If you are interested in being featured on our Troop of the Month web page, please email us at Troops@operationshoebox.com and include a little information about yourself and 1 or more pictures.
Jerry K.
I just wanted to take a few min to thank you for the care package. I will tell you that my handwriting leaves something to be desired so I decided it would be best to type this up so that you might read it more easily.
I am the Executive Officer for a Security Force Assistance Team. There are 29 of us here and some are advisors and others provide security and escorts for the Provincial Governor of Kandahar. We have a small compound where we live that is located within the confines of the Governor’s compound. We send a convoy of 3 vehicles and rotate Soldiers every Tuesday when we provide an escort for our supply/fuel convoy at a FOB that is located 20 minutes away. This is where we also get our mail and Soldiers get a chance to eat at a real dining facility.
We work 7 days a week and long days and some nights. The one positive is that Friday is considered a religious day for the locals (like Sunday in the US), and things are generally slower and we are not as busy. Because we have such a small compound, we have to contract local Afghans to provide security of the compound as well 20 people to serve as cooks, etc to help us take care of the facility. Because we are vulnerable and have so many locals working and actually living here, we normally have a few US Soldiers provide security 24 hours a day just in case there should be a situation.
The weather is very hot and dry here. Regularly over 100 this time of year and very dusty (the dust gets into everything).
I will also share a little bit about myself. My family has lived in Greenwood, Indiana for 14 years and my wife and our 2 children, Greyson 14, and Cayla, 11 are very fond of the area. They are hanging in there and I am able to talk with them via Skype at least a few times a week. They all have their good days and bad days of course. Life for a military family can be very difficult due to the deployments and time away from home. I am fortunate that my wife does such a wonderful job raising our kids. Well, I am going to get back to work and thank you again.
Take care, Jerry
V/R, Jerry K
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