25 Apr 07: Today was another great mission, just another visit to the Governor’s compound. We have settled into our roles and we have refined our procedures so we are becoming more and more efficient every day. Last night our ROK engineers invited myself, the Commander, and XO to dinner. We dined on bulgogi (beef stew of sorts) two types of kimchee and seaweed. YUM! The kimchee damn near killed me. One of the Engineers, Capt Kang has become a good friend to me and kids me all day long. He told me if I didn’t eat my kimchee I would be considered a girl by all the other ROK soldiers, so I ate it all….boy did I regret that a few hours later in the Port-a-Let. After dinner we played ping pong, mixed couples (US and ROK)…..never had my ass kicked at an indoor sport. They went easy on us after they had their fun and we laughed the whole time. Of course after ping pong came karaoke, now that was hilarious! I sang “Enter the Sandman” by Metalicca and I loaded “Like a Virgin” for our XO, we laughed ourselves silly. The break was needed for us, it was silly fun in the middle of the week in the middle of the war. Our PRT has already been in the news with our recent Medical/Veterinarian Civil Affairs Mission.
http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php?script=news/news_show.php&id=9828 and here
http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php?script=news/news_show.php&id=9784 and here
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123048507 and here
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123046392
As you can see, we have been busy in our first 30 days.
20 Apr 07: After two weeks of neglecting my blog I figured today was the perfect day to write. Today, 20 April 2007, is my 18 year anniversary in the United States Air Force. I was giving a briefing this afternoon when it struck me…..damn, I’m old! J I suppose I owe everyone a description of what it is like here. I suppose its fair to try and paint a picture of life here at BAF (Bagram Air Field). I wake up either at 0500 and run or at 0530. The showers are about 500 meters down the dusty road, but after Bragg I won’t complain, there is lots of hot water. After grabbing a shower I usually meet up with the XO and Commander for a morning mind meld and breakfast. If we have a mission its mission brief, gear prep, and then we hit the road. I am always a passenger in the convoys so it’s a matter of ensuring I have my ass ready to rock and in place on time. I usually accompany my Commander on missions where he is meeting with a Governor or other Afghan government leaders. The convoys are dusty and hot. After just a few miles you can taste the dust, your eyewear is coated brown and the humvee windows are covered on the inside and out. Our trucks are the up-up armored humvees so we are safe from anything except IEDs, there is little one can do to protect against them. Life does get into a routine here, getting up at the same time, going to work, eating dinner, a little more work, heading back to the hooch, checking emails, chatting with Melisa, then back to sleep. My favorite escape is on clear days looking at the mountains that ring Bagram. I would give my eye teeth to be able to hike them, they are simply spectacular. The weather has been awesome, clear days but getting warm. We opened a school that was finished recently this past week, again, easy to see impact when we know the literacy rate among males is only 24% and even lower among females. The kids clamor for pens, when they see one in our pockets they go nuts. There isn’t much else all that new, I will do better to add updates, two weeks is much too long. I know there is more I should be writing, I just can’t think of it now.
2 Apr 07: Earthquake! Yes, we had an earthquake in northern Afghanistan, a 6.2. It was my first time in an earthquake, talk about weird…..I went on my second mission this evening, a quick meeting with a Provincial Governor concerning the damage and recovery efforts from the flooding. Many of the roads are washed out, and ina country with so few paved roads losing any one of them can spell disaster. The PRT helps the Governor help himself, we aid him by guiding him tot eh non-governmental agencies (Red Crescent, etc) and his own national government. Our engineers have been out on helo rides to recommend solutions. The goal is to use Afghans in the recovery, it helps them become more self-sustaining, improves the people’s confidence in their government, and puts money in the hands of the Afghan people.
4 Apr 07: I am on Day 12 and already this has proven to be the toughest best job I have ever been challenged with, and I wouldn’t change my decision for anything. This is truly a historic opportunity, and a privilege to be a part of something bigger than myself. The PRT mission is the “tip of the spear” of the ISAF mission. We are like special operations forces, small and highly effective at making strategic effects. I had to escort some Afghan VIPs to a meeting with my Commander and I spent an hour outside with an Afghan policeman and the VIPs driver. They spoke about 20 words of English and between my “Dari Conversation Card” we had an hour long discussion about the weather, family, and a whole host of topics. In the end we called each other friend, and traded patches. If the whole year is going to be like this it will be hard to leave.