Friends and Family,
Greetings from Camp Leatherneck Resort and Spa, Afghanistan. This place is just like every other large forward deployed Marine Corps base, sand covered rocks with lots of tents, ISO containers, some wood buildings and a few make-shift structures made out of whatever the Marines could find. Don't get me wrong, things could be much worse. it's just that Afghanistan (much like Iraq) doesn't have much to offer in terms of luxury living.
Access to email has been more difficult this deployment - please forgive me for the infrequent updates. I have enjoyed and look forward to all of your update emails, even if I'm unable to respond a majority of the time. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.
To answer some of your questions:
Living Conditions: While on Leatherneck (my home base) I live in a small container with two other officers - which actually isn't bad. It's not blazing hot yet, it's about 80 degrees at night and 105 degrees during the day. It will gradually get hotter for the next couple of months, but for now the weather is pretty nice. We are currently in Afghanistan's "120 days of wind", so the sand and dust is blowing in your face whenever you leave a hardened structures... but if you just keep sun glasses on and breath through your nose when you're outside, life is great. We just had the worst sand storm I've ever experienced two days ago - worse than anything I saw in Iraq.
Health: I have been sick on and off ever since I've been here, but I can probably chalk that up to eating the local food and spending time with Afghans. Like in most cultures, it's rude to refuse food or drinks that are offered, but after the last couple of trips down range - I'll have to just say no and hope the locals will understand.
Marines: My 40 female Marines have been split into teams and pushed to every battalion currently operating in Helmand Province. The units we are supporting are embracing the concept and have been using the teams on a myriad of different missions. Within the last few weeks, I've traveled to 3 of the 13 places my Marines are operating to ensure my Marines were being employed properly. I will be going to every one of those locations as quickly as possible - which will keep me busy for the duration of my deployment.
Mission: The Taliban has been around for so long in these areas, influencing the population and controlling every aspect of their lives. They are intimidated by the Taliban and believe everything they tell them until we prove them otherwise. Some of the women I have talked to have told me stories about the "Talib" and how they treated them over the years. One woman told me that in her neighborhood, if the Talib suspected an Afghan woman of dishonoring her family in any way. the Talib would come in the middle of the night, cut the woman's breasts off, and nail them to the outside of her husband's shop in the bazaar. They live in fear 24/7.
Adventures: My first adventure was to a place called Now Zad, a village in the northern part of Helmand Province which, up until Dec, was one of the hotter places in Afghanistan for insurgent activity. The Marines have been fighting in this area for a few years, but last December we launched a major offensive in Now Zad and cleared the area. The land surrounding many of the villages in the Now Zad district are known enemy mine fields and are considered the most heavily IED'd area in the world. After the Marines came in and cleared the area they, partnered with the Afghans, have made incredible progress with ensuring the area is secure. There is currently a de-mining project that the Marine Corps has assisted the local populace in implementing and it works like this: