FOB Smart at 2130 - Monday
After nearly 200 days, including my first R&R, I am pleased to pronounce that having been here has, for me, been a privilege, an honor, an inspiration, and an incredible journey. I should say that living in this land is nothing short of magical and transforming. I have many more days, weeks, and months to go, but right now, in this moment, I am incredibly grateful for the experiences and encounters I have lived through. Many more wonders await me, but next up is another R&R and another grand time with my young son.
Today we completed yet another wonderful mounted combat patrol with a dismounted foot patrol through two small villages, including Bakurzai, which is just south of Qalat in Zabul Province. The children there were terrific and although I have already given away all of the sweets and treats sent to me for the local children by my mother, I had left a few toothbrushes and energy bars, which they of course enjoyed just as much. Bakurzai sits atop the west banks of the Tarnak River and is a lovely hamlet of no more than 20 families. We met with several village elders during our visit there and were constantly swarmed and surrounded by their children, boys and girls alike.
I wake to very chilly mornings now, frosty air quite visible with each exhalation, and am happy for the respite from the long and hot summer. A cup of hot chocolate sounds good right about now, but walking to the DFAC does not, so it will have to wait for morning, although coffee will likely replace the sweet drink. I will once more hold my son in now less than 17 days and I am excited beyond words.
143, Kaesen.
Good night and good day.
