SSG James Justice

We lost our third Soldier this past Saturday. Staff Sergeant James Justice, 32, of Grimes was killed in action in Kapisa Province while assisting with the recovery of a downed aircraft. Also injured was SPC Zachary Durham, 21, of Des Moines. Details of SPC Durham's injuries have not been publicly released at this time.

The story of this fight will come out eventually. I assure you that it is nothing short of incredible and heroic. A Troop, 1-113 CAV 's actions were indicative of what the Iowa National Guard has become known for in this War...tough, well trained Soldiers that are willing to take the fight to the enemy (For further details on this incident, see Charlie Sherpa's blog post here).

I can personally attest to A Troop's professionalism and toughness...as this is the same unit that I was co-located with at OP2 during Operation BULL WHIP. They are an enjoyable, close knit group of guys.

I didn't know SSG Justice extremely well, but we had worked together periodically back home. He was a fellow "full timer" at Camp Dodge. My memories of him are all extremely positive. He was well liked and respected by all, and one of the guys you knew you could count on. He is dearly missed.

Happy Easter.

Last Christmas, I posted that "Jesus is the reason for the season (and every other day as well). It's NOT about the tree, it's NOT about the gifts and it's NOT about the lights. It IS about the celebration of the birth of Christ" I suppose something very similar can be said of Easter...

Jesus (again) is the reason for this season (and every other day as well). It's NOT about the 'Easter' bunny, it's NOT about the 'Easter' eggs and it's NOT about that really annoying plastic 'Easter' grass that you'll find under your couch the next time you vacuum. It IS about the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Happy Easter to everyone, wherever in the world you are reading this from.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going" John 14:1-4.

BULL WHIP Part 10

This is going to be a bit of a random post, as I'm trying really hard to wrap up the BULL WHIP posts...First off, here are some links to articles I found regarding the operation.

Beginning the first night of the operation, we noticed that almost ALL the F-15 pilots we were talking to were females. Later, I ran across this article after returning from the operation.

Des Moines Register article on BULL WHIP.

101st AIRBORNE's webpage article on BULL WHIP.

101st AIRBORNE's webpage with an article focused on the aviation unit (TASK FORCE PHOENIX) that inserted us. TF PHOENIX was absolutely awesome to work with.

101st AIRBORNE's webpage with an article on the Division Commander's visit to OP2. Some of you may recognize the Captain in the second picture of the article.

Also, even more pics to share...

Battle tracking.

Hanging out.

Day 5. Sunburnt, lips chapped, tired and hungry while trying to make honest recommendations to the Commander about when to end the operation...instead of saying..."Ya know Sir, I think our work here is done! Now let's go back to Bagram! This place is starting to suck!"

Staff Sergeant Lester from Alpha Troop 1/113 CAV, the unit that provided our security (along with the Afghan National Army). SSG Lester was in charge of the mortar tube, and did some awfully impressive shooting...glad he's on our side.

Mustaches rule.

76%

Not that I'm watching the clock...17 days until I go home on leave...plus 28 days to complete in Afghanistan after I return from leave...equals 45 days left in Afghanistan.

tough duty.

For some reason, this quote stuck with me all day today, and I couldn't shake the image that it had conjured up from out of my mind. I ran across it in a Des Moines Register article covering the funeral of Specialist Donald Nichols, who was killed last week while on patrol outside of Mehtar Lam in Laghman Province.

Joe Nichols was in Kandahar at the time of his brother's death, and accompanied Donald's casket back to the United States. He wrote the following while in the air on an Air Force cargo plane making it's way to Dover, Delaware...

"We were supposed to come home together and tell stories and joke about the things that only we could understand. If I would have known that I was going to be 10,000 feet in the air, on a plane with my little brother's body under my feet, I would go back to every time we ever got a chance to talk to each other and tell him how much I respected and loved him. And he should never look up to me, but I should look up to him because he is a true hero."

I can't imagine how difficult that plane ride must have been for Joe Nichols.

"N" is for Knowledge

Anyone who knows Jessica's Uncle Gary and Aunt Pat knows that when mail arrives, you're never quite sure what's going to be inside. I received a box from them the other day, and was surprised that it was quite "normal." Animal crackers, pub mix and peanut butter stuffed pretzels...very good snacks, thanks guys.

And then I looked a little closer...sure enough, they had used a newspaper dated January 2nd, 1995 to cushion the contents. The pages were all crumpled up, except the front page...

Did I mention they're BIG Nebraska fans? Anyway, I thought they would appreciate knowing that this newspaper article from 16 years ago has begun it's travel toward Kabul, where the Nebraska National Guard has a Battalion that came over here with us (RED BULLS). I'm sure they'll find a prominent spot on the wall for it.

BULL WHIP Part 9

More pics to share...

Breakfast...coffee, crackers, oysters and spray cheese.

ANA Soldier assisting COL Corell with tying off his poncho.

ANA Soldiers inside their bunker.

The ANA insisted that I see their bunker, and critique it. They did a great job on it, and I told them so. Yes, at this point (day 4 or 5, I was starting to get sun burned...bad).

These flowers were everywhere, although I'm not sure what it's called. It appeared to only grow at the higher altitude on top of Magic Mountain (later, when we went to the valley floor, I didn't see any of these growing). The ANA showed us how to dig them up and eat the bulb that was located at the roots.

The inside of the bulbs were hard to get to...it was like trying to get into a small coconut.

The edible part of the plant. It tasted like a walnut. Not bad, but not very filling.

reminder..

April 23rd is the benefit for Corporal Adam Eilers. A link to how you can assist is here: http://www.redbullrising.com/2011/04/april-23-fund-raiser-for-injured-red.html

Sisyphus Understands Part 2

Planner Truisms:

• Indecision is the key to flexibility.
• You can’t tell which way the train went by looking at the track.
• There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.
• The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant.
• Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for.
• Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
• Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.
• If you think there is good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody.
• All things being equal, fat people use more soap.
• If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
• Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t.
• Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
• Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
• For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
• No one is listening until you make a mistake.
• Success always occurs in private and failure in full view.
• The hardness of the head is directly proportional to the rank of the individual.
• To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
• You never really learn to swear until you have worked as a planner.
• The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.
• Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
• If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of suspenses.
• Borrow money from pessimists-they don’t expect it back.

BULL WHIP on AKO

COL Corell made the front of AKO while at OP2...along with the "Mapper-Keeper!"

BULL WHIP Part 8

Days 3 and 4 of BULL WHIP brought with it some interesting weather, and miserable conditions. Temperatures fluctuated rapidly between 60 and 85 degrees. The sun was relentless when it was out, while the wind BLEW. We also encountered rain, snow, hail and fog.

Clouds rising up from the valley floor, engulfing OP2.

Snow

UH-60 with resupply sneaking in during a 'break' in the weather.

Trying to stay out of the elements.

"Waterproofing" a fighting position.

Lt Col filler climbing inside of a garbage bag for warmth. I think he later regretted packing so light. Later that night, he was in radio contact with a B1B Lancer. He was having a hard time hearing them, and explained that he was inside a garbage bag getting hailed on. They laughed and said they were glad we had some ice to go with our drinks. I couldn't help but wonder if it was Butters and Joker up there.

Hail

Fog/Clouds

ANA bunker

Sisyphus Understands Part 1

I have to admit, when MAJ Edwards and I began this deployment in the Brigade Plans section over a year ago, I had no idea just how painful military planning can be. Military planning is at times administrative torture, and can be exhausting due to both it's scope and level of detail. It can be thankless, frustrating and necessary all at the same time.

Shortly before leaving Iowa, I informed my boss at my regular job that I had just been moved into the Brigade Plans section. Soon after informing him of this, he emailed me a document titled "Sisyphus Understands." (In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity. The word "sisyphean" means "endless and unavailing, as labor or a task." (Wikipedia)) Oh boy I thought, this can't be a good sign.

I've read through this document several times now, and can't get through it without laughing out loud. In fact, it gets funnier every time I read it, particularly because I continue to associate more and more of the quotes and truisms with things that MAJ Edwards and I have personally experienced on this deployment. It also gives me some peace of mind knowing that many others have come before us, and experienced similar pain. Below are some of the ones that jump out in relation to this deployment...Part 1.

Tips for bosses of military planners:

Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 1800 hours (6pm) and then bring it to me. The challenge of a deadline is refreshing.

If it’s really a “rush job,” run in and interrupt me every 10 minutes inquire how it’s going. That helps. Or even better, hover behind me.

Always leave without telling anyone where you’re going. It gives me a chance to be creative when someone asks where you are.

If my arms are full of papers, boxes, books, or supplies, don’t open the door for me. I need to learn to function as a paraplegic and opening doors with no arms is good training.

If you give me more than one job to do, don’t tell me which is the priority. I am psychic.

Do your best to keep me late. I adore this office and really have nowhere to go or anything to do. I have no life beyond work.

If a job I do pleases you, keep it a secret. If that gets out, it could mean a promotion.

If you don’t like my work, tell everyone. I like my name to be popular in conversations. I was born to be whipped.

If you have special instructions for a job, don’t write them down. In fact, save them until the job is almost done. No use confusing me with useful information.

Wait until my annual evaluation report, THEN tell me what my goals SHOULD have been. Give me a mediocre performance rating. I’m not here for the money anyway.

what you can do *updated*

A good friend "Charile Sherpa" has taken the lead on consolidating information for how you can assist the families of our 2 fallen Soldiers, as well as the 8 seriously wounded Soldiers from this deployment.

His blog is: http://www.redbullrising.com (great blog by the way!)

Or you can link direct to the "Help Our Soldiers" page here.

tough news...again.

Unfortunately, we lost our second Soldier this past Wednesday. SPC Donald Nichols, 21, of Shell Rock was killed while on patrol not far from Mehtar Lam. His vehicle was was hit by an IED. SPC Timothy Gourd, 24, of Prescott was injured. SPC Nichols' uncle is over here with us (RED BULLS), and his brother was in Kandahar at the time of his death with another unit. The sacrifice that some families are making for this War is substantial. Both Soldiers were veterans of Operation BULL WHIP, and many other operations and missions within Laghman Province.

The Des Moines Register article is here.

BULL WHIP Part 7

Many more pics to share from the first couple of days of BULL WHIP.

UH-60 making it's way through the mountains.

Afghan National Army (ANA) Soldier.

Henddor Village. Mostly unchanged from biblical times.

Galuch side of Magic Mountain. In case you're wondering, these are mainly Opium/Poppy fields. The villagers probably do not profit much from this crop. However by the time this reaches the United States, Europe and other Western Countries, the crops out of the Galuch will sell for hundreds of millions of dollars in their final form...Heroin.

The command post (CP) at OP2.

Lizard/Gecko looking animal. We encountered spiders and scorpions too. In case you're curious, if you put a scorpion into a water bottle with 2 spiders, the scorpion will when every time.

ANA Soldier cleaning his rifle.

Sling Load being rigged. All supplies were sling loaded in, while all trash, etc. was sling loaded out. (Sling loads are cargo that is attached beneath helicopters)

Me hanging out.

Our kitchen. MREs, water, pop-tarts, CLIF bars. We also brought along a propane tank and kettle for making coffee and tea.

SSG Bryant helping an ANA Soldier clean his rifle.

One of our sling loads was dropped a little off the mark, and we had to go down the mountain slightly to get it. In the process, someone hit one of the trip flares we had set-up.

Me, tired.

Me, patrolling on Magic Mountain.

fire gas...take two.

Many of you know the story of what happened soon after I left Iowa last July. Jessica attempted to put gas in the riding lawn mower, only later to discover that she had instead filled it with diesel. She did this despite a fair warning from our 4 year old who asked..."Mommy, why are you putting fire gas (I use diesel for burning brush on our acreage, Grant calls it fire gas) in the mower? That's not how Daddy does it." In the end, no harm no foul. Rass and Josh saved the day (again) by draining the mower, changing some plugs and getting it working again.

When I woke up this morning Jess had sent me the picture below, along with an explanation. She was attempting to burn a very small patch of ornamental grass in our front yard (I burn ever year to keep the weeds down), when the fire got away from her and spread down the road and into the adjacent timber. One Sheriff and THREE firetrucks later, the fire was under control.

Jess, just what in the heck am I going to do with you?

my protesters.

As I mentioned last week, it was very disheartening to see the military used as a bargaining chip the way it was during the budget stand-off. Members of both sides of the political aisle are to blame, and should be ashamed. I firmly stand by what I said previously in questioning just what in the heck is going on back home. Although I am seriously beginning to question the commitment of some people, there is one group I know who will always have our back...

Proudly pictured below is my family. Even though my family would have weathered the absence of a few paychecks okay, they still went forward (along with several other families) to the Federal building in Des Moines and stuck up for what is right for the military as a whole.

There are many, many budget battles and stand-offs yet to come. Because of this, Jess has decided to keep close tabs on the lobbying efforts to bring a bill into law that will ensure the military is paid during situations such as we saw last week. Rest assured, I will inform you if there is anything you can do to assist (petitions, letters, etc.).

Last (and before it occurs), a flood of emails or comments on here expressing your commitment to the military is not necessary. We know the type of commitment we have from our families, friends and readers of this blog.

Grant: "Pay my Daddy!"
Jess: "They fight for freedom, not for free!"
Brynna: "I haven't seen my dad for half my life, now you're giving him half his pay!?!?"

Contact Jess if you want to hear the story of how her meeting with some congressional staffers went. Very interesting.

what you can do.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had several people over here mention they were provided the link to this blog...which means readership in the States is probably growing as well. I extend a big "hello" to all new readers.

Many times leading up to this deployment, people approached Jessica and I and told us to let them know if there was anything they could do. I think we have reached the point where we would like to cash in on some of those offers. This will also be an opportunity to pull everyone, old and new readers, in on a cause you can impact beginning today.

The snow in the mountain passes continues to melt over here, allowing insurgents to flood back into our Area of Operations. This influx of insurgents brings with it the annual spring offensive, and added danger to our Soldiers.

So, here's what you can do to support:

1) Pray. I know I mention that a lot on here, but it's because it's the most important, most effective thing you can do. I'm not talking about adding in a sentence or two while your thanking God for your mashed potatoes...I'm talking about real-get-on-your-knees-and-mean-it-type-prayer. Our Soldiers are entering the most dangerous period of this deployment. Most have been home for leave, and are (like me) beginning to count the days. They need the strength to maintain their focus as this begins to come to a close, especially in the face of recent attacks. I can tell you from my experience, there is nothing more difficult than climbing back into a vehicle over here after an IED or ambush, and staying focused on your mission. Bravo Company 168 is already back on patrol, and I know events from a couple of days ago weighs heavily on them and their families.

2) Donate. Recent weeks have seen some severe attacks over here. In February, a very large IED injured several RED BULLS members. One of these Soldiers is Corporal Adam Eilers. Adam sustained multiple injuries, to include possible brain damage. There is a benefit scheduled for him on April 23rd. There is also a facebook site set up at: ADAM PATRICK EILERS BENEFIT.

I'll do my best to keep you informed if/when opportunities arise for the recently injured 168 Soldiers. Thank you for your support.

tough news.

By now, I'm sure many of you are aware of the news that TF RED BULLS lost our first Soldier of this deployment. SPC Brent Maher died of injuries sustained after his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Paktia Province. I attended the ramp ceremony yesterday morning, along with many other members of TF RED BULLS. Ramp ceremonies always put things into perspective very quickly...even for deployed Soldiers.

Three other Soldiers were wounded. SFC Nicholas Jedlicka, SPC Justin Christiansen and SPC Dustin Morrison. Ironically, all were members of 1st Platoon Bravo Company 1-168 IN...the Platoon I led in Afghanistan on my last deployment. 1st Platoon (based out of Shenandoah) has always been a gritty bunch. They will continue on with the mission, same as they did 6 years ago. They are true professionals, with an NCO corps that is top notch.

Aside from my fond memories of 1st Platoon, this one hit close to home, as I know SFC Jedlicka and have worked him in the past. I first met "Jed" in the early 2000's prior to my first deployment to Afghanistan. Jed was a member of the headquarters unit, working in supply. He deployed with us as part of TASK FORCE 168 in 2004, working in our logistical cell that had self titled their section the "Black Sheep." The Black Sheep consisted of CPT Benda (who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel very recently), SSG Jay Glick (who died last July) and Jed. They were a good group of guys, who had the tough mission of pushing supplies our way early in the war when such processes were not very well in place. They also had the even tougher mission of making us feel content with what we received. I never envied their duty.

Following the TASK FORCE 168 deployment, I had the opportunity to attend Pathfinder School at Ft. Benning, Georgia in early 2006. MAJ Tim Sulzner and I studied for weeks leading up to the school, departing Iowa mid-morning on a Saturday prior to the course beginning very early on Monday morning. While driving to Georgia, my cell phone rang. It was Jed. He explained that he was just accepted into the school, and was on his way. He said he would probably need assistance with where to go and how to check in since he hadn't had much time to prepare. I told him no problem. What I didn't tell him was that I thought he was wasting his time, as most successful graduates of Pathfinder School are usually the ones who show up familiar with the extreme course load.

Over the course of the next 3 weeks, Jed consistently showed a unique level of talent. The three of us from Iowa would meet up in the afternoons after a day full of classes, prepared to study late into the night. While the Officers (Sulzner and myself), who had prepared for weeks prior to the school studied into the night, Jed was usually done around 8pm, headed back to his room to relax. In the end, Sulzner and I flunked out of the course while Jed went on to graduate with nearly perfect grades.

SFC Wrage and I visited Jed and SPC Morrison yesterday at the hospital here on BAF. They have a long recovery in front them. Your prayers for all involved are needed, as well as for our Brigade as a whole. We are now back into the fighting season, and we undoubtedly have some similarly tough days ahead.

BULL WHIP Part 6

More pictures to share from Days 1 & 2. We spent the majority of our time observing with binoculars and managing the operation with radios.

Watching video feeds of the operation, what an awesome resource to have. We had multiple ways of obtaining the video, but I probably shouldn't mention the methods here.

Me, observing operations in the valley, and trying to stay out of the sun.

Me again.

Scout position at OP2, complete with an M240B machine gun.

Sniper position on OP2, complete with a Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle, which has an effective range of over a mile.

COL Corell.