The First Leg Home

YES!!  We have completed the first leg of our trip home. We left Apache early this am and are now in KAF for our checkout with TFMS and NAVCENT.  It feels good. Pics are of our second group heading out. Second pic is the ride!

Sitting on the Dock By the Bay

The Crew getting ready to head home! We had our TOA yesterday and we are set to head out and start the treck home!!

A Very Dark Day

"A car bomb blast killed five Americans in Afghanistan, including three US soldiers and a young diplomat on Saturday."
Yesterday was a very dark day for us. We have become so close with our Amry Brigade here. Three of the 5 that died were from our Brigade. After 14 hours of caring for the wounded, we stood as a unit in the dark as the bodies were taken to the flight line, along with pretty much all of FOB Apache assembled including most of Raider 1-3.  So sad.

The Group Now

It is hard to believe we are winding up and getting ready to head home.  It has been on tuff deployment and as no surprise the everyone has done so well. I don't think they realise what an accomplishment to have come from a non-team to this now cohesive trauma unit. Truly amazing and one of the things I think that enjoy most about these deployments. The pic is our group pic outside the FST, now with the Miranda Trauma sign up. It is nice to see that most as still smiling!!!

Plank Owners

During our "TEA" we also had another tradition.  PLANK OWNER. This is a VERY old Navy Tradition where members of the commissioning unit of a ship a giver the "right" to own a plank of the ship when it is decommissioned. In this case the "Ship" is the new Navy Miranda Trauma Center FST Role 2E. It is kind of a neat idea and definitely gives us a sense of ownership for OUR Role 2E FST. We each got a Certificate of Plank Ownership! We also gave each of the unit members a OEF Certificate.

Easter at FST Apache

It is the day after Easter now here. We had a pretty good day considering. It has been raining for its seems forever, and yesterday was actually a really nice sunny day. So it was nice. We had our little "mini" ALL AMERICAN TEA on Easter courtesy of St Barnabas and the crew their. We only got a 2 of the 5 boxes that was sent (mail has been poor here because of the rain) but the two that we did get were GREAT!!! It was very appreciated!

SO3(SEAL) Denis C. Miranda

We had a very special day today as pretty much most of SEAL TEAM 4 came to our FST  for the re-dedication of our new facility to honor Denis C. Miranda a Seal who was killed in 2010. The FST at FOB Lagman was dedicated to him and we have kept that tradition and re-dedicated the new FST at Apache in his name.

Picture below is the folding of the flag at Lagman on the last day and then the presentation to Miranda's Chief at the dedication.  That US Flag  had hung in the FST OR at Lagman since the  original Miranda Center dedication at Lagman in 2010. The flag will be given to the Miranda Family.