Jamie Howe

Please contact me via my contact form for mailing information!   Download this list.

Update: 04.24.12
Hello from Pul-e-Alam,
Just wanted to give you guys a quick update. I don't know how much it was in the news but on the 15th of this month the Taliban staged several attacks across the country. Our Patrol Base was one of the ones attacked. Everyone here is safe and sound and despite the attack and counter attack lasting 14 hours we didn't have one of our guys even injured. Between ourselves and our Czech partners we more than held our own (without getting into specifics). Despite that little bump in the road the Soldiers here are keeping their morale up.

The pictures I have attached are from my Battalion Commander's visit after the attack. He performed a "Coin" Ceremony for my junior enlisted soldiers that performed outstandingly during the attack and our subsequent counter attack. Many of these Soldier's will also receive awards for the performance but the Coin is a commander or a Command Sergeant Major's way of personally showing respect and gratitude to the performance of an individual. Our Czech brothers also received Coins for their performance. There are a couple pictures of one of my Soldiers and myself on a patrol with the Czechs to the local Bazaar to interact with the local population.

I also want to take the time once again to thank you guys that support us. The morale of a Soldier is directly tied to their performance. I thank you guys because you directly play a part into great performances by these Soldiers. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support.

V/R,
Brent A. Hallman
Patrol Base Pul-e Alam Mayor
SFC, USA

Update: 04.09.12
Sorry it has been such a long time since I wrote. Some of my platoon and I have moved to a new location with a new set of challenging responsibilities to go with it. We now reside in a small Patrol Base in Pul-e Alam, which is the provincial capital of the Logar province. There are 15 of us that are stationed here with approximately 30 Soldiers from the Czech Republic.

The Czech contingent is called a Provincial Reconstruction Team. They are responsible for coordinating with the local Afghan government to accomplish reconstruction projects in the public works domain (libraries, schools, orphanages). Our portion of that is that we are here to facilitate their mission in as many ways as possible (security, logistics, training). We also work with them in training the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP). This mission is the most stressful because of all the incidents of late.

We did have an opportunity to celebrate Afghan New Years with our ANA and AUP counterparts and it was very enjoyable. The mission is not only the difference however, we went from being at a relatively small FOB on the outskirts of a city to a very tiny patrol base in the middle of a city. That makes for interesting scenarios on a regular basis, especially since we are in spring, moving towards summer, which is known as the "fighting season."

I am attaching a couple of pictures and a new roster of the people here. We still need the common things like we have been requesting in the past but also need laundry supplies since we wash our own laundry here by hand. Words cannot express how much gratitude my Soldiers and I have for everything that you guys have done for us! Hope to hear from you soon.

Here is the list of Soldiers here with me now:

1LT Sessler, Xiao (Female)
2LT Porter, Wesley (Male)
SFC Garcia, Quitze (Female)
SSG Cruz, Peter (Male)
SSG Wiles, Damian (Male)
SGT Herriot, Evert (Male)
SGT Moorman, Penny (Female)
SGT Lara, Bradley (Male)
SPC McMullin, Candice (Female)
SPC Rivers, Keonia (Female)
SPC Golez, Moises (Male)
SPC Demassey, David (Male)
PFC Brown, Mitchell (Male)
PFC Malaga, Perestene (Male)

Update: 12.26.11
Hey guys,
Just wanted to take time out to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts! I would have sent this photo out earlier but myself and my LT had to head out this week to perform battlefield circulation, this is where we went to all of our sites and visited all of our soldiers we have that are located at various different FOBs and COPs across Afghanistan. You could not imagine how happy my soldiers were to see these packages!! The only problem I have now is keeping them off the XBOX at night and making sure they get some good sleep!!! You guys made this a very merry Christmas for us over here and we love you guys for it! I hope this letter finds you in good health and enjoying your holidays with your families!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Update: 12.16.11
Hello All,
Sorry it has been so long since my last update, but we have been busy for a multitude of reasons. One that has recently started is our Rest and Recuperation (R and R) Leave. Because you can take it the first 2 months of the deployment or the last 2 months of a deployment, we get stuck sending in everyone into 8 months. This creates the problem of having less people to do the same amount of work, but it is worth it to get people home for 15 days. On a sadder note my Brigade suffered our first four soldiers being killed in action this past month, luckily none of my solider were affected, but my heart goes out to the families of those four heroes that were taken from us and their families right around the holidays. It is getting ridiculously cold here and that combined with the being away for the holidays has caused a dip in some of the moral , but nothing too serious. We are still staying busy in between missions by working out and some of us are attending college. It helps the time go back fast and that is a good thing.

We have been receiving mail on a regular basis but just a little slow due to the increased volume due to the holidays. We really appreciate everything you guys do for us. Like I have said before some of my guys only receive mail from you guys and it keeps them in good spirits! I hope all of you enjoy your holidays and take the time to let their loved ones know how much you love them.

Update: 11.7.11
Hello Everyone,
First off I want to thank everyone for the care packages that have been coming in. Mail has been picking up with a turnaround of about 15 days. You don’t know how much it means to my guys, especially the young guys, when we get mail. Also, I know of a package that had a birthday card in it for a soldier whose birthday it was and it hit the spot, he was stoked for hours about it!

I also get lots of questions about what our daily routine is. Without going into too many details, my platoon works 24 hours (in shifts of course), seven days a week providing either mission support or mission planning and of course conduct missions. A normal day will consist of a 0500 wake up and Physical Training (PT) at 0530. After that, its showers breakfast and at work by 0800. Normally if we are doing mission support we are off at about 2000 (8PM). Of course if we are conducting missions the timeline is a lot different.

We recently conducted what is called a “Patching ceremony.” It is conducted to award the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia for Former Wartime Service to Soldiers who are serving in combat for the first time. I am inclosing some of the pictures from that ceremony at our compound. My young soldiers, that are on their first deployment, were stoked!

Also there have been lots of questions about what we need one thing that I have noticed is twin sheets and pillows. We have twin bed, but lots of my soldiers are still using their sleeping bags. I also am trying to get a really good down time area set up for my guys to relax and decompress. We have a XBOX 360 that we pooled or money together and bought second hand, but it is definitely on its last leg. Also if anyone has kids (or themselves) with old XBOX 360 Games that they could send along that too would be great.

I want all of you to know that what you do for these is awesome! With all of the things that go on here I have guys who have personal issues that go on at their home front too. So something that you might just consider a nice gesture, to them it means the world. It makes me feel proud to serve knowing that great Americans recognize us and what we do. Once again if there is anything that my platoon or I can do for you just ask i.e. pictures or testimonials you name it and consider it done.

Update: 10.7.11
Hello All,
Just wanted to send out a quick update for the week. The cold and rainy season has definitely started here. We had rain, sleet and hail yesterday and overall it was a pretty miserable day. Besides that though the soldiers here have been doing good, staying motivated and we’ve completely taken over for the unit that we replaced. One downside to the big turnover here is that mail has really slowed do here. We have only received mail once since we have been here, but it really gives us something to look forward to. Once again my soldiers and I thank you guys for all your support. It means a lot to us.

Update: 09.27.11
Hello All,
Just wanted to take the time out to send everyone a full update on my platoon and I. I know I gave brief updates to some individually but wanted to give a more thorough update. We have been here about a week now and are starting to settle in to our routines. The Forward Operating Base (FOB) that we are on is very small, the perimeter is less than a mile in circumference. There are however, upsides to the FOB it has a very nice gym and everyone here really friendly and concentrated on their individual missions. Once again my soldiers and I really appreciate all the support from you guys.