Army Sailor -- War in the Sandbox...
The Adventures of a Sailor in Afghanistan...

So I am back to work, and I am back on track. I am getting back into a normal routine, and it's starting to feel pretty good. It's a strange feeling because almost everyone at the ICP is new, I've been here WAY longer than any of them, but it seems like I am the new guy. Not a big deal, but kind of funny.

I've noticed that traffic to the site is starting to slow down a lot, and I kind of expected as much. After all, I don't have any cool war zone stuff going on anymore. I am now fully in recovery mode, which is not nearly as exciting. With the drop in legit traffic I have been noticing an increase in traffic from Spammers, which is quite an annoyance. I am doing my best to stave them off.

So you may be wondering why you should stick around and keep reading... well let me tell you. I intend to go into a bit more detail about some of my experiences in Afghanistan. I want to post a lot more photos. And I want to share my reintegration experience. I am hoping that this blog may be able to help any other sailors who are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq. I also hope that it may serve as a voice to help make the whole process better.

So stick with me, I have a lot left to say...

Plus coming soon... Pictures from the Philadelphia Flower show! I took my mom to the show and it was a great time. I was in uniform and it was a good feeling because people kept stopping me and thanking me for my service and telling me how much they appreciate all that we in the military do. It's good to know that we are not forgotten.

So today was my second day back at work at the NAVICP. It's nice to be back. It feels good to be wearing a proper Naval Uniform again, and it's great to be back to normal life. I am still in the phase where I am settling back into my routine. I am trying to figure out where my new desk will be, and they are getting me the equipment I will need to do my job. In the mean time I am doing a lot of paperwork that is involved in my return. I have to file a travel claim, and I have scheduled an appointment for my post-deployment health assessment. The folks at our Branch Medical Clinic seemed a little annoyed that the Army had not done the post-deployment health assessment, like they were supposed to. I told them that I was a little surprised and annoyed about that myself.

All in all though, things are getting back to normal pretty quickly. I am no longer feeling like such a "stranger in a strange land" (as my friend Todd aptly described it), and I am starting to re-establish a routine.

My latest frustration with the U.S. Army is their seeming inability (or unwillingness) to get my boxes back to me. We were assured that our boxes would be shipped back to our home stations. It's been nearly a month, and still nothing. The boxes are basically two large foot-lockers (called Contico Boxes) that contain all my worldly possessions from my deployment. Everything from underwear to a laptop and some valuable rugs are in my boxes... I am trying to get contact information for the right people at Fort Bragg so I can call and check on the status, but I am having difficulty. I may have to contact my 405th Chain of Command to see if they can help. I fear I may have to drive to North Carolina myself to pick these boxes up. I think if that winds up being the case, that it's disgraceful. I find it utterly appalling the way the U.S. Army treats people. The Navy sure isn't perfect, but we do a far superior job of taking care of our people than the Army does.

That's enough ranting for now... More to come...

It's absolutely freezing in Philadelphia these days. The temperature is ridiculous. We are well into the negatives with wind-chill and it's painful just to walk out to the car. Despite the freezing weather, I was given a very warm welcome home gift from Ashley's (my niece) boyfriend Justin. He took me to a Flyers game. We had box seats, and although the Flyers suck this year, it was a great experience. It was my first time in the new arena, and it was my first time in box seats... It was all pretty cool.

Things here otherwise are still pretty surreal. I am still a little uncomfortable, and I still feel like a visitor. I think it's a bit strange, but despite the fact that my family and friends are all here, I still feel lonely. I really miss a lot of the guys I served with over there. I intend to go visit many of them. One in particular, promised me a ride on a Zamboni... which is a life long dream of mine. Last night's game reminded me of that.

Here are a few pictures from the game... You wouldn't believe how sweet these seats were.

A few weeks ago the Master Sergeant and I got a little bored, and needed some time out and about, this was after the point where we stopped running missions, so there was no hope of any real excitement. We decided to hop in a truck and go explore some old Soviet Ammunition bunkers. The area is still mined, so we had to be very careful where we were poking around, but I got some interesting photos, and I thought I'd share them now.

An empty flag pole, where a USSR flag would have once flown. I thought it was king of an eerie site, but you had to be there to get the full effect.

Me being a tourist.

Master Sergeant being a Tourist.

The entrance to one of the bunkers.

My understanding is that when American Special Forces originally landed in Bagram, they used this place as a sort of base of operations, fighting along side the Northern Alliance. While they were here they left a lot of graffiti... This is just inside the bunker entrance in the previous picture.

An old SF fighting position, long abandoned.

More graffiti, no doubt who left it...

I went back to work Yesterday, only long enough to check in, and sign out on leave. Turns out we have a bunch of new personnel. Luckily a few old friends are still around, although most are on their way out.

I got to meet with the Admiral, he was pleased to see me, and happy to hear I made it back safely. He then more-or-less told me to go away for a few weeks, which was exactly my intention. I intend to spend three weeks basically just taking the time I need to adjust back to normal life. After that I will return to work for a bit. When I return to work I will take my Chief Petty Officer's exam. Hopefully, I'll make it. Around the end of March I hope to be able to do some traveling to go visit some old friends around the country. I am looking forward to the road ahead, not sure yet where it will lead me, but it should be interesting.