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.
5 comments:
This is only me talking but I think you can be very proud of the job you have done during the past six months for the NATO command unit and for our country. This fact is confirmed by the jobs you are assigned to by the COS and your other commanders and by the acceptance of your briefs at the weekly presentations. Good job Eeth!
I am elso impressed by the gifts you received on leaving the Command. The plaque sounds great and I can't wait to see it hanging next to the one you got when you left the old Richmond K. That is my all-time favorite.
I wll have to ask Marc what a Luminar Panerai Regatta watch is. It sounds very impressive. For the life of me though, what is an authentic imitation?
Your comment on Iraq indicates that "The Surge" instituted by our troops is working although you will never read that in our liberal press. You will also never read that the Afghan Army (trained by NATO) is ready to take over some areas from the NATO troops.No one wants to know that real jobs are being done. Some of us appreciate your (all inclusive)efforts! Keep it up. God bless the troops, all of them, everywhere!
It feels really good to read these posts about your "going away" parties. Of course, nothing will feel as good as your "coming home" party! That will be a great day!
Kathy
I’ve been off your Blog (and most electronic devices) for awhile so it was good to hear all is going well and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Channel nine news out of Albany believes that news outside the region means Vermont.
We had our own “celebration” on the 4th. Donna, Stephanie and I got up at 4:00 am and hiked Algonquin and then Stephanie and I continued to Iroquois, while Donna watched us through binoculars (the advantage of being above tree line). Over 4000 ft of vertical climb. We got home early evening. I’d like to tell you about all the great fireworks we saw, but I slept through them.
I’d also like to tell you about all the other great hikes we did in 11 days, but we only fit in one – Cliff, which was true to its name and fairly scary at times. Most of the rest of the time we worked at finishing the bathroom shower. It’s not done yet, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I'd like to hang up the frame, but I don't have an office anymore, so I guess it will go into a closet or something like that. Maybe we'll get a good place for it. I've been wearing the watch and it appears to be working well, I like it a lot.
There are a number of things that are working over here and some that aren't. So, we're here to support in security, governance, and reconstruction and development. That's it in a nutshell.
Ithan,
I've been down in Florida visiting my Mom, many early bird specials under my belt, so I have not been keeping up with your last couple of blog entries. I got real nervous for you every time the news broadcast trouble in your area. It seems, however, that you are dealing with it.
Back to your multi-cultural junk food extravaganzas. It sounds like a great distraction, however temporary it may be. I can not wait to see the pictures.
Stay safe,
Karen
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