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.