Hey y'all... it's me Cynthia... again.

Chris told me he's having some issues getting things to upload to the website, which is why he hasn't posted in a very long time.  If he continues to have problems, I'll be posting his blogs for him (but hopefully he'll still be writing them).

But until then, I wanted to share links to the websites for his unit, the 579th.

Here is their webpage:

http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/579festm/index.htm

And here is their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/579festm?ref=ts&v=wall#!/579festm?v=wall

The only thing on their facebook that is not on their webpage is some videos they have up of the deployment ceremony.  It looks like they try to post daily photos and other items about what is going on with their unit.  They also post alot of news articles about the war in Afghanistan.

The only pictures of Chris are group shots and the little "about us" section where they introduce everyone that is part of the unit. 

You can use these to follow some of what is going on in the unit... espcially if this blog isn't updated ver

Hi everyone, it's Cynthia again :)

Chris just got his internet up and working yesterday... so I'm hoping that he gets around to posting his photos and other fun stuff soon (hint hint Chris!).

But I also know that everyone likes to have a mailing address.  I just got it from him this morning and thought I'd post it in case you want it.

Cpt Christopher T Ericson
USAFOR-A JFEC
579th ENG DET-FEST-M
Camp Phoenix
APO AE 09320
Kabul Afghanistan

If you do want to send Chris something, you pretty much have to do it through the United States postal service, although Chris told me that they DO have a FedEx office on Camp Phoenix, so you can send things through FedEx as well.  Also, if you're sending something from a website (something you've purchased or whatever) make sure that they are able to send to APO addresses.  Certain websites only use UPS and UPS doesn't ship to APO.

A few things to remember if you are sending him something:
1. It takes a long time to get there.  I'd say in general it takes 1.5-2 weeks (at least it used to during his last deployments).  So if you're sending food, make sure it will keep for that long.
2. I'm not sure how extreme the temperatures get in Afghanistan, but I think most mail goes through Kuwait, which gets HOT.  So avoid items that melt easily.
3. No booze.  Soldiers are not allowed to drink alcohol while they're there.
4. Chris doesn't have a ton of space in his living quarters, so please keep items to things that he will use/are disposable or that are small.
5.  Don't send him any magazine subscriptions... alot of magazines get "lost" on their way to their soldiers.
6.  If you send anything like a gift card, try to register it with the store so it can be replaced in case it also gets "lost" on it's way to Chris.  I haven't necessarily heard of this happening, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Thank you again for all your support during this deployment.  It means alot to both Chris and I. 

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.  Chris made it to Afghanistan safe and sound.  I got an email from him early yesterday morning letting me know he was there.  He doesn't have full internet access yet so I took it upon myself to spread the news to one and all. 

Here is his description of his trip:

We left Dullas about a hour late and then we had our 12 and half hour flight to Kuwait.  Then we got to Kuwait at about 1400 local time.  and then had to wait around the airport till about 1830.  We got a bus ride to the space-A termial. Got in there about 2000 and got our tents.  Ended up drawing our RFI (another full duffle bag)  and Then I got on a flight witht the COL and the CSM.  That flight was a left about 1700 and then got to Afghanistan about 0015 local time.  Then we had to wait around until about 0500 today for a 10 min flight to Kabul.  Then we had to wait at that airport until 1330 today to get a ride to camp Pheniox.  And here I am.

So basically it was a long trip with very little sleep. 

To translate a few things:
RFI = body armor
COL = Colonel
CSM = Command Sargeant Major

I just wanted to give everyone an update.  I don't think he'll have full internet up and running for a few days, maybe another week.  He said he took a few pictures along the way of Blue, so hopefully he'll be posting a blog or two after that.  Keep checking in for more updates.

On Sunday I left Minnesota for the Corps of Engineers Deployment Center in Virgina.  Above are some pictures of Caleb and I as we were waiting at the gate (the airline let Cynthia and Caleb come through security with me and wait with me).  We got to spend about an hour playing in the airport, which Caleb love and hated.  Loved everything thing that was going on, but hated not getting to play with everything.  It was nice to have Cynthia and Caleb send me off at the gate. 

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Well, as I am sure some of you read I am deploying soon.  And Cynithia has convinced me to start a blog of my own to let everyone know what is going on with me.  So I have decided to start with my trip down to VIckburg, MS.  Which is where my new unit is based out of.  It is call the 579 Engineer Detachment FEST-M.  We are a Army Corps of Engineers Unit and we have a mixure of Soldier and Civilans in our unit.  We will be deploying this month.  Above are some picute I took of my office with Blue (Caleb's Favorite Cartoon).  Blue is going to be following me throughout the deployment so watch for Blue in the upcoming months.

Yep, Chris is deploying (I'm writing this first blog for him).  For anyone who doesn't know this already, sorry you had to find out over our website.  Brief details: going to Afghanistan with a Corps of Engineers FEST (Forward Engineering Support Team?).  He will be leaving sometime in mid to late April, at least that's what we've been told.  That is about as much as we know.  I hope we can get him to practice blogging by posting updates about his deployment timeline here, so stay tuned for updates.

This website will probably become a communication tool for our whole family so if you want to send a message to Chris while he's gone, I'm sure you can comment on a blog and he'll see it.  If he doesn't, I will and I'll be sure to point it out to him. 

So let's all wish Chris good luck on his blogging endeavor.  He's aiming for once a week, dependant upon internet access and available time.  So starting sometime in May, you can start checking to see if he manages to do this or not.