Welcome Home Brad!

Welcome Home Brad!!

Back in the states!

Back to the States by the end of July!

Had a call from Brad today.  Great to hear his voice, as always.  No specifics -- and there may not be any specifics until right before it happens - but it looks like he will be back in Georgia near the end/before the end of July!  He will spend some period of time there, and then be able to come home/visit anywhere in the states between August 9th and September 9th before resuming his duties at Fort Stewart.  Woo hoo! 

Had a call from Brad

He sounded really upbeat despite the fact that he's living in a tent, it's 100 degrees (or feels like it or worse), and he's eating only MREs.  I think he is starting to get info about coming home logistics -- which is awesome!  Still a ways off -- later this summer -- but great for us all to think about!

Heard from Brad

He is well. He has moved. Nearest area on the map is Nangarhar. Tents are all set up. No Internet for the next 4-6 weeks at least, but he will hopefully be able to make a quick "I'm doing OK" phone call about once a week. It was a short call, but great to hear his voice.

Mother's Day Brad Update

The whole family had a chance for a video Skype with Brad on Mother's Day -- which made this mother very happy!  The kids were excited too.

I found out a little more about where he will be starting soon (still don't know when "soon" is).

There will be about 24 guys.  They will start out living in big tents that sleep 12+ -- 2 for them and 1 for "meetings".  Other gear will be what I picture to be shipping crates that you would see on the back of a train or ship.  They will have generators for power and they will have water -- but no internet, at least at first.  They won't have a cook, but I didn't get a clear picture of whether they would have MREs or more...

I will share more details if I hear them.

Love,
Piper

Had a Skype with Brad -- see picture!

Had a real Skype talk with Brad -- with picture and voice and everything!  He looks good -- and you can see his smile too!

He has left FOB Ripley and moved to an interim location before leaving for his new village soon.  He is in the Nangarhar Province.  Now he is near Jalalabad, and will be moving close to Chapahar soon.   He is with a group of about 60 guys now.  He has some internet and basic amenities now, but does not think he will have much of anything once he moves.  Sadly, he doesn't think he will be able to get any mail for the foreseeable future. 

Will forward any new updates I get. 

Funny Story...

Brad has apparently had his driving privileges on base revoked....

It seems he ran an armored vehicle into a wall.  Perhaps images seemed smaller than they appeared in his rear view mirror??  The vehicle was fine.  The wall, not so much.

BUT, one of Brad's jobs when they go out on missions is to drive the armored vehicle.  So what do they do?  His buddy drives it to the gate, they switch drivers and go.  Same thing on the return.  I find this very funny!

Brad's Bracket

Talked to Brad yesterday.  Great to hear his voice, as always.  No new news.  Still at least a couple of weeks away until his move to the village.  He was a little behind in his March madness updates, so filled him in on ACC news.  He filled out his NCAA bracket which I have posted here... glad he can do some of the "normal" things like this from there. 


Brad's NCAA Bracket

 

March updates!

Happy to report that I have talked to Brad a couple of times!! Yes, talked! He actually got a phone.

He gave me some updates in an IM chat a few days ago, and then we have had 2 quick phone chats. The first abruptly ended when he lost signal (I found out later), and the 2nd when he ran out of minutes. I guess it's not shocking that cell phone coverage where he is is not optimal, and minutes not unlimited.

He said that even though there is a lot more comforts at the big base, he has missed certain aspects of his VSP stint. I guess ping pong and a PX don't fully make up for the required increase in saluting, shaving, and hair-cutting required when a bunch of colonels are walking around. Talking to him made me think a little bit about old episodes of MASH... He spends a lot of time on gate guard - long shifts watching the Afghani soldiers guard the gate it sounds like.

He told me tonight that within a few weeks he will leave TK and move to another VSP village for the rest of his deployment. He thinks it's safe to send a package for another week or so, but after that best to hold off until he has a new address. Of course, all of this could change...

It was great to hear his voice. He sounded pretty upbeat, and I am certainly more chipper after the recent uptick in communication.

More later!

Finally we connected!

Had a quick IM with Brad this morning - the first in a WHILE! He didn't have a camera or mic - but he could see and hear Sawyer an I. He is well. At TK - a large base. It must be at a lot lower elevation, as the weather is much more temperate - he says up to 80 during the day. No more hats and wooly socks. The main job sounds monotonous - largely comprised of 12 hour guard shifts. He says he is well and misses everyone.

New Address

Brad has moved to the base.  It is FOB Ripley.  He says there are a lot more people and amenities there.  Not sure what his mission will be, and still no details on the reason for the move.  Will hopefully have more details soon. 

His new address is very similar to the old one -- just without the addition of VSP information. 

PFC JACKSON, CHARLES
FOB RIPLEY
SOTF-SE
APO AE 09380

I know he would love to hear from any of you out there.  He does check facebook occasionally.  More later.

Move Update

I did hear from Brad. He is moving from the village he was in to a base. Not sure why, but will follow up with address and details when I have them!

January Update: Brad has moved - Not sure to where...

Its been a while since my last update.  I have not spoken with Brad much since that Christmas update.  Did have a couple of quick IMs in early January, and caught him online for just a minute on January 13th where he said they were "breaking down", and would not be in that location for much longer.  He had to sign off before giving any more details, and I have not seen him online since.  Will send an update when I know more.  In the meantime, don't send any more packages until I know if he has a new address, or if his prior one will still work.  More as soon as I know it...