Not much news from Afghanistan, so not much I can tell you.  No news is good news I guess.  I think they are getting geared up for some heavy action soon though, so keep all of the Marines in your prayers. The 2nd  Battalion (Typhoon) has lost 5 good Marines so far, including PFC Richard Penny from just down the road in Fayateville, Arkansas. 

Send letters, care packages with food and goodies, anything from home is appreciated. 

On the home front, the twin girls (identical now) are growing well, and Hunter is eagerly anticipating their arrival.  He really doesn’t have a clue on what he’s in for.  Hunter is a hoot to be around, so I’m sure he’ll entertain his little sisters alot to help out mom & dad.

All I know is that after coming down from their mountain outpost and “hanging out” for a few weeks, they are back up on the same Magic Mountain doing their thing.  The Marines were moving into one city a few weeks ago, only to have the Taliban all hightail it out of there, allowing them to take the city without firing a shot.  Now that the Poppy harvesting season   is over (they need to grow something more worthwhile–like blueberries), apparently the Taliban have more time to set roadside bombs, ambush, and all the other cowardly stuff they do. 

Sadly, one of Jake’s buddies in his unit was killed last week by a roadside bomb.  He was a young, 21-year old Marine from just over in Fayetteville, Arkansas.   His name was listed in the small print that is posted daily in the Tulsa World.  When I saw that he was a Lance Corporal, 1st Marines, 2nd Battalion, I figured that Jake may have known him, which was confirmed from talking with Brittany.

Next week is Hunter’s 1-year birthday party, so Jake will have to be there in spirit only.  I know he’s looking forward to the day this coming fall when he can come and get re-acquainted with his goofy little boy, along with his two new daughters.  After keeping Hunter for just a few days last week, I don’t see how they are going to do it with three young kids all in diapers and all clamoring for attention.  They’ll figure it out though, as we and most other parents did. 

Mail is slow coming and going in Afghanistan, but I know he appreciates letters, and packages of goodies like Gatorade (it’s very hot there), power bars, etc.  His address is: Lcpl Jake Johnson, H & S platoon, Javelin Section, 1/2 B Co Unit 73050, FPO AE, 09510-3050.  

As the owner of a small business over many years, I’ve looked at alot of resume’s and spoken with alot of young men, and even some older men, during my tenure.  It often really strikes me as to how little many of these applicants have really done with their lives.  They may have a college degree, be very talented, and worked at some big-time companies-but what have they really done that is significant–that really makes a difference in the lives of others, their community, their families, or our country?   And truth be told, even Jake would admit that before he became a Marine serving his county, the same could be questioned as to his contribution towards others. 

I can assure you now that even in the brief one year that Jake has served in the Marines, his “resume” reflects more actions and accomplishments that have really made a difference in our world than most of the thousands of resume’s that have crossed my desk.  Defending our freedoms, fighting for good, at a cost of sometimes paying for it with your own life as his buddy did, is about as important and significant as it gets.  And he’s only a year into his service.  We’re very proud of Jake (and Luke and Katie–don’t want to forget them) for deciding at a fairly young age to make a difference with his life, in doing something that makes an impact on our world.  

Hunter chearing the Owasso Rams on at the recent Military Day held at Owasso. Owasso's pitcher wore a shirt honoring Jake, with the other players wearing camo shirts honoring past and present military with Owasso connections.

Pray for Jake, and all of the Marines and all of our troops overseas in Afgahistan.  Pray for his wife and family, as they are away from him.  And pray for poor ol’  Hunter, who will be at the end of the line real soon after his two new little sisters, Emma and Riley, come on board!

They have been busy there, although you would never know it by reading or seeing the news here.  Their unit had their first engagement with the enemy, a 6-hr firefight with the Taliban.  The Marines took out 40 Taliban, and suffered no casualties.  Jake’s Javelin missile did his part with at least one of those bad guys.  

A few days later, after observing the Taliban down in the valley setting IED’s along the road, they got the OK to take care of them, which they did.  There are now 15 fewer bad guys to worry about, of which 3 were taken out by one of Jake’s Javelin’s.  Our tax money at good work! 

We have been able to visit with Jake very briefly through his satellite phone.  As a parent, we almost wish we didn’t know the details of what he’s doing now.  It’s very strange and somewhat nerve-wracking, hearing a voice mail from your son, saying, “Dad, just had a 6-hour firefight, killing 40 Taliban, and my missle blew up a house that one scumbag was going into.”   I think it helps him to talk about it though, so that’s fine.  Taking a life, even when it’s justified, and in defense of good, can be tough to deal with, but it sounds like he’s doing great.  Every Taliban they eliminate, brings them closer to coming home to their families, and brings us one step closer to victory there.  

He’ll be up on that mountain for quite some time it sounds like, with 4 snipers, 4 heavy machine gunners, and 3 other javelin guys.  They are well fortified, well-trained, and will perform their mission well.  Jake may have had trouble with the curveball or the off-speed pitch, but with his newly fixed eyes, he’s dead dead-on with the Javelin, nailing his target from thousands of feet.  

Jake's not playing army anymore--it's the real deal!

Continue to pray for Jake and his fellow Marines.  We’re very proud of him and what he is devoted to.  As many Americans, I don’t fully understand why we are there–don’t know all the detals, but I’m fully supportive of it.  At its simplest, it’s a battle of good vs. evil—the good of our country, freedom, the good Afghan people, and the US Marines.  We will defeat the evil that seeks to destroy us.  Let’s hope it’s sooner than later.   The sooner that happens, the quicker our guys and our son will be back home. 

Jake sends his love to everyone back home, and thanks you for your prayers and support.  He is doing well.  He has told us several times he can feel the prayers of others on Magic Mountain.  He told us of an incident last week, as he was observing a group of 5 Marines go up another hill across the valley.   A bomb blew up, sending a giant mushroom cloud where they were walking.  One of the Marines had a concussion, while the other 4 didn’t have a scratch. 

Keep praying.  The mail is having a hard time reaching him up on Magic Mountain, but keep sending it, as he’ll get it eventually.

Still in Leatherneck for about a week or so. The internet is shut off right now and I’m just typing this on Joel’s computer for when they turn it back on. They shut the whole base down if someone gets killed in the area so they can contact the family before they turn the internet back on. Rumor is that they found a bus full of explosives in front of the moral center last night where the phones and internet is, I also heard that Johnny Depp came out of  the closet and Bono died yesterday, rumors help pass the time for Marines I guess. We have been fixing up our brand new MAT-V truck they gave each Javelin squad, getting one made this deployment 100x better than what it was before. Trucks mean we don’t have to walk everywhere and the AC gets pretty cold. I’m the driver for our squad so I get to be in control of the 1.5 million dollar truck for the whole deployment. Looks like Obama trusts me more than Pops does, I couldn’t drive the LawnAmerica truck to the gas station without having to beg him. I’ve got to call Brit a couple times and the family once minus Beck. I guess she had more important things to do than talk to her deployed son.  In other news,  I have a pretty sweet ‘stache goin on.  Like Burt Reynolds sweet. Maybe someday I can walk around with mashed potatoes stuck in it all day like Pops does, a man can have dreams I guess. I’ll probably be bringing it home with me too I like it so much. Well I better wrap it up, hope everyone back home is doing well! I don’t know when I’ll be able to update next, we are pushing out to where we are going here soon. I should be able to tell ya where that is when we get there. Maybe I’ll be able to go to the local Starbucks in ________ town and use their wifi. I guess looking back it might not have been the best idea to start a blog in a country with no internet.

I don’t know how to feel about this upcoming deployment. Of course, the main part of me doesn’t want to miss yet another birth and be away from my wife and son for so long. Even after leaving for 3 months of boot, 2 months of Infantry school, 1 month in Yuma and 1 month in the Mojave Desert in Cali, saying goodbye never gets any easier.  Then the other part of me is the part that knows this is what I signed up for. Everyone wants that Combat Action Ribbion on their dress blues when it comes time for the Marine Corps Ball. From what we have heard from the fighting going on down there, we won’t have to worry about coming home without one. Hopefully we will have enough down time over there for me to keep up with this blog and keep everyone back home updated.