When It Rains, It Pours

From Josh... "It did something that it has not done since April here - in any measureable amount - it rained. I mean pitch poured. You couldn't leave the b-hut or you would be instantly soaked. I forgot how much I hate when it rains here because it makes everything smell so much worse and it seems to stay damp forever. It finally dried out this afternoon. It is back to being sunny today, but I think it is only making it into the 60s. It does not get light until 530 which is a big deal because it used to get light at 400 and now it is dark by 530 at night. We wont change time so come Saturday, we will be 9 1/2 hours ahead of you all. So excited that there is only 2 more days in Oct. This month took forever. We are all afraid that Nov. will be long too."

There was a bombing today in Afghanistan too. As Josh said, Afghans killing Afghans, but he wrote to let us know he is fine.

Another rumble in A-stan (and some sad news) . . .

Another 6.0 earthquake hit yesterday in Afghanistan, about 42 miles southeast of Kabul. Josh said that everything and everyone in their group was fine, but that it did wake him up around 3 a.m.

Locally, some of you may have seen in the news where another member of the Jamestown Unit was killed in action on October 2. The incident is still under investigation. Spc. Jason E. von Zerneck is the sixth member of the Jamestown Unit to have lost his life in Afghanistan. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and unit.

Deployable Entertainment featuring "This Old B-Hut"

First and foremost... He's Fine... You may see some news appearing at some point today or later this weekend, but I have heard from Josh both via e-mail and phone (at 4 a.m. this morning) and he is fine. That is the extent of what he could tell me.

And now onto the "Deployable Entertainment" portion of this post - This Old B-Hut! Josh sent me the following in an e-mail overnight. This Old B-Hut is a video on YouTube that was created by some very entertaining soldiers in Afghanistan. Some might think they had a little extra time or too much time on their hands, but as Josh says below, it is for real... those are his living conditions. The following is Josh's take on the video.

"I think they say they are from Nebraska, that would have been a few rotations before us. It is so funny. It was actually filmed at Camp Alamo right down the street, but we live in exactly the same hut, right down to the paint color, plastic windows, and the crappy a/c units. It is hilarious. I love the part about the linoelum. A b-hut is supposed to last 24 months and I am sure that most of the huts we live in have been around since 2002. So you can imagine how crappy ours is. haha. It is so funny. You have to watch it. Ilove the part about the wall lockers how they were offered to the afghanis and they refused them so they put them back in our huts. haha I would not be surprised if that was true. We finance all the building of all the ANP and ANA barracks and they are mcmansions compared to what we live in. haha. I have found about eight million places where we could cut costs and easily bail out the economy without further cost to us, and I would start with their mcmansions. haha."

Although it was the middle of the night, I had a nice conversation with Josh. As he mentioned on the phone and in an e-mail to me, "it is finally October and yet it still feels like we have so much longer to go. boo. It is like it is Thursday, close but not close enough."

Shake, Rattle and Roll!

Josh called today -- they had an EARTHQUAKE around 10 am this morning (1:30 a.m. our time)!! It measured 5.6 on the Richter Scale. He knew what was going on because he had been through one in Colombia, but needless-to-say, several of the other Upstate NYers were a bit confused! The initial tremor sounded like a helicopter landing, so at first they didn't think anything of it. When the 5.6 one came, he said that it knocked items off from tables and desks.

I sent this article to Josh yesterday. Although this is the MSNBC link to it, the end of the web address on Yahoo read "angry_afghans". It gives an interesting perspective to what is going on over there, and as Josh said, shows the other side of the story!

Josh continues to get in trouble for wearing his sunglasses on his head. He actually had an interesting "run-in" with a Master Sgt. while in the chow hall, which has everyone laughing, including the company commander from Ithaca. I think everyone is sensing how ridiculous some people are with their rank! To each his own, I guess. At least Josh has maintained his ability to laugh it off. Imagine if that was the worst thing people did here - wearing their sunglasses on their head?!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

I got this right when it came in my e-mail . . . It is 12:30 here in the morning. We just finished for the day. There has been some activity but I am fine, in case you see anything in the news. But I have big news for everyone. We just came from midnight chow, and what should appear before our wondering eyes in large groups in the dining facility but people in very clean and nice uniforms with strange unit patches on their shoulders. Could it be... We approached them and asked the question, "Hey, Are you guys from Illinois?" Yes, that is right... The advanced party from Illinois has arrived. We all took turns shaking hands and giving big hugs. haha. We were so happy, because although they are not here to replace us, it means there is light at the end of the tunnel. And it means they are actually coming. People kept saying I have never seem you smile so much. haha. Now I am very tired and I am going to collapse into bed, happy. I just wanted to share the good news.

Seventh Heaven!

Important news first... a much needed e-mail from Josh. As everyone is probably seeing in the news this morning, there was some activity in Afghanistan over night.

He did share this in the e-mail that I thought I would share with all of you...
"Myself and some of the other drivers stick together alot. We have kind of formed our own driver's union. haha. We all exchange tips and advice. It really is starting to get cooler and cooler, especially at night. The big motorpool has twelve snowplow kits waiting to be installed on trucks, so that can not be good. haha. We lost all our parking, due to some new construction on the FOB, so we have been busy acquiring real estate much to many of a Sgt. Major's and Colonel's frustration. haha I continue to perform death defying driving in our truck. Although driving through dust, over rocks and through poop water is losing its novelty. haha. Just a few more months. haha."

Josh has said on numerous occassions that the terrain is what makes for an interesting ride, as well as the narrow, narrow "roads". His truck escorted a "VIP" one day and the individual was a bit shocked at the conditions. As Josh wrote, "He called me a kid all day and referred to me as 'Driver'. I felt like Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy. He panicked rather easily and I felt like I was a kid with a permit and my parent was allowing me to practice driving. He would let out gasps and grip the door handle, and more than once I heard him banging the floorboard as he was trying to brake. It was rather entertaining... told me I did a fine job - big hand shake."

Today is the 19th!! SEVEN months down!! WOOOOOWOOOO!!!! As I have shared with some people, I treat myself to something "special" on or around the 19th of each month. As I receive gift cards or certificates for local spas, salons, etc., I save them for these occassions. With the semester/school year gearing up, this month's treat was greatly appreciated.

Synonyms for "fine"

Well, okay, all right... He's fine. These days the news seem to carry something from Afghanistan quite regularly. As noted in recent posts, it's the "spring offensive," so we anticipated this being a hair-raising time; however, I don't think we expected it to be so active over there.

I did to speak to Josh on the phone today. Both he and his unit are fine. He said to remember that the media has their way of making things appear more intense or worse than it really is, though he did say things have not been very good over there.

Saturday morning was a rough time as I woke up to news of Task Force Phoenix being involved in an IED attack. Fortunately up to that point, Josh had always been able to write or call before the news broke. It was a couple of hours before I heard from him that day, which was excruciating to watch the time tick and not know, but certainly not the devastating news that three families from the Geneva unit received. Three NY Guardsmen were involved in that IED attack from the Geneva unit. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their familes, friends and fellow soldiers during this time.

Another "I'm fine"!

As you may have read or heard in the news this weekend, there was another IED attack in Afghanistan which killed five soldiers this weekend. While the nationalities of the soldiers have yet to be identified, Josh's task force - Task Force Phoenix - was identified as the U.S. led coalition that was affected. Thankfully, after a few hours of seeing this news myself on Saturday, Josh called. He is fine! We expected this time of the year to be a bit rough, but it seems as though this month has been especially busy over there.

In other news, Josh continues to appreciate all of the goodies and items that everyone is sending his way. He did indicate that he is well stocked on many items and I will post his "overstock" list as soon as I get it from him.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and support.

He's fine . . .

Many of you may be waking up to some "Breaking News" from Afghanistan. Josh is okay. He sent his family and I an e-mail this morning at 6:22 a.m. (our time).

"Real quick-quite a bit of news from this corner of the world that you will be waking up to in a bit-just wanted to let you all know that I am fine and snug as a bug in a rug. haha. Love, Josh"