Weather

Snow, snow, and more snow. Not here, but in Afghanistan, at least in TB’s area….snow, ice, rain, mud, cold. The weather can be a real issue for our Troops. Of course, we’ve all heard about the extreme heat, especially in Iraq, and many of us have seen photos of huge sandstorms. The weather interferes with mail and resupply. They get stuck out on missions at mountain outposts for days beyond what was planned. (Readers will recall that the outpost is where TB’s squad sleeps on the ground.) Soldiers returning from leave find that it takes weeks to get back to their units. All due to weather conditions.


On a lighter note, one of TB’s buddies told me his squad was in a village they frequently patrol. They were throwing snowballs and “the lil league of 8 yr olds came out to play. There were more snowballs in the air than I have ever seen before in my life. These kids were good! They were not only accurate, but they throw hard! These snowballs hurt! I think they were packing ice in them! And the 4 kids we started this snowball fight with, thinking we could win, multiplied! We had a whole neighborhood out pelting us with snowballs! I put my hands up, screamed ‘break contact’, and ran. The ANA soldiers covered our movement back to a little bit of cover but it didn’t help. These kids didn’t stop. They were out for blood! So the next day my squad figured we’d go in teams and flank them, but the kids were smarter than we were and stayed inside.”