Author Archives: CJ

It’s cold. Now for all you northerners, don’t laugh. I’m from Texas. But the highs are only in the 30′s now! To me, that’s cold!! However, I have it pretty good. Here in Kandahar, that’s about as bad as it gets. We get snow flurries here and there, but nothing like what Kabul and Bagram are getting right now. Regardless of the cold and freezing snow or rain, we have a mission to complete. Our troops perform in all sorts of weather.

U.S. Army Pfc. Dewey So, a native of San Diego, endures the harsh blast of an Afghan winter storm in the village of Marzak. Marzak has been a haven for insurgent fighters over the past decade. A new police checkpoint is being constructed through the winter in Marzak to disrupt the movement of insurgent forces through the area, located just 6 km from the site of the Battle of Takur Ghar. Photo by Staff Sgt. Charles Crail.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tony J. Spain, Third Army/ARCENT Public Affairs
Lt. Col. John Palo, a 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment planner, hugs his son, Aiden Palo, at Oakland Primary School in Sumter, S.C. Friday after a surprise reunion. Photo and story by SFC Tony Spain.

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I met Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner several times over the past few years, most recently since moving to Ft. Hood. He’s one of those down to earth general officers that really enjoyed being around troops. He was personable and easy to talk to. He insisted on calling me “CJ” just as he called all his officers by their first names. This just added to the approachability that I think he had.

Unfortunately, BG Hildner died yesterday of natural causes here in Afghanistan. The Army is losing a great leader and our prayers are with his family during this difficult time.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Winter is upon us. To most people, the snow that is ushered in when the northern hemisphere is at its most distant point from the sun is but a mere inconvenience. Kids play in it; adults shovel it; but our troops live in it.

The idea of camping during the winter doesn’t exactly rate among the top vacation ideas to many Americans. Besides scaling the highest points on earth, most hikers prefer clear, green trails over which to hike. But our troops are out there day after day living in the snow. They wake up in it, go to sleep in it, and work in it. It sucks, but they do it anyway.

In some ways, there couldn’t be a better time to hunt for the enemy. The snow provides ample evidence of enemy movements, activities, and plans. Of course, that thought process works both ways!!

Afghan National Army commandos patrol Khakrez district, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Jan 26. The commandos, partnered with coalition special operations forces, conducted clearing operations in the district to disrupt insurgent safe havens and promote security in the area. Photo by Jonathan Hudson

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

The Army is the only military service that specializes in Medical Evacuations (MEDEVAC). While other services will also extract wounded, they don’t have dedicated choppers to just provide medical evacuation. Army MEDEVACS are equipped with life-saving equipment and personal specially trained to stabilize casualties en route to combat hospitals. That’s not to say that other services’ platforms, like the Air Forces Pedro crews, can’t provide first aid and valuable life-saving assistance, but their capabilities aren’t as robust as Army’s.

Afghan Local Police and members of coalition special operations forces load an ALP member needing medical care onto an MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during a medical evacuation in Shah Joy district, Zabul province, Afghanistan, Jan. 27. Helicopters provide the fastest way to transport personnel with medical needs from rural areas of Afghanistan to medical facilities located at larger coalition bases.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

A Navy corpsman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, greets a patient during a medical initiative at Patrol Base Florida. The initiative was aimed at providing the civilian populace with an opportunity to receive diagnosis, assistance and guidance from health care professionals, and served to bolster the community’s confidence in their local doctor. For more information see Medical initiative brings hope to isolated communities.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

I love the sound of jet fighters in the morning. JUST NOT AT 0200 IN THE MORNING!! Living on an airbase has it’s ups and downs. Among the downs is having your entire chu shaken to the core and ripping you out of a dead sleep (when it comes) thinking the world is ending. I’m still not sure why afterburners are needed to takeoff from a nearly 2-mile runway, but I guess that’s the sound of freedom. I’m just glad I don’t live in a mud hut nearby. Otherwise, I’d probably be living ON a mud hut.

This is another picture I think is pretty cool. SSG Joseph Harwood did an awesome job with positioning the F-15 perfectly with the lights behind it.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle receives early morning maintenance, Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, January 28, 2012. The aircraft is deployed here to support coalition forces providing close air support. These maintainers and this aircraft are deployed from Seymour Johnson AFB, S.C. One Seymour Johnson aircraft just reached 10000 hours in combat.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

If I were to show you this picture without explanation and ask you what you’re looking at, what would you say? Odds are, you’d think this was a photo of a Taliban insurgent. The sad part is that you COULD be right. But, this picture is of an Afghan Local Police officer. This is the difficulty that our troops face here in Afghanistan. It’s a dangerous prospect if we see this guy and we’re wrong about him.

One of the things we’re trying to instill in the Afghan people is a sense of the rule of law of land warfare. Uniforms display a certain level of professionalism and, with experience and history, will instill in the populace trust and confidence.

Other than that, this is just a cool picture from PO1 Matthew Leistikow.

An Afghan Local Police member patrols a checkpoint in Kajran district, Daykundi province, Afghanistan, Jan. 27. Afghan National Army Special Forces soldiers and coalition special operations forces visited checkpoints throughout the district to assess security in the area.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Yama Sakura is an annual bi-lateral exercise between the US and Japan. The term means “mountain cherry blossom.” The Japanese cherish their cherry blossoms and even donated the ones that are currently located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. When fully bloomed, the cherry blossoms sweeten the air and turn beautiful shades of various colors. They only last a few weeks before the petals fall of the trees. As a dependent I used to love attending all the Japanese festivals when my father was stationed there. The Japanese have a rich and historic cultural heritage that is just so impressive and unique.

Maj. Tanya Klaiber, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard and Maj. Richard M. Dixon, operations officer for the United States Army Pacific participate in a Japanese traditional tea ceremony outside Camp Itami, Japan, Jan. 24. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Oliver.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.