Change

As Barack Obama might say, "Change We Can Believe In". Well I am about to go through a change that I certainly can believe in. I am leaving Afghanistan soon and going home. This will be one of my final updates from Afghanistan. I will be traveling in about a week and should be making my way home after several stops along the way. It has been a long journey, but it is not over yet. In a future update, I will reflect back on the entire experience. For now, I am slowly packing up my things and preparing for the next adventure: going home. My work is essentially done her. I won't say "Mission Accomplished", because there is still much to do, but for me my time here has come to an end.

Speaking of change, there is massive change in the CJ4 as many people are coming and going. This changeover creates a lot of disruption and some angst for the organization. So many who are leaving, including myself, have gained a greater understanding of how things work here in Afghanistan and at CSTC-A. Losing that knowledge does create quite a void. As new personnel arrive, it takes some time for them to get acclimated and become fully engaged productive team members. As with any change though, it is how you prepare and communicate change to the team that will determine its success. Imagine a company that had 30 to 40 percent of its personnel changeover every six months. You can understand what a challenge it is trying to make substantial progress.

Back on the homefront, my niece Elizabeth spent her spring break with Rebecca and the kids this week. They saw a ballet, went to Disney's California Adventure, spent the day at a spa and had high tea at the new Del Mar Grand resort. Thomas is having fun playing Little League on the "Angels" and Madigan's softball team, the Lil' Angels, is keeping her busy.

Rebecca is doing party preps and has booked a block of 15 rooms at the Navy Lodge at NASNI for those interested in staying at the beach the weekend of May 2nd/3rd for the "Welcome Home/Birthday Beach Bash". Rooms are $77/night. The block on the rooms is only in effect until April 18th – the rooms are released after that time. There is a 7 Day cancelation notice on these reservations. If you are interested, email Rebecca at rebeccaw@san.rr.com and she will give you all of the details.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Leap Year

2008 is a Leap Year. This is where the month of February has 29 days. The extra day is to make up for the lost quarter of a day per year we experience due to the rotation of the earth around the sun. I know you all knew that already, but it always makes me think about birthdays. For those who were born on February 29th, I am told they celebrate their birthday on March 1st (Happy Belated Birthday for those that did have a birthday). I don't know anyone born on 2/29 but perhaps you know someone. (Editor's Note: Dinah Shore and Jimmy Dorsey were born on February 29th. ) So what do these people do in Leap Years? Do they go back to celebrating on February 29th for that year? How do they fill out forms, do they put March 1st in regular years and then February 29th in Leap Years? I imagine it is somewhat of a conversation starter. If I were to have a child that had the possibility of being born on February 29th, I think I would tell my wife to either push harder or hold on for a day. I know that is not realistic, but I don't need to make a child's life any more confusing... like giving them a name that no one could possibly spell right after multiple attempts. For those with February 29th birthdays and hard to spell names, I apologize if I have offended you. Just putting some thoughts down...

For those scientific types out there, here is some further description of Leap Year:

Our solar year (the time required for Earth to travel once around the Sun, I know some of you thought the Earth revolved around you, but it really is the Sun) is 365.24219 days. (Aren't you glad this number isn't like Pii going out to infiniti) Our calendar year is either 365 days in non leap years or 366 days in leap years (Feb 29th inserted). A leap year every 4 years gives us 365.25 days, sending our seasons off course and eventually in the wrong months. To change .25 days to .24219, we need to skip a few leap days (Feb 29ths) .... century marks not divisible by 400. S o with a few calculations tweek the calendar by skipping 3 of 4 century leap years to average out our calendar year to 365.2425, which is pretty darn close to the solar year 365.24219.

Here's the history:
The Romans originally had a 355-day calendar. To keep up with the seasons, an extra 22 or 23-day month was inserted every second year. For reasons unknown, this extra month was only observed now and then. By Julius Caesar's time, the seasons no longer occurred at the same calendar periods as history had shown. To correct this, Caesar eliminated the extra month and added one or two extra days to the end of various months (his month included, which was Quintilis, later renamed Julius we know it as July).

This extended the calendar to 365 days. Also intended was an extra calendar day every fourth year (following the 28th day of Februarius). However, after Caesar's death in 44 B.C., the calendars were written with an extra day every 3 years instead of every 4 until corrected in 8 A.D. So again, the calendar drifted away from the seasons. By 1582, Pope Gregory XIII recognized that Easter would eventually become closer and closer to Christmas. The calendar was reformed so that a leap day would occur in any year that is divisible by 4 but not divisible by 100 except when the year is divisible by 400. Thus 1600 and 2000, although century marks, have a Leap Day. The calendar we use today, known as the Gregorian calendar, makes our year 365.2425 days only off from our solar year by .00031, which amounts to only one day's error after 4,000 years.

Alright, if that is not confusing enough, here I am in Afghanistan and they go by Solar Years. So here it is 1386 and soon to be 1387. If you did not figure it out, they do not base their calendar on the life of Christ as we do (AD, Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord). So just another difference that creates a challenge for Americans here in Afghanistan.

The big news this week was that Prince Harry was outed here in Afghanistan. The fact the British press kept a lid on it for 10 weeks is pretty remarkable. But now that he is found out, I think the Brits will be sending him home to reduce the risk to him and his fellow soldiers. If all it took was for the press to find out I was here to go home, I might have been writing letters to Time and Newsweek to get my name out there. Perhaps my presence is not as significant as Prince Harry's and all I would have accomplished is to upset some people and ultimately have extention added to my deployment. Probably better I kept a low profile.

The other big news in the world was the "retirement/resignation" of Fidel Castro in Cuba. I know many people never thought that would happen, so there is hope in the world. The jury is still out on his brother Raul who is taking over, but at least he wears a suit instead of funky old uniform like Fidel.

As far as work here at CSTC-A, I have been helping out in another part of CJ4 and making a little progress each day. I have been working various projects to keep the wheels moving, of course I am looking forward to finishing up here.

I hope you all took advantage of the extra day this year and did something worthwhile.

Peace to you all,

Pat

400

No, this is not a new blockbuster movie called "400". (For those who did not see it, there was a movie last year called "300" with lots of cool fighting). This is actually the number of days I have been away from home. For many of us here, we have several other names for this thing called deployment. Here are just a few of the more clever ones (or maybe not so clever ones):

400 days of the Afghanistan Hostage Crisis
400 days of exile
400 days of our prison term (this is followed by the number of days left until parole)
400 days of Groundhogs day (more so we just call every day Groundhog day)
400 days alcohol free (OK so there were a few breaks in there with leave and pass, but you get the idea)

Now that is not very positive, although slightly humorous. You have to keep your sense of humor. Perhaps with the end so near, I have some other emotions bubbling out of me. I don't think so, it just seemed appropriate to give you an idea of what some people are thinking here. After being in theater for so long, I have seen people come and people go. I find it extremely interesting to watch people as they go through a personality transformation. From what I have observed, people go through four phases during a one year deployment. Now I am not a psychologist or anything, just a student of people's behavior, and it is truly interesting how people change.

The first phase is when people arrive. They are enthusiastic about their opportunity to serve and do some good for the people of Afghanistan. It is lovely to watch as people have incredibly ambitious thoughts as they see all the many opportunities for improvement here. They slowly see all the things that are "wrong" with how everything operates and vow to fix it all. In some respects it is sad, because they could not see what came before... and where it was... and the past progress that was made to get it to this point. This phase lasts about 3 months and is marked by an incredible generosity from the military people. They will give everything to the Afghans. They always say "yes" to all request that comes from the Afghans. Believe me, the Afghan people are more than willing to let you do everything for them... but that is not why we are here. This is their country and our mission is to make them self-sufficient and successful. It really does follow the old saying, "Catch a fish for a man and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for the rest of his life."

The second phase begins when the individual starts to realize he might be getting taken advantage of... but is not sure. S/he also realizes, this is not the United States. All things that seem so simple, obvious, common and easy are not easy in Afghanistan. S/he starts to realize what I call TIA (This Is Afghanistan). Nothing is easy, you must have incredible patience, and realize that things will take longer than expected no matter how hard you push. Of course some continue to push very hard, with the end result that the US military makes "it" happen despite the Afghans. But what purpose has that served? We all know the US military could completely run everything, and I am sure it would work just fine... and we would be here forever. We would not have improved the country of Afghanistan or the plight of its people. Soon enough people do "get" the real reason or purpose for what we are doing here. They begin to say no and say, "let the Afghans do it for themselves." Things progress and our subject has learned patience and instead of always doing, s/he teaches and is truly making a difference for the people of Afhganistan. This phase generally lasts for about 6 months and is marked by a sense of calm, instead of a frantic reaction to every demand that comes his way.

The third phase begins when the individual has been here a good 9 months and is starting to get tired and burned out. His/her patience is waning and it is difficult to stay calm when the demands keep coming. This phase last about 2 months and is marked by some relatively angry behavior that is almost spiteful. I have seen some people become beligerant toward the Afghans and say forget them, I am not giving them anything else. There is a feeling that s/he has given so much and they just keep wanting more... and there is so much left to do. The individual is counting the days until they can leave and return to their normal way of life.

The fourth and final phase here is the last month when the individual realizes his time is short and has started to transition duties and see relief in sight. There is excitement and general happiness about completing this tough assignment. There is a small amount of remorse or regret for things they never got to finish, and the loss of being part of something so big. I think they get over that, when they get home. At least I hope I will...

I have often likened working with the Afghans as dealing with spoiled kids. They are not bad people, but the US has spoiled them. We gave them everything because we felt sorry for them... and they became spoiled. They were trained to keep asking for more because we just kept giving them more. We did not have expectations for them, and there were no consequences for bad behavior. I am sure if Nanny 911 was here, she would recognize it right away. (Not that I watch that show, it just fit).

I believe part of what the military must continue to do is prepare people mentally for this adventure. Deployed military personnel must realize they cannot do it all, and their goal is to carry the "baton" and move the race forward as best they can... and then pass it smoothly to the next person. They must have a long term view of their duties and not merely try and finish their year. This is a third world country with history and customs far different than what we Americans are accustomed. This is worthwhile work and all the people that have come over here have done their part to make a difference for Afghanistan. It would be great to see something like a time lapse photography of the progress in Afghanistan. That would really put everything in perspective. Perhaps I should come back again in a couple years so I can see the continued progress here, NOT!

Back on the homefront, Madigan has now lost both of her front teeth. I am sure they fell out naturally, but she could certainly pass for someone who had been in a bar brawl and had her teeth knocked out. She is playing softball and having a great time, but she looks more like a hockey player. Thomas entered the school inventors fair this past week. His invention/presentation was on an automatic shoe tying machine. I suppose that could be useful especially if you don't like bending over to tie your shoes. I don't think he won a college scholarship or even a savings bond... and I am not sure we will be making millions on marketing it, but it certainly was creative. I can't even recall if I ever did a science fair project as a child, but I am sure if I did it was something lame like a portable talking device with built in camera and organizer. Hey wait a minute, I think I invented the cell phone over 30 years ago and didn't realize it.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Harsh Winter

I bet you didn't know that this past winter in Afghanistan was the harshest in the past 30 years, I didn't. The article, below, explains just how bad the weather has been here. This illustrates just how fortunate we are in the United States to have all the modern conveniences such as well constructed homes, heating, ample clothing and food to survive harsh conditions. Most areas in Afghanistan are not so fortunate. The US and other coalition forces are helping to improve the situation. As you read the article below, imagine if this ever happened in the US. Then imagine the outpouring of support to help victims that would follow so it would not happen again.

KABUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The death toll from Afghanistan's harshest winter in recent living memory has hit 926, an official said on Saturday, adding the figure could rise further as access to remote areas improves with the thawing of snow. More than 316,000 cattle had perished since the onset of winter in mid December, Noor Padshah Kohistani of the National Disaster Management Commission said.
"The figure for human losses stands at 926 today. It could go higher, for roads have been reopened and we will find unreported fatalities," he said. Nearly half of the victims came from western areas and where more than 90 people have had their fingers or toes amputated because of frostbite. A special hospital is dealing with frostbite victims in the western city of Herat.
Apart from human losses, the deaths of cattle are regarded as a huge loss for Afghanistan, an agricultural country that largely relies on foreign aid. The United Nations World Food Programme last month appealed for extra food assistance for 2.55 million Afghans until the next harvest in June. More snow is expected in coming days in several parts of the mountainous Central Asian country which may trigger floods and avalanches.

On a more cheery note, my clock is ticking away and I am getting closer to going home. I mentioned previously that I would share a bit about the process of returning home and what we call redeploying. Here is a quick summary of the process.

After completing my IA mission, I will travel to Kuwait to go through the Warrior Transition Program (WTP). This lasts about a week before returning home to begin reintegration into life in a non-combat environment. This involves turning in gear and receiving lectures about how to reintegrate back into normal life. Some people do struggle with the return and can behave differently. I don't expect I will be too much different although I may have to try and forget speaking in acronyms or at least military ones.

Following Kuwait and the WTP I will go to the Navy Mobilization and Processing Site NMPS at Norfolk for about a week of outprocessing and reintegration to the Reserves. After that I will go to Port Hueneme where my home command is and check back in to my reserve unit. I will get my records updated and ensure that all documentation of my service is correct. Then it is back to normal life.

Here in Kabul, I have completed my turnover and now I am going to move over to another area to help out with future planning. I figured I had about a month of time left so I decided to help out in another area of CJ4. No relaxing for me.

And now for something completely different (you Monty Python fans might remember that one).

Here are the top 10 signs you might be a Taliban:

Number 10. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.
Number 9. You own a $300 machine gun and a $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.
Number 8. You have more wives than teeth.
Number 7. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
Number 6. You can't think of anyone you HAVEN'T declared Jihad against.
Number 5. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry ammunition in your robe.
Number 4. You've never been asked, 'Does this burka make my ass look big?'
Number 3. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
Number 2. A common compliment is, "I love what you've done with your cave."

And, the NUMBER ONE SIGN you might be a member of the Taliban:

1. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon unclean.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Turnover

Turnover, what is he talking about? Well, I am not talking about a tasty pastry or what you do at night when you can't sleep. Turnover is a term we use to explain a transfer of responsibilities to another person. That is what I have been focusing on these past couple weeks. (Yes, I missed my last update and I will explain a bit later). I have been writing down a long list of items to explain to my relief, Greg. I have to make sure he understands all the responsibilities of the Operations area that I currently oversee. We are going through some presentations and have some site visits planned. I hope to be done with my turnover in another couple weeks. Then I will be here to backup Greg as he runs things. There are plenty of projects underway, so I am sure he will need some extra support. My actual numerical relief will not be here until mid March, but since he is not relieving me of my current position, I am transferring my duties to Greg who is currently in theatre.

It has been two weeks since my last update because our internet was affected by the cutting of communications cable in the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt. So Walt Disney was absolutely right when he said, "It's a Small World Afterall". Or for you more modern types you might prefer Thomas Friedman's, "The World is Flat". It is truly amazing that a cable cut in Egypt afffected the internet in Afghanistan, but it did. We normal service was restored within about a week, but during that week we had limited access to the internet.

My time is getting short, in fact I will leave Afghanistan in less than two months. It is hard to believe it is almost over.

Back on the homefront the kids are going to school and playing sports. Madigan LOVES softball, Rebecca thinks it has something to do with Madigan's best friend being on the team. Thomas starts baseball soon and Rebecca will be shuttling the kids to various locations for practice and games. Rebecca is staying busy with work, the kids and projects around the house.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Third Grade Mass at Saint Therese of Carmel

From the Editor (Rebecca):

Today was the Mass with Children at our parish (Saint Therese of Carmel), hosted by the third grade. Thomas was asked to read two of the Prayers of the Faithful. When I received the copy of the prayers, I asked if we could augment one of them a bit. The original read: "That the leaders of nations may serve their people, acting decisively and courageously as peacemakers." Thomas has been bugging me to speak up and add a prayer for Patrick's saftey when Father opens up the Prayers of the Faithful to the congregation. For some reason, I just can never do it. The words get choked up in my throat and usually someone else offers a prayer for the military overseas. I asked Thomas if I should ask the Faith Formation coordinator if we could add a prayer for the military and specifically Patrick. He agreed and the coordinator added a prayer for Patrick and other parents serving overseas. I have a nicer video (this clip is from my little point and shoot camera) but it's too large to upload to the blog.

It stinks to get old

This goes under the category "It stinks to get old." I was chewing on a piece of candy, yes we have lots of candy here as everyone keeps sending packages with lots of treats. Well, I was chewing on a piece of candy and all of sudden I felt something solid as I chewed... and I was eating a soft piece of candy. So this clued me in that something is not quite right. I reach in and pull out the solid piece. It was my crown from my lower left molar. It popped right off and I am now saving it in a glass of water, actually a water bottle I cut in half as I did not have a glass to put it in. I was thinking about telling people it is a Taliban tooth (normally we collect ears, but teeth would work), but it is a bit too white to have been in the mouth of a Taliban terrorist who has been running around the mountains. (I hear they don't brush their teeth often, that is gross and just another reason not to like the Taliban).

A part of aging , you start to have dental problems and I had this crown put on a few years ago. Fortunately it is in good shape and I am sure it can be replaced on my tooth. Unfortunately, we do not have a dentist at Camp Eggers and the dentist at Camp Phoenix just left theater, so I may be sticking this thing back on with superglue. I will have to find a way to get to the dentist at Bagram. Until I can get to a dentist, I will be chewing on one side of my mouth and looking like a hillbilly. On top of this, I had cracked a crown on the back right side of my mouth a few months ago, so maybe I should get that one fixed while I am at it.

Work is very busy as my boss is on leave and many of us are covering for him. We still have many projects in the works and the ANA and ANP continue to grow. I am still fully engaged and working to make sure all the units are outfitted with gear. I am sure "senioritis" will set in for me in about another month and a half. Until then, there is much to do. I am refocusing to take care of myself a bit more. For many months now, I have been working non-stop and not taking time to workout. I am now making time to workout and make sure I balance my work and health.

Back on the homefront, Rebecca and the kids are fully engaged in school, work and daily activities. Rebecca continues to plan my homecoming, our cruise and improvements around the house. It still amazes me how she gets it all done. Thomas is starting baseball soon, unfortunately I was not able to be there for him during his tryouts. Madigan is starting softball and I am hopeful she will enjoy the experience.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Save the Date - Saturday May 3, 2008 3pm - 7pm

Editor's Note: This post is from Rebecca

I wanted to let everyone know WAY in advance about a party that we are having as a “Welcome Home Patrick, Happy Belated 40th Rebecca and ‘It Really is Patrick’s Birthday’ Party”. OK the name needs some work, but you get the idea. It’s on Saturday May 3rd (which really is Patrick’s 43rd birthday) at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) down the beach from the Hotel Del Coronado. I am trying to reserve a block of rooms at the Navy Lodge for Friday and Saturday night… the rooms will be about $77/night.

The original idea was to book the deck pictured below, called the “Breakers Beach Deck”.

It’s a lovely venue; new and right on the beach with nice Trek decking and glass wind protection. I went to sign the contract on Thursday and found out that this would cost over $3,000 for 4 hours with 75 people… and we would have had to do it on Sunday afternoon. There was $600 just to have the deck and a minimum of $18 per person catering charge, plus a mandatory 20% gratuity on anything that we ordered to drink or eat. They only allow paper and plastic and there were all kinds of rules that you have to agree to enforce. Honestly the last straw was when I was checking the prices of a keg beer. They charge $225 for a keg of Miller Lite (it’s $90 at BevMo and Beer King).

SO when I went over to the Navy Lodge to check out the hotel rules; the lady behind the desk was also aghast at the price list I showed her and she suggested reserving “The Old Chief’s Deck” on the other side of the Navy Lodge. It’s not very classy (but VERY Mangano…and I can put beer in buckets for you guys so you can pretend it’s The Cape… sorry, inside BC joke here), and it’s old and a bit decrepit BUT it’s free to reserve, there is no limit to how many people we can invite, and I can bring all of my own food and drink. (Mark, I need your Mai Tai recipe; Keith and Robert I need your Long Island Ice Tea one) . There was no mention of rules other than “No Glass Containers”. I called the place to reserve it and they said that I couldn’t reserve it until 30 days out. When I asked how I would send out invites and explained our situation, the woman on the other end of the phone said to me: “Are you the woman who was just talking to Lissie at the Navy Lodge”? When I said yes, she said that Lissie said that I was a “good egg” and she took my name, number and when we wanted to reserve the deck. I asked her if that meant it was ours or if I could be bumped by a Navy Function, and she said it was ours, we are in her book... I just have to confirm 30 days out and give her a list of guests to give to the front gate. So thanks Dad for always teaching me to be polite and friendly to everyone no matter their station… I have Lissie to thank for saving me a lot of money and being able to book this so early. I asked about the electrical hookup (at the other deck they charge $50 to hook-up electrical for a band or DJ) and she said I would have to check with security. If I can get a hook up, I am going to see if Brehon’s Law (Irish Pub Band) is available to play for a few hours. My friend Roni said that I could rent a generator if necessary. I’ll need to rent or borrow some umbrellas and stands – there’s not a lot of covered areas and maybe I’ll ask a few people to bring some extra chairs… I may be able to rent them too. SO – that’s the plan for now, I’ll let you know when I formulate a solid plan. BUT save the date, it will be fun!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

I am sure you guessed from the title that we had some snow here in Kabul. Or perhaps you thought I was singing a late Christmas carol. We did get a good couple of days of snowfall here and it was quite beautiful. Normally, I am not one to wish for snow, especially since I live in San Diego, but here the snow was pretty. Following the snows though we have had some bitterly cold days in the teens and 20's. I know why I live in San Diego. Of course, we did not have anything like they had in Greenbay, WI for the NFL playoff game. Yes, I did get to watch some football, I only watched the Chargers - Patriots game which was played from 12:30 am to 4 am. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective, the Chargers lost a well played game. I suppose I am looking forward to seeing the Patriots make history by having an undefeated season and winning the Super Bowl.

Here at work, I have been doing a bit of administrative work. As people depart from theater, everyone gets an evaluation and an award. It takes a good deal of time to complete all the writeups necessary for all the people and the stream of people is never ending. Other than that it has been the usual work with meetings, shipping and buying more stuff to support Afghanistan.

Back on the homefront, Rebecca has been extremely motivated working several projects around the house. She has decided to tackle the house one room at a time in hopes of keeping some order to her thinking. (Editor's Note: It's actually my "Room of the Month" plan for 2008... a plan I devised while listeing to Thomas explain the "WebKinz of the Month" program. I am starting with the master bathroom, not fun but I am making progress and have until the31st to finish it. I am bound and determined to clean out every cabinet and drawer in said "Room of the Month" throwing out all of the junk that has been collecting for the past five years. Kelly Dolan will be so proud of me.) Thomas and Madigan are busy with school and looking for time to play the Wii. While I was home, Rebecca and I planned our vacation and we are taking the kids on a Mexican Riviera cruise. It will be a good time to catch up after I return home. We also have some friends joining us on the cruise so it should be a fun time. Rebecca has already started planning a welcome home party for me. It actually is a combination welcome home, Rebecca's belated 40th birthday and my birthday. She has reserved a site at Naval Air Station, North Island in Coronado and the party will be on May 3rd, my actual birthday.

Often times people wonder what it is like here in Afghanistan and although I can describe life here, sometimes that is not enough. So I have come up with ten ways to feel like you are deployed to Afghanistan.

1. Avoid seeing your family for months at a time.
2. Put a porto pottie in your backyard and only use that when you need to go.
3. Don't clean the bathroom often.
4. Burn some old tires in your backyard and stand next to the fire for hours and enjoy the aroma.
5. Only live in a quarter of your bedroom.
6. When you go out put on as many clothes as possible so it is difficult to move.
7. Carry a weapon wherever you go. If you don't have a weapon, carry around a heavy metal pole.
8. While driving, drive real fast in and out of traffic and don't let other cars get too close to you, also try driving on the wrong side of the road.
9. Don't drink water from the sink and only use bottled water to brush your teeth.
10.When taking a shower, wear shower shoes (flip flops) and change the temperature from hot to cold every minute.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Back in the "Stan"

For a while there, I was having a short debate with myself about whether it was better in Afghanistan or in the US. I have confirmed it, the US is way better. I told you it was a short debate. As I began my journey from Afghanistan back to the US, way back on December 17th, it was such a hassle that it almost seemed like it would have been easier to stay in Afghanistan and just wait to come home for good. I ended up getting home on December 23rd after flying, waiting, more waiting, bus rides, more waiting, freezing, flying, did I mention waiting? As I went through the hassle, as everyone does, you really do debate whether it is worth it or not. Well it is very clearly worth it. I made it home for Christmas, Thomas' Birthday and New Year's. I had an awesome time with family and friends and I would definitely do it again. In fact in a few months I will get to do it again, as I am now less than 90 days from completing my one year in country. I will explain more about the redeployment process in future e-mails (this is the process to get back to the states, it will be longer than 90 days to get fully released from active duty).

My time home was really great, not only did I celebrate Christmas, New Year's and Thomas' birthday (played laser tag), but I did a few other great things. The family went to Disneyland and took a long walk on the beach. Our friends Gordy and Linda found a new Jazz club in San Diego called Anthology; we had a great meal and with great music.

I visited WD-40, did some shopping, and Rebecca and I were able to spend some time alone at a hotel (thanks Jeff and Heidi). And finally, I spent a good deal of time playing the Wii with the kids, it really is a fun video game. Editor's Note: Patrick also was treated to really fresh sushi a la Mark from one of his BloodyDecks friends.

We also went to see the San Diego Big Balloon parade.


We also went to brunch at Azul in La Jolla, which was wonderful.
Although my trip home and back to Afghanistan was grueling, I did get the opportunity to see my family in Dallas.

First visit with Austin Wade:
It really was a blessing to get to see them as I don't often get the opportunity to visit.

My trip back to Afghanistan took the mandatory five days. I say mandatory as it almost seems like that is the required time to travel, five days home, five days back. On the way out we had a stop in Leipzig, Germany and on the way back we had a stop in Shannon, Ireland. I ended up in Kuwait getting back and, of course, had to stay there and wait for a flight to Bagram which took a day and a half. I stayed the night in Bagram and then caught the convoy to Camp Eggers on Saturday, January 12th.

I am now back at work in the "Stan", digging out from the hundreds of e-mails and catching up with everything that is going on here. Fortunately, the team here covered for me well and the fight against terrorism continued without me. It is actually better being here than traveling, so at least I have that going for me. I am now known as a double digit midget as I am under 100 days to go until my tour is complete. I am sure time will go by quickly of course not quickly enough for Rebecca and the kids.

Happy New Year to you and all the best for 2008.

Peace to you all,

Pat