Date: September 17th 2009

Brazoria County Cavalry Members,
Have you ever wondered if all of the endless time you spend supporting our American Heroes makes a difference to them? The answer is in the email letter below we received from Hunter Sauls, SSgt, USAF


I wanted to share these photos with the members of the Cavalry.

A while ago my EOD team detonated all of the explosives we've been gathering up, about 2,000 lbs of HE. It was a mix of old rusty Soviet ordnance, the main charges and components of improvised explosive devices that we and other teams have disarmed, and some unusable U.S. munitions thrown in for good measure. The shockwave kicked Afghan moon dust in my eyes from 1.5 miles away, and the crater was 20 feet deep. It was a good day.
The area we used for the demo is relatively safe, so we down-dressed from our body armor and helmets to set up the demo. It was a great opprtunity to get some pics wearing the cap you guys gave me when you surprised me before I shipped out last Spring. I've been busy with operations since then, but they haven't been the kind where I could stop for pictures (or take off my helmet).

We have been blowing up any military ordnance or homemade explosives that we can because the Taliban use them to make IED's. They put them in the dirt roads and try to detonate them under the good guys, too often they succeed. But every landmine and RPG we blow up is one less potential weapon that could be used against us or Afghan civilians.

The monsters we fight have no soul. For example, one day my team dislodged a dud RPG from the front door of a school for girls. The Taliban launched rockets at little girls because they didn't like them going to school. Since I've been in Afghanistan, we've had our victories and they've had theirs. We've had more.

I also wanted to thank you and the Brazoria County Cavalry both for what you do, and for what you did for me before I left. You told me that day in front of The Facts to hold that outpouring of support in my back pocket for when things got bad. I didn't know then how much it would mean. Some days have been tough, and I've wanted to be anywhere else, but I remember that day, I remember my family, and it's helped me stay positive and alert. From the core of my heart, thank you all.

The end of my deployment is rapidly approaching, about six weeks give or take, so keep a beer cold for me.
In brotherhood,

Hunter Sauls, SSgt, USAF