Hello all- Another month has come and gone...thankfully. I sit here on Easter morning thinking about how busy of a month it was that we just completed. We had several air assault operations, village clearance missions, detainee operations, and project constructions. All in all Black Knight Troop, 3rd Platoon had a pretty successfully month. We experienced our share of excitement and adrenaline (it is that time of year again), but everyone is ok and we were able to come out on top. Like I have explained before, the village that I have responsibility for is called Saw. The unique thing about Saw is that it is the only village in the Black Knight area of operations that sits in a valley that leads directly to Pakistan. This poses many challenges including AAF (Taliban) infiltration, corrupt government officials, and Afghan security forces (police and army) that are afraid to go back in the valley. This past month we have done a few multiple day missions in order to reach out and touch some of those undesired personalities back in the valley. Generally speaking, we were pretty successfully in either eradicating or detaining several HVT's (high value targets). Honestly speaking, the progress we accomplished throughout the winter months has rapidly deteriorated with the new enemy here from Pakistan. We cannot have a constant presence in the area due to a lack of Soldiers so as soon as we leave the bad guys come out again. We do our best and have brought some good things to the area though. Last week I finally got a flood wall project approved for Saw Village. Basically what it entails is a concrete wall that will protect the girl's school and farm floods from flooding waters off of the mountain. It is a vital piece of construction for Saw and hopefully will be the beginnings of further development. Additionally, the progress continues on trying to tie a bridge into Saw; Saw lies on the south side of the river where there are no roads. On top of this problem, we have built a bridge to connect the village to the main route however Taliban continue to try and destroy it. We are doing our best to protect both American and Afghan interests but it just seems like we never have enough Soldiers. Ultimately, looking back, it is finally April, I can finally say, "Next month we are coming home!". The new unit will start coming in at the end of the month and we will begin training our replacements shortly there after. I have my first Soldiers leaving at the very beginning of May so we are all very excited for that. We have put in a lot of long hours, sweat, tears, and blood to try and better a nation that is not ours. My Soldier's are truly some of the greatest American's that have walked this Earth (and alot of walking they have done). Although the phrase is, "Soldier's aren't happy unless they are complaining", I know that they have a mission first attitude. I am thankful to be blessed with such great warrior's to my right and left. Although this chapter in my life is nearing its completion, its not over till its over, and we all know that. Thank you all for your continued support. Only a couple more updates left....
