We spent the last 2 days at Salerno FOB, (Forward Operating Base) which is almost 200 miles south of Bagram AFB. The progression of our stops has been interesting. From our first night at Camp As Saliyah (which now seems like a summer camp with it's pool and beer and bowling alley), to Bagram; where all soldiers carry their weapon, to here at Salerno (nickname, Rocket City) where rocket fire is a given and they're on black out status after dark. (makes for quite the challenge when getting to the latrine in the middle of the night, which i tend to do too often). We are about 10 miles from the Pakistan border, which is closer than I've ever wanted to be, so it is odd how safe I feel.

We flew in on a small civilian prop plane, a Casa 212, and the pilots were gracious enough to let me ride up front in the jump seat. They were both ex-military, now Blackwater guys, and very familiar with the region and its happenings. About 20 minutes into the 40 minute flight they pointed to our left at a snow capped mountain top and said, "that's Pakistan...Tora Bora".

To be that close to where Bin Laden is supposedly hiding out did send chills down my spine. Upon landing, we were greeted by Sergeant Schmidt who turned out to be not only an excellent host, but also a graduate of my high school, Belleville West.

After a visit with artillery guys, which I don't feel like I can paint a true picture of without the photos, Schmidt took us to EST (engagement skills training). This was our first chance to shoot a weapon, though not live rounds. Turns out Carrie is pretty much sniper qualified. We have to hand it to Schmidt, he did such a great job of explaining how to fire, that everyone would have passed the basic marksmanship qualification test. Well...everyone except for me.

I lack the ability to close one eye at a time, so I couldn't see out of the scope...we tried everything to help, but what I really needed was an eye patch. This was pretty annoying and frustrating for me, but to know that Carrie can hit a moving target from 300 meters is at least comforting. Canyon and Dain are also excellent marksmen, but I'm confident that Carrie has them beat.

We went back yesterday and shot with a different scope that allows you to look through with both eyes. I felt confident I was going to redeem myself, but what ensued is too devastating to relive. It is a good story though if you ever want to ask :c)

After some chow and a bit of downtime, we headed over to the "volleyball" court (essentially a gravel/sand pit surrounded by sand bags, a sprained ankle just waiting to happen). What we didn't know is what we were getting into. There are some Afghan and Nepali interpreters on base (not military, but they work closely with our troops in the field) and they are very serious about their volleyball.

We also didn't know that Sergeant Schmidt had been talking some trash and getting them fired up for our visit and they were ready to go. We played 6 on 6 and as we rotated on our side with 4 other soldiers, they seriously stacked their team for a sideout scoring game to 15. It was intense, to say the least. These guys may have some skills but also a complete disregard for the rules of the game.

They were hitting quick sets out of the backrow and a net violation doesn't exist here. There was also some creative scoring! Canyon and Dain were bringing some serious heat (and Carrie, as well) and these guys were standing in and taking it. It was a pretty close match the entire way and it was great to see the joy of our teammates to be playing with us and we set them often.

The game was tight at the end (I think we were up 13-12) with me in the front row and 2 military guys as my hitters. Definitely not our best rotation and no one (on either side) was going to lose. We pulled it out after a great side out (they missed their serve :C) and 2 kills by our guys. I never thought we'd have any of that competition here and it was a ton of fun.

We were supposed to catch another prop out of here yesterday but got held up due to weather. I won't go into it here, but if they end up putting some of our video on-line or on the Dig show, you'll see this wasn't the first time and how we each handled/subdued our frustrations.

So, we were left with a day to burn. We got a good workout in and Carrie and I played a little hoops with some of the soldiers/warriors/Bad Asses from a troop we had met the day before. From there, they invited us back to their command post to meet some that we had missed earlier and to learn more about what they do.

I think I can speak for both of us (Carrie and myself) that this experience was almost surreal. We saw and heard some things that I wouldn't have imagined ever crossing civilian eyes and ears. The feeling of trust, honor and patriotism we felt during our 45 minutes in that CP was inexplicable and will remain with us for our lifetimes. Let's just say those are the guys we want out there in the fight!

We're on our way back to Bagram this morning and I'll have one more post before the end of the trip. We still haven't gotten up in the Blackhawk, but our fingers are crossed for later today. We met the Colonel a few days ago and he assured us that all we had to do was ask. Great story about how we brought him a foot massager, some foot soak and and eye mask (along with our autograph card) that I may delve into next time....if not, I'm sure Canyon will hit on it in his article for DIG.

Until then.... Visit my website at www.A-Soiree.com

FRIDAY, June 13: Posted at 10:22 a.m. ET

Deep breath... deep breath... deep breath...

From Afghanistan -
We arrived to Bagram AFB in Afghanistan on Thursday early evening via military aircraft (C-130). If you aren't familiar with the aircraft and have a minute to look it up, please check it out. After flying in the back of this bus for 6 hours, we will never complain about commercial coach again. We were crammed in the back with the cargo, sitting sideways on vinyl seats, knee to knee with the soldiers who are coming over for deployment for the first time, as well as those returning from R and R. (will post a photo upon return). As we boarded, the pilot saved the 4 seats across from us for DV's (distinguished visitors).

The DV's turned out to be a 3 Star General and his small entourage. The pilot came back and offered him a seat up front but he politely declined and settled into his country/western music on his IPOD for the long haul. I ended up sharing my knee space with the General, who was very stoic and I was convinced he wasn't going to stretch out his legs for the entire flight....he ended up loosening up and stretching into my space about 4 hours into it. I have to admit, I was completely in awe of him and his presence the entire flight. Upon landing he gave us a big smile and wished us well.

Our hosts here in Bagram, who will accompany us on our day trips to the smaller bases, are a 22 year old female sergeant, and a major in his mid 30's. We've only spent a few hours with them but I already have an amazing amount of respect for them both. We were supposed to fly out this morning on a 4:30 flight, but as seems to be common, things changed and our flight was canceled. So...currently they're searching for a Blackhawk to fly us out of here! During the hours spent waiting for the flight and talking with our hosts, we learned a great deal about them and their dedication to our country and to all of us.

The young female (who is single and has no children) joined the reserves several years ago and was getting her education when she voluntarily enlisted about a year ago...and then found herself deployed to Afghanistan. Although she doesn't leave the base, she answered all of our questions and as much as she could, filled us in on what the soldiers face when they do travel outside of these confines for mission. Her character was pretty much summed up when she told us that she continually volunteers for missions because she would rather put herself in harms way than to see a mother, father, husband or wife risking their life. The first of many soldiers who will certainly leave a life lasting impact on me.

So, if the Blackhawk doesn't come through today, we will stay here, sign autographs and play some ball on their "sand" court. The weather here is a bit more mild than As Saliyah and it is actually quite beautiful with the mountains. Whatever happens, as long as we are spending time with the soldiers, we're happy.

WEDNESDAY, June 11: Posted at 3:10 p.m. ET

Deep breath... deep breath... deep breath...

Carrie, Dain, Canyon and I are on an 8 day trip to the Middle East to spread some love and goodwill to our troops. We flew into Doha, Qatar yesterday evening and are on base here at Camp As Sayliyah. We are waiting on military transport to take us to Afghanistan from here. I won't be able to disclose any of our further locations until after the trip, we don't even know where we are headed!

The base here is sort of like a vacation spot for the troops serving in "The Box" (Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa). They get a four-day pass for R and R and they come here to get away. They all say they are just happy to be somewhere "where they are not getting shot at". There is a really nice pool here which they enjoy and this is the only base where they can "legally" drink alcohol. They're allowed up to 3 drinks per day/night. From what we understand, after being deployed for 6 months without a break, 3 drinks is plenty!

It is so hot here it's indescribable. We walked out of our barracks this morning and were hit with 100 degrees of dry heat. Canyon commented that it's "like Vegas, without the Vegas!" Desert as far as you can see.

The troops aren't allowed to do any exercise of physical exertion outside between 8:00 a.m and 6:00 p.m. It's unbearable just to walk one block. Anyone who knows me, knows how I like the heat...this may change my mind!

We did an autograph signing earlier today and got the troops all fired up to play some ball tonight. We met one guy who has been coming to the Belmar event for years. He knew all the stats on everyone...even knew that Canyon and Dain won their first event together in '97. Needless to say, a huge fan and very appreciative of us being here.

Everyone keeps saying to enjoy being on base here while we are, that the accommodations where we are going don't hold a candle. We're not nervous though, just seeing how fired up they are makes everything worth it. More soon...oh, and by the way....gas is 71 CENTS/gallon!!!