Richard Borkowski has moved from teaching history to making it.

Lt. Col. Borkowski, 46, has been in Afghanistan since June. Before being deployed, Borkowski taught U.S. history, the American Civil War, contemporary U.S. history, contemporary world history and world history at Wilmot High School. He also trained 15 of his former high school students while commander of the 126th Battalion in Kenosha.

He is not able to be reached by telephone, but can receive and reply to e-mail. His written responses to some biographical and some more intimate questions follow:

Q: Where are you in Afghanistan and how long will you be there?

A: In July, I began my tour in Western Herat province as a police embedded trainer. In late September, I was assigned to the Strategic Command and Staff College located in Kabul. I will be returning, (Inshallah) God willing, sometime in the spring.

Q: What is your mission or primary responsibility?

A: My primary job is as a senior academic adviser to the Strategic Command and Staff Course where I advise Afghan generals and colonels in how to analyze security threats and come up with strategic solutions. We call these 2nd and 3rd order effects; how one decision will impact other events in the short and long term. Ultimately we want them trained to take over their own security with minimal assistance from us.

Q: Describe your surroundings and the people you come in contact with.

A: In the West it was like being transported back to the Old Testament at times when we would go on convoys. You would see mud huts and the goat and sheep herders along the roadside. The city of Herat itself contained a lot of ancient history which I relished as a history teacher. For example, you can still see the remains of one of Alexander the Great’s castles and realize the scope of history this place has witnessed. In Kabul, I drive to work through the worst traffic you can imagine with horse carts being pulled alongside your vehicle and people consistently going down the wrong side of the road because they get impatient.

I see a lot of women covered in blue shrouds called burkas. There are sheep herders moving their flocks through the middle of major traffic circles in the heart of the ancient city. Mix that in with the daily occurrence of suicide bombers and Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (SVBIEDs) and its makes for one surreal environment.

Q: How much free time do you get?

A: None. There is always something that needs immediate attention.

Q: How did you celebrate Thanksgiving?

A: I spent Thanksgiving reviewing plans for a major military exercise we have to conduct with a British one star general. He was a good chap.

Q: I hear Christmas is your favorite time of year. What memories of Christmas past are helping you this time of year as you are so far from home, and how will you celebrate there?

A: I think of all the soldiers in past wars who have spent multiple Christmases away from their families. I will never forget reading about soldiers in WWII freezing in the Ardennes forest as they fought the Germans’ last desperate gasp to win the war. I try to stay as busy as I can to make the time pass. You miss home too much if you have time to think about it. There is no way to sugarcoat it. Being away from family and friends on Christmas is a sad, lonely experience. I will celebrate Christmas with my French coalition partners who I have grown very close with.

Q: Obviously you miss your family. What other comforts of home, places or routines do you miss?

A: I really miss my privacy and the ability to jump in the car and go wherever you need to or want to. I really miss good food — especially a Luigi’s pizza. I really miss coming home and having a beer after a hard day at work (We can’t have alcohol here). I really miss just being able to sit in my recliner early in the morning with the dog on my lap, have a cup of coffee, enjoy a quiet moment and just reflect on life without the sound of helicopters, explosions and minaret calls constantly in the background.

Q: How has being there helped you appreciate what we have here?

A: I have learned from the Europeans the importance of personal relationships. They begin their day by sharing coffee and wishing each other a sincere good morning. We are very time-driven and task-oriented in America. To the point we actually try to avoid people so we can work harder without being interrupted. I am just as guilty of this and will attempt to change when I return.

Q: What are you thankful for?

A: This sounds corny and cliché, but as I witness the poverty here, I thank God I was born in the United States. Most people will never realize the good luck of the draw they got, until they see how other people are living.

I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to every one of my family members and friends who have sent care packages. It has boosted my spirits immensely and I am humbled and grateful to have received them.

Q: What would you most like people back home and students at the school to know about what is going on there?

A: I would like the people back home to realize the tremendous sacrifice military members and families make. It has been said that we are not a nation at war but rather an army at war due to the perception that most Americans, with the exception of military members and families, have not been required to sacrifice anything like they were asked to do during both World Wars. I know soldiers who are going back for their third and fourth tours since Sept. 11, 2001.

It is also a conflict where the American people are going to have to learn great patience. These types of wars, which we call asymmetric in nature, will be long, costly and very frustrating as we have a tendency to want immediate results.

I would also like them to acknowledge that the rights they currently enjoy have been paid with the blood and sacrifices of soldiers past and present.

Q: I know you look forward to coming home, but it will be a transition too. Can you already anticipate what the most difficult thing about returning home will be?

A: The most difficult transition I think I will have is having patience to deal with people who make a big deal out of trivial things or things I consider to be trivial after surviving a war. I will also have less patience with people who are very opinionated (self-designated experts) about military and world events but have never served in uniform or been deployed to a combat zone. They do have the right to express their opinion, but they better be prepared to be called to the carpet by those of us who have.

On the flip side I will have more patience in other areas. This experience has made me prioritize what is important in life and what’s not.