Service members ran a race, played golf blindfolded and choked down the “nastiest” food the chow hall had to offer last December 5 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. They did all this to raise money for the Combined Federal Campaign – Overseas.

Senior Master Sgt. Bryan Shipman, a superintendant of protocol with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing and a Norfolk, Va., native, served as the Air Force CFC representative.

“We noticed there were no combined events with the Army or anyone else,” he said. “We teamed with the 13th (Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)) and the 194th Engineer Brigade and we came together with this alternate Amazing Race event.”

What’s really amazing to me is that these brave men and women are in harm’s way and yet they’re still able to think about others and help with a charity. Wow. That’s something, you know. If you agree, leave a comment!

Master Sgt. Kimberly D. Bergman, a 13th ESC career counselor and a Chicago native, said no other CFC-O event has had all the major commands from their base organized together.

Instead of commanders doing their own events for CFC-O, they came together as a whole – Army and Air Force, said Bergman.

“It was an awesome time,” she said. “Everyone brought their own strengths … which [were]reflected in the different challenges that we had.”

Spc. Martha A. Bolt, a paralegal specialist with the 13th ESC and a Sussex, N.J., native, said the event was fun and helped the service members get a good workout.

Bolt, who was on the Urban Logistickers team, said the hardest part of the event was the eating competition at the Mirage dining facility. She drew a number and had to eat banana pudding with raisins. Other numbered items included sardines, refried beans and tuna.

Her teammate, Maj. Erik A. Enyart, a brigade aviation officer with the 13th ESC and a Radcliff, Ky., native, said blind golfing and chow-hall eating were the hardest parts of the event.

I don’t know – it all seems like a lot to me. Thanks to the participating troops, though! (Even if it is a few months late.) To make up for it, here’s a more recent Amazing Race Afghanistan video. Enjoy!

Sgt. Stryker out.

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13th ESC Wins Amazing Race Charity Run

Capt. Amber M. Marks, a Task Force Leader logistics officer with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment out of Fort Sill, Okla., and Staff Sgt. Brandon E. Thomas, a communication and electronics noncommissioned officer with the 602nd Forward Support Company out of Fort Lewis, Wash., read the directions for the next event during the Combined Federal Campaign – Overseas Amazing Race Dec. 5 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Marks, a Parkersburg, W.Va., native, and Thomas, a Freeport, Ill., native, were part of team Born Ready. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Twist

Sgt. Austin A. Nightingale, operation executive administrative assistant with the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) out of Fort Hood, Texas, and Maj. Erik A. Enyart, a brigade aviation officer with the 13th ESC, eat bread pudding and raisins at the Mirage dining facility during the Combined Federal Campaign – Overseas Amazing Race Dec. 5 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Nightingale, a Missoula, Mont., native, and Enyart, a Radcliff, Ky., native, were part of the winning team, the Urban Logistickers, which won a $300 dollar check donated to the CFC in their name. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Twist

Spc. Kimberly N. Dover, a medic at the Troop Medical Center with the 248th Area Support Medical Company out of Marietta, Ga., tries to eat bread pudding and raisins at the Mirage dining facility during the Combined Federal Campaign – Overseas Amazing Race Dec. 5 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Dover, a Cartersville, Ga., native, was part of team Sickcall Rangers, which placed third in the event. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Twist

Team Urban Logistickers, with the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) out of Fort Hood, Texas, accept a $300 check from Col. Knowles Y. Atchison, deputy commander with the 13th ESC, for winning the Combined Federal Campaign – Overseas Amazing Race Dec. 5 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The check will be donated to the CFC in recognition of the winners. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Twist

A web-based project, called “30 Days Through Afghanistan,” concluded, March 15, 2010. The words, pictures and video were presented at a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable on March 25, 2010. It was all the brainchild of Air Force Tech. Sgts. Ken Raimondi, whose background is in broadcasting, and Nathan Gallahan, a photojournalist. Both soldiers are based at ISAF’s Joint Command in Kabul, Afghanistan. The idea was to traverse Afghanistan in one month and file daily reports in words, photos and video

“The whole 35 days through, we saw almost endless opportunity and good spirits out there, and it was really a morale booster for us about the whole mission,” Raimondi said. “There was no approval chain. What we saw, we talked about.”

Gallahan said the greatest challenge to keeping up the pace of daily reports was finding Internet access with enough bandwidth to upload video material to their Web site. The easy part, he said, was finding stories to tell.

“There are so many people in this country who have so much to say, and there’s so much to talk about, that I could have spent 10 years blogging every day and could have found something new to talk about,” he said.

When you think about it, this really is some groundbreaking Military Journalism. Kinda reminds you of World War II reporter Ernie Pyle, doesn’t it?

Gallahan said his two regrets about the project are a lack of time to plan out logistics and having to wrap up after just skimming the surface of the country.

“I would like to continue to try to tell the entire story of Afghanistan so people can make their own judgments,” he said.

That’s about the truth with any assignment these days. Leave a comment if you would like to see the military keep up with projects like this one.

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U.S. Airmen Train First Afghan C-27 Loadmaster

A C-27A Spartan parked next to a C-17A Globemaster III March 28, at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. Training loadmasters is important as the Afghanistan national army air corps expects to expand its C-27 fleet to 20 aircraft by the end of the program and expects the delivery of two more C-27s in early April. Photo by Staff Sgt. Manuel Martinez

Master Sgt. Chris Ringland, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group standards and evaluation loadmaster, and Afghanistan national army air corps Master Sgt. Sheer Aqa Karimi, a C-27A Spartan loadmaster, congratulate each other after successfully unloading the missions cargo to its detestation, March 28, at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. During an almost two-hour International Security Assistance Force operational mission to deliver more than 2,400 pounds of weapons and supplies for Afghanistan national police at Camp Bastion. ANAAC C-27 loadmaster, Afghan Master Sgt. Sheer Aqa Karimi, was evaluated by Master Sgt. Chris Ringland, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group standards and evaluation loadmaster. Photo by Staff Sgt. Manuel Martinez

Afghanistan national army air corps Master Sgt. Sheer Aqa Karimi, a C-27A Spartan loadmaster, and Master Sgt. Chris Ringland, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group standards and evaluation loadmaster, socialize prior to take-off for a check ride for Karimi, March 28, at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan. \”Sheer Aqa is one of the brightest and energetic students we have, said Ringland, who is deployed from the 6th SOSS at Hurlburt Field. \”He did a great job today and I would be proud to fly with him anywhere in the world.” Admitting he was a bit nervous, Karimi, was pleased at the success of the mission and is happy to be his country\’s first qualified C-27 loadmaster Photo by Staff Sgt. Manuel Martinez

Afghanistan national army air corps Master Sgt. Sheer Aqa Karimi, a C-27A Spartan loadmaster, performs pre-flight checks prior to engine start up for an operational mission and his check ride on a ANAAC C-27, March 28, at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan. Photo by Staff Sgt. Manuel Martinez

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In the southern province of Dhi Qar in Iraq, the US military is continuing the mission of peace in Iraq by helping the small scale local government there. The Army’s civil affairs teams and the United States Agency for International Development have got together to create a District Government Support Team. That team has solved a host of governing issues, helping to strengthen the democratic process at the city and village levels in Iraq.

This is important on so many levels I don’t know where to begin. While it’s important to work from the top down on the government in Iraq, it is also vital that we don’t forget the “small towns” along the way. By putting something together to help these small villages in Iraq, we are cementing the success we’ve seen in that country over the last few years.

Soldiers assigned to Company C, 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, Task Force Pathfinder, are leading the DGST to reinforce local political effectiveness as part of the Army’s first advise and assist brigade. They are a specialized group, trained to act as liaisons with host nation governmental, tribal and business leaders.

Army 1st Lt. Adam Thomas, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., is the team leader of Civil Affairs Team 111, which operates in Dhi Qar province.

“District councils throughout the province jumped at the opportunity to work with us,” Thomas said. “They were extremely interested in learning how to forecast for future budgets and improve the delivery of services to their citizens.”

Since provincial council support of U.S. reconstruction projects is a requirement in order to guarantee Iraqi government support and sustainment, the DGST leveraged their knowledge to recommend various courses of action, also offering their services for any future obstacles.

This is why, in my opinion, Iraq is and will continue to be a resounding success. Do you disagree? Leave a comment below if you dare.

Sgt. Stryker out.

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Supporting Small Government in Iraq

Army 1st Lt. Adam Marquis, from Buffalo, N.Y., Task Force Pathfinder, talks with locals during a project site assessment in Dhi Qar province.

Army 1st Lt. Adam Thomas, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and the District Government Support Team meet with the Al Fajir District Council to discuss ways to improve their chances of getting reconstruction projects approved.

Iraqi Soldiers Hand Out School Supplies to Iraqi Children

Iraqi soldiers with the 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Division of the Iraqi army, hand out school supplies to Iraqi children during a joint patrol with Company C, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment May 19, near Balad, Iraq. Company C, distributed more than 60 boxes of clothes, shoes and school supplies they had recieved from people back in the United States.

Sgt. Edward Johnson Hands Out New Shoes and Clothes

Sgt. Edward Johnson, Company C, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, hands out new shoes and clothes to Iraqi children during a patrol May 19, near Balad, Iraq. Company C distributed more than 60 boxes of clothes, shoes and school supplies they had recieved from people back in the United States.

If you know anything about the history of Afghanistan, you know that women have been oppressed in that country for quite a few years. With the changes taking place since the fall of the Taliban in that country, things are looking brighter and brighter for women all the time. Case in point – a new business center in Herat – for women.

On March 7, 2010, Afghan and ISAF officials attended a foundation stone-laying ceremony for a new $270,000 women’s business center. The new center will have four levels with a total area of around 5,500 square feet. The centre will have room for 36 stores, a conference room, and space for recreational activities and gymnastics on the top floor.

The centre was donated by the Italian Ministry of Defence and is in cooperation with the Department for Women Affairs, which supports the establishment of a business area dedicated to female entrepreneurship. This will further the role of women as entrepreneurs in the Herat province. The Italian Cooperation for Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will supply all furniture and necessary equipment for the centre as well as launch a microcredit project, which is an economic tool for development that will provide affected families access to financial services and, in particular, to women.

“Through this project we will provide financial support for the initiation of individual businesses and boost their natural development,” said Brig. Gen. Alessandro Veltri, Regional Command-West commander. “It will also promote the presence of female personnel into the local entrepreneurial system promoting a role of women as a central element and factor of progress in Afghan society.”

Yeah, it’s the Italians helping, but it’s good to see other countries kicking in, I think. More on this later, I think.

Sgt. Stryker out.

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International Women’s Day Greeting

Gen. Khatol Mohammadzai, the first female parachutist and general in the Afghan national army, greets the Task Force Bayonet command group on International Women’s Day, March 8. Photo by Spc. Daniel D. Haun

Lt. Col. Kyle Lear, the deputy commanding officer of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, presents Gen. Khatol Mohammadzai, the first female parachutist and general in the Afghan national army, with the title of honorary Sky Soldier. Mohammadzai spoke to the Task Force Bayonet command group and women of the Logar province on International Women’s International Day, March 8.

Lt. Col. Kyle Lear, the deputy commanding officer of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, presents Gen. Khatol Mohammadzai, the first female parachutist and general in the Afghan national army, with the title of honorary Sky Soldier. Mohammadzai spoke to the Task Force Bayonet command group and women of the Logar province on International Women’s International Day, March 8.

Patrolling and Delivering Supplies in Afghanistan

Paktika Reconstruction Team members Sgt. 1st Class Jermaine Jones (left), Chief Petty Officer Rhonda Harms (middle), and Sgt. Robby Owens (right), patrol the streets of Sharana while delivering supplies of women and children’s clothes, shoes, and toys March 7 in preparation for International Women’s Day events to be held the following day at the Director of Women’s Affairs compound in Sharana. Harms is the communications department head for the PRT and is deployed from the Naval Operations Support Center in Austin, Texas, Navy Central MAST A, where she is the Operations/Information Technology department chief. Jones and Owens are both deployed from Bravo battery 1/178 Field Artillery, South Carolina Army National Guard.