Monday I deploy for a year to Afghanistan as a gov contractor. My wife has falsely accused me of missing blacksmithing more than her to which I responded that one is a devotion and the other an addiction!! So I'll have to 'feed the need' vicariously through iforge. The motivation is paying off the house so I can retire and we can smith full-time and travel when we want... More later........Keith

good luck to you keith - blacksmithing and wife - both important! :D

I'm thinking if you're lucky you'll meet a smith in Afganistan and having something in common the next thing you'll be swapping lies, drinking beer and being buddies.

Best luck and God speed Keith.

Frosty the Lucky.

Good luck Keith. Keep yer head down bud.

Good luck and shoot straight, even if a contractor.

Will be praying for you. Thank you for serving our country!

Joe

Keep safe Keith!

Good luck and be safe!

Keith, I'll keep you in my prayers as you go in harms way, stay safe! :)

Keith, Keep your head down,keep safe, and come back home. Will be praying for you and your family.

be safe and thank you

Good luck and God speed and remember, "A happy wife is a happy life!" :D

Why give up blacksmithing? A simple hole in the ground forge, a chunk of scrap to hammer on, some charcoal and a small bellows and you are good to go!

(when I spend a summer in Germany I managed to find an open air museum where the smith was happy to let me play a bit---actually he demanded I show him how to weld up a billet I had brought with me...)

Keith, keeping your head down is good keeping your butt down also rates very high. The bad guys don't care if your a contractor/medic/clergy or ground troop. Packing may be against the rules but do it if ya can. An old jarhead told ya.
Ken.