Pictures from Afghanistan 2006 – 2007

Without commentary.

Pictures from February 2006 – June 2007.

Northeastern Afghanistan.

Extension

Such a sad, sad word.

Today as Clay’s unit prepared to enter into their 12th month of deployment and members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team arrived home at Fort Drum, New York, the Army announced that the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division will have at least a 4 month extension on their 12 month deployment to Afghanistan.

While watching 90210 (yes, 90210…it is on the SOAP network…I can’t help it….it is a vice) yesterday evening, I worked diligently cutting the letters to spell WELCOME HOME CLAY for my flag/banner I was making to display when he was to arrive home the second week of February (pictured above…a work in progress). The ‘Things To Do Before Clay Arrives’ list is about 75% finished and I have started to grocery shop for his favorites so I can have the shelves stocked when he arrives. I have imagined our homecoming countless times while daydreaming and drifting off to sleep at night. Homecoming seemed so close…5% to go, a figure that seemed within reach and do-able.

Clay will not return home in February.

This afternoon I received a phone call from my friend Fran who broke the news of the extension. An hour later Clay called as I was driving towards Fort Drum to attend the briefing about the extension. He told me to pull over because he had something to tell me not knowing that I already knew. Between the tears I told him (while trying to convince myself) that everything will be okay and just how much I love and miss him.

The situation is very similar to what the Stryker Brigade experienced back in the fall while deployed to Iraq so I keep telling myself that we are neither the only ones nor the first to go through this wretched experience known as extension. As broken as I feel, I can’t even imagine how the soldiers are absorbing the news. It has not been a secret that the 3rd Brigade Combat Team has had a rough time battling the insurgents in Afghanistan with many US casualties and many more wounded. The men and women that have arrived home or are en route to the United States will have to run around and deploy back to Afghanistan.

Sigh.

Words can’t even begin to describe just how upset and angry I am at the fact that Clay is not coming home and that I have another four months of worrying ahead of me, I am also upset because I see no hope. I don’t have the answer to Iraq or Afghanistan but things are not working. How did this all happen? Are American, Iraqi, and Afghani lives worth it? Again, when will enough be enough? I am really trying to remain positive. In the grand scheme of things, the news could have been a lot worse. It is just starting to become difficult to accept the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hopefully this pit in my stomach starts to shrink or it will be a long four months.

* Originally posted at The Sour Patch Kid Experiment (deleted 2007) on January 26, 2007. Recovered courtesy of waybackmachine.com in 2012.

…all gave some, some gave all…

I had never cried harder on the phone with Clay than I did yesterday. In fact, up until 11:00am yesterday, I had managed to refrain from crying while on the phone with Clay during the deployment.

A friend of my husband and a friend loved by all ‘the girls,’ gave his all on Sunday in the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan. Describe by my husband as “the most intelligent and well-liked Lieutenant in the unit,” Lt. Ben Keating volunteered to go on a dangerous mission and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

Moments after I made the previous post about the dreaded phone call, my friend Jackie called and informed me through her tears that Ben was the reason that the call chain was activated mid-morning. I instantly thought back to Saturday evening when Jackie and I were ice-skating side by side talking about how we are in the homestretch of the deployment but the risk is still ever present. All I could think about is how awful for Ben to pay the ultimate price to remind everybody of the dangers of war and the risk involved.

Still at work, I cried as silently as I could in my office while letting the news soak in. I was numbingly searching the Internet for news of the incident when my cell phone rang with an unrecognizable number. As soon as I said hello and heard the delay of Clay’s voice, I fell apart. I let 10 months of built up fear, worry, dread, terror, and anxiety go. 10 months of ‘staying strong’ and ‘keeping my chin up’ flew out the window as I repeatedly told my husband how much I miss him, how much I love him, and how much I just want him safe and home. I selfishly cried for myself because Clay and Ben are both XO’s and Ben’s death was a reminder that no job is 100% safe when at war; I selfishly cried happy tears because I was able to talk to my husband; and I cried tears of guilt because Ben’s parents were not able to talk to their beloved son. I also cried for the seven other men of 3-71 Cavalry who lost their lives as part of Operation Enduring Freedom VII.

“…all gave some, some gave all…”
The Brave Men of 3-71 Cavalry

* Originally posted at The Sour Patch Kid Experiment (deleted 2007) on November 28, 2006. Recovered courtesy of waybackmachine.com in 2012.