February 2, 2008

I am good, I sent a few pictures with this one, one is a shirt that I got from
Mosul. They get mortared a lot so I got myself a shirt, it's kind of funny. I am
doing ok, but can;t wait to get out of here.

December 9, 2007

One of these is a roll over simulator designed to practice getting out of a HUMVEE if it rolls, the other one is the tent I am living in and the one is of the guys I am responsible for.

December 8, 2007

Left Friday at 2::00 pm, arrived in Kuwait at 11:00pm on Saturday. Fun flight, I slept the entire time, woke up only when I smelled food being served. The weather is much nicer here than where you are. I heard MD got snow. It's 55 at night 75 during the day and they call this "winter"

December 2, 2007

I am at Ft. Benning Georgia getting ready to deploy to Iraq. I have 5 young guys fresh out of basic Training to kepp tabs on. One of them is going to the same unit in iraq that I am. We have about 9 days of training to complete before we roll out. Unlike Camp Shelby (where I mobilized last time) the food is good, the rooms we are in are nice, and there are only 3 guys to a room, but one of my guys snores like a chainsaw. Linda is putting the blog up. the address is http://normansnews.blogspot.com

WELCOME HOME! May 12, 2007

Welcome Back Home to the United States of America!!! Thank you for your blood, sweat and tears. You are a wonderful person.

February 28, 2007

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 11:06:54 AM

I'm near the Pakistan Border training the Afghan National Police now....what a treat ( I say that with the utmost sarcasm). It's 4,500 feet lower than my previous base so it's about 70 in the day 55 at night so at least the weather is nice. I ate some sugar cane the other day, you just kind of chew on it then spit it out. It's actually pretty good. I have about 44 days left til I'm outta here and I hope to get pulled back and start out procesing around March 15th. Your last 30 days are usually spent turning in gear, getting your blood work done, paper work, awards, etc, etc. I found out they nominated me for the Bronze Star. I attached a picture from last week. I'm a bit thin and dirty, but it's recent. The weapon I am carrying weighs 84 lbs. but if you can see a target, you can hit it 1 mile plus easily.

February 6, 2007

Date: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 5:31:39 AM

I am moving today to a new base so my mailing address will change. I don't know what it is but I will try and send it when I get there. We are launching operations soon so I don't know where I'll be or if I'll have internet so it's going to be a real adventure.

January 28, 2007

Sunday, January 28, 2007 5:04:57 PM

http://rapidshare.com/files/13852396/fastforward2.mpg.html

1. Copy link into address bar
2. Scroll down, click free
3. Wait for timer to expire
4. Type letters from big box into little box
5. Download/view

January 28, 2007

Sunday, January 28, 2007 4:27:30 AM

Well here comes change number 101...In less than a month I am done being the mechanic and as part of the country wide spring offensive, I am resuming combat operations with the Afghan Army. They anticipate I will be on operations for the duration of my tour, so I'll need baby wipes, instant oatmeal, drink mixes, AA batteries, jerky, are priorities, I doubt we'll have showers, etc...etc... On the bright side, it's a chance to beat some more ass and rack up the score some more...lol.

January 22, 2007

Monday, January 22, 2007 2:51:39 PM

It's freezing here as usual......6 degrees when I woke up. I have almost 100 hours in fixing Humvees in the past 2 weeks. I attached a picture of the "tent" I work out of. Yeah, it has no sides or ends. Ever rebuild a rear hub assembly when it's 20 degrees out? Well, if you were thinking about it...don't. It sucks.

January 12, 2007

Friday, January 12, 2007 4:19:08 PM

Here's a VERY funny video I made from footage over here.
1) Click the link
2) Scroll down and click on free
3) Wait until the timer expires
4) Scroll down and type the letters from the big box into the small box.
5)Laugh yourself silly

http://rapidshare.com/files/11422275/Redneck.wmv.html

December 27, 2006

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 12:42:05 AM

I would like to thank Mr. Mark Willimas for the great care packages he sent to us. His boxes arrived today 27th of December and were eagerly divided up among the soldiers. Numerous endeavors have been started thanks to the contents of the 3 boxes we received, and we presume the markings would indicate 5 so we will search for the other 2. And Mr. Williams, check your mail in about a week, the soldiers and I whose lives you have made much easier have sent you and your colleagues a small token of our gratitude. While we lack the resources to provide you with a similar gift, we think we have given you something to cherish. We all discussed how there are two types of patriots...those who say they will do and those individuals like Mr. Williams, Mrs. Newman, Mrs. Paul, Mrs. Friend, Mr. Ekey who actually go above and beyond in their endeavors to support us. I would like to thank everyone who has made this deployment a lot easier through emails, phone calls, and packages. You have all made the holidays much brighter for myself and all of my peers. Thank You

December 27, 2006

Date: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 12:31:29 PM

Recent pictures. One is of an IED we found and disabled, one is of my assault squad and Marine replacing me, one is of some orphans we fed.

December 18, 2006

Monday, December 18, 2006 12:10:52 PM

Here's a few pictures of a VCP we operated for 3 days and nights in an isolated valley. We slept in the back of the truck, it was 12 degrees at night. We nabbed a large weapons cache. In the day it got warm enough to make the place a muddy mess.

December 16, 2006

Saturday, December 16, 2006 10:54:51 PM


Here's a quick update, we had a 5 day mission, living conditions were like a camping trip gone bad, but we did capture 150lbs of plastic explosives, 150 blasting caps, 10 "suicide" vests, 1000 metere of IED wire, 2000 AK-47 rounds, 5 ak 47's 10 RPG's, 3 RPG launchers, 2 tank rounds, 50 mortar fuses, 1000 of 12.7 MM ammo and 4 mines. Good mission.

December 4, 2006

Monday, December 04, 2006 4:16:06 AM

December 3, 2006

Sunday, December 03, 2006 1:58:00 AM

Just thought I'd send a picture of my "long" hippie haircut before it gets chopped off. This is the longest my hair has been since 1993...

December 1, 2006

Friday, December 01, 2006 9:03:57 AM

After much consideration I have decided that the kids under 10 are worthy of still helping so I will work on the coordination for the project. Here's a picture of me and Sgt. Duggan hanging out with one of our Afghan soldiers. The soldier in the middle is 17 and just graduated the Afghan military basic training so he's eager to get pictures. The other was taken in a wadi, amazingly there are trees in this part.

November 29, 2006

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:07:54 PM

I am writing this to partially vent and all of you are the only audience I feel so inclined to do so. Some of you may not know, some of you do. On November 28th, 2 friends of mine (American Soldiers)whom I have been working with for the past 4 months, were killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol. A third was wounded, and today she died from her wounds, bringing the toll to 3 good friends. I was supposed to be on that patrol with them when it happened, and while I am glad I was not, it does little to ease the anger I feel towards these people. In spite of all we have done for these people, they continue to prove time and time again they are selfish, fanatical sub-human trash worthy of nothing more from us. I have made a decision to not give out a single crumb of food, a drop of water or shred of clothing for the remainder of my tour here and would ask that you refrain from sending anything that may benefit these people in any way. I will sit idly by and watch the terrible toll the winter will take on these people and rest assured, will not feel the slightest bit of sympathy. While it is a shame that the good must suffer for the deeds of a few, the loss inflicted on their families, far outweighs the benefits of continuing to help the Afghans. I can only hope for the day when vengence on the guilty will be mine, or my tour finishes and I can leave this wretched excuse for a country. I apologize for the ranting, but feel much better. I have attached a picture of one of my friends and although I would like to tell you his name, I cannot do so until his next of kin have been notified. Also attached is the last picture of my doing anything
for these people.

November 23, 2006

Date: Thursday, November 23, 2006 2:43:16 AM

Well I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner. I managed to get back to my main base for dinner so I will get Turkey and all the trimmings tonight, but I think this year what I am thankful for most is that I am an American soldier doing what is right for my country, and that when my time here is finished I will return to a grateful nation to enjoy all the things that this place will never see. Have a great holiday. Brian

November 15, 2006

Back in the rock pile
Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 4:25:17 AM

I would like to thank everyone who made my leave such a great time. I am unfortunately going back to the same base I was on in the middle of nowhere at 10,000 feet. I have no clue how long I will be there and as you all saw from the photos, it is devoid of any comfort and the misery will surely be amplified by the horrendous weather...i.e. rain, snow and mud. Our internet access will be limited so I will write whenever I can. Thanks for the great 2 weeks. Brian

October 19, 2006

Date: Thursday, October 19, 2006 5:02:26 AM

I have had my leave date bumped up by a day, in the past 10 days we have been hit twice. Last night we took RPG and machine gun fire. Several of the RPG's landed inside our base, on ETT was grazed by schrapnel, but not bad enough for an evac, we obliterated the southwest area outside our FOB, killed one ACM, wounded another. I am on my way back to my base for 3 days. Before I fly out of Baghram, I'll post some pictures tonight. Brian

October 19, 2006

Date: Thursday, October 19, 2006 5:45:29 PM

Here's a quick update and some pictures. The titles and graphics will explain each.

October 11, 2006

Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 2:20:22 PM

Hey everyone, there is a problem with my Army email, the password is set to expire and I need all this other crap to re-set it. Here's another email for everyone to use until further notice. regal_383@hotmail.com When I fix my Army account I'll let everyone know.

October 4, 2006

Date: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 7:35:44 AM

We went out late one night, hit a 20 foot deep hole, had the Humvee near vertical. It took me 3 hours to figure a way to get it out, we ended up using a bulldozer...lol My humvee needs, a hood, turnsignal, smoke launchers, 2 mirrors, winch cable. It ran fine once we got it out. We handed out a bunch of medical supplies and are doing another medical mission tomorrow. It is getting cold here, I have been living off hot cocoa, oatmeal (sometimes dry right out of the pack) and tuna in cans...I finally got tired of MRE's, I now avoid them at all costs. We have been building roads for these people, dolling out medical care, and patrolling to keep the guys we ran off out of here. It's hard to believe I have been gone 8 months already. After my leave, I will only have 150 days left..(finally past the half way mark) Well, I'll write more when I can. Brian

September 25, 2006

Monday, September 25, 2006 12:51:02 PM

So far I have spent 30 days straight at my base in the middle of nowhere. 10 of those days were spent living out of my Humvee running 25 combat patrols in less than 10 days. I got to go back to my main base in Kabul tonight where I had a hot shower and real toilet for the first time in a month. 2 of our most wanted bad guys turned themselves in. I used the medical supplies to treat a bunch of kids and old men that got us some good information. Attached are some pictures.

September 19, 2006

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 1:16:40 AM

Well I finally got my leave dates. I am supposed to be home October 25th. I was supposed to be home the 14th but it was pushed back because of the current mission I am on. At least I'll make Halloween and will be close enough to have Thanksgiving early. I have been sleeping in the back of my truck, and finally got a shower after 5 days, I still haven't changed my ACU's...lol I look homeless...Well I have to go back out. Talk to you when I can.

September 12, 2006

Date: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 7:35:51 AM

Thanks for all of you for your support and encouragement, it is especially appreciated on days like today. I have not showered in days, my uniform is covered in filth and I haven't eaten a hot meal in days. I have been running 20 hours a day, conducted 18 missions in 9 days, and yet I do not worry about my own needs, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

September 10, 2006

Date: Sunday, September 10, 2006 10:36:57 AM

We got an awesome mission today. We have been assigned the task of tracking down an Al Q Queida commander who is so bad, we have been given permission to shoot and kill him on sight, even if he is unarmed. We kicked in his brother's door and grabbed a few of his friends. Hopefully if we eliminate him, a few of his cronies will be next on the list.

September 7, 2006

Date: Thursday, September 07, 2006 11:03:53 AM

We have ben fortifying our base and it's turning into a fortress! I "acquired" twin 30 millimeter anti-aircraft gun and modified it to engage ground targets. It can shoot 12,000 feet. We have been ambushing, raiding and generally kicking ass and taking names....Capturing people creates too much paperwork....I hate paperwork...We have been causing chaos and fear among the Anti-Coalition militia (Taliban) in our district. We hit them hard at night, almost every night and stir them up during the day. The pictures I have are AMAZING! The flag I gave the school will be flown on 9/11. It puts whole new meaning to the day for me when I am here putting foot to ass on behalf of you guys. Well, I have to go, we
are expecting trouble (it's a full moon and they can actually see). I could use oatmeal, as many drink mix singles you could send. There are 7 of us Americans here and we are all sharing whatever we have. Well, talk to you when I can.

September 5, 2006

Date: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 11:46:06 AM

Hey. doing well. we are setting up a remote FOB. As soon as we got to the rea we got mortared an took SPG9 rounds. We are filling 5000 sandbags, and there are only 7 americans to do it. We built a shower, toilet and have conducted a series of night raids, and patrols. Brian

August 26, 2006

Date: Saturday, August 26, 2006 8:14:26 AM

Still waiting word of our start date for the upcoming mission...I spent today "decorating" my gun turret. I used a projector, photoshop and the internet to create a stencil for our team logo. I attached a picture of my handywork.

August 22, 2006

Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 1:20:53 PM

Here's a few pictures. One is of a village called Jabba Sarej where I was on those missions in the middle of nowhere. The other is the Claymore
"Anti-personell" mine. That babay had several pounds of c-4 and a couple thousand steel balls. It can cover an area 150ft long 30 ft high out to 150 feet, I "acquired" several for my upcoming mission. They keep pushing the dates back so I should have email for at least another week or so.

Date: Friday, August 18, 2006 8:46:09 AM

I am recovering from a terrible case of food poisoning, I had to have 6 bags of saline, 3 IV's and barely ate for 3 days. I ate some Afghan food, but this time it didn't agree with me. The first picture is what I ate, the second are some Afghans I mentor.

August 14, 2006

Date: Monday, August 14, 2006 1:11:36 AM

Hey everyone, please stop forwarding junk emails to me. I only have 50 megs with the Army and I am going out on mission for weeks. It fills up my account and I can't get important stuff. Here's a few pictures of when we went out to eat.

Date: Monday, August 07, 2006 5:16:26 AM

Here's a few pictures. One is an entire family of 6 (yes six the woman has a baby in her arms, you can't see it from the side i took the photo). The other is my new Afghan Pimp outfit complete with REAL MINK fur coat (50 US dollars).

August 3, 2006

Date: Thursday, August 03, 2006 8:08:50 AM

It's been the usual here, hot and dirty but still in a twisted way, still fun. I should be home on leave in October sometime for about two weeks so I'll make sure to bring all 1450 pictures I have and then some. Here's a picture of the "hooch" or my part of the hut we live in when we are on our base (which isn't too often) There are rumors of a 45-60 day mission so I have no idea what the conditions will be. I could use some butterfly bandages (several boxes) and children's medicine (cough syrup, tylenol, bandages, neosporin, vitamins) so that I can take care of the children when we go. By helping their children, the locals respect you and will give you information on where the scum bags are hiding. Kind of ironic, I give your kid a few vitamins, you tell me where to go to kill your neighbor...too funny.

July 15, 2006

Date: Saturday, July 15, 2006 5:33:49 AM

Things are going real good, I'm in the middle of nowhere, actully north of Bagrham near a place called Char Akkar. Here's a few pictures.

July 9, 2006

Date: Sunday, July 09, 2006 11:02:47 AM

Hey everyone, my team has been given a mission so I won't be responding to any e-mail for about a week. I'll get ahold of everyone when I get back and let you know how things went and to post some pictures. Later...Brian

Date: Saturday, July 08, 2006 5:31:06 AM

I took 2 young guys out on patrol today. One was 19 and had never driven a Humvee, so his introduction was in an Armored one, in Kabul, on a combat patrol. The other guy was on gun, then I swapped them out. I think they loved it. The air conditioning in our Humvee was broken. It was 135 degrees in the Humvee with the ballistic windows up. I was soaked when we got back to base. Our new motto is "Guns don't kill people.....we kill people."

Date: Friday, July 07, 2006 4:36:00 AM

Hope you all enjoyed the 4th. It was hot here, take a look at the photo to see how hot. I was on a mission from 2:30am until 1:00pm then stayed up until 11, so I was a bit tired after running non-stop for 20 plus hours. Here's a few more pics. Look at the contempt the little kid has even after I gave him food. These people are so greedy it's amazing. The other kids refused to share even with their siblings.