Afghanistan's Most Dangerous Corner

My son recently deployed to the Korengal Valley with the Blue Spaders out of Ft. Hood. Scot expressed very well what are a lot of my feelings and fears. Every day his mother and I have to believe he is going tp be okay. I have not shared everything I have learned about the Valley with my wife as there is already enough anxiety about his being there. Matthew chose the Army on a delayed enlistment right after graduating from college, having given back an appointment to the Air Force Academy because he believed the Army (18x) was a better fit. He believes in what he is doing and the course it is taking him. Just as Scot asked we asked Matthew, "why the Army?" It is something I have always wanted to do, he said. He was a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol of which he was involved in for many years and gained discipline from it and as a black belt in karate. Just as it is hard on us it is hard on him. We received a call, then an E-mail the other day answering our question "was everything okay?" his reponse was "Not really." He is a team leader and the team had just lost their first man in an engagement with the enemy. He is feeling responsible and bummed out but working through and getting things done. It is difficult to see how close to home things can happen and you pray for their safety and the safety of all the other soldiers from all our partner nations who are in harms way. Thanks Scot and to your son Michael. Bob Kuhn My son recently deployed to the Korengal Valley with the Blue Spaders out of Ft. Hood. Scot expressed very well what are a lot of my feelings and fears. Every day his mother and I have to believe he is going tp be okay. I have not shared everything I have learned about the Valley with my wife as there is already enough anxiety about his being there. Matthew chose the Army on a delayed enlistment right after graduating from college, having given back an appointment to the Air Force Academy because he believed the Army (18x) was a better fit. He believes in what he is doing and the course it is taking him. Just as Scot asked we asked Matthew, "why the Army?" It is something I have always wanted to do, he said. He was a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol of which he was involved in for many years and gained discipline from it and as a black belt in karate. Just as it is hard on us it is hard on him. We received a call, then an E-mail the other day answering our question "was everything okay?" his reponse was "Not really." He is a team leader and the team had just lost their first man in an engagement with the enemy. He is feeling responsible and bummed out but working through and getting things done. It is difficult to see how close to home things can happen and you pray for their safety and the safety of all the other soldiers from all our partner nations who are in harms way. Thanks Scot and to your son Michael. Bob Kuhn

Our son also recently deployed with the Blue Spaders out of Fort Hood. He has only been there two months and we know it has been a tough two months with a lot of fighting. Our hearts break when we get the "loss of a Blue Spader" email. And we have received several of those already. Our heart hurts when we get these messages and all we can do is pray for those families and pray for our son and the other soldiers there doing a very tough job. Unfortunately we need to be there. Those malcontents planned 9-11 in this area and would love to plan how to eliminate all "infidels" (that's us) and start by wiping "little Satan" (Israel) and "Big Satan" (USA) off the face of the earth. The terrorists no longer have a safe haven over there to plan their next attack and that is because our brave soldiers have been there since Oct, 2001 and are not backing down from any attacks. Believe me, we want our son home safe and sound tomorrow, but we know he has a job to do over there to protect our way of life. We are very proud of him but have lost a lot of sleep in the past few months. We have been forced to learn a whole new level of putting him in God's hands. We don't want to mention his name because of his MOS and we don't know who may read these message boards but he has performed his duties as a well trained professional soldier in the US Army. Your son and ours may be going on missions together and we will keep him in our prayers also. Thanks. Our son also recently deployed with the Blue Spaders out of Fort Hood. He has only been there two months and we know it has been a tough two months with a lot of fighting. Our hearts break when we get the "loss of a Blue Spader" email. And we have received several of those already. Our heart hurts when we get these messages and all we can do is pray for those families and pray for our son and the other soldiers there doing a very tough job. Unfortunately we need to be there. Those malcontents planned 9-11 in this area and would love to plan how to eliminate all "infidels" (that's us) and start by wiping "little Satan" (Israel) and "Big Satan" (USA) off the face of the earth. The terrorists no longer have a safe haven over there to plan their next attack and that is because our brave soldiers have been there since Oct, 2001 and are not backing down from any attacks. Believe me, we want our son home safe and sound tomorrow, but we know he has a job to do over there to protect our way of life. We are very proud of him but have lost a lot of sleep in the past few months. We have been forced to learn a whole new level of putting him in God's hands. We don't want to mention his name because of his MOS and we don't know who may read these message boards but he has performed his duties as a well trained professional soldier in the US Army. Your son and ours may be going on missions together and we will keep him in our prayers also. Thanks.

Scot, Thank you for your post. I have been touched by it, the Vanity Fair piece and other coverage. I would dearly love to send some holiday packages to soliders in the weeks coming up and would love to get them direct to the guys at "Restrepo". Can you guide me in how to do this? Jennifer vistatreehouse@yahoo.com Scot, Thank you for your post. I have been touched by it, the Vanity Fair piece and other coverage. I would dearly love to send some holiday packages to soliders in the weeks coming up and would love to get them direct to the guys at "Restrepo". Can you guide me in how to do this? Jennifer vistatreehouse@yahoo.com

my brother is in the korengal valley at restrepo now. i just learned this yesterday. is your son still there? my feelings about his being there are complicated by the fact that none of my family will speak to me. there is a major family issue i have wanted to discuss for some 31 years now, since i was 9 years old. finally realizing my parents never had any intention of discussing things, despite many promises to do so, i finally spoke up. as a result, they all shun me now, except for my brother. the thing that happened, which i desperately need to discuss if i am to have any relationship with them at all, changed and defined my life. my brother is the only one of them who has not outright condemned me for my feelings. at the same time, he really wants nothing to do with me, which is not surprising, because he feels loyal to the others, and was not present to see what really went down. my brother is a strong person and an independant thinker; but also a team player. he also is the only one with whom i could laugh and joke when things got stupid. he overcame a serious illness and became a pilot at the age of 16. he is also a very good artist. i miss him a lot--but i always have. i am far away from the rest of the family--on the west coast, while they are back east. when he came to ft. irwin for desert training, i had hoped to see him, but he did not call me while he was in CA and i did not want to push him. before he left the states, i told him that i believe he will be a force for good wherever he is. i wonder if i will ever see him again; if i will ever know him again; and i wonder about the reasons he is there. i am outspoken against some foreign policy decisions of our government and yet very proud of my brother. i don't think he understands how that can be. and i wonder if he believes that i am unpatriotic. if there is any enemy, to my mind, it is black-and-white thinking--about anything. sendme@earthlink.net my brother is in the korengal valley at restrepo now. i just learned this yesterday. is your son still there? my feelings about his being there are complicated by the fact that none of my family will speak to me. there is a major family issue i have wanted to discuss for some 31 years now, since i was 9 years old. finally realizing my parents never had any intention of discussing things, despite many promises to do so, i finally spoke up. as a result, they all shun me now, except for my brother. the thing that happened, which i desperately need to discuss if i am to have any relationship with them at all, changed and defined my life. my brother is the only one of them who has not outright condemned me for my feelings. at the same time, he really wants nothing to do with me, which is not surprising, because he feels loyal to the others, and was not present to see what really went down. my brother is a strong person and an independant thinker; but also a team player. he also is the only one with whom i could laugh and joke when things got stupid. he overcame a serious illness and became a pilot at the age of 16. he is also a very good artist. i miss him a lot--but i always have. i am far away from the rest of the family--on the west coast, while they are back east. when he came to ft. irwin for desert training, i had hoped to see him, but he did not call me while he was in CA and i did not want to push him. before he left the states, i told him that i believe he will be a force for good wherever he is. i wonder if i will ever see him again; if i will ever know him again; and i wonder about the reasons he is there. i am outspoken against some foreign policy decisions of our government and yet very proud of my brother. i don't think he understands how that can be. and i wonder if he believes that i am unpatriotic. if there is any enemy, to my mind, it is black-and-white thinking--about anything. sendme@earthlink.net

A childless but very grateful senior prays for the safety of all your sons & daughters; may God richly bless them & their families. A childless but very grateful senior prays for the safety of all your sons & daughters; may God richly bless them & their families.