and so it begins

Not too much to report this week. I took a little trip to a Command OutPost (COP) along the border of Pakistan to meet some of my future Soldiers there and also inventory their equipment. I took a Chinook ride there in the middle of the night, stayed for about 12 hours, then came halfway back on a Canadian 'Molson' Huey and finally back to Bagram via a C-212. Quite the trip. My lasting impression is how disparate the conditions are across the battlefield here. Bagram is akin to a big city in terms of population density but also amenities. This much smaller base lacked a Post Exchange (store), and limited shower usage to once every 3 days due to a water shortage. Even so, the water was so cold that some guys resorted to microwaved bottled water to mitigate the 'suck-factor' (sorry, that's Soldier slang). As the war in Afghanistan has endured for 8 years already, I guess I expected better conditions than this. No doubt there are smaller outposts without even heat or electricity and the living conditions will trend towards even more expeditionary through the surge this summer.

The remainder of the week was spent preparing for my future company command. We start the inventory process tomorrow morning which will continue for the next 30 days. Basically I need to see every piece of physical property in the company prior to becoming responsible for the safekeeping and proper use of military equipment worth Millions of dollars. This promises to be a painful process as it means going through every one of 86 toolboxes, counting every round of ammunition on hand, seeing every radio and computer, and inspecting our many combat vehicles among other things. Please pray for diligence and patience on my part and the ability to account for everything from my counterpart. Thank you all for your continued support.