Here my CO gets a COIN from the bosses bosses bosses boss…I think… He gave out coins to guys for various things, including having three years or more deployed. One of our guys was even in the 101st during Petraeus’ command in Iraq.

He also presented our Battalion Commander with an Army Commendation with Valor award.

We had a few (possibly too many) guys on R&R the last month, so I’ve been filling in for nearly five different jobs. It wasn’t terrible, just that taking the ball while running was a lot like drinking from the fire hose.

The only real update in the past few weeks, however, is that it has finally gotten cold enough to show some snow. I realized I hadn’t really updated any photos since, like, October. I’ve gotten pretty sick of taking the same pictures for six months, so I took a break.

But now, new scenery! My CO says he feels like we’re in a Coors Light commercial and I’ll agree to that. Ironically enough it still doesn’t get too cold during the day (for us Chicago descendents) but the nights are nearly freezing.

Other than that, we haven’t let up on taking the fight to the enemy. Yesterday we tested our TOW missle system that was back from maintenance, and I got one of the best shots of the deployment!

Now, R&R is right around the corner. At the end of February I’ll be taking my “mid tour leave” – at month 10 of 12. Oh well. When I get back, there will be less than two months left!

Sun streaking over the Pech Valley mountains are breathtaking in the morning. But winter is truly setting in; the sun used to rise at 0430 and now doesn’t make it up until after 6 a.m., and is gone by 6 p.m.

Here is our awesome front porch where most socializing/golf ball hitting takes place.

Alpha Company guidon — ABU!

Here’s my new setup. It feels uncannily like living in a U of I dorm again, which is about 1,000 times better than my previous living quarters. This is in an actual concrete building!

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Yes, I use a UGR-A (bulk rations) box for my filing system! And all of your cards and notes and pictures don’t go unnoticed — I’ve begun my  new wall!

I even have an actual storage system and an Afghan mat. The mat really pulls the place together and keeps the “prison feel” out of the room.

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Yes, we have a fire pit. At LTC in Ft. Knox circa 2007 my fellow Illini laughed that we had bon fires. Whose laughing now!

The glorious view up one of the valleys.

We started out by also reenlisting and promoting my Gunnery Sergeant, SFC Houston. Thanks goes out to SSG Martinez for taking these pictures with my camera. Now I can actually be in a few! Then I simply worked my post processing magic.

This was my first time reenlisting a Soldier. It was definitely an honorable day, and I’m glad I didn’t screw up the oath.

Below our Battalion Commander stands in front of my platoon while the Battery Commander and 1SG finish presenting the CABs to the platoon.

Like I said, I finally get to be in a few!

Lately there has not been much to write home about, so to speak. The soldiers have worn into a comfortable groove with their force protection duties. More and more of them are getting cross trained in different positions to create depth in our battle rosters. But they remain as frosty as ever.

The hardest thing to do right now is find new things to take pictures of.

Here is our COP “pet”. He is both the mangiest, and heartbreakingly sad dog I think I’ve ever seen. There’s a group of birds that swoop down and tease him relentlessly. But he had his revenge when I saw him catch one in his jaws in mid flight.

And here we have Afghanistan’s eternal struggle — barbed wire vs. poppies.

The best part about calibrating is that we get to shoot what’s called “direct fire.” Usually we fire “non-line-of-sight,” which means an observer tells us where to shoot, and once we fire we never see the rounds impact. With direct fire, we aim at the mountain side next to the outpost and fire away.

I also had the sections name their guns. Since we are Bravo Battery, they start with the letter “B.” I’d say it definitely helped the morale!

We also had a few soldiers in the brigade killed over the last few weeks. This was obviously very tragic. None of the soldiers were stationed at our COP, but we had our flags at half mast most of the week. Then on the day the families back home were notified, God gave us a reassuring sign.

The Dunbar Cave is now closed indefinitely due to the spreading of White Nose Syndrome in bats. Humans have been identified as carriers so in the interest of the bat population they have stopped the guided tours through the cave.

On the final day before deploying to the Land of the Afghans, Britt and I went on one of our characteristic adventures. In the heart of Clarksville hides Dunbar Cave recreation area. Never missing a moment to snap a few pics, and needing an excuse to break in my new boots, I grabbed the Nikon and we hit the trail.

The flood line from last week’s disaster was visible throughout the park. Giant trees found their way up 25-foot hills and the stone walls were striped with dirt.

Mud and debris from the swollen lake litter the entrance to the cave. These columns chronicle the rising water from last week's flood.

I can’t wait to share the amazing scenes of Afghanistan with all of my Spartzine readers. There is still something missing, I feel, in my photography. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out that missing link and take my images of Afghanistan to the next level.

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Some of you know that my townhouse is at the top of a hill, right above a Gary Matthews car dealership. Well, the road next to the dealership is also the only road accessible to our hilltop subdivision. That road entrance is also at low ground, about 100 meters from the Cumberland River. After more than 13 inches of rain in the last few days, the swollen river has continued to rise, trapping us like ants on a hill.

Despite multiple days with temperatures above 40 and 50 degrees, patches of snow remain in the shady places of the world.

Every time I think Clarksville is boring I find something new that makes me wish I didn’t have to leave. Most of these discoveries come from my neighbor, Sara, who unfortunately just moved out (but not away). Clarksville is no Nashville, and definitely no Chicago, but it has the amenities of a decent college town and the quaint features of an old-world village. Within driving distance there are the malls and restaurants, but also the Riverwalk and boating, Dunbar Cave (which I still have to explore), and hiking and biking trails. This newest one, the Pollard Greenway, is only six miles from my house.

This was also my first time trying out some black and white shots with my Nikon. I hope to pick up a few more techniques and equipment before heading off to Afghanistan.

Click on the images to see the full album.

At the time these leaves seemed to be the only non-brown/green color in the entire forest, defying both gravity and winter's inevitability

An ancient inscription by the Fall Gods. The leaf scorpion was burned and embedded to this tree as a warning to all those who follow the Honker Trail...

The vertex of the Universe; when all things become one and the same.