24 December 2009 Dear Rod: I hope things are well with you in New Jersey. Things are pretty good here in Afghanistan. The weather is still pretty nice during the day but very cold at night. All of the mountain tops are snow convered now. We were hoping for a White Christmas, but only the top of the mountains are white right now. This country has so much beauty to it with the mountains, the valleys, the rivers, but unfortunately, not the people. There is a 70 percent illiteracy rate for men and a 90 percent illiteracy rate for women. I am looking forward to leaving this place as there is so much corruption here. Just when you think you are making progress, you find out how corrupt people really are here. Everybody in the Afghan government lines their pockets. It was recently announced that the Minister of Industry and Mines took a $30 million bribe from China so that they can establish a mine here. We are working on strong anti-corruption initiatives here but it is difficult when everyone is corrupt. I can't wait for the day that I get to come home and see my family again. I am really looking forward to that day. In the meanwhile, I will continue to do my best over here and try to make progress any way I can. I want to thank you for sending all the great shoebox packages over here for our soldiers. That is very kind of you. Please extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone at Operation Shoebox New Jersey for taking time to think about us over here. I look forward to speaking to you soon. Best regards, Lt. Col. Jeff Cantor CJTF-82 CJ-9 Afghanistan