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...

Merry Christmas Update!

Hello All,

Had a nice Christmas Eve chat with Brad -- and he sends his Merry Christmas best wishes to all of you!

He woke up Christmas Eve to 12 packages!  He had had mail only once, and it had been a couple of weeks -- so this was a great Christmas surprise.  Hats (warm and the santa-variety), long underwear, LOTS of snacks and sweets, and even a few things that he says he can barter for guard duty shifts!  Thanks to all of you who have sent things his way.  

He had light duty for Christmas, which was nice, and was anticipating a Christmas dinner that was to include some locally captured ducks -- very interested to hear how that was! Will include an update on that in my next post if I hear anything.

Weather update

ouch!  looks cold! hope the hat comes soon!

Update - with picture!

Had 2 quick chats with Brad -- one yesterday morning and one this morning. 

Finally learned how to take a screen shot on Skype!

He sounded good.  There is a lot he can't tell us about what he is doing, but I did hear a little more about what its like for him there. 

In the middle of our chat this morning he said, "Don't freak out -- you are about to hear something kind of loud."  Then came the rat-a-tat of gunfire.  He assured me that was just guys firing at the range.  Only practice -- but I take it that's a sound he hears a lot.

I asked about exercise.  In their compound they have a pretty well-equipped gym!  He says there are a couple of elliptical machines, pull up bars, free weights, a bench press... I would have guessed that if he were at a real base, but was surprised that there would be a lot of equipment where he is. 

I was also surprised to hear that there are also some dogs and cats running around the compound.  Yesterday he was holding a really cute puppy, belonging to the interpreter.  I think the cats are more strays/wild.  I think its kind of cool that there is something so normal there.

More later.  Let me know if you have questions you want me to ask him.  You can add a comment here, or send me an email.  My email address for those who don't have it handy is piper.beveridge@gmail.com.  Also, if you subscribe to this blog by email, you will get an email every day that there is a post the previous day -- so you don't have to remember to come here and check for new posts.  Feel free to forward this to others who might be interested.

Piper

December 4th Update

Hello all!  Had a good Skype chat with Brad Monday evening.  It had been a while (since the last posting) since we were able to connect.  It was 5:30 a.m. his time – he was about to go on a 3-hour guard duty stint.  He came back online briefly after his shift in time to IM a little during the last few minutes of the Redskins/Giants game – he was VERY excited to hear the blow-by-blow of our victory from Mike!

He is doing well, though he looked cold!  By the way – I love technology!  I feel VERY lucky to be able to get a glimpse of his face from so far away!  I will try to capture a screen shot next time and post it. 

No more real snow there (other than a dusting), and I think he has been doing more carpentry than he anticipated.  He has worked on a few more roofs and done other work to shore up his living area for winter.  He says the food is pretty good –better than expected.  They have a cook.  To date, he has not spent a lot of time in the village, and my sense is that they spend all of their free time in their fenced in “compound”.  I hope to ask more about his daily routine (or what he can share of it) the next time we talk. 

He reports no mail yet, but I know he will be thrilled when the things you have sent or are packaging up start to arrive.  A number of you have asked what he would like sent his way.  He says he doesn’t NEED anything specific.  In terms of things he would like, treats and things to pass the time would be welcome and appreciated.  He has internet, but the connection is VERY slow, so its not possible to download a movie or watch a streaming TV show.  He would love physical movies – and I know a few are on the way in Xmas packages being prepared right now.  He has his computer that plays DVDs – not sure it will play Blu-Ray… so until confirmed stick to the regular DVD format.  Magazines and Su-do-ku or other puzzles would also be good ideas.  I know he would also like snacks and sweets.  He loves Pringles – regular and sour cream & onion are his favs.  He likes chocolate – but not nuts.  Chocolate is also tricky b/c though it’s cold where he is, it’s possible that packages can sit in a hot place, and M&Ms can withstand the heat, but other chocolate could melt.  Beef Jerky, gum, Swedish fish, other chips/pretzels, drink mixes, would all be great.  There are some prohibitions – no pork products, no alcohol, no “lewd” materials (so even the Feb Sports Illustrated might be a problem I have heard…).  For you online shoppers, you can ship directly to an APO address from Amazon.com – and they have a category of items called “add-on items” that they won’t sell alone, but will sell if “added on” to another shipment.  I sent a 12-pack of gum with a hat – and if you have Amazon Prime, the shipping is free and they do the customs form.  I don’t know if they have Pringles as an add-on item – but they might!

Brad asked that I send his love to everyone.  More later!

Post-Thanksgiving Update

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We Skyped with Brad this morning.  It was great to see his face!

I'm happy to report that he had a full Thanksgiving meal yesterday - turkey, ham (surprised about that given the prohibition on sending pork products via package), stuffing, and a table full of desserts.

He posted on facebook that he spent a lot today building roofs for the huts where he and his fellow soldiers live -- and that it snowed!  Snow in the desert. Yes.  When we talked he said it really just dusted where he is, but the surrounding mountains are capped with snow.  He also elaborated on the need for the roof.  They have flat roofs now -- but are building a slanted roof b/c there can be a lot of snow there in the winter and a flat roof would not be able to hold it.  

Brad sends his love to everyone, and a special "Happy Birthday" to Nana.  

More later.

Brad Reached His Village

Had literally 30 seconds of skype time with Brad today.  The internet connection was not great -- but I did get to see his face.  He reached his village.  Hopefully I will be able to share more of an update in the next couple of days.  When I talked to him a week or so ago, he thought his first two weeks in the village would be a lot of transition work with the group of soldiers that have been in place -- and after that he will get into whatever his routine will be.  More later.

Brad Update - Sunday November 18th

Brad is well.

I had a chance to IM with him via Skype this morning for a good amount of time.  He is 9 1/2 hours ahead of us on the east coast.  The kids and I were all peppering him with questions.  He doesn't have his computer yet -- so no camera or mic -- so just IM today.  Hopefully we will be able to see and hear him in the near future -- but even the IM conversation was pretty cool.

Sawyer was marveling at how fast we could go back and forth from across the world.

He is not yet at his final destination, but has moved from the base to a small village where he and his unit are training with their Special Forces counterparts. 

His unit has a cook with him -- so he says he is eating pretty well.  We were wondering if he was on a steady diet of MREs, but he says no.  Mostly stews and rice. 

No running water however -- so no showers... 

There are goats and donkeys wandering around everyone, and he says the really little kids all ride around on the donkeys.  We asked if he thought he was eating goat and donkey stew -- he said he didn't think so... he insists the food is airlifted in.

On that point, he said that anything anyone sends will eventually be air-dropped to him -- from 35,000 feet!  So pack things well! 

More later.  He asked that I send love to everyone. 

P