Words from Afghanistan

WORDS FROM AFGHANISTAN:



Words from Afghanistan

Hey everyone I just received an email and three photos from my little buddy Jimmy Touchstone, right now he is working in Afghanistan 5 miles from the Pakistan border. Just to keep everyone up to date (blog followers who don’t know him): Jimmy is a member of the Army National Guard, and use to work for AT&T as an engineer in our office. After 911 he was sent overseas to look for the bad guys for a year, once he returned home and back to work he got and offer he could not refuse, it seems there is a shortage of helicopter repair men in Afghanistan (were is that Maytag man when you need him) so the next thing we know, Jimmy quit his job bought some tools and was on his way back to Afghanistan, this time as a civilian making the big bucks. I had sent him an email a few days ago and received one back today so I posted the entire email below. I just wanted everyone not to forget it is still a scary place over there, even in a secure American base. Good luck little Jim I’ll see you in October.

“A l,

I hope that this finds you well and happy. Man I am proud to hear that you are doing well and that you are beating the diabetes thing. That is good to hear. I know that with the weight loss and all that you have to feel better. Just stay on top of it and don't let it get a hold of you again.
Things here are pretty much the same as always. Just a lot of work. I like it that way though as it makes the days go by faster. When work gets slow the days get slow. I am coming up on 7 months that I have been here so it is clicking by pretty good.
I am coming home at the end of Oct. I should be back on US soil by Oct 22nd. I can't wait. Just to have a little break from here will be good. I will only have 2 weeks but that will give me enough time to get re-booted and atleast breathe so that I can come back and finish this thing up. I am not sure right now how long I will stay past my 1 year mark, so I am just playing that by ear. I don't think that I will stay for two but maybe an extra 6 months or so, anyway.
Just to answer your question on where I am at. I am on the eastern side of Afghanistan 5 miles from the Pakistan border. I am in the Hindu Kush Mountains where the media likes to call the lawless border region. That is why we get hit more than most places over here. They come over the mountains and shoot at us then go back across into Pakistan. Our Apaches stay busy so that is what keeps us so busy too. Don't know if Eric told ya'll but we got hit hard a couple of weeks ago. We took 2car bombs then 7 suicide bombers wearing vests tried to storm our perimeter it was a 24 hour non stop battle that was fought right here at the airfield where I am at. That was pretty cool as we were sitting on top of a connex watching it, then would jump down and help them reload the aircraft and send them back across the wire, so that was nice, anyway
Maybe you guys can plan your next hiking trip over here as the mountains are pretty rugged and will offer some good hiking. Just let me know and I will set that up for you. lol! We might can even get you a Special Forces guide to show you the way.
Well I suppose that I need to get busy again so I will let you go. Tell everyone that I said hello. Take care and write when you can.

Take care
Jimmy

P.S. here are a couple of pics the one with no aircraft is standing at my work and across that last set of mountains is Pakistan”