Merry Christmas!!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone! It has been care-package MANIA here lately, so I certainly am thankful for that. I really appreciate all of the cookies, candy, cards, clothes, etc.!! In the mean time, I look forward to Christmas next year! ;)

some to share...

Getting images released to the public is harder than you might think, I have taken thousands upon thousands, and yet only these 4 are the released. Horrible in comparison to other work I have done, but they are cleared for public use, so that is all I can show for now. ;)

...oh, and they re-write captions, I didn't create those ones.

from the vault...

haha, found this oldie but goodie! lol

Chief Patterson (photographer), I hope all is well for you.

gobble gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving!...just another cold night over here....well into the 30s now. Anyway, enjoy the time with your families. I am sure next year will be that much better! (hmmm....Deja vu!)

Oh and for those superstitious types, lucky 13 has come and gone for me, so it is all down hill from here. ;)

good articles...

One Couldn't have said it better: "Not since the Vietnam era have combat cameramen been able to deploy with Special Forces units in combat situations," said Parker. "I feel my entire career has been spent preparing for this one deployment and I'm proud to have been able to document the actions of these elite units and assist them wherever I could."

Two

Three

I shoot people!

It is from this website a fellow photog told me about.

I love it, how fitting! Sorry santas in hiding, I already ordered one for myself...

how nice...

...little AP man, you almost exclusively shoot during the DAY! EASY! lol

Seriously, his work is great. If only I was a day walker too...haha!

good story...

hmmm, looks familiar...

Afghanistan book quote...

Interesting quote from a book I found called the Kandahar Province Handbook:

"Even an illiterate farmer, who likely could not locate the United States on a world map, can recite a detailed history of Kandahar. Every history will be told differently, however, because blood feuds that lasted hundreds of years still color the stories that fathers tell their sons."

click clock, huh?!

The time thing, we operate off of Zulu/GMT/UTC time, not local time. So I am often converting from military to civilian time or vice versa, then into or from zulu, then into whatever timezone I am wondering about (CA, AZ, MN, FL, VA, etc.)...can you believe it...it never ends. For the record, my LOCAL time (to figure if it is day or night here) is:

CA+11.5 hours
AZ+11.5 hours
MN+ 9.5 hours
FL+ 8.5 hours
UTC+4.5 hours

...that is, UNTIL tomorrow at 0200 when Daylight Savings happens...now let's see, is that 0200 local, zulu, central, mountain but not AZ, or pacific????....lol...haha!

daily life...Happy Halloween!!

A lot of you are asking for photos and more updates, but my hands are tied as far as my work schedule, where I travel, what I see, what I do, etc. Only a few in the military will ever see the photos I take or know fully what I am involved with here, and that is probably best. Most of the things I see/do/document here are not very cheerful or necessarily things you want to to remember or show family.

Daily life is usually steady, there are good days and bad days. Memorial ceremony for those in the recent '47 crash was today. Attended and photographed. Trying to keep a daily journal, thanks for the idea, Mom.

Food...hmmm...there are a few dining halls to choose from, as Kandahar is very large. Even still, the food is not all that great...since it is all made by foreign contractors whom I swear have never eaten a cheeseburger. Thankfully, I still have plenty of friends (some old, many new) at CEXC who keep me fed at their occasional bbq on the rare days I am not otherwise engaged.

Also, a day last week was like "Care-package mania"...I swear I had 4 boxes full of useable goodies, 3+ months of my mail, and TONS of cards sent to me, thanks to all of you (Mom, Barb, Crista, Mel, Josh & Jeanette, etc...)

Cannot think of much else...like I said, I want to share more, but cannot. Just know that I am safe. I LOVE my job here and the people are truly remarkable humans...this role is the epitome of what a combat photographer could ask for...well...aside from being able to share my images...haha!

40 year anniversary

40 years ago today, my uncle Air Force 2LT James Wayne Herrick, Jr. went missing, along with his A-1 Skyraider aircraft, as he was conducting a recon patrol over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Laos. He would have turned 25 the following day. He and his aircraft have yet to be discovered or returned home to his family. Read his story at www.firefly33.com

Sad day here...

Sad day here.

and you thought...

...gas prices were HIGH in the 'States!

reppin' MN!...

Don't think I forgot my Vikes jersey when I packed to come here...it was a hit when we watched the Vikes take on GB at 4am in a cold tent! Gotta love AFN commercials! LOL Oh, and it is a little known fact that Thomas Jefferson invented American Baseball. See the pic for proof!

C'ville pics...

Some recent pics from my trip to Charlottesville, VA. Thanks Josh/Lynn for the hospitality...it was great to see you all! :)

DC pics...

Here are some pics from my quick trip to DC in early September! Grant/Ashley, it was great to see you both, I wish you the best with the upcoming little one and your new life in NY! ;)

Florida pics...

Here are some pics from my quick trip to FL in early September! Thanks, FL Herricks for having me! ...by the way, the last one is the shuttle launch in Florida. :)

connected...

I am well, we now have a way to update this/fb/etc so I hope to do that more often. Mail is finally starting to trickle in, so thank you!

update...

Hi, most of us are well. The physical output required sometimes here make a marathon look easy in comparison. At least I am holding my own. Also keeping my head down and watching where I step. That last part seems to be the trick here. ;)

FNG, not me!

No longer the FNG. Real good real world experience to be had here, and am thankful for that. Please keep the thoughts and prayers coming for me and all the guys, this is the wild wild west, indeed.

Thanks.

off we go...

...into the wild blue younder....flying high...

You get the idea. Departing sooner than later, will advise on here when safely arrived in country. Here is to hoping I can reconnect with some old friends while transiting through certain areas.

Email me anytime, just be patient if my replies are limited and delayed! ;)

WAY BEHIND...

Found out there are a few more days before departure, so I will soon get this updated with pics. Also, please simply know I will be photographing activity on the battlefield, and that I will be working with some really awesome folks!

I will ALWAYS have my updated contact info here: www.johnherrick.com ;)

a little R n R in advance...

What a nice break from NJ and it's humidity all of July. While I was glad to visit family (Janet and Justin, his parents and Alexander and Nicholas are ALL awesome!), I am glad to get down to NC for my last bit of training at Ft. Bragg.

In the mean time, I had an extra couple of days, so here is my family in FL today...

for those wonder what my civilian job is:

Byron is a coworker of mine...

quick update...

update for 13AUG09: headed to the field tomorrow for 5 days of training, more live fire, etc...Getting CLOSER! ;)

More pics coming soon. ;)

never a dull new jersey moment...

Well what a few weeks it has been. In the last 30 days, I have:

-packed up everything I own and put it into storage; left my apartment
-given/taken a saline lock/Intravenous; now a "Combat Lifesaver".
-driven a Humvee under near full dark conditions (with only NVGs and moonlight)
-met my cousin's husband and brand new twin boys (Justin, Alex/Nate, respectively)
-practiced escape of inverted Humvee after replicated rollover
-become familiarized with various Humvees, MRAPs, etc.
-many more sensitive things that cannot go here
-become proficient with M16/M9


The purpose of this school is to train Airmen in roles that were traditionally filled by Army 'ground-pounders'. The training is impressive, and we are all making great use of any downtime we might have. I miss my job, coworkers, and family in Arizona, but now just want to get this tour out of the way.

Still here a few more weeks (until about 23AUG.) Next stop, Fort Bragg, NC (near Fayetteville, NC) to meet up with my team. Cheers!

catchin' up...

just some 'catch up' photos...

solo no more...

I just joined the VFW Riders here in SO*AZ. Good group of guys, here is the back patch.

"Front and center!"

Here is my new front mount intercooler, I love it. Car pulls much stronger now, and it only took 6 hours to install (thanks Marc, Adam and Uncle Roger!). NO MORE heatsoak! :)

Mead me in the middle

After 90+ days, here is what I came up with!! Thanks, Marc for designing the front label, and everyone else who helped: Ashley & Edick Moreno, Kimberly, Jim and Grant!!