Christmas decorations in the bhut

I sent Mat a tree and decorations for it and his room. He made it feel a little more like christmas there. He said that it is nice to have some color to his room. Although they do not like them to have Christmas lights up. Its practically forbidden. Its is a fire hazard. if they started a fire the whole bhut would be up in flames in a matter of 3 minutes. then

all of the men would be sleeping out in the cold under the stars. I can only imagine what would happen the the man who burnt down the bhut. Mat says Merry Christmas to all.

Thanksgiving Dinner

This was Mats Thanksgiving Dinner. If you wanted to you would have to be there early. The lines were very long and you could wait an hour or two just to get dinner. They served Lunch and dinner for all. Mat said it was a good dinner but nothing like being home with family on Thanksgiving. And it makes him realize there is much more then he ever imagined to be thankful for.

caught red handed

This is the sign of the friends Mat lost in the plane crash. They were called 'caught red handed'

Not Mat's plane but his friends

Americans' bodies recovered after plane crash in Afghanistan
October 27, 2009 5:22 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
3 contractors killed when plane went down in mountains of Nuristan province
Plane, a C-12, crashed October 13; crew worked for Lockheed Martin
Cause of crash not yet clear, but it is not thought to be enemy action
Crew of copter sent to recover remains had to be rescued after hard landing
RELATED TOPICS
Afghanistan
Nuristan Province
Lockheed Martin Corporation
International Security Assistance Force
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The bodies of three American contractors who died in a plane crash in Afghanistan earlier this month have been recovered, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said Tuesday.
The C-12 plane went down in the mountains of Nuristan province October 13, but the military withheld information about it until the recovery operation was complete, ISAF said in a statement.
The crew were subcontractors working for Lockheed Martin, the company confirmed.
A spokesman named two of them as Jeff Lehner, a former Air Force member working for Sierra Nevada, and Randolph Bergquist, a former Marine working for Avenge. They are not releasing the third name at the family's request. Thomas Casey of Lockheed Martin confirmed the third victim was the co-pilot and also worked for Avenge.
The cause of the crash that killed them is not yet clear, but it is not thought to be enemy action, ISAF said.
A helicopter sent to recover the remains October 17 itself made "a hard landing" that required the crew to be rescued, ISAF said.
The helicopter was stripped of sensitive parts Wednesday and destroyed in place Sunday, ISAF said.

Mucharem comes from Russia. There are many nationalities out there helping fight this war.

Manny from India. Mat

is very friendly and makes friends easily.

New friends

Alfanso, Max, Chova, from Mosambique, and Bosnia.

Mat is having fun with his new friends, and loving learning the different languages.

Mat and the cooks!

This is a pic a of a few of the dinner crew that I always talk to, Fahim speaks really good English, Hallid does but is really quiet, Joey (nickname) a little bit, but is more shy than Brett, and Matman -- doesn't stop talking:) LOL

Mat and his Egyption friends

Here's another pic, me and the Egyptians, they work at the Egyptian Hospital here, and speak a little English -- and me, I can say "magnoon," which means crazy in Arabic, lol. The communication between us is lost in translation -- which sparks laughter in return.

earthquake #2 in 1 week.

Second earhquake to hit Wednesday night around midnight 6.0.

Earth Quake in Bagram

Strong quake strikes Afghanistan and Pakistan
Shaking felt in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and the capital Islamabad


KABUL — A strong earthquake centered in the towering Hindu Kush mountains shook a wide area of eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan early Friday, swaying buildings in the Afghan and Pakistani capitals.
There were no initial reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck about 12:21 a.m. Afghan time.
However, the temblor was centered in a remote mountain area where communications are poor and reports of casualties take time to reach the capital.
The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and was centered in the mountains about 167 miles northeast of Kabul and 140 miles west of Mingaora, Pakistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Buildings shook in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and the capital Islamabad, and the quake was felt as far east as Lahore near the Indian border, Pakistani television stations reported.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said it had no immediate reports of deaths or damage.
Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that even though the quake was centered in a remote area, casualties were still possible given the size of the temblor. Caruso said Friday's quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital.
Caruso said the area is capable of producing large earthquakes because of the compression created when what is now India slammed against the Asian continent millions of years ago.
He said the largest quake recorded in that area was 7.8 on March 14, 1965.
Okay, so I'm still a little excited about what I just experienced (at about 12:25 AM) and I should have said the quake was enough to shake the Bhut that I live in, but it did make for a good laugh (what I wrote initially).The Earth moved significantly enough that items on my shelves were in motion just enough to assure me that I wasn't imagining things. I could feel the earth move under my feet. I went outside and put my hands on the picnic table to see if I could feel the Earth's motion -- sure enough I did. Wow that was something!!! I spoke with a couple of friends shortly after the quake, they felt it too, and they were in a building much sturdier than the Bhuts.

Bagram water scare

At about 1730 a message was broad-casted over the loud speaker that our water was contaminated. The dining facilities were quickly closed, we were told not to use the shower water, wash our hands with the water, and use only the bottled water, until further notice. I noticed that a lot of soldiers were getting cases of water, so I got mine too, 4 cases in all. Combat water bottle showers require a lot of bottles.At the Bhut we started questioning where we would eat, Popeye's Chicken sounds good, someone else mentioned Burger King -- while en-route there we ran into SGT Hazelwood. He reported that where we were headed everything was already shut down by order of the base Force Protection. I thought that I'd just head over to the PX and pick up a few snacks -- seems like the rest of the base had the same thoughts. The shelves, not completely stocked all the time, were now being depleted of the edible products that remained. Just like in the movies, I got out with 2 boxes of "Chicken on a Basket Crackers, and 2 cans of Kraft Easy Cheese," and I'm only slightly partial to the stuff. I'll bet that everything is pretty well gone by now, and there wasn't that much to start with. I'm sure glad that my sweetie sent some goodies.Powell, Allen and myself went to Supply and picked up our rations of MREs for the guys in the Bhut. I actually grabbed 2 for myself, my alloted amount. At 1900 they gave the all clear. But I will wait 24 hours, not taking any chances. The MREs will be stored until rally needed, like when there is nothing left to eat:)

Timp.mountain

Mount Timpanogos is the second highest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range (second to Mount Nebo). Timpanogos rises to an elevation of 11,749 feet (3,582 m) above sea level in the Uinta National Forest (now part of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest). With 5,269 feet of topographic prominence, Timpanogos is the 47th-most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States.[1]
The Hindu Kush reaches a height of 7,492 m (24,580 ft) at Noshaq, Afghanistan's highest peak. Of the ranges extending southwestward from the Hindu Kush, the Foladi peak (Shah Fuladi) of the Baba mountain range (Koh-i-Baba) reaches the greatest height: 5,142 m (16,870 ft). The Safed Koh range, which includes the Tora Bora area, dominates the border area southeast of Kabul. Important passes include the Una i Pass across the Sanglakh Range, and the Salang Pass, connecting Kabul with central and northern Afghanistan, respectively.
So the tallest mountains here are twice as high as Timp. Looking at them is just incredible during the day under normal colors, and just as cool looking at them in IR.

Mats plane

Here is a picture of the plane Mat flies in! He looks forward to when he gets to fly, it is only a few times a week. It is not enough for him. You can here him sing 'my life my lover my lady is the sky'. lol He really loves to be flying. And that is what he looked forward to when he left. Mat is very good at what he is doing. He is also teaching many of the guys what and how, because he is a great and patient person!

A big gun!!!!

Mat saw a bunch of soldiers walking around with this gun, And it caught his interest. So when he was able to catch up to the guys carrying them around, he asked if he could check it out and If they would take a picture of him holding the gun.It reallly got the adrenalin going! There is one more he is waiting to get a good look at.

Mats email to Hillbilly hotdogs

From: Mathew B. Adams Subject: Thanks for Supporting the TroopsTo: skgsk99@yahoo.comDate: Sunday, August 30, 2009, 5:05 PM
We had a great little get together today because of Hillbilly Hot Dogs and we all appreciate the support that you have given us.

The dog were tasty, the chilli sauce was spicy, the Jalepenos and cheese tied it all together, the chips were crispy, but the shirts don't fit us because we ate too much, lol, just kidding the shirts are awesome!!

Hope you enjoy the pics, thanks again, Matman (aka Mathew B. Adams).

The best part about that is we can order larger sizes in the shirts :) So happy to hear ya'll enjoyed everthing. Thank you for the pictures. We are placing them in a large frame with all the emails for all our customers to see and read. We are very proud of our troops and love to be able to do just a little something, with the hope to make one day of your life a little brighter. Thank you for doing what you do. It is greatly appreciated. God Bless you and come home soon!
Sonny & Sharie
The Weenie Couple

Mat and the camel man

Mat just hanging out at the Bizzar. He wasn't sure he wanted to ride the camel though.

The Bizzar

Every other Friday they have a Bizzar, where the Afganastan people can come and sell their goods. They have alot of jewlery, clothes, rugs, pottery, vases, genie lamps, helmets guns, knives, these are only some of the pictures,