I'll hope you need not re-deploy.

The reality is that I WILL re-deploy. It's the job I signed up for and it's the nature of the beast. Thanks for the hope though.

Glad to hear from you. I can understand your frustration.

Siobhan, good to hear from you. I am glad that there is some positive side you can see to the attacks. thx for sharing your observations.

A viewpoint we haven't heard much of, and I welcome it. The coordination of the attacks has been what's being touted in the news -- we haven't heard much about the coordination of the response. Thanks for this post, and certainly, good luck when you go back.

Great to see you here and hope you have a great time back in the states.
thanks for this on-the-round report.

Thank you for your service, first and foremost. Godspeed on your safe return and know that you are doing good work for you fellow men and women abroad and at home.
The coordination of the attacks is however not a good sign, independent of the efficacy of the response of our Afghan allies, because in a guerilla war, as Mao said, if the government isn't winning, it's losing, because it means the guerillas/Taliban have the initiative.
The fact that they blew the Khyber pass bridge just two days before the Kyrgyz government announced that they would request the United States to leave is also is a bad sign in the sense that it means that the guerillas/Taliban are now capable of operating on a strategic level and have an ally.
What no one in the press seems willing to ask, and perhaps you could, because people will listen to you more, is this: How, Where, and from Whom are the resources for the Taliban attacks and especially the necessary command and control and planning functions being provided?
The answer, it seems to me, although not a happy one, is obvious: the ISI in Pakistan, because of the U.S. tilt towards India, and more fundamentally, because that requires Pakistan the backing of a Great Power, Russia and probably China, who wish the United States to leave Central Asia. This would be the analogous pattern to what happened in the 1980's, in which we reprise the role of the Russians as the defender etc... .
You get home safe and sound airman/woman; you have lots of people for whom you are now in their prayers; and thank you again for your service. The good Afghans thank you too.

perhaps more important is that substantial attacks are now occurring inside kabul. progress by the andf is matched and surpassed by progress in insurgent capabilities.

"more troops!" "more troops!"

Please come home safe and, I too, hope you don't have to re-deploy.

I'm also glad to hear from you and grateful for the update. Take care and be safe.

Thanks for the report.
-sa
rated

Well, I'm sure the media only highlights the attacks but the major point is that these were Mumbai style attacks and the Afghans stopped and controlled the situations. They did an excellent job. Their counter-terrorism unit responded off the charts. When full details are made available I hope the news highlights them as much as they did the attacks themselves. The attacks are mostly unsucessful. Please keep in mind that these type of attacks can happen ANYWHERE in ANY COUNTRY.

It is very clear TB support is from Pakistan and specifically the FATA. Whether government entities are involved is another question. It is important to note that one of two(?) governments to recognize the Taliban was Pakistan and they were ISI supported throughout the 90's.

Coordination in their attacks on Kabul is a sign of the continual evolution of the Taliban. They have staged coordinated attacks before and will do so again. The job of the Afghans and their security forces is to prevent and mitigate those attacks. Make no mistake...Wednesday could have been MUCH worse.

Also I apologize for the delay in responding. We had a massive snowfall here in Kabul that impended communications via the civilian internet and I don't blog at work.

Thank you for all the well wishes.

Did you decide to go the Masters route? If you are still debating, I'm putting in my vote for BioScience (Biotechnology)
http://nano.cancer.gov/news_center/media_backgrounder.asp
http://www.discovernano.northwestern.edu/index_html
We need more focused stuff that can help us fight cancer, and it looks to be a good (and fascinating) field. Northwestern looks good on any job application (especially if someone else's paying for it, since it's private) and Chicago is a good city in many different ways (except for weather- weather we suck at).

Well Hy, I started the undergraduate work necessary to pursue an undergrad Biotech degree. I'm deployed but NJ has this fabulous system where all transfers and you can check before you take a class how the transfer.

So since I'm on leave from Rutgers I'm taking classes from my county's community college online. (Rutgers doesn't have much of an online presence) They actually have a transfer program set up with Thomas Jefferson in Philly so I just may finish up at Rutgers in the summer vs working on the third degree there and head over to Thomas Jefferson.

Hy-Jane

I neglected to caveat my bio with the fact whatever school I attend has to be within reach of where I'm stationed because I'm active duty.

Are you going to go career military?

Probably. I have an agenda in place that has me commissioning after I finish this Masters program I really intersted in. I'll be at 9 when this enlistment ends so it wouldn't be difficult to finish my 20 years out. Then, at 37/38, I'll have to look at that next career.