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Diversions > Kozak's Deployment Blog Our friend and fellow alum Aaron Kozak deployed to Afghanistan in February 2006. Aaron is a Captain in the U.S. Army, a proud product of NIU ROTC, with service in the Iraq War with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Kozak is now serving with the Army's 10th Mountain Division and continues his contribution to the War on Terror. Below is a blog from the front lines. Drop Aaron a note of encouragement from time to time, or better yet, send him some junk food and skin mags to let him you love him. -- Markus, XGI 93-96 6.17.06 Hello everyone!!! It's been a while since I last posted. I've been a little busy with work which has been taking me all around the country. I've been up to Bagram and Jalalabed in the North and as far South as Kandahar. Right now I am off of FOB SALERNO again traveling around the country in support of the Brigade. For those of you that know him I'd like to announce that John Nevenhoven has joined the fight here in Afghanistan. He works near Kabul which is a little North of FOB SALERNO. I received an e-mail from him around the beginning of the month saying he arrived safe and sound. We'll figure out some way to link up and have our own Vets Club reunion, although I don't think they will be broadcasting the NIU homecoming game over here. My tour is almost a third over already so I've attached a slide show (.pps, 3.1MB) documenting my travels to date. Hope everyone enjoys it. 3 .9.06Greetings from exotic Afghanistan!!! For those of you that have never been you have no idea what your missing. I have been in country almost two weeks now. I was held up for a day and a half at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. The one good thing I can say about Manas is that their chow hall isn't to bad. From Manas I caught a C-130 into FOB SALERNO. The last time I rode on a C-130 I was wearing a parachute. Not having one this time was very disconcerning. Especially when it performed a short approach landing on an unimproved airstrip. Besides that I am starting to get settled into the daily Ground Hog Day routine. Mark, Attached are 2 pictures. One is of me waiting in Kyrgyzstan for the C-130 flight into Afghanistan (pic 1). The other is of the sunrise on FOB SALERNO the first morning in Afghanistan (pic 2). Although I'm sure you'll put your own caption on the pictures as you have normally done in the past. - Aaron
2.27.06 Quite an ordeal since we were only allowed to get off the plane once when we were in Naples. I've been taking pictures along the way and I'll send some once I get settled and am able to download them. - Aaron
Aaron W. Kozak I will still have my home address in New York for when I get back. Until then everything will be forwarded on. I hope everything has been going well for you and the family. I was really hoping to make it out to homecoming again this past year but work got in the way. Tell the rest of the guys I said hi the next time you see them. - Aaron
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