If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say

I haven't really had a whole lot to say lately...mostly on purpose.  I'm trying to stick with the old saying, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."  I can be silent no longer.

How do I answer when someone back home asks "how's it going?"  Here's the conversation that rolls through my head when I'm asked that question:
"Hey, Aaron, how's it going?"
"Ah, not too bad.  I looked inside a blown up truck today.  Saw the blood splatter and bone chips still stuck to the walls.  Other than that, ya know, going great.  How's it going for you?"

Of course that's not what I say or what I write back in the email.  No one really wants to know the real answers to some of the standard questions thrown out there.  Trust me, you do not want to hear about it.  (Note: if you've asked me this question please don't think this is directed at you...it's not)

I am growing more and more disgusted with this horrible place as the days go by.  It saddens me that I feel this way.  Shouldn't I still believe in why we're here?  Let me answer that one for you....I don't!  These people don't want us here.  They will never be what we want them to be.  How much longer will we have a presence here?  How many more Marines, soldiers, sailors, or airmen are going to be hurt or killed before we're out of this mess?  Too long and too many, I'm afraid.  I wish I at least knew the name's of the guys in that truck.

I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to read about.  I needed to vent.

Heidi

It never ceases to amaze me how lucky I am to be married to the woman that I am.  I have three little ones that amplify that for me.  Every time I read about or hear a story about the heart my children have I think about how they got it from their mother.

I was not able to spend Heidi's very first Mother's Day with her and baby K-K.  I was busy invading Iraq.  Now, here I sit again, unable to spend her special day with her, in Afghanistan this time.  Most wives wouldn't put up with husbands like me.

My babies' mama.  The bearer of my children.  There's not another person out there that I'd rather be with.  She is an awesome friend, wife, and mother.  I don't tell her that often enough.

Mrs. Conger Was Not Too Happy

Mrs. Conger was not too happy to hear that I'd recently been traveling the Afghan countryside.  She knew that I was going to be off Dwyer but she did not know of my final destination, or how I was getting there.  When she asked how I was getting there I was completely honest with what I did tell her.  I told her that I would be flying to the Marjeh area.  What I purposefully left out was the convoy to the patrol base that I was going to be working from for a few days.  It was one of those times I felt the need to not speak the entire truth.  I knew that Heidi would worry more than normal if she knew I was out and about in trucks.

All went well and was quiet.  I experienced the Afghan countryside in and around the Marjeh area.  I wish I could post a lot more pictures, but I cannot do so on this forum due to operational security concerns.

 

This was the first convoy that I was a part of since the invasion of Iraq, just over 8 years ago.  This time I was in a fully armored MRAP and a MATV.  Both of those trucks can take a walloping and everyone still walks away.  They are truly amazing vehicles.

All said and done it was good to get out for a bit.  I do not like sitting behind a desk.  It definitely broke up the monotony of daily routine out here.  I know that if were up to Heidi I would stay put for the next six months!  The risk was definitely worth it though.  The purpose of the trip was to assist the grunts in their job of hunting down the enemy.  I helped give them some pretty cool tools to be able to do what they do a little better.

Please Don't Send Gummy Rings

I do love these things, but please do not send me gummy rings.  The daytime temperatures are now over a hundred degrees.  It's higher than that inside the metal shipping containers our mail is stored in.

I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to try it as is.

Also please no Skittles.  Those will be immediately thrown away.

I know, my love, it's the thought that counts!