An Army write up about the 504th

Troops see progress in training Afghan police - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Enjoy the read. It makes me nervous to know that summer is around the corner. When the temperature warms- historically Taliban activity also increases. Keep Mark and his men in your prayers.

Love

Angie

Address change & an e-mail from Mark!

Hello all,
Since Marks' job has changed he also has a change in is address. In case you would like to send any mail or packages please use the following address.

1LT Kloiber, Mark

KAF

1st Platoon, 170 MP Co

504 BN

APO AE 09355

 Please help me spread the word so that others (who may not check the blog regularly) know that his address has changed. I also got an e-mail from Mark telling me a bit about his new location! The e-mail is a bit of a sigh of relief knowing that his living conditions are good and that he sounds to be very happy  with the unit he will be working with. Enjoy the e-mail below!

Things are going well but I am super busy- all the time! It's really crazy, but I love it. It is so great to be working with Soldiers and not other officers. I am loving the new job- just really tired. I am going about six hours a night. I think I will get a bit more once I get my routine down and learn the job. Right now a lot of my time is spent learning things that won't be so bad once I know the job. I'm not even in charge yet and I already love the platoon and look forward to working with them. I can't wait to be their leader. Tomorrow the old PL and I will be doing an inventory and property book signing (over to me). I will be signing for about $22 million dollars worth of equipment. I find that pretty crazy and it makes me grin just thinking about it.

Other than that, the ANP at my station need some work. They have a lot of new ANP who still need to go to basic training. It's fun working with them though and I look forward to making them better and the communities that we are responsible for safer. The guy I'm replacing and I drank tea (chi, always chi), with the ANP commander at the Provincial Reserve (again, which is where I live). We were in his office/room for just over an hour. It was a long time, but we shared some good laughs and it was a good bonding opportunity for me and him so that is good. Those two have a good relationship and I hope that we can continue to build on that.

That's about it. My room is awesome- more space than at PHQ and more than I had at CNS. We have showers and hot chow for breakfast and dinner which is also better than the 3 hot dinners we got at PHQ. I am happy here. It is much better living conditions than I expected.

 Love Mark

Hope all is well with everyone! Love Angie

 

Job change- Platoon Leader

Hello All,

Mark sent an e-mail a few days ago.

Hey Guys,

I hope you are doing well. I've got some good news! I am going to be taking a platoon here in just a short while. I will be going to the 170th Military Police Company, our company out of Fort Lewis. At first I was a little upset because one of my buddies outranks me by a few months and he needs a platoon too. And so while I don't agree with the decision, he was pegged for another assignment (not a platoon). After a day of some prayer and focus, I have accepted the decision and I am now very grateful for the incredible opportunity to lead some great American Soldiers in combat. It is a huge honor and I cannot wait to lead them to the end of our deployment and back home. I am well prepared to take this platoon, I am excited that the platoon sergeant that I will be working with is another really good leader and will have a lot to teach me and take good care of me. Please wish me luck. Talk to you all soon.

Love, Mark

His job has changed (yes again), and he will likely have this job for the remainder of the deployment. He will now be the Platoon Leader for the 170th MP company. It is another company stationed within the city of Kandahar. He will be working in an area known as the Provincial Reserve. I don't know much about the area and Mark has not been able to share much with me about it. From what I understand, Mark will be mentoring the commander of the Afghan National Police station in this particular part of Kandahar. In addition to mentoring the commander, Mark will be overseeing and taking care of 40(ish) American soldiers that make up the 170th.

The battalion attempts to send out a newsletter regularly. The last one I received was in November. With that being said each company writes an update about what they have been doing. The 170th's November update highlighted this:

Local villagers stated that they were happy and grateful for the presence of U.S. Soldiers of the 170th. Primarily, due to the fact that they were unable to maintain their crops based on the overwhelming Taliban forces threatening their families. The presence of the 170th provided security and safety for the Local Nationals to conduct normal, daily routines without the constant fear and threat of the Taliban, which greatly improved their way of life.

I hope and pray that Mark and the men and women he will be leading of the 170th can continue to make a difference in the Afghan peoples lives. And that they continue to help make the Afghan National Police self sufficient and successful at protecting their own country.

Being a platoon leader has been a dream job of Mark's since 8th grade. He has always wanted to lead soldiers. That has been the answer I have gotten every time I asked over the last 7 years why he joined the military and went to West Point. I am glad he has finally getting his turn to lead soldiers and I know that he will do an amazing job. In the meantime, Mark and I will be adjusting to a new communication schedule. I know he will have longer and busier days ahead of him and will communicate back home when he can. We are hoping for at least an e-mail once a week. Fingers crossed. As always, please keep him in your prayers as he makes this transition into a new job.

With love,

Angie

15 Days of complete bliss

Why do all good things have to come to an end? Sadly, Mark's R&R time back in the states is over. Neither of us really had words to even describe the feelings and emotions of how wonderful it was because there really are no words to describe it. It was just perfect.

Mark's flight in to Milwaukee on the 2nd couldn't have gone any smoother. Both our parents drove down to the airport with me and as a big group we went out for dinner at a wonderful Italian Restaurant in Milwaukee. After that, the parents headed back to Sheboygan and Mark and I off to Waukesha. There, I had 3.5 days of classes and Mark and I were living in a nearby hotel for the few days. The first couple days were rough on him- sleeping wise. He definitely had some jet lag which really didn't fully resolve until Friday night. While in Waukesha, however, he did have the chance to meet up with the 3rd graders writing to him from Brown Deer. He loved every minute of the visit and brought in some Afghan money for the kids to see.

On Thursday afternoon, Mark and I met with my brother, Steve, for lunch in Milwaukee since my brother was in town on a job interview. It was nice to be able to see him and we enjoyed the bit of time together. After lunch, Mark and I made our way back home to Sheboygan for "Christmas" after picking up Mark's oldest brother Nate, and his wife and child (Lindsay and Riley) from the airport. Mark's second oldest brother, Dale, and his girl friend Sarah also arrived into Sheboygan later that evening. Almost everyone was home for the holiday- but Mark's youngest brother, Brian, couldn't get away from West Point. If any one understands that, though, it is Mark. Brian was definitely in our thoughts throughout the weekend. We exchanged presents, had a big holiday meal, and just enjoyed the weekend together with everyone home. It was a full house to say the least, but it was wonderful! So great to have all of the family around.

Saturday afternoon we snuck away some time to the beach where it was FREEZING, but we both were having Lake Michigan withdrawal and wanted to snap a few photos in hopes of getting a good one for the house. I think we were pretty successful!

Later that day we headed over to my parents house for Christmas there as well. Dinner, gift exchanges, and in the evening GAME NIGHT with both Kloibers and Lambs (which always brings lots of laughs).

On Sunday, we went to church, enjoyed the Packer game, and that evening caught a flight back to WA. We made it home to Yelm and it sure did feel awesome to have both each other and all our belongings in one house! That has been a long awaited dream between Mark and I. In June we will finally get the even LONGER awaited dream of finally being able to live together in the same house for longer than 1.5 months together. We enjoyed our time together out here. Mark was a great cooking helper and he definitely got some good food while he was home. He also got his fix of seeing rain, rain, and more rain! Something that in the beginning of the week he was super happy to see, but by the end of the week he was happy to see the sun peak its head out for a few hours.

Last Tuesday, I also had a job interview with Apple Physical Therapy. It is a privately owned outpatient orthopedic clinic in WA with roughly 22 locations- their newest opening up this summer in Yelm! It was wonderful to come home and share the excitement with Mark that the interview went well- extremely LONG (9:30 AM-4PM ), but well. I received a phone call back the following day from the CEO and it sounded like if I could start tomorrow I would have a job- no problem at any clinic they had openings at. However, since I can't start until after May when I take my boards exam- the CEO and I will be in contact monthly and see what locations are available as graduation approaches. It is definitely a wonderful situation to be in and I was so glad I got to share my excitement with Mark first hand.

We also took a little mini vacation to a rented cabin/house near Mt. Rainier National Park in hopes of being able to doing some snowshoeing. The cabin was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful, but sadly the avalanche risk was a bit too high for the National Park to even open up the road up to the Mt. Rainier snow shoe area. So, unfortunately we didn't get in the hiking/snowshoeing that we were hoping for. However, it was a beautiful cabin, and we got to just spend some quality time together away from all distractions.

We met up with friends to watch the Packer game and had them over earlier in the week for a dinner date. Both were very fun and it was great to introduce Mark to the one of two friends that I have out here in WA. They got along great and Mark said he is looking forward to getting to spend some of the time this summer with them. I can't wait! On Sunday we got to go to our new church together- Unity of Olympia and I am very grateful to have a Unity church nearby. We also got to take part in something called Operation Love or "Op Love." Basically, it is a loosely formed group of photographers nationwide that donate their time and twenty five 4x6 prints put into a little album for free to deployed military families. Our photographer, Jeffery Ott, took our photos on Sunday. He was absolutely wonderful to work with and took some fabulous photos of us. The album will get sent to Mark in Afghanistan.

Then of course, Monday had to come. The day was very bittersweet. It was a wonderful last day together, but we both knew at 8pm that night we would have to make the drive back to the airport and say a tearful goodbye again.

The countdown is back on until June when he gets home for good and this goodbye was just another one of those milestones that had to be completed until he can be home for good. The time together couldn't have been any more perfect, but then again maybe its because I couldn't have a more perfect husband to share my life with.

Love,

Angie

R&R time has finally arrived!

He's HOME!!!!! We made it to R&R (Mark's 2 weeks of leave from Afghanistan). It's been 197 days since we have last been in each others arms and it feels awesome! We have both been on cloud nine since he arrived in Milwaukee this morning at 10:30AM. As you read this, you may ask why on Earth I'm writing a blog--- but I had to do something while he is catching up on some sleep. He had a long trip.

First Embrace and Kiss

He started his journey from Kandahar airfield on the 31st, flew to Kuwait, then to Shannon Ireland, onto GA this morning, and into Milwaukee. The journey took 50 hours- but he said it was all worth it. I was expecting him to be pretty stinky when he got in, but he actually wasn't too bad. He said he found some showers at the base in Kuwait which he thinks definitely helped.

Both of our families were at the airport for the reuniting. We weren't expecting him in until 2:20 today, but I was woken up this morning at 7:22 to a phone call from Marky saying he was getting on a plane home to MKE from Atlanta. From that moment, I was busy trying to get a hold of Mark's parents (who were already at the airport early that morning to drop Brian off for his flight back to West Point). Unfortunately, they didn't hear their cell phone ring the several times I tried and got the news back in Sheboygan. Which means they made the hour drive back and forth from the airport back to back. Luckily I caught my parents before they went to church. I was grateful I didn't have to find them in the middle of mass to get them to the airport with me. Halfway down to Milwaukee we got a phone call from Mark saying their plane was going to be an hour delayed in its arrival due to some problems with the plane. It took the time crunch off and we had a more leisurely drive to the airport.

Us with the sign I had made

After he arrived in there were hugs, kisses, tears, and photos. I don't know how many times I uttered to Mark when he arrived that "I don't think it has hit me yet that you are really here and home." We then went to Buca di Beppos with the families for some lunch. There, sadly, the waitress accidentally dropped 2 LARGE glasses of ice water on Tom, Mark's dad. It was like it happened in slow motion and all the waitress could say was "I'm so sorry, I have no idea how that happened." Meanwhile- the rest of us just had to hold back our smirks and laughs. We ate a wonderful lunch, enjoyed catching up, and then Mark and I were on our way to Waukesha while our parents headed back to Sheboygan.

On the way to Waukesha, we had to stop at Zales so I could get my wedding band inspected for its annual 6 month check and Mark decided he wanted to stay in the car. When I got back he had a surprise for me. A card that he wrote that was absolutely wonderful. It was then that the waterworks turned on full force and I said to him "Ok-- its hit me- you really are home!" It was a wonderful moment.

We will now have 15 days together. It will be absolutely wonderful I"m sure. Until Thursday we will be in Waukesha (I have a 3.5 day class at Carroll). Mark is hoping to stop in and see Ms. B's 3rd grade class in uniform in Brown Deer over this time and to catch up on some much needed sleep. Thursday afternoon we are picking up Mark's brother Nate, his wife Lindsay, and Mark's 2.5 year old niece Riley from the airport and will be driving back to Sheboygan for a wonderful family weekend together. We have some more Christmas to celebrate- but are mainly looking forward to some family time together. On the 9th Mark and I will be flying out to our house in WA and we will see if we can fit in some skiing and snow shoeing.

Thats all for the update! Its been a wonderful day--- the best day I've had since summer and it feels great to get hugs and kisses again from the wonderful man I am so fortunate to call my husband.

Love

Angie

Merry Christmas From Kandahar City

Hello all,

It is now official, Mark and I only have ONE address and it is in Washington State! Feels great to have all of our belongings finally in one house. A friend (B.K.) and I left on the 15th and made the drive in my car (with the remainder of my belongings) out to WA. We stopped in South Dakota to visit an old friend that we met while studying abroad in Ireland for a day and then continued on our trip.

B.K. and Chip in South Dakota

Chip and I at Mt. Rushmore

We made it out to WA in 3 days which was pretty good! We had a small delay in our trip due to a snowstorm at one of the mountain passes, but at least the town we got stuck in- Coeur D'Alene, ID, had some fun stuff to do for a day to keep us busy. Once we made it home to Yelm, WA, that was when the troubles of the trip occurred. I went to do a load of laundry in the morning and we went to the grocery store to get some food for the day and when we got home, the wash machine had flooded on the second floor and thus we came home to water pouring out of the dining room chandelier on the first floor and and inch of standing water on the second floor. I called the landlord, placed a garbage can under the chandelier (which was 1/3-1/2 full by the time it stopped raining in the dining room) and soaked up pails of water off the second floor. A man came by later with a shop vac and hopefully there will be no water damage when we return back in January and the carpets are all dried out.

Onto the news and pictures from Mark! His R&R time (2 weeks of leave) is coming up quick! We are both getting quite excited. It will be great to have him home for a little while! He has been under the weather a bit the last few days with a runny nose, fever, and congestion. It has been going on for several days now and yesterday the Battalion Commander finally made him go get checked out at one of the medical centers at a different post. There, he had a 100.1 fever and was told it probably was a virus. He was happy to get to sleep at that post for the night where it was a bit warmer and said he is feeling a bit better today. He also sent some photos of him in Afghanistan for the holidays.

Mark is 4th from the right in the front row and looking very bald these days!

He stated that they have a Christmas tree at their post that is all decorated. Our family support group had sent holiday ornaments with a family picture in them to each soldier and I also know that the 3rd graders of Ms. B sent some holiday decorations as well that Mark put up. Enjoy the photos and have a blessed holiday season!

Love,

Angie

Christmas Packages

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Well it is that time of year. Snow and ice is here to stay in WI, college finals, getting ready to drive/move out to our house in Washington, and of course the hustle and bustle of Christmas time. I have two more final exams to take, the LAST two I will ever take in my life (which feels awesome) and a kitchen to pack up before Wednesday morning. Both my mom and Mark's mom will be coming down on Tuesday to help me figure out how to fit everything in the car. That should be a fun little game to play (not), especially considering the high temperature on the forecast is 14 degrees and a low of 0. I'm just grateful for the extra help! On Wednesday, me and B.K. (a wonderful friend), will be starting our road trip out to Washington in my car, with car top carrier and a bike- going through the mountains in the dead of winter. Got to love it. Please keep your fingers crossed that the interstate stays open and that we don't have to use our tire chains through any of the mountain passes.

Now onto Mark...

He sent me a photo from this September when the Afghan elections were being conducted. He was working with the ANP at one of the election stations at the time. They kept a pretty crazy sleep schedule he said. Below is the photo someone took of him sleeping in the truck. Not too comfortable looking!

I don't even want to know how his neck and body were feeling after a few days sleeping like this.

I also have some pictures to share from the wonderful Brown Deer 3rd graders Holiday Supply Drive. What a wonderful turnout they had! Ms. B's class did a wonderful job and the soldiers in Mark's unit will love it! They collected enough items to fill FOURTEEN huge care boxes!

Ms. B and the 14 boxes gathered from the supply drive

Below is a picture of some of the items that were gathered in her classroom before they were put into the boxes. Not only was I amazed at all of the items they gathered and were really touched by all of the generosity that was shown, I LOVED the bulletin board she put up in the classroom.

The sign above Mark's picture says "Getting to know LT Mark." The two maps point out where the students are and another map pointing to where Afghanistan where Mark is. Below the map of the US is the letter Mark wrote to the class. It truly has been a wonderful experience for Mark and hopefully it has been for the students as well.

Mark also sent a picture of him SMILING! Can you believe that! They somehow got him to wipe off his serious, stern face and exchanged it for the smile that I fell in love with back in high school! Mark said it was a wonderful night that they all got to laugh, share, and relax with some good company. They even shared their wonderful night (and photo) with one of the Afghan ANP (in the middle of the photo to the right of Mark).

On totally different note, I was blessed to chat (typing style) a little bit back and forth with Mark this afternoon. He is doing well and is getting excited for his upcoming leave. That seems to be something he brings up every time he writes or we are able to talk. I can certainly tell how much he is looking forward to it. In addition to that, he shared a little bit about getting to try some Afghan food. He said it was absolutely delicious and described eating some Afghan rice, some amazing bread, and some really good chicken which he thinks was some kind of rotisserie style chicken.

He also said that he got to talk with one of the Afghan interpreters for nearly an hour just on a personal level. He even shared with him one of the many brownies I sent- which the interpreter did enjoy. They each shared a bit about their family, thoughts, and work. The man has been an interpreter off and on since 2001 and originated from eastern Afghanistan. Mark said that the interpreter expressed to Mark his gratitude for him and the other soldiers being there and Mark expressed his gratitude for the interpreter's work. Mark realized that though they are from two different cultures and parts of the world, they had lots of similarities. Mark reiterated to the interpreter his belief that he thinks the majority of the world is interested in safety, peace, and a good future for their children. The interpreter certainly agreed that he shared that same interest as well.

Hearing that helped me to feel and understand how blessed and fortunate we are to live in this great country and how proud I am of Mark for trying to bring those same blessings and fortunes to the people of Afghanistan by training their police force to be able to provide public safety.

Love,

Angie

Mark's Job with the ANP

Greetings All,

I have more pictures to post to give everyone a better idea of Mark's living arrangements and a little more about Mark's new job. Though these pictures are not Marks, I am Facebook friends with a fellow 1LT (R.F.) working with him. The pictures in this entry are from R.F.'s Facebook album so first and foremost- THANK YOU R.F!

View from inside the tent- all the guys sleep on cots

Outside view of the tents

Arial view of their "home base"

Mark said he has been "loving" the new job. He does say that not having showers and not being able to talk as often sucks.... but otherwise it has been great. Temperatures in the evenings are dropping and Mark said he had to use all three layers of his sleeping system (bag). He did say that they did just get heat for their tent. Evenings are in the upper 20s and low 30s and during the day is has been in the upper 50s and low 60s.

So as I said in the last post- Mark is now working closely with the Afghan National Police (ANP). Mark is mentoring an ANP Colonel. The Colonel (and thus Mark's job) is responsible for ANP development. Together they will be coordinating training sessions including first aide, communication, etc for police in the entire Kandahar Province. Mark said he is looking forward to mentoring the Colonel. Mark also states that he can understand if the Colonel is a little hesitant to work with someone new- Mark said he will have been the 4th person to have mentored the man since their unit arrived last summer. Mark said the Colonel is in his 40's and seems to be very nice. He has been offered to a Afghan Lunch with the colonel in his office in one of the upcoming days- consisting of fish. Yeah, fish from the river.... the same river that the locals get their water from, bath from, and ultimately where all the sewage goes. I am hoping and praying he doesn't get cholera!!! Mark said he isn't really looking forward to the food part- knowing the fish will still have the head and scales on it and still look- well- like a fish! Pictures to come of that if Mark takes any- and he said he might.

Picture of ANP in formation

In other news, there was an evening that they had a BBQ. Where they got the hamburgers and hotdogs they cooked out... I'm not really sure. Mark did say he had a little 24 hour bug that set in that evening that knocked him back a bit on the 1st. Vomiting and diarrhea... hoping he used the Pedialyte I sent him that day to help keep him hydrated at least. He wrote in an e-mail that he got a bunch of extra sleep and felt much better the following day.

I talked with him a bit tonight on the webcam- first time in a while. It was definitely good to see his face. His spirits are high and he said he might have enjoyed shaving more than the shower that he got. He has been sharing often that he is looking forward to his fast approaching R&R and I know he has been counting down the days. I can't wait to have him home.

Another small update about the 3rd graders that have been writing him from Brown Deer. The class held a supply drive for the school for a week in November. The teacher just sent me a message today saying that they have collected 12 boxes of care packages and have sent them out in the mail today. What a treat for Mark and his unit he is with. I'm sure the package and the letters from the kids will be well accepted.

Love

Angie