HAPPY 4th OF JULY!
"THANK YOU" to any individual, and all Veterans, for their contribution and patriotism for supporting a major component of what is good in this world - AMERICA!
Here's a short letter (pictures in next post) from one person dedicated to spreading freedom (and Daddy Cakes) into Afghanistan, near the border of Pakistan. We love seeing the people that bring the colors of freedom to any landscape.
Dear Daddy Cakes,
I am currently deployed to Khost Province, Afghanistan as an Army Civilian with the Human Terrain System. My job is to go out on patrols and interview Afghans to find out about their views on life, society, politics, the economy, pretty much everything. I've been out here for a year and have been on probably 150 patrols in that time. It's rewarding work, but exhausting and I really miss the little things in life. Here at Camp Clark, where I am mostly based out of, there are several hundred people, but I've also spent a lot of time at tiny bases with maybe 40 Americans. I don't have much to complain about, the food on the bigger bases is actually pretty good, but I've also eaten enough MREs and granola bars to never want to see another one again.
I was all set to head home at the beginning of June until a new unit came in earlier this year. They are 6-4 Cavalry Squadron, part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division. They begged me to stay because they really like the work I do and, honestly, I think because I literally bring color to their lives as I don't have to wear a uniform unless I choose to. I made the demand that I would only stay if they could provide me with fresh waffles on demand. We get the frozen kind for breakfast sometimes, but its not the same. The XO Major Dennis Atkins and the S4 Captain John Grant (Squadron Logistics Officer) cut a deal where they would provide the waffle iron and the converter (we're on 220 volts here) if I found some good mix. Thus the deal was struck, I agreed to stay until December and began searching for waffle mix that would only require me adding water, since we don't have any raw ingredients to work with.
After some googling, I happened upon Daddy Cakes. Unsure how good any "just add water" mix could be, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Today was the trial run, so CPT Grant and I used ourselves as guinea pigs and tested the Vivacious Vanilla mix--MAJ Atkins is on leave. We topped it with fresh apples and agave syrup (he got that in a care package). The result was out of this world. Almost literally. We both felt like, just for a moment, we weren't in a war zone worried about dodging bullets or mortar rounds (a few days ago, one of those missed me by about 10 feet), but were at home in our pajamas enjoying a lazy Sunday brunch. I was very impressed at just how delicious they were. I can't thank you enough. In a place like this, especially after a year, little things like a tasty brunch go a long, long way. And now that we've done our test run, we can start sharing with everyone else out here.
So I've attached some pictures of the Making-Of funand then the Daddy Cakes can touring around Camp Clark. I also attached two of me out and about on patrols (I went to Penn State, hence the PSU hat in one of them).
Anyway, thanks again for your mix and for reading my rather long Daddy Cakes story. (I found you on Facebook too.) I hope all the pictures come through.
All the best,
Kat
Kathleen Reedy, Ph.D.
Social Scientist, HTT AF-01
Camp Clark, TF Raider
Khost, Afghanistan
