A front row seat to history

The life of a Public Affairs Officer gives me a front row seat to watch history in the making and yesterday was one of those exciting days which makes serving here in Afghanistan bearable. I caught a ride on a Blackhawk with a dozen media to cover the graduation of the first class of the Afghan Public Protection Force. This is a brand new program so I got to see the first 250 young men swear an oath to serve the people of Afghanistan and receive a certificate of completion. They’re not police officers nor are they members of the military. This program is basically an armed neighborhood watch. If they see insurgents doing bad things, it’s their job to call in the authorities. This first class came from Wardak Province and they’ll return to Wardak Province; they won’t be deployed to other regions of the country. It was actually very exciting to see such enthusiasm and devotion to their country displayed by the graduates.

As you can see from my pictures, Gen. McKiernan was on hand and offered encouragement to the graduating class. "I applaud the courage of these men to step forward in representing the community; but they know that if they run into problems, they can call the Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army or international forces that are out there. So they're not on their own," he said.

I enjoyed hanging out with the media including Conor Powell, a freelance reporter for FOX News. I’m envious of this young guy. It was nearly 20 years ago Walter Cronkite told me if you want to be a reporter kid, buy a camera and go where the stories are, don’t bother with the local affiliates. I didn't listen and look how my career ended. But that’s what Connor did and he’s making a real name for himself. I’m envious… but I’m still trilled how my story is going.

If you're interested in seeing some of the video I shot at the graduation, click here: http://www.dvidshub.net/r/7w5v3h

From one side of the planet to the other!

For the past six months I have been planning to return to my old job in Tennessee when my mission here is complete. Let’s just say Navy life is NOT short on surprises. But the surprise I just got turns out to be a good one, a very good one.

I received a call last week asking me if I would be interested in a position as the public affairs officer for the USS George Washington based in Japan. There is no US aircraft carrier with more international press focused on it than “GW.” GW just arrived in Japan a few months ago and this is the first nuclear powered carrier to be stationed there. I consider this opportunity a massive honor and I’m blown away by the confidence my peers have placed in me. To all those involved in the detailing process, THANK YOU!

I talked it over with my wife and it didn’t take long for the Hecht family to say “YES” to this next assignment.

I will return home from Afghanistan in May as scheduled. We’ll enjoy a fun summer and then in August, we’re off to the Land of the Rising Sun. The tour aboard GW will be for two years. After that, we're hoping to return to Tennessee. My family is very excited about this big change in our lives and I hope you'll join us in our enthusiasm.

Sayonara!

Another 5K

Staying fit in a combat theater of operations is critical. You need to be strong to carry your body armor and all your equipment. Staying fit also helps you to remain alert and reduces your day-to-day stress.

Over the weekend I ran another 5K marathon with about a dozen other service members. By the time I leave Afghanistan, I will have run/biked a distance equal to the circumference of Afghanistan; 1,750 kilometers. Not being the most hard core athlete, this is an accomplishment I'm very proud of.

The list

It was six months ago yesterday that I left my family. In retrospect, time has moved pretty fast and much of the credit for that goes to my wife and children who have kept my spirits up with their care packages and long conversations on Skype. It’s the time I have left in front of me that seems to be moving at a snail's pace. To help kill some time, I spent much of this Sunday building a list of things I have not done in six months. As I am a faithful husband, I’ll leave the obvious off.

In six months I haven’t:
- Taken a shower without shower shoes
- Had a drink that contained ice
- Driven a car or (yipeee) paid for gas
- Listened to the radio
- Gone to the movies
- Slept in a room without at least one other grown man
- Eaten good food
- Done my own laundry
- Worn anything other than a uniform or workout cloths
- Gone a day without carrying a gun (luckily never had to use it)
- Seen grass or a single flower
- Gone a day without see an Afghan digging a hole on this base
- Recycled a damm thing
- Been in a “western standard” clean bathroom

The list could go on and on, but it will only make me that much more homesick. 35 day to go!!!!!!!!!!!

The most important box

I received a VERY important box in the mail yesterday for my cause to help the Indirah Gandhi Children's Hospital. This box came from my daughter's kindergarten class. While each box has brought a smile to my face, this particular box had me grinning from ear to ear all day long.

The goal of my fundraiser for the hospital hasn't been to just raise donations for the suffering and needy children of Afghanistan. I also wanted to open the eyes of parents and children back home by having them take a little time at a pharmacy looking at a shell of medical supplies and realize how incredibly blessed we are as a country. It's wonderful to know all of my daughter's peers have now experienced this lesson.

During my years in television news, I loved using the power of the media to help people in need. I must have coordinated a dozen different on air fundraisers. Now that I'm no longer in the business, it's wonderful to see I don't need a television station to make a difference.

Thank you Mrs. Addison for your donation and helping me spread the word about people in need!

Goodbye TSgt Nipper

Today, Tech Sergeant Nipper loaded her bags into a truck and headed to the airport for the long flight back home for a much deserved reunion with her son. It was bitter sweat watching Brenda leave as we became good friends over the course of this deployment. At the same time, her departure does mean that I am the next to leave, along with MC1 Nelson and MC2 Ramirez.

It will be hard not having Brenda around. Her replacement is a great guy and more than capable to fill her shoes, but it's like being the catcher who followed Johnny Bench or the guy who played Trapper John after Honeycut left M.A.S.H. It just won't be the same.

As Brenda is Air Force and I'm in the Navy, odds are we'll never work together again. But hopefully we'll stay in touch. I wish her the best and send her a huge thank you for helping me to become a better officer.