Letter from the Afghan front

[SuperScout]

[I received this email of a letter from a friend's son, and have her permission to post it here. Brice]

Subject: A letter from my son to share

My son is in Uzbeckistan flying into Afghanistan - supporting our troops there. I receive many wonderful e-mails from him, always supportive of our mission, but this one really touched me. I hope you enjoy it. You may share it as you wish.

Peggy
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Howdy all,

October is almost over and the leaves are just about gone. Oh wait, We don't have any trees...disregard previous statement. The sand is Still the same color and the wind continues to blow. Seems like all
the sand Would have blown away by now!

Elections are still drawing to a close. Karzai will definitely be the winner and it looks like his competitors are going to admit defeat. The Taliban continues to lose strength in this country as every day passes. This will continue to weaken the hold on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and hopefully open up opportunities to kick down a few cave doors we haven't been in yet. I think we have one good push left before winter gets here so everyone keep your fingers crossed. Bin Laden is out there and Good Lord willing, he'll be eating hotdogs and french fries in a nice comfortable timeshare jail cell this winter, courtesy of the United States military.

We were sitting around the other day at chow and talking about where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001. We really dug into how We felt on that day and the days immediately following. As I listened to each of the troops, I thought about how important a decision Americans are about to make concerning the leadership of our country over the next 4 years. ...... I remember thinking of my family, calling home and telling Melissa to go and get Courtney out of school after the third plane hit the Pentagon,
and telling her I didn't know if and when I would be home that night, But to try and hang on till I got there. I remember feeling helpless, because I couldn't protect my family. I remember watching our President
talk That night on the television and realizing our country would overcome those horrible events and bring justice to those who threatened our freedom.

I would hope that as we approach Election Day, Americans everywhere remember what they felt as they watched cowardice men fly airplanes into our Nation's buildings, killing for the sake of killing. I hope our country really Puts thought into what kind of leadership was required and was clearly Present from our President during one of the most horrible times our country Has ever been through. The election will be over soon enough, but I will Speak for the folks over here in saying, this war is worth the effort.

This War is worth the money. This war is worth the lives lost. This war is Being fought on their ground, not ours, at a place and time of our choosing, Not their's, and the men and women of the United States military will Continue to endure to keep it that way. Sorry, but I had to vent. If I hear one more ad campaign from Kerry talking about how we are messing this war up, I'm going to lose it. There are two types of people in this world, those who work to get the job done, and Those who sit around the jobsite griping about how those getting the job Done aren't doing it right. Hire the guy swinging the hammer. War is best-guess decisions made on imperfect intelligence. It is controlled chaos at times. Unfortunately, our politicians have the expectation of perfect results While they are sitting next to their families, watching CNN, a thousand miles away from the battlefront getting their "story" from half-truth journalism.

All I know, is after the dust and smoke settles, and I peer through the Fog and friction of war, I see my family safe at home, and I am able to Protect them. All else is going well here. The weather is turning cold and the snow Is on the way. The mountains are covered about halfway down and the white continues to walk its way towards the bottom. I got a new pair of Winter boots that absolutely rock. Amazing how the simple things in life make us the happiest.

Hope everyone is doing well and I appreciate all your e-mail more than you will ever know.

Love,
Steve

Maj Steve [last name omitted for security reasons]
774 EAS
Camp Stronghold Freedom

[Jerry D]

Great Letter one you don't see in mainstream news but there none the less.
God bless our troops and the tough job they do every day

[darrels joy]

I hope she also understands that posting it here means that it will be retransmitted out into the internet.

We have friends, military and civilian, who like to hear from our troops.

Joy

[Seascamp]

It seems to be an absolute law and carved in marble. When things are going well, the opportunists criticize and condemn, presumably offering up a better way. When things are challenged, the opportunist finds common cause with the adversity, then bemoans the hopelessness of it all and externalizes.

I?m very thankful we don?t have opportunists serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, just stout hearts, brave souls and sadly ignored but true and real heroes. Thanks Col., much appreciated.

Scamp

[firemedic]

With all the reality shows on TV these days, wouldn't it be great if someone in Hollyweird had the stones to do a reality show about how our men and women carry out and feel about the job they are doing day in and day out in Afganistan and Iraq. Thank you for the great inspiration!