|
We cannot thank you enough for your prayers that Rudd would make it home for the birth of his first child, Verity Renee Olmstead, born 26 January. Rudd and Susan had a week together before Verity arrived, and Rudd got to spend a week with her before he returned to Afghanistan. He now has eight months before he will be with his family again in North Carolina. Meanwhile Susan is enjoying time with Verity and her grandparents in Texas. 
In Rudd's absence, there have been some changes in Afghanistan. In the Change of Command Ceremony, the outgoing Commander presents the flag of the unit to the incoming Commander to officially reflect the transfer of both authority and responsibility for the unit. On February 10th, Gen John Allen relinquished responsibility for International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) to Gen Joseph Dunford. In his farewell to the troops, Gen Allen said, "Leading this Coalition, the largest and longest standing Coalition in modern history, has been the single greatest honor of my life." Thankfully Gen Allen was cleared of any involvement in the Gen Petraeus sex scandal. During his 19 months as ISAF Commander, Gen Allen managed tremendous changes in the campaign. Rudd's assignments reflect that change. In 2011 he was company commander for 200 Marines actively fighting the Taliban. Now he is part of a 100-man advisory team whose mission is training Afghans to take the lead of the fight. Hopefully, when the spring fighting season begins, the Afghans will rise to the challenge. Gen Allen believes that the men and women who have fought in Afghanistan the last 11 years are the new "Greatest Generation" of heroes. I agree!
Gen Dunford will probably be the last commander of ISAF, as the majority of forces are to be withdrawn by the end of 2014. He is a respected and low-key four star Marine Corps General who earned the nickname "Fighting Joe" when he led a charge from Kuwait to Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq war. He has the difficult assignment of determining how many troops should remain after 2014 to assure the Afghans that we have not abandoned them. (More next month on how Afghans are once again worrying about being abandoned . . ..)
|
