Thanksgiving

This part of Afghanistan is getting a bit chillier. in the distant, higher peaks we can see some snow. Nothing too crazy though - right now the weather is nice, not too hot, not too cold.

Thanksgiving was here at Blessing as well. The food was quite good - turkey (of course), prime rib, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, creamed green beans, corn on the cob, stuffing, and lots of pie and ice cream. They brought out the food for lunch and we had the majority of the medics all at one table. it was nice getting the platoon family together, seeing our guys come off missions and welcoming the new medics to the platoon.

Memorial

Yesterday was the memorial ceremony for our recent KIAs - 6 total in one operation, 5 of which occured in the same firefight. The memorial was conducted at a smaller base that the soldiers lived at. For the spartan environment, it was very well conducted. It was good to gain some closure on our medic who was killed. We saw a bunch of our other medics from the other bases - a little mini reunion - but it is unfortunate that it took an incident like this to gather everyone. One of the NCOs (Daniel, you met him) and I flew to the base and on the flight over, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the countryside is. The stunning terrain belies the violence implemented upon it. It is a strange, unfortunate duality of this country. It's crazy to think of how much we've accomplished during our year+ back at Campbell, and how much we've accomplished in our nearly 7 months here.

In FOB Blessing, Lt Alex Pruden also wrote about the cost of war " Just to give you all a quick update, 3rd Platoon and the "Above the Rest" Battalion have been very busy this month. As I've alluded to in the past few posts, we've stepped up our efforts to root out Taliban presence in the Pech and its tributaries...and security has greatly improved for the people of this area. Unfortunately, these victories have borne a price: on the last major operation, 6 soldiers were killed and many more wounded...It was a solemn reminder to all of us of the danger we face and the risks we take every day. Thank you all for your prayers and support, I'll bring you up to speed soon."

Fighting intensifies

Indeed the fighting intensifies. The battalion was engaged in a 4-day battle in what was once one of our quietest valleys. It started as a company air assault, and within 24 hours one platoon became combat ineffective. three of the key leaders were wounded, as well as my medic attached to that platoon, who was killed. The article is at this link:

 http://www.wtxl.com/content/topstories/story/Chihuahua-family-opens-up-about-their-loss/Mglrwyr-Mku5v6fk72KJqQ.cspx


After the first day, the brigade poured in asset after asset - two more companies, a ranger platoon, an Afghan commando unit and two special forces teams, and all the aircraft possible. all medics out there dealt with a mass casualty situation at one point or another.

Operaiton Bulldog Bite, now five days long, has resulted in the deaths of more than 50 enemy fighters and the discovery of two or three "large" weapons caches, but has cost six lives of 101st Airborne Division soldiers and others injured.

The operation is penetrating deep into the Pech River Valley and is involving several nighttime air assaults to root out enemy fighters from the remote mountain villages.

On another note, we've continued to get a lot of care packages, letters, and support from all of you. Again, we want to tell you that we greatly appreciate it. We have reached the halfway point in the tour, and many of us are looking forward to leave over the holidays, and our thoughts reach back to home, family, and friends. So getting a letter or a package does wonders for keeping spirits up.