July...

it's a rough month in Afghanistan. It's hot, it's humid, the mountains are teeming with enemy fighters. The fighting season has arrived no doubt about that. We've already lost more than 30 Americans this month, making it the worst month of the year so far. Our area is emblematic of the country as a whole. The new battalion has already lost a couple of guys after one month. But they keep getting out there and having it out with the enemy. The last battalion went through the same thing when they arrived last July because the summer is always the worst time - tough time to show up on the job when you're a new unit. Thankfully, our unit arrived in November and had a few quiet months to figure out how to do our jobs. And I would say we've figured out the ANA by now. We know what they're all about, and they know that we know what they're all about. And I'll leave it at that for now.