I'm back in the U.S. of A.!

February 7, 2012

By the time you read this I will be back in the U.S. of A.! I'm on my way to the post office one last time to decrease my baggage. After all, I believe that if you can't carry it; you shouldn't bring it (so I'll mail it!).

We will get locked down in Customs in two days at 1:30 a.m., (yes that is in the morning) before flying to Kyrgyzstan and then on to Ft. Lewis, Wash. I have spent a good part of this week saying goodbye to friends I have met over the past year. We are truly a joint force here and I have fostered partnerships and friendships with soldiers and civilians from Poland, Korea, Egypt, Malaysia, and Canada, as well as with airmen, Marines, and sailors. Some are acquaintances and some have become trusted friends and colleagues.

Between meetings, briefings, and transition training, I have made my rounds and said goodbyes. It's amazing how fast bonds form when you are sharing common goals, missions, threats, losses and disasters.

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No Rest for the Weary

January 24, 2012

1st Cavalry Division Commander MG Allen with Col. Jane Prather and some of her staff inside Craig Joint Theatre Hospital. They were each presented the Commanding General's Coin for Excellence.

I was hoping my last two weeks here would be quiet and uneventful. No such luck. Last week we received seven French coalition soldiers from the tragic Afghan National Army shooting outside of Kabul.

These casualties were brought in directly from the point of injury compared to the usual casualties this hospital receives from other smaller forward surgical teams (FSTs). This means that they were bloody and still traumatized. The hospital staff here showed their true colors; providing the best healthcare in the world! The French Ambassador, the French Minister of Defense and many General Officers came to the hospital over the past several days to visit the survivors of this tragedy. I am the Task Force Commander for my last two weeks here, so no rest for the weary.

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Education and Reformation

January 10, 2012

They say there are only four things to do here in theatre: work, work out, eat, and sleep. I propose a fifth: education.

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Christmas Gifts from Home

December 20, 2011

Tuesday I received three care packages in the mail. The first package I received was from Ms. Karen Harris and the NorthBay Management Team. I mentioned to Karen that although the hospital received hundreds of donated Christmas stockings for the staff here; none were available to my Army Task Force staff.

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The Replacements

December 6, 2011

	Bagram cityscapes outside Entry Control Point 3 (ECP3)

One of my favorite movies of all time is called "The Replacements," starring Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman. It's the story of a bunch of "scab" football players that fill in for an NFL team during a professional football player strike. It is a comedy. A few weeks ago a team from the 94th Combat Support Hospital - they are some of our replacements - were here in Afghanistan for a Pre-Deployment Site Survey.

This is a reconnaissance mission to determine what additional learning and training they need to attain in the next few months before they arrive for their 10 month deployment. It took them six days to get here from Texas and they were visibly tired and frustrated when they arrived in the middle of the night.

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Presenting the Purple Heart

November 21, 2011

The Purple Heart pulled me out of the Blues

I had the privilege of presenting two Purple Hearts last week. These two young warriors were scheduled for an earlier than usual flight to the hospital in Germany and we try to present their Purple Heart medals before they leave country.

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Airport Security is Not Like Home

November 11, 2011

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have subordinate units positioned around the Northeast half of the country. I have the distinct pleasure of traveling around the battlefield visiting them.

All in all, I enjoy the opportunity to visit these outlying Forward Operating Bases (FOBs); and the soldiers and airmen are honored that I take the time out of my busy schedule to visit them. I would have never thought that soldiers felt privileged to talk with me.

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Advanced Medicine Far From Home

October 25, 2011

Yesterday I had the honor of being the guest speaker at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the MRI at Bagram Airfield. We took delivery of our mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine just 10 days ago after a four-month-long procurement and delivery process. I don't know of any hospital that could procure and install MRI capability within that short a time period, much less accomplishing that in a War Zone.

We received the MRI trailer at about 4 a.m. on a Thursday and it is ready for the first patient today, complete with a civilian technician to operate and maintain it.

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Religious Support in Theatre

October 11, 2011

I'm sure you have all seen the famous photo of a group of soldiers with their heads bowed, arms interlocked, saying a prayer together. The photo has traveled the globe via the internet many times over and caused much controversy. After all, public prayer is outlawed across the U.S.

Well, each of the Armed Forces deploys with their chaplains and chaplain assistants. Chaplains are routinely stationed in hospitals, chapels are built on every post stateside and over here, and chaplains perform battlefield circulation to help meet the religious needs of our service members out in the more remote areas.

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Skyped and Counting Down

September 29, 2011

We have passed our 180 days in theatre, Afghanistan, and I have taken my R&R so I won't be home again until this is over. My soldiers are rotating through their R&Rs and have chosen their dates for various reasons.

You all know I attended my son's high school graduation, which seems like years ago now. I have five soldiers who went home to see the births of their children, others for anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, etc. Seeing my soldiers come and go means that we are getting closer to the end of this. 

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