My daughter works for a contractor that is affiliated with the military, and for the last month, she has been overseas and staying at a base in Afghanistan. She has assurred me that she is safe there and that they are well-guarded; but with so many wars and fighting going on in that part of the world, I (worry-wort that I am) always am glad to see her come back home again. She was supposed to come back home the end of March; but apparently, plans changed and she is going to be there several more weeks. She is in some kind of a barracks near the NATO base there, so she is probably as safe as anyone can be in those circumstances; however, when i read today about military personnel being shot and killed near the NATO base; it is still worrisome. Since she is on FB. I can usually see when she has been online; but she is often working very long hours, and not having much time to even check in on Facebook. I have been saying extra pryers for her, and would ask any of the others here that do believe in prayer, to please keep her in your prayers, too. http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Afghan-official-Ambush-aimed-at-police-kills-2-6185554.php
Yvonne, I ' so sorry that you are so worried, but I know that everyone here understands your fears. I felt the same when ER was in the Army Rangers. I finally realized that all I was doing was scaring myself, and put out bad fibs, joojoo, or some even called it bad energy. All you can do is keep your hands and mind as busy as nessasary to help relieve your dress. You know I'll hold Robin in my prayers for as long as is needed Hugs to you and Bobby!!! ((((...))))
Hi Yvonne, You can count on me for adding into my prayers the safety of your daughter. I can't imagine to have one of my children that far away from me. My oldest son lives 4 hours away and I think that is to much! So yes, I have no clue what that feels like but I can only imagine the worry you must have when you watch reports on television about all of the shootings, etc...that go on over there. ~Michelle~
Yvonne, I certainly sympathize with you and your concern for your daughter. I can't imagine what you must be going through. Please give her our gratitude for her service and know that we will be thinking of her.
I can completely understand your fears. There are certain areas of the world where no one could pay me to go to and unfortunately Afghanistan is on that list. No matter how old they become your children are sitll your children and you will worry about them even if they want to tell you everything is all right. The only advice I can give you at this point is try to keep good thoughts of your daughter coming home safely, and continue to pray for her safe return. That is all you really can do at this point.
I think that most everyone read my profile post that my daughter was finally back home from Afghanistan, after living inside a barricaded compound there for the last eight months. Since she usually works from home, and only goes to the office for important conferences, it was still possible for her to do most of the same things with the computer in Afghanistan as she can do right here in her own home. The company there was supposed to have a replacement; but something kept falling through and the replacement never showed up. She said that her "big boss" here in town finally put his foot down and told the people there to have her on a plane home within two weeks, and would not back down, replacement or not. Since this also happened at the same time as my youngest son was sent to the ER and then hospitalized for his heart, I have wondered if that might have helped motivate Robin's boss to get her home so rapidly. She hasn't said anything about this; but it is an interesting coincidence. Anyway, I saw her for an hour or so when she first got home, and then she has been busy getting things back in order after her 8-month absence. Today, she is in Philadelphia; so she must have had to fly out either last night or early this morning for an important comference there. At least this time, she is much closer to home, and should be back in a few days. It is good that she enjoys traveling.
That's good news for you, @Yvonne Smith, your daughter is done with her tour of duty in Afghanistan. I was reading an article in New York Times about an American soldier who witnessed the abuse of young boys by the Afghan police. When he reported it to the authorities, the reply he got was that it was part of their culture. Would you believe that? Sexually abusing little boys by Afghan men is part of their culture? Isn't that revolting? And the soldier was then moved to another unit. I was quite worried upon reading the start of this thread because I don't have a good impression of Afghanistan aside from the ongoing war. To me, it seems foolish for the US to get involved in that war.
Thank you, @Corie Henson . My daughter has actually been retired from the active duty military for about 10 years now; but she works for a private contractor who deals with the military. So it is not like she was stationed there as a soldier would have been. Her company just sent her over there to take care of some business and she should have been back home in a few weeks; but the replacement person didn't show up as expected, and for some reason, they couldn't find anyone else. So they just kept her there, doing whatever work they needed done, plus the work she usually does from here , using her computer. I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get her back home again. It was a total surprise to see her, since she made sure that no one knew she was coming home that could tell me ahead of time. When I walked out of the door and saw her little orange pickup in the driveway, I had to look several times to believe my eyes that it was really her ! !
Well, it sounds like they are sending my daughter back to Afghanistan again, probably late next month, or early January at the latest. She is only supposed to be there a few weeks this trip, and i am certainly hoping that it does not turn into months and months like her last time over there panned out to be. Robin does love to travel, but she likes it better when they send her to places where she can go out , look around, and take pictures. When she is in places like Kabul, they keep everyone sheltered at the military base there, so she can't really go outside of that and see the area. I think that I might have mentioned that she got a Ducati motorcycle, and she has been enjoying that for most of the summer and fall weather. She just got a new little camera that mounts on the side of her helmet, and it also has a speaker that works with the phone. If I am understanding what she was telling me, she can talk on the phone, and also use the video-cam to take pictures when she is traveling down the road. Here is a picture of the new helmet and the video-cam on the side of it.
Hi Yvonne I have ex in law, -still friends who served in Afghanistan. On talking to my brother in law and nephew both have said. They prefer relatives not to worry as it upsets them to think you are hurting. Our service personnel are the best trained in the world. Still no consolation I know as mums do worry. I will whisper a prayer tonight for you and your daughter xx
Whenever any of our Family members were serving in a Foreign Country my siblings and I always prayed Psalm 91 as their protection prayer. We would place their names in every Scripture promise in this Psalm and claim God's promise for them. Everyone of them came home safe and sound and we were filled with God's peace while praying these promises for them. I will pray this for your daughter Robin too @Yvonne Smith.
Thank you both, @Babs Hunt and @Honey Gee for the prayers for Robin. She has been retired out of the military for over 10 years now, so it is not the same as if she were still out there as an enlisted soldier. But, even civilian personnel are sometimes in danger in places like Afghanistan, and I worried every time that I saw on the news that there was one of those bombings in Kabul. She knew I would worry, even if I didn't write and ask her; so she started sending me pictures on Facebook anytime they had a bombing near her, and called them her "proof of life" pictures. We are all in God's hands, no matter where in the world we are at, and none of us has any guarantees of tomorrow; but I still like it better when she is working right here close to home. She will be training the soldiers on an important program, so even though she is not in the military still, she is doing something that helps out the ones who are there. I see that you have turned into a Pirate,Honey Gee. what kind of mischief are you up to with that ? And where is the parrot that is supposed to be perched on your shoulder ?
That's my husband @Yvonne Smith makes,a great parrott and squawks like one if I do not feed him time . I know you worry but try not too xx