghanistan, seeing this for the first time was awe inspiring and wonderful! I swear I heard hymnals and saw flying white doves.

Bathroom Sign

Not sure why, but I find this sign funny. This is posted outside our dorm bathrooms/showers.

Views from the Base

The first thing I see when I step outside my dorm are snow-covered mountains. Here are some photos of those and a few others from the base. There are a lot of balconies above stores here where you can sit and relax.

Strange Urinals

One thing that took some getting used are the urinals. For the first three days I was here, I thought it weird to not flush. However, I found out that after you go, you simply turn the chrome lever at the top of the tube counterclockwise which makes water pour down the urinal and wash away what you just deposited. Let me tell you...these things really smell bad!

Kitty Kitty

Another nice thing about this base is there are cats...which is good since I have not seen any form of a pet in over two months! The cats here are well fed and lounge around. We're told not to pet them but c'mon, it's hard to resist petting their fur when I haven't petted anything in over two months right!?

Our Office

Photos of our office and my desk. There are about five to six people who use the office regularly.

Hallway of my dorm

Here are photos of the hallway where I live and a shelf outside our room that gives us a great place to hang sweaty clothes after a workout.

German Military Vehicles

In America, these Mercedes G Wagons start at $80,000. In Afghanistan, the Germans use them as their all purpose "company" vehicles and wash them about once a year.

My Room at Kabul

It's about 22 steps long and only 12 steps wide. Pretty tight for three adults! That's my top bunk with the blue pillowcase.

Greetings from Kabul

So, as a reminder, I am located at ISAF (International Security Assistance Force headed by GEN Stanley McChrystal) HQ in Kabul. The base here is made up mostly of French, British, Italian, Macedonian, German, Belgian military personnel and also a very large number of civilians working for "three letter agencies" out of Washington, DC. There are about 2,000 people here. About a 10-minute walk is the American Embassy and another base called Camp Eggers.

Living where I am is like living in a very small European village (I can walk around this base in about 10 minutes) in the middle of a third-world city like Kabul. Each European nationality has its own cafe, small convenience store (the Italians' is the most expensive) so it's pretty cool. I live in a dorm style building next to a lot of Europeans. There are are two floors with each floor having about 60 people. Given there are five showers and a trough style sink in the very small bathroom, it's challenging in the morning but so far, I've only to wait once to take a shower. Flip flops are mandatory to wear here in the showers. Speaking of our showers, they are so small that when you turn around in them, the shower curtain sticks to the back of your body (butt to be specific). Plus, when you turn them on, the water shoots out on the floor where you just brushed your teeth and shaved!

I basically live in a metal storage container you would rent in the States for $100 a month. Our walls are metal, the floor is a buckled, faded and some cases torn and held together by duct tape container where myself and two other people share their lives for months. My roommates are top-notch. One is in the Royal British Air Force and the other is a Marine Major. Both travel quite a bit so I've had the room to myself a few nights and will have it more in May. Both are great guys and of course, I love the Brit's accent.

That's it for now. Hope you enjoy the first photos from Kabul.

More Photos from the Blackhawk

Photos from the Blackhawk Helo

Helo Photos

You know you are in a war zone when two people (one on the left and one on the right) are perched in an open doorway with a high powered weapon pointed to the ground looking for trouble.

Totally Awesome Helo Ride

The coolest thing I've done since over here was the helo ride from Bagram to Kabul. A 15-minute flight over the mountains. And, somehow I got to take GEN Stanley McChrystal's (the top military officer in the country and often seen on TV) helo. I was the only one on the flight...along with my 4 seabags and 40 lbs. of textbooks. This meant I got to land on a soccer field right next to my base vs. the Kabul airport which is about 30 minutes away by car. When I landed, there were people playing soccer and they had to stop due to the wind gusts from the chopper. Check out these awesome in-flight photos.

Inside our Bagram Work Space

Here's the hallway when you first walk into the Bagram ATFC facility. First door on the right is the entrance to the work area. Second door on the right is living quarters. First door on the left is the kitchen area. Second door on the left is the TV room. Third door on the left was my room (there's my bed) I shared with Sergeant First Class (SFC) Hires...Mr Personality! The door that's open leads to the bathroom, showers and more living quarters.

Picnic Table

Here is a picnic table at our Bagram compound that MSGT "P" built while he was over here.

Laundry room in our Compound

Snow Covered Mountains at Bagram

Outside the ATFC Compound

ATFC at Bagram

Here are some photos of the Afghan Threat Finance Cell's (ATFC) compound at Bagram. We worked in the same building where we slept, showered, etc. In addition to the work spaces, there was a TV room with a 52" flat screen and lots of DVD's, clean showers and bathrooms (thanks to twice a week cleanings) and a kitchen area that, when I left there 11 April, had 50 boxes of Girl Scout cookies thanks to someone who sent them to us from the U.S.

Check out the Mountains Near Bagram

Snow-capped mountains greeted us when the plane's rear cargo door raised up. Some of the mountains are at least 16,000 feet.

Bagram Photos

After arriving at Bagram, we found our seabags lying the dirt and were greeted by some friendly Navy faces. We then had a briefing and were greeted by our Afghan Threat Finance Cell sponsors: SSGT (Staff Sergeant) Ward and MGT (Master Sergeant) "P." I was very tired from the 3 3/4 hour flight and ZERO sleep the night before we left. But, very happy to be at a place where we'd start doing our jobs. Photos of Bagram to follow.

Photo inside the C-17 No Flight Attendants Here Folks!

Self Portrait on the C-17

Photos in C-17

Photo of my friend from Dallas, LT Alex Schraut. Alex is a reservist, and was married about a month before this deployment. He and I work for the same department over here but separate locations.

On the Plane to Bagram

We took a C-17 to Bagram. Basically, it's a giant cargo plane with seats on the sides and about five across in the middle. I sat at the best location: On the side (lots of legroom) and toward the back which was a little cooler than the front. I'll never know how these things fly!

Leaving Kuwait

The day we left Kuwait was challenging. We left Camp Virginia and went to another base about 15 miles away called Ali Asalium. Holy cow...was it dirty and dusty! We had to sit on some bleachers waiting for a guy to tell us to board a bus which would then take us to our Air Force C-17 military plane bound for Bagram, Afghanistan. I think we sat on those bleachers for three hours getting pelted with dust and trying to eat crappy food and warm Gatorade. Check out the photos of us helping the locals load our seabags onto a pallet which would then be put on the plane.

Lots of Changes

A lot has changed since posting my last entry April 4. I left Kuwait April 5 and landed at Bagram Air Field the same day. Bagram is a giant Air Force base with 22,000 people (military, foreign military and civilians) about 40 miles north of Kabul. I was there for about a week before flying to Kabul...my final stop! Check out the photos from Bagram.

Gym Photos

Here is the gym I've been going to since arriving here. Lots of weights and cardio equipment to use in a very large hardened "tent". They also have another gym on base.