Hello everyone!  This new blog will be an outlet for me to let all of you know how I am doing and what is happening in my life as I complete my deployment to Afghanistan.

As I write this first post I am putting my last minute things together as I get ready for bed.  Tomorrow morning I have a 06:56 departure on United Airlines for Baltimore.  From there I will be catching a military transport plane bound (eventually) for Manas, Kyrgistan.  That is the primary Air Point Of Entry or APOE (you know how the military loves their acronyms) for the Afghanistan theater.  From Manas I will be waiting for a flight into Camp Leatherneck, the main Marine Corps Base in the country.  I am not sure about how that leg of the trip will go so I will have to let you know.

Now, a couple notes about this blog.  For security reasons I probably will not be able to post any pictures.  I also will not be able to tell you a whole lot about the various operations we will be conducting over there.  Nor will I be able to tell you how the base is arrayed.  What I will be able to share is things like living conditions, food conditions, general day to day routine, whether or not my work is engaging, and such like that.  More to follow.  If you have questions, please feel free to ask me and I will do my best to answer what I can within the limits of security.