Letter From Afghanistan #19

As I sit in my nice warm room I keep reminding myself that I only have a couple more weeks here before I get to go home. I don’t mean to make it sound like I am excited to get out of here or anything, but I am excited to get out of here and to get back home and get back to normal. I look forward to being able to sleep in my own bed again, cook and eat my own food, not have to drag all of my stuff with me to take a shower or having to wear flip flops in the shower. Of course that is really only a small list of the normal everyday things that most people don’t generally think about.

As weeks go, this has actually been one of the roughest ones I have had since we have been here. Throughout most of this week I was attempting to deal with being sick. I imagine that there are worse place that a person could get sick but so far this is the worst place for me.

My week started out with my neck being a lot tighter than it normally is. I normally have very tight muscles in my back and neck that will occasionally cause me pain, but this was unusual for me. Most of the time, while I was awake, I had extremely strong headaches every time I would try to turn my head. There were times when it would become almost unbearable, and then it would subside enough to allow me to go about my day.

As if this wasn’t enough, a few days later I started to have an extremely upset stomach. At first I thought that it might be a touch of the flu and seeing that I got my flu shot a couple of weeks ago, I figured that my body would be able to fight it fairly quickly. A couple of days later and the combination of the upset stomach and the neck pain and headaches and I was starting to become worried that it might be something more serious. Mass hysteria took over and I started to think that I might have swine flu. As a general rule I’m actually not worried in the least of actually catching the swine flu because quite frankly I don’t understand how it is any worse than the seasonal flu that plagues the world every year. The news keeps telling us about it and the possibility of people dying but, in all reality, thousands of people die every year from the flu. It is tragic but really this version of the flu is really not much different. Another problem that I can see is that the media puts too much hype behind some information. By now I’m sure that many of you have forgotten about SARS and the mass hysteria that caused.

After I finally came to my senses, I decided to go see the doc in the hopes that he could give me something. During my time of deployments I have never needed to go to the doc so I wasn’t sure of what the procedure would be, but it was very simple. I explained to the doc what the problem was and he gave me a few things that would help. Of course they didn’t give me anything too strong because that can create addiction and in many cases it isn’t warranted, but doc Epps explained that if they didn’t work that I should come back. It took a little while but they did work and now I feel much better and am glad that a new week is starting.

Something else that happened this week that was quite interesting was that the 82 Airborne, the folks we are here to support, decided to hold a hale and farewell celebration on Saturday. Of course since we are deployed and we don’t have many of the comforts of home, it was a fairly simple ceremony. It was held in the dining facility and started just shortly after the dinner service was finished. It was started by the commander welcoming the new people into the unit that had recently arrived. I thought that it was a little strange that people were coming in and out of the unit in the middle of a deployment but when your deployments are a year-long, you have to come and go when there is an opportunity. After a proper introduction was made of the new folks, all three of us Staff Weather Officers (SWOs as we are commonly referred to as) were asked to stand. The commander thanked us for all of our work over the last months, starting with when we had to build the tents that we are now working out of. She then showed her appreciation by giving each of us a commander’s coin, which in the army is considered a very big deal. We were also give and another coin from the task force to show their appreciation. Next they called up a couple of other folks that would be leaving the unit shortly and the same respect and gratitude was shown to them. By showing us the same respect and gratitude that they showed their own folks it showed that they not only respected the work that we do to make sure that they stay safe, but also that they thought of us as members of their unit and thusly members of their family. After all of the welcomes and farewells were said, cake and near beer was served. I say near beer because since we are in a war zone alcohol is not permitted and many times as a joke and way to celebrate beer without alcohol is served.

Well on that note I will sign off for another week. As always I would like to thank everyone who has emailed, written, and sent care packages. This week I received a couple of boxes from my parents and in them were some Halloween decorations. Several people became very excited to see them and are now planning to decorate the tent for Halloween.

Last week I mentioned that I would include a list of others here that you could send care packages and letters to, but since I have been a bit sick this week I didn’t get a chance to work on the list of names. I will get the names together this week and include them with my letter next week. If you would still like to send a care package you can send it to me and I will share its contents with everyone here. In the chance that your package arrives after I depart, I will instruct them that they can open the box and dispense its contents amongst everyone if you don’t mind. If you would prefer that they still use these items, please mark the box that says “Redirect to Address Below” on the customs form and put in that block “Any Soldier” and that way they will know that they can still open it. My address is:

SSgt John B. Ferderer
Task Force Pegasus
HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair
APO AE 09355

If you would like to email me my address is john.iraq@hotmail.com. It may take me a couple of days to reply as it has been rather busy these last couple of weeks with getting ready for the new folks, but I will try to get back to you. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them and I will do my best to answer them. All of my letters can also be found online at http://johnbferderer.blogspot.com.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #18

As yet another week here on FOB Lagman has begun, the temperatures outside are starting to get colder.  This morning for the first time, or at least the first time that I noticed, I was able to see my breath as I went outside to take my observations.  Although we only saw our low temperature of 39°F (04°C) for a few short moments, many of the people here think that it is possibly the coldest temperature they have ever felt.  Luckily the side of the tent that I work on has heat so we stay pretty warm most nights.  During the day we have been seeing the temperature rise to around 75°F (24°C) but with a lack of any type of cloud cover, there is nothing to keep the heat in and so we have a tendency to see changes between the highs and lows reach 45° or more one some days.

With the colder temperatures in the morning this causes people to start thinking about winter and what it has in store for those that will be calling this area of Afghanistan their home for at least the next six months.  Often times they will ask me when the rainy season will start or when we will see snow, and when we see snow how much of it can we expect.  Many times I am not able to give them a straight answer.  Most people would say that it is the typical weather person’s way, to avoid giving a direct answer about what we expect the weather to do.  Many times this is not true though because we have climatology for many locations around the world that will tell us this information.

In short, climatology is the study of weather throughout history.  For some meteorologist this may consist of studying what the weather may have been like during ancient Egypt or how the weather in North Dakota has changed of the last two hundred and fifty years.  Most of the time this information is of little importance to us in the military since we don’t generally need to know about the changes over time, but instead we are more interested in the averages so that we can say that, for instance, the average low temperature in Qalat, Afghanistan is 34°F during the month of December and that the lowest temperature recorded is 03°F.  This tells us that even on a cold year the coldest that you can expect to see should be around 03°F and therefore you can plan for those temperatures.

The problem that we run into in places like here in Afghanistan is that we don’t have a lot of historical data to go off when collecting this data and therefore it is difficult to give a straight answer when someone asks what the average is for a specific time of year.  Most of the data that we have collected for each of these individual areas was only started when we started to build bases throughout these areas and actually had weather people stationed there to ensure that the information was correct.  Now you may be saying to yourself, but we have been in Iraq and Afghanistan for over seven years now, that should be enough time to gather weather data to at least get an idea of what it will be like.  It would be nice if seven years of data for a single place could give us a good idea of what the weather would be like, but in all reality, it will only give us a broad idea of what to expect.

I say that it is only a broad idea because from year to year the weather will change in any place around the world and New Salem has been a good example of this.  Since I have been in the Air Force I hear of how dry it has been and that the crops have not been doing all that great and that there is usually a shortage of hay for many of the farmers.  I remember that the summer after I joined the military my dad told me of one day when it reached 113°F, which is one of the hottest days I can ever remember.  This year on the other hand has been extremely wet, with many farmers getting more rain this summer than you would have found if they had combined the total precipitation for multiple years.  The spring and early summer were also rather cool.  At the beginning of this year though if someone would have asked me how much rain we could expect in New Salem during the month of July, I would have taken out the climatology data for Bismarck, since it is the closest reporting station, and would have gathered the average rainfall amount from that.  I would not have simply looked at the last seven years and said that during the month of July you could expect minimal rainfall and hot temperatures, since that is what it has been for the last couple of years.

As a general rule, within the weather community, we require fifty years, or more, of weather data before we will say that the climatology for an area is complete and accurate.  Within fifty years it allows that one specific area to establish what is considered the “norm” for that area and also what the extremes are.  Of course this data is continually updated from year to year to maintain that it remains accurate.  This allows us to say that a specific area sees an average of three feet of snow in the month of January, but that during an exceptionally wet winter the area saw as much as twelve feet of snow.  The twelve feet isn’t extremely common, but if you want to plan for the worst case scenario, this is what you would want to go with.  Seeing as we only have about four years of data for FOB Lagman, there is the possibility that those years may have been dry or wet years and that they may have been abnormally hot or strangely cool, but with the lack of data I cannot give a straightforward answer.  In Iraq we were fortunate enough to have more data and therefore were able to point out that during the winter that we had been there, it was abnormally dry and with the drought it was more common to see an increase in enemy activity because the farmers were not able to grow their crops and therefore had to turn to the Taliban for money in order to support their families.  This information became valuable in ensuring that we worked with the local farmers to try to relieve some of their troubles.

Weather is not an exact science and many times it can be extremely difficult to obtain one hundred percent accuracy and we must use whatever tools we have available to us.  One of these tools is climatology, as long as there is enough data to give an accurate picture.  With the lack of information for here at FOB Lagman we can tell you that there is a possibility of snow during December and January, but we can’t tell you how much to expect.  One day we will have enough information that we will be able to share this information with the other units that we support.

With that I will sign off for another week.  Before I depart I would like to pass along several thank yous for letters and packages that arrived during this last week.  It is always fun to come into work and see mail waiting.  I would like to thank the parish of St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Center for all of the work that they do in collecting much needed supplies not only for those of us overseas, but also for the work that they do for the Veteran’s home in Fargo.  Your love and generosity is greatly appreciated.  I also want to thank Sue Bicknell, the staff of the Bismarck State Library, Diane and Terry Mosbrucker, my grandparents Baldwin and Irene Ternes, and both my beautiful bride to be, Megan, and her mom Sue Boele.  All of the hygiene products, games, and snacks that you all sent have been put to excellent use and if there was a way for each individual to say thank you, I’m positive that they would.

As our time here is running short, if you are interested in sending a letter or care package, time is also running short before I will no longer be able to receive them.  If you send a care package and it arrives after I leave, if you don’t mind someone here opening it, please put “Any Soldier” on the customs form in the appropriate box and I will let the folks here know that they can open them.

I would still love to hear from you.  If you would like to send an email you can send it to john.iraq@hotmail.com.  If you have any questions or just want to know about something please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer any questions.  If you are interested in sending a letter or care package they can be sent to:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

Boxes that you send will be shared with as many people here as possible and they really do appreciate your generosity.  Next week I will include some additional names of some of the other soldiers here and if you are interested in continuing to send well wishes and supplies you can send it to one of those names.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #17

One week has come to a close and another has already made its way into existence.  As I write this I am still sitting at work waiting for my relief to arrive.  This morning was the day of the Army 10 mile race and Sergeant Moullet wanted to participate.  Even though the name of the race names it the Army 10 miler, this race was won by a member of the Air Force by running the 10 miles in one hour and fifteen minutes.  I think they should have to rename the name of the race to the Air Force 10 miler.

There hasn't really been a lot of excitement here on FOB Lagman this last week.  We are working hard to get ready for the arrival of our replacements.  They will start departing soon and as they come in they will get a quick training on the in and outs of everyday life here and then we will start departing to return home.  Of course now that we are getting short it seems like the clock is slowing down and it will take twice as long to get through these last few weeks as it took to get through the last 5 months.

From here on the FOB there are several mountains that surround us and they form our horizon pretty much on all sides, but there is one very distinct landmark that you can see from here as you scan the horizon and that landmark is what is called the Castle of Alexander the Great.  I have spent a lot of time during our stay here trying to find information about this so called castle but for some reason there is very little information available or at least I was not able to find the information.  Of course this castle isn't what you would normally think of as a castle with the high walls, a moat, and a draw bridge.  This castle is instead built into a hill just a few short miles from here.  Looking out to the West we can see the top of the castle where it is still standing today.

According to Wikipedia.com Alexander the Great was a resident of this plant 356-323 BC and during 33 years of life he traveled through many countries, many of which have different names than when he was passing through.  During his travels he spent some time in what is now Afghanistan and during that time he had a castle built near Qalat.  It was presumably built on the top of the hill simply due to the fact that made it easier to defend since you could see any opposition coming from several miles in any direction. 

As time has progressed, different armies have used the castle of Alexander the Great.  It is said that the Russians used the castle during World War II and more recently the US Army used the castle for a short time as a staging area.  Alexander the Great knew what he was doing when he built the castle on the hill and this knowledge has been proven time and time again as different armies from different wars have occupied this ancient dwelling.

Sadly, I have not been able to find much more information about this castle and since it is off the FOB we are not able to tour through it, though I think that it would be very interesting to see and be able to walk through.  I believe that there will be a day when Afghanistan becomes more stable and this country will have the ability to share it's very rich and extensive history with the rest of the world.

Recently I started looking through some of the old files that I have on my computer and I came across most of the old letters that I wrote for the New Salem Journal during my deployment to Iraq and now to Afghanistan and I thought that it would be nice to be able to put them online so that whoever wanted to read them would have the ability to go back and see where this journey began.  I decided that I would post all of my old letters to a blog that is available to everyone.  One of the up sides to the blog site that I am using is that it gives me the ability to back date the letters and so I can post each letter on the date that it was originally written and it will display them in order with the newest letters first and the oldest ones last.  My plan is to use this from now on as a way to share my letters with friends and family that don't get The Journal, but if you have friends or family that you think might be interested in reading the articles, you can also pass the page along to them if you would like.  Using the blog site also allows for anyone to leave comments on the individual letters, so feel free to check it out and let me know what you think.  The address for the site is http://johnbferderer.blogspot.com.

Well on that note I suppose I will sign off for another week.  My relief is here and so it is time for me to call it a day.  Before I go I would like to thank everyone at the Peace Church in New Salem for the wonderful care packages that they sent our way.  Within a few short hours everything was gone and everyone was excited to have some new hygiene products and a few snacks.  Please know that your generosity is always appreciated.

As our time here is running short, if you are interested in sending a letter or care package, time is also running short before I will no longer be able to receive them.  If you send a care package and it arrives after I leave, if you don't mind someone here opening it, please put "Any Soldier" on the customs form in the appropriate box and I will let the folks here know that they can open them.

I would still love to hear from you.  If you would like to send an email you can send it to john.iraq@hotmail.com.  If you have any questions or just want to know about something please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer any questions.  If you are interested in sending a letter or care package they can be sent to:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

Boxes that you send will be shared with as many people here as possible and they really do appreciate your generosity.  Our tiny PX that we had is closed again and so our sources for hygiene products and snacks are fairly limited.  Our temperatures are starting to get a little cooler (it was 42°F this morning) and so it may be safe to send chocolate or other items may melt in the mail.  I would still suggest that they be put in some sort of sealable packaging just in case they do happen to melt.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #16

We are another week closer to this deployment being done and quite frankly it’s been a pretty busy week.  We are starting to prepare things for the next crew that is coming to replace us and so there is even more work to be done than normal.

This week I had the opportunity to fly to one of the other FOBs nearby.  As one of the newer FOBs in the area, FOB Wolverine is still in the process of being set up and so there is a lot of work that needs to be done to get it ready.  A while back one of my other co-workers flew over to Wolverine to set up some of our weather observing equipment.  This has made it so that each hour an observation is taken and sent out via the internet.  This can be very handy for when air crews are flying to that specific FOB so that they will have a general idea what the weather is going to be like when they get there.  Of course the system isn’t perfect and in order to get a better idea of what the weather is over there a trained observer would be required to be located in the area.

For my trip over to FOB Wolverine I was tasked with the job of creating a visibility chart for the air traffic control tower that will be built there on the FOB.  Since I work at night at the pictures need to be taken during the day, I was on an extended work day that day.  It proved to be somewhat of a long day but it wasn’t too bad.  After my shift was over I had a little bit of time to relax before my short flight.  It was an interesting flight and only the second time I have ever had the opportunity to fly in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.  It was really the first time I was able to get a good view of the area surrounding FOB Lagman.  We flew near a few small villages that are constructed in an interesting fashion.  In a day and age where space seems to be at such a premium (especially in places like Seattle, New York City, and Chicago), with all of the skyscrapers and the desire to build up more rather than expand outward, this area of the world isn’t affected by that.  There is plenty of space and there aren’t really any large buildings to speak of.  As I mentioned in an earlier letter, most of the buildings in this region are made of dried mud.  The houses are usually connected to others in a group with a “fenced off” area behind each one.  You can’t really call it a fence that they have behind their homes since it is more like a mud wall that was built to give each family their own private area.  These mud walls are everywhere and even surround their fields.  The fields are also rather small but since this area of the world still uses somewhat primitive technology to grow their crops, it is easier to work a small field.  Many of their fields have walls that go through the fields as well.  I’m not entirely sure what those are for but it kind of looks like they would be used for irrigation and erosion control.

As we continued to fly over to FOB Wolverine I also saw that there were many shepherds out with their herds.  I call them shepherds because of the fact that it is their job to keep watch over the animals.  A lot of the animals that they are shepherding are goats.  From a few hundred feet up they are rather small but you can still tell what they are (having lived on a farm probably helps too).  I believe that I also saw some sheep in a couple of the herds and as we would flow over the area any that seemed to be roaming away from the rest of the flock seemed to realize the mistake they had made and would quickly run back to the security of the group.  Another animal that we saw as we were flying over the area were camels.  I am not sure if they were wild camels or if they actually belonged to someone.  I tried to take notice to see if there was anyone out watching them but was limited to what I could see on the side of the helicopter that I was sitting on.  We also flew over a winding river.  It wasn’t real deep but that would be due to the fact that we are still in the dry season.  Once the rains come I’m sure that it will fill rather nicely.

After my very short flight over to Wolverine I met up with the Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge (NCOIC) of the tower there on the FOB and she was kind enough to take me to the site of the future Air Traffic Control tower.  While we were up there I took 360° pictures so that I could take them back and make a visibility chart.  I also used the laser range finder so that I could get an accurate distance to some of the different buildings and other objects that could be seen from that spot.  It didn’t take long and my work on the FOB was complete and then it became time to wait for a flight back to FOB Lagman.  Early in the afternoon we had a flight that was going back to FOB Lagman and I was able to hop on that and return.  Once I got back I off loaded all of my gear, took a very refreshing shower, and went to bed.

You are probably wondering what this visibility chart is used for.  It is actually quite simple.  We take pictures of the surrounding area and once we put them on the computer we point out different objects that can be seen from that specific spot and how far away it is.  This is extremely helpful for observing the visibility because you can look at the picture and know that the object that is at 1600 meters (overseas we measure in meters) is obscured by dust and so you know that the visibility is less than a mile.  This is especially helpful for the tower folks who aren’t as thoroughly trained to observe the weather but still help us report it when we can’t be right on the airfield.

Well I suppose I had better sign off for this week.  In a little while I have a meeting that I must attend to and then after that it’s off to bed until the start of another day.  I have recently had a couple of people ask if there is still time to send letters or care packages and I would like to inform you that there is plenty of time.  It normally takes about a week for things to get here, but in the off chance that it arrives after we depart, I will let a couple of people here know that they can open the boxes and distribute whatever  you send.  If you would like to have the box returned to you please mark on the customs form to return to shipper and they will ensure that it is taken care of properly.

I want to thank all of you that have been so generous with spending care packages and letters and keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers.  We live in a time where everyone is very busy (especially now with the harvest) and often times it can be difficult to stop what you are doing.  I want you all to know that your caring hasn’t gone unnoticed and that we appreciate everything that you have done for us.  I know that even after I leave Afghanistan that you all will continue to show your support to all of the men and women that are deployed away from their families.

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 90°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #15

Another week has come to a close and that means that we are another week closer to going home.  I know that this is true because we are starting to get word about the crew that is coming to replace us for the next rotation and that can only mean that our time here is getting short and no matter how you slice that, it’s a good thing.

Last week, with it being the anniversary of the attacks of 9-11, I talked about where I was when they occurred.  I mentioned that I was delayed in enlisting in the Air Force due to the attacks and therefore this last week Thursday was my eight year anniversary for being in the Air Force.  It just so happens that the day of my enlistment is actually one day earlier than the Air Force’s birthday. 

Some times when you get a group of military people together the conversation of why they joined the military and what they like about their specific branch.  I thought that today I would share with you my reasons for joining the military and what being in the military has been like for me so far.

Before graduating high school an Army recruiter had come and talked to our class about being in the Army and what opportunities it held.  He informed us of educational opportunities that were possible with the Army.  At the sound of money for college my ears perked up and I started to listen.  I had never thought about joining any branch of the military prior to this but I wasn’t sure if I could pass up the opportunity to get my schooling paid for.  When I mentioned this to my parents they encouraged me to talk to at least one other recruiter so that I could make an informed decision.  A short time later I met with the Air Force recruiter at Gateway Mall and we discussed what opportunities the Air Force could give me.  Of course some of the information was the same, like the pay scales and travel opportunities.  Some of the things that were different that sounded better to me as they were presented to me where that the living condition for Air Force members is usually better than in the Army and that our deployments are shorter.  Taking into consideration the information that was provided to me by both recruiters I decided that the Air Force would be a better fit for me over the Army.

Often times, if you ask someone in the military why they decided to join the military, you will be told that they joined because they wanted to defend our country or that they wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves, while yet others will inform you that they joined the military as a way to get out of their town and see the world or to make a better life for themselves.  I can honestly say that I couldn’t give you a single one of those reasons and say that it applies to my situation.  I have come to appreciate some of those as my career has progressed but it was never my original reason for joining.  My reason for joining the Air Force could be summed up more into the category of money.  I was promised a steady pay check and the money that I needed for college.  Of course at the time I didn’t look at the fact that someone who does my job as a civilian can make more money than I do, but looking back I still think that I made the right decision.  I wasn’t fond of the idea of having tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt just so that I could go to school and eventually hope that I found a job that would go with my major.  Looking at the state of the economy now I am increasingly happy that I have a job that I can’t just be laid-off from and that my salary is guaranteed to come to me each month.  As far as the educational opportunities, I can’t say that I have used them yet, but they are still available to me and when I finally decide what I want to study I will have the opportunity to get my degree.

I mentioned that some people say that they joined the military to travel and see the world or in order to get out of their home town.  Neither of these were reasons for me though I have been able to do my fair share of traveling in the last eight years.  When I went to basic training it was the first time I had ever flown anywhere.  It was also the first time I had ever really been to a larger city like Denver and then to San Antonio.  Of course in the last eight years I have had the opportunity to fly more than I would like to some times but it joining the military opened the flood gates and given me the opportunity to do this.  After I finished basic training and technical school I was told that I was going to be stationed in Germany.  Considering that this was really the first time that I had ever really been away from home I was not looking forward to the idea of moving so far away.  But the Air Force told me that I was to go to Sembach, Germany and so onto another plane and off to a whole new location.  Like I said I didn’t join the Air Force to travel or get away from home, but I am glad that I have been given the opportunity.  During my time in the Air Force I was fortunate enough to live in Germany for two years and while there I did my fair share of traveling.  I was able to got Spain and France with my mom to visit some foreign exchange students that we had through the years and have adventures on the trains throughout Europe.  I was also able to travel through Italy and see things like the Vatican and the coliseum in Rome, which I don’t think I would have had the chance to see if I had stayed in North Dakota.  I also got the chance to spend a week in Egypt where I was able to inside one of the great pyramids, ride a camel near those same pyramids, and take a boat cruise up the Nile River.  During all of these travels I have had plenty of opportunity to make some great friendships while having the opportunity to take pictures around the world.  Of course being back in the states hasn’t stopped my traveling either.  In the last three years I have made trips back to this side of the globe to take up a short residency in both Iraq and now in Afghanistan.  Some people would merely look at having to go to Iraq and Afghanistan as being away from home and everything that is familiar to them.  I look at it as a way to see things that I would not have been given the opportunity to see otherwise.   Now I’m not saying that it’s fun to be at war but it made me who I am today and I wouldn’t change that for anything.   I also look at the fact that joining the Air Force has put me where I am today.  If I hadn’t joined the Air Force I cannot say for sure if I ever would have met my beautiful fiancé and my life might be completely different and so if I could go back and change anything in my life, I wouldn’t change a single thing.

Well on that note I will sign off for another week.  I want to thank everyone for the many thoughts and prayers that you have all sent our way and I especially want to thank everyone that has emailed or written; it helps to feel a little more connected to home. 

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 90°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #14

Another week has come and gone and another has managed to take its place.  As weeks go it has been a relatively uneventful week here at FOB Lagman.  One of the more exciting things to happen here in a while is that the barber shop was finally able to get a masseur in that can start doing massages.  The beds that we have here aren’t really the best and my back doesn’t feel the greatest and so a massage is just what I needed to help that problem. 

This past week, in Bismarck, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial was dedicated outside the main gate of the North Dakota National Guard.  My understanding of the ceremony that was held on September 11th is that they started the proceedings at the exact time that the plane crashed into the Pentagon just eight short years ago.  Having been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, I am glad to see that a memorial like this has been erected in a place where people will appreciate it and the sacrifice that the families of North Dakota have made.

With events like those of September 11, 2001, often cause people to say that they will always remember where they were or what they were doing when they heard the news.  You can ask many people where they were when they heard of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the death of Elvis Presley.  If you ask some of our older friends, neighbors, and family members where they what they were doing when the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred, they can tell you, with minimal thinking, not only what they were doing, but also the feelings they and those around them felt.

I am glad to say that throughout my life there are very few experiences like this.  The attacks that occurred this last week though are one of the few that I can confidently tell you where I was and what I was doing, or preparing to do.  I was sitting at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Fargo.  I was sitting in the waiting room waiting for them to take me into a room with several other people so that we could officially be sworn into the military.  We were fortunate that the MEPS had a TV because otherwise we all would have been bored out of minds from the lack of anything else to do.  All of the sudden whatever we had been watching was interrupted by a special news report and we were informed that the first plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.  Of course since it had just happened there was really no information for them to pass along other than that it had just happened and that they were covering the story.  Of course with the lack of information everyone started to formulate their own conclusions and most people seemed to agree that it was simply an accident with the navigation of the plane.  Of course all of those thoughts were changed as we saw the second plane fly into the other tower.  By this point all work had come to a halt at the processing station and everyone’s eyes were glued to the TV.

Shortly thereafter we were informed that a third plane had crashed and that it had hit the Pentagon and with this new, things started to happen a lot quicker.  The MEPS building at that point was secured and everyone that came in or out of the building had to be checked like they were going through security at the airport.  After a while we were informed that all airports had been shutdown and that all planes had been grounded.  With this news we were informed that we were being sent back to the hotel because they weren’t sure when they would be able to get flights to basic training and so there was little sense in us sitting at the MEPS.

The next day we went back to the MEPS at the crack of dawn and this time before we were allowed back into the building we were told to line up outside and they inspected our bags and they used the metal detector wand on each person before we were permitted into the building.  We spend several hours sitting in the waiting room as the staff there tried to figure out what was going on and what the procedure would be for getting us to basic training.  Again after waiting for what seemed like forever, watching the non-stop coverage of the previous day’s events, we were told that we were again being sent back to the hotel and that they would contact us there when they knew what would be happening.  That day my parents decided that they needed to get back home because dad needed to get back to the farm work and mom had work the next day.

The following day we were returned to the MEPS and told that we were to go home and wait for them to contact us to let us know when our new departure dates where.  This caused a small problem for myself and other person from Mandan.  We had both come out to Fargo with our parents and both of our parents needed to return home and so we had no ride to get home.  The people at MEPS were quick to book us tickets on the Greyhound bus.  Once they got us there they were informed that there was only room on the bus for one of us to sit and that the other would have to stand.  The Sergeant that took us to the bus depot decided that this would not work and returned us to MEPS.  There was talk of hiring a cab to take us both home but after looking into this it seemed like it would be very expensive.  I was joking around with them when I suggested checking out a limo.  They didn’t notice the humor in this comment and checked to see what it would cost.  It turned out that it was cheaper to send the two of us in a limo than by taxi and so they did.

And with that I will sign off for another week.  My shift is almost over and so I have to ensure that I have everything finished up for today.  Before I go I would like to thank Rosemary Kunkel for her continued support throughout this deployment.  I would also like to thank Jackie and Robert Slavick for their email.  We all appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that are continuously sent our way.

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 100°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #13

Another week has managed to come and go and somehow has managed to do so while leaving only a small imprint on our lives.  After consulting my calendar I count that there are approximately nine more weeks until we will start making the long trek back home.

One thing that I find myself wondering as I sit here in a world that seems completely different from my own is what is changing back in my world that I am missing.  As a general rule the changes that I don’t know about are minor, but they are still there.  Each week new movies come out in the theatres or in stores.  New games are released almost daily and there are advancements in technology that we may not hear about.  Though we know that the world doesn’t stop spinning while we are away, the changes that we see when we get back can make the transition back just that much harder. 

I remember that one of the things that completely amazed me when I got back from Iraq was that the pop machines in the malls and other locations now had an attachment on them that made it so that you could use your credit or debit card to pay for your beverages.  Granted this isn’t really that big of an improvement when it comes to technology, but it was something completely new to me that I had never seen and it had come out while I had been away.

Often times you feel out of the loop when you are in groups of people.  Often times the conversation will move toward what people thought about a certain television show or if they had seen a specific movie.  Many times we don’t even feel that we can comment on these subjects because we don’t have any knowledge of the topics they are discussing.  With as quickly as movies go from being in theatre to coming out on video it is easy to completely miss the movie and not even know that it had come and gone.

I sometimes get the same feeling whenever I get a chance to venture back to North Dakota for leave.  Even with the economy in a tailspin Bismarck seems to keep growing and changing.  When I make it to Bismarck it never quite looks the same, the Wal-Mart is no longer in the same place and instead of one we now have two.  There are new restaurants and hotels all over the place while other businesses that have been there for many years are now closed or under new owners.

It’s not quite the same feeling but they have their similarities.  For some people this feeling can cause them to feel despair.  In some this can create thoughts of suicide.  For 2008 all four branches of the military reported an increase in the suicide rate and noted that the rate was higher than the civilian average.  I think that some of this can be related to the changes that occur during a deployment.  For those that have families at home when they leave the changes can be huge.  Last week I mentioned that one of the guys that is deployed here had the excitement of his wife having a baby.  For many a new baby in the family is a joyous occasion, but for some it can be a time for despair because they weren’t able to be present for the birth of their child.  This can also be true for birthdays and other big events in a child’s life.   You add this on top of the loneliness that can be created from coming back to a place where things have changed and you can feel like you don’t understand anything that is going on.   When I returned to my squadron after Iraq I felt a little like the new guy because a lot of the people  that were my friends before I left had received assignments to other locations and were replaced by new people.  It was a weird feeling to have to try and catch up with everything that had happened during the past 6 months.

The military has been working very hard to try and reduce the rate of suicides in the military.  As I sit in the Dining Facility in the morning, eating breakfast and watching TV, I see multiple commercials on the AFN (the Armed Forces Network) that address the issue of suicide and depression.  The encourage everyone to seek help if they feel they are in need of it.  They work hard to curb the stigma that is associated with seeking help from a mental health professional.  They also work on training everyone to recognize the signs of depression.  This isn’t so much so that we know when we are depressed and so that we can seek the help that we need, but instead so that we can recognize this in others.  We are also told what the proper course of action is if we notice that someone is depressed so that we can ensure that they receive the help that they need and by getting help things have a habit of working themselves out, sometimes people just need a little help to get through it.

I hope that in the course of writing this I have not put any of you off.  My intent is this letter is simply to point out one of the less glamorous sides of the military.  Suicide is not a popular subject in any light, but is often times seem worse when it involves the men and women that our country calls heroes.  Many people thing that being someone’s hero would be good thing because you know that they are looked up to.  In some cases this is true but in others the pain that is caused in the process is greater than that person can handle.

On that note I shall sign off for another week.  Typing this has managed to warm up my fingers a little bit and now I can get the rest of my work done.  The temperature this morning reached the lowest we have seen since we have been here by getting down to 48°F this morning.  As I depart for another week I would like to send a very special thank you to Rosemary Fleck in Bismarck and to all of the different people and business that are devoted to showing their support.  It took a little while to get through all 4 boxes and I am lucky that they actually came on two different days because the weather was not quite as good as I would have liked and so I had a little less time to get through the boxes.  The good news is that now we have a nice stockpile of baby wipes and hygiene products.  I would also like to say Happy Birthday to my dad who will be celebrating the day that was “hatched” as he likes to put it.  I also want to send a Happy Grandparents day to all of those grandparents out there and especially to Baldwin and Irene, my grandparents that have always shown their love and support throughout all the years.

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 100°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #12

One week has come to a close and another one has begun in rather normal fashion.  The one good thing about this last week coming to a close is that it also brought the end of the month of August.  Lucky for us the month has been rather quiet.  It doesn’t make the time go all that much quicker but it does make it so that we make it through another month.

One of the guys here did have some excitement this morning.  He and his wife have been expecting their first child and this morning the baby was born.  The good news was that he had already left FOB Lagman to go on his Rest & Recuperation (R&R) time.  The bad news is that he was actually still in Kuwait and didn’t make it back stateside before his child was born.  Luckily, through some quick phone calls, he was able to be on the phone with his wife during the exciting occasion.  The Army actually will allow him to stay on R&R for short time longer than the regular two weeks so that he can spend a little time with his wife and new baby and so that he can help out.

The month of August also brought the Muslim celebration of Ramadan.  I thought that today I would take a little time and explain about the celebration of Ramadan as it isn’t a highly understood celebration amongst non-Muslims.  Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which uses the cycles of the moon rather than the solar cycles that are more commonly used to dictate our days and years.  Ramadan is a very strict time for Muslims as they fast throughout the month long celebration.  According to the rules that they follow, fasting includes refraining from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured.  Now the rules state that they are to refrain from eating or drinking, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t do these things for an entire month.  Instead the regulations state that they are to observe fasting from sunrise until sunset and before or after they are allowed to eat and drink.  The purpose of fasting is for these people to learn patience, spirituality, and modesty.  This is also viewed as an ideal time to offer additional prayers to Allah (God) for any pass miss doings.

So why do the Muslims celebrate this month long feast during the ninth month of the Islamic year?  It is believed in this Islamic religion that the month of Ramadan is when the Quran (Muslim Holy text) was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.  It is the Quran that calls all Muslim people to fast during Ramadan so that their souls may be cleansed and they may become closer to Allah.  The guidelines that rule fasting are very strict on what can and cannot be done.  It is stated that participation is not optional for adults that are healthy.  It is important to point out that those that are ill or of an age where fasting would be detrimental to one’s health are not required to observe the daily fast.  Pregnant women or women who are nursing are also not required to observe the fast.  Those that are traveling a long distance (one source states a distance greater than 14 miles) are also allowed to refrain from fasting during their time of travel.  With all of these groups, even though they are allowed to eat and drink throughout the day doesn’t mean that they are let off the hook completely.  According to some of the different sects within the Muslim religion, some of the people who are released from fasting are required to make-up for their inability to fast by works of charity towards the poor and less fortunate than themselves.  This could entail feeding the poor, which some go so far as to invite those less fortunate into their own homes and providing food to them after the evening prayer is completed and the sun has set.

Ramadan is similar to our celebration of Christmas in some ways.  During this time gifts are given to the children in the families.  Ramadan is also a time for people to concentrate on helping the poor within their communities.  We spend a good amount of time preparing for Christmas day and when that day finally arrives it is met with much celebration and merriment.  Ramadan is similar in the fact that on the last day of the month of Ramadan families will get together to celebrate their journey to coming closer to Allah.  Our celebration is marked by a specific day on the calendar, whereas the end of Ramadan is noted as the first day after the sighting of a new moon.  During the celebration everyone is expected to dress in there very finest close as they visit family and friends.  They also go to their Mosque to pray and donate food to the poor.  By the end of Ramadan Muslims are also expected to have read the entire Quran.  Many people break this up into thirty parts and read a little bit each day.

Well on that note I suppose that I shall sign off for another week.  I hope that this information brings you all a slightly greater understanding of the Muslim religion.  Often times I think that a lot of the war in the world is due to misunderstanding and through learning about our neighbors we can work to eliminate hate.

Before I depart I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to write to show their support and caring.  I would also like to thank everyone who has sent care packages.  In the last few days I received a package from my parents with a bunch of lotion that was given to my mom from the people that she works with at the hospital and also a package from my fiancé.  We often overlook the fact that they send us things we need when it comes time to say our thank yous.  So this week I would like to make sure that I say a very special thank you to my parents and my fiancé, Megan.  Without the support of our loved ones our lives would be much more difficult and we need to make sure that we recognize your love and support for us.

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 100°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #11

Well another week has managed to sneak past us and somehow I managed to miss most of the days.  Well I guess I wouldn’t say that I missed them since they are keeping me here but at the same time I wonder where the time has gone.  This last week was rather eventful due to the fact that Afghanistan was holding their national elections on the 20^th and so there were many preparations that needed to be made before hand.  Our part in the elections was to aid in the transportation of some equipment and then also to help in keeping the voters safe.  There were rumors that some of the terrorist cells throughout the country were going to be traveling through some of the cities in the hopes of scaring the voters into staying away.  From my understanding they weren’t successful and the voters showed up anyhow.  Due to the fact that Afghanistan is less heavily reliant on technology that some other countries, the results of the election are slower to be processed and therefore are not scheduled to come out until sometime in September.

Recently I also received an email Keith Olson to inform me that their son, Shawn, recently became a contributor to the battle as he is now deployed down at Kandahar.  In the short correspondence that I have been able to have with Shawn thus far it sounds like he is fortunate in the fact that he will only deployed here for roughly four months before he returns back to the States and back to his family.  With the arrival of Shawn it is starting to feel kind of like a New Salem class of 2001 reunion.  A while back I received an email from John-Paul Klein, whose family was a neighbor of ours for a number of years, and he informed me that he too was currently deployed to Afghanistan.  He is located to the NE of FOB Lagman.  It’s nice to know that there are people here that I know and yet we may never be able to see each other.  I may be able to meet up with Shawn when I am on my way back home since I will have to travel through Kandahar on my way back to the states, but since I am rather unlikely to make it to other FOBs in the area I am not highly likely to run into John-Paul.

I also recently received an email from Rosemary in Idaho with a few questions.  She mentioned that the fruit harvest out in Idaho was getting ripe and therefore ready to be harvested.  She was wondering what our food was like here.  I can honestly say that it is nowhere near as good as the food that we have back home.  There is no knoephla soup or caramel rolls anywhere, but we still seem to get fed.  The Dining Facility here on FOB Lagman is operated by a company called KBR out of Houston, Texas.  They are one of the more widely used contractors throughout both Afghanistan and Iraq.  During my stay at FOB Diamondback near the city of Mosul, Iraq, during my last deployment, all of our Dining facilities were also run by the same company.  That is not to say that the service between the two is quite the same though.  I found that the food that we were served in Iraq was better than the food here.  Of course one of the issues is the size of the FOB.  Diamondback was a much larger FOB than Lagman is and therefore it is expected that the service between the two will be different.

When it comes to the actual food though we do it a lot of the same foods that we would eat back home.  During many meals the line is often filled with our favorites from back home.  It is commonplace to see such things as cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and french fries.  They also have some more substantial meals that they serve and often these meals are served as kind of a theme for the meal.  There are days when the theme is Mexican food and it comes complete with a taco bar.  One of my favorite meals is when they decide to have Italian day.  They serve large pans of lasagna and spaghetti and meatballs.  The one thing usually on the menu for Italian day that I have yet to understand is fried mozzarella cheese sticks.  Granted I won’t complain since these are my favorite, but I don’t quite understand how they are considered Italian.

Once you get away from the main line where all of the main course food is served there are a few other options available as well.  Most meals have a small sandwich station available.  It’s nothing too fancy, just a couple of trays with some ham and turkey then usually some American cheese and if we’re lucky some Swiss cheese as well.  There is also a large tray of whole wheat bread.  On the other side there is usually several different types of fruit that are available.  The fruit selection is somewhat dependant on what is in season at the time, but it is usually always fresh fruit.  They usually have some fruit cocktail or other canned fruit available but the rest of it is all fresh and they usually chop and dice it right there in the kitchen.  There is also usually an assortment of vegetables available and therefore it is possible for someone to have a salad if that is what they desire.  Since a lot of people resolve to lose weight while they are on a deployment it is always a good idea to have some healthier choices available.

For drinks we have the regular there as well when it comes to selection.  There are generally several different types of pop in the cooler along with an assortment of Gatorade.  Coffee and tea are usually available 24 hours a day, which can come in handy for some of the night shift people.  Now since New Salem has a lot of dairy farmers, I am proud to be able to report that milk is also available to us.  I’m not 100% sure where the milk comes from but it comes in little juice boxes and we don’t just have plain white milk.  We also have chocolate, banana, and strawberry available for our consumption, but I usually stick to the plain milk.  The one weird thing about the milk here is that it is not required to be refrigerated.  When it is processed they use a method called Ultra-High Temperature processing.  I can gather a little information from the title but I have yet to figure out how exactly this process makes it so that this milk doesn’t have to be put in the fridge to prevent spoilage.  Having traveled through a couple of different countries in Europe though I can tell you that this process is rather popular there and often they will keep their milk in their pantry until they actually open it, at which time refrigeration is required.  Since all of our food is actually trucked in from other places it is good that we don’t have to worry about the milk going bad and they can concentrate more on keep the fruits and vegetables and other food cold so that there is less waste.

Well I suppose I had better sign off for another week.  It is getting late and I need to get to bed soon so that I can get up tonight and do it all over again.  The days are often repetitive, but after a while you get used to it and if something changes it puts a wrench into the rest of your day.  I would like to thank everyone who has sent letters and emails over the last weeks.  I greatly appreciate all of the news from back in the States.  I don’t often get a lot of time to watch the news on TV here and even when I do it’s still better to hear it directly from people back home.   I also want to thank those of you who have recently sent care packages, especially Delores Klusmann, Rosemary Kunkel, and the parishioners at St. Mary, Queen of Peach church in Almont.  Everything that you sent is greatly appreciated and it all disappeared within a matter of minutes as people went through it all and took what they needed.

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 100°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!

Letter From Afghanistan #10

As I sit here on shift another week is coming to a close and it seems to have gone by fairly quickly.  Of course that is open to personal opinion.  Talking with my fiancé this week she mentioned that it felt like the week has been going by very slowly.  I find it funny how the passing of time is different between different people, even people in the same place or doing the same thing.

Last week’s letter seemed like somewhat of a coincidence as I was doing some reading online this last week.  I talked about solar weather and as I later found out we were in the middle of a meteor shower this whole last week.  I wish that I could say that it was planned that way but it was completely by chance that it happened that way.  After I learned that there was a meteor shower occurring I spent a lot of time walking around looking up towards the sky.  I would normally do this as part of my job but found I was looking up even when I was walking to chow and to work just to see if I catch a glimpse of this beautiful phenomenon.  I was fortunate enough to be able to view a couple of different meteors as they attempted to enter our atmosphere and streak across the sky in an awesome display of light.  While I was reading I wondered how big the meteors were as they fell toward the earth and I found out that many of them are about the size of a grain of sand.  It amazes me that something that small can produce that much light and be seen from that far away.

I also talked briefly about some of the wildlife that we have here on the FOB.  For the most part we don’t see too much other than a few birds (sparrows and pigeons mostly), a few snakes (luckily I haven’t seen any yet), and many different species of insects.  One animal that we have here on the FOB that isn’t considered wildlife are the FOB dogs that call FOB Lagman their home.  When we first arrived here at Qalat there were several dogs running around, some of them didn’t look very healthy.  Some were very thing from lack of food and others had different diseases.  Sadly the ones that were sick had to be put done to prevent the diseases from spreading to all of the soldiers on the FOB and also to keep the other animals in the local area from getting sick as well.  Some of them were able to be saved by giving them food.  One of the dogs, Bella, was a small puppy when we arrived.  She is now not so small anymore and she is spoiled.  Bella, along with the rest of the dogs here have collars and many of them also have flea and tick collars.  They enjoy a good petting whenever they feel like getting some attention and are doing very well.  One of the dogs here was named Baylough as that is where she came from.  Baylough is another FOB that is north of here and one day during a convoy from Baylough to Lagman this dog followed the convoy.  When the convoy was getting close to FOB Lagman they noticed this dog had been following them for quite a ways and decided to allow her onto the FOB.  This is now her home and I’m sure that she finds that she is treated very well.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Mel in Iowa with a couple of questions that I thought that I would address this week as well.  Mel was wondering how cooperative the neighboring countries are when it comes to sharing weather information.  As a general rule most countries are very good about sharing weather data.  Afghanistan on the other hand is a little different when it comes to weather forecasting and observing.  There is very little evidence of any type of weather system that has been established here in Afghanistan.  That can also be said for some of the other surrounding countries.  That of course doesn’t mean that they don’t have any type of weather reporting throughout any of these countries, but instead just means that we don’t have access to their information.  Lucky for us though we don’t really need to rely on our host country to provide weather information and can provide most of our own weather data.  Between the Air Force, Navy, and Marines an entire weather network has been created for the sole purpose of sharing weather data around the world.  The hourly weather observations that I take here are able to be seen around the world along with the forecasts for many of the bases here in country.  Through this same system we have the ability to view different models that are created for anywhere in the world and through these we are able to write our forecasts.  There is information that is kept classified but that is not for the weather itself but more for the locations that this weather is for.  When we brief a crew here the briefing is considered classified but that is simply because we don’t want the enemy to know where our pilots are flying and the times that they will be there.  We also have satellites that circle the globe that are responsible for the imagery that allows us to see current weather conditions.  Depending on the type of imagery that is provided it can be extremely helpful in data sparse areas like Iraq and Afghanistan to locate not only clouds but to also spot things like dust.  We also have the ability to apply modifications that make it easier to pick things out on the satellite images like thunderstorms.  The satellites are able to get such fine detail that we are able to see snow on the tops of mountains and fog down in a valley.  So for the most part we are very self-sustaining when it comes to the information that we need to do our job.

Mel was also wondering about the local people and their attitudes towards us.  It’s kind of difficult for me to answer this question personally since I don’t generally come in contact with too many local nationals in my day to day life.  We do have a few local Afghani people that work here on base.  Their jobs generally consist of working in the Dining Facility, the FOB’s janitorial staff, and maintenance.  They work very hard and seem happy to have a job that they are paid to do.  They are supervised in their daily tasks by at least one of the American contractors that we have on the FOB.  Back when we had the memorial service for the two military men that had been killed, we also had some of the local village leaders present to pay their respects.  Though I’m sure the understood very little of what was said during the ceremony, they sat with the rest of the observers and showed respect for the two men that had been lost.  Other than that I don’t really have too much contact with them.  As a general rule most of us are not allowed out into the villages for security reason.  I was also told that I better not be leaving the FOB by both my fiancé and my mom so I think for my own safety I had better stay put.  The only times that I will be allowed to leave the FOB is in transit between here and other FOBs, and that will be via helicopter.

Well on that note I shall sign off for another week.  Before I got I would like to those of you that have sent emails, letters, and care packages.  I would especially like to thank Cindy Maher for the letters and the Kathy Martin Family for the card.  I would like to send a very special thank you to Brandon Martin for the pictures that he drew for me.  I would also like to thank everyone for keeping us in their thoughts and prayers during this trying time in our lives.  I believe that just thinking of someone is often the same as praying for them.  Many times when you think of another person you are hoping for the best for them and your hopes are as good as prayers.

I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to contact me you can email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  I love to hear news from back home.  I also would love to try and answer any questions that you may have.  If you would prefer to send a letter, card, or care package they can be sent to me at the following address:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you are sending a care package please know that everything that is sent is shared with everyone here on the FOB and that everything is greatly appreciated.  Due to the heat I must ask that you please refrain from sending chocolate or anything else that will melt.  With the temperature still reaching over 100°F each day chocolate becomes soupy very quickly.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!