Update on Steve

About 3 weeks ago Steve and his troop left Terwa and have finally met up with their brothers in arms at Gardez, where they will stay. He is excited to have indoor plumbing and heat! Squadron immediately stole Steve away from 3rd Platoon and he is now the Battle Operations NCO. This is a MUCH safer job, so we can all relax a little. He'll be working a regular schedule of 12 hours/day every day, yep, that's right, not a single day off. He is the go-between for the soldiers out in the field and the higher-ups who make the calls. He will be indoors and be doing a lot of reports and such. He's not thrilled with the job, but he is glad that it will be less stressful for all of us.

The only change in the address is instead of B-Trp, it should be HHT.
So it will look like this:
SSG Marrott, Steven R.
HHT, 1-61 CAV
FOB Gardez
TF Currahee
APO AE 09354

He should be leaving in about a month or maybe less for his R and R. And we are excited that we might be able to spend our 13th anniversary and Christmas together if the timing works out. It is looking like he will come home for good sometime in April.

Thank you all for your love, prayers, and support!
~Sheralan

New Address for Steve. . .again

Steve is doing great and loves all the letters and packages! Here is the new address. He is still at the same FOB but they are anticipating a move sometime soon, so this is the address we will use now.


SGT MARROTT, STEVEN
B TROOP, 1-61 CAV
FOB GARDEZ
TF CURRAHEE
APO AE 09354

Little Local

Steve usually doesn't buddy up with the locals but there was something about this kid that stole Steve's heart. The little boy was walking with his father, saw Steve, walked right up to him and started talking to him. He said the kid is tiny, he's 5 and the size of a 3 year old. The little guy is apparently very out going and inquisitive.

For a quick update, Steve is doing well. There is rumor that it should be a 12 month deployment instead of a 15 month deployment, so that is wonderful. We'll hope for the best.

~Sheralan

Mean Machine. . .Turns into mud machine.

Here is Steve's new toy. . .The Mean Machine! It is huge!!! Just keep in mind that Steve is 6'2" and that truck dwarfs him!



Here is Steve breaking in his new truck. Yup, they got it stuck out in the middle of nowhere. There were there for 13 hours waiting for help to travel by convoy from up north.
This is the ONLY time Steve will ever be able to reach the turret while standing on the ground. Compare this to the first picture and you will see how buried this vehicle actually is, how deep it has sunk into the mud pit.

On a different note, notice their shirts? Aren't they neat. Instead of having to wear their shirts and the heavy ACU top, they have these new, lightweight shirts to wear. Helps keep them cool. I guess they got those shirts just in time.


That was a long day for Steve and the rest of the guys on the truck. But there Steve is, looking at the mess they're in and smirking, still finding the humor in it all.

Lil' mail problem

If you have recently (within the last 3 weeks) sent Steve any mail, please let me know because I'm trying to keep track of what he'll actually get after they had a bit of a problem with the mail. Four mail trucks were blown up and so he may not get some packages.
~Sheralan

Meet Sandy / Adress Correction

This is Sandy, the puppy (yes, she's just a puppy) that has adopted the soldiers at Steve's FOB. Isn't she neat looking? She has stolen the hearts of all the men there and she is probably the most spoiled dog in all of Afghanistan. She receives constant treats in care packages (I always add something for her) and they have trained her to do the basic commands, like sit, stay, lay down, and shake. Steve absolutely adores her.

Also, I recently received an email from our FRG saying that mail isn't getting to the soldiers consistently and we needed to change the address to make it easier for it to be sorted and sent on. Here is the address correction they gave me:

SGT Marrott, Steven R

B TRP, 1-61 CAV

TF Currahee

FOB Whazi Kwah, Terwa

APO, AE 09354

Hopefully this will make their mail more reliable. I know they've had some problems.

Anyway, just wanted to introduce you to Sandy, the unofficial mascot for 3rd Platoon, and let you know about the address correction. Have a wonderful day!

~Sheralan

First Iraq, then Afghanistan. . .Now the Moon?

Steve's deployments have taken him far, but how much farther will they take him? Here's a link to a bizarre article on Live Science about soldiers colonizing the moon and Steve's platoon sgt has volunteered them. There's actually a picture of Steve's troop about halfway down, Steve is on the far right. Check it out. It is. . .interesting, to say the least.
Here's the web address http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2008/04/25/afghanistan-heroes-offer-to-colonize-moon-mars-and-beyond/
~Sheralan

Heard from Steve!

I just got off the phone with Steve, YEA!!!

Apparently I was misinformed on where he would be and what it would be like. While he has mountains around him, where they stay is actually flat and very sandy. They don't have running water, but they have a well they can pump to get enough water for a shower about once a week per soldier. They do not have the comfort of bathrooms (Scott can tell you all about the joys of that). There is just over 20 people on the tiny FOB and Steve sleeps in a connex (the storage units the military uses to ship their items over seas). He said they have a good report with the locals and have a really neat dog who found them and stays with them. Her name is Sandy.

He sounded like he was in excellent spirits and says the address we have is correct. He does have some access to the 'net and they have a sattellite phone he can use to call home every once in a while. Oh, and they do have a cook, so when they have enough supplies dropped to them, they get some hot meals.

He said he looks like a raccoon. His face is sunburned except where he wears his eye protection, so he looks like a red and white raccoon. :-) He's been busy with missions, and since they have so few people, he pulls guard a lot too and hasn't had a lot of sleep. And because of the lack of running water, he hasn't shaved and with as fast as his beard grows, I'm sure he already fits right in with the mountain men. And he hasn't had a haircut since he left and said his bangs reach his eyebrows.

As far as what to send to him, it pretty much is the same ol' list, except he did emphasize the need for baby wipes because he doesn't get to shower much. Oh, and he also told me to send out flea collars for Sandy, which I thought was kind of cute. I'll pick some up today and stick them in the package I have ready to go.

It was so awesome to hear his voice! I'll give you more updates as I get them.
~Sheralan