John thanks for emailing. It helps when you send me a reminder.
We got our first rain in 4 months about 4 days ago. I thought our tent was coming down at one point. Before the rain started coming down, had the wind. Was blowing all the dust around and dirt got all over everything.
Some of our guys tents leaked badly. I only got a couple of drops of water in my area of the tent.
It is starting to get cold here. The temperature is dropping down into the 40's here. Our showers are still very bad. There is normaly no hot water but at least we just got heat in the shower now. So when you finish your shower you don't almost go into hypothermia.
Most of our ANA (AFgan National Army) has gone home for Ede. Their Xmas. Not many have come back yet. So it is very had to get anything done when most of the key leaders are all gone.
The Kandak Commander. The ANA LTC in charge of our BN is a crook. We got in a big shipment of supplies and he sold off a lot of the uniforms, tshirts, and stuff like that. It is very hard to get rid of the bad leaders.
I keep hearing about when the Americans leave they are going to have to stand on their own 2 feet. I don't see how we can leave. This place would fall apart with out us here. ISAF is taking over but I don't think they have or are willing to commit the resources to do what needs being done here.
It's hard to believe it but they just can't do what the US can.
Any how still planning on coming home for the holidays. Just not for sure what the dates are.
Also I will email my mailing address. I just don't have it with me right now. I do have a person on my team that hasn't gotten any kind of mail and would love to get a card or some kind of package.
Will try to send a few pictures next time. I am not at my FOB right now. Another guy and my self had to come back to civilization to draw Operations funds so we can buy things for the ANA. Once we drawl the funds will head back out to FOB Ripley.
So far I have spent about 70,000 US dollars on the ANA. Your tax dollars at work.
Take care,
Capt Mark Wilson
(NOTE: Comment about address. I ask mark if his address would be the same when he returned. Not sure at this time.)
I do have some pictures. I will try to send you some pictures.
Ramadant is over. There was a lot of shooting in TK. That's what Afgan people do when they want to celibrate. The Forward Surgery Team operated on a boy that was shot in the back dering the celebration. Need less to say we stayed away from that mess.
Spent most of my Day down on the flight line today trying to send out cooking equipment to the out lying fobs. But wasn't able to get any of the cooking eq. on the 47's. (see http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/h-47-pics.htm) One broke down so that didn't help.
The ANA are going to have to start cooking for themselves. They don't have any good cooks. I expect the ANA food to go down in quality. So they are going to have poor pay and poor quality food.
Today was the first of the 3 day holiday. The ANA had a drummer and the soldiers Danced the National Dance. I didn't get to go to the celebration because I was getting mail on the 47's for some of the soldiers at the out lying fobs.
I Have less the 45 Days before I get to come home on leave for Chrismas.
Thanks,
Mark Wilson