Soldiers take advantage of the Canadian's wireless internet. At night, it's like a cluster of fireflies as everyone fights for connectivity.
The line for lunch and dinner typically averages 30-40 minutes. If you don't wait in line, you run the risk of getting no food at all.
My tent
EOD bomb team on a British Operation
EOD on patrol
Tank power
Our first sandstorm at Wilson. Lasted close to 4 hours.
A Canadian tank with an awesome backdrop at a base 20 minutes from here.
So, I’m back at Wilson. Just a quick day trip to Kandahar and back. I have to say, the lamb kabob and naan bread was absolutely delicious. Followed up by a green bean coffee, and I was set. Then I returned here … it’s not so bad. Internet is working, for now.
Net: I was asked if we could use another volleyball net. The one we have here seems to be in great condition, so for now, we are ok on that. Apart from snacks, I have to say, it’s the little stuff you wouldn’t think of that will go a long way.
Thanks to some new friends of mine, I received a frisbee, small football, baseball (the soft kind) and other misc toys. That’s the kind of stuff I wasn’t expecting, but honestly, I’ve found myself throwing those things at my roommates and going outside to throw frisbee just to relax.
I think the best method for picking out stuff for Soldiers is to take a child shopping with you. Let them pick out some stuff and send it. You won’t be to far off with what will make a Soldier’s day out here.
I hope everyone is doing well. We are finally getting situated and the Battalion is going to be doing some really exciting things in the Zhari District. I’ll fill you in later on the details.
Hi everyone,
Let’s start off with today. I’m at Kandahar for a day to resupply on the necessities. We were running low on laundry soap and other essentials. I was hoping to pick up a small fridge, but they only had 220V fridges. No benne! Oh well. Warm water it is.
MAIL: So, all mail is being redirected to Wilson. If you Ramrodded it, don’t worry. It’s been showing up here at Wilson. For future reference, just switch FOB names and keep the rest the same.
Life on the FOB so far. Well, a new chow hall has opened although the Tuesday menu has stayed the same. Which means nothing but cereal, soup, and scrounge-a-meal-on-your-own. I hear rumors that the Tuesday famine might be changing. We’ll keep our stomachs crossed until then.
Some interesting news. I’ve arranged for Good Morning America to come out and cover the battalion. I can’t give exact dates, but I will be posting the dates that they will be shooting live the day or morning of the shoots. Keep an eye out for it, you’ll probably see some Soldiers you know on the show! Pretty cool, I thought so too.
What else can I tell you about the FOB. Oh, ok. We have a sand volleyball court. Typically you’ll find teams playing in the early evening when things cool off. The Canadian wireless internet is hit and miss — and from what I hear, is soon going to be a complete miss. Hopefully our S6 (comms) shop will have the MWR computers hooked up soon. Until then, we are fortunate to have the wireless.
Phones: Currently, there are no DSN phones to use unless Soldiers ask their company commanders to borrow their office phones. It’s in the works and routine calling should be available soon. So, it’s not that your hubby or wife doesn’t want to chat — they just don’t have the ability to do so.
Work: Things have been slow transitioning to the new FOB. Soldiers have been busy building their tents and making this “homey.” They are trying to clear a field for football and soccer and a running track should be grated soon. (We hope)
I’ve got some new pictures to post, but my camera is back at Wilson. I return shortly and will have some new ones to post.
Oh, we have a 30-45 minute wait for chow everyday. Why, you ask? Because they typically run out of food and if you don’t get there early, you usually end up with the scraps. Which, for those of us that could stand to lose a few pounds, it isn’t such a bad thing!
Alright, send me any questions you might have. Take care and I’ll be posting more frequently as long as the internet connection sticks with me.
So after four days, our rough tent has transformed into our new living quarters for the next few months. Despite an immense wood shortage, we managed to scrounge, beg and pilfer enough wood to complete our floor and frame out our rooms. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow to give you a better idea of our living conditions.
Now we wait for AC. But, at least we have a roof over our head and a bed to sleep in.
Tomorrow, I plan to build some shelving, a barber chair (I cut a lot of the guys hair on the FOB — we don’t have a barber), and put up a sun shade on our palletized porch. Good fun.
Then, unfortunately, I’ll have to hang my carpenter’s hat back up and go back to my real job. Not that I don’t love it; I’ve just been having a lot of fun building.
Anyway, have a great night and thanks for your comments. It’s always great hearing from you guys. Oh, yesterday was my 27th birthday. I didn’t get a cake, but i pretended to blow out candles on the fruit salad I had for dessert.
So here I am, at Forward Operating Base Wilson in the Zhari District. First off, for those of you worried about some of the Soldiers that may have moved here and won’t get there mail. Don’t worry, it is being redirected, it will just take a bit longer. I would make sure you verify if your Soldier has moved before you send anything else.
I can’t give too much information right now on our move to Wilson, but you’ll be hearing more about it in the next week or two. For me, living here is a bit different than Ramrod. We have some Canadians here (for the time being), and thankfully they have wireless internet. Which, is what I’m using right now. Unfortunately, when they leave, so does the internet. Hopefully, we’ll have something set up so that the Soldiers can communicate back home. They don’t even have phones hooked up for most of the Soldiers yet.
This is a very tiny FOB and we are in the process of expanding it. The past couple days have involved me building my tent from the ground up. I moved in tonight, but we have yet to get AC or proper electricity. Supplies are low and we are like alley rats trying to scrounge up some material to build what we need.
Chow: Currently, the Canadians are cooking until they leave. Some of our Echo Company Soldiers help them. For the most part, it’s awesome. Great salads (even salmon) and they do great barbecues. For whatever reason, they don’t serve food on Tuesdays. We’ll have to see how that plays out. For lunch, they have salads and leftovers from the night before. For some reason, I think I’m losing weight.
I’ll fill you in on life at the FOB as the days go on. As a head’s up. If you know a Soldier is here, and you want to send him a package, just change the name of the FOB from Ramrod to Wilson. The rest stays the same.
Well, the weather is finally cooling off a bit. In fact, at night, I find myself looking for my fleece to put on. Of course, cold for us is usually about low 80’s, high 70’s, but our bodies have adjusted to 110 plus temperatures so this just feels plain cold.
Moving on, our battalion is actually moving on to another FOB (Forward Operating Base). I can’ t give much more detail than that right now, but I will soon.
Another bit of news. I’ve been posting some articles and images to this website, click here.
Go there to check out the latest news and info from our Battalion.
As dawn began to break on the horizon, more than a dozen support and personnel Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment found themselves out from their desks and in full “battle rattle,” on a dirt track at Forward Operating Base Ramrod, Sept. 4.
Complete with body armor and combat boots, these Soldiers were part of what Maj. Korey Brown, 1-12 IN executive officer, likes to call, “Team building.”
For the complete article, click here.
Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes, 18, of Hammond, La., died Aug. 27 when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Wildes joined the Army in 2008 and deployed to Afghanistan on May 24, 2009.
“On behalf of everyone in Task Force 1-12, Task Force Kandahar and the Mountain Warrior Brigade Combat Team, I would like to offer my deepest regrets and sorrow for his loss,” said Lt. Col. Reik Andersen, 1-12 IN commander. “Thank you for allowing your son to serve with us in the pursuit of our national goals of peace and stability for this part of the world.”
Soldiers from the 1-12 IN Battalion Bravo Company, 3rd Platoon, remembered Wildes for his character, his friendship and his “no quit” attitude.
“Matt was a man of great character,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Preece, 1-12 IN B-Co. “He was a friend and a Soldier, who would do anything that was asked of him no matter how trivial or difficult.”
Wildes’ commander, Cpt. Michael Erlandson, choked back tears as he recalled the life of this fallen Hero.
“We are all better off for having known this Soldier, and just the same, we are all of little less whole as he is no longer with us,” he said. “You will be missed, and you will be mourned, but you will never be forgotten. To Matthew’s parents, I cannot bring your son back to you, but I can assure you one thing; the men of B-CO are going to spend the rest of their days here in Afghanistan honouring Matthew’s memory through our actions on the battlefield.”
For Staff Sgt. Michael Nares and other Soldiers from B-CO 3rd Platoon, they will remember Wildes for his humor and care free attitude.
“Wildes always tried to make everyone laugh with his corny raps and his famous ‘Blue Steel’ look he had mastered,” said Nares. “You were a great Soldier, but an even better friend; not only to me, but to everyone in 3rd Platoon.”
The service ended with a 21-gun salute and taps. Digital pictures of Wildes flashed on a screen before the memorial and as music played, hundreds of mourners moved in a long line in front of a set of symbolic remains to pay their last respects.
“Today, I say ‘thank you’ to the family of Wildes,” said Cpt. Timothy Brown, chaplain. “He gave his life for our nation. He gave his life for his friends. No greater commitment and no greater love can be displayed but that a man lay down his life so that we can enjoy the freedoms with which God has blessed us. Today, I salute a hero. Today, we honor Pfc.Wildes.”
Hi all! Sorry for the delay in posts over the past couple weeks. It has been a busy, busy time right now, but I’ve left you in the dark too long. Tonight, I’ll make sure to upload some new photos and some news over the past few days. Sadly, we lost another Soldier and several others were wounded last week. I’ll have more to add later today. Talk to you soon.
Desert bound 