Afghanistan: My 7 month "Adventure" in the Sangin valley

[RoosterBooster]

Sempertoy

another big *Thank You* for sharing your experience

cant wait for the next post ....
be safe and watch your sixoclock

 

[NothingClever]

Dec. 24, 2010: Lance Cpl. Kenneth Corzine

The smaller the FOB, the bigger the tears. All losses are tough but some simply dry you out.

If the biggest adventure you take for the rest of your life is to make the trek out to visit the Corzine family around Christmas, you'll surely give them a Christmas they'll cherish forever.

 

[baca327]

I knew you weren't a grunt. I was a 3521/3531 back in the 90's. Looking forward to more. Stay safe.

3533 right here Dragon Master all the way. Even though we all got changed to 31's. I must say driving through Afghanistan, it sure is a beautiful country. I must say though the old dragon sure is a bumpy ride. Id say equivalent to operating a old yj with springs too stiff that steers like a old roller coaster :ylsmoke:. The people are good for the most part just a few bad apples.

 

[Sempertoy]

Sempertoy,

I wonder if you can comment as to presence or absence of Seabees in your FOB? My son is preparing to deploy in the coming months, and it's his understanding one of the likely assignments may include being in a small detachment doing construction, maintenance, or repairs on FOBs. He further believes Seabee dets often live at the FOBs for days to weeks as they perform their USMC support duties. Any recollections you may have concerning Seabees in your particular FOB, or at FOBs or COPs in general, would be greatly appreciated.

Foy

Foy, When I was in nolay there were no seabees. The only people out there were Marines. I would imagine that your son on his upcoming deployment should expect to be on leatherneck for a majority of his time. The seabees have a very strong presence there and keep pretty busy. If he goes out to a small fob, he can expect lots of work and MRE's to munch on. I hope this helps, if you have any more questions please feel free to ask.

Jon

 

[Sempertoy]

So tonight I have some more picture to post. These are from my first convoy, back before the 1 was cleared it was an 8 hour convoy at least to get from nolay to inkerman. Later in the year when they cleared the 1 it took about 45 minutes. Luckily it was a boring ride up there with no one getting blown up. And a few close calls once we were there.


Just us on the 'dillo. Trying to keep the dust out of our mouths.

Here are a few pics of going through open desert

Before I could go and do my job, there was some down time. So this is us just hanging out.

That night I went out on an op to a different PB. It was a long and stressful night that I don't want to get into. But here are some pictures of when I got back. These are pallets that we are sleeping on. And yes, there are two sleeping bags on there next to each other. It's ok to do that when you are deployed in the winter.

Now take special notice of what is above my head. It is a crate of unexploded ordinance. Long story short, when we pulled in they staged the convoy right there. We were told to sleep by the vehicles. So we did. In the UXO pit.... We were VERY LUCKY that nothing happened.

This is me in the morning.

And this is me being VERY LUCKY. lol... stupid Marines.

From here we got back in the truck, headed back to nolay. Home sweet home.

 

[ETAV8R]

Great thread and pics.
Stay safe.

 

[LACamper]

Great thread! Thanks for sharing.

 

[saltamontes]

And this is me being VERY LUCKY. lol... stupid Marines.

classic

 

[4x4x4doors]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[KSJeep]

And criminals in this country have the gonads to complain about prison living conditions.

Thanks for posting, glad you made it back safe and sound.

 

[Power Wagon Okie]

Great Thread.....can't wait to see more!!!

 

[Deleted member 43491]

I was up in Bagram working the Air Trans side of the house (helping move people and their stuff) and can say also it is a beautiful place from what I got to see of it!

I can actually answer a little bit about the seabee question as I got to see at least 1/2 the people who went thru there. With out saying to much in public I can tell you that a number of Seabee's we're tasked oddly to work at different prisons?!?!?!.... I also saw a lot of them go to Kandahar (I think that is where leatherneck is, to many places to keep track of!) I also saw a lot of them were what I would consider mobile. I would see them flying thru every couple of weeks with there gear heading all over the country. Depending on how common his skill set is I would say just be prepared to be mobile and until he gets there he really won't know what he is gonna do! I saw a lot of surprised looks when they handed out assignment right off the plane!

Oh and ya the mail system does work unlike what most people say and one of the top things i heard people would do differently is pack less and mail anything they can ahead of time or later if needed! (Amazon.com) was our friend! Most packages arrived before there expected arrival date! Some times well not typical we had only a 2 or 3 day turn around to get mail. The real hold up is in country not getting to the country......

 

[Rot Box]

Awesome thread thanks!

 

[scarysharkface]

Thank you for your service.

Thank you for the pics and words.

John

 

[KaiserM715]

I am always in awe and proud of our military. Thank you!

Awesome thread thanks!

Indeed it is. Looking forward to updates!