A Postcard To Jerry
A couple weekends ago, Dawn and I attended a “going away” BBQ at friends Jerry and Cheryl Glance’s home. Jerry is what I casually call a “bomb tech”; his job is associated with disarming explosive devises. It’s dangerous work and, while I often kid him about it (see my April ‘07 post), I’m well aware of just how serious it really is.
Jerry’s also a Reservist where he does essentially the same thing and, as luck would have it, he was recently called for EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) duty in Afghanistan. He left a week ago Monday for Begram Air Base, a militarized airport located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province where he’ll do what he does best — disarm and deactivate IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). If my geography is correct, Begram is about 27 miles from Kabul which puts him right smack in harm’s way.
So the going away party was for Jerry, and many of the guys in his unit and their wives were there to give him a fitting send-off. And it was a grand get-together with wonderful friends and neighbors. Yet despite all the food, laughter and camaraderie, the seriousness of the occasion was also present and weighed heavily on everyone, especially Cheryl.
So we promised to help watch over her until his safe return. We’ll keep Jerry in our prayers and ask that you keep him in yours as well. While he’s in Afghanistan, he’s agreed to send me photos of what he sees — the local people, guys he works with, whatever he finds of interest — and I’ll post them on this site. And when he returns, I’m sure he’ll have lots of stories to share as well!
Be safe, Jerry. And remember: Pray (hard).
Doug
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God bless you Jerry and all our troops in harms way for your service to our country.
I wish your friend a safe return. May God watch over him during his service and his family while he is away.
U.S. officials now agree that we need more troops in Afghanistan. There are currently 32,000 U.S. troops backed by some 25,000 allied troops under NATO command, in total roughly 37 percent of force levels in Iraq. As President Bush has said, there should be another 20,000 marines in Afghanistan. We have the ability to win from the combat standpoint, but we don’t have enough troops there to hold. And that is key to being able to succeed in Afghanistan.
I read that 9 Marines were killed in a coordinated attack in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar near the Pakistan border. I hope that your friend wasn't near that area during the attack.
I see the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, will now be based in the Gulf of Oman where its F-18A fighter/bombers will have access to southern Afghanistan, and beyond, via overflights of Pakistan. And last month, President Bush announced his intentions to bolster US ground forces in Afghanistan by two Regimental Combat Teams before July 2009. That move would increase US ground forces there to roughly 40,000, up from the present level of 31,000. However, he's since acknowledged the tough time in Afghanistan, suggesting more troops could be in country by the end of the year.
Late to the party, Obama held a press release last week saying that he wants to pull 10,000 troops from Iraq so as to be able to add that number in Afghanistan. Either way, I am glad to see us beefing up in Afghanistan where I guys certainly can use the help. Your friend is probably part of the buildup. God bless and protect him and all our troops.
June was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the conflict began. More U.S. and NATO troops have died in the past two months in Afghanistan than in Iraq with triple the U.S. and coalition forces. In June, 28 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan. That was the highest monthly total of the entire war, which began in October 2001.
God bless your friend for serving country to protect freedom. Afghanistan is not a place I would want to be. Thank goodness we have a proud military willing to carry the water for us.
God bless all our troops! God bless America!
Oorah! Glad to have you!
We will keep him in our prayers, Doug.
How long is his tour of duty?
God bless our troops and bring them all safely home.
We will keep your friend and all his comrades in our prayers. Thank you to all our troops who put themselves in harms way so that we don't have to. There is nothing more awesome than the American soldier!
A big thanks to your friend! Be safe!
Kermit, I believe his tour on this rotation will be six months.
God bless all our troops in harm's way.
God bless you and all our troops and a big THANK YOU for doing the dirty work so we can remain free and safe.