Shane leaves for Afghanistan

Well, today at about 12 o'clock our friend Shane Thomas Matlock departed for Afghanistan. He will serve our country under the Army Transportation division for about the next year or so. It will be sad that we won't be able to see him for so long, but we are definitely going to have a big party when he returns. So keep Shane in your prayers and we will keep you updated as we hear things. Here is his departing e-mail:

Well, this is my first of hopefully many e-mails that I will be sending out, updating you on my deployment experience. I will be leaving in the next couple of days, so please be praying for my unit and our safe travels to Afghanistan. It's weird to think that this time is already here. I've known that I would be leaving this month for about a year now, and I knew that I would deploy the moment I signed a contract with ROTC. But it's finally here, and it still seems surreal. I don't think it will fully hit me until I actually set foot off the plane, onto the beautiful surroundings of Afghanistan (by beautiful, I mean repulsive). I've been trained for this moment for 4 years, one and a half of them active duty, and I'm ready to go and get it done. It will be such a great adventure in my life, if anything else.

It has been hard to say goodbye to those so close to me (all of you) but know that I have chosen this, and aside from the joking and sometimes complaining, that I am very proud of what I am about to do, and that my first thought over there will be to bring all of my soldiers back to their families safely, above my own safety. It's a weird thought, and being in the Army as a leader is so different than any other job in life, because we are all required to put those that we lead ahead of ourselves (unfortunately, that doesn't always happen). The nature of this type of leadership has helped me mature a lot in my life, and even in my walk with God, because that's the type of leadership He requires of all of us.

God has truly blessed me with a few amazing Christian men from my church here in Watertown that will be deployed with me. It is such a blessing to know that we will be together to help each other grow in Him and hold each other accountable in all things. I know that the military can be a lonely place for a Christian, and the fact that most of my closest friends that I've met in New York will be deployed with me truly shows God's hand at work in my (and their) life. Please pray that God's light will shine through us to those soldiers who are lost in the dark. Your prayers and encouragement mean more than you will ever know. You all mean the world to me.

Here is my address while I'm over there, if you ever feel like sending anything:


Matlock, Shane T.
TF Knighthawk E/2-10 AVN
APO AE 09355