It's Tuesday morning in Afghanistan. Seth leaves Bargram Air Field today for a couple of days in Kabul. He will be at the Presidential compound assisting with security for the Afghan president. Seth was unsure if this was a routine rotation or if there is something special going on that requires additional security. At any rate, he called today to tell us that he would be out of touch during the time he is in Kabul. And again, short on details he's unsure of how long he'll be there.
Good news.....Seth has informed us that his leave will begin on February 13. He anticipates two days of travel time, arriving at Dulles on Tuesday, February 15. He'll probably be home about ten days before returning to Bagram. He's given us a list of foods he's looking forward to eating, beginning with a his mother's traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings. We'll gladly pamper him for the time that he's home.
When he returns from Kabul he will be going on QRF (Quick Reactionary Force.) During the two weeks of QRF he'll live in a hanger with his squad and some helicopters. They are on call for any emergency or incident that requires a quick response. Since they stay in the hanger they can be airborne in a matter of minutes. A couple of weeks ago he went out on support of the QRF when a helicopter crashed in bad weather. He said they set up a perimeter around the wreck while they stripped the copter of usable equipment, then blew it up. Any time there is suspicious activity of any kind near the air base they call the QRF to respond. Overall, he's looking forward to the next couple of weeks - going to Kabul then doing QRF - because it's a change in routine. QRF also has the added benefit of being able to watch more TV while they're sitting the hanger - just in time for the Super Bowl! He's looking forward to the opportunity to see the game. He was able to listen to both playoff games this weekend as he stood guard in the tower.
It now looks like he will be going to Ghazni sometime this spring. As I've said before, nothing is ever certain with the Army until it done. Ghazni has been an on-again, off-again kind of thing. It now looks like it's on-again for sometime this spring. He's happy about going in the spring. Ghazni currently has about 3 feet of snow on the ground. The weather should be breaking about the time he has to go. Bagram's climate right now is very cold, but dry. They don't usually see much snow, although they did have about 4 inches last weeks. He was amused to hear about our recent days out of school due to our one-inch snowfalls.
I'll close for now with thanks for listening and thanks for your continued support and prayers. Seth thanks God every night for his family and friends and for the many blessings he has received.
