Yoga Musings

As I travel on this Yoga Path, whatever that is, I have many experiences that seem to be eye opening.  Just the other day I had an argument with a meat eater about Hinduism and Vegetarianism.  On many levels, this was a Yogic experience for me.  I saw my passion for my Yoga come up in defensiveness, and then the observation that I was witnessing my reaction to what I saw as an attack.  I realized, I have not learned as much as I think I have and still  need to breath and be present.
Working on allowing my theme for January's teachings in Yoga class to come to life, that of Contentment has been fun this month.  Seeing when I am wanting change, or thinking things would be better 'if only' tells me much about myself.  Having a theme I work on for a month while teaching creates a thread to my classes and to my own practice.  It creates, for me, a living, breathing lesson to learn and share with others. 
Watching 'Enlighten Up' the Yoga movie really shows to me how little people can explain the why of what they do.  It shows to me that the practice of  'Yoga' is really something individual.  That it is an art not a sport and that for each person that does Yoga, it is their own version and interpretation. 
This Yoga Path is so interesting, constantly changing and amusing. 
Troy

Support Our Troops Update from Tristian Dec-January

Following is a copy of an email update from my friend and soldier in Afghanastan, Tristian:

Greetings everyone,

I have been a bit dilatory about sending out last weeks e-mail update, but was quite busy, now that I am the only one down here holding down the fort. I was supposed to leave today to go to Gardez, but I found out a 0400 AM this morning that the flight as canceled. But never fear, I am going to catch a convoy heading that way later today, and though it might be nice to send this out prior to movement.

I know that I have said this a thousand times already, but we really do appreciate the e-mails and care packages you all have sent over here. The other day, most of our mail, which had been caught up in the pipeline finally came. It was like Christmas, days before Christmas. It was nice. Thank you all for the support, it mean a lot to us.

I have done the calculations based off of the information that you have shared with me. By my calculations, and this is a very conservative estimate, with people forwarding my weekly update, over 1,000 people read this update each week. Now what is funny about this is that when it comes to technology I am a bit of a troglodyte. I do not have a face book or my space, and I certainly do not twitter, but it is good that people are reading and enjoying my updates, so that people can truly see what we go through over here, and how much the thoughts and prayer, and such mean to us.

Now on to the good stuff. Two Shuras ago, we were supposed to have a parter crasher come by and cause some havoc. You see, developing relationships with the local pays off. When they get to know you as a person rather then some Army guy, they begin to show basic human interest towards you. This is good. This is one of my jobs, developing local that can help us out. Our network is pretty strong, and people who know people, know stuff which is valuable information to us. Case in point, this party crasher situation. We found out five day prior to the shura, that a suicide bomber was going to enter, looking for help with an ID card issue. This is very common, and many civilians use the District Center. But this guy was going to come in and try to detonate inside of our meeting. Affectively killing the Sr leadership of the local government, local elders, and the commanders of the ANA, AUP, and the Infantry commanders, as well as little old me...

Not to be.... The Intel was legit, and the security posture for this event was executed flawlessly. However, all for not. One of our local "GUYS" provided additional information and about 0300 that morning the bad guy had some visitors. From what it sounds like, he did not fare all that well with his guests.

Ironically, there were more shura members at that shura then any one shura in the past. So they either did not know what was supposed to happen, or they already knew that the guy was standing in line to meet Allah. Either way, it was a very successful meeting, with the focus on development and agriculture, rather then just on security. Even the Taliban sympathizers were there, go figure!

So that started a very busy week. By mid week we were able to take the District Governor to the family in the village of Begwal, who lost four family members to the IED that blew up their tractor. The condolence event went very well, and the father thanked me several times for the generosity provided to his family, especially the thoughtfulness of the sheep. One of the two boys who survived the blast was at home and the medics checked him out. Both of the survivors were doing well, however the younger one complained about pain behind hid eyes. I am not a doctor, but I think he is suffering from TBI. (Traumatic Brain Injury). This is caused by explosions and is something that many of the soldiers who survive an IED blast suffer from for the rest of their lives. It is somewhat of a bad deal, you survive the blast, but you suffer from memory loss, extreme headaches, and eye issues. Not for me, thank you very much...

So many of our shura members went to the capital of Gardez this week for training so our Shura was held on Sunday. It was again very beneficial, and many of the members and I have begun to develop a pretty good relationship. This culture, it takes time to gain trust and respect. Slowly but surly we are working our way towards friendship. If by the end of FEB about four months in, I hope to have things set up so that we can work together this spring and summer without too many issues.

Well that is about all. I know that it does not sound so busy for a weeks work, but when you sit and speak through an interpreter for 9 hours two days in a row, it really take a mental drain. By the way, I almost forgot. Both on Saturday and Sunday of this week I was able to eat lunch with the Governor and the NDS Chief, he is the head government intel guy for our district. Anyway, wow!! the food was great. The first day I was the only American, but the second day two other LTs were with me. They ate the bread and the rice and meat, but stayed away from the vegetables. BOY WERE THOSE VEGETABLES AWESOME!!!!! Thats OK, don't eat them, it just means more for me. These were the freshest vegetables I have had in a long time, and in face were the first fresh vegetables I have had in the last three months. NO JOKE.... Everyone thinks your going to get sick from eating the veggies, personally I do not care, I have never gotten sick eating naturally grown vegetables in any of the 37 countries I have been too, and I do not think anything bad is going to happen when I am here. By the way, I am now two days out, and have not had any problems. Personally I think they are just haters......

One last thing. We got our plans for a new office and compound to be built for us. We as a COP are expending, and I think by the time I leave it will be a FOB, but that is just speculation. This would be great though, Zormat is the largest district in both population as well as geography, and more ANA/AUP/ANCOP and CF forces would really put the hurt on the bad guys, and allow our team to expand the capacity and reach of governance, development, education, and agricultural outreach in the area. Things are looking up for the good people of Zormat. The bad guys though, well let me just say, when they return from Pakistan for the spring offensive they are going to be a little bit surprised. Good times will be had by all, if you know what I mean.

Thanks again for everything. One request though. Someone sent over to one of the Infantry guys a big plastic jug of (Archer's Farms) Crunchy spice peanuts. I think that this is a Target brand item. If someone was able to send a jug of these over that would be soooooo great. They are awesome, and when we have our Afghan assets over for tea (Chi) they really seem to love them too.

I hope you all have a great holiday this year, I will be with my Team Chief up in Gardez, for Turkey I think. Or at least that is what they call it. The local MP Platoon, purchased a couple of turkeys in the market about a month ago, and have fattened them up. I know they will have turkey. :) I got word two days ago that SGT Miller, my team SGT was flying out of Kuwait, and will be home to celebrate with this family and his fiance. Please keep him in your prayers for a safe return.... On a selfish note, he has to come back before I can leave on R&R..... :)

OK thats it I promise. I will push out another letter most likely after the 25th. Please have a safe and wonderful holiday with your families, and remind them how much you love them. I know that is a bit sappy for a military officer to say, but when you can not be home, you appreciate these things a bit more.

Seasons Greetings,

1LT Tristan 

Greetings Everyone,

Can you believe that today is the last day of 2010.  I can hardly believe that this is the case.  The strange thing is, everyone back home is looking forward to the big New Year’s celebrations, and we have been over here dealing with a school which was blown up and a police check point being attacked today.  The irony... did no one tell the bad guys that we take this day off?  Anyway, not to be a buzz kill, I hope that this update finds all of you in good spirits, and good health.  Just wanted everyone to know, that I greatly appreciate the awesome Christmas response that was shown to me.  In fact, there were so many Christmas and Holiday e-mails sent to me over the last week that my e-mail account reached 99% capacity.  This is not an easy feat.  I have a pretty high capacity for storing e-mails due to what I do, and you guys nearly maxed it out.  I was at 65% a week ago, and when I check my e-mail, I had several nasty grams from the computer gurus telling me that I needed to go through my e-mails because I am nearing capacity.  So I just wanted to extend my thanks to all of you...

Now on to business.  The holidays up in Gardez were nice.  I was up there for a couple of days, and was able to hang out with my team Chief who is a Lieutenant Coronal.  It was good to reset my compass and discuss several initiatives that we are looking to facilitate down here in Zormat.  For the last several years my district has been neglected, until, all of a sudden, someone realized that it was a major hub for insurgent transportation of men, material, and money, the three M's.  Now it has become a priority.  I am here at the right time, to make things happen.  I have had several meetings with the local government officials and planted the seed for the events to come.  Security is a major issue here in Zormat, but with the increase in ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) that will be pushed here in the next month or so, and all of the operations that we have lined up for this winter, the bad guys will have no idea what hit them.  Then comes the important part, stability operations.  This is where my team comes in.  We have to sort through the good government guys, and the corrupt ones.  Then we have to empower them to connect with the local populace, not an easy thing when you are living and working in a tribal based culture.  But we are making good head way.  Our job is to assist the local government in increasing their capacity in order to garner local support, and begin to return the people to the government rather than continue support of the local insurgency.

Two days ago, I was with our Sub Governor when we received Intel that one of the newly built schools had been blown up by a local Hiquani sponsored insurgent group.  It was retaliation for the roll up of a high ranking Hiquani over in Pakistan and the Afghan Government's insistence that he is extradited to Afghanistan to stand trial for terrorism.  This is a huge deal.  Anyway, we were aware that something was going to happen, but there were mixed reports.  Once I heard about it, I called up to the Battle Space owners, as well as the PRT Engineers to report what was going on real time.  It is always good to have local assets, who are willing to place the people of Afghanistan before themselves.  It makes this worth it.  Anyway, calling on an unsecured local ROSHAN cell phone is usually not the way one pushes up real time intelligence, but it was the only thing I had.  There is much more to this story, but because it is an ongoing event, I cannot go much more into it.  Today, the Sub Governor stopped by the RIAB (Radio In A Box) and issued a message condemning the actions of the cowards who blew the school up.  It was ten minutes in length and I am having it translated as we speak.  The local police chief also stopped by and had a few things to say about the incident over the radio.  These two messages will be followed later today or tomorrow by a message from the Provincial Governor. 

Information Operations is a huge part of our non-lethal strategy over here.  Word of mouth is the main way of passing information, and the ability to cover hundreds of square kilometers in one fell swoop is a powerful tool for us.  The one who puts out the message first often wins that battle.  It at times is all about perception and truth.  It is our job to provide that so that everyone knows what is going on. 

Changing subjects a bit, I have attached two things to this e-mail.  The first I would like to talk to you all about is a story about the Civil Affairs team that is working in Paktya Province.  I think I am quoted in it somewhere.  However, the reason why I have attached this we blink is to that you all can have real time info about what coverage the 101st Airborne Division is putting out.  This is the second story in so many months, where either my team in Zormat or our larger CA team in Paktya has been on the front cover.  Be on the lookout.  My stories have also been published in the Kalamazoo Newspaper, and some of our team was published in a local Boston paper.  Anyway, I will be writing a piece later in Feb that should be published in SC and IA, and I hope will be picked up by a national paper.  Any suggestions please let me know.  I will also send it out over this e-mail.

Now on to the second attachment.  This is a scanned copy of a note that a little boy in one of our northern villages gave to our 1st Platoon while they were out on patrol.  It is really a great story, and I must thank all of you who sent pens over here for distribution to the kids.  The platoon was dismounted and was walking through a local village. As is the common practice, the local boys and the little girls come out of the wood work to see if the soldiers have anything to hand out, or to pester them about “Pens”.  One of the soldiers passed one of the pens that were sent over by some of you to a boy about 11-12 years of age, and he took off running.  He returned to where the soldiers where and spoke in English to the soldier to stay there.  The boy proceeded to sit down and pull out the piece of paper that he ran and got, and wrote the message that I scanned in.  The boy handed the note to the soldier, and smiled, said thank you and ran off is this buddies.  As soon as the platoon returned to base, the soldier came up to me and asked if I could do anything to help the kids.  Of course I said yes.  So now I ask you all to assist me.  If there is any way that some of you guys would be willing to set up a quick coat, hat and sock drive, and the socks can be any sort, that would be quite helpful.    If anyone could help, and then send them over here, I will make sure that the items reach this boy and his village.  The village in question is on our periphery and is way out in the rural area, near the mountains.  They do not have easy access to any of the urban centers. 

Anyway, in this case the pen is mightier than the sword.  This is the reason why the pens were so important.  These children want to learn, and the only way to make this country and region stable is through educating this generation. Most of these children have never lived without our presence here.  In order to prevent dependency, education is important.  If this next generation can read and write and have a basic education, then they can think for themselves, and eventually can make the decisions that need to be made so that Afghanistan can once again become a great and free independent nation.

 It is also why the bombing of the school was such an act of cowardice.  It is easier to control a large population if they are ignorant and illiterate.  That way, if you are going to use the Holy Quran as a weapon, and you are the only one who can read it, then however you interpret it, is the truth.  By know you should be picking up on some of my themes in this message.  I just wanted to let you all know, that whether or not you know you are all a vital part of the Non-lethal operations that I conduct over here.  And all of you should be proud that you are making a difference, as was demonstrated with the pen that was given to the little boy.

On another note, it snowed for the first time yesterday.  The day before, we could tell it was doing to snow, and when we woke up, sure enough, there was a dusting.  It quickly melted, and snow remained only the mountain tops as of today.  Our last big push of mail came in and I received many of the packages that were sent that I was expecting.   It was a good thing.  If we have the winter that has been predicted the stock pile and food will be well utilized, so thank you all again for your assistance with that.  It is nice to know that we have a fall back plan if we get hit hard with snow.

Well that is all for this week.  I have a very active week coming up and will send one more update out before I go on leave.  It looks like with transportation to and from the UK, I will be off line for about a month, give or take.  I will try to push out one letter while I am on leave, but if not, do not worry I will pick up again in mid Feb.

Thanks again,

Have a safe New Years,

1LT Tristan 

Greetings All,

First things first, I would like to welcome many of the new readers that have begun to receive this weekly update e-mail.  I have been told that we are geting close to 3,000 per week, that this is distributed to, or forwareded to.  Pretty good I think :)

Anyway, there is much to talk about this week.  For those of you who have e-mailed me about the winter clothing and the coat drives you are holding, per the request of the little boy who wrote the note that I sent out last week, we really appreciate it.  I contacted the Bagram Supply yard near Kabul, this is where are of the donated stuff goes from major corporations, and the only thing that they had to offer for our operation, was 100 thousand dollars worth of Old Navy Flip Flops, wrong season I think???  With all of your help, many of the children in the poorer rural areas will be getting new coats and some other winter garb, so thanks again.  I have also heard from someone who receives my e-mails, that Wal-Mart stores have some sort of program that will send over winter coats for kids.  If anyone of you has a Wal-Mart nearby, and would be willing to contact the store manager on by behalf to see if they would be willing to send coats, please do so.  We have an estimated population between 250,000 and 400,000 in our district, many of which are children, and come from subsistence farming communities.  With the floods of last summer, and the low level of precipitation so far in our valley this winter, they may be looking at back to back crop failures.  We are beginning to plan now for a major humanitarian aid operation come late spring.  I just hope we do not get another flood, that would be too much for this population to handle in one year.

Now on to this past week’s events.  As many of you guys are aware, one of our new schools was bombed by the bad guys last week.  Just yesterday, they came back and tried to blow the rest of it up.  But what they did not know, is that we were watching, and a local called up the Afghan Police and reported what the guys were doing.  We were able to follow them back to their qalat, yesterday, without them noticing, and they had a bit of a surprise this morning about 3:00 AM.  I have not found out what exactly happened, but rest assured they will not be blowing up anymore of the schools in this area.

Also, back in November there was the tractor which was blown up by the IED, where four men from the same family were killed, and two were wounded.  I have spoken in the past on how important developing relationships are in this culture.  We as a military have some very high speed technology which scares the hell out of me, but, sometimes, the basic human relationship can do more than all of that gee whiz stuff.  Case in point, just the other day, one of my local assets came to talk with me in order to provide me the name of the guy who planted that IED, as well as where his village is, and where he currently was, time now.  We sent this info up and it is being acted on.  That’s all I can say on this.  But if the guy is rolled up, this would definitely provide justice to the local people and the family who lost so many family members.  He also informed me about something else, which I will expound on in my next story.

So, my team chief, name not to be mentioned, while in Iraq had a Fatwa placed on his head by a cleric in Iran, because he was doing such a good job in his area of operation, and was denying the enemy freedom of movement.  His comment to me was that you know that you are doing your job, when they put a price on your head.  The next bit that I would like to share with you confirms this statement.

So there I was, in the weekly Shura with all of the elected elders from our district, or at least those who cared to show up that day.  And a certain topic came up that really pissed me off.  I do not like to say such things in these updates, but I can only put up with so much stupidity, if you know what I mean.  So about two weeks ago, we began receiving information from some of our local assets.  Now in the Civil Affairs community we cannot say intelligence or sources, because I guess we are supposed to be passive collectors, and tree huggers and such.  Whatever!!...  So the information that we were receiving was a new tactic that the Taliban was going to employ this winter and an Information Operation Campaign, or propaganda campaign that they were going to execute this spring.  We had several reports of an influx in robbery and rape in our districts, and of check points set up by the Taliban to steal money and equipment from motorists.  So we did a bit of investigation and got the rest of the story.  The Shadow Government’s Governor for our district, this is the commander of the Taliban in Zormat, who is financially and logistically supplied by Pakistani ISI, prior to heading over the mountains for Pakistan for the winter, ordered all of his remaining Taliban fighters in Zormat to act as thieves and rapists and robbers.  The plan was to create crime and discredit the local Police and Army.  Then come spring, they would return in force from Pakistan, and tell everyone, that this type of bad activity never happened when the Taliban was accepted into their villages.  In the last several months, we have been pushing initiatives to separate the local support of the Taliban from them, and so far with great success.  They know this too.  This is why they were planning to perpetrate crimes against the population and then lie to them come spring, that they are the only ones that can guarantee their safety.

Well they will no longer be able to use this tactic.  Like I said, I can only handle so much stupidity and lies before I tell people what I think, and so I did.  After hearing one of the Shura members, who is a supporter of the Taliban, say that the influx of crime was not due to the Taliban, I had a couple of words to say.  I was too the point, and told only the truth.  To the amazement of the Shura members, I told them everything about what the Taliban was planning on doing, and told them that they needed to inform the populations that they represented so that they could stay safe this winter.  Then I really dug the fork into the Taliban.  I mentioned that I have read the Holy Quran, and that this type of activity is forbidden for a true believer.  I also mentioned that for someone who claimed to be a Mujahad and participating in a Jihad that this type of behavior was extremely shameful, and that they would have to answer to Allah on the day of their deaths.  Most of the Shura members received what I said with open arms, but you could tell that some of the sympathizers were trying to wrap their minds about what just came out of me mouth.  But one could say, I dimes out the Taliban, rendering their whole operation mute.  To add insult to injury, the ANA commander has agreed to record a public service message to be played on the radio throughout the rest of the winter and into the spring, so that the local population can protect themselves, and see the lies that the Taliban will try to spew come spring.  Over all, a very eventful Shura. 

Now to the good stuff.  Three hours after the Shura, we had a walk in.  He came to give us some information about some bad guys and such.  When he was done talking, he turned to me and told me I needed to look after myself, and stay safe, because I had made the Taliban real angry at the Shura.  They had found out that I had ousted them and their mischievous activities, and were pissed.  He told me that there was a price on my head.  My response was that if it is not at least $150,000 then I would not accept the threat, our guest just laugh.  I guess it is a good time to go on leave for a little while, huh?

Having a price on my head is nothing new to me, or many of the service members who serve here or in Iraq.  While in Iraq, there was a $75,000 price on my head as a Military Police Platoon Leader.  Not big thing, personally, I think I am worth a bit more.  I did not tell my folks about the price on my head in Iraq until I returned home. I did not want them to worry about me.  But this is not my first rodeo, and they know I can take care of myself, so I thought I would share this with you all, so that you could truly understand the enemy we face on a daily basis.  They are a bunch of cowards who hid behind the honor of Jihad.  They are nothing more then brigands and thieves and rapists.  Hell bent on keeping Afghanistan destabilized for the benefit of the Pakistan Government, under the guise of being holy worriers.   What a shame, they take away the prestige and honor of the true Mujahad who fought bravely against the Soviets over 20 years ago.

Anyway, therein lays the second thing that our local asset wanted to tell me.  He informed me that I did in fact really piss off the Taliban leadership in this area, and that there was a price on my head.  When I called up my team chief to inform him, he congratulated me on being the first of the team to achieve this status.  I guess you really do know that you are making a difference if those idiots are willing to single you out.  I just hope their offering at least the $150,000.  My local guy is checking into it for me.

Well in a couple of days I will be heading out for leave.  This will be a good time for all the bad guys to cool off a bit, and recoup from the kick in the groin they just suffered.  I will be back, rested up, and fortified before fighting season.  They are not going to have a chance when they return this spring, that is all I can say about that.  Surprises are so much fun. 

Anyway, I will write again in a couple of weeks when I get back from leave.  I will still have access to my e-mail and will check it periodically.  Again, thanks for all of your assistance on these projects, it means a lot to use to receive your support, but is also means the world to the people over here.

Again thank you all,

1LT Tristan Boddicker

How is That Working Out for You?

How is it working out for you so far this year, that resolution?  I know it is a challenge.  Try what I do.  Only resolve to make one change each month out of the year.  If we change one thing a month then by the end of the year, we will have changed 12 things.  This month I resolve to do 25 Push Ups every day, read 10 pages a day, put my things out the night before for the next day ahead.  If I can do one of these consistently for a month, I will have formed a new habit.  I can keep that habit going into the next month as I start my New Month Resolution.  It could be something entirely new, or one of the resolutions from January that I let fall off.  So far the push ups are winning.  Try it out for size and let me know how it works out for you. Let me know what your resolve for January and keep me updated on the progress. 
Best of luck!
Troy

Support Our Soldiers Update

Hello Again everyone,




Another crazy and eventful week here in the STAN. First off I would like to thank everyone for all of the supportive e-mails and packages that have been sent. My guys and I really appreciate all of the support.



This week started off on a down note though. One of our supply FOBs, (Forward Operating Base), was hit by a suicide bomber. Two US killed, and 7 wounded, plus several local vendors. This occurred on FOB Lightning, about 20 Km away from us. It was at the Saturday and Sunday local bazaar that they host up there. It is an initiative for local vendors to sell some cultural stuff to the soldiers and airmen who are up on that particular base. The bomber was dressed like an AUP (Afghan Uniformed Police). However, the intel we have received was that he was not associated with any ANSF, (Afghan National Security Force). The insurgents do this to discredit the Afghan forces and try and drive a wedge between the Afghan forces and the US and ISAF forces operating here.



I know that this hit the news, because my mother brought it up while I was able to talk to her on a phone this last week. I had been to this bazaar back in October when I first visited FOB Lightning. I noticed that it was an extremely soft target. When my team arrived in late October, I told them that if they were going to go to one of these Bazaars that they would need to go with a battle buddy and alway keep their guard up because of the lack of security and all of the local nationals that were around. In this case the attack took place, and there were several casualties. Several of the vendors were also hurt in the explosion. There is good news about this story which I am quite sure none of you have heard about.



You see, my deployment to Iraq back in 2007-2008 introduced me to a lot of technology which we use to fight the conflict over here, which is really quite spooky. We have the same stuff here, and in fact we even have newer items that I have not even been read in on. However, when you walk around, all you have to do is look up, and look for the different and very cool antennas that are hanging off of towers around the military installations. The cooler they look the more hard core they are. At least thats what I like to believe. Back to the story...



So one of the guys who planned and assisted with this attack just happened to get on his cell phone on his way back to the hideout. Unbeknownst to him, his conversation was picked up by some of this technology, and because he stayed on the phone for 30 mins while riding back to the hideout bragging about his success to all of his little bad guy friends, well, they traced him all the way back to his home. They are called Qalats, which are mud walled compounds with usually one to four buildings in them. Anyway, that night in the middle of their celebrations, they had some unexpected visitors, who rolled them all up, and took them home. If you know what I mean. This goes to show, that even though the bad guys get their licks in once and a while, there really is no place to hide.



Changing the tone of the letter a bit. My team SGT and I were supposed to go out to one of the AFCOPs this week, but between the security changes with the suicide bomber and confirmation that we are having several Afghan Technical Engineers coming to assess the bazaar water tower, we have been quite busy. In the next couple of days we are going out to the family who lost four men to the IED which blew up their tractor. I will be happy to finally put that to rest, and support the local government and CF Soldiers out there to demonstrate their condolences. We had a local Mullah speak on the radio this past week as well. Boy he let the bad guys have it. After speaking from the Holy Quran, he basicly stated that those people who kill innocent or help kill innocent people here in Zormat and throughout Afghanistan are not Muslims, and will be judged by Allah, and will go directly to hell. It was a pretty powerful speech which took nearly 20 minutes. It shows that the majority of people here do not want the insurgents here, and just want to live a quite and peaceful life. Many of the people I have contact with, too include my local assets are tired of war and conflict. Many of the older men have never known peace, and many of the younger kids that we talk to, have never lived without US military being in their country. Kind of strange....



Well that is all for this week. I know not much on our part. Many of the activities that I participated in this week are not things I am aloud to share right now. My team is doing fine, and we are in good spirits. I was able to arrange it that my entire team could go home for the holidays, but that meant I had to stay back. No issue though, it will not be my first holiday season away from the family. Plus, my team chief is staying back up in Gardez and has invited me to dinner up there. So in a week or so, I will be up there for a couple of days. I would like to wish everyone happy holidays in advance. And thanks again for all of your support.



Sincerely,



Tristan

Holidays are Stressing Me Out.

This week I have been using the theme 'To mine a well, you have to dig vertically, not horizontally' from Bapuji.  He is so right, in order to find solutions to what ever may be working or not working, we have to look at ourselves, our habits and repeated behavior.  A good hard look will let us know right away if what we are doing is working in our lives.

I hope you are able to channel the Holiday stress into productive exercise in these coming weeks. To make yourself feel better you may want to create a morning/ evening routine that you do everyday to keep you focused.  Taking stress to bed? Try to not watch T.V. An hour before sleeping which leaves the brain over stimulated.

Get anxious in the middle of the day?  Try three deep breaths, then picture a silver, white ball surrounding you. Feel it protecting you. See your skin glowing from it and repeat 'I am safe and protected' three times.  

Do you know any one that needs/ wants training? Word of mouth is the best tool. My business survives on it. Let me know if I can call on anyone and get them fit.

And since your out and about town, if you come across/ see any places that you think I should be teaching for, please let me know. Any suggestions are so helpful and we never know where they lead. And if I can help your business grow too, let me know how.

Stay moving, Troy

trainertroy@dmz.net

How to Focus Now

I start every Yoga class I teach with an optional tool or technique that we can use throughout the class to learn something about ourselves. I say optional, because I can see as I introduce the idea that some students are uncomfortable with the idea of doing or learning something other than postures.
Today I opened my Guru's book (Sayings of Swami Kripalu) to a page on meditation: 'Meditation is integral to yoga. Because people are different, various approaches to meditation have evolved to suit their needs. Seekers should experiment with a variety of techniques until they find one to their liking. But if there is no meditation in the practice, it can not be called yoga.'
With this I set the intention to use this in our practice. Any time we feel distracted in life or a Yoga class, we can use a 'meditation' or for this purpose we will use the word 'focus' technique. This can be any tool in our tool box, such as listening to the sound of the breath, feeling the flow of the breath, focusing on the feeling of the body, the temperature of the room, the smell of our environment, the sound of music, or a spot across the room. Noticing when we become scattered by distractions such as a noisy person, a negative conversation, our ego mind, a hot room, or any variety of things that are trying to 'steal' our energy is half the battle. If we practice noticing our attention flowing away from us this is step one. Once we notice that we have become distracted, we can move on to step two.
Finding a 'meditation' or focus technique that works for us becomes a trigger that brings us back to where we want to be. The list is endless and it takes experimentation and practice to find the one that works for you. Once you find your focus technique implementing it is step two. Use it as a method of bringing you into the present moment and draw your attention back to you. For me, I find that breathing a long breath in through my nostrils, retaining the oxygen in my lungs and then taking a long exhale out of my nostrils dials me in immediately. I have used it in the middle of an argument, in traffic, on the phone, in class, and even in the middle of a store. It just takes me right into myself.
Step three is practicing this technique, frequently and often. It can change over time, evolving as you do. I used to just make a Mudra with my hand, but that no longer has the effect it used to.
Play around with this concept, put many techniques into your tool box, see which one works for you and don't be afraid to use it. Keep your focus and stay centered and notice how much happier and unaffected you are by all the distractions in the world.
Troy

Troop Updates

Hello Again everyone,

I know I just pushed off a letter when I returned from Salerno but much has happened that needs to be shared. First you may notice that I have placed everyone's e-mail addresses in the Bcc line. It was suggested to me, to keep all of your information safe that it would be wise to do this. Especially because the list continues to grow. I have done this, so be assured that everyone is still getting the weekly update.

Now for the weekly update. Since returning from Salerno, much has happened, most of which is part of the profession of War. A couple of days ago we had an IED incident down here in Zormat. An IED as many of you may know is an Improvised Explosive Device. There are many ways that these go off. Where we are located they use pressure plates, because our electronic countermeasures defeat the ones that are hooked up to walkie talkie radios and cell phones. However there is always the risk of civilian casualties when pressure plates are used. This is what happened a couple of days ago. Several men and boys were riding on their tractor coming out of the local boulder field, where they get rocks to build houses and other buildings. The dirt road that they were using is not one that Coalition Forces ever use, so it is still a bit of a mystery why one was set on that road at that location. We think it may be a road used by some of the local Afghan Army. Anyway, the tractor was a catastrophic loss. Four of the individuals to include a little boy were killed and two teenagers were injured. They were rescued by ANA and CF forces and EVAC-ed to COP Zormat where they were treated and released. It was a major travesty, one man lost two sons and his grandson, and another innocent family is without their father.

There was much outcry against the insurgent forces since the attack. The bazaar, an area where we get a lot of good Intel and atmospherics was a buzz, of people openly criticizing in public the people who placed the IED. This is very rear in this area for people to speak out publicly on such an issue, especially with so many Taliban in the area. For me it is good that the public is vocal and is outraged, they should be. Damn those who espouse their cause as a religious holy war, and indiscriminately kill innocent civilians who practice the same faith.

My team SGT and I have begun dialog with both the Religious and Cultural Affairs Commander down here in Zormat as well as the family to express our condolences. It is a bit touchy though. Through a phone conversation with the Father how lost the two sons and his grandson, we expressed our condolences, and stated that we would stop by in the near future, when they did not have so many guests at their qalat (house) so as not to interfere with their traditional mourning process. He was greatly appreciative towards our cultural understanding, and would welcome us when it was appropriate. He also said something that kind of took me aback. Even thought he just suffered a massive loss to his family as well as his only means of transportation and livelihood, his tractor, he said that every day he prays for the safety of the ANA and CF (US forces) in the area, because of our sacrifices in providing the people of Zormat safety and security. He also condemned the actions of the people who placed the IED, and was thankful that the US forces have traveled so far and have made so many sacrifices for his family. This blew me away.... What do you say to something like that...?

This is still an ongoing operation, and I will keep you all apprised to the final outcome. It only takes a catalyst like this to occur to change the entire perceptions of a population. It was the same thing that happened in Al Anbar when I was there in 2007-2008 when Al Quida in Iraq assassinated Sheik Sitar, a prominent leader of the Awakening Movement which effectively turned the tide in both Al Anbar as well as Iraq as a whole. We can only hope that the sacrifice and loss of this one family can assist in changing the tide of war here in Zormat. Time will tell....

If that was not all. A day later out Provincial Reconstruction Team Civil Engineers were heading back from a project assessment in the northern area of our province, when they hit a very large IED. The explosion did significant damage to the asphalt road, you can see the ripples in the asphalt away from the explosion site. It also tossed a 10+ ton MRAP (Our new Mine Resistant-Ambush Protective) vehicles we now use. The truck was launched down the road and ended on its side. The truck was a catastrophic loss. But the product lived up to its name. All who were in the truck, though a bit shaken up, they all walked away from the accident with minimal scrapes and bruises. This should be a good example of why it is so important to buckle up when you get into your vehicle. So the day was quite eventful. It was our first kinetic attack which targeted our guys directly. I think it now has woken some of the guys up. Everyone talks tough, especially if they have never dealt with such an event. But once it happens to you, you develop an entire better understanding and appreciation of life, and what our mission is over here for the short time we are here.

On a lighter note, last night was a first in my military career. After our mandatory weekly meeting with everyone in the battle space via the Internet, we walked to the chow hall, only to find out that it was locked. They ran out of leftovers from Thanksgiving, and decided to shut the door. NO FOOD!! What???

By the grace of God, we still had some items from the care packages, so we pulled some stuff out and my team eat what we had. Peanut butter Cheddar crackers, you know the ones that come in packs with the orange crackers, as well as some popcorn, and we had a ChiChi's microwave-able Fiesta Plate. Mind you this is a one person serving but everyone got a couple of bites. It was a bit of an anti climatic Turkey Day. A bit weird too. Anyway we survived until this morning.

This brings me to my next note, several people have asked if there has been any changes in our needs list. So I would like to update that for everyone. Snacks are always welcomed. We have talked to several of our local assets to see what we can expect for winter. They have told us that every other year is pretty hard. Last winter was a light winter, but the year before that was rough, they expect between 4-6 feet of snow by early Jan, and it will continue until it begins to melt sometime in March. We got a report from one of the infantry guys who is up here who was here two winters ago, and stated that they had 7 weeks of red air. This means no air support or resupply. We here in Zormat may have clear weather, but we sit in a bowl between several mountains. If the passes are not clear, or they have strong winds and snow, they cannot fly through. This means no resupply. For this reason, we are all reaching out and stockpiling in anticipation of a long winter, possibly without resupply.

So here is our updated list. There are a couple of things for the holiday season, which we can't eat, but bare with us:

ChiChi\s Fiesta Plates - Any will do (Savory Garlic Chicken) was quite good last night. We had received this from a care package from the Peace Greeters out of NH.

Christmas lights - and extension cords - White / White dangle ice cycle or multi color are preferred.

Fabreeze air spray

Pop Secret or Orvil Redenbacker (sp?) microwave popcorn - Butter or Kettle Corn is preferred.

The Keebler's Orange Crackers with Peanut butter packs

Peanuts

Cashew

Foil packs of star kiss tuna or other varieties

Ramen Noodles (the main stay for people without a proper kitchen)

Pretzels

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

Jelly Life Savers or Jolly ranchers

Regular Life Savers

Other Keebler cracker varieties

Small cans of Jolly green Giant nibblet corn

Oreo Cookies :)

Cigars (can't be eaten, but always great for moral)

Little Debbie Snack Cakes, Zebras and little suzzies are preferred

Coffee, pre ground would be preferred, we were sent a box of beans but we don't have a grinder :(

A small hand cranked or electric coffee grinder would be helpful for the BOX OF BEANS :)

If there is anything else that you would consider that is good and semi healthy to eat if you were in our predicament, would be appreciated. Just remember, it needs to be non-perishable.

This up and coming week is going to be quite hectic, need to start to prepare for it. I hope that this e-mail finds its way to everyone in good health and spirits. I should have much to update you on by this time next week.

Sincerely,

1LT Tristan Boddicker

Just to let everyone know, now that the new infantry guys are in, our address has changed.

It is now as follows.

1LT Tristan Boddicker

PRT Paktya / DST Zormat

TM D / TF 168 INF

COP Zormat

APO AE 09364

Thanks,