Christmas care packages from everywhere!

To all the family and friends who've sent stuff over the last few months.
Thank you, you have made the anticipation of mail and the holiday season fun. I never knew what to expect in the package as I opened it up. This is just one day's worth of mail I received: a Christmas tree from the wife, more sweet snacks than I can eat for the holidays, Dutch candy from god-children, Tabasco sauce from in-laws, books and puzzles from relatives who I haven't seen in years. Everything sent was awesome. I have shared some with roomates, the rest with the Army troops that are here that I work with every day. Thank y'all for the mail / presents / care packages. You have made this deployment very easy. Have a Merry Christmas and god bless you all.
Monty

SW US or E Afghanistan

Here are some more photos of Afghanistan between J-Bad and Kabul. If you have been to the desert SW of the US, you can see a strong resemblance between this river valley (Darya ye Kabul) and the Colorado river south of Hoover Dam. The picture labeled tent, if you look close in the center of the photo, you will see a white spot, that was a goat herder's tent on that ridge spine out in the middle of nowhere. The lake is just east of Kabul and has a large power production dam on the end of it ala Hoover Dam, although smaller.

Hootch living

All,
To those who have asked for what a hootch looks like on the outside here it is.....aaahhh trailer park living with all the trailers looking the same. My hootch is the one in the middle with the door on this side, the A/C & Heater unit and a fire extinguisher just to the left of the door, and a small patch of grass near the corner....still can't find it? It's real easy huh? OK front row, third from the right. The closest bathroom/sink/shower is the white trailer at the top of the picture. Our hootch has 6 guys in the near 3/4 of the building with one DV room in the back 1/4 of the building and a seperate door for the VIP. The only problem with these buildings is their lack of insulation (plywood on either side of a 2x4 frame i think) so when the lows get down to the 20s at night, the outside walls get a little chilly. All in all, better than living in a tent, so you won't hear me complain considering the guys outside of the wire live in whatever shelter they can find / make for the night.

Snow on the mountains

Here are the pictures promised of snow on the mountains. These particular ones are looking North from the base. The temps have been down into the 20s at night and up to about 50 during the day. Not horribly cold, unless you live in a tent or an uninsulated wooden building....but the heater is working hard for us!