Day 410: A Flag at Half Mast

Round by round, I slowly emptied the magazines for my weapons today. As I sat there working, I reflected on the day I initially loaded them nearly a year ago. I remember the day well. I had been in Afghanistan only a day or two. I was still in Kabul and the reality of entering a combat zone was just starting to settle in. I’ll be honest--I was nervous. Here I was, sitting in Afghanistan, loading my weapons and preparing myself for a year where I knew I would often be asked to go “outside the wire”. We had been practicing and preparing at Ft. Riley for several months, but this was different--this was much more real.


Well, today I unloaded all of that ammunition. Not a single round was missing from what I was initially issued. Over the past year, I have been on over 75 convoys and have traveled hundreds of miles up and down western Afghanistan. I feel very blessed that during all of these journeys I have never been shot at, attacked, or otherwise threatened. I thank my Father in Heaven for watching over me and protecting me. I am grateful to all of you back home and for your prayers in my behalf--I know they were heard and answered.

As I walked across Camp Stone to turn in the ammunition, I walked past the flag pole. It was flying at half mast. It had been lowered earlier in the day to honor one of our fallen. A young soldier, who had been in my office just a few days earlier, had been killed after just arriving to the area. He had just left the dangers of eastern Afghanistan to finish off the last month of his tour in the relative safety of the west. Now he is gone. It was a painful reminder of how horrible war truly is and how quickly a life can be taken. I feel for his family, whose grief today I cannot even imagine. I pray that they will find peace and comfort in their loss.


As I prepare to leave this country in the next few days, my prayer is that the sacrifice of this soldier and those that have gone before him will not be in vain. I pray that peace will come to this country and the good people who live here. I pray that someday there will be no need to carry weapons here and that there will be no “wire” to go outside of. Until that day comes, I pray for the safety of my friends and colleagues who remain in this land trying to bring her peace and freedom.