My cousin’s son letter home from Afghanistan

[scotto]

My cousin’s son is Special Forces and on his 2nd tour in Afghanistan. On Mikes 1st tour he received a bronze Star and a Silver Star with V.

I thought I would share his humor in his first e-mail home since arriving back in Afghanistan…

Hey everyone, it's time to go back to work and this is my new address. If all goes right I will be back home sometime in the month of Jan. I have the phone number for my new house but I will give it out once I move in. I will send pics of the new pad so you can see how well I am doing but let me describe it in the meantime. The driveway has new gravel to help with the dust, and the garage is so big I can park seven 4X4 trucks in it. The siding on the place needs to be replaced so I was thinking about covering the exterior walls with three layers of sandbags, it's the cool thing to do. I'm really excited about the plumbing situation, the toilets actually flush. Oh and did I mention, I have a cook that will prepare all the meals for me and my 13 house guests and the maid will do all the laundry and dusting as needed. We will have 24 hr use of the shooting range and it is about the size of Kansas. I have my flip flops, sunscreen and a new helmet to make my life easier, and if I forget anything the mall is only 15 min away. I should have everything set up by the 1st of June, it shouldn't take that long but I have to make sure that the Taliban Mail Delivery System (TMDS) is familiar with who I am. Well I will keep in touch and see you soon.

Michael XXXXXXXX
SFXXX XXXX
Camp XXXXXXXX
APO XX XXXXX

Thanks and wish me luck
Mike

[john mclaughlin]

He forgot the slim jims!

[scotto]

UP-DATE!!!!!


MICHAEL & HIS SPECIAL FORCES TEAM DEPLOYED XXX. X-X-XX BACK TO AFGHANISTAN. THIS GROUP WILL BE OPERATING IN THE XXXXX PROVINCE WHICH IS XXXX OF KABUL. THE S.F. HAS BEEN TRAINING ANA (AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY SOLDIERS) FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS TO BECOME WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE "AFGHAN COMMANDO FORCES". (xx,xxx STRONG). OUR S.F. FORCES & THE COMMANDO'S HAVE BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE IN RECENT MONTHS THROUGHOUT AFGHANISTAN. AS WE ARE WELL AWARE & YOU MAY KNOW, THE S.F. GROUP'S OPERATION'S ARE KEPT FOR THE MOST PART, OUT OF THE "DAILY NEWS". THIS DEPLOYMENT IS SCHEDULED TO LAST UNTIL XXX,XX.
WE WERE EXCITED TO HEAR FROM HIM VIA CHAT MAIL, TWICE& A LIVE TELE. CALL WHICH LASTED 15 MIN ON WED. X-XX. MIKE & HIS TEAM WERE @ THEIR FORWARDING BASE & GETTING THEIR QUARTERS ORGANIZED. THIS BASE IS 100% BETTER THAN HIS FIRE BASE "COBRA" THAT HE SPENT X MO. AT IN XXXX. SHOWERS, EATING FACILITIES, SLEEPING QUARTERS AND ETC., ARE ALL EXCELLENT (CONSIDERING THE TASK @ HAND).
MIKE & HIS TEAM WERE @ FORT XXXXX (30 MI. NO. OF BARSTOW) FOR 12 DAYS IN XXXXX, SO WE DROVE UP TO SEE THEM ON THE 28TH, SPENT A FEW HR'S VISITING BEFORE THEY WENT BACK HOME ON THE 29TH.
THE 2006 TEAM IS PRETTY MUCH INTACT, EXCEPT THEY HAVE A NEW TEAM CAPT., MEDIC, & 2 NEW OPERATORS.
FOR FATHER'S DAY, (WHICH IS NEXT MO.) WE SENT MIKE OFF WITH A NEW 17" DELL LAP-TOP WITH BUILT IN WEB-CAM, WHICH IS EXCELLENT FOR OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH HIM ALSO.
ON HIS DEPLOYMENT IN 2006, WE NOTICED ON THE MANY PICT. HE SENT VIA INTERNET, THAT HE WAS NOT WEARING A HELMET ALL THE TIME!! WE ASKED ABOUT THIS, AND HE SAID THE ARMY ISSUE DID NOT FIT WELL WITH HIS RADIO HEAD SET, SOOOOOO WE TOLD HIM TO FIND ONE THAT WOULD WORK FOR HIM, AND HE DID... IT IS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR HEAD SET COMMUNICATIONS, WE WILL BE SENDING IT OUT SOON, HE SHOULD HAVE IT BY THE 30TH. BOTH OF THESE ITEMS GIVE US A BETTER "PIECE OF MIND.!!
WITHOUT MIKE ASKING, HIS MOM MAKES SURE HE HAS SHEETS, CUSHY PILLOW & EGG CRATE BED PAD, SHAMPOO AND OTHER PERSONAL PRODUCTS!!! YOU KNOW HOW MOM'S ARE!!!. THIS STUFF IS ON IT'S WAY TODAY.
OUR COMFORT LEVEL WITH THIS DEPLOYMENT SEEMS SOMEWHAT HIGHER THAN THE LAST, WITH THE INTEGRATION OF THE ANA COMMANDOS, UNLIKE THE SMALL GROUP MISSIONS.
WELL, LETS ALL HOPE AND PRAY FOR ALL OUR TROOPS, AND THEIR SAFE RETURN.

THANKS, WE WILL KEEP ALL INFORMED,

[Woodmonkey]

Interesting, thanks Scott.

[scotto]

UPDATE ON MIKE, HE HAS BEEN TRAINING AFG ARMY TO BE COMMANDOS. IN A BASE CLOSE TO *****, THEN TAKING THEM OUT ON MISSIONS IN ******** CLOSE TO THE PAKISTAN BOARDER. EAST OF *****. HE IS DOING OK. HERE ARE SOME PIC'S.

Mike in red hat.

[Woodmonkey]

Thanks for the pics, Scott.

[john mclaughlin]

Your cousins son is a bad ass!I hope he is good at being bad!Those taliban are crafty .