Farewell Message From Sean Gustafson

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last.

Greetings all from Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. Our Oddysseussical journey home has begun. Title and first line are lyrical references for my dad (let's see who else knows who sang em'). Not nearly as many photos as usual, we've been in winding-down mode since the Mother's Day email, decontented pics are attached, lemme' know if you want any of the fat files.

Pic 1 is Latif and the Arbob (elder) of Bazergan. We ventured out there again to thoroughly understand the workings of their drip-irrigation system (pic 2) for duplication in other villages, and to bring the new team and our higher-ups from Kabul to their dam site (pic 3). This village is a mix of tribes and islamic factions, all living in a clean, well-kept municipal area, using the same mosque (actually, all Shiites and Sunnis use the same mosques here, we just didn't know that), and getting along fabulously. It's amazing how things go if you focus on similarities, and try to enhance tolerance, but that's just crazy talk. We made one last run to the Zangalan dam, pic 4 is the team that made it happen, 5 is the reservoir doing it's job despite 6 weeks of rainlessness. We are using private donations to set up mixed-use drip irrigation plots in Zangalan, too.

Got to make one last run down to Farah. Picture 6 is just one of the tons I took (along with movies) of jereebs (acres) and jereebs of poppie fields. Some even had Afghan National Police stations nestled amongst them! Had a few final 'fun issues' down there (for old times' sake) but also got a chance to visit the Thieves' Castle (ostensibly built by Sikander (Alexander) but that's as ubiquitious as George Washington slept here in the Ghan). Pic 7 shows the view from the bottom, the castle occupies the top of the peaks on either side of the saddle behind the wall. Pic 8 was from two-thirds of the way up, you can make out our UAHs (Up-Armored HMMWVs) on the ground. It was a tough climb at altitude.

We finished and launched another school, in Shadi Jam. Pic 9 is the completed school, 10 is the launch ceremony, 11 is us handing out supplies to the students in their new classrooms, 12 and 13 are some grateful local kids outside. We made one last venture up to the Shahid Mirwais school (sister to Mahnomen School in the USA). 14 is enroute there, 15 is some grateful kids who gave us things that CSM Christianson will bring back to Mahnomen with him this fall.

And the finality began to hit. 16 is our last formation, getting thanks and awards, 17 is folding our colors, 18 a final farewell from the 14 remaining guys of Forward 31 from Minnesota that started this thing together back in February of 2006. 19 is the same team in shirts donated by an auto parts company in SoCal (their logo is identical to the tattoo I got in Nawlins last April, karma neh?!) The Corps G3 had us over to his friend's garden for a farewell party, 20 is the Corps 3 team and I in local dress, 21 is a Hookah Hooray from me, Latif was able to bring his 3-year-old niece, Sonap, and we thoroughly enjoyed her company (pic 22). The icing on the cake was all of us swimming in the non-chlorinated, artesian-fed (read super cold) pool in the garden, pic 23, fully-clothed, as there were ladies present. When in Rome... On our final night together we stayed up late reminiscing and dreaming of the future. Latif gave me this silk rug his mom and aunt had taken two months to make, pic 24. It has a Koranic verse "The Practice of Charity Will Bind All Men In One Great Brotherhood" in english across the top. Pretty amazing. Pic 25 was the final picture of us all together; Abdul Latif Jusufy, our tarjiman (interpreter), COL Ghollam Sakhi, the Civil Affairs Officer, SSgt Monica Harris, CA NCO Mentor, me and CPT Ray Gilmore, my replacement. Godspeed western Afghanistan, and indeed this whole theater.

Not a lot more to say, I've been terribly sick, but I'm just about over it. Too many ventures into villages full of sickies (as the brits call them) I guess, finally collectively caught up to me. We're outprocessing here for a few days, then in Kuwait for a few, then Fort Carson, Colorado for 4-7 days, then Minnesota for a week or so, then I will be back to DC by the 2nd of July.

Please accept my sincerest and most heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you. Your donations, well-wishes, and tax-dollars are all making a tremendous difference here, and even though it's not nearly as interesting of a story to the media as suicide bombers or rhetorical questions regarding our presence here, we ARE winning here, slowly but surely. Things are getting better. Look how long it took to re-build Europe after WWII, and that was with much less constrained resources. Anyone near MN when we return is invited to our arrival ceremony (should be around the 20th of June, give or take a few days). And we'll have to have a big Afghan-style hookah party once I get back to DC, everyone's invited to that, too.

God bless you all and keep you safe,

Sean

PS.
Strike another match, go start anew.
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.