With July 4th coming up, I thought I would share a letter from a freedom fighter.
Hello Norman,
Today I am sitting in my office. There is a normalizing sound that permeates my "B" Hut. It is the sound of baby birds chirping. There are baby birds in the wall where my air conditioning unit lines are placed. It's good to hear. It is good to hear because I hear it over all the other strange and awkward noises of a Forward Operating Base (FOB). There is the occasional sound of gunfire. Sometimes it is gunfire from our ranges. Sometimes it is the real deal. There is the occasional sound of an explosion. Usually, that one is real. These aren't as common as you might be thinking, except the gunfire. There is the sound of a huge generator that powers a Pizza Hut next to my office. You might say, "I bet Tim loves that." You would be wrong. I hate Pizza Hut. I don't like pizza, for a later conversation. But, the birds provide me with something different.
I call the baby birds a normalizing and familiar sound for my day. I have heard baby birds before today. I have heard them at home. So, it is like a piece of home in Afghanistan. Now, I don't know if they are chirping in Pashtu. But frankly, I don't even know English bird chirping. So, I cannot say that I am an expert in the chirping linguistics. I am sure that it is Pashtu chirping though. I just know that it isn't annoying like it should be. At home, I would probably try to move the nest; I don't know. It would likely annoy me, but not today. Today it is comforting. It is familiar. It is a slight shift in my perspective.
Another shift in my perspective occurred the other day. You may have read or seen news of the rocket attack in Bagram last weekend. One of my soldiers lost his leg from the knee down. He sustained other injuries. He should be recovering now at another location. Well, I was shaving the next day. My razor had fallen off the case in to my shaving kit. I reached in and grabbed it. I shaved off the corner of my thumb, just a piece. The first thing I thought or said I will leave as a mystery. The second, and almost immediate thought was, "I have my leg." It ceased to even be an issue at that moment.
I stood on the flight line as the FOB Chaplain yesterday as the medevac choppers came in. They unloaded a number of soldiers (Can't disclose details at this time due to Secret policy). I watched them be wheeled to the vehicles and shortly to the Med Station where I met them. They were sons, fathers, brothers etc... I watched over them and prayed for them. As they wheeled them from the choppers to the vehicles, tears pooled around my eyes. These brave me are somebody’s babies, dads.....
I am doing well. But, doing well doesn't mean that I don't feel the pain of those around me. We have just begun. There will be more of this unfortunately. There will also be some great stuff. I spend 99% of my time full and happy about what I do. It is only occasionally that it is hard. So, don't worry about me. I am doing well. I even went to a party last night.
The Afghan Security Guard hosted an event for us last night. I ate the local food and I lived through it. It was actually very good. They played music for us. A group of Afghans danced for us. I eventually joined them. It was a lot of fun. Some of the other officers were dancing with me. I am sure you know that I was acting a fool. We had a great time. Soon, I will have pictures. They will be great.
Keep our soldiers in your daily prayers. We are making a difference here. I spoke with a leader of the Afghan Army last night. He could not stop talking about the changes here. He spoke of hope. He spoke of new days. I see it in their eyes. This ancient, war-torn land has truly tasted what can be. They are determined and hungry for it. From what I gather from my comrades, it is different from Iraq somewhat in that sense. It is fresh, new life for them.
The birds are still chirping. They will chirp for a while, then go. They must lean on their mother right now until they can stretch their wings and fly on their own. Isn't that funny? Maybe, just maybe, Afghanistan will fly one day, all by itself.
Serving the Best Men and Women Today,
CH (CPT) Tim Brown
Hello Norman,
Today I am sitting in my office. There is a normalizing sound that permeates my "B" Hut. It is the sound of baby birds chirping. There are baby birds in the wall where my air conditioning unit lines are placed. It's good to hear. It is good to hear because I hear it over all the other strange and awkward noises of a Forward Operating Base (FOB). There is the occasional sound of gunfire. Sometimes it is gunfire from our ranges. Sometimes it is the real deal. There is the occasional sound of an explosion. Usually, that one is real. These aren't as common as you might be thinking, except the gunfire. There is the sound of a huge generator that powers a Pizza Hut next to my office. You might say, "I bet Tim loves that." You would be wrong. I hate Pizza Hut. I don't like pizza, for a later conversation. But, the birds provide me with something different.
I call the baby birds a normalizing and familiar sound for my day. I have heard baby birds before today. I have heard them at home. So, it is like a piece of home in Afghanistan. Now, I don't know if they are chirping in Pashtu. But frankly, I don't even know English bird chirping. So, I cannot say that I am an expert in the chirping linguistics. I am sure that it is Pashtu chirping though. I just know that it isn't annoying like it should be. At home, I would probably try to move the nest; I don't know. It would likely annoy me, but not today. Today it is comforting. It is familiar. It is a slight shift in my perspective.
Another shift in my perspective occurred the other day. You may have read or seen news of the rocket attack in Bagram last weekend. One of my soldiers lost his leg from the knee down. He sustained other injuries. He should be recovering now at another location. Well, I was shaving the next day. My razor had fallen off the case in to my shaving kit. I reached in and grabbed it. I shaved off the corner of my thumb, just a piece. The first thing I thought or said I will leave as a mystery. The second, and almost immediate thought was, "I have my leg." It ceased to even be an issue at that moment.
I stood on the flight line as the FOB Chaplain yesterday as the medevac choppers came in. They unloaded a number of soldiers (Can't disclose details at this time due to Secret policy). I watched them be wheeled to the vehicles and shortly to the Med Station where I met them. They were sons, fathers, brothers etc... I watched over them and prayed for them. As they wheeled them from the choppers to the vehicles, tears pooled around my eyes. These brave me are somebody’s babies, dads.....
I am doing well. But, doing well doesn't mean that I don't feel the pain of those around me. We have just begun. There will be more of this unfortunately. There will also be some great stuff. I spend 99% of my time full and happy about what I do. It is only occasionally that it is hard. So, don't worry about me. I am doing well. I even went to a party last night.
The Afghan Security Guard hosted an event for us last night. I ate the local food and I lived through it. It was actually very good. They played music for us. A group of Afghans danced for us. I eventually joined them. It was a lot of fun. Some of the other officers were dancing with me. I am sure you know that I was acting a fool. We had a great time. Soon, I will have pictures. They will be great.
Keep our soldiers in your daily prayers. We are making a difference here. I spoke with a leader of the Afghan Army last night. He could not stop talking about the changes here. He spoke of hope. He spoke of new days. I see it in their eyes. This ancient, war-torn land has truly tasted what can be. They are determined and hungry for it. From what I gather from my comrades, it is different from Iraq somewhat in that sense. It is fresh, new life for them.
The birds are still chirping. They will chirp for a while, then go. They must lean on their mother right now until they can stretch their wings and fly on their own. Isn't that funny? Maybe, just maybe, Afghanistan will fly one day, all by itself.
Serving the Best Men and Women Today,
CH (CPT) Tim Brown
