March 22, 2010

Dear Sirs and Ma’ams,
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I just want to thank you so much for the two incredible boxes of supplies I received in the mail today.  From the snacks to the toiletries, the entertainment, to most importantly the personal touches such as the prayer shawl, I want to thank you.  There are way more goodies than I would ever use, so I want to let you know that you made not only me, but also the two other US army personnel, two Italian officers, a Spanish officer, and a Lithuanian officer all very happy today with the great surprises due to your generosity.
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There are few things we look forward to here on a regular basis.  Phone calls, e-mails/Skype, and care packages are definitely at the top of the list.  Thank you for bringing a lot of joy to this day and many days to come.
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Also, I tried to attach a few pictures to this e-mail, but my computing/e-mail capabilities are very limited here, and unfortunately I could not attach any files.  If it’s OK, I’ll forward a few pictures to you once I return to Virginia near the end of May, OK?
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Thanks again for everything!
 Tim
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Lt Col Tim Rittenhouse
Regional Command-West
J7 Training Officer
Camp Arena, Herat, Afghanistan
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May 18, 2010

Hello again to you all,
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I just want to thank you again for the care packages and messages you sent to us while I was in Afghanistan.  You sent some great stuff that we had a difficult time getting ahold of, as well as just some general comfort items that were greatly appreciated by myself and many of the troops I worked with.  Just being in your thoughts helped keep our spirits up and keep us focused on the long term goals.
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As promised, I want to send you a few pictures from my deployment.  These are all from the Herat area in western Afghanistan.  I spent 6 months there, but I happily returned home to the Washington DC area yesterday morning.  It was a great reunion with my family, especially my 22-month old son.
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Picture 5102 – I like this picture because it shows a couple of children tentatively coming up to one of our vehicles; we loved to interact with the local population, especially the children, but I like how this picture captures the hesitant first beginnings when we met people
Picture 5106 – me with some children near Shindand, Afghanistan
Picture 5189 – my Mom sent me a couple of boxes of shoes when she noticed in pictures that many of the children were barefoot; I gave the shoes to the district police chief in Herat to pass out to local children, and this is one picture from that event
Picture 5211 – meeting with the governor and other local officials in Herat to initiate development efforts
Picture J9 – a picture of our office who greatly appreciated your generosity!
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Thank you again for your thoughtfulness!
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Tim Rittenhouse