Tyler's Last Tour

Tyler was in Afghanistan from February to April of this year. We were all expecting him to stay until October or November, but the rear detachment ran into some problems and Tyler was selected come back early to take over command of the 230+ Soldier that stayed at Fort Bliss on Rear Detachment. 

While in Afghanistan, Tyler's Company was split up over three different locations. He was mainly at Bagram, but was able to travel to the other bases occasionally to be with his Soldiers. 

Bagram:

Not much had changed since Tyler was there in 2016. It was good to go back to familiar place doing a familiar mission. 

There was more snow this time though. Last deployment it got cold but hardly snowed.

Airfield at at night with a very overcast sky

The connectivity was decent in Afghanistan. Tyler was able to video chat very frequently. 

Dahlke:

The majority of the Air Traffic Control Company was at Dahlke, a small base about a 40 minute flight from Bagram. They had just built a brand new ATC tower that the unit was operating out of. 

They were really building up the area, setting up runway lights and other necessary equipment.

There were always lots of helicopters coming and going. You got a really good view of everything from up in the tower. 

The base had two runways. We walked across (or around) this one to get from the tents to the tower.

It wasn't too bad of a set up at Dahlke. They had amenities that you could expect to see at most American cities, such as Walmart

Target

K Mart

And even an Amazon store. 

One of the Soldiers found an old Afghan motorcycle on the base. He got it up and running and a few people took turns riding it around the tower.

I wasn't too worried about any accidents. The Sergeant who was riding it had a very thick skull, so even if he had taken a spill he would have been fine.

Of course it wasn't all fun and games. The Soldiers kept very busy controlling aircraft around the base in addition to other tasks such as hooking up external loads of equipment to be flown to other locations across the country. 

Most of the routine, logistical movements happened during the day. During the night is when most of the combat missions were planned. 

We can see at night and the bad guys can't, it gives us quite an advantage and who wants to have a fair fight?

Something is lost when you try and take a picture through the night vision goggles, but you can see pretty well with them. 

Most of the unit had never deployed before. Tyler was able to go down to Dahlke for a "patch ceremony" where Soldiers place a unit patch on their right sleeve. In the Army, the patch you wear on the left sleeve is the current unit you are with, and the patch you wear on the right sleeve is the unit you deployed with. It is a big sense of accomplishment and pride to show that you have served the country during an overseas deployment. 

Flying:

Tyler wasn't in country long enough to fly this deployment. By the time they were getting around to integrating him into the flight schedule, he had already been identified to go back and take over the rear detachment. He did get a few opportunities to fly in back of aircraft as he went to the different bases to visit his Soldiers, however. 

Kabul - Resolute Support Headquarters:

The NATO headquarters in Afghanistan is located in a small compound in the middle of Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul. The helicopter landing zone is called "Soccer field", because it  literally is a soccer field. Sports events are scheduled every so often during the week, and the participants clear out in a hurry when they hear aircraft approaching.

They have a bazaar on the compound where some locals come to sell souvenirs to the NATO Soldiers. 

The merchants are very aggressive! They push things into your hands and lead you into their shop to look at their goods.

They sell clothes, jewelry, souvenirs, and other trinkets. 

Tyler found a huge mango at the dining facility. The headquarters compound is where the highest ranking military and political leaders stay, so naturally they have the nicest food. 

They have a very nice serenity garden on the compound. Tyler's Soldiers showed him around on one of his visits. 

They have a restaurant, grass, and tables to enjoy.

F/2-501 Soldiers at Kabul

F/2-501 Soldiers at Dahlke

Here is a picture of the building Tyler lived in last deployment, from Dec 2015 - Sep 2016. 

Tyler was able to link up with a couple of people he knew form church in El Paso who were also deployed with his unit. He got to see Bro Scoonover for a few minutes while the aircraft he was flying in refueled in Jalalabad. 

Brother Zezul was at Dahlke, so he saw him during one of his visits to see his Soldiers there.

He also saw an old friend he met at church last deployment, Jake Earle. He is a contractor who flies surveillance aircraft who spends a few months out of the year in Afghanistan because the pay is so high. Not a bad gig!

 Tyler felt bad having to leave his Soldiers in a war zone while he got to go back home, but we know that everything happens for a reason. We had prepared for a nine month deployment and were ready to accept that separation, but it has been such a blessing to have our family together again and to have Tyler here for all the memories and milestones that he would have missed out on if he had stayed the entire time.