Mission Complete!

Last night, Wednesday night, 13 August 2008, I arrived at my home of record. It was not uneventful.

It took me only two days to out-process in Norfolk, which is very good, but it took a little pushing on my part. It was in everyone’s best interest to get rid of me. The staff in Norfolk was very polite, but I found it odd that the Commander there never addressed us or said hello. I would think she would take a personal interest in that there were a couple people there senior to her and military courtesy dictates it. More importantly, we were all part of the travel fiasco and we thought she might want the story firsthand. We were wrong.

The best part of Norfolk was seeing my old shipmates Will and Pete and also seeing Pete’s family. Will, Pete, and I went out to dinner at a nice Tavern in Norfolk and talked about old times and new times. Those of us from this ship don’t get to see each other too often, but we never miss a beat when we do.

Yesterday, the Navy sent me from Norfolk to DC in the morning to out-process with my command there and then to Newark in the afternoon. I thought it was going to be a waste of the Navy’s money and my time to go there instead of taking care of things my next drill weekend and via fax for the three important pieces of papers needed. I was right. Anyway I flew to Newark Wednesday afternoon. At this point the fun started.

The scariest part of my tour was the flight from DC to Newark. We were on a little prop plane and experienced enough turbulence to unsettle me. My dad, Marion, and Stacey and the kids were at the airport to greet me. This was the time I waited for especially since I got to meet Alyssa for the first time. Aaron remembered me (as did everyone else). It was a great welcome!

Stacey had to take my car since she had to bring the double stroller and I had a couple bags. My car would NOT start in the parking garage. First stroke of good luck was the security personnel were right around us and they gave us a jump. However, the battery was not charging, so nothing else worked in the car such as windows or AC. Second stroke of luck is that my dad pulled out of the garage the same time as us and he could follow us home. That would prove to be very important.

We left the airport and missed the turnoff for the Turnpike and had to use Route 1. That ended up being a good thing since my car completely broke down and it was safer there than on the Turnpike. I wasn’t happy being in Elizabeth on the wrong side of the tracks with the kids, but AAA made it there quickly after making us a priority. AAA Plus is the only way to go. We transferred the car seats to my dad’s car and I stayed with the tow truck. I completed my only important goal since the start, making it home in one piece.

Feel free to post comments, I’ll be checking out the site and may make some other posts as things come up. I’m thinking of some type of After Action Report (AAR) for all of this. I know there are many people to thank and what better place than the blog at least for now. Also, my friend Greg, a shipmate with Will and Pete as well, is still over there and will be returning in the next few months.

I look forward to being in contact with all of you. Remember, the party is at my place on Sunday, the 24th starting at 1400. It will run well into the evening hours, so no excuses for not stopping by. If you need directions, please email, you can also use MapQuest. No need to bring anything, we’ll have it all.

Ramstein-Bangor-Baltimore-Norfolk

Here is the short of it. I made it to Norfolk this morning, Baltimore a little after midnight, Bangor a little before that. I started my out-processing, which will last a few days and it looks like I’ll have to stop in DC for no particular reason, gotta love the navy. I saw my old friend Pete today and will see Will tomorrow night here in Norfolk.

Here is about what happened from Kuwait. We left over 48 hours late without a reason why. It ended up being that we flew on an unsafe aircraft to Germany. The powers that be admitted it was unsafe after a new crew came on. We left Ramstein on time and ten minutes later the pilot turned it around saying the plane didn’t feel right and he refused to fly it over the ocean. That delayed us in Ramstein until the airline could scare up another plane. It was smaller and couldn’t fly as far, so we had to stop in Bangor, Maine for an hour or two.

We were bused to Mainz, Germany, about 1.5 hours from the airbase and ate dinner that night around 2230. Mainz is really nice with the Rhein going through if you have time to look around and aren’t over-tired and in the same clothes for a couple days. We left the next morning for the base again and were supposed to leave at 1700. Seeing some of the German countryside wasn’t bad. In between, arriving at the base and flying out, we had to walk into the base from the main gate to the terminal with our bags because the genius air farce airman wouldn’t let the bus on base, not even with an escort. We delayed about an hour from the 1700 because we couldn’t board fast enough. We lost another 30 minutes because the ground crew couldn’t find the right tow equipment to push us back from the gate. Then, we lost another two hours as they found a pothole in the runway from the previous plane. You can’t make this stuff up.

When we finally make it to Baltimore, there is no support for us from the navy and no one has a follow-on itinerary as was promised. We were left to fend for ourselves. The only saving grace was the USO. They really helped pick up a lot of slack where the navy and the air force were indifferent about our travel. I ended up paying for my own ticket to Norfolk as it wasn’t expensive and got me in here in a reasonable time.

That’s about it for now. I have to eat early tonight as I have a physical tomorrow and can’t eat past a certain time.

Delayed

The aircraft has been delayed at least 24 hours with no explanation given. Unfortunately, this is the Navy I remember. I'll update as I can.

Lock Down

Tomorrow after dinner we'll go into lock down after going through customs. I understand they are are real jerks when it comes to customs and we are not looking forward to it. After that, we wait around for many, many hours to board our flight. Lots of waiting, but we'll manage. Honestily, I don't think we are treated that well regarding travel. It was hell getting this far. I'll have my combat pillow with me though for rest and relaxation.

Today we have an afternoon filled with seminars designed to integrate us into the world again. We are so excited.

Yesterday was gear turn-in. That went rather well. It went relatively fast and we got rid of all our combat and field-related gear, at least 75% of which we never used. We also did our last cleaning of our weapons and turned those in. I'll miss Roxanne.

We'll fly overnight back to the States and then have follow-on flights to our processing sites. Therefore, we won't have normal sleep for two days. Why it has to be this way is a long story, but we are not allowed comfort or convenience if it costs the government money. The irony is that a little comfort/convenience would cost almost nothing and most of us can't figure out the logic of our travel itinerary anyway.

Our decompression phase (R&R type stuff) is going well. I think I mentioned we watch movies and went to the pool and eat. Reminds me a bit of my Boy's Weekend vacations to Puerto Rico with the guys. Maybe not. Yesterday though turned into game day for the guys. We played Yahtzee, Trivial Pursuit, and then a Risk marathon. Add in Mahjongg and Bridge and we are ready for senior citizenry. It was all fun though. In case you were all wondering, naturally I won big in Trivial Pursuit.

That's about it for now from Kuwait. Hope to keep some updates coming as we round the Clubhouse turn into the Homestretch.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Stacey's birthday, so she gets the big shout out!

We've had a relaxed time here at Arifjan in Kuwait. There is a group of five of us hanging out. We went through combat training together and four of us were at ISAF and one was at the US base located down the road in Kabul, Camp Eggers. We took the shuttle to the movies a couple times and saw Kung Fu Panda and Hancock. Glad I didn't pay for them. Looks like we'll miss the premiere of Dark Knight. I finished reading another Michael Crichton book, Next. Loved it of course. He is the man. I got a good deal of reading done at night through the deployment due to the long list of things I did not have to do that I posted some time back.

Tomorrow, Monday, starts the actual Warrior Transition Program (WTP). Over the next three days, we'll turn in our gear, clean weapons, have a bunch of seminars, go through customs and wait for the plane. The weather has been all right, not too much over 120 that we can tell. The AC in the tents is holding up.

Please keep checking in, I'll keep posting. The journey is near an end, but not over yet.

Kuwait

Our flight reservations out of Bagram were lost somehow, which was completely expected. We signed up for Space Available for the next flight out to Kuwait. A flight leaving at 0300 Tuesday morning with a midnight "show time" popped up and we were able to get on that flight. That was great news. We flew overnight in a C-17 in jumpseats against the wall of the plane with cargo in front of us. Good Times. We arrived safely in Kuwait on Tuesday morning and just took a shuttle bus to another place in Kuwait where we will wait to go through Warrior Transition on Monday. Therefore, we have a few days to relax and enjoy some ammenities on base. The most important thing is to sleep and eat. We deserve it. I'm with a couple friends here, so no worries there and this place is safe.

For the day in Bagram, we were able to have dinner with an old friend of ours from Combat Training, Rich the IRS Executive. Great seeing him.

We are staying in tents here with about 8 per tent. The temps are around 120 I think, but I'm not keeping track. I'm reading and gettting some Internet time in spite of extremely slow connections.

Shout out to my nephew Jake who has a birthday today - 22. Also Stacey and I missed our 5th anniversary ten days ago. It is the fifth one in a row I missed due to navy responsibilities. She is taking it like a champ.

Please mark Sunday, Aug 24 on your calendars. We are going to have a Welcome Home party at our house. I hope you can all make it. Details to follow. That's it for now. I'll be in touch.

Some Quotes and Thoughts

I’m sure I’ll be able to read my blog on my travels back, but I’m not sure how easy it will be to post since I’ll likely be in a Internet Café-equivalent type arrangement. Please keep your posts coming though! Hopefully, I’ve had my last meal at this base and all will go well in the coming days. The real problem is usually transportation, cancelled flights, things of that nature. Even generals have to suffer it now and then.

At the start of this deployment, I remembered a bit of Kipling, "For God and the soldier we adore, in time of danger, not before! The danger passed, and all things righted, God is forgotten and the soldier slighted." Our men and women are taken better care of than they, I guess we, were in the past. We do things better than some countries and not so well as others. It’s something we talk about here from time to time (remember there are around forty countries represented on this small base). We have our great leaders here, good ones, and on down to not-so-hot. However, it will always remain our citizens and elected officials who take care of us. So that’s where my thoughts are turning. Of course all of you who have been reading the blog and emailing me this whole time are not the ones who need the message for caring for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. The message has to get out.

During our Memorial Day service a couple months ago, we received a little program. In it was a quote, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.” I was not familiar with this quote for some strange reason, but was quite surprised to see who said it … George Washington. Obviously, having to address good care for our veterans, most especially our disabled veterans, has always been an issue for us. This troubles me a bit to say the least. It’s our citizens and elected officials who take care of our veterans. It transcends political affiliation and must be maintained. If not, what will happen?

We have the Tali-Band playing again tonight. I’ll attend with my friends, share one last drink for now, and try to rest a bit before I go.

Pictures

The above picture of me and Paul. He is the Canadian I talk about a lot. We are at the Queen's Palace with the King's Palace in the background.

If I knew what I was doing, I would have rotated this one before posting. So tilt your head and you will see some of the countryside through a blown-out windo area from the Queen's Palace. I understand this was not the handy-work of the former USSR, but came after during the civil war. The people here did it themeselves. We still see today insurgents who have no respect for their national treasures. We see it way too much.

Ditto on the rotation, but it took too long to load these up for me to worry about it now. I'm sure you'll all manage. This is the facade of the Queen's Palace from where we parked (that's our vehicle with Ron getting in). By the way, this is not a tourist attraction. It is "guarded" by some of the army - more on that when I get home. The palace is deserted and in almost complete shambles. I'll show more pictures when I get home.

We took a ten minute drive up to another off-limits place, the old Russian Officer's Club. I have some pictures of it. That is one of the palaces in the background, King's I believe. I am here with one the local army sentries. Nice guy, I guess.

Don't know how my posting will be in the near future as I hope to be on the road, but I should have some computer access as I did when I was on my way over.

My Last Thursday Night Here

I haven’t been posted lately as my last few days have been spent cleaning up some projects and things I have been working on. I also am going through a check-out process or “out-processing” so I can leave. I’ll start in a few days with a convoy up to Bagram, await transport to Kuwait, spend a few days in Kuwait going through Warrior Transition, and then to the States. A few days in Norfolk and then back home. That is the plan anyway. I’ll keep people posted as best I can depending on connectivity.

Tonight I was invited to a going away party for two officers I worked a lot with in the CJ35 Branch – they do midrange planning. One guy is Norwegian and one a Swede, so we were at Nordic Palace. They had an authentic Afghan dinner cooked, presented, and served by real Afghans. The guys who run some shops on base put it together for them and even included live music. It was really a solid event. After, I and the guys, along with most of the base, attended an unforgettable performance by the Tali-Band. They are really good and the place rocked to say the least. They provide a great deal of motivation, relaxation, stress relief, and flat-out enjoyment for all of us. It gives many people something to look forward to a couple times a month. They spend a lot of time practicing and their work is appreciated. If you remember, they sell T-shirts (impossible to get due to high demand) and CDs to support the women of Afghanistan.

I promised some pictures, still working on that.

Progress in Afghanistan

Here are some things that make the future look bright. We make progress in spite of the insurgency. Painting a glowing picture doesn’t sell as many papers as gloom and doom, but here is how things are.

· The Afghan security forces continue to grow in capacity and capability.
· In 2001, only 8% of Afghans had access to healthcare; the figure now stands at more than 80%.
· We have supported thousands of provincial reconstruction team projects including well-drilling, schools, roads, bridges, medical facilities, micro-hydro power, district centers, and court houses.
· Thousands of kilometers of road have been asphalted.
· Billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects has been completed since 2001.
· In 2001, 1.2 million children attended school daily; in 2006, 6 million, including 2 million girls, attend school daily.
· Hundreds of thousands of mines have been cleared and destroyed.
· Economy has been expanded by more than 40% yet inflation rate has remained under 10% since 2001.

During my trip to the Palaces the other day, I travelled through an area of Kabul I had never been to before. The shops/business were booming, a lot of products for sale including food markets. We saw many vehicles of all types. Many people walked freely around without a care, we still wore our armor though, comfort level you know.

The Palaces

Today we ventured outside the wire to a nearby district called Darulaman. There were five of us from our office armed and dressed out as usual. One of our guys needed to visit the Counter Insurgency (COIN) Academy and one of our new guys, a Dane, needed to get out and see how to get around. While out there we visited the former Queen’s Palace. I took a load of pictures, which I hope to share sooner rather than later. The place is torn apart, full of bullet holes, graffiti, and the like courtesy of the former Soviet Union and the Taliban. The structure is still magnificent though. From the Palace, one can see the King’s Palace. They preserved their marriage by having separate palaces I gather, or maybe she insisted. We also took a short trip to the former Soviet Officer’s Club. Some neat pictures to share if I can post them. Oh, we also visited where one of the Afghan army brigades is garrisoned, so did accomplish some things.

The other palace I visited on Sunday night was the Nordic Palace. This is the fancy name for the national support element social area here on base for the Nordic countries, similar to what the Germans and Canadians have as well as others. The US doesn’t do fun stuff in our social area, so we have to go to other countries. That turns out to be a great thing as we make new friends and learn about what they are all about. Nordic Palace houses five countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. On Sunday nights, they serve homemade waffles with a variety of choices for toppings including maple syrup, butter, peanut butter, regular cheese, and goat cheese. I kept it real with the syrup and butter. Of course we drank beer with our waffles. Why not?

Shout out to my long-time NJIT friend James who has a birthday today. Also, this evening we said good-bye to Ron who leaves us tomorrow. He is US Army stationed in Poland. Off he’ll go, I won’t be too far behind, although not to Poland. Hope to get the time to post some pictures, but the real issue is the difficulties in uploading them. We’ll see how it goes.

Latest Work

You all know I don’t talk too much about what I do or what goes on other than the fun stuff. Being a side-show has its advantages. The last month or so, however, there have been more casualties here than in Iraq. That is more of a sign of Iraq being a little safer or at least that's how I'll look at it. This is what we call the fighting season here as the enemy doesn’t fight when it’s too cold out. There are a lot of incidents, but I’m safe and looking forward to my convoy out of here.

I was reminded yesterday as to why we call it low battle rhythm rather than a day off or partial day off. I got called into the Chief of Staff’s (COS) office on about five minutes notice to present some things about where the army is and things like that. Remember the COS is the German general that everyone likes. He was meeting with a Lithuanian delegation and needed some info from me, it went well. Lately I’ve been working on a compilation of the army’s armored and mechanized capabilities and providing information and writing for transfer of security responsibility back to the Afghans for parts of the country. This transfer in the long run is important in order to reduce our numbers here and ensure they are and have been trained properly. Our directorate was also singled out a little bit to take the lead in starting a formal program to partner with the Afghans at all levels at our HQ and the Ministries of Defense and Interior. We already partner at various levels, but this hopefully will increase our partnering and ease transition. So I volunteered to start that up, it wasn’t like there was a long line of people wanting to do it.

Last night we had going-away pizza for the six of us leaving this month. The general treated. We received a huge frame that has some command coins, an Afghan flag, and a group picture in it. Quite nice and the best going away present I’ve ever received from a command. As directorate tradition has it, we all get watches when we go; bought from the Bazaar. The larger, the better. I received an authentic imitation Luminor Panerai Regatta. I love it. It’s better than the real imitation Swiss Army watch I won during Canada Day events.

So that’s about it for now. Tomorrow should be my second to last (or third) brief to the Commander. Hopefully my friends and I will enjoy some more cultural awareness with some different countries Sunday evening. We’ll see.

Smell the Goal Line

Well, I’ve been off the blog for a bit more than usual, but am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am scheduled to leave in less than three weeks. As you may have seen in the news, there is some activity in this country. Despite the fact that we are the sideshow to Iraq, more troops are in danger here than there. No worries where I am in spite of the embassy bombing a few days ago. I look forward to getting back home.

Last week I was invited by my Spanish colleague to join in some Spanish national festivity with paella and sangria. It was amazing, no comparison to what I’ve had in the U.S. How they cook it, what they cook it in, and who cooks it makes all the difference. My breakfast friend, the Romanian Colonel, leaves in a few days. Tonight he invited me to dinner with his command; the PsyOps group (Psychological Operations). They are a close-knit command. The dinner was a nice BBQ with a Romanian thread, including an assortment of alcohol. He had me try an aperitif that I would swear was Kentucky moonshine including the bottle it came out of. It could have been made in the still they used on M*A*S*H, only higher quality. So it goes. A few of the guys and I were entertained by the Thursday night karaoke and then some camaraderie at the German National House. So ends another Thursday evening. Back to work in the a.m.

Fun on the Fourth

My 4th celebration started with taking my General’s invitation to the US Embassy reception on Thursday afternoon. It was not too eventful although I got a new level of disrespect for one of our generals who decided to go around talking business and handing out tasks for the coming days during the party. It’s bad form to conduct business at a party especially for our national holiday considering where we are. It was all a good experience though. The Ambassador said a few words; there was some nice food, which was about it.

You’ve heard me talk about the other nation’s holidays, so now here is what we did. By chance, the 4th fell on a Friday, so there was a bit more free time. At 0630, there was a 5K fun run. I never figured out how 5K is fun, but a few showed up I’m told. During the day there were tournaments for volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, and horseshoes. Horseshoes was the big thing with games running into the evening. I went to the bazaar for a bit and picked up a few things including a special gift for a certain someone special. The funniest party of the bazaar was that I brought in something this time to sell or barter. Jane and Shauna regifted a regift from me, yes, the red tea lamp. I went in as a trader and used all my lines at the shop of my bodyguard, remember him? Jawaid. We both laughed. He asked how much and I replied how much make you happy. He would say an amount and I would tell him that was my cost. I mostly went back and forth with him for pure entertainment. I wouldn’t sell it for money, but did trade it for something small at his table.

The best part of the day was a real traditional BBQ with chicken, ribs, burgers, and three types of sausage as well as watermelon, ice cream, and chips. Everyone raved, so I guess it was good. In the evening, the Taliband played and they just keep getting better and better. I took some pictures this time. They opened with God Bless America and closed with the Star Spangled Banner. There were some great songs in between too.

As I’ve said, it has been busy with a war going on and things like that. Our focus is to build the capabilities and capacity of the Afghan forces and I think we are doing well although it is a slow process. I’ve gotten outside the wire a bit more lately and I think I see things improving or perhaps I am just accustomed to the area. Time will tell.

O' Canada!

July 1 is Canada Day marking their independence from Great Britain. There’s a lot of that going around. They took off in 1867. The day started with Canadians serving real maple syrup for our pancakes. The normal syrup here is some weird stuff. It was good to get the real thing. They held a ball (street) hockey tournament, strangely enough the two Canadian teams made it to the finals. The underdog won though in a stunning upset. They had their flag raising ceremony in the morning and flags were everywhere. I wore my Canada flag pin.

At night, they had an excellent party in the Gardens. They served BBQ ribs, chicken, beer, Moose Milk, Beaver Tails, and maple cookies. Beaver tails are a light pastry shaped like a beaver tail with jam. They had games like a football toss, ball hockey shoot, and something that Paul and I won at. We were a team where Paul was blindfolded and had to hold a cardboard canoe over his head and portage through cones with me giving him directions. I won a fake Swiss army watch and he won a good lock-blade knife. Not bad at all. Music was played through the speaker system, all Canadian artists.

So to answer Terry and others, I suppose it does seem we just party all the time drinking and eating and drinking. Strange but true. We do get our jobs done and fight the bad guys, but we wouldn’t last long without these distractions. We also have to watch the movies and read the books that people send. It’s just non-stop sometimes!

The real party should be on Friday for the 4th. It happens to coincide with our “day-off.” Should be fun, I’ll report out on it this weekend.

SECNAV INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE TO THE FLEET

I think the Memorial Day Message to the Fleet went over well. These words come from the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV).

1. 232 YEARS AGO IN PHILADELPHIA, 56 PATRIOTS SIGNED A DECLARATIONOF INDEPENDENCE - A DOCUMENT SPELLING OUT THEIR GRIEVANCES AGAINST KING GEORGE III AND EXPLAINING WHY THEY FELT IMPELLED TO SEPARATE FROM GREAT BRITAIN.
2. THIS REMARKABLE DOCUMENT IS A CIVICS LESSON ALL ITS OWN-EVEN DECLARING WHY GOVERNMENTS EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE: THAT TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, GOVERNMENTS ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED; THAT WHENEVER GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR TO ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT, LAYING ITS FOUNDATIONS ON SUCH PRINCIPLES, AND ORGANIZING ITS POWERS IN SUCH FORM, AS TO THEM SHALL SEEM MOST LIKELY TO EFFECT THEIR SAFETY AND HAPPINESS.
3. GOVERNMENTS EXIST TO SECURE OUR RIGHTS; THE PEOPLE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN LEADERS; THE PEOPLE ARE SOVEREIGN; CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED IS A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE - THESE ARE THE FOUNDING IDEAS THAT SET OUR NATION ON A COURSE THAT HAS LED TO THE GREATEST SUCCESS STORY THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN.
4. OUR FOUNDING FATHERS BELIEVED THAT SOME THINGS WERE WORTH FIGHTING FOR. 232 YEARS LATER, WE STILL BELIEVE THAT OUR RIGHTS AND OUR LIBERTIES MUST BE DEFENDED. OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE 232 YEARS, THIS NATION HAS FOUND, TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THAT HER CITIZENS WERE WILLING TO STEP FORWARD AND ANSWER THE CALL OF DUTY TO DEFEND THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY AS SET FORTH IN OUR FOUNDING DOCUMENT. THIS FOURTH OF JULY, LET US TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON THE MEANING OF OUR INDEPENDENCE, AND ON WHAT IS REQUIRED TO PRESERVE IT. I SALUTE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE AND SERVICE, AND EXTEND MY SINCERE THANKS TO YOUR FAMILIES AS WELL, WHOSE STRONG SUPPORT IS CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS. YOUR DEDICATION TO DUTY MAKES OUR FREEDOM POSSIBLE, AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR NOBLE EFFORTS TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY SAFE, PARTICULARLY NOW DURING THIS TIME OF PERIL. YOU ARE WORTHY HEIRS TO THE PATRIOTS WHO FOUGHT FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE IN 1776, AND I AM HONORED TO SERVE YOU AS YOUR SECRETARY.
5. RELEASED BY THE HONORABLE DONALD C. WINTER, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

Party Time

For the last few nights, which included our one weekend day, we were able to relax somewhat and engage in some party time. Thursday night we honored King Juan Carlos of Spain and witnessed some Karaoke on the camp, a common Thursday night occurrence. Some of it was actually good. Seeing an old Belgian sing La Bamba and John Denver is one sight, I’ll tell you that much. Friday night was the Croatian Independence Day celebration. I learned a bit about the country and had a spicy beef soup cooked in a huge, traditional, cast-iron vessel on an open fire which was unbelievable. They also served us a couple free beers. Nice guys, the Croats.

Speaking of Belgians, I was invited to the farewell of Chris, the senior Belgian on camp at their National House. There was wine and beer and a wide assortment of cheese and fruit – a very well done little party. After that a few of us hard-chargers in the directorate, meaning us guys in our mid-40’s, settled into a classic movie sent to me by my friends Lynne and Mike. Was it one of the Bogie and Bacall movies they sent me? Not this time, it was Blazing Saddles. Yes, the classic lives and is remembered by those of us still able to enjoy the humor of the great Mel Brooks. We had some chips and dip and laughed harder than we have in a while. It really takes one’s mind off things going on a few hundred yards away.

I’ve prepared for my brief and all is secure for the evening.

Romania!

The Romanians defeated the mighty Macedonians in the Base Euro Cup Football Finals 5-2, a game much closer than the score would indicate. The Macedonians, generally considered the base brutes, fielded a team indicative of their reputation – big, intimidating players. As their job here is force protection meaning they are the ones going out on patrols outside the base and district, I am happy to have them as they are. The Romanian team was a much smaller, speedy, finesse team. Before the game both teams lined up in centerfield and both anthems were played. Supporters joined in the singing, much national pride on both sides. I don’t know anything about soccer, but I could tell these guys knew what they were doing. A number of fights broke out for which the players get two minutes similar to hockey. I know why the field is surrounded by a cage; the throngs would have had no problem storming the field at any point. Hundreds turned out for the match and, in the end, it was a positive experience save the few fans who wanted to kill the ref. I am reasonably sure that is the first soccer game I have seen in my life from start to finish. I think the next season starts tomorrow, these guys don't let up.

Other than that, not much news on the base front and that is a good thing.

Busy Days

It has been the busiest few days for me as our general remains away, our deputy is new, and there are many other new people around looking for information. I just got out of a meeting at around 2000 this evening with the Chief of Staff. He is the German general who participated in my promotion ceremony. He wanted to talk over some issues with me personally (and that means in person) about our directorate that he will relay to the Commander tomorrow. It's always nice to meet with him. (Few will get the movie reference, except my Dad).

One of the big things on our camp right now is our own version of the Euro Cup in soccer. The Macedonians just laid waste to the Turks and made it to the finals. The area went wild like it was the Superbowl, the release of tension is phenomenal. I think the Romanians are in the other semi-final tomorrow. I think I'll be pulling for them. It's all good for morale.

My friend Bob goes on his leave tonight. He was married four days before deploying, third wife I think, but not all on this deployment. He is Canadian and from Kingston, not too far, maybe four hours from Lake George. I'll look forward to seeing him again some time after this is all over. My friend Greg (Paris) starts his leave back home today. He'll return though as he has a longer tour than me. We missed each other on his way out, perhaps there will be another chance when he returns. I wish them both safety during their travel.

School is ending back home, I think today was graduation. I'll miss this class a whole lot, so many good kids. Perhaps they will come back to visit next year. Some have told me they will.

Big Brief(s)

So the highlight of today and what will be one of the highlights of my tour was briefing DSACEUR. Our general is on travel and the responsibility or perhaps honor fell to me to take care of this one. We always speak in acronyms and DSACEUR translates to Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. So he, a British General, is the number two guy of the most powerful alliance ever assembled. His boss is SACEUR - in WWII that was Gen Eisenhower. Doubtful I’ll ever be in a room again with someone at that level with so few others around. He requested a talk with our small directorate and came down to see us in our little world with just his two assistants. One hell of an experience. We did not just provide him with some basic information on what we do; we addressed significant concerns we have that someone at his level needs to help solve. He was extremely receptive and I think we got through on a number of items that will have long-term significance in this theatre. In addition, yesterday and today I had to meet with our force head of operations (one of our generals) and hold our ground on a few issues. I hope what I’ve done makes a difference. Time will tell, but I do feel a twinge of success.

Paul and I along with a couple others relaxed as usual on a Thursday night, our one “weekend” night with a couple beers and a cigar. I hope to get a good night’s sleep and that Aaron feels better back home. It was a good day.

Father's Day

So yesterday was Father’s Day. I don’t get into specific days of the year in general for a variety of reasons. Like the man said, “To you it’s Thanksgiving, but to me it’s Thursday.” (That would be Rocky by the way). People here just don’t get too wrapped up in that type of stuff. My first Father’s Day was two years ago and it really wasn’t too different from any other day as strange as that may sound. I think I got the day off from changing diapers or something like that. No, I still changed the diapers.

This year was a tough one though. I haven’t met Alyssa yet, I’ve missed 100% of her life. By the end of this deployment I will have missed over a quarter of Aaron’s life. Both have changed dramatically in multiple ways, physically and socially. It really puts a perspective on things. In the end, taking everything into account, I know it will all be for the best.

Today was a real challenge. Our general left on another trip, the deputy changed hands, which leaves me as the senior staff officer as the one who knows what’s going on. Who dealt this mess? Many operations going on, many things to do, a bit stressful, but we persevere. A big week of events lies ahead.

I was invited to the German National Support Element for a social gathering to see one of their colonels off. He was the director of a very interesting group here, working with psychological operations, the same as the Romanian colonel that I have breakfast with every day. Nice time, great beer. Yes Kathy, I remember the Green Weenie (barely) and the Feva! My Dad might remember some others.

Euro Cup

If you haven’t been following the European sports scene, the Euro Cup is in full swing. It is the pastime talk here. Obviously soccer is what they live for. I am friendly with so many people from all the different countries that I have to be careful of my allegiance. In reality, I don’t care of course, it’s soccer. As you know from early posts, we have a small soccer pitch here. It is in constant use. The games are four on four with a goalie and they are all serious. I know next to nothing about the game, but one can tell, these guys is good. Phenomenal ability. Often the games are pick-up. However, while Euro Cup is going on, the games are televised via satellite and before the game, the countries that are playing against each other in Europe play against each other here. They hang their flags on the wall, wear uniforms and have cheering sections. Like I said, serious stuff. Whoever came up with the idea that we mirror the games in Europe deserves a load of credit. Great for morale.

On Friday my friend Bob and I had a good physical training workout. Bob is an old infantry man and runs one of our branches. He wanted to train so he could go out on patrol with the army here to see how things are going. So we did a fast-paced walk for an hour in our body armor. It was one serious work-out. We walked 5.5 kilometers in the hour in the heat and were proud of ourselves when we finished. We treated ourselves to real breakfast at a café on base (perhaps akin to Rosie’s bar). I had eggs, bacon, toast, fries, and coffee just like I can’t wait to have when I get home.

Today started a tough week for me. I briefed a Japanese delegation that was visiting. They are here to find ways they can help our cause. The form of their assistance is financial, which is something we need. The delegation was made up of some military officers and cabinet members. It was a good experience for me and I’m glad the General assigned me to the job. We’ve got some other events coming up that I’ll write about later.

Everything here is going well.

This and That

I've had and am preparing for a number of high level briefs. My first one to the new Commander was this past Sunday. It went off all right. It's funny who recognizes me now after a promotion who did not before. The only thing that changes is the insignia on the collar. For some reason, people who saw me all the time ask if I am new here. Funny thing about people.

Yesterday we entertained someone from the embassy of a partnership nation who was looking to contribute. So we gave him a few ideas based on the "force building" we work on. I'll deliver a similar brief to another, far away country that is not part of our coalition in a few days. Too bad I don't get to travel to these exotic lands, they come here. It would be win-win if we did it the other way around. One of my co-workers leaves soon for two weeks for a conference in Europe. Thought I had a chance of going, but the General said no way. They will make stops in no less than four countries. I do have a really big brief in less than two weeks that I won't talk about until after it's over, assuming it goes well. I must say, it is interesting and just a different world from what we do back home, working with people from forty different countries under such circumstances.

I understand it is hotter back home than it is here. Schools are closing. It still cools down here at night, the desert will do that. I got to see a lizard scurry across my room floor. He left without too much fanfare.

I did not get to meet the First Lady. She did not stop by our base. The VP didn't either a couple months ago. What is going on? This is a great place to visit! The First Lady did get to meet the New Zealand detachment and they did the traditional war dance for her, very impressive, there were pictures in our Stars and Stripes newspaper. I'm friendly with a NZ Colonel, nice guy, very much like the Aussies, good people.

That's about all for now. My brother's birthday is tomorrow, so a shout-out to him. Stephanie is aware of how old he is. I understand he will be one year older whereas his wife does not age at all. It's a good deal if you can get it.

Promotion Pictures

We'll try to post a couple pictures from the promotion. Looks like I can't control where they go, so I'll just describe them. One is of me being sworn in by MGen Champoux. The other is of me and my friend Tony, a Spanish Marine, who works with me in the directorate. We used the actual pins so we could have a "pinning." The uniform uses the sewn on black patches of eagles like you've seen for the previous rank. One of the Staff Sergeants I know took a lot of pictures and set them to a couple songs for me. It was a real nice thing to do. He's one of the guys who taught me how to play dominoes. Constant laughs.

Jane mentioned the hostile territory. I had to read it twice to see she was talking about the high school. Very hostile territory from what I can gather. Returning back will be interesting to say the least. Why do I get the feeling the war is in South Brunswick and not here?

I remember the Change of Command on the RICHMOND K. TURNER quite well. I'm sure Greg does too over to the East where he is serving now, as well as the others. I wonder if Mr. Critchley is following the blog? As Blake said to me, "You and Mr. Critchley is my favorite officers."

Today is the 6th of June. We'll have a remembrance ceremony at noon today to honor those who fell. With all the countries represented, it will be one to remember.

Change of Command

Today was our Change of Command at ISAF. One four-star general relinquished command to another. It was surely the most impressive military ceremony I have ever attended. Flags of forty countries were represented. One doesn't see that too often. I lost count of the number of generals who were there, well over thirty to be sure. Most impressive, the President of Afghanistan was in attendance. He was one of the speakers of course. When he spoke, he was no more than ten yards from where I was sitting. I won't forget that too soon. Everything went off without a hitch. The coalition and the local security forces were ready for any type of interruption. None occurred. The reception after was a nice touch. Excellent food and cookies. I miss good bakery type cookies so much. They have them at the US camps, but not here. The rigors of war.

We'll spend the next few days and weeks getting used to the new Commander. Change is a fact of life in the military, more so than in other organizations due to the amount of personnel turnover.

Paul and I got to see one of the movies Stacey sent for Father's Day. Low-brow, unrated high school humor. I received another awesome comedy movie from Jeff, which I watched yesterday. Nothing like it over here and few better ways to end the day.

Good Day

My presentation went well for the Commander today, it is the last for this one as he will move on soon. Soon we'll all have to deal with the anxiety, questions, and concerns that come up when a new Commander takes charge.

Today was my promotion day. It went very well. Our Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, a U.S. Major General (two stars) swore me in and it was good ceremony. He spoke a little bit about me and I said a few words. He and the Chief of Staff (a German two-star general) pinned on my new rank. So now it is Captain. When going over my "bio" covering the last twenty-two years for the guests, the General made a point to say that what impressed him most was that I was a teacher. To a man, everyone I've met throughout this deployment is impressed that I'm a teacher and many are inquisitive on how to become a teacher or they want to discuss how they always wanted to be a teacher. They all have questions. I guess that career choice was a good one. We got a lot of pictures taken, I hope people remember to get them to me.

I just returned from the "Wetting Down." This is a traditional gathering sponsored by the promotee (me) to buy his friends and comrades a drink or two. My brothers at Canada House were happy to let us use their deck. We had a wonderful time, some beers, soda, snacks, and a cigar. The weather could not have been better. A good time was had by all.

I skyped the family today. My darling, adorable wife saw me in my new uniform and asked if the new rank insignia I wear in place of the oak leaves were butterflies. I reminded her that they are eagles. She did mail them to me, so I thought she might know. Perhaps the butterfly is the insignia that should be worn to command the utmost respect? Nah.

It's June, we move on.

COIN

COIN is the abbreviation for Counter Insurgency. We are fighting this type of war. We are not in a peace keeping operation as some might have read; rather we are here at the invitation of the government in a support role. My friend and former shipmate Greg who I have mentioned here a number of times recently attended the COIN Academy. I borrowed a number of his words and descriptions below with his permission to describe what COIN is about. I’ve paraphrased to an extent, but Greg’s background in this area exceeds my own.

In counter insurgency, as we practice it today, we take a holistic approach to defeating the enemy. While we still “fight” in the traditional way to defeat the “military” power, we also and probably more importantly build up the governmental infrastructure, educate the people, rebuild/build infrastructure, and train the local military/police. It is thought that an insurgency wins not by military might, but by convincing (negatively or positively) the people that the insurgents are in the right. Our job in counter insurgency is to convince them otherwise. This is the “hearts and minds” issue that gained currency in the Vietnam era.

We do the military/police (or security force) part of that. We try to influence the military to be professional, to undertake its duties with passion and restraint. We also attempt to help them become efficient in their use of resources and develop systems and processes to undertake their mission with skill. More importantly, we are teaching them to be a subordinate tool of a good government and to be a compassionate advocate of the people of Afghanistan. Despite many flaws, the ANA is doing a good job as a whole. Are they up to American standards? No way - but what of our standards - they are American. So as we say, an Afghan solution for an Afghan problem (with a little seasoning by the US and our coalition partners).

We participate in the other parts of the “counter insurgency.” We help build schools, we build water pumps and dig wells to provide safe drinking water (hence the “warriors and well-diggers” moniker). We build and repair roads and many other things. We always try to put an Afghan “face” on the solution so that the people know that it is their government not just ours that is helping.

In summary, we are mentors, leaders, managers, police, counselors, janitors, housekeepers, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, athletes, soldiers, cooks, teachers, sons, daughters, disciplinarians, charity, architects, planners, spiritual leaders, tired, happy, sad, lonely, idealistic, realistic, scared, bold, brave, childish, childlike, immature, confident … all these things, every day and more.

Random Happenings

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a show. Our camp hosted the Canadian equivalent of the USO. The show was incredible; they played a variety of music, mostly country and had a couple comedians. The best Canada had to offer and they did not disappoint. Bob and I had a real good time there along with many others of course. After that I bumped into Carey and Senior for a drink and some laughs. They are both on their way home tomorrow. Tonight we had a game of dominos. I held my own, which is all I can hope for with this crew. I wish them the best.

The weather has been interesting to say the least. Last evening it was actually cold outside. We had hail in the afternoon for two straight days and on and off rain. It cooled things off nicely and kept the dust down. We can see the mountains again if even for a day.

The other day I was needed to ride shotgun for Bob for a trip to the Italian Embassy. I was looking forward to it since it is close and I thought I would be treated to an espresso with a lemon twist and perhaps biscotti. No such luck as they barely let us in the gate. We had to conduct our business in the front gate waiting area. How rude. Of all things, they told us to park in front of the church, so Bob did. I went back to get some paperwork and the Priest chastises me (in Latin of course) because Bob parked in front of the door instead of a few feet over. So I get in trouble with Father Guido Sarducci in the middle of Afghanistan. He was a nice guy though and I asked him to do a berucha for our vehicle and he obliged. We got the job done and returned safely. Our biggest threat on the trip there was the local police. They are so poorly trained, it is downright annoying.

I hope the holiday weekend was good for all. We had a Memorial Day service yesterday, an excellent service, short and to the point, attended by many on camp from many countries. The service was professionally run in every respect. Excellent speakers and statements.

My promotion date finally has been set for June 1. We’ll have a brief ceremony, a swearing in by a US Major General that I asked. I’m receiving a lot of congrats and support from my friends and peers here, nice stuff.

That’s about all I have time for right now. They’ll be more to share in the coming days.

After Dinner Conversation

First, what great comments on the Memorial Day post. I had no idea Karen’s father had such a military record. We’ll all take time this Monday to remember…

Thursday night after dinner I treated my Canadian brothers to some beer in celebration of Alyssa’s arrival. As it turns out, I spent the evening talking to my friend and coworker Bob, whom I have mentioned here before, and Eddie. That is Eddie Staniowski. Those of you who followed NHL hockey in the 70s and 80s may remember him as a goalie. He spent ten years in the NHL and joined the Canadian Army after his career. I recently found out that Bob also spent a year as a professional hockey player having one game in the NHL. So, in Kabul, I had great conversation with two hockey pros. They are amazing guys. We talked a lot about military history and strategy and these guys run circles around me with their knowledge. They could skate circles around me as well. Eddie impressed me with his reasons for wanting to be here. One of them was because there were people like us there. He looked at Bob and me and said if there is one other soldier here, he’s on his way to help out.

Tonight I was invited by my friends in the Long Range Plans directorate (the 5 shop for you military folks) to have a cigar in honor of Alyssa. I also brought a box of handmade cookies that I just received today from my friends Nancy and Billy in Pennsylvania. There were around twelve of us out in the gardens enjoying a cigar, cookies, and conversation after dinner. It’s the type of evening that places your mind somewhere else, the type of evening during a deployment that you’ll think about years later. As one of us remarked afterwards, “It was nice to get out of Kabul for an hour.” We shared a lot of stories, insulted our seniors behind their back, remembered people long gone, and for a time forged the relationships that you read about in history books or see in movies. I suppose I am a part of that history now. You will never read any of our names anywhere, but you’ll hear about us just the same. What made tonight different than the times I’ve spent with shipmates long ago or my friends from Combat Training more recently is that the twelve or thirteen tonight were from nine different nations. Nine. You’d never know it except for the uniforms. In the weeks and months to come, we’ll all rotate out, put the war behind us, and most likely not see each other again. But tonight I’ll never forget.

This story shall the good man teach his son…

SECNAV MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE TO THE FLEET

1. SINCE MAY 30, 1868, WHEN FLOWERS WERE PLACED ONTHE GRAVES OF UNION AND CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, AMERICANS HAVE SET ASIDE A DAY IN MAY TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE DIED IN OUR NATIONS SERVICE. THOSE WHO HAVE PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE EARNED OUR GRATITUDE, AND A DAY OF HONOR IN THEIR REMEMBRANCE.

2. OUR LIBERTIES WERE HARD-WON ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. THE SIGNERS OF OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE PLEDGED TO EACH OTHER THEIR LIVES, THEIR FORTUNES, AND THEIR SACRED HONOR. THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT NATIONS MUST FIGHT FOR THEIR FREEDOM - AND THAT FREEDOM, ONCE ACHIEVED, MUST BE DEFENDED. ON THIS DAY OF SOLEMN TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN THEIR ETERNAL REWARD WHILE DEFENDING THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS, LET US RESOLVE TO BE WORTHY OF THEIR SACRIFICE, AND LET US HONOR THOSE WHO HAVE SACRIFICED SO MUCH TO PRESERVE THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY THAT WE CLAIM AS OUR BIRTHRIGHT.

3. RELEASED BY THE HONORABLE DONALD C. WINTER, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

Adjustments

Alyssa and Stacey came home yesterday. I understand it was very rough, especially on Aaron. He has been doing all right, but under a lot of stress as he doesn’t understand everything. He had to spend two nights away from his own house and had a tough time going to school yesterday. He’s getting better though. He has been tolerant of ‘Lyssa so far. I spoke with him today and that went well. Alyssa is a little angel just like her brother was and doesn’t cry too much, just when she is getting changed because it is cold. She only woke Stacey up once last night to get fed, what a sweetheart.

Work here is moving along. I don’t hear about things that happen here in the news back home. Apparently, if it doesn’t happen in Iraq, the media ignores it. Everyone understands the picture painted by our lovely media has little to do with the whole picture. On a positive note, yesterday, May 19 marked my 22nd commissioning anniversary. That means a “step” pay raise, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

Thanks for the email everyone. I received a couple from my former students as well, very nice. I am planning some blog posts that are not baby or home related, they will deal with some issues we have over here that I hope will be of interest to you all. So, stay tuned.

Alyssa Caylin

17 May 2008
13:49
6lb 11oz

Stacey just made it to the hospital and didn’t even have time for an epidural – au naturale. We are very proud of her! They arrived at the hospital and Alyssa arrived about 20 mintues later. I was on the phone during the delivery because I called. They were unable to get the web portal set up in time. I did get a quick look of her as the portal was set up a bit later and I hope to see her again when they get a room assigned. In the meantime, the baby needs to get measured and have a check up.

Parade and Birthday

Once a month we have a medal parade for awarding of the NATO ISAF Medal. This month it was my turn to be a part of it, it actually occurred a few days ago. We have around six lines of a lot of personnel each standing at attention and one of six generals pins on your medal after a short ceremony. By luck of the draw The Commander, himself, happened to pin mine on. I brief him once a week and he sees me around other times and still calls me, “sailor.” I don’t think he has to deal with too many naval officers here. The other generals who know me use my first name. It’s a nice looking medal, adds to the fruit salad. And I love the color.

As you all know, today is my birthday (for those of you keeping track like Stephanie, I am 44) and it has been a great one so far. First, I feel a lot better, still a little weak, but doing well. I got all my work done and got a haircut from our usual Afghan barber. He speaks no English, but somehow the haircut goes through all right or so we're told. I saw our Deputy (the boss) this morning and he said hello and the usual. Then before he went off to a meeting, he said he needed to see me in his office at 1000. I was a little nervous about what it could be, always thinking what it was he found that I screwed up and wasn’t able to hide. So, the Military Assistant comes in to tell me he is ready to see me now and I go in. When I open the door, the whole directorate is in there for a surprise party! I was floored. They had a real cake made and everything. One of our people, Lisa, had it ordered and had to get into her armor and helmet to go pick it up. That’s dedication. So I had a lot of people wishing me a Happy Birthday today, which made me feel great. I also received many emails from friends and family. I received a very original e-card from Cara – thanks so much! I know some of you said you mailed cards and packages. It may be a few days, but they’ll get here and I’ll let you know I received them. Still waiting on the one big delivery back home, but we have plenty of time.

I am off to Canada House for the first time in a while. Bob has invited me to their BBQ and perhaps I'll be able to have a beer. Thanks to everyone for making this a great day!

Still Sick

I’m still sick for the third day. I even went to the doctor yesterday. You all know I never do that, but it is conveniently located across the road and it is free, my kind of price. He says I have a virus of some kind. People around here call it the Kabul Virus or the Kabul Krud – usually lasts five-six days although one colonel told me he was useless for the whole month of March. My symptoms are fever, aches, lethargy, difficulty sleeping. I am on Tylenol and ibuprofen simultaneously. I work for a few hours and then lie down and continue that process. Last night I had no dinner and tonight barely anything. My boss told me to leave and go lie down and got mad when I came back, can you imagine? But you know me, I can’t complain.

I just received an incredible birthday package from my sister and her family. I also ordered some books on line as my own birthday present. That’s a bit of a stress reliever. Other than that, the war continues for me with participation on operational planning groups and working groups as well as disseminating some information to people who need it. Life goes on and the countdown to Baby Zimmer reaches ever closer to D-day.

Casino Night

My computer problems are fixed for now. Dell was of no real help. I ended up doing a factory image restore, like I needed Dell to tell me that, spending almost a day downloading all the updates and virus software that I had done over the last five months. Most importantly, I downloaded the software from the hospital and Skype. Let’s hope it works. I still don’t know what the problem was other than it was Vista oriented. I’ve complained to Dell about Vista and suggested they don’t push those sales.

While I wouldn’t call Thursday night a party, the base had a Casino Night to raise money for an orphanage. This was a good cause to say the least. We made donations for play money and for a raffle. Casino games included Blackjack, Let it Ride, and Roulette. There was also a horseracing track set up using dice to move the ponies along (we had a problem in the 7th). At the end of the night we could use our play money in an auction for a wide range of items. Some people won a load of money and could bid on things like carpets. I ended up with a nice brass lamp, quite decorative.

I and a Brit had a load of fun at blackjack. After showing the dealer a few techniques, we were off and running. We both came out ahead. The best story though was when I went to the roulette table near the end of the evening. My friend Bob was running part of it. I was only there for a few spins, but hit two numbers straight up as well as some color. Naturally, I bet 22 Black first and hit it. I kept money on 22 of course, but then bet Aaron’s birthday, 28 Black. I hit that right after. The crowd went wild, both of us. I then tried Stacey’s birthday, but my luck had just run out. At least I was poised for the auction and did not go away empty-handed. The Taliband played during the evening. Their time is coming to a close as three key members are moving on. Perhaps there will be others to take their place.

Still lots to do around here, many plans going on. Needless to say, I am preoccupied with our great expectation on her way.

Computer Problems Continue

My computer is still down hard. Many hours already spent with Dell and performing useless tests. I've had a few people offer me their computers so I can use the web portal for the delivery. I'll have to download software to do that, which I'll have to get on top of tonight. Additionally, the base is going through some access upgrades, which is good, but we lose connectivity for a day or days. Timing could not have been worse. After all the trouble my mother-in-law went through to set all this up, it will be a shame if I can't connect.

Not too many highlights of the past week. Our Deputy Director returned, but the General leaves again soon, so it's a wash for my time, not much will change. During lunch the other day we had the Jazz Band of the Army Airborne come over to play for a little while. They were very good, a band of six - drums, sax, tuba, trombone, clarinet, and trumpet. A nice distraction for a 45 minutes.

I had to switch rooms again, never a fun time. I am on my third room on base and am well into double-digits for different rooms (or places to sleep) since this deployment started. I'll look forward to not living out of a seabag. I have around 13 weeks before I'll be home if all goes as scheduled.

That's about all for now. Hopefully, I'll be up on my own computer at some point.

Packages and Queen's Day

When I went to the post office (a room with shelves, a couple filing cabinets, and lots of boxes) yesterday to pick up packages, I was told I would need the hand truck. That is good news! I received two larges boxes – one from Operation Shoebox in New Jersey and one from my friends at SBHS. This is the third package I received from Operation Shoebox. My name was put in by a friend of ours and students in Scotch Plains are really keeping us happy. I was able to hand out individual boxes to people in the office and it was like Christmas, so I’m told. We had enough stuff to fix up a package for Canada House, my Thursday night place to be. My Canadian friends, Paul and Bob, were quick to point out that they and other countries do not have the support via letters and care packages that we get from our citizens. If you have been following my posts, you know how important our support from home is. It is warming to know that people back home are thinking about us, even people we have never met.

My package from SBHS not only had lots of goodies, but a number of paper-products. Apparently, I have been forwarded a number of biology and chemistry papers to grade, there was even a calculus sheet in there; don’t know what’s up with that. Anyway, you shouldn’t expect them back anytime soon, or anytime at all. There were some memos that I promptly ignored, just like if I was back home. There were also some filled-out disciplinary forms on some people and I am still laughing about those. They will be routed up to the appropriate people. I may even submit the pay voucher for my time. Many thanks to all who had a hand in getting the package to me. Along with regular packages from my sister and other friends, we have set up quite a site in our office for sharing of food and other sundries.

On April 30 we celebrated the Dutch National Day, Queen’s Day. They honour their Queen, Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange. It’s an interesting history, which I won’t get into now, but you should look up if so inclined. They decorated our garden area in orange and built some structures for traditional games. The Taliband played, Dutch food was served, and it was a fun evening. They worked harder on this national day than any others I have witnessed thus far.

I was able to Skype with Stacey and Aaron today and that makes any day perfect. Aaron talked to me more than usual. My partial day-off ended sharing some beers with my Canadian brothers. Another week down, another week begins.

What I Don't Do

Lately I’m thinking about what I do here. The three jobs I have been doing are my own and that of my staff officer and the Deputy Director as they are on leave. It's not too bad, I am surviving of course. The last few days I’ve covered a number of meetings for the General as well since he has other responsibilities. Many were interesting, but for the most part they are boring, more of the same. Today it was even more clear that not all the countries in our coalition contribute the same amount. Some come with caveats that state they can’t engage the enemy. Can you believe it? We’ll talk about them when I get back. Working with all the countries that we do, I and my colleagues have developed some really good stereotypes about them.

One caveat about the news everyone. Our Commander gets misquoted all the time, even by "friendly" countries. They even give him quotes of things he never came close to saying. Point is the media has been an enemy in many cases.

As I’ve mentioned, I work about 6.5 days a week. I usually get in around 0715 and leave around 1800 for dinner. So I do have the evenings off, usually. Also during the day there is downtime. I have time to do some exercise, listen to my I-pod and spend time on the computer. Email takes a while due to the connection speed, but I like to watch movies as you know. I save a lot of time here by all the things I don’t have to do that I would normally do at home. Here is a partial list of what I don’t do: work on the house, clean the house, fix stuff, cook, clean up after dinner, watch TV shows, shop for food, drive, get gas, change the oil, care for the baby, change the baby, play with the baby, take the baby to the doctor, talk to my wife, solve all the problems, pay bills, shovel snow, pick out clothes, do laundry, fold laundry, go to the dry cleaners, pick out furniture, watch TV shows, visit people, visit relatives, call the handyman, ride my bicycle, go to kid’s parties, waterski (ended when I got married actually), and the list goes on. What this means is that in spite of what little contribution I had in some of these things, Stacey has had to pick up the slack along with some friends and relatives who are extremely giving people. It really puts a perspective on things. Yes, too much, too much ******* perspective.

A big Happy Birthday goes out to Sami who had a great time last weekend at Aaron’s birthday party for his friends. I am looking forward to the video.

ANZAC and Orthodox Easter

Some days just end well. I got some good news today, figured out some news today, did some good work today, the Steelers has a good draft so far, and I was invited to the Orthodox Easter celebration. Who knows what tomorrow brings, so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. Romanians, Greeks, Macedonians, and Bulgarians observe this Easter, which by the way coincides better with Passover than our traditional Easter. The Romanian Colonel who I eat breakfast with every morning is the senior man in the lot and he invited me. Outstanding BBQ chicken, pork, and steak marked the occasion along with beer and wine. How could one go wrong?

On Friday we celebrated ANZAC Day. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps. The day likens to our Veteran’s Day. I attended the BBQ that all were invited to for lunch. There were a couple games to be played and a good time was had by all. I sampled Emu and Kangaroo jerky, adding to the long list of meats I’ve eaten that will shorten my lifespan. There was a sunrise wreath-laying ceremony at approximately 0430 followed by breakfast. I seemed to have missed that one. One interesting note is the day coincides with the Battle at Gallipoli. If you remember the movie, the Australians were crushed by the Turks. The Aussies won the war, but the battle…not so much. Of course the Turks were there too, which seemed strange, but we are all on the same team now, so what the hay.

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty celebrating holidays when we have comrades, to the south especially, who are under constant fire. Having no days off, these short excursions though, usually lasting an hour or two, renew our energy and give us something to look forward to. Even in WWII or was it I, there was that famous Christmas where opposing forces met that night in friendship before going to battle with each other the next morning. Sean? Everyone needs a break.

You may have heard some things on the news about our area today. No worries, no problems, we are all fine. After all, we had to have the Easter celebration today.

One other note, today marks week 37 for Stacey. That means the baby has reached full-term by definition. I for one am quite relieved.

Halfway Point

Yesterday marked the halfway point of my deployment. As I think I’ve said, the days are like weeks, but the weeks are like days. I suppose it has gone fast, but the days do drag. Some use counters on their computers to tell them how much they've done or how much there is to go. You can measure in any time unit or percent. I'm not into that so much. However, I am pushing the 10 million second mark. Not bad. I received a couple emails from friends who sat with Aaron lately. Naturally, I like hearing what he does. He is really into his kitchen, but has also liked being outside and playing, also driving his car.

The other day I rode out to the Training Center to drop one of our people in our directorate off to work out there for a couple days. They were short one person for force protection, so they came to me to ride shotgun, literally. We dressed out and went on our way. We nicknamed the lieutenant who drove, “Combat.” He’s from Texas and always ready to go. Since I only carry a handgun, he had to lend me his long rifle. He was driving, so didn’t need it. You wouldn’t believe the driving conditions here. No lights, signs, lines, but lots of cars and pedestrians (I think I mentioned that already). He drives quite well, I only felt like vomiting a few times (just kidding). We arrived in good order and moved to a small section of the training center run by the US. This was first thing in the morning and we were on a US run base, so we both immediately thought of food. Any change in culinary style is welcomed and we miss American food a great deal. I actually got to have real bacon. Chase (Combat’s real name) filled his pockets with goodies such as energy bars, chips, and beef jerky. I took a Gatorade and chips (which I also miss) and the two of us were on our way back. We took the scenic route, literally, partly because the main road was too crowded on the way back and that is not safe. Kids on the side of the road waved to us, the weather was good, and we got back in one piece not that there was any doubt. It was a standard drive.

Some Reflection

I was just emailing a couple good friends on some things. These are the kind of guys who take care of business for you when you need. You could call them in the middle of the night and they would jump in a car and come over, just to replenish your beer inventory. Seriously though, they stand by you when times are dark. When I think of what I do in life, I think of friends like these and hope that everyone has friends such as this. I am so fortunate to have others as well. There are reasons I am where I am and I am a believer that everything happens for a reason. I haven’t figured out why the Pirates are headed for their sixteenth losing season in a row, but the answers will reveal themselves in time. I also think of the reverse. I think about what we have at home and what people have here. I think of the opportunity we have and then I think of those who don’t realize why they have the opportunity. Not only are there people who do not appreciate what they have, they actually bite the hand that feeds them. I want people to appreciate our service members more than they do. My wife knows that many places I go I look for military discounts. Believe it or not, I don’t do it for the small savings. I do it to see what organizations try to thank us. Tomorrow is April 24 and as far as I know that date is of no special consequence, save a few birthdays. Perhaps it's a good day to thank someone, anyone, who helped you get where you are. However, it can’t be me. There are others who do far more for you than me. Besides, you all thank me just by reading this blog. I thank the two friends I mentioned above.

… Because I only email them about once a month, let me point out some of the people who provide for us – my old friends – the Commanders of Club 3916. A few days ago, marking our second month in theatre, a group of us emailed back and forth, mostly jokes, but an important break to understand that even though most of us won’t see each other again, we know we’re out there doing the work we need to that will ensure our friends’ and families’ future. Doug emails a Farside. Bruce just got selected for Captain. Mark R ran a great phone-scam on Buck and Mark H got me some info from back home. We met in January and by February we knew each other forever.

Passover in the Stan

This beats the Seder I had in Cuba back in 1990. Tonight, I attended a traditional Seder in an apartment at the US Embassy. There were 22 of us, four from the military. The rest were civilians who work in various departments on the Embassy compound, nice group. It was just like being home. They had a large fold-out table that spanned the entire living/dining area of this one-bedroom apartment. Through various benefactors, food was flown in from the States and everything was authentic. The horseradish was the best I have ever had or at least can remember. The woman who hosted made the charosses and another woman made about 20 pounds of brisket. Soup was delicious. It was unbelievable.

My friend Alec attended, good to see him again. The service part was less than an hour and included some discussion about some of the traditions and we asked questions of each other. I was able to explain more than I realized even to the more religiously observant. Not bad. One of the gentlemen there is Macedonian. There are around 2.2 million people from Macedonia. He is one of the 234 Jews from that country. Wow! He told me there were 236, but two just moved to Israel. That beats the wow-factor that our friend Erika is Jewish and Mexican. One of the military guys is a doctor (and I mean a doctor a doctor) from our base named Marc Goldberg. What a place.

It was good to get off the base for a bit and to do something that was completely unrelated to this place.

Happy Anniversary

Today, my brother and sister-in-law have been married 25 years. Quite an accomplishment, no need to go into details as to why.

I spent the evening at Canada House watching Pulp Fiction. Paul had the idea we should watch it and there wasn't an empty seat, far better entertainment than what they usually have or so I'm told. At $2 a beer, can't be beat in these parts. They're thinking of raising the price. I may have to find some friends in another country if that happens.

So a few of us in the directorate got into a discussion after the movie about who the real warfighters are out here. As I think I've said, almost forty countries are represented overall. Most are not going into battle although they do their jobs of course. It's a dangerous business, going out your front door (I think Bilbo said that one). We have many forces throughout this country and the three nations that far and away carry the burden are the US, Canada, and the UK. Perhaps you are reading in the news that most of the fighting is in the South. Canada runs the show down there and they do a great job, we couldn't have success without them. Two of the smaller countries that stand out in their work are Croatia and Latvia. There are others, just thought that would be of interest.

Mail has taken a bit of a turn. We had a great system. I was getting packages in about six days. The contractor for our delivery though was released for some undisclosed reason. It may have been for delivering the mail consistently every day knowing how a certain group makes some decisions around here. So we have a new contract, but only get mail delivered every few days. We'll weather the storm, as if we have a choice.

All else is on track. A Happy Birthday goes out to Cara and a thank you to Mark R's mom for sending me a card and emailing. Oh, and we're one month away from the big day that Aaron gets a playmate.

Fitting In

The other night I was invited to play dominoes with some of the guys. It was a fun evening. They gave me the courtesy of showing me how to play, which was unexpected. As one said, “If we teach ya, we can’t beat ya.” The strategy runs far deeper than I expected and the challenges were abundant. Oh by the way, dominoes with this crew is a full-contact sport. The language would make a sailor blush, just not this one. I gave as good as I got. By all accounts, I did well for a beginner and am looking forward to future invitations. Good crew they are.

Work progresses naturally, a few tough tasks, but nothing too bad. Our Deputy Director started his leave yesterday, so for the next three weeks I’ll be the Acting. Additionally, one of my staff officers starts his leave in just over a week so I’ll have to cover for him as well. I’m about to notify my union. Every country (I think) gets a two-three week leave period for a six month deployment except for us. Personally, I think the leave should be eliminated for a six month tour, but no one is asking me. It’s a national decision.

I’m watching this movie last night and a great line comes up. Feel free to guess the movie and the author.

“War educates the senses, calls into action the will, perfects the physical constitution, brings men into such swift and close collision in critical moments that man measures man.”

Hope all your taxes got done. Accountant's three and a half months of work are over, now they start their eight month vacation. At least one I know does. Maybe the two week military leave is a good idea after all.

North Country

I returned back to HQ yesterday. For Boris, our HQ is in capital district right near the US Embassy if that helps. I’ll have to hit just the highlights and I expect this post to be long anyway. We convoyed to the airport Tuesday morning. Five of us were on this trip, all Dutch except for me: our General, two security personnel, and our Sergeant Major, a good group to travel with. Our plane left the airport on time … two hours late. We flew on a German C-160, much like our C-130 only smaller. We flew to the northern region. The country up there is considerably different from here. The economy is booming by this country’s standards. There seems to be a night life and all the stores are well stocked. I even saw a computer store with a top-of-the-line abacus. The air is cleaner, the geography similar in this case. The base we stayed at the first night is designed, built, maintained, and operated by the Germans. I have rarely seen a better base anywhere, certainly not in this country. It is clean, well built, and our accommodations were first class. Nothing like this base. The Germans know what they are doing in my opinion. We made a few visits out to some commands in the area – the purpose of our trip – and I learned a lot about the local army and their training. One of our stops was to watch one of their training centers in action (the equivalent of our boot camps). They are training well. As usual, I see children all over and feel for their plight. They all wave to us and give us the “thumbs up.” No question we are welcomed.

The General and I attended a Protocol Dinner that night. I was hoping for traditional German food, but no such luck. The dinner was the best I had while deployed though. Good conversation. I spoke with a number of different people including the Commanding General who will become a grandfather about the time my baby is born. I also spoke at length with the Deputy Commander who is from Norway. Very interesting and it prepared me for our trip the next day to a remote forward operating base in the region.

So we flew the next morning to the western part of the northern region. The geography changed a bit with smaller mountains, rounded, mostly sand covered. The base we stayed at this time is built and run by the Norwegians. There is also a Latvian contingent there. I was the only American. (Note to self: the Norwegian and Latvian armed forces have very attractive women serving, good thing I am married. As if.) This base was also immaculate with excellent facilities. However, they are overcrowded, so four of us slept in a tent, which was fine. The restroom/shower facilities were top-notch (my metric for a professional base). We travelled out to another forward operating base that we use to help mentor and train the army. Both of these places gave me a true feeling about what it means to be out in the middle of nowhere. Really in the middle of nowhere. At night we returned to the Norwegian base. I took a walk around after dinner when no one was out. Cold, dark, and quiet. Behind a stone/concrete wall with some razor wire, you are very alone.

We had time to socialize and it so happens on Wednesday nights they have a Norwegian tradition, “The Quiz.” This is a trivia competition open to all and prizes are awarded (more later). During dinner, of all things, I had to defend American whiskey. I was asked, “What do you Americans use for drinkin' whiskey?” I replied, “Drinkin' whiskey.” I then had to defend American whiskey on a Norwegian base to a Dutch general in Afghanistan. The kicker is the base is dry, so all we had later were a few cans of Beck’s non-alcoholic beer. So on to the quiz. It varies each week I’m told depending on who makes it up. This week mostly consisted of showing pictures of people who you had to ID and music where you identified the song and artist. We came in third, a good show I would say. Most of us couldn’t guess the recent music, so that was it. Of special note, while I got the answers for musicians like the Beach Boys and Kenny Rogers, our general got the answers for Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. I’m not joking and I couldn’t stop laughing. He explained that was his era. Kathy would be proud; he would do well in Amped Up.

They usually serve waffles Wednesday night as it is traditional, but they didn’t make them this time. My loss. Apparently, they are too sweet for breakfast in Norway. They eat them with either jam or goat cheese. I’ll stick with the syrup I suppose.

We flew back the next day without incident. The airstrip out in this remote place is just a long line of dirt. When our plane was coming in, our escorts decided it would be a good time to drive us on the airstrip (they didn’t know the plane was coming). So, the plane had to divert and make another approach. That was interesting. This time we flew a Fokker 50, commuter plane, and we even got a cup of coffee.

For the trip, I saw at least five more insects I never saw before. Jeff would have liked that part I suppose. I never saw so many sand flies (or whatever they are) before. I’ll have to cut this off now, I hope I’ve given the overall feel for the last few days. I’m sure I’ll remember more soon enough.

P.S. Anyone know the movie that had the drinkin' whiskey lines so Bill doesn't go nuts?

I Feel the Earth Move

Looks like I can add earthquake tremors to my list of real-life environmental experiences. On Thursday, my friend Paul (Canadian guy) and I were having some coffee on the second floor outdoor patio of a building when my cup started rattling. Looking around, we didn’t see any of the things that might make my cup, or as we realized, the building rattle. We laughed it off. Later that night at Canada House, the same time as the Budweiser incident, we all felt the building move a little more. With no way to tune into a TV or radio to check it (even if we did we don’t speak Dari or Pashto), we were left to our own conclusions and certainly no knowledge of a Richter measurement. We already know this area is known for seismic activity and would feel cheated if we didn’t have some now and then. On another environmental note, it rained all day yesterday, which made today one incredibly clear day. The rain cleaned out much of the dust (particulate matter) in the air, known as rain-out. The detail in the mountains was more than noticeable compared to normal days.

I had a good day today providing a lot of information about the army to other directorates that need it. Apparently, the spreadsheet and analysis I put together is useful for many of the plans and operations going on. Tomorrow’s another day. I’ll have my standard briefing to the Commander and many others and then follow it up with a more detailed briefing to the Chief-of-Staff and around 6-8 other generals. Good times.

My friend Jeff, one of the Afghan 5, recently emailed me a picture (see below) he took of me before our last training convoy in Kuwait. It is before dawn, that’s our humvee in the background, and we haven’t showered or shaved in two days. Actually, our showers consisted of excessive use of baby wipes. I am wearing the Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) that you see in the papers and I have referred to before. We wear it every time we leave base and on flights in country. One gets used to it.

Comments Reply, Etc.

What a great story by Grandfather and it's amazing I really never heard it before, go figure. I'm responding to comments since I don't have enough cool stuff for a new post yet. I have been busier than ever and will be for some time, probably the rest of the way.

Boris and Natasha, taking time away from getting moose and squirrel to drop a post, awesome. We run around our extremely small base. There is a paved square of road that isn’t too large - these are my kind of laps. I run for a time not a distance since I don’t really know the distance. We can make the run feel like cross country by running on the unpaved portions of the base including some gravel and dirt, but it hurts don’t ya know. We should use our running for niceness instead of evil.

I don't think you'll swing the drug trade with a couple t-shirts Terry, but there are people who would plotz if they knew some stuff I teach about sending aid to developing nations from an environmental perspective.

I spent about an hour or so in Canada House tonight at the invitation of one of the guys I work with. We are about the same age. Canada House is what they call their building that houses their National Support Element. The buildings generally have administrative rooms downstairs and a social room upstairs. We have one, but people don’t socialize there as we are not that tight here as a nation. We use it for the phones, Internet connection, and a bit of TV. They have a party every night, very nice group, the Army of the West. There are a few reasons the US doesn’t bond like the other countries here. One is we are too large in numbers and another is the guy who runs our support element is a piece of work. Our place doesn’t even have a cool name like Canada House, maybe we should use theirs.

I didn’t mention my brief yesterday. During what we call a pre-brief or rehearsal before the Commander comes in, one of the generals really gave it to me on some trivial stuff. The more experienced guys who do this every day spoke to me after and said I handled it well and that he goes after everyone sooner or later. Well, I got the reputation you would all expect. My general reassured me not to be concerned about that guy and that he’s the only one I need to worry about. Such relief. The best validation was that the Commander liked the presentation exactly how I presented it and it was the information he wanted. All's well until the next battle, which is about daily.

Ireland Day

Last night, Thursday, we were treated by our Irish comrades to a barbeque in honor of their national day/St. Patrick’s Day. We had to delay it until then due to scheduling conflicts. They served beer, steak, chicken, sides, and had Irish coffee available for dessert along with a nice cake. Held outside in a nice courtyard by any standard, it was quite well done and the best attended event I’ve been to since my arrival. The group of friends I was with had a wonderful time and shared many laughs. I wish Sean could have been here for it, but the travel to and from would have been a real challenge.

Along with dessert we were regaled with a performance by our camp musical group – The Tali Band. They played all Irish music of course and are led by a British General who plays a number of string instruments and sings. Not bad at all. As a hobby, they tour the area bases when they can and play a variety of music.

After being a little sick last night (the Irish coffee perhaps), I had a relaxing day that included a run and a jaunt in the bazaar. My Friday/day off has come to an end. Another week lies ahead, but another week closer to home.

Dinner Conversation

When a bunch of military guys get together to eat three times a day, the conversation can range from philosophical and intelligent all the way down to pure bathroom humor. Here is part of a conversation, verbatim, I had with Carey tonight. A 6'4'' 275 lb black guy from Tennessee, he is in one of the bazaar pictures posted earlier.

Carey: Where are the Three Stooges from?
Ithan: I don't know for sure. I do know that they are Jewish.
Carey: No! Really? All of them?
Ithan: Yep.
Carey: That's meshuge.

Good thing I wasn't drinking milk at the time. That was the intelligent part of our conversation, it went downhill from there. To balance it all out, we're going to watch a Dolemite film in the theatre tonight.

I had the opportunity to sit in for our General yesterday as he was stuck in another city with no flights available. As our story goes, you may remember our deputy was stuck as well in a different city. Interesting sitting in at meetings with a bunch of one and two star generals around. Believe it or not, they didn't look to me too much for comment. I almost had my first high visibility media conference today since neither of them was available. It would have been me and a two star being asked questions by a group of European journalists who were not expected to be too friendly. In a solid example of diplomacy and raw common sense, they cancelled my part. Another international incident avoided.

Easter's Past

And what would Easter be without chocolate bunnies? Well absolutely nothing to me. So, I had a lot of chocolate and some jelly beans, not to mention a few peeps for tradition sake. They put together a special lunch in the dining facility. We had a choice of steak or fish (I had the lasagna) and a huge dessert selection. When we left, there was a goodie bag with a small chocolate bunny and some chocolate eggs. My kind of holiday.

I have been covering for the deputy director for the past four days while he is on a trip to one of the other cities. Nothing has come up, which should give you a good idea about the difficulty of that job. Or perhaps he is going to face a world of hurt when he gets back, can’t wait to find out.

I thought the cashews my sister sent weren’t going to make it through the weekend. I was wrong; they barely made it 24 hours. Around 2.5 pounds of cashews gone - what a treat.

I usually have breakfast with a Romanian colonel each morning. We talk about a number of things. He forwarded a lot pictures to me that I sent home. Some pictures are of the children here, which are depressing, but even worse to view since I’m here. I can’t get over what they have to look forward to or what they don’t. They will not be posted here at this point, just can’t do it. I was out in a convoy today and saw many kids throughout the city. Some weren’t going to school, but many were. They wore what we would consider rags for clothes, but some had nice little backpacks. The themed pink or blue packs like our kids might have set against the gray and black of their clothes somewhat dazed me. We passed their school quickly and I could not get a long look, but it resembled an open area with a wall surrounding it. Almost like a fort. The school year began on Saturday coinciding with the New Year here and the kids look happy overall. I saw little children maybe 1-2 years old around the road being guided by what appeared to be a brother or sister only around 5-6 years old. It has nothing to do with my job, but I feel some obligation to find out more about the schools here and make some attempt to figure out what is going on. Perhaps more on that in another post.

For those who have it, I hope you are all enjoying your spring break.