October

While we were walking to the chow hall for "breakfast" (for most dinner) yesterday, I looked at my watch, double-checked the date, and asked my friend "It's October 10th...what happened to the last 10 days?" It still feels like we just arrived from leave, like we're still acclimating, still working our way into the schedule and groove, but we're already almost halfway through the month! It's surely not a reason to complain. There's definitely a powerful inertia pushing all of the gears and moving pieces that come with redeploying to the states...a momentum that keeps the days passing and time on our side.

October in Afghanistan means cooler weather, shorter days, jackets and hats and a pleasant crispness in the air. Minus the orange, yellow and red that normally dominate the landscape or the crunch that you hear as you walk on its leaves, it feels like October, like Fall, like change. We flew a few missions last night, and one of the missions involved an emergency resupply of water and food to an outpost on a mountain top. It was a chilly night (probably in the 30's), and we flew towards the grid, searching for a suitable landing area, only to see what looked to be white, fluffy caterpillars scattered across the ridgeline. Sure enough, the caterpillars were soldiers nestled into their sleeping bags, shielding themselves in a cocoon against the chilly mountain air. Although we "came bearing gifts," I felt like a Santa who makes a mess in the kitchen, tracks soot from the chimney, and forgets to close the door after leaving the house. I'm sure the wind chill from our rotor wash interrupted their sleep, and after trying to land our helicopter on the sloped, jagged terrain, we were forced to drop the supplies from a hover (like leaning over the sleigh, aiming for the chimney, and hoping for the best). In either case, the troops received their supplies and appreciated our help. Hopefully their time on the mountain is temporary.

There's definitely an excitement in the air towards going home. Guys are planning vacations, gearing up for changes in their careers and looking forward to the much anticipated reunion with family and loved ones. Of course, as a leader, you stress finishing strong, staying focused and resisting complacency - dotting i's and t's the same way we have for the past 10 months. There was a tactical expectation that things would have slowed down by now, that the enemy would start working its way back to the Pakistan border, that the fighting season would come to an end and the colder weather would freeze the aggressiveness that we'd experienced over the past few months. Of course, any scan of recent headlines begs to differ, and it's unacceptable to let an expectation or perception catch us on our heals. So for now, it's about leading by example, staying focused, squelching complacency, and driving hard towards the finish line. I think we'll be there in no time.