Day 423: The End

The journey is finally over. After 48 straight hours of planes or waiting for planes, I finally touched down in Reno Wednesday and was reunited with Sue and the kids. It is such a great feeling to finally have this deployment over with. In some ways it feels hard to believe that it is over, while in other ways it feels like forever has passed since I left.

As I have neared the end of this deployment and have prepared to come home, people often have asked me if I had a good experience and if I would want to do it again. The answers to these questions are "good" and "no"...but let me elaborate a little bit.

First, a word about the experience as a whole. I think one day, Sue and I will look back at this past year as a defining moment for our family, our marriage, and our life in general. Although long and difficult, I think Sue would agree that it was a "good" thing for our family and an experience we probably needed to have. We didn't feel that way at first. Shocked, worried, humbled, and crushed, are just a few words that could be used to describe the moment when my boss informed me that I would be deploying. We always knew I would eventually receive the deployment order, however, we never thought it would come so soon and last for such a long period of time. 452 days--an incredibly long time it seemed at the moment. Regardless, like all challenges in life, we had no ability to choose the "what" or "when" or "why" of this experience, but rather were left to face the trial with as much faith, patience and perseverance as we possibly could.

So, a year in Afghanistan it was. The experience for me on the ground was unique and definitely an educational one. I saw and did things I will never do again. I rode in helicopters. I learned how to handle weapons. I drove and commanded up-armored vehicles. I slept in a wooden hut. I ran a lot of miles on a treadmill. I learned how to speak a little Dari and Pashto. I learned to not drink in the evenings so as to avoid having to use the outdoor "facilities" in the middle of the night. I learned how to try to maintain a healthy relationship with my wife and children strictly via email and talking over a computer. I traveled hundreds of miles up and down Afghan roads and in the process came to know a people, a culture, and a religion that before was essentially a mystery to me. I made many life-long friends from various different countries and backgrounds. I prayed a lot and learned to trust more in my Father in Heaven and a little less on myself.

Sue will have to comment as the resident expert on how this deployment affected our family back home. I know it wasn't easy. I know there were a lot of moments of frustration, worry, and loneliness. However, I also know there were many successes, joys, and bonding experiences between her and the kids. The family not only survived this past year, but again, I think we grew from the experience.

Now, to the question of "Would you do it again?" The answer is easy...NO! I didn't volunteer for this deployment the first time and I wouldn't volunteer a second time. This doesn't mean that the deployment wasn't the right thing for me and our family or that we didn't learn a lot from it. My negative answer doesn't mean that this deployment wasn't a worthwhile experience. It only means that if I was given the choice I wouldn't voluntarily do it again. I think my answer goes back to my previous comment that we can't choose the trials we will face in this life, but rather are left to accept them and do our best to learn from them.

With that being said, I am grateful that someone wiser than me is able to help guide and direct my life. I, like most people in this world, would naturally choose the easy road or avoid things in life that are "undesirable". However, a loving Father is always there to watch over us and give us experiences that we need rather than ones that we want. These experiences are given to us for our personal growth, to expand our perspective, and ultimately to lead us back to Him again. I am grateful for His guidance. I am grateful for His support. I am grateful to know that He loves me and my family and that ALL the experiences we face will ultimately be for our good as we turn to Him.

Now a few words of thanks...

First to my cute little Susie. You survived! Can you believe it is finally over? How grateful I am to have you in my life. How grateful I am to have such a wonderful mother raising and guiding my beautiful children. I know this wasn't an easy experience for you but you did an incredible job--not only back at home but also helping me feel supported and loved. Thanks again for all you have done and continue to do for me. You are awesome. I love you!

To my kids. Thanks for not driving your mom completely crazy. Thanks for sending me so many fun letters, pictures, and emails. There is nothing like hearing from one's children to keep one happy, motivated, and in good spirits. I missed you guys so much and I am so grateful that I am back with you and mom again.

To Sue's family and mine. I will never be able to express fully how much I appreciate you watching out for and supporting Sue and my little ones. You have all done so much for us. One of my greatest comforts while away was knowing that you were all there watching over and protecting my family. Your efforts have been amazing and your sacrifices in my family's behalf have truly humbled me. I am immensely grateful for your love and support.

To our friends. Thanks for the encouraging words and for your support of me and my family while I have been away.

To all others out there who have in someway been a part of this journey or have touched our lives in someway over the past year, I thank you for all that you have done. There have been so many people out there who have done so much for us and supported us in so many ways. Know that your efforts were noticed and appreciated.

So with that, this 452 day adventure (that luckily only lasted 423 days) and the blog that has documented my journeys over this time, is officially closed. It has been a pleasure to share some of my experiences, thoughts, and feelings with you over this period. Thanks for reading. I hope that something I shared was educational, humorous, insightful, thought provoking, or otherwise of some value to you. I know writing it was beneficial to me and hopefully, in the years to come, it will be a valuable record to me and my family as we continue through this adventure we call life.

Farewell.

Day 420: The Hidden Pictures

One night while I was on my church mission in Argentina, my companion and I were out visiting a neighborhood. We stopped at one particular house, knocked on the door, and were met by an older man who greeted us by pointing a gun in our direction. He asked us to leave and as you can imagine we quickly complied with his request. It was the first time (and luckily the last) that someone has threatened me by pointing a gun at me.

Later that week as I sat down to write my weekly letter to my mom and dad, I was careful to omit this event from the narrative of the week’s events. After all, moms worry enough about their kids when they are away from home and the last thing they need to know is that someone just pointed a gun at their “baby”. Interestingly, I did write a friend of mine that same week and recounted the incident to them in their letter. Somehow, some of the pages of the letter to my friend ended up in the letter to my mom. The pages she accidentally received did not actually tell of the details of the incident but it did allude to something “crazy” and “scary” that happened. Isn’t it amazing that moms somehow always seem to find out about everything?

Well, similar to my mission days, I have been careful during this deployment to avoid talking or blogging about anything that might make my mom or wife nervous. Now that I am out of harms way, however, I thought it might be interesting to show a few pictures of my “brushes with danger”. Luckily, there isn’t too much to show. I pray that those returning behind me have no more to show than I do. So, here you go...


This picture shows what a rocket can do when it hits the walls that surround one of our bases. This particular one hit the FOB in Bala Baluk about 24 hours prior to a visit I made there. Luckily the night I was there, sleeping under the stars on a cot, the Taliban took the night off and no rockets were shot at us. Rockets are frequently shot at US bases. They rarely do damage or cause injuries. However, there are rare exceptions and it always makes you just a little nervous when one hits close by. The closest I ever got to one was in Kandahar as I was returning from leave. A rocket hit a few hundred yards from the barracks I was sleeping in.

The next few pictures show the effects of an IED on a vehicle. This truck is an uparmored vehicle driven by civilian contractors. It was “hit” by a suicide bomber in Herat just a few miles away from Camp Stone. Look at the damage on the outside and then amazingly how intact the inside is. No one was hurt in this blast (except for the bomber of course).



Suicide bombers in vehicles (VBIEDs as they are known) are one of the greatest risks we face in Afghanistan. In Herat we had a two month period last fall where at least weekly a VBIED would detonate on the road between Camp Stone and the Herat airport. After hearing a loud boom and feeling the buildings shake around us, a plume of smoke like the one pictured here would appear from the direction of the road. Again, we luckily had no serious Coalition injuries during this period.


This last picture shows what can happen to a cooler full of vaccine and syringes when it is exposed to the blast from an IED. I sent down this vaccine and associated supplies to one of our neighboring bases in advance of my traveling down to the location. As you can tell, it never made it down there. Luckily my trip down to this particular base was not as “interesting” as the trip was for the vaccine.

Day 419: Out of Afghanistan

Goodbye Afghanistan...Hello Kuwait

Well, after eleven months of living in a combat zone, I finally left Afghanistan last night and flew into Kuwait. As I sat in the back of the plane, the reality of going home finally started to set in. The journey is almost over. This deployment, which has dominated the thoughts, emotions, and direction of my family’s life for nearly 18 months, is really ending. The day that we thought would never arrive, is finally here. Can you believe it? No longer do I have to wear body armor or carry a weapon around everywhere I go. My wooden 8X10 foot space that has been home for so long, will now be replaced with something with carpet, indoor plumbing, and a comfortable bed. I will once again be able to go to my kid’s school events and soccer games. I will get to change diapers again! I will be able to stay up late, watching a movie with my wife, only to fall asleep with her on the couch. I will be able to start being a “real” doctor again. I could go on and on about things that I am happy to leave behind and things I am excited to start enjoying again...but I think you get the idea.

Here in Kuwait I will be spending the next few days turning in all of my Army equipment and preparing for the journey back home. I will transition from being in the Army to being back in the Navy. In my free time, I will be enjoying the 120 degree weather and blowing sand storms! Actually, despite the heat, it is a pretty nice base and it has a lot of the amenities of home. In fact, right now I am sitting in an air conditioned Starbucks accessing their WiFi hotspot. Earlier in the day I went to the very large indoor gym, played raquetball, and swam in the outdoor pool. With a few more days like today and a little more time at the pool, I might be able to get rid of that awesome farmer tan I have developed over the past year.

Day 415: From Kabul to Bagram

Today was the second leg of my journey back home. After spending nearly all afternoon waiting for a ride to take us from Kabul to Bagram, our transportation finally arrived. We were flown in a chinook helicopter--my second helicopter ride of this deployment. This was a different kind of bird than the one I flew in last September. I wasn’t able to take a picture of the actual helicopter I flew in, but posted here is a picture of a similar Italian helicopter. It was a pretty fun ride...although somewhat nauseating. Our pilot was definitely trying to keep things interesting. At times it felt like we were on a roller coaster as we would dive then quickly ascend back up again. The guy in front of me threw up all over the bags lying at his feet. I thought for sure he had gotten my bags dirty. However, when we landed I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had missed mine and hit someone else’s bags.

After about thirty minutes we were back on the ground at Bagram airfield. It was a fun experience and I was glad to have one last helicopter ride to add to my list of unique deployment moments. Most importantly it got me one step closer to leaving Afghanistan and being reunited with my Susie and my kids again. I will be here in Bagram for a few days to outprocess and then will be heading to Kuwait.

Day 414: The First Leg Home

Yesterday morning, I said my final goodbye to Camp Stone. As I stood up on the “smoke deck” one last time (no I wasn’t smoking) and looked out at the mountains that surrounded me, I was grateful for the time that I have spent here, the experiences I have had, and the friends that I have made. It has been a long, but good tour. I am glad that I had the experience...I am even more glad that it is nearly over.

I will be traveling for the next ten days. My journeys will take me from Kabul to Bagram to Kuwait to Baltimore and then ultimately home. There is going to be a lot of time spent during this period sitting around, moving in and out of different tents, and moving the five big bags of gear I am carrying with me. However, it is amazing how less inconvenient the process seems compared to a year ago. The difference is that no matter how tedious, slow, and uncomfortable the process, in ten days...I WILL BE HOME!

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.

Day 407: Meritorious Service

It is a rite of passage when you leave deployment that you receive some kind of award. The award represents your efforts over the course of your time in the country and the change or progress you were able to influence while deployed. Well, today was my turn to receive my end of tour award. I was presented a Meritorious Service Medal by my direct supervisor and good friend CAPT Ken Laube. The citation reads as follows:

For meritorious service while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a physician mentor. He led the development of the first regional medical headquarters and regional medic training programs, mentored Afghan medical personnel and coordinated Afghan forces medical humanitarian projects. These accomplishments significantly increased the capability of the Afghan National Police and the emergence of a more capable and effective life saving force. His performance of duty in a combat zone reflects great credit upon himself, the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, the United States Central Command and the United States Navy.

Steven P. Huber
Brigadier General, US Army
Commanding

It is nice to be recognized. It is nice to feel that I have made an impact for good while here. I feel that I have done my best to serve my country and the Afghan people over this past year. It has been challenging at times and the progress has been slow, but the bottom line is that some progress forward has been made. The Afghan police medical system is just a little more capable and a little more functional than I found it. I am content with my work and am hopeful that my replacement will be able to build on my successes and help the Afghans achieve even more in the future.

So now that the end of tour award is out of the way, I can look forward to the reward I really want...walking safely off that plane in a few weeks and being able to give my Susie, Abbie, Ellie, Eden and Ammon a big hug. See you in a few weeks guys!

Day 405: Happy Fourth of July!

Happy 4th of July! It is nice to know that this is the last holiday I will spend away from home.

Well the 4th here at Camp Stone was not all that memorable. I think in a way it is a blessing that holidays are essentially normal days here. Most of the time you forget it is even a holiday...allowing you not to feel homesick or wishing you were far, far away enjoying the barbecues, volleyball games, and family parties back home.

I spent the morning at the ANA hospital saying goodbye to my Navy colleagues who have finished their year and are heading back home (a few days ahead of me). Their Afghan counterparts did a nice job as you can see in the pictures decorating and providing refreshments. The pastries they had purchased downtown for the ceremony looked pretty good. Unfortunately, I was called away before I could try them.

From there it was a regular Camp Stone day. I checked some email, made some phone calls, and packed a few of my things. Tonight, the only entertainment we have scheduled is BINGO. Exciting I know! Who would want fireworks when they could have BINGO. It should be fun.

On a serious note (not that BINGO isn’t serious business), I am grateful on this Independence Day for my country and the honor it is too serve her. I’ve done my share of complaining about this deployment over the past year. However, I realize now, more than I ever have before, how blessed we are to live in a country where we have freedom and relative safety and security. My sacrifice this past year is small compared to many others who have given so much more to defend her and the liberties she gives to each of us. May each of you have a wonderful 4th of July.

Day 402: The Bakery

Whenever we take the family to Disneyland, we always stop by the Mission Tortilla Factory in the California Adventure Park. This is a working factory where you learn and see how tortillas are made. We always stop there at lunch time so that we can fill up on hot, freshly baked “free samples”. It is a lot cheaper than buying food at the park!

Anyway, today I was at the ANA base and I decided to drop by the bakery to see how they make their “naan” or flatbread. It is right behind the hospital, but up until today, I never had made it over there. As we approached the building the aroma quickly gave away that we were nearing the bakery--it smelled awesome! Once inside it was interesting to watch and see how they make their bread. As you can see in the pictures, one guy mixes the dough and then passes it on to others who roll it out and texture it. From there it is thrown into the oven to be cooked. The oven is interesting because it is like a large buried barrel. The dough is thrown up against the wall of the oven where it stays in place and is cooked. From there it is removed with some long prongs and whoalla, you have fresh, hot naan.

Of course, just like at Disneyland, I couldn’t leave without taking a free sample. It was pretty tasty.

Day 397: One Last Ride

Almost exactly ten months ago I arrived in Afghanistan. Since then I have spent a lot of my time traveling the countryside and visiting downrange bases. I have seen a lot of things, met a lot of interesting people, and had many unique experiences. Well, today marked the end of my Afghan travels as I concluded my final “big trip” before I head home next month. I may have one or two runs into Herat city before I go home, but outside of that, my traveling days are essentially over. So as I spent two and a half hours on the road today, I tried to enjoy the last leg of the journey. I tried to get a lot of pictures of these Afghan people I have tried my best to serve over this past year. I tried to enjoy the interesting and surprisingly beautiful desert landscape that I have come so used to as it passed me by. I reflected on how blessed I have been to have traveled these roads in safety. The reality that this journey actually is going to end soon started to kick in. I started to feel excitement that I will soon be home with Sue and the kids, my family and friends, and normal life again.

And then all of the peaceful reflection ended as the Humvee started to overheat and I started to get blasted with hot air as the A/C was turned off and the heater turned on. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted and it wouldn’t be memorable if there weren’t a few bumps in the road...right?

Here are a few pictures of the journey.

Day 396: Trading Syringes for RPGs

For the past 72 hours I have been down at Shouz (two hours south of Herat) as part of my last big trip of this deployment. Although it has been nice to be away from Stone for a few days, it has also been extremely monotonous. My days and nights have been filled with little more than filling syringes with vaccine in advance of a new class of police student’s arriving here. I have literally spent the last 3 days doing nothing more than filling syringes...and after about a thousand it starts getting a little old.


So this afternoon I jumped at the chance to get away from my syringes for a few minutes and go do something a little more exciting. I was offered the opportunity to go out to the firing range and shoot RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). This isn’t something that many people get to do (especially doctors) so I was quick to accept the offer.

It reminded me a little of my range days a year ago back at Fort Riley. We put on our body armor, had a little class, and then went to work laying down fire on the hill in front of us. It was a very impressive, powerful, and loud weapon. I was definitely glad I was on the giving end instead of the receiving end of this beast. We each had a chance to shoot twice before the ammo ran out. It was a fun experience and a much needed break.




Well I better run...I’ve got to get back to my syringes.

Day 390: Moving Boxes

Since I have been in the military I have moved a lot of boxes. In fact, outside of practicing medicine, moving boxes has probably been the thing that has occupied most of my time over these past five years in the Navy. There have been innumerable boxes that I have packed, moved, and stored as the Navy has sent us on our journey from Washington, D.C., to Virginia, to California, to Nevada, and finally to Utah. I don’t think “clearing out the boxes in the garage” has ever left the weekend to-do list since Sue and I were first married. So you would think that coming here to Afghanistan would finally give me a chance to get out of the box moving business for a while, right? WRONG!




Honestly, if you added up all the boxes in the moving trucks, storage units, and garages I have had over the past several years, they would be nothing compared to the pile of boxes I have moved since arriving here at Camp Stone. There have been shipments of urine specimen cups. There have been taxi’s full of vaccines. There was even a bus that was completely full of first aid kits (I wish I would have taken a picture of that one). I have moved boxes from one end of Camp Stone to another. I have hauled them over to the neighboring ANA base. I have moved them from storage containers to humvees and from trucks to storage containers. About the only thing I haven’t done is loaded boxes onto the back of a camel.

Well, lately I have enjoyed my box moving experiences a little bit more. This is because I have been receiving the boxes containing the donations from our Afghan service project. It ended up being a huge project and the amount collected and sent over was amazing. Yesterday I received the latest shipment--approximately 15 boxes (shown below). Over the past few months, as I have moved each individual box (totaling well over a hundred), I have been humbled by the love and generosity of those who donated so much. Each box contains something that will change a life--from clothes that will cover a newborn baby to backpacks filled with paper, crayons, and pencils that will help a child gain an education. Your donations have made and will continue to make a huge difference for thousands of Afghan children.


So thanks again for your generosity and helping contribute to the “watch Justin move 452 boxes in 452 days” project. Luckily, I only have a few more weeks of box moving left until I make it back home. And what will I do once I make it back home? That’s right, my first item of business is to pack everything I own into boxes and move them back to Fallon!

Day 385: A Truck Full of Medicine

Today we loaded a police truck full of boxes that were filled with medicine. By the time we were done, the boxes were practically falling off the back of the pick up. Although it looks like quite a large amount of medicine, it actually is very little--considering it needs to supply the medication requirement of all of the police in western Afghanistan. Imagine one truck full of medicine needing to satisfy the demand for all police and their families in the state of Utah for several months. When you think of it in that sense, one truck load suddenly becomes much less significant. Regardless, we were happy to get the small amount that we did. For over a year, the Afghans I work with have been unable to obtain any medicine due to their backward and broken logistics system. However, after flying to Kabul ourselves last month, we were finally able to push through some of the barriers that have kept us from getting medications in the past. So there you have it...one small truck full of medicine. It is a small success story I know, but at least things are moving in the right direction. Hopefully by the time my replacement is getting ready to go home next year, they will be able to fill two pick ups full of medicine. Baby steps, right?

Day 380: Frequent Flier Miles

I didn’t realize when I came back from leave, that I would be traveling so much. It seems like every other week I am jumping on a plane to conduct some kind of business. Today started my latest journey as I got into a Sweedish C-130 and headed to Kabul. I wish somehow I could accumulate frequent flier miles for all the trips I’ve been on during this deployment. I’m sure I would have earned enough miles for a free trip to Hawaii or some other exotic destination by now. Just to give you a reminder of some of the flights I have taken, I’ve listed them below.

I’ve flown from...

Utah to San Diego
San Diego to Kansas
Kansas to Salt Lake and back again (three times)
Kansas to Kabul
Kabul to Salt Lake (and back again for leave)
Herat to Bagram, Bagram to Kabul, Kabul to Kandahar, Farah to Herat, and any other combination of Afghan cities you can think of.

All in all, I’m sure I’ve circled this crazy world of ours a few times by now. It’s been a fun ride. I’ve seen a lot of new places and met a lot of new people. I’ve flown on American, Canadian, Italian, Spanish, German, and now Sweedish aircraft. I’ve touched down in Kuwait, Germany, Ireland, Kyrgystan, and of course Afghanistan. It has been quite an adventure.

The best news of all is that this will be the last addition to my frequent flier account until I embark on my final journey--the journey back home. And if you hadn’t heard, it looks like this trip home will arrive just a little sooner than originally anticipated. If all goes as planned, I should be back with Sue and the kids by the last week of July!