The Last Three Weeks

Hello to all and let me apologize for keeping many of my faithful followers in the dark. I'm still very much alive and kicking in the lovely city of Kabul but things have been piling up like crazy, so much so, that I haven't had a moment to myself and certainly not the time that I'd hoped to dedicate to my attempt at info and humor here on the blog.
Over the last 3 weeks a lot of events have transpired here in Kabul. The big one that I know most of you were on the edge of your seat waiting to hear is that I've moved out of my "Hooch" and am now comfortably living in a "posh" one-bedroom/900 square foot apartment that I have all to myself. Nice deep bath, as much hot water as I could possibly use and even a kitchen to prepare my evening bachelor-type meals which often consists of an ice cold Corona and a can of Salt & Vinegar Pringles. Quite a bit more expensive than walking myself over to the free meal at the chow hall but as I've stated in earlier posts, it gets cold here at night.

Of course with the good comes a bit of bad. I mentioned in my "Hooch" post that the heater truly turned the trailer into a small conventional oven - well the expanses of my apartment causes the exact opposite. I have the heat turned up full blast but because of the 16 foot ceilings in the apartment - I can't get it to warm up. I sleep in a long pair of sweatpants, sweatshirt and socks and I still can't find the warmth I need. My Korean "mink" blanket just isn't doing the job so if anyone has a spare 220v (Euro plug) electric blanket that they don't need, please send it my way, my bald head would certainly be appreciative.

The Marine Ball here in Kabul was very nice and as I wrote earlier, my boss was the guest speaker and also the oldest Marine present. He was passed a piece of cake by the youngest present in keeping with tradition. One of our MSG Marines held that honor and was actually born in 1987. This of course was the year that I graduated from high school which explains why he calls me sir so often. I know it has nothing to do with my rank in the military and much more to do with the fact that I'm old enough to be his father - how scary is that? We adjourned from the formalities of the Embassy and headed to the Marine House where they had plenty of coolies and even some pretty tasty chicken wings. I didn't stay long since I was on the road the following morning for my weekly run to Bagram AB.

Since my last post, I've also been on two very interesting "field" trips. The first was only a day trip to the Provincial Reconstruction Team outpost at Ghazni (see my "Field Trip" post about this place) where I left Kabul in a CH-47 (Chinook) and arrived in Ghazni about 40 minutes later. While in Ghazni we were able to visit the Provincial Governor's Compound where we had lunch and then moved to a village clinic project and the site of an under construction dam that will keep water, from a very sad looking river, in the village longer so as to increase the underground water table. Both of these projects are being funded by the U.S. Government so of course very important to the big guy I was traveling with. After our visits off the PRT we headed back in time to catch our return Chinook ride to Kabul. We had to push our departure up by about 20 minutes since ominous clouds were moving in and the word was if we didn't get out then - we'd all be spending the night. One of my colleagues in the traveling party made the mistake of mentioning to me that she certainly did not have enough "stuff" to spend the night in Ghazni, which kind of made me laugh since I'd packed everything into my ruck - "Just in Case".

Thanksgiving also came and went since my last post as well as my daughter's 6th birthday. These of course are the hard times to be away but getting to phone home often has made it a bit easier. Turkey was certainly not in short supply here in Kabul and we had two dinners on the actual day. One was held in my spacious apartment for all of my office colleagues with a roasted turkey purchased from the only 5-star hotel in Kabul (Hotel Serena). After our informal lunch we all relaxed wishing we'd had a Detroit Lions game on tape so that it would truly feel like home. That evening we had a larger feast in the atrium of the Embassy that was provided by the Embassy Employee's Association. It was very good and the wine flowed quite freely - at least for those of us that are allowed to consume it.

A funny story here but Turkeys are so easily obtained here in Kabul that I managed to order 21 extra turkeys from our local cafeteria and send them to the OPSCO at the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe which is a 5 hour drive away. The Chief up there was a former student of mine and he truly drove me crazy with "Turkey Talk" for two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. I don't know how we did it but his driver showed up, I loaded 21 turkeys into his car and away he went. I've been told they were just as tasty in Tajikistan (yes that's where Dushanbe is) as they were here in Kabul. I know "Chief H" reads this so let me say that even though the effort was a pain, if I helped make one person's holiday away from home that much brighter - then hey - effort well spent.
My third "field trip" was this past Saturday and Sunday. Very early on Saturday morning we boarded a C-130 for the province of Khost in eastern Afghanistan which shares a border with Pakistan. It was a very short flight and we arrived at the PRT in about 20 minutes once airborne from Kabul. This was an overnight trip so I packed accordingly including my recently arrived sleeping bag (Thanks "E" for sending it out. It truly is a lifesaver). Once on the ground I loaded all my gear onto my back and the group made its way to the PRT HQ building for the initial "Welcome to Khost" briefing given by the PRT Commander. As I was about to walk up the steps to the building I heard someone (not in our party) shout my name. I looked up and saw a Navy Desert Camo Uniform being worn by a Chief that looked familiar but I wasn't sure. I glanced at his name tape and when I read the name and compared the face to someone I knew 15 years ago I realized I was in the middle of a very "Small World Experience". This Navy Chief and I were roommates during my first tour of duty in the military on a very small comms base in Japan called Kami Seya. I was there from 1988 - 1991. He was deployed from NAS Lemoore as the PRT S2 and had been on the ground in Afghanistan for about 7 months. He saw my name on the manifest of expected visitors and knew from earlier email exchanges that I'd switched to the Army so after putting 2 and 2 together figured it was me. We had a great conversation and it was really good to catch up after all this time. Thanks ISC TGL for bringing a little bit of right to such a wrong place.
Following our briefings we headed out to the normal visit to the Provincial Governor's Compound and this time the food that was intended for the visiting Americans was scoffed by the invited elders from many of the surrounding villages. I mooched an MRE (Chicken Tetrazini - mmmmmm good) from one of the humvee commanders and enjoyed myself an authentic soldier's lunch. Washed it all (even the enclosed chocolate cookies) down with some flavored powder poured into a bottle of water. Couldn't get any better but I was missing my Corona Coolie. After the visit to the Governor's we headed for a new Provincial Communications Center which was being opened that day. The big boss participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony and then we were on to another U.S. Government funded effort to bring stability to the people of Afghanistan. Once this visit ended the sun was setting and I knew it wouldn't be long until we reached our final destination for the night - the Forward Operating Base at Solerno. We mounted our convoy and rode off into the setting sun which in the clean/warm air of Khost, was truly spectacular.

We arrived at Solerno and were guided to our billets for the evening. The front door to where I was to sleep read "MALE VIP QUARTERS". I couldn't have said it better myself. There was no generator anywhere in the vicinity and when I opened the front door the tent looked like it had been recently swept and would be considered by any standard, clean. There were 4 single beds on each side of the tent and all had fresh sheets, pillows and blankets (didn't need the sleeping bag afterall but I used it out of principle). The beds were separated by 6 foot high closets offering a bit of privacy and I was truly impressed. It sure pays to travel with the biggest of biggies and get treated like a VIP. We were given maps of the FOB and told which way to head towards dinner. I was famished since my earlier MRE was not exactly the most complete of meals. My boss and I headed to the 24-hour Green Bean Coffee shop and on the way passed a SUBWAY sandwich shop and a gym the size of a large airplane hangar. Even before chow I was really impressed with FOB Solerno. After the mandatory large foo foo coffee from Green Bean we went over to the chow hall and had one of the most complete "Army" meals I'd ever eaten. On the main line there was spaghetti with two different types of sauce, veal cutlets, veggies and a ton of fixings. After the main line there was a second line with fried mozzarella, meatballs and a pretty impressive salad bar. In the adjacent freezer they had 3 different types of ice cream cups and even "Magnum" ice cream bars. I couldn't believe how good these guys had it. College Football was on the TV in the corner and I truly had the best Saturday night meal since I'd arrived in Afghanistan.
Leaving the chow hall was a different story. FOB Salerno is what they call a "blacked out base". There is no external white lights anywhere and even though the moon and all the stars looked nice - they provided not a stick of guidance to the new arrivals. I always carry a little flashlight that emits a blue light but if you don't know where you're going in the first place the light becomes only a safety device to keep you from tripping over the numerous obstacles on the ground of a military base. I exited the chow hall from a different direction than I entered so my keen Army sense of direction was truly skewed. I wandered aimlessly for about 15 minutes until I heard music being pumped from the gym. I thought once there I could find my way back to my "VIP Quarters" since I truly didn't want to ask anyone "Where are the VIP Billets"? and have them look at me like I was truly lost. From the gym I turned left and then right and heard the familiar popping of the helo pad so I knew I must be close. By the time I'd walked for a good 30 minutes I came upon what looked like my tent - "MALE VIP QUARTERS" read the sign and I was home. It was only about 7:30 PM but I thought it better to stay indoors than risk wandering around in the dark for the rest of the night lost. I'd picked up a copy of Stars & Stripes while at the chow hall so with that and my MP3 player, I was pretty much sorted.

Sunday morning came and the chow again impressed even the pickiest of palates. They offered everything you could possibly imagine including biscuits and gravy just like Uncle Frank makes. God bless the South, especially at breakfast. Chow was followed by a number of military centric briefings that gave me a much better understanding of what our (U.S.) role here in Afghanistan is and how we're succeeding. I still have a huge appreciation for all that serve and even though FOB Solerno looked like Club Med compared to other places I'd been in this country - these guys (and girls) are still serving alone and far from their families. Its a tough life but I'm proud to be (kind of) a part of them.

The C-130 arrived on schedule and our party boarded for the quick flight back to Kabul. We arrived right at sunset and I think the temp here in the capital was all of about 35F. Way too cold for my bones so I quickly loaded my gear and made a mad dash for the warm back seat of the office Land Cruiser. We arrived back in world record time and I of course began the task of digging out after being away for two days. Even though it was the weekend back in the real world - emails and taskers out the wazoo.
I'll end this here since my stomach is screaming for chow even though I know it won't be as good as what was on offer at Solerno. Too bad really but I know my apartment is my "VIP Quarters" and I'll enjoy tucking in to my semi-warm "mink" blanket in about an hour. Thanks to all that read and to some old friends that took the time to send me personal emails because of this blog. I appreciate your words of encouragement and I'm continuing to do my best. Keep on keepin on - OUT.

P.S. SLR - don't get any older until Daddy gets home - Please please please.