Doc H's International Adventure

Arrival at Home- Final Post

2010-02-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have been home for a few days now. Tricia and the kids met me at the airport around midnight. It was a joyous reunion that was just a little overdue. Amazingly the kids went to school and continued their activities the next day. There was a nice banner on display in the house welcoming me back home.

Our trip to home was even more circuitous as time went by. Due to a heavy snowstorm in Baltimore, our transatlantic flight diverted to JFK airport in New York. We had a night in a hotel nearby and completed our journey to Baltimore the next day. Eleven hours after that and two additional flights later I landed at the nearest airport to our home. I was struck time and time again at how many people would stop and go out of their way to thank us for our service in the airport. It was a humbling experience.

Now that I am home and have started the process of packing away my gear and reintegrating with normal society I have had a little time to reflect on this long journey. I have learned a great many things during this past year. Travel always allows for that. Ours is an incredibly blessed country with a sound government and incredible natural resources. Afghanistan is a country plagued by decades of war with few natural resources other than the hard work of its very poor population. It is altogether right that we along with our Coalition partners do all that we can to allow the new government of Afghanistan to succeed, for the betterment of the people of Afghanistan. I am satisfied with the small but measurable accomplishments I have been a part of in Afghanistan. I hope that the people of Afghanistan will be better off in the long run for my efforts there.

I have also learned a great deal of personal things. In many ways my seven months in Afghanistan was like a seven month self improvement retreat. I was able to exercise regularly. Through study and worship I have attained a closer walk with God. I was able to learn some Dari, customs, and another different perspective of the world. Although time and distance are significant challenges, I think the last year has actually strengthened the bonds and commitment of several of my important relationships. The time I spent deployed also allowed me to firmly establish my priorities in life. Priorities I intend to not only list, but live from this point onwards.

With that in mind, this will be my last blog entry for this journey. Originally this enterprise was established as an effective way to reach and inform my family, friends, and co-workers en masse. With the outpouring of feedback and dialogue from those of you who have written emails, sent letters, packages, and provided support to me and my dear family it has transcended beyond the original intent of this project. Thank you so much for your support and dedication during this trying year.

I have enjoyed writing these entries over the past year. Truth be told, it was very therapeutic at times. I certainly learned more about specific aspects of Afghanistan with my limited research into various topics. Each time I sat at the MWR computers at Camp Spann it was almost like writing a timed short story, since we are limited to 30 minutes of time per session. It also gave me a sense of the passage of time and another scheduled task to perform which kept me sane. Nonetheless, it is time for this forum to be retired so that I can invest my time into the priorities to which I am dedicated.

While it is entirely possible that there may be another adventure to report in the coming years, since I do still wear the uniform of our country, I bid you farewell and thank you for travelling with me.

The Odyssey continues

2010-01-29T05:35:00.000-08:00

It took Odysseus 10 years to find his way home after the end of the Trojan War.

It took me about 4 weeks of steaming home on a very old Naval vessel (LPD-1) to get home from the Desert Shield/Storm.

I have to keep these time frames in perspective, since I am still trying to make my way homeward. I left Camp Spann on the 5th of January. After languishing 2 weeks in Bagram and have 4 flights cancelled or held up to leave Kuwait I have a new goal. My new goal is to be out of Kuwait before the 1st of February. I think this is a realistic goal since otherwise we will be entitled to another tax-free month.

The list of policies and excuses which have kept us here is lengthy and would be even more humorous if I were not experiencing them: A broken plane, a plane iced in, a warning light, a new plane, a tired crew. In fact some are so absurd I may even use the quote I have heard so often during this deployment "You can't make this stuff up"

It would be more tolerable if we had access to our luggage. We cleared customs with our checked luggage on attempt #1 and it has been sequestered since that time. It is has been a challenge to live out of an overnight bag for 4 nights. I would have enjoyed spending more time in the gym to process and exercise my plight. But, the gym will not let anyone use the equipment in boots. I tried the elliptical in socks, but got blisters.

I have tried to look for the silver linings. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. Since we have to strip our linen every time we 'leave' I have experienced the cleanest linen of my deployment here. And my most recent- they must be keeping us up all night so that we will adjust to the time change better.

With luck I will be home in a few days.

Of course I keep remembering one definition of insanity- Repeating the same action over and over again in hopes of a different outcome.

WTP

2010-01-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

I am currently going through the Navy Warrior Transition Program. It is a three day program designed to ease the transition from being an IA with an Army mission back to home and the Navy. So far we have cleaned and returned our weapons, dumped 3 bags worth of field gear, and gone through the reintegration and stress debreif workshop. There has been plenty of down time thankfully. I have been able to place calls home and email regularly. The staff has been very attentive. We were given a "welcome back to the Navy" standing ovation cheer by the staff as we came in to return our gear. WTP is a good program. Just because I spent two weeks at Bagram waiting for a spot here, I would ask them to be more flexible with the number of personnel they accept at one time. Heaven knows the rest of the military is proving to be flexible in these difficult times.

They have a nice gym here, and I must say that the food here is really good. I spent part of today packing and repacking the remainder of the stuff I have here. Hopefully I can smush it down to one seabag and a carry on. I still have to do some heath screening and then we can start the travel portion of this program. That will be my favorite by far. I so look forward to being home.

A new word for Webster's

2010-01-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

Elvis has left the country. Yes I am now in Kuwait. After a hectic 30 hours of flights, convoys, waiting, loading and unloading of baggage I am at Camp Arifjan awaiting the official start of my Warrior Transition Program class. During this time I will do my final out processing and turn in all of the vast amounts of gear the Army lent me for this deployment. In fact, last night after a gruelling sleepless day and night our section had final weapons cleaning and turn-in. I feel liberated this morning without having to haul around my weapon(s) and ammunition, but I also wonder how many times I will look for it, or will put on my holster automatically. Today is a slow day, then tomorrow we start to turn in the other gear, go to some counselling workshops and prepare to depart in the coming days.

I continue to reflect on my experiences in Afghanistan, and after talking to many others who worked primarily in Kabul I have decided a new word needs to be added to the lexicon:

Kabulcentric- Policy or instructions that eminate from the capital city with primary regard for how these policies work in the capital or the 10 miles outside of Kabul, but apply to all of Afghanistan.

We have in our own country from time to time, a similiar situation with our Capital of Washington, D.C. Thankfully in our democratic republic the voice of the people is heard regularly. This is not the case in Afghanistan. Policies or plans which may work well in the urban chaos of Kabul may not translate well to the rest of Afghanistan. In most cases it does not work at all. I have seen time and again edicts from Kabul which do not pass the common sense or sniff test of those of us who have spent more than one week outside of the confines of the capital.

Part of this is due to ignorance. Please do not confuse this with arrongance, but ignorance as in downright lack of understanding of the challenges of the country. Very few Afghan officials or senior leaders tour the country. If they do, they are only directly taken to show pieces of success (dog and pony shows). So out of lack of understanding, policies are made based on the information at hand, what can be seen within the capital. There are video or phone conferences of the Afghan systems, but I have seen very few Afghans who would be forthright or foolish enough to admit a problem to their superiors in this way. So the leaders in Kabul are led to believe all is well in the rest of the country and anything is possible.

So I think that Kabulcentrism can be overcome, but it will require the officials in the government of Afghanistan to take the time to get out and see not only the successes or what they want to see, but ask the hard questions and get information on the realities of this diversified country.

Farewell Afghanistan

2010-01-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

This should be my last post from Afghanistan. I am relieved to be departing from Bagram. In a few hours I will be on my way to the next stop on my long journey home. Once I arrive at my next stop I will spend several days returning all my issued gear and preparing for the next leg of the journey.

I intend to be more reflective on my next post, as time allows.

Afghan food

2010-01-17T04:07:00.000-08:00

I am still here at Bagram. Thankfully my L&L(Languishing and Loitering) here will be over in only a few short days. Then on to the next stop along the trip home.

As indicated in a previous post, today I will go over my experiences with Afghan foods.

نان
Naan is the most basic of these foods. In Dari the word can be used as the generic term for food. When talking about bread however, most Afghans use the term "Naan e Khushk" which translates to dry bread. Afghan naan is thicker than its Indian cousin you may have seen in restaurants. It is the staple with and by which an Afghan meal is eaten. In a traditional Afghan meal the food is eaten with the bare hands or pinched between a small piece of naan. I really enjoy the naan I have had here. Most naan I have seen or eaten in Afghanistan has a circular imprint like it was pressed between two hub cabs.

پلو
Palau is a small island country in the Pacific Ocean, but in the context of Afghan food it is something entirely different. Spiced rice with bits of almonds, raisins, occasionally carrots or meat is palau. The Afghan people eat palau almost as much as they eat naan. When not using naan e khushk to eat palau it is picked up with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers in a trough like configuration. The thumb is then used as a piston to drive the palau into your mouth.

کباب
Kebab is another main food group. It is prepared on metal skewers. Sometimes it is all meat(goat, beef, or sheep) and other times I have seen large pieces of fat placed between the pieces of meat. I ate the fat a few times when offered a skewer of kebab this way until I observed my interpreter pull off the fat and set it to the side. If only I had known earlier I could have done the same without offending anyone! All the kebab I have ingested has been well cooked and tasty. You can either pull the meat off the skewer with your hands or with some naan.

As with most things, salad is different here. There are most of the same basic ingredients: leafy plants, carrots, onions and cucumbers. The main difference is the preparation. Most salads here are minced to the point that they may even appear to be pre-chewed. Generally it is served with oil and/or vinegar already mixed in.

Meat or gusht can also be served in a gravy sauce. The color is almost always brown, of course. It is good and goes well over the palau, or along side. The naan dips nicely into the gravy as well.

That covers the major food groups, but what about snack foods? Any meeting with an Afghan will involve at least a little snack food and chai. The main snack foods I have seen are dried corn kernels, almonds whole in the shell, raisins, and small dried noodles similar to dried lo mein noodles found in a can in most US grocery stores. To be polite you must at least try some of the snacks offered.

Then there is the chai. Chai is tea. There are both green tea and black tea versions I have sipped in Afghanistan. It is usually boiling hot when served, so taking your time to let it cool and sip as you converse is the best option. It is most fortunate that it is served so hot, since the cups in my experience are rarely washed. You may find bits of leaves or twigs in your tea, which is considered normal as well. Overall it is warm, refreshing and a welcome beverage in Afghanistan.

I have really enjoyed the Afghan food I have experienced and despite all the bad publicity about illness. I have never had any GI problems due to Afghan food. In fact it is possible I may be able to have an Americanized version of it when I get home, assuming I can find some extra hubcaps.

Dust

2010-01-15T03:24:00.000-08:00

Afghanistan is a land of dust. It is the universal thing which seems to be a common ground, so to speak, for this entire country. Usually people think of sand in this part of the world, but I have seen very little real sand. This soil is very different than sand. Sand has a larger particle size and is therefore heavier. It takes a significant amount of wind energy to suspend sand in the air. That is not the case with the dust here. A light breeze is all that it takes to make a lasting cloud of obscuring dust. The light fine loam that passes for topsoil here covers the surface of everything in short order. You can literally clean floors every day and get a good yield of dust each time. As I have passed by vendors of bread, fruits and butchers shops I can't help but wonder how much dirt is on the surface of anything exposed to the air, especially along a busy road. I am guessing it makes up a significant portion of the dietary intake of your average Afghan. Here at Bagram there is much more dust than I am used to at Camp Spann. I am sure the constant traffic of helos, jets, and heavy equipment contribute greatly to the cloud of dust which is constantly in the air here. If not for the clouds of dust (ghobar in dari) Bagram could be a beautiful place with some picturesque snow covered mountains in the distance. But no amount of effort by any force will control the dust in this arid land. It is just another part of the character of this country.

Another dari dust word is Khaag bad, or dust storm (when they hit they can come in fast and give an eerie lighting much like an eclipse.)

I am sure that from now on Afghanistan will come to mind when I hear the ancient phrase 'dust to dust'.

Coalition Cuisine

2010-01-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

I still have a little more time on my hands here. Time to reflect on many things I experienced here in Afghanistan. Today's post is dedicated to food. Let's take a look at food around the Area of Operations (AO). I am limiting this entry to Coalition food and may comment on Afghan food another time.

The food of Camp Spann is provided by Kellog, Brown and Root (KBR). The food is served in a line cafeteria style. Generally it is American style heavy on the fried foods. The service at Spann was always friendly and courteous. KBR also runs the chow halls down here at Bagram and all other US run bases. The food is always plentiful and has ice cream.

Next is the contractor Supreme. Supreme is found in most large Coalition base chow halls including those on German and Italian bases. The food is decidedly European in flavor and offerings. Breakfast is usually very sparse. There are cold cuts aplenty and very good cheeses. I also think Supreme provides food at most of the State Department bases at least in the north. When there are Gurkas providing security, the Indian food is excellent at these small State Department posts.

I have also eaten at a real German chow hall. The active duty staff wear these wild checkered pants. The food is similar to that found in Supreme kitchens, but with very friendly staff. Most entrees have some form of pig in them. One night of the week they shut down the chow hall completely and serve heated German style MRE's. Most folks go to eat at the grill in the German PX on that day.

Finally to my favorite chow hall in all of Afghanistan. The Norwegian chow hall at Camp Marmal. I believe the food is catered by Sodexo. The chow hall is located in a tent despite the number of years it has been there. Although it is in a tent, it has a friendly ambiance and is a great place to eat. They do have hours posted for those of us who are not Norwegian to eat, which is only right. They greet you with incredible grace as you enter. The food is served on real plates and silverware and served buffet style. My last meal there was memorable: paella, glazed chicken served on a bed of couscous with raisins and slivered almonds. The soup was leek and potato. Altogether it is the best Coalition dining experience I have had in country.

Of course we all know the best food is home cooked. I am looking forward to eating there very much.

Still Stuck at BAF

2010-01-10T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am still here at Bagram. All things considered it is better than the last time I was here. I am in a better tent. I know where all the chow halls and services are. I found the cleanest bathrooms in our area.

There are numerous challenges, but the most problematic is just being here. The Navy has mandated a 3 day Warrior Transition Program at Kuwait. Too bad I will have to wait 2 weeks in order to get to this 3 day program. It is overbooked for the entire month. At this point I am just ready to return and start to readust to life back home. One thing that is truly amazing are the lines. Lines for the phones, computers, food, beverages, toilets, ATM machines, and anything else you can think of. Maybe this is a final dose of deployment just to make me even more appreciative of life at home. I doubt that is possible though.

Sustainability

2010-01-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

I made extremely good time from Mazar-e-Sharif to Bagram, but I will be stuck here for quite some time. There were still a few sailors from the returning hospital mentor team I served with on Spann here when I arrived. They left two weeks before I did. So I have plenty more time to exercise at a higher elevation and reflect.

One of the things I am considering is Sustainability. In particular how will Afghanistan be able to sustain what has been started. In general the best approach to most issues or problems is to find a low cost-high return solution(IE not always the way we do things in the US). There is much effort being placed on Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) force generation and infrastructure development. What I have not seen or heard about is economic development or income programs for the country of Afghanistan.

This is concerning since whatever progress, programs, or forces we build and equip here will need to be funded for the long term. Who is going to pay? I fear it will be American and Coalition taxpayers. There are resources here in the country such as agriculture, mines, and textiles. If these areas are not developed and appropriately taxed by the Afghan government I do not see how it will financially survive. There is no income tax here. There is no sales tax that I have witnessed. The only taxation I have heard about is on contractors. As an example if NATO funds a 5 million dollar project and awards the construction to a contractor, then the contractor must pay 20% of the price to the Afghan government. So out of the 5 million dollar project, 1 million goes directly to the Afghan government. If this is the only income generation other than direct grants from the US and other Coalition governments, the government of Afghanistan will indeed be trouble after our support dissipates.

So while building cost effective solutions at all levels is important to improve the lives and services of the people of Afghanistan, a long term funding plan so that this country can afford all that is being built up is just as important.

Spann Nostalgia

2010-01-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

It was on New Year's Day when I truly realized it is time to start heading home. While I am reassured that I have contributed in some small way to the progress of Afghanistan, it is difficult to leave with some projects half done. Luckily the military is a team sport. In this case a relay team sport. I have turned over all my projects and information to the new member of the team. I have passed the baton . There remains much more to be done for medical support of the police in this region, but I know the team will make tremendous progress this next year. I am ready to return home to my family, co-workers and patients.

So while I am thrilled with the prospect of going home, I felt a certain amount of nostalgia as I walked around Camp Spann today. Some of these memories are pleasant and will be easily remember. I ate my last dinner in the chow hall. I wrote my last blog entry in the MWR computer room. I made my last stop in the Chapel to say goodbye. The view of the mountains in the distance is alway relaxing as well.

There is also another group of memories that I might choose to forget. My feet will not miss the huge rocks that make up the gravel

all around camp. Be thankful I only am displaying a picture of the port-a-potty from the outside. They most certainly will not be missed.

So I today I present to you a collage of the more mundane aspects of life on Camp Spann.

The doves are still nesting every night at the bath house near my hut.

Afghan Doctor

2010-01-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Doctor can be a very deceptive title in Afghanistan. When most people in the US speak of a doctor, they are speaking about a Medical professional with a doctorate degree in Medicine who has a license to practice medicine. Here, as with many things, the lines of differentiation blur to the point of becoming a continuum of gray space. I have been introduced to many Afghans who refer to themselves as a doctor. In truth most are acting in the capacity of a physician, but they usually do not have training in medicine. The term Doctor is used for both Medics and Medical Doctors(MD). It can be very confusing for all involved including the patients.

To be fair, the Afghan Medical Education system has had some hard knocks in the past few decades. Under the Taliban learning of most types was frowned upon and women were strictly prohibited from studying medicine. Now there are at least 4 internationally recognized medical schools in Afghanistan and several others that are not recongnized. Most schools subscribe to the European model 7 year training program. The bachelors and doctorate degree are combined into one program. Overall the system is lecture heavy and light on interactions with actual patients. Out of the 7 years, only one is spent in hospitals and clinics observing or assisting with patient care. This system produces doctors who know the lecture type details and pathophysiology of disease, but may lack the experience in practical application to patients. The most prestigious and well respected institution of medicine is Kabul Medical University. With as many as 400 students a year going through clinic rotations at Kabul hospitals, it is difficult to imagine they get the same level of involvment in patient care that we experience in the US as students.

Specialty training is also very different in Afghanistan. Specialty training is more like an apprenticeship than a program of structured learning. There is no set time to complete the training. Doctors work under a specialist (surgeon, internal medicine, anesthesiologist) until their preceptor determines they know enough to be on their own. There is no board certification testing or validation to a governing body. While this seems to work well for some specialties (surgeons in particular are widely accepted as being very well skilled) others not so much. For instance, I have seen ENT specialists who do not seem to know how to use an otoscope to check the ear canal and tympanic membranes. While this apprenticeship style of post graduate training is very different for us to accept, it works most of the time for the Afghan people. What is more it is the only system they have for right now.

Are you confused yet? If so I have adequately explained what is meant by the term Afghan doctor.

Combined ANP/US Range and Golf

2009-12-31T18:24:00.000-08:00

Weeks ago when we were talking and having chai with our ANP counterparts the topic of weapons came up. Our counterparts relayed to us that they had not been trained on their pistols and were not very comfortable with their use. Since they do carry these weapons and rely on them for their personal safety, we decided to arrange some time together on the range to practice. After a basic range safety lecture through my interpreter, we began.

I was expecting their pistols to be old WWII era soviet style weapons. I was quite suprised to find that they carry new Smith and Wesson 9mm pistols. Their pistols did not have a safety, but were light weight and handled well. One of the weapons misfired a few times, but I suspect that more oil was needed. They did fine and improved with only a little practice. We also let them shoot our pistols, which are much older in design comparitively. We ended the shooting with a familiarization fire of the M-4 which was orderly as well.

After the shooting Steve took out the golf clubs. All of the Afghans universally said it was much harder to hit a golf ball than watching TV might suggest. I was worried that some of the clubs would be literally broken in half due to the hatchet like swing of some of the new golf initiates. There were quite a few laughs and a good time was had by all. It was a good safe time. I suspect this was the last mentoring type activity I will perform in this country. There is a new member of the team here now, so very soon it will be time for me to move on.

New Clinic Open

2009-12-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been following all along you may remember my post from 17 August. In that post I showed you an ANP clinic which was still under construction. Well, yesterday we visited the same clinic and it is now open and operational. Our Afghan counterparts were very creative in furnishing and outfitting the clinic until a package of goods arrives from Kabul to fully equip and stock it.

There are still a few minor issues to be resolved, but this clinic is a significant step up in facilities for them. It is new. It has running water. It has a continuous power source. It has heat and air conditioning. The staff who will be running the clinic were kind enough to pose outside of it. I am almost shocked that it only took four months to get this clinic completed and operational. While this may seem like slow progress by our standards, it is light speed for Afghanistan.

Time has a different quality here. In this land, Alexander the Great came into town 'sometime yesterday'. There is a common saying here; "You may have watches, but we have Time". Many Americans will interpret this as laziness, but it is more a cultural acceptance of the limits of time. I am just glad that I could actually see one more milestone achieved during my time here.

This was probably my last mission "Outside the Wire". My replacement is here and the team will have to press forward with our many other projects without me.

Rumi------ Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī جلال الدین محمد بلخى

2009-12-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

Local boy becomes world class poet.

That would be the headlines if there were any when Rumi (1300's) was alive. He was born only a few miles away from where I sit right now and is still revered as one of the most eloquent poets of all time on the subject of Love in mystical ways. His family fled the Mongol hordes as they invaded this area and fled west. It was in the Sultanate of Rum in modern day Turkey that he came to pre-eminence as a spiritual philosopher and most notably as a poet. This gave him his "nickname" of Rumi, although Afghans still refer to him as Balkhi- coming from Balkh.

Translations of his Farsi/Dari poems still ring our ears today. He gives such a different perspective on issues. His poetry is unique.

Just a few excerpts translated:

Looking at my life
I see that only Love
Has been my soul’s companion
From deep inside
My soul cries out:
Do not wait, surrender
For the sake of Love.

You know what love is?
It is all kindness, generosity.
Disharmony prevails when
You confuse lust with love, while
The distance between the two
Is endless.

I read that Rumi was the last documented person to have people of five different faiths carry his funeral bier. He even has some poems about Jesus. The Mawlawī Sufi order or order of Whirling Dervishes was founded in 1273 by Rumi's followers after his death. His son Sultan Walad was installed as grand master of the order. The leadership of the order has been kept within Rumi's family in Konya uninterruptedly since that time.

I encourage you to investigate some of Rumi's works. You may be suprised what Afghanistan has contributed to the culture of the world.

Chistmas Day

2009-12-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a wonderful but busy day. We had three services within 24 hours, with lots of good singing. I had the opportunity to watch a flock of goats for several hours on guard duty. Finally we had a good ole time at the First Annual 5k Jingle Bell run around Camp Spann. If there was a category I am sure I would have won 'Best hat made out of office supplies'. The meals were very good and ample as well. I had some good calls back to my family to find out how my gifts went over. It was quite a Birthday Celebration. I hope you had a fun and meaningful Christmas too.

And a Special Thank you to those who sent boxes, presents, decorations, or greetings. They were all much appreciated. Merry Christmas!

Shab e Yalda شب یلدا

2009-12-21T04:41:00.000-08:00

In the western world we think of the 21st of December as the Winter solstice. The night of the 21st is the longest of the year for the northern hemisphere.

In Iranian and to some degree Afghan culture the night of the 21st of December is Shab-e Yalda شب یلدا .

It is an Iranian festival whose origins go all the way back to Babylonian and Zoroastrian religious rights. It has been adopted over time and is still celebrated as a winter feast, when families will sit up all night around a fire telling stories and eating melons, pomegranate, and nuts.

Because Shab-e Yalda is the longest and darkest night, it has come to symbolise many things in Persian poetry; separation from a loved one, loneliness and waiting. After Shab-e Yalda a transformation takes place - the waiting is over, light shines and goodness prevails.

Shab-e Yalda is also a very special day to someone very close to me. Someone I hope to see soon. And while it may not be fast enough, sometime after Shab-e Yalda the waiting will be over. Light and goodness will prevail.

Freedom Chapel International Christmas Service

2009-12-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our International Christmas service. There were readings and songs in English, Croatian, and Norwegian. Sweden and Macedonia were also represented in the choirs as well. The service showed that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of the language we speak. For the closing song "Silent Night", we sang the first verse in English, then in Croatian, then in Norwegian. It was a festive time and well attended. I look forward to more Christmas Celebrations this week.

Leishmaniasis Part II

2009-12-15T03:03:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember my post from approximately 1 month ago. Well, Chad has finished his one month of almost daily injections into the site of his cutaneous leishmaniasis. You may be able to identify the leg and running shoes. His wound looks much better, although it still has some thickening of the skin (induration in medical jargon). At this point he will be observed for relapse or a need for further injections. I have heard that one or two soldiers out of the dozen affected by this disease recently had to be evacuated to Walter Reed for treatment of their leishmaniasis with IV medication. But the worst appears to be over for Chad.

It is the Christmas Season, even in Afghanistan. A few of us hardy and cheerful folk met last night to sing Christmas Carols at the entrance to the Chow Hall for about an hour. It was good a good time and actually a lot of fun. After practicing a while outside we got brave enough to go in and sing a few songs in each dining area. I am sure there will be a repeat performance for those of you who missed it. While Afghanistan may not be our home, for those with the desire, it can still be a place of fellowship and fun during this Holy Season.

FOO-lishness

2009-12-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

There are some issues or events that never even make it to a post. Others, like today's, I have to think about for a long time before posting since I endeavor to be positive about our role here. Today's issue still has the potential to be a rant instead of informative.

Basic Warfare 101 teaches us that armed conflict is just an extension of diplomacy. There is a published Army Field Manual that provides guidance on the use of money as a weapons system. Out of all the tools at our disposal to effect positive change in this country, money is the most effective.

There are several programs by which mentors can buy goods or services for their Afghan counterparts. One of these programs is the Field Ordering Officer or FOO program. Others include the Commanders Emergency Relief Program (CERP), PR&C projects, and many more lesser known acronyms. The only one we really heard about in mentor training was FOO. The obvious goal of mentoring is to coach the Afghans so they can successfully navigate their own logistics systems and ensure they are self sufficient. Sometimes, however, we cannot let them fail. Sometimes we need to spend money to ensure they can complete their mission of securing Afghanistan. Most people with experience would agree that logistical planning is not a strong suit for the Afghans. The FOO program exists to fill in the shortfalls in logistical planning so that the Afghans can continue their mission in a timely manner. It requires a two person US team to go through a short course, then be responsible and accountable for money signed over by the US Government. Above is a picture of my most recent draw of FOO money. It is a stack of bills that equals 1 million Afghani. The US equivalent is $20,000. It is a lot of money, and our team only spent a small fraction of it.

Unfortunately the accountants and contact clearance personnel in Kabul have essentially scuttled this program. What may have been a useful program to offset shortcomings in the Afghan military planning process is now useless. About two months into our time here a new team of accountants at Kabul took over and radically changed the rules of what could be bought and how it was justified. All purchases were questioned from that point onwards and items that were retrospectively considered unauthorized were billed to the team personally. The result is that teams are now fearful of spending any money to support the mission. We can either assume that the Afghans have totally figured out how to work their system in the past 4 months(very unlikely), or that the mission is suffering. What is more there are lots of hardworking American soldiers who are now being held financially responsible for purchases they thought were in good faith. I know of at least three teams in the northern area who are being held personally financially responsible for purchases which seem to fulfill the intent, if not the letter of the regulations.

One Army National Guard Lt is having to pay $900 dollars out of his own pocket to reimburse the government for 'unauthorized purchases'. He bought water for the Afghan National Army so that they could complete a field mission. Another Army National Guard soldier is being held responsible for $300. He used FOO money to contract some wiring for a refrigerated container for an ANA kitchen. We all know that soldiers fight better when they are fed spoiled food. Another team paid $180 for parts and wiring to fix washing machines that were broken at an Afghan army hospital (who knew that hospitals had to have clean linen?) Somehow it does not seem right that soldiers of conscience who were trying to directly impact and benefit the Afghan mission here should have to pay (literally) for their service.

On the other hand, for many years now I have always applied the 'Uncle Dale' Principle to spending the Government's money. My Uncle Dale, a proud taxpayer, was astounded one year to find that the Navy paid rent for us to live in a nice house in Italy while we were stationed there. Since that time I have always considered whether or not my Uncle Dale would approve spending that I might do on his behalf.

But lets also put this in larger perspective. How much has the US spent on me so far during this deployment? If you add up three months of training, cost of contract instructors, ammunition, fuel, my salary, food, housing, transportation, and additional deployment pays, it is a lot. I would guess that the US has spent about $500,000 just to get me trained and here. So why quibble about a paltry few hundred dollars spent directly on the mission? Besides, who can better decide what is necessary to accomplish the mission at hand: mentors who work with the Afghans daily, or accountants in Kabul? It almost appears that the HQ in Kabul seems intent on undermining this program and therefore our direct mentoring efforts. We are here to teach the Afghans how to think for themselves, plan ahead and succeed. How unfortunate it is that we seem to have learned from the Afghan(Russian old style centralized command) system, instead of them learning from us.

If the American people want to know why we are not making more progress with the Afghan National Security Forces, they need look no further than the FOO program and how it has been hamstrung.

Shebergan Mission

2009-12-10T02:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an altogether wholesome and satisfying day. It always feels good to give or provide services to those with so little. At the end of a day it is a very good feeling when I can say that Afghanistan is better off because of what we did today.

We went to an Afghan prison about 2 hours west of here in the town of Shebergan. The American civilian mentors who work with the staff there invited us to give immunizations to the inmates and staff. This is one of the three prisons who benefited from the literally thousands of vitamins my parents sent a few months ago( thanks folks, they were well utilised). Although health care is free in Afghanistan according to their constitution, access is sometimes a problem. Our trip there was uneventful and actually comfortable(IE not in an MRAP). The staff were very gracious in welcoming us to their site. I learned some things after our last escapade doing this type of volunteer mission in downtown Mazar. In short order the equipment was unloaded and we met the medic there at the prison. We showed him the various immunizations we brought, how to load them in syringes, how to store them and so forth.

With the help of the prison mentor staff, we started immunizing the women incarcerated there. After a short orientation time of observation and teaching, our Afghan medic friend gave immunizations with us.We also immunized their children, since they stay with the mother during her time in prison. Based on previous experiences we decided this was the best population to start with so that they did not get "forgotten". The women were all pleasant and for the most part very cooperative. Their area was new and clean, although it did lack heat. The children were cute and captivating. Thankfully I remembered to bring some Shiryni (sweets or candy) to give them for after they braved their vaccines. We left the medic enough supplies of all types to immunize the rest of the population and staff. I think this was a good call, since rather than doing the whole thing ourselves, we taught, coached and provided the means for the staff to complete the task themselves.

The Commander of the prison led the way and was one of the first staff members to get vaccinated after the women and children were completed. He also provided some naan, kebaabs and chai with grand and legendary Afghan hospitality. On our way out we visited the clinic on the site. It was built by either USAID or one of the many NGO's. It was fairly new, clean and functional. I was truly impressed that the medic had health records on all his inmates. He had a good supply of medications and a well organized 4 bed observation area. I was very happy to see the clinic in such good hands.

Overall it was a very fulfilling mission. The staff were kind and respectful to the inmates. Some of the children present were from the staff. The kids just all played together. Some of our team had a hard time telling guard from prisoner at times. They got along together as a small village might. Even though it rained all day yesterday, after an experience like this my spirits could not be dampened.

This morning I reluctantly got up to exercise. As I was leaving the gym I noted the presence of atmospheric white fluffy stuff. Sometime early this morning the rain had turned to snow. I also noticed that the large hole near the corner of my hut has grown considerably and how has a small brother a few feet away. After some questioning of the resident KBR staff it appears our huts may have been built on top of a cesspool or septic leach field. There is also a new crack in the floor. Hmm.

Konduz and back, 18 hours in an MRAP

2009-12-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

We took a whirlwind trip to the Konduz and back in the last 48 hours. At least 18 of which were spent in full battle gear sitting in the back of an MRAP. Konduz is a hot spot of trouble here in the north since there is an isolated Pashto area in the otherwise Tajik and Uzbek areas of the north. It is a 250 km one way trip to Konduz. The day we drove to Konduz was a very beautiful day with plenty of visibility and sunshine. We were able to see snow on the higher mountains, and drove with snow on either side of the road while at the high point of our travels along the passes of Ring Road. Police checkpoints occured at regular intervals along Ring Road, as did stripped hulks of Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Once we arrived on the other side of the pass we followed river valleys to Konduz. Wherever agriculture was possible it was present. The wheat, rice and scant amounts of corn were all harvested already. Cotton was still out in many fields. I could see cauliflower and carrots being harvested in the fields. The vegetable markets at Pol e Khomri had diakon, squash and onions demonstrating that they were still in season. With the recent rains I saw lots of tilling of the fields. It was not uncommon to see a team of oxen working right next to a tractor. There was freshly growing grass present in many areas which gave an uncharacteristic green tinge to Afghanistan.

I especially liked seeing the trees. We don't have many trees in the Mazar e sharif area. I actually got to see the full spectrum of fall leaf colors along the route. Most of the trees were either maples or poplars. The poplars were grown in small tree farm plots as well. It has been a long time since I have seen a pile of leaves.

There were lots of animals to see as well. I must have seen thousands of goats and sheep. There were many different types and breeds. The shepherds were always present keeping a watchful eye. There were a few small cattle herds in the open areas going over the pass. In the river valleys many people kept chickens. I was suprised to see turkeys as well. The two turkeys pictured were actually on the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Konduz. In the villages the butchers were busy as well judging by the chicken, goat and sheep carcasses hanging on display. There were some beautiful horses and many donkey carts working. The wildlife I saw was limited to dogs and some hawks watching over the open areas.

Mud was the main building material. Most houses were in walled compounds. The walls and house were made of mud bricks. As we travelled it was easy to see the progression from new house, to delapidated compound, to ruins. Much in the same way a sandcastle succumbs to the tide. Even the headstones in many of the cemetaries were made of mud. I did see several new schools, which were made of concrete. Sadly I only saw one school that looked in use.

Our mission was to redistribute some medical supplies in the area. We were able to meet with one of our mentees, coordinate with another mentor and bring back some supplies as well. The security team who transported us did have some difficulties with the ground conditions. This photo was the second time this MRAP got stuck in the same field.

The weather was not as cooperative on the way back. It was very foggy, limiting our visibility. It was also much colder. I had two long days of riding in the back of the MRAP while wearing all armor and gear and strapped in tight. My sitting area, back and knees are still sore. It was good to get out to do and see things, but I will be glad to spend a few days at Spann to recover.

Winter weather

2009-12-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

We are really into winter weather here at Camp Spann. Long gone are the sweltering days of summer. Today is the first day in about a week where we could even see a hint of blue sky. The weather has really been more like Washington State in winter for the past week. It was a drizzly, misty rain steadily for several days. The temperatures ranged from 30 to 50 degrees and puddles formed all over camp. The mountains which looked so desolate and forbidding in summer look like a veritable winter wonderland now draped in snow.

The camp infrastructure, however has been under assault by mother nature. I saw more than one truck get stuck, even in the gravel. Most concerning was the sight of our B-hut's foundation this morning. Luckily nobody fell into the 1 ft sized hole last night in the dark. It burrows about 3 feet under the b-hut adjacent to ours. I hope there is no such a thing as eviction from a b-hut or condemning a b-hut due to structural instability. The only thing less comfortable in winter would be sleeping in a summer tent in the cold. The facilities folks have been alerted and the obligatory danger tape indicates that some repair preparations will soon follow.

The good news: It is time for Christmas music. I have been playing it steadily for the past week and look forward to continuing to play it for the rest of this month at least. The soundtrack to Charlie Brown's Christmas is my favorite. After all, winter is a sign of the approach of Christmas

Rolling Thunder

2009-11-29T23:36:00.000-08:00

The MRAP is an awesome vehicle for getting around the battlespace. It can protect you from almost anything the enemy can use against you. But it is first and foremost a weapon. Like any weapon or inantimate object, it makes no distinction who or what incurs its wrath. Most MRAPs are very heavy, weighing between 12 and 20 tons. When the the driver looses control it can be a disaster.

The MRAP pictured above had a rollover about 2 weeks ago. From secondhand reports the vehicle was going fast and the dust from the road obscured visiblity. The vehicle hit an uneven spot and rolled completely over(They are top heavy). Thankfully and only due to Divine intervention, there were no serious injuries. The passengers dutifully strapped themselves in as instructed. Luckily the gunner was thrown clear since the crushed turret as seen above would not have been a healthy place to be situated.

Having made about 50 trips in MRAPs so far I can tell you that it is easy to become comfortable and even complacent in your operation, preparations and drills. The Commander of our base mandated that everyone on Spann take a look at this MRAP. The visual representation of 20 tons of Rolling Thunder will certainly make me more attentive to my part in the safe use and operation of this type of vehicle.

Thanksgiving Day and Eid

2009-11-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

It was a nice slow low key day here at Camp Spann. The almost continuous winter clouds did not open up and rain today. I did a tiny bit of work today(for those who are going to deploy, pay attention to when your Information Assurance certificate runs out, it took me three hours with our slow connection here to finish it, and had to print it off today.)

Thanksgiving Day has been celebrated usually on the 4th Thursday in November since the time of Abraham Lincoln. In retrospect we have much more to be thankful for these days then they had in 1863. While our country is not at peace, we are not at war among ourselves. In fact we are trying to assist a country under the assault of terrorists. We think of it as a family time. I am sure that many a soldier was away from his family in 1863 though. We are a nation that is truly blessed, and while we should thank God every day, it is fitting that we set aside a special day as a nation to thank Him.

First there was the food at the Chow Hall. Like many facilities here on camp, it is run by the contractor Kellog Brown and Root(KBR). While KBR and other companies like Hallyburton have had their reputations besmirched during the last 8 years of conflict, I must say they put on a nice Thanksgiving Day meal. Pictured is my Supper tray, which was very similar to my Lunch tray(I basically came back for seconds in a few hours). The turkey was good and juicy, The stuffing was very good and I got to drench it with lots of gravy. I had mashed potatoes and shrimp cocktail. I have taken a liking to collard greens since our chow hall caters to the leading unit here, which is from Georgia. I had Welch's sparkling grape juice(known as King and Queen juice to my kids) for lunch and the more traditional mixture of Sprite/7up and cranberry juice for Supper. It was funny watching some of our European allies. Their eyes lit up as they saw the bottles on the table, only to turn to a frown as they realized it was not wine. There was pumpkin pie, ice cream and cake available for dessert.

The Church Service was after supper. We had about 2 dozen faithful attend. Represented were all three US services deployed here, US contractors and allies from Norway, Croatia and Sweden.

There was even a very nice piece of special music from an irregular quartet of US, Croatian and Norway mixture. The singing and fellowship was good. It felt altogether right to attend a service on Thanksgiving Day.

Finally we come to Eid. The Afghans have started a Holiday as well; Eid e Qurban قربان‎ عيد

This is known as the Eid of Sacrifice. It commemorates Abraham's offer of sacrifice of his son Ishmael from his second wife Hagar according to Muslim beliefs. It starts with the end of the Hajj حج‎to Mecca(tomorrow). Most Afghan businesses and nonessential government work has stopped. It lasts about 4 days, so I really don't plan on hearing from my counterparts or interpreter until monday or tuesday. That's alright since I will need to spend a little more time in the gym to work off the excesses of today.

I am also most Thankful for those of you at home who support me here, or have had to double up and do the duties and tasks I would do if I were there.

COMISAF on Board

2009-11-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

It was a cool damp day on Camp Shaheen. Camp Shaheen is the Afghan National Army camp of which Camp Spann is only a small part. Usually I spend nearly all my time on Camp Spann, but not today. Today I was to standby in case a brief was needed about my mission here. In the early morning there was snow on the mountains in the distance. I really wished that I had brought my gloves or put on some long underwear.

I saw the German helicopters come in low and fast. It was a few minutes until the buses arrived. The Afghan honor guard came to attention and was inspected. He spent quite a while talking with the Afghan Corps commander and his staff. Then he was led to the HEAT trainer. This is exactly the same set up I had to go through in Ft Riley, where you practice rollover drills in an armored HMMWV. The Afghan soldiers who were going through it were laughing as much as I was when I did it. Then I actually got a look at him as he discussed issues with local Afghan Army basic training commander. Shortly after this I had the honor of shaking the hand of General McChrystal as he boarded the bus back to the heli pad.

From my observations I can confirm the descriptions of him we see in the press. He was humble and respectful. Over 90% of his time was spent talking with Afghans, as is only correct in a counter insurgency(COIN) situation. He listened much more than he talked, but when he did ask a question it was always pertinent, succinct and to the heart of the matter. He had a ease about him and was quick to smile.

Also touring with him was the Deputy Commander for Nato Training Mission- Afghanistan, Major General Ward, of the Canadian Defence Forces. Our little two man team falls under his command. He cheerily introduced himself while sitting on the bus with me. He asked where I was from and what my mission is here in Afghanistan. I talked with him about the ANP medical system and what we are doing to assist infrastructure and first responder casualty training for the ANP. He listened and was very kind in shaking my hand has he headed off to the helicopters as well. It is not an every day occurrence to have the Commander of ISAF and several other Generals all on board Shaheen at the same time.

khaagbad, bo-ron and gel

2009-11-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Today was a hectic day.

We spent the first half of the day meeting with our Afghan counterparts. There are about a dozen issues in which we are moving forward. I am proud that we have worked together to come up with a syllabus and book to teach a Trauma Assistance Program(TAP) to Policemen in the Northern Region. That gets us one step closer to actually starting the course and handing it over to our Afghan friends to run on their own. TAP is a police version of the Combat LifeSaver (CLS) course which has been so popular and necessary in the US Armed Forces. It is only right that the Afghan National Police, who are taking casualties at much higher rates than the Afghan National Army, or Coalition Forces, should have this information.
We are also very close to turning over a new clinic. It is almost completed and will have many amenities that his current clinic lacks. Reliable electricity, running water, and ground floor access are the top ones that come to mind. With this new facility will come new capabilities and responsibilities.

The second half of the day was spent travelling. This is where we get our Dari words for the day. I travelled to the site of the new clinic with some engineers inspecting the facilities. I was hopeful that I could be there to supervise the turnover of keys to my counterpart. The trip was initially a slow one. A dust storm or khaagbad had moved in. It was not like the movie sandstorms where torrential winds blast huge chunks of sand at high velocity. It was some wind and lots of dust in the air. It looked like someone had burst open many sacks of buckwheat flour into the air. The lighting almost looked like it does at twilight or during an eclipse. I was hesitant to talk too much outside, since every time I opened my mouth I was rewarded with the satisfying crunch of sand on my teeth afterwards. The floor of the clinic was still wet after painting and sealant, so it will be turned over in a few days. I will probably not be able to be present during the transfer, but will be able to coordinate the process by phone.

During the trip back the storm changed from khaagbad to bo-ron. Bo-ron is rain. While I have mentioned rain a few times, this is the first real rain I have witnessed in Mazar-e-Sharif. It was not a tropical deluge, but I was soaked after walking about 200 yards. The bo-ron leads us to our final word of the day, gel. No, I am not talking about a hair care product mostly seen in the hair of our German colleages. I am talking about mud. Bo-ron + dirt=gel. Thankfully we recently got a new shipment of gravel around the camp so it is not too muddy. Now I will have a chance to clean myself and my gear after a day in the elements.

A Tribute to the ALO

2009-11-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

Almost every time I leave Camp Spann, it is after coordinating with the ALO. ALO stands for Air Liaison Officer; The officer who books flights and schedules the convoys to and from the airport to connect with those flights. It is a fairly thankless job, which our ALO has done very well. I know that as our plans have changed, as they have done very frequently, he has always worked to support us in a thoroughly professional manner. He is a superb example of an officer working way outside his usual field while deployed and doing it very well. He went through the same training class that I did at FT Riley. In fact he was only one bunk over in our 40 man bay. He has let me sit up front during several of the convoys in MRAPs. Finally, however, he is leaving in just a few weeks. It will be quite a loss for the mobility of Camp Spann when he departs.

As is only healthy, our ALO has a good sense of humor. He has the below creed posted on the wall of his office. It may have some terms that are unfamiliar, but if you have every watched the movie A Few Good Men, you will recognize the speech the COL makes while at the witness stand. Thus, courtesy of the ALO, I give you A Few Good ALOs

Son, we live in a world that has flights and those flights need to be booked by men with emails. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Battle Captain?
I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for ISAF flights and curse the ALO; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that your early convoy show time today, while tragic, probably saved lives and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me booking your flights, you need me booking your flights. We use words like CONOP, Showtime and SP. We use them as the backbone of a life trying to move people around. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the freedom of movement I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you hop in a MRAP and drive a convoy. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

The Bug Bite that keeps giving

2009-11-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

This photo is of a patient who came up to me about a bug bite problem. He didn't recall any bite, but the red spot had been present for about two months. He had casually inquired at the base clinic early in the process and was told to use some steroid cream on the spot, it should go away. He had done some research on the spot himself by the time he had come up to ask my opinion. I took one look and knew that a lesion like this; non-healing, ulcerated, red with a fresh looking scar was leishmaniasis. This photo was taken the day he went for specialty treatment for this problem.

Here in Afghanistan, the bite of the sand fly can carry any of several species of protozoa of the family Leishmania that can cause disease. It occurs in South America, Central America, the Mediterranean Sea, Subsaharan Africa, Southwest Asia(including Afghanistan) and India. There are three categories of Leishmaniasis: Visceral, Mucocutaneous, and Cutaneous.
1. Visceral Leishmaniasis also known as Kala-azar, is more common in Subsaharan Africa, but can also be found in most areas of Europe bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Since Visceral Leishmaniasis occurs in areas with limited healthcare access the disease can result in fevers, ascites, and is fatal within 2 years if untreated.
2. Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis affects primarily the mucus membranes of the nose, mouth and throat. These areas scar and can essentially collapse the face, resulting in severe socially limiting deformity.
3. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is the 'best' type to get. Progression to one of the other categories of Leishmaniasis is possible but unlikely. My patient has cutaneous leishmaniasis. It generally persists for several months before diagnosis. In some cases it will resolve spontaneously leaving a large and unsightly scar in the area. In other cases, like above, treatment can help resolve the lesion faster. Even after effective treatment that heals the wound, reactivation of the disease can occur in some patients.

There are a variety of confirmatory tests for Leishmaniasis: Fluid aspirate cultures, tissue cultures and exams, enzyme tests. None of these are 100% accurate.

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is very common in Afghanistan. So common that I heard parents in more remote areas will scratch some infected tissue into a cut on the leg of children so that they hopefuly won't get the lesion on their face. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis can result in the protozoa being transferred to other open wound areas - effectively spreading it to other parts of the body.

While different categories of Leishmaniasis are treated differently, it is curious how the USA differs greatly in treatment from the rest of the world. The most effective treatment for cutaneous disease are pentavalent antimony antibiotics. These effective but side effect riddled medications have been used since the 1940's, although resistance is on the increase. For cutaneous disease most other countries in the world, including Germany, use local injections of pentavalent antimony into the lesion daily for approximately 30 days. For US forces, this is not an option. A US servicemember who has cutaneous leishmaniasis must return to Walter Reed for 30 days of IV treatment with the pentavalent antimony drug (PENTOSTAM). The side effects of this drug are significant and potentially life threatening, so patients are hospitalized for the length of their treatment. Side effects can include the usual suspects of joint pains, GI upset and fatigue. The more concerning issues are electrocardiac abnormalities, anemia, elevated liver enzyme levels and low white blood cell counts. I am not sure why the CDC and Army chose this approach. It does have a good cure rate at 94%, but the potential for causing more harm that good is not subtle. Our German colleagues think we have lost our medical minds when we discuss the differences in treatment. Some antifungal drugs can also be used to treat cutaneous disease as well.

I wish I could say the gent who's leg is pictured is the first case I have seen among US forces here. I cannot. I have seen at least 5 cases in the few months. There are also many more cases among our Coalition partners here. I have only heard of one fatality due to visceral progression of a Coalition soldier a few years ago.

So while we think about the dangers of bombs and small arms fire, please also consider that US forces overseas are at risk for a variety of diseases we usually do not encounter at home. Disease and Non Battle Injuries (DNBI) are usually the highest percentage reason that military forces are not mission capable. Overall I think Coalition forces have done well to mitigate the many risks to our health here in Afghanistan.

The good news? Prevention is the best medicine. Wearing long pants and even shirts during dusk to dawn can prevent getting a bite. Also use of insect repellant. The simplest things are often the most effective, yet without constant vigilance, the most elusive.

Days to Remember

2009-11-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

The United States Marine Corps, Established 10 Nov 1775

The Virginia Military Institute, Founded 11 Nov 1839

Veteran's Day 11 Nov

Yesterday was very low key. There are no Marines stationed on Camp Spann. Nonetheless I found several brothers who wore the uniform of the finest fighting force the world has ever known to exchange birthday greetings. We have one retiree and several Guardsmen who are former Marines on the camp. The KBR chowhall was nice enough to commemorate the event with decorations and a cake.

Today I proudly displayed the VMI flag my Brother Rats sent me on the door of my office all day long, drawing several comments. I also wore my VMI '89 reunion cap as much as possible, although not strictly allowed in the uniform regulations. VMI continues going strong at 170 years of tradition unhampered by progress.

There was a short observance of Veteran's Day in the chapel tonight. Several citations for living Medal of Honor recipients were read. I realized as the Navy one was read that I was on a ship during Desert Sheild with this particular honoree. He was a very unassuming and humble gentleman. At the conclusion of the ceremony "We Were Soldiers" was shown in the chapel. It is really the first war movie I have seen while here in Afghanistan. It is a good study demonstrating the value of quality leadership. It also showed the sacrifices veterans and their families make.

A Wild Ride on a Stallion

2009-11-09T09:42:00.001-08:00

All I can say is that today's ride made this entire Afghanistan trip worth the price of admission.

The day started slowly, with cold rain, mud, and a still uneasy queasy feeling after battling a persistent case of moderate GI illness. Blah. Yes, the cold weather and precipitation had draped the surrounding hills and mountains in picturesque clouds and misty blankets of snow. Yes, it was very different than familiar Camp Spann. But being sick, cold and away from my 'home away from home' was starting to wear thin on me. We dutifully packed and assembled much as we had done yesterday. The German Air Officer put it best "The Runway is under water". After having our luggage checked, we assembled three different times throughout the day.

#1, Good, you are here, report back at 1000

#2, There will be no planes today, perhaps we can get some helicopters report back at 1130- (the previous day getting helicopters meant less seats, so we got 'bumped' off the roster. The helicopters were reportedly old MI-8 Russian types which did not inspire confidence.)

#3, Report back here when you hear the loudspeaker announcement (Since we could not tell what was being said in German, we just shambled back to the assembly point with all of our gear when we heard any announcement)

Needless to say at this point I was feeling low and had mentally prepared myself for another day of trudging through cold mud and sleeping in a cold tent.

Imagine my suprise when the Air Officer instructed us to get into the Armored vehicles to meet the helicopters (I think he was feeling sorry for us). When we arrived I found an old friend awaiting me. The Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion is the veritable airframe that has transported innumerable Marines over the 30+ years of its life with the USMC. Here in the northern region of Afghanistan, the Germans fly a new and improved CH-53GS model suited for the harsh dust environment and able to provide heavy lift even to the altitudes in Badakshan. With typical German efficiency we had our luggage stored and secured.

I hope to always remember this flight. We flew Nap Of the Earth (NOE), which in laymans terms means as fast and as frightfully low as is humanly possible. The rear ramp was open so I had a good view as the hills and mountains of Afghanistan unfolded like a book or a travel brochure. The pilot seemed to almost scrape every hill, ridge and mountain as we passed over them. We were between 5 and 50 meters from the ground for the entire flight to Konduz. It is an intimate, unvarnished way to see and appreciate the land and people of Afghanistan. There were solitary farm mud huts, hillside villages, miles and miles of tilled fields to be seen. I really had a hard time convincing myself that we were in a country at war. We got so close I could probably tell you the gender of each of the thousands of goats we saw. We were so close you could smell Afghanistan: the fields, the livestock, the fires warming the houses and baking naan. Every now and then I could see the second helicopter follow in our wake, shadowing us along our route. Several times I looked out both sets of side windows and saw canyon walls on both sides. We streaked past snow covered meadows, mountain streams, and forbidding steep mountains. Even in the hinterlands there were women in burkhas. Occasionally as we careened over a ridge the goats and sheep startled and ran panicked to their shepherds. I saw a fox run for cover. There were many communal holes in the sides of the hills like rabbits or marmots might make. The speed was intoxicating and the view was phenomenal. It was the best way to see the real Afghanistan. Any amount of pictures cannot truly impart the feeling of exhilaration, thrill and wonder I felt during this ride.

Like any good ride, it came to an end all too soon. At the Konduz PRT we refueled and remounted the Stallion for a more leisurely trip over the desert. I saw some camels and a hawk on this leg of the journey. It was getting dark when we landed at Camp Marmol. Our luck further held out, there was a patrol headed for Spann as soon as we got off at the passenger terminal!

These last photos are from near the Feyzabad base before the cold front moved in.

Fayzabadفيذ آباد

2009-11-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

Feyzabad is the largest city and the provincial capital of Badakshan. The population of Feyzabad is approx 50,000 and is located about 4000 ft above sea level. Badakshan is one of the largest and least populated of Afghanistans provinces. It is the province which the English and Russians made with the finger which stretches out to touch China. The German led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base is near Feyzabad at the site of an old Russian air strip along the Kokcha river.

Feyzabad is along the path of the old Silk Road. It is a place of interesting landscapes. The glacial river is the cleanest river I have seen in this country. The rolling hills nearby are obviously farmed and now bare except for the scavenging herds of goats. Even the chaff has been carted off the slopes to make mud bricks. The herds of goats and sheep can be seen leaving early in the morning to spend the day grazing high on the mountain. Every evening they come back down to the safety of the valley. The roads here are much improved in the past few years. There are many building projects and bridges being constructed. We had a good view of the local Buzkashi field while we were travelling to the clinic site. There are at least 5 tiers of hills and mountains in the distance. The highest ones to the east are at least 12,000 feet high and have snow on them.

The people are different than those found in either Kabul or Mazar e Sharif. While there are Tajiks and some Uzbek features to most of the people, there are also a good number of people who resemble the Aryans with caucasian features. The people appear to be poorer, but more productive and peaceful than other areas of Afghanistan.

I have had plenty of opportunity to study the surrounding hills and mountains. Largely because we have been rained in. It has been raining for the past 30 hours. When we got here all was the usual dust and the weather was cool and refreshing. Now there are huge mud puddles that can get a SUV stuck. Perhaps the planes will be able to fly tomorrow.

Headed East

2009-11-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted anything for a few days, so I at least wanted to give a quick update on our current trip. We have made it after a few days of travel to Feyzabad, which is in Badashan province. It is a beautiful mountainous area with glacial rivers. We are here to look at the construction of a new ANP clinic. Like any good fact finding trip it has brought to light many more questions than answers. Hopefully I will be able to post photos and more information in a few days.

Jack of All Trades

2009-11-01T04:33:00.000-08:00

Some days I am limited to office work. Other days I spend all day travelling. Then there are days like today when I do many different tasks in one day.

Mentor- Today we went downtown to meet with our ANP Counterparts in their clinic. We had the usual niceties and discussion of how well our families are doing. Then we went through our list of discussion topics. Our counterparts were very gracious and gave us some Baklava which they pronounce Baghlava. No matter how you pronounce it, the Shirini (sweets) were good. We had such a good time that I made it to the mythical 3rd cup of chai, which indicates a good and lasting relationship. We continue to make progress and pass useful information.

Contractor- Today I supervised an engineering site assessment for my counterparts clinic. I know nothing about Engineering; so I delegated, or subcontracted as much as possible. I had one soldier(airman) investigate the electrical system of our counterpart's clinic to see if we can assist with their power difficulties. I had another soldier(airman) take down grid coordinates from a GPS to see if a planned larger clinic will fit in his current site. It all went well and I got all the information that was needed. Perhaps we will now be able to build a new facility or at least upgrade the capabilities of the current one.

Soldier- Of course I carried the usual total 88 lbs of gear: weapons, armor and and medical equipment. We(my gear and I) went up stairs, in and out of vehicles, in and out of various doorways. The most challenging and fun was maneuvering through crowds of children who thought I might have candy to distribute.

Doctor- I actually did some physician business today. I consulted on a case with my mentee while visiting him. I brought up the topic of overprescription of antibiotics which is one of my favorite topics in any country. We had a short discussion with no resolution, but an exchange of points of view on the subject. I am confident the patient will be fine in either case.

MRAP crew member- I once again rode in the front seat. I won't really claim that I did too much in this regard, but I did utilized the communications equipment and even sent a message to the command center. Otherwise I made sure the passengers were strapped in tight and the doors were locked. I also had the honor to walk in front of the MRAP as we entered the various compounds and guided them safely to a parking area.

Courier- We picked up some medications for a patient with a severe illness at the nearby hospital. It was a vital, but not too demanding a task. I got the box, verified the medicines, and transported them from one base to another in a door to door fashion. Hopefully they will be of benefit to the patient.

Thats about it for today. For some reason I feel a little worn out. I hope you all have a safe and fruitful All Saints Day as well.

A Tale of Two Words

2009-10-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

I got back to Camp Spann the two nights ago. It was so nice to sleep in my own B Hut and cot. It is good to be back.

Today let's examine two words used widely in the discussions of Afghanistan. My Interpreter enlightened me as to their meaning.

Hazara هزاره

The word in Dari for 1000 is hazaar. When the Mongols brutally invaded Afghanistan in the Middle Ages timeframe, a subset of these warriors chose to settle in the central mountainous part of Afghanistan. The Khan reportedly allowed it, as long as they settled in groups of 1000, as it was the standard number for a Mongol military unit. Like many names of ethnic peoples, it is not a name they chose for themselves, but rather were given by those around them. They are a predominantly Shia Muslim people in a Sunni country. Thus you can see there are several reasons why the other ethnic groups: Pashtu, Tajik and Uzbek have long seated traditional dislike for the Hazara.

Pakistan پاکِستان

We are all aware that Pakistan is the country south of Afghanistan. It was formed as a muslim state during the fractured Independence of Colonial India from the UK. The Dari and Urdu work for clean is Pok. Pokistan, then is the country of the 'clean' people. I doubt the founders meant clean as in the physical sense, since that is almost impossible in this part of the world I fear. They chose the name to separate themselves as the spiritually clean (muslim) population. It is an interesting choice of words.

I must say for all the books I have read on the region, this type of education on the root meaning of words and names only comes from learning from the people of this country directly.

Afghan Medical Conference

2009-10-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Two times a year the Afghan National Army hosts an 'annual' medical conference in Kabul. I am attending the fourth such event. The conference is more like a report from each of the Corps Surgeons and Regional Hospital commanders to the Surgeon General. The presentations were in powerpoint and were to be given in a rigid statistical format. English speaking mentors had earphones with translation available. A lot was lost in the translation though. It really makes you wonder how good the translation of speeches at the UN or similiar organizations are. A small mistranslation can so many times lead to a significant problem. Normally I do not wear weapons or body armor to medical conferences, but this was a unique conference.

The only American to speak was the Surgeon for the Afghan mentorship command. I would tell you the acronym, but I am not even sure I understand it. Besides it will change next week anyway. My point is that it was an Afghan run and operated conference. I can tell you that it is frightfully boring to listen to poor translations of speeches for several days in a row.

We also had a 3 hour breakout session of mentors. Most of us were US, but it was good to see our British and Canadian brethren there as well. There was some good information and a fairly clear priority of work for our organinzations. I wish I had been presented this information 3 months ago, since without any guidance from higher HQ our team has forged our own way. Some of this effort appears to be wasted since a countrywide solution to several problems is being enacted without our knowledge. As much as we jested about the Afghans squabbling amongst themselves about details, we are just as guilty of this charge. Nonetheless it was enlightening to hear the guidance and plans of our lead mentors.

The conference took place at the Afghan National Medical Hospital. The 400 bed ANA hospital is the crown jewel of the Afghan Military Medical system. Many of the team that I trained with at Ft Riley work to mentor the health providers at this facility. I believe the facility was originally built by the Russians during their time in Afghanistan. If so it is a testament to their building skills. It stands proudly as the largest and most intact of the buildings in the area. We had lunch atop the hospital every day. The veiw was a little hazy, as can be expected in Kabul, but dramatic nonetheless. The eight stories of stairs were also a challenge for those of us coming from closer to sea level elevations. It was interesting to hear about plans for cardiac catheterization labs when I know that they just recently have started using vital signs in their Emergency/Triage area. Like many of us I am sure that the newest best sounding equipment or procedure is more apetizing than taking time to master the basics. I am sure they could get as good information on the cardiac status of their patients by having them climb the stairs to the top floor. The Afghans as a institution also live so much in fear of addiction to narcotics that they are loathe to treat for pain. I thought you might enjoy the "No Spitting" sign located in the hospital.

Kabul itself is first and foremost a big city. I can envision a combination of Mexico city and Denver. I saw kites flying in the winds, dancing just as you might imagine they would. I saw tremendous traffic. But unlike many big cities there is still a cordial manner of the people you would not expect in a war zone. While I returned from the conference today an excited beautiful young child come up to me while I was in my scary looking body armor. She politely greeted me and put out her hand to shake mine.

I had the opportunity to see several friends here in Kabul. While over at another Camp I had the good fortune to meet up with a Brother Rat from VMI who is one of my oldest and best friends JPP. Thankfully we had time to catch up on our lives and families. While there are many who are complacent in their preparations in Kabul, he most certainly is not one of them. I also ran into another of my VMI BRs while walking around this camp. Then there was the bonus of seeing all of my Ft Riley classmates who are all doing quite well.

I am thankful for the opportunity to come here and experience a little bit of Kabul, but I admit I am ready to go back up North. I am after all a small town person and delightful as it can be Kabul is not a small town.

On the Road

2009-10-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pictures, technical difficulties.

I started my trip to Kabul yesterday. We stayed on the German run base at Marmol, which has an airport. We had to wait until the next day for a flight into Kabul. Like all people who live on a small sized Camp we had to tour around the "big city" and observe all the ammenities available. The Norweigans have a nice PX and will actually accept dollars. There is also a small pizzeria as well. I think the Norweigan chow hall was the best part of the base though. Their food is catered through SODEXO. As further proof that it is the best chow hall on the camp, I noticed almost all of our Italian brethren eat there. The food was good. One difference between the US chowhalls and the Norweigan one is desert. There is no desert in the Norweigan chow hall. In US chow halls you can make an entire meal out of deserts.
I got to talk a little Italian to some Italian soldiers at Marmol which was both fun and humbling. It is amazing how much of a language you can forget in two years. They were nice guys and tolerated our invasion of their tent very well.
Another topic I have failed to adequately describe is that of money. For US forces in the northern region there is only one way to get cash. Nope, there are no ATMs. Nope, there is no finance office. The only way to get cash is when a team comes up to cash checks every month or two. Now don't get me wrong. There isn't a whole lot to spend money on at Camp Spann. There are the haircuts, the small PX for toiletries and such, the bazaar, and phone cards for calling home. That is the sum total of expenses at Spann. Since I am running short on cash I planned to get a little more cash while here in Kabul. Unfortunately I found out it will take another trip and some extra effort to accomplish.
The nice part about Kabul so far has been seeing most of the folks I trained with at Ft Riley. It is almost like a mini reunion. Thankfully everyone is well and still mentoring away.
Thank you USO, free wireless internet. Wow, this is the big city.

Double Header

2009-10-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a full day out and about in Mazar e Sharif. We visited both of the clinics we work with in the area. All told we spent about 3 hours travelling and 3 hours talking. As has become my rule, I did not exercise after wearing the Body Armor for 6 hours yesterday.

The biggest treat for me was to be the TC, or Truck Commander for our MRAP. You definitely get a different perspective on the 20 tons of rolling thunder that is an MRAP when you get a better field of view. I called in some checkpoints and got to help turn some of the systems on or off. It wasn't really that much like commanding, since the Sergeant next to me who has run this route about 100 times kept prompting me what to do next. Nonetheless I was glad for the opportunity. I think more than anything the soldiers who run this patrol let me sit up front because I do ride with them so often and inevitably end up in the back. I did get some low quality photos of a typical day on the streets of Mazar e Sharif to share.

We went past the Blue Mosque, which based of the dreams of a mullah in the 1100's, is the spot for the resting place of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the prophet Muhamed. The death of Ali was one of the major factors in the schism of sunni and shia muslims. A shrine was constructed on the spot. The name of the city Mazar e Sharif means "Noble Shrine". Najaf Iraq also claims to be the final resting place of Ali as well. The Blue Mosque, also known in Dari as the Rowza, is surrounded by some gardens, which my split second photo from a moving MRAP does not convey.

We got to meet with two groups of our mentees. We always have a laundry list of issues to discuss. We are making good progress on some building projects with the help of the Engineers in Kabul/HQ. We also plan to start a regional trauma course similiar to one that the US Army has used for years, Combat Lifesaver. The goal is to have the Afghans running this course completely on their own before my tour here is finished. Anything that is of benefit and self-sustainable is a very good thing.

The fields pictured are irrigated, which explains why there are any green plants present. The childrens excitement upon seeing a Coalition vehicle is almost universal. Perhaps in part due to the distribution of Shiryni, or sweets upon occasion.

Camel Ride شتر

2009-10-16T04:57:00.000-07:00

Today was another fairly low key Jumaa. The day started like many others with PT. After a quick breakfast there were emails to answer and paperwork to do. The work day was rounded off with a long meeting.

Then there were the camels. Our MWR committee had them brought on camp for rides and photos for a donation. It was not that different than riding a horse. There was just more distance from me to the ground than on a horse. It was not as wobbly as an elephant. But it was not as messy as one either. I could not discern any overpowering camel smell. Perhaps the notorious Mazar e Shariff dust had clogged my nose thoroughly. Later I came by the area and noticed that someone had cleaned up after the camels. We can't have anything disgusting tainting our pristine gravel.

The end of the day I visited the Bazaar adjacent to camp. I did a little shopping again. I got to use a little of my Dari and found that I picked up more listening to casual conversation.

PT

2009-10-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

Every person in the US Armed Forces has an obligation to PT. According to Navy Regulation it should be done at least 3 times a week. PT is good for the body and certainly gives the mind a chance to process things as well. For those who may not be familiar with the abbreviation PT, it stands for Physical Training. A more common term is exercise.

When I am back at home I do a little exercise. I usually ride my bike to work two or three times a week. I will get out and run about once a week. In the summertime I play in the pool with the kids almost daily and that certainly counts as exercise if you have ever witnessed the event. But my exercise plan at home has been more about maintaining.

Here it is different. I work out a lot here at Spann. I started out with just a little every other day while at Ft Riley, but here I have become, well ......dependant on it. I will spend between 1 to 2 hours a day exercising these days. It is not only physical but mental health that pushes me to exercise more here. For one thing it fills the many hours I would normally spend with my family, sigh. The other is that it counters the rich foods that KBR serves in abundance here.

We have two small gyms. One is a tent and the other is a B-hut. Both have some cardio machines and weights. Running around our camp is not necessarily recommended for numerous reasons, not the least of which are the fist sized round rocks "ankle-breakers" which loosely serve as the surface for most of the camp. The gyms are rumored to be merging in another building soon. Thankfully the gyms are also open 24 hours. You can also usually find a cold bottle of water in them as well. Since the TV programming is not to my tastes 9 times out of 10, I have really enjoyed the ipod Tricia bought me. It has been a real blessing.

My big thing is the cardio machines. I like the elipticals. I have learned how to not fall or hurt myself on the treadmills after much effort. We have a nice rowing machine, which I enjoy. The stair steppers I only use when all of the other machines are full. My knees don't agree with them. The bike is fine as well. I don't really do weights either. I am not so far gone that I am ready to do races or marathons. Every time I have an appointment with a patient who is preparing for a marathon I always ask them 'How far is a marathon?' When they tell me 26.2 miles I respond- Really I thought it was the distance required to kill a Greek soldier- since that is what happened to the first Marathon runner.

I enjoy exercise here while I am deployed, but not that much.

Let Them Eat Cake

2009-10-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

On this date, 234 years ago the US Navy was founded. Since those humble beginnings it has evolved into the most powerful maritime force the world has ever seen. Although there is no ocean for hundreds of miles, a stalwart crew of sailors met together in the chow hall to commemorate the occasion with a few words, a rousing chorus of Anchors Aweigh, and finally the cutting of the cake.

Thankfully one of the KBR employees in the chow hall, John, is a retired Navy Senior Chief. He arranged for the cake and all the decorations. Our Navy Augmentees here at Camp Spann work in over 8 different units and staff sections to support the US and NATO mission. The cake was very good as well.

On Mentoring

2009-10-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Todays discussion is on and about mentoring.

The original Mentor was an older friend of Odysseus. He watched over his family and household while Oddyseus was off fighting the Trojan war and eventually finding his way back home. But mentoring today has little to do with deceased greek guys.

The most common definition of mentorship is a relationship between an experienced person and a less experienced person in order to help, assist, or groom the less experienced person for future success.

It sounds a lot like the same skill set used in parenting. You cannot do everything for your mentee. That just makes them dependent on you to accomplish their job. The main thing they learn is that you will do the job if they do not. Mentees, however, are older and smart enough to know when they are being manipulated. The language barrier doesn't make it any easy either.

You can make recommendations or suggestions, but these work best if you bring them into a conversation and ultimately make them seem like your mentees idea. You have to allow them to come up with their own ideas and occasionally, although not catastrophically fail. That is the biggest hurdle I have seen here. It is difficult for us as Americans to allow anything to fail at any level. There are many 'mentors' here who simply will not allow their mentees to fail at all. I still remember in training at Ft Riley they stressed time and again that even a mediocre Afghan plan is still better than the best American plan.

That sounds very noble and laudable. The bottom line is that like our children, mentees also count on us to bail them out when their plans don't work. That is what I spent today doing. Our team was due to get out and look at some more facilities around the region today. Instead we got a frantic call last night and spent the better part of the day trying to fix a problem which will probably take several more days to properly sort out. What's more is that we knew early in the process that their plan would probably fail and advised them to choose a different path! Patience is a virtue. I do believe that we have increased our mentees trust and level of rapport since we are standing by them despite it all.

I guess like parenting there doesn't seem like there is a whole lot of glory in cleaning up 'messes'. But if your mentee learns from the experience, and can eventually operate on his own then that is the measure of success.

The Clinic to Nowhere

2009-10-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

If this is what it feels like to win against bureaucracy I like it.

I wrote several weeks ago about a very large Police clinic which was to be constructed in our Region. It will really be a poly-clinic with xray, laboratory, and a small Emergency/Triage area. I am sure my Afghan friends will call it a 'shafa khona', or hospital, instead of a clinic.

The site was going to be at a small training camp about 5 miles out of town in the desert. Today I was able to meet with some Engineers who control the building plans and projects from Kabul. With very little persuasion, I was able to plead the case for moving construction closer to the city, where the population to be served is located. While 5 miles doesn't sound like very far to us it might as well be the other side of the moon to most Afghans. The main mode of transportation is by foot, or if you are lucky by taxi or donkey cart. We have two prospective sites and there is still a lot of contracting work to go through, but we are one step closer to having the right clinic in the right location. As an added bonus we were able to convince the team that our Regional medical logistics officer needs a small warehouse. This will be added to the construction project as well. While it did take a little time and patience (what doesn't in Afghanistan) these changes will fulfill the original intent of these gifts from our country to the people of Afghanistan.

I think this may have been the reason I am here in this country; to modify this one project. It could have easily slipped through to completion and been essentially worthless. But with some good old fashioned detective work and persistence positive change has occured.

I feel a little rebellious. Perhaps now that I have stopped the "Clinic to Nowhere" I'll run for Governor.

View from the Front

2009-10-06T03:34:00.000-07:00

Just pictures today. Steve was TC for a recent patrol and got these neat pictures. Mud bricks drying in the sun and some of the mud brick buildings.

The vendors in the downtown area sell oranges and many watermellons.

It seems that every roundabout in Mazar e Shariff has a different and bizarre motiff. The next one past the globe(above) is one that looks like a birthday cake with large plastic candles. There are others with large bronze statues or space age structures in the middle. At times you may see people napping in the grass or even a herd of goats eating the well watered grass.

The return trip gave a great view of the desert area south of town heading towards the mountains(lower left). The center picture points out the size difference of the road, an MRAP and your average donkey cart. The far right picture is a naan vendor.

The Afghan have many needs and lack many things we would list as necessities, but overall they are still happy and friendly.

Downtown Public Hospital

2009-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another 'get out and see the city' day. Actually we have been trying to coordinate a visit with the Regional Mazar e Shariff hospital since our arrival here. Finally we were able to track down a point of contact at the hospital and arrange for a patrol to take us there. It was quite a production as we had folks from our Police medical mentoring team, the Afghan Army regional hospital mentoring team, The CO of the Afghan army hospital and several others with us. After an uneventful drive down to the area we parked the MRAPs and our 'away team' went into the complex.

We were met by the Regional Medical Director. For those who may not know, Afghanistan has three medical systems. The Afghan Army under the Ministry of Defense, The Afghan Police under the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Public Health(MoPH). So the Regional Director reports to the Minister of Public Health in Kabul and supervises all MoPH facilities in the 9 northern provinces of Afghanistan which includes at least nine hospitals and 85 clinics. We were ushered into his office for chai. I must say it was the most opulent office I have seen in this country. There was a marble desk, ten leather couches, and a large plasma screen TV. The Director, who actually spoke and understood English excedingly well, told us through an interpreter how the old regional hospital had burned down several years ago. So currently they occupy about 10 buildings in a complex until the new German sponsored four story building can be completed. They also get support from our State Department via the USAID organization and some help from Johns Hopkins University.

After chai and conversation time we took a tour of the facilities. There were two sections to the womens and maternity ward. There was a pediatric building complete with an entire ward for malnourishment and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with several tiny premature babies in serviceable incubators. The Director told us of their difficulty trying to get new mothers to breastfeed their children since it is tradition not to breastfeed until their third day of life. Dangerous cultural practices such as this have earned Afghanistan a 50% mortality rate for children under 5 years of age. With the help of education, vaccines and material support from Donors this concerning downward spiral is now turning around. We also took a tour of their Emergency Department and ICU/Surgical recovery area. It was perhaps the most troubling of the wards to observe. Unfortunately we only had time to visit 6 of the buildings before our time to press onwards arrived.

Of course most Americans who have never seen a struggling hospital in a third world country would probably have a very difficult time processing what we saw. But after a day to reflect on everything my partner Steve and I, who are sort of conneisseurs of third world hospitals, concluded that we have seen worse. Me in some parts of Asia, he in Africa. But for a country that is in the midst of a war and in temporary buildings for the most part it seems to be operating very well. It was depressing seeing the disparity between the Directors Office and the peeling paint and bare wires in most of the buildings. There is still a lot to do in this country.

One more word about the Afghan Health system. It is easy to be critical and see all that needs improvement here. But there are caring doctors and nurses who daily treat both insurgents and soldiers alike. They see them all as countrymen. In their consitution, free health care is a right of all citizens. So there is no cost to be seen or treated in any MoPH hospital. I find it odd that we are dictating how the Afghans set up and run their health system- "first remove the log from your own eye, then you will be better able to see the speck in your brothers eye"- a famous quote comes to mind. Perhaps there are things we can learn from Afghanistan.

Interpreter- Turjuman

2009-09-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Dari and Arabic word for interpreter is turjuman. Interpreters are very important to all that we do here. I cannot mentor or work with my Afghan counterpart if we cannot understand each other. Even though my Afghan counterpart and I can communicate in some small way with my limited Dari and his limited English, it is always best to have an interpreter present. I once had a conversation with my counterpart without an interpreter present as I toured him around our camp. He was shocked when I talked about our "Fire House". He thought that we were shooting weapons inside of our Fire Department building, oops.

We had our Afghan Police Medical Director and his Quartermaster come to visit us today. As always we made some progress on several issues and learned more about each other and the system that we each work with. We were lucky enough to have two interpreters present today. The second interpreter did not really contribute to the conversation at all, but our interpreter did admit afterwards that he felt like he did a much better job today since he knew another interpreter was listening. A little competition can be a good thing.

There are several categories of Interpreters employed by the Department of Defense. Category I are local nationals like our team interpreter. They are usually hired through an Afghan contractor. They get paid monthly for their services and some extra money for going out on missions with us off the Camp. I dare say this extra money does not adequately compensate them for the potential danger they face. If you read the news headlines closely you will find the names of many interpreters among the wounded or killed in battle reports. Since they are targets for insurgents many interpreters work in areas that are not their home provinces. They also use names which are not their real names, so that they and their families cannot be tracked down easily. Many interpreters live in areas adjacent to Camps or FOBs, although a few continue to live locally with their families and commute. While there are many interpreters who perform their services for noble reasons, the main reason is the money. A US employed interpreter can make much more than a doctor, teacher, and most officers in the Afghan Security Forces. Many interpreters are doctors, engineers and teachers. They simply make much more money working as interpreters. Money which supports large extended families from this one paycheck. More concerning is that after one to two years of service interpreters can apply for a US entrance visa, leading to a further 'brain drain' of this countries best and brightest minds. Most of the interpreters you hear about in Afghanistan are category I interpreters.

Category II and III interpreters are US citizens. They have to be fluent in both English and Dari and/or Pashto. Additionally they have to have security clearances commensurate with the information they are processing. Although it is a little old, I would recommend a quick read on this article from the Stars and Stripes on Interpreters. There were problems this summer when older physically unfit interpreters were sent with Marine units. A starting salary of $210,000 a year is very enticing though. http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63855

All that aside our interpreter is an integral part of our team. He has been with the mission for almost two years. He knows what has worked well in the past and what has failed. He knows who in the Afghan heirarchy can get things done and where to get needed supplies on the economy. The bottom line is that without him our words here mean nothing.

Our interpreter is also my malem- or teacher. I have asked him to help me with my Dari. At first we were just working on a phrase a day, but I quickly forgot these if I did not write them down. For the past two weeks or so we have been working our way through the Dari alphabet. We work on one letter a day(there are 34). He and I write down 10-20 words in Dari script and their meaning. Now I can read some of the dari signs and food or drink packages. He recently gave me a written test of 100 questions. I scored a 92, but he admits he made it pretty easy fearing that I would fail horribly. It is still a good productive thing to do daily in addition to office work and exercise. I enjoy learning more about Dari, Afghanistan and its culture every day as we have our lesson.

Change 2

2009-09-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

Change is an inevitable part of life. The military specializes in change. The highest rates of change seem to occur in the military in war time. Orders which are authoritatively passed to troops one minute may be countermanded the next. Like reading the names of fathers in the old testament; one change begets another which begets another.

Upon arrival here I was briefed by the person I replaced that my job was to supervise in processing and vaccination of ANP recruits. This task takes approximately 60% of our time. Our team made the decision that this was really only a secondary job, since our primary job is to mentor the ANP Medical Director and his staff. (Change 1)

I have been eagerly awaiting the end of the Ramadan and Eid period. Now I can get back out and my secondary job. Last week our team started getting some interesting emails with powerpoint slide attachments which indicated this secondary mission of in processing may be handed over to contractors and Afghans starting in January. (Change 2)

This week we were informed via email that the contractor is ready in our area and will assume all in processing starting 3 days ago. This certainly caught all the training site coordinators off guard as well. So now we definitely do not do in processing (the previous teams primary mission) at all. (Change 3)

The key to dealing with all this change is flexibility and an open mind. Innovation is helpful as well. We still have our primary mission to perform. In fact we now have a lot of vaccines which we can provide to our mentee, since we won't be using them. The other thing these changes gives us is a certain amount of freedom. We can now move around the Northern Region and visit ANP medical facilities and construction sites without being tied to the date of the next in processing. I may even get a chance to go to Kabul and actually meet many of the staff there who we work with through email and phone.

So to sum it up, change can be stressful but also liberating in the right situation.

The Danger of Safety

2009-09-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

Weapons safety is a big deal around here. There are lots of US and coalition military and many of other people who carry firearms at all times. Of course the goal of carrying these weapons on camp is to defend ourselves if needed.
Clearing barrels are placed at the Camp entry control points. They are usually 55 gallon drums filled with sand or small pebbles. Their purpose is to provide a safe direction to point a weapon to ensure weapons are in the safe and unloaded condition prior to going on board the camp. Obviously not everyone understands the steps to make a clear and safe weapon.
There are as many sets of instructions how to safely clear a weapon as their are weapons systems, but for the most part they all have these common steps. It is generally done with a buddy, sentry or leader to supervise the procedure:

Step 1- Point Weapon into the clearing barrel.

Step 2- Ensure the safety is ON.

Step 3- Remove ammunition belt or magazine

Step 4- Open the bolt to inspect and ensure no rounds are in the chamber of the weapon

Step 5- Place weapon on FIRE and fire into the barrel to further prove the weapon is clear.

As you can see the clearing barrel in the photo has two small accessory holes. These customized extra holes are proof that some folks do the 'readers digest version' and take safety off and pull trigger. The other clearing barrel has 5 extra holes in it. Thankfully nobody has been injured so far. I am proud to say that since I have been here I am not aware of any incidents among US military personnel. Nonetheless this is a situation that demands due diligence and attention to detail.

Hornet Bane

2009-09-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

Today was noteworthy for the stalwart performance of the vector control guy. We have been trying since our arrival at Camp Spann to get the large asian hornets out of the shipping container which we use for storage (CONEX). We move things around, put things in, or take things out of the CONEX as our mission directs. The hornets are not amused by our moving and stomping around. Luckily we were not stung. Since we cannot get any insecticide spray from our supply we have to contact KBR. Today put an end to our uninvited guests. The KBR vector control guy was very friendly as I walked him out to our infested CONEX. He sounded less than impressed when I initially discussed the problem. I guess I can understand why as he described the 6 foot cobra he caught at a nearby camp. He had a can of industrial insect poison in his hand. We opened the CONEX and he bent down to look at the nest. He quickly stood up using some forceful language and said he was going to get more 'ammo'. He came back with two more cans and a stick. Since he was a professional I decided to watch from a discreet distance and voice support. He expertly emptied the cans in the 'gunslinger' method and continued to spray with the third as he used the stick to knock out the next. It was the size of a dinner plate. I'll check back in a few days to make sure that all the guests have left our area.

In unrelated news tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox. A sure sign that winter is approaching.

Rain; there was rain last night. As I was leaving the 'latrine' last night I felt some wet drops hit my head and arm. My first thought was to look up and see if there were any doves out to get me. Lo and behold it was not dove excretia, but actual drops of water which fall from the sky. Granted it was not a deluge, but the 2-3 minutes of sprinkling rain we had was the first I had witnessed since leaving the US in July.

Finally, while talking on the phone with Tricia last night I saw a shooting star. I did make a wish.

Eid and Range time

2009-09-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

Today is the end of the month of Fasting- Ramadan. For the next 3 to 4 days families all over Afghanistan will be getting together to exchange presents and feast. No mentoring will be going on over this Holiday period. My team will be very busy once Eid is over, but the next three days will be our last leisurely ones for a while.

We celebrated today by going out to the Range again. This time my partner Steve took his golf clubs and balls out to get is some practice shots. He got to launch a couple of good shots while several of us were making adjustments to our weapons so they would fire precisely where we are aiming.

We zeroed, or adjusted both our regular (iron) sites and optical site or CCO. The picture shows what the CCO site looks like when it is on. The red dot is your aim point, so it is almost like a video game in some ways. The adjusments were a lengthy process for some on the range detail, but it was worth the time we invested.

After we finished our adjustments we drilled on some live fire, sweeping fire and fire on the move. It went well and I had a good confident day of shooting. We did have to monitor the Afghans in the area since some of them were getting a little close to the danger area until the Afghan Range control ran them further away. Normally after firing a day at the range you spend a lot of time picking up the spent brass cartridges. Here we were almost run off the range by some young Afghans who eagerly pounced on the brass so that it could be sold or melted down. I am dusty, hot, dehydrated and have a filthy weapon after I fired about 200 rounds, but it was a very good day nonetheless.

Turkish Delight

2009-09-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Today was another banner day.

I went along to witness the turnover of a new Provincial Police Headquarters compound in a nearby area.

The ride was better than most in the back of an MRAP. I got to talk Afghan politics and learn some Dari from an interpreter who was in the back as well. Once again my camera hand was not fast enough, but I saw more sights. There were of course the herds of camels, sheep and goats along with their herders. The Afghans build earthen walls around their land much in the same way the Italians build walls around their property. There were children waving and several groups playing with kites. The most impressive thing was the water.

I have been here 2.5 months and have yet to see a drop of rain. So imagine my suprise as we followed a river bed which had an actual river in it!

There was an impressive amount of agriculture. There were small fields of corn, orchards of almonds and figs(anjir in dari). Along the river and road were large fields growing watermellon (tarbooz). I can tell you that 4 medium tarbooz run about 240 afghani- which is about $4.80. The interpreter also claimed that here in the mountains they had the sweetest ones- he bought several so that his family could celebrate Eid, which is rapidly approaching.

Of course there was business to attend to as well. The new ANP compound is noteworthy for several reasons. First is that it was built by a Turkish company. The astounding part is that it was completed ahead of schedule, under budget, and with impeccable quality. I toured many of the buildings including a detailed look at the clinic, dining facility and water systems. I really wish this company had worked on our Regional Clinic, since this one is much nicer- ceiling fans in every room, central heat, tiles, sinks that work. It was a very well designed and built structure that will if maintained properly serve the ANP in this province for many years.

A great effort by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Turkish contractor. Thanks to them the Afghan National Police have a nice new 'home' in this province.

A Good Day

2009-09-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

Yes. Today was a Good Day.

A picture of our team: Dean our interpreter, Me and Steve.

We made a trip to visit our Afghan Police counterparts in their downtown clinic today. We had a good visit with them, making progress on several issues. I have hopes that several of these projects will even be completed before my time to return home arrives. If even one of these projects is completed it would be a astounding. It would be like melting a glacier with a lighter; possible but it rarely happens. Here in Afghanistan time is not measured with watches.

I impressed myself thoroughly at being able to read the sign, which says tashnab- or bathroom. Thankfully I did not need to use it since it was locked at the time.

The ride was as serene as possible with a young PFC driving a huge MRAP. I was able to see some picturesque sights, but I wasn't fast enough with my camera for all of them. There were long lines of camel caravans. Every now and then there were children playing around houses and open lots. I observed young men taking naps on manicured grass in one roundabout along the way. There were the obligatory goat herds, sheep herds and donkey carts. In many spots along our route there were entire fields of mud and straw bricks drying in the sun. Then of course there were the markets with huge watermelons and lots of other fruits for sale. It was a nice trip and a beautiful day. I don't even think I broke a sweat today.

After getting back to our office I had another nice suprise. Construction is about to start on a huge clinic which will be located about 5 miles out in the desert. I was able after conferring with my Afghan friends to contact Headquarters and at least get the project on hold until we can determine if this is the best spot to put it. I think we will be able to get it moved so that it can even be accesible to the people it will be built to serve!

Score one for reason, sanity and a responsive Headquarters.

Like I wrote at the beginning, it was a Good Day.

Hail to the Chiefs

2009-09-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

Naval Tradition has once again been upheld. Three fine Navy Sailors who have been working for the past several weeks to transform themselves into leaders of the Finest Navy in the world had their anchors pinned on today.

There was no ocean, nor even any water visible other than the sweat of those in attendance. Nonetheless ships bells were rung, sideboys posted, and time honored rituals were performed.

I have seen these three fine Sailors perform their duties with the ANA hospital mentoring team. The Navy did very well in promoting them to Chief Petty Officer. They are now charged with the duties of teaching and mentoring enlisted sailors, carrying out the tasks of the Navy, and teaching the junior officers they will work alongside. Hail to the Chiefs!

Remembrance

2009-09-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

We had a nicely done prayer breakfast this morning in remembrance of the day which is a defining moment in our country's history. The ceremony, speeches and songs were reverent, but not excessively solemn. You see, we are here. We have the ability to ensure that something like that does not happen again by our example and actions.

I still remember the 8 years ago vividly, as I am sure most of us do. We had only been on Okinawa for 2 months and were living out in town in the top floor of a Japanese house. The first of many typhoons we endured on Okinawa was slowly approaching the island. You could roughly judge the windspeed based on the pitch of the humm of the bars protecting the windows. I recall seeing a 55 gallon drum blowing around like a piece of cellophane at one point. We were exhausted and finally getting ready to go to sleep when I unexpectedly got a phone call from my good friend Ed. In a choking voice he said I should turn on the TV then hung up. There will now always be life pre and post 9-11.

Typhoon Nari slowly passed around the island for the next 36 hours. The Okinawans claimed it was a spirit typhoon meant to keep us safely in our houses for the first few terrifying days that followed.

Massoud Day

2009-09-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

9 September is a National Holiday in Afghanistan. It is dedicated in the memory of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Massoud Day (roz e Massoud) is the only National Holiday dedicated to one person. He is remembered as the most charismatic and effective leader of the mujahideen during the struggle against Soviet occupation and control. He was an articulate man who served as a rally point and focus for the western press during the Afghan-Soviet war. He earned the nickname Lion of Panjshir- which in Dari is a play on words 'Shir e Panjshir' or more literally Lion of the (valley of) the five Lions. It is in the Panjshir valley that Massoud made a name for himself first against the Soviets- who launched 7 unsuccesful assaults into the valley to kill or clear him from the area. It is also the area where he sought refuge after the Taliban started to take control of the country. Massoud warned European and other Western leaders of the dangers of the Taliban, to no avail.

Two days before our own country was attacked by Al-Qaeda, Massoud was assasinated by a group of Al-Qaeda suicide bombers who assumed the identity of a film crew. The bomb was in the camera. It has been suggested that this was a deal between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda would kill Massoud, and the Taliban would let them train and run their worldwide terror campaign from Afghanistan.

So while we can rightly remember with indignation the attacks of 9-11 and the tremendous loss of life and symbolism of those attacks, we should also remember that the people of Afghanistan lost a great leader, liberator, and hope of a peaceful unified Afghanistan. We share loss with the people of Afghanistan. The perpetrators of these cowardly and vicious attacks were the same. That is why we are here. That is why we need to support and train them so they can defend their own country from these extremists and control their national destiny.

The Bird of Peace

2009-09-07T02:02:00.000-07:00

In this land that has seen so much conflict there is very little in the way of wildlife. I am sure that the harsh environment also limits what can be supported off this rugged land. Other than some grasshoppers and spiders, it seems that little else exists here.

The notable exception is the Dove. Yes there are pairs of doves all over the camp. Nesting in the bathroom gables, flying about the camp in search of food. I guess they eat the grasshoppers. You can hear them cooing from early morning until late at night. They seem to thrive in this otherwise desolate area.

The Bible mentions the dove over 50 times. Many times it is mentioned as a sacrifice. We first hear of the dove as Noah's scout for dry land. Perhaps the first amphibious landing? The dove is described as innocent and cautious. It is used symbolically when Our Lord Jesus rose out of the water from his baptism the Holy Spirit settled on him like a dove; the bird of peace and the Prince of Peace together.

I like the symbolism of the dove as the bird of peace. In this land that has seen so many years of conflict and strive, a little peace could go a long way. So let us hope that the flock of doves that is thriving in our military camp with all the trappings and machinery of war is a sign of things to come.

I do hope that all of you back in the States had a fun and safe Labor Day weekend. We all wish we could be there with you.

The Bazaar

2009-09-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have a mental image of a Bazaar in your mind; small mud built structures amongst winding small streets or something similiar.

Our bazaar on Camp Shaheen is not necessarily like the model bazaar. It is a group of tarps and tables with various stuff for sale and occurs every other week or so. The sellers of carpets, wooden boxes and jewelry are regulars. Of course there are the knock off brand electronics, movies, and sunglasses familiar to any servicemember for sale as well.

The hardest part is the price negotiation. If I were buying something that I was remotely familiar with, such as a toothbrush, I would have an idea where to start the process. But I really have no idea what Afghan goods go for around here. If I become too frustrating, the shopkeeper usually has me just name some price. I usually try to start with an amount which is low, but not insultingly low. I would guess that I am still not starting low enough though. By the time it is over I feel like I must have gotten a good deal, but then the shopkeeper smiles a very big smile when we conclude the purchase. It really makes me think I have been taken to the cleaners. That and they usually throw in something free at the end. Perhaps they just want to make sure I am a loyal customer and will come back to them next time?

There are some who stay away from the Bazaar and prefer to spend money on stuff at the limited exchange on base. I know from experience that part of our job here is to spread our wealth around the world and stimulate their economy. It is also a nice break from the monotony of life on camp.

Weather Update- Autumn approaches

2009-09-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

I guess Ramadan has really cut into my Operational Tempo since I seem to have more time to write these days.

There are no leaves to change color. There is no musty damp smell of decay. But Autumn is approaching. The view of the mountains to the south is clear and crisp. The high temperature has been BELOW 100 degrees F for several days this past week. There have been regular sightings of wispy clouds.

I still hold out hope that their may be some rain sooner or later. I have yet to see one drop fall from the sky after 2 months.

Nonetheless my observations support the coming of Autumn.

A different perspective of corruption

2009-09-01T01:39:00.000-07:00

How many times have you seen an article in the news media start off with "There is rampant corruption in Afghanistan?"

We of the US Military abhor corruption. Bribes, kickbacks, skimming things off the inventory; these are things that we simply do not do or tolerate. Sadly there are politicians and other leaders in the US who do not share this standard of conduct. I think I am safe in declaring that almost every citizen of the US would put corruption in the BAD category.

Having been in more than a few foreign countries I would like to expand your perspective.

We are treated well by our Government. If I am asked to go to city X and stay Y number of days, the Government is kind enough to provide transportation, a place to sleep, a way to get food or reimbursement for all of the above. If I need equipment or personnel to carry out my duties, the Government provides the needed things or funds so that I can accomplish my tasks. US Government employees or military members are almost never assigned to do things without any tools or funding.

Well that is simply not the way things work here in Afghanistan. Imagine you were told to personally fund a trip to go pick up government supplies, which may take several days. You are not given any money to accomplish this trip. You are responsible for finding and paying for your own food, lodging and transportation. This is the framework for a system which is not taking care of its people. This is a system which is ripe for 'corruption.' Many times corruption is the word we apply when the system ignores or abuses its people. I have found after visiting several countries that while there are those who wish to individually profit from position, there are many people who are just trying to get things done, including taking care of their subordinates. It is no wonder that there are those who request suspicious amounts of supplies. For some loyal and otherwise straightforward officers, this is the only recourse they have to "reimburse" themselves or their troops for personal expenses they must pay while performing their official duties.

Yes, Corruption is Bad. But you need to ask the question Chirra or Why before you pass judgement on the actions of an individual, when it is a system flaw in many instances.

So for those who would condemn the Afghan people, or any other people for blatant corruption I would say that you would need to:

1. Walk a mile in their shoes.
2. Be a citizen of a country free from this sin, before we cast the first stone.

MAIL CALL

2009-08-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

One thing that has not diminished in twenty years since my first long deployment is the power of mail on morale. Imagine my suprise when I went to the mail room and came out hauling 3 boxes and a post card! Every day with mail like this is Christmas.

I would like to thank my Dear Love Tricia for the box from home. It even had cards from each of the kids inside. Very Nice. Now I can also continue to work on my bedside manner with the next episodes from "House".

Thank you to my VMI Roomie and Best BR Nat and his bride Lori. We live a somewhat communal life in the B-huts here, so it was nice to be able to share snacks with my hutmates since they have already shared with me, a lot.

Finally thank you to Bill, Sue and your Church. Everything you sent will be used and appreciated. Thank you for your thoughts and goods.

Now I like to use some of the modern communications as well. But even in this digital communication age or cell phones, blogs, email, and so forth; There is still something undeniably human and touching in getting mail.

Thanks Again,

88 Lbs

2009-08-30T04:36:00.000-07:00

Today we went out on a Mounted Patrol so that I could visit with my Afghan counterpart in addition to many other tasks. Thankfully the movement there and back was uneventful. Like our previous meetings we had a productive and cordial time. We are working towards a combined training class similiar to the Combat Life Saver program that the US Army has used for several years. We both look forward to Afghan personnel taking over the teaching of this type of class for the benefit of the Police in the Northern Region. We also made progress on several other more mundane topics. It is always a pleasure to visit with him.

I conducted a scientific experiment today as well. I weighed myself in my full combat uniform with weapons, ammunition, Body Armor, helmet and Medical Aid Bag. After we returned to base I weighed myself without all the gear. The difference was a staggering 88 pounds! No wonder I feel wiped out and have no desire to exercise today. I have been carrying the equivalent of a small child on my back all day! I also learned that I have lost a few pounds myself with all the good exercise I get here.

The photos are more of the veiw from the back while we were travelling.

The Range is Hot

2009-08-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

It seems that I hear a lot about the range from our loudspeaker system on Camp. It is either "hot' and people are shooting on it or it is 'cold' and firing has now ceased. The announcements can come day or night at any hour. With all of the Afghan and Coalition forces training it gets used a good bit. Well today I got to make the range hot.

Today was our day on the range. It was a little bit of a hassle to arrange everything, but I finally got out to zero my sights again. The wind and dust made it a little challenging. I found that the scope on my M-4 was off, but the old iron sights were right on target. I spent a lot of time monitoring the safety of the range, but it was still fun. There were so few of us that we were able to fire a lot of rounds in many different positions. A good day all around. Luckily we brought our own boxes to use as targets. Some of them were literally blown in two by the time we were done. Hopefully these will be the only shots I will fire in Afghanistan.

Now to spend all of Jumaa cleaning.

The Gator and Abr-haa

2009-08-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

I got to do something useful and fun today. After all the work related emails and reports were done I helped our interpreter pick up some items to assist with the training we do with our Afghan friends. I could have walked out to the gate to help him carry it back, but he assured me it was quite heavy. That and it is Ramadan so he had not had anything to eat or drink since about 0400 in the morning. I thought it best to go and borrow a Gator.

A Gator is a John Deere 6 wheeled diesel small cargo utility truck for use on base. It is quite handy for moving large amounts of luggage, multiple coolers filled with vaccines, or anything else that is heavy and/or bulky. In true military style you must be trained and have a license to operate this complex and powerful vehicle. So having gone through the mandatory training which involved driving in a circle and backing into a parking area, I have a license to operate the Gator. It gets so many looks from our Afghan friends that I almost feel like I am driving a convertible Mercedes. Although to be honest the performance is more like a slow and cranky golf cart. Still it is better than carrying all that stuff.

Today was also notable for a strange presence in the sky. Upon awakening and heading out for the shower building I saw some fluffy white and grey things in the sky. They were of course clouds or Abr-haa in Dari. I had seen only one or two flimsy whispy examples of this meteorological phenomenon in my 2 months here. But today the entire sky was filled with clouds and the temperature was blessedly cool.

Thank God for clouds. Who knows there might even be rain next month?

The Guard and Counterinsurgency

2009-08-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

I am an extreme minority here at Camp Spann. I am a full time active duty service member. There are very few of us in the Northern Region at least. The bulk of forces and units for the US here are either National Guard or Reservists.

I have learned more than a few things about the Guard on this mission. My preconceptions about the National Guard were formed in small town Mississippi. The Armory was a frequent place for Boy Scout camping outings or dances. The Guardsmen were for the most part were not folks you would want in your proximity with many high-powered weapons. It seemed like hunters deer-camp training instead of a true military venture. Well a lot has changed.

Nowadays the Army National Guard is now more a true Reserve of the Army. Since 2001 Governors have basically passed control of their units to the DOD and president. The unit I am here with now has been deployed for 12-15 months every 3 years or so since 2001. That is quite a commitment for a citizien-soldier. They have very good gear, have gone through some good training prior to deploying, and have done it all before.

One of my roomates and I were talking about the merits of the Guard specifically for this type of mission. Now don't get me wrong- if the goal is to close with and destroy an enemy- a young active duty 19-21 year old is the best choice for putting as much lead as possible downrange to win the day. But this is a thinking man's conflict. Counterinsurgency has been called the Graduate level of warfare- since it is so much more than shooting at bad guys. So having a Guard specialist who may be 20, 30 or even 40 years old and has had siginificant life experience may be a better choice. They are more apt to question why a certain person is doing something or acting a certain way before choosing to fire on them. I still find them to be very professional and dedicated to their fellow Guardsmen, some of which have served alongside each other for 20 years in the same unit. Granted that every unit has some areas to improve, but overall I agree with my roomate that the Guard is a good selection for this job.

Quiz and Waffles

2009-08-23T01:29:00.000-07:00

T0days topic is Morale. There are many programs used to keep spirits up around here. The Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) committees on all Armed Forces facilities have many opportunities for troops to get together to have a little fun. Our MWR has video game, dominoes, chess, basketball, spades and other tourniments frequently. The gyms on the camp are also funded in part by MWR. One truly multinational MWR event on our Camp is 'Quiz and Waffles Night'

Camp Spann is essentially split into a US (ARSIC) and OMLT (NATO) side. The NATO side is populated by soldiers from the various NATO countries who are mentoring ANA units throughout the northern region. We eat in the same chow hall and use the same gyms, but otherwise there isn't a whole lot of interaction.

Quiz and Waffles is held on the OMLT side of the camp, where US forces are rarely authorized to go. The concept for Quiz and Waffles is simple. The losing team from last week makes a quiz for the next week and comes early to make waffles for all who attend. Teams are chosen ad hoc and usually do better if there is at least one European member. The quizzes have covered everything from Billboard top 100 songs, to Michael Jackson trivia, national capitals, history, medical topics etc. It is a great opportunity to get together with folks you don't normally see to talk and get to know them. The waffles are great as well. They are made from a sweet batter Norweigan recipe that results in a waffle similiar to the picture which does not need syrup. There is some interesting brown Norweigan cheese which tastes slightly of nuts or some jam to put on as a topping. It seems like the event is primarily a German, US, Norweigan, Swede and Croat endeavor. Thankfully my team has done well both times I have attended, so I will be eating waffles next week instead of making them.

A hearty thanks to our NATO allies for sponsoring this fun and wholesome get together.

Afghan National Elections and Ramadan

2009-08-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

I have been anticipating the arrival of this day since about mid April. That is when I figured out that I would be present in Afghanistan during this historic day. It is a day that the Afghan people and allies of ISAF(International Security Assistance Force) have been planning for a long time as well. A lot hangs on the results of this day. It remains to be seen how many Afghans will be brave enough to risk actually going to the polls and then voting. This is a land steeped in retribution, so lack of loyalty to one's family, tribe or region can have direct and dire consequences. Please remember the Afghan Security forces who are protecting the polling areas, roads and crowds today. Please also remember the US and Coalition forces who are working with or assisting the Afghans in their lofty goal of obtaining a nonbiased and democratic vote.

The 22nd of August heralds the start of Ramadan. In this country, which is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ramadan is a very important month. We had the ANA Corps Cultural Advisor- ie Mullah, come and give us a lecture on Ramadan last week. Ramadan is the Muslim holy month of fasting in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, sexual conduct, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is meant to teach patience, modesty and spirituality. Per our lecturer it makes people more understanding of the plight of the poor and motivates believers to give alms and perform good deeds. It certainly will make our mentoring mission interesting. While not directly forbidden, it is considered in very poor taste to eat or drink in the presence of a muslim who is fasting during Ramadan. Productive earthly work also tends to decrease as muslims are fasting and devoting more time to prayer.

Afghan Independence Day

2009-08-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

Afghanistan has two Independence Days. One from Britain and one from the USSR. The 19th of August is Independence from Britain Day, commemorating the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919. It is odd that Britain never really conquered Afghanistan, yet they memorialize this day. Afghanistan is one of the few countries on the planet that withstood the might of the three British Empire campaigns without being conquered.

The Afghan people have always highlighted that their country will never be conquered by any invading force.

New Clinic

2009-08-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Two days ago we took a little trip to meet with our counterparts at the ANP Regional level. The main purpose of the visit was to tour and get an understanding about how the new ANP Regional HQ clinic would be used. The building is new, nice with adequate facilities. It is a great improvement over their current situation. We will be working very closely with the Regional Medical Director (far right) and his staff to get them situated in this new facility. We also had a great meeting afterwards and worked through various

issues with ambulances, medical training, logistics and much more. Afterwards we also visited with the clinic on the ANP recruit training center and gave a class on hypertension diagnosis and treatment. Much like our first set of encounters with the ANP Medical folks, the meetings were cordial, productive and appreciated. Perhaps in a few months I can show you how the clinic looks when it is in use. Another productive day doing the job I was actually sent here to accomplish. Yeah.

The view from the back

2009-08-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

The elections are close at hand in Afghanistan so everyone is a little tense and dreading a potential increase in violence. Ramadan will start after that. For these reasons I have been out recently a few times to meet, mentor and interact with ANP medical personnel. Luckily I have been able to get out and do what I was sent to do. Now I just need to get better seating. Sightseeing is limited while strapped in a passenger seat in an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protection) vehicle. The MRAPs are large, noisy, slow- but they do have excellent Airconditioning and are the safest way to travel by road in Afghanistan. Per guidance from leadership, no photos of an MRAP, sorry.

The Navy Jack

2009-08-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I was a little taken aback when I started this mission, since the Navy had us wear Army uniforms. I mean, every other service has its own distinctive combat uniforms. The Navy is still wearing old style desert cammoflage utilities in certain spots of the world.
Well thankfully I feel vindicated to some degree now that the Navy has authorized those of us wearing Army Combat Uniforms (ACU's) to wear the Navy Jack on our left arm.
The Navy Jack is the earliest flag of the United States Navy. A red and white striped flag with a rattlesnake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me!". Usually this particular jack was only to be flown from the bow of the oldest Navy vessel on active service when secured at anchor or pierside, but since 31 May 2002 the Secretary of the Navy directed all US Navy Ships to fly this flag for the duration of the War on Terrorism. Thus it is an altogether fitting patch for a sailor to wear while deployed with the Army in support of the War on Terrorism

Thank You Brother Rats

2009-08-10T21:52:00.001-07:00

I was very suprised yesterday when I recieved a small box from Lexington Virginia. In it was a VMI flag signed by my brother rats who were in attendace at our 20th reuinion. As you can see I have it prominently displayed in my office area. As usual I can always count on my Brother Rats of the class of 1989 to show support for all the challenges I might face.

Thank you Brother Rats, Rah Virginia Mil

Class time

2009-08-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

Of the various duties I have here in Afghanistan: mentoring, teaching, performing physicals and immunizations, I enjoyed teaching the most this last week.

We have just finished a mission in Konduz. The Afghan and coalition force camps are located near the airport on a plateau. I caught a glimpse of the deep green valley below and even saw a few wispy clouds.

There was a little bit of everything in Konduz. Some rapport was established in a mentoring relationship, many physicals were performed and lots of immunizations were given. We taught about 30 ANP NCO's the basics of the Combat Lifesaver Course in after hours sessions. The lectures were very truncated since they had to be interpreted and therefore took twice as long to go through. Like most of us, they seemed more lively and interested in the hands-on portion where we split into smaller groups and actually practiced bandaging techniques, IV's and so forth. It was a lot of fun and made me use more of my limited Dari in order to communicate. They seemed appreciative of my poor efforts to use their language. I think they liked the IV's and the casualty carry portions of the training the best.

I hope that my new freinds never need to use these skills, but now have the confidence and equipment to perform some lifesaving procedures if called upon to do so.

The Sunflower

2009-08-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tricia loves Plants, so this entry is for her,

I know that I thought of the common sunflower as a uniquely American Summertime phenomenon. So imagine my suprise when I saw that most gardens on the bases and some in the local Afghan communities have at least a few sunflowers. The seeds are eaten by children as a snack food according to my interpreter. The name is a little different as well. 'gul e aftab parast' translates more literally into -flower which worships the sun. An apt description of this large beautiful flower. Sometimes amidst war and strife we need to take the time God has given us to find the beauty in his creation.

Dedication of the LT Toner Firehouse

2009-07-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the dedication of the LTjg Francis Toner IV Firehouse on Camp Spann. It was a solemn occasion. LT Toner was an engineer by trade. He was the Northern Region Garrison Engineer, and as such mentored the Afghan base engineers and by all accounts did a superb job. He also planned buildings on the Camp. The most significant of which is the firehouse that now bears his name. He was spoken of as a good friend, a motivator and a Godly man.

Like many of us who are here from the Navy, LT Toner was an Individual Augmentee. He was stationed in Hawaii. He went through workup training at Ft Riley.

On 27 March 2009 LT Toner was running laps around the perimeter of Camp Shaheen. Camp Spann is located within the limits of Camp Shaheen. He was running with a buddy as were two female Naval Officers. On their second lap around the perimeter an ANA guard came down from the tower and shot the two female sailors. LT Toner with no regard for his own safey charged toward the assailant. He was fatally shot while attempting to protect his comrades. The assailant then took his own life with his weapon. LT Toner is survived by his spouse Brooke Toner and his parents. LT Florence Choe, USN was killed by the insurgent/traitor as well.

For his actions LT Tonerwas awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V.

Let us remember his actions and life proudy.

Police Training Surge

2009-07-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

Elections are coming in about three weeks here in Afghanistan. That means potential problems with increased insurgent activity until then. While there are a good many Afghan National Police (ANP) already on post in every district in this country, we are still well short of the final recruitment goals for this force.

In response the Ministry Of the Interior (MOI) who controls the ANP has stepped up the training cycles until just before the elections and the start of Ramadan. In some instances the training has been curtailed from 13 weeks long to just 2 weeks in order to get folks out "on the street" where they may be needed very soon. This also means that our team will be in high demand for the next few weeks to assist with the inprocessing at five different training sites in our region. It is not clear to me if these officers will be recalled to complete the remainder of the training. I am encouraged by the fact that a need to bolster the forces of the police was identified ahead of time to allow for a pro-active response, not a reactive response when things go bad. The ability to plan ahead is one of the key and defining processes that indicate an organization is squared away

Camp Mike Spann weather update

2009-07-28T04:59:00.001-07:00

The base where I spend most of my time is Camp Mike Spann. Mike Spann was a CIA operative working in the Mazar E Sharif area at the time of the Taliban overthrow. He was also a former Marine Officer, which is near and dear to my heart.

The Northern Alliance fighters had recently taken control a prison complex outside of town. Spann was in the prison questioning prisoners of interest including the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh. Unfortunately the Taliban prisoners made a breakout and Spann died defending himself and his brothers-in-arms. He is interred at Arlington. Camp Spann is not on the site of his death, but it is nearby.

Camp Spann is the HQ for the American and Coalition Advisors for the Northern region of Afghanistan. There are Americans, Germans, Swedes, Norweigans, Croations and occasionally some French, Polish or Hungarians in the area. This is the hub from which these forces move out to work with the ANA and ANP forces. Units are here teach and advise the Afghans, not fight the war for them. But Force Protection is a big part of what goes on here.

The weather today is hot, dusty, windy with poor visibility. I must have started to acclimate, since it doesn't feel as hot here as it first did in Kuwait. The clinic thermometer read 130 in the sun. The photo is of a thermometer that was in the shade. Thankfully there is usually adequate water to drink and use for hygiene purposes.

Prison and introductions

2009-07-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I had quite an experience. A contracted mentoring team who is working with the prison systems in our region requested our medical assistance with immunizations. The previous team gave a few immunizations to the women in the prison. This worthy work also gave me the opportunity to actually meet the ANP doctor I am actually supposed to be mentoring.

The trip there was one of the most reassuringly secure ones I have taken in country. There is something inherently secure about having a team of folks who have eyes like hawks and probably kukri knives underneath their battle dress. I actually got to see the countryside for once as well. Many of my colleagues here have commented that with the exceptions of the few cars and mopeds, this region of mud brick houses and arid landscape appears largely unchanged since Biblical times.

I was able to catch a glimpse of the famous Blue Mosque in downtown Mazar E Sharif on our way. The prison compound was a cramp area of courtyards upon courtyards with razor wire on top. The female cheif corpsman with our team went into the women's area while I was given the rooftop tour. There are no individual cells, but more communal courtyards. The young children, about 6 and below, of the women confined there stay with their mothers unless other family can or will care for them. This may sound heartless from our perspective, but there are no child protective services here, and it appears the staff do their best with the meager resources they are provided to provide a humanitarian existance. They do recieve medical care and looked as healthy as any Afghan I have seen on the streets. Under the Taliban I am sure that all of the women in that area would have been killed outright.

With my interpreter and shadow from Nepal, I made my way to the Regional police HA clinic. I had a good visit and short tour with the Regional medical director. He seemed very interested in continuing to meet with us. I look forward to repairing some of the damage this relationship suffered during the last 6 months.

Success with First Mentoring Contact

2009-07-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have been out at a nearby training facility for the past few days. Ostensibly we went there to provide follow on immunizations for ANP recruits, but I knew better.

After just a little effort we were able to find the ANP clinic on the camp. It was a small but well stocked and set up space. My interpreter and I had a very cordial visit with the Dr and his assistant. By the end of the meeting the Afghan medic agreed to assist us drawing up the immunizations that night and both of them participated in the immunization process for the entire time the following day. I was able to spend 3 more hours teaching them on almost a one on one basis- going over some pharmacology based on their medications on hand and trauma bandaging. They were extremely appreciative and by the end of our time there they agreed that they plan to take over running the immunizations for their recruits after a walk through with us next time. We also came up with a training plan for my next visit. I must say that during the teaching I have never had a more attentive and interested audience. They were taking notes constantly so as not to miss anything. It felt really good to do the actual mission I was sent here to perform. I look forward to my next chance to work with the Afghan medical professionals of the ANP.

Jumaa

2009-07-17T07:47:00.001-07:00

Today is Jumaa, or Friday. In Islamic countries it is the most important day of the week. It is the day of the week that most Muslims go the mosque and then spend time with the family.

Since many of us at Camp Spann are here to interact with and mentor our Afghan counterparts, it is the closest thing we have to a weekend. In order to match the schedule, or battle rhythm, of our Afghan allies we take time for church services today instead of Sunday. It was very comforting and moving to worship with fellow Christians of all types and denominations. The singing was especially good. The sermon today was primarily on the 23rd Psalm, one that I am sure has seen a lot of use in combat situations. I am thankful that we do have the opportunity to gather in His name and worship.

The photo is part of the range of mountains to our South. No snow here, it is way too hot.

The first Mission

2009-07-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

The team we are replacing was very quick ensure we hit the ground running.

We went to a nearby ANP training facility to inprocess a new batch of Police recruits. There were other teams doing administrative screenings, but we did medical screenings: medical history, abbreviated physicals, immunizations, vision screening, and urine drug screenings. It was in a hot chow hall area of the compound.

At one point we were a little suprised by a nearby explosion, which we found out later was a controlled detonation of an old mine.

These screenings are a lot of what the last team did. It is essential to have a bountiful and well trained police force to counter the insurgency efforts here in Afghanistan.

I hope that we will as well be able to reengage the ANP medical officer and do some true mentoring as well.

Picture of me and Steve at work

Arrival at Mazar-E-Sharif

2009-07-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an early day as we yet again loaded our luggage onto another truck. The person who did our transport coordination said we should be there in plenty of time to check in by the required 0730 time for a 0930 flight. Well once we got there the nice folks at the counter informed us that we were scheduled for the 0500 flight!! No not another few days stuck at Camp Phoenix!
Luckily there was an additional flight later in the morning on a German plane. The German airman was very strict about everyone staying in their seats, so I didn't get a good veiw of the famed Hindu Kush as we flew over.
It was very hot when we arrived at the airport at Mazar-E-Sharif. Amazingly the unit that runs Camp Spann loaded our luggage onto the trucks for transport. I got my first ride in an MRAP and I must say it felt very secure.
On arrival to Camp Spann we were quickly introduced to the team we will be replacing. Our mission is to work with the health systems of the Afghan National Police in the Northern region of Afghanistan. It looks like we will be on the road a lot to the various ANP training stations in the area.
Another pleasant suprise was my room. I actually have a very sizeable room to myself, not that I will be spending too much time there. I am sure there will be more later.

Learning New Skills

2009-07-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

Yes,
I have a lot of down time right now as we wait for the next flight to my final destination.

I have learned many new things working with the Army and going through the Advisor Training. I also got to review some things from my past as well. One new skill which I now consider myself fairly proficient in performing is the role of baggage handler. Yes it is a little know fact how much of our time travelling into the theater of operations here is spend loading, unloading, piling, and sorting our baggage. I have already discussed the crazy amount of gear we are taking- 4 seabags, a full sized pack, a carry on pack and a gun case. Well multiply that times 25 Navy personnel in our training class and many flights. I count we have loaded or unloaded our gear 16 times so far. While I would not consider myself proficient at building pallets of gear to fly, I have participated in that as well. So at least I can work as a Sky Cap if this medicine career doesn't work out.

On a more serious note we bid farewell to our training buddies yesterday and today. The 25 of us trained together at Ft Riley for 2.5 months. Now we are being spread out to 3 different locations across the country and 6 different mission units. Godspeed and Safety to you Shipmates!

A big Day at KIA

2009-07-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

I am still making my way slowly through the different intermediate camps and stops enroute to my final destination. Each level of headquarters has its own briefs and forms, which take time. Then there is waiting for transport to the next spot.
Yesterday was a banner day since I flew into KIA. All airports have a 3 letter code with them, but Kabul International Airport's code can give you the creeps just from the acronym.

While we moved from the airport to this camp, I was struck by the gardens and vegetable plots along the route. There were small family gardens and fields all along the way. In a land of predominantly brown dust and sandy soil, beautiful green spaces can occur. People were out grooming, weeding and tending their crops. It very much reminded me of the same scenes I had seen in vegetable gardens called ortos in Italy, or similiar home gardens in Okinawa. It was refreshing to see life and growth in an area that has seen so much destruction. It was a heartwarming scene, and made me miss our home and garden at home.

There were buildings as well that were obvious casualties to the 30 years of war that Afghanistan has endured, but I was also very impressed with how much construction was going on here in Kabul.

Please note since I am moving 'downrange' I will really only mention things in the past tense and may use generic descriptions of people I interact with or places for security reasons.

Arrival in Afghanistan,

2009-07-05T21:47:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we made it in country,
I had a little bit of a view for a short time on the flight. I could see coastline below.

In a bit of clique coincidence while we were walking off the flight line, 2 ambulances arrived to deposit their passengers onto a waiting aircraft, probably headed back to Germany. It served as a solemn reminder of what can happen in this country. I also heard my first two explosions within my first 6 hours in country. Sure they were announce overhead as 'controlled detonations' which I assumes meant mines, but it is still a little disconcerting to have explosions wake you up from a nap. These middle of the night flights are going to mess up my sleep for quite a while

Here we are surrounded by jagged tall mountains. To the north and south you can see snow on the peaks. It has a daytime haze much like Denver. It is quite warm in the afternoons and comfortable at night.
We are currently in a 120 person tent, but with only about 80 inhabitants. Luckily there is internet available, but with this many folks, time is limited. There are showers and latrines. I wish we had some laundry access.
There is a ton of construction going on all over. Large construction trucks almost outnumber the HMMVS and MRAPS.
Hopefully we will only be here for a day or two, but military transportation is a fickle thing.

4th of July at the "Commonwealth"

2009-07-04T03:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Camp "Commonwealth" somewhere in Kuwait.

The 4th of July is a Day of Celebration of the people who are the United States. A people who threw off the shackles of tyrrany. A people who work to allow others in the world to enjoy the freedom and Democracy we sometimes take for granted. I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July. I hope we won't have any fireworks here though.

After reading my last post, it almost sounded like I was whining. So I would like to point out some of the finer points of Camp "Commonwealth"
1. You are very unlikely to run out of hot water.
2. The Gym is very nice with plenty of good equipment.
3. The chowhall is almost as good as the food I had on a recent cruise.
4. The USO and MWR facilities are nice and adequate to handle all the troops located here.

The only part that I have trouble with is that it is a desolate wasteland of desert. Thankfully the heat is less oppressive and the sandstorm died down enough yesterday evening that the sun and moon were visible.

I also made two discoveries in a breifing yesterday:
1. I will probably only have to go through Kuwait on my return.
2. The Army is going to a cashless gift/debit card type system for all AFFES and post office functions soon. So today I got my Eagle Cash card- so I can buy what consumables I might need for this deployment- soap, wipes, laundry detergent and so forth. I guess this isn't earth shattering news, but it was a suprise to me.

I hope to eventually add some pictures to these last two posts.

Still awaiting arrangements to go into Afghanistan.

Enroute to Final Destination

2009-07-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long 2 days which have actually been one super- long one. After 13 hours in the air (3 additional hours in the plane waiting on the ground) and 5 hours convoying ( 4 additional hours waiting in vehicles) amd other unaccounted for hours waiting in the Air Terminals, we are at an intermediary stop camp enroute. We have loaded or unloaded and sorted our seabags and other gear 6 times so far. The ones with the Body Armor in them are especially heavy.

Many thanks to the cheerful USO folks who are working hard to get many of us access to home.

We did some last minute MRAP rollover training, for which we were all pretty wiped out and jet lagged. You certainly can get strapped in tight to the MRAP seats.

The other big news is the weather- Sandstorms! I have been in Deserts with heat before but this is the next level. Several of us strongly considered turning around instead of pressing on to the chow hall for lunch. The chow was well worth it though. The heat is similiar to opening the oven when you are putting in a big turkey, except you cannot close the door, the wind is whipping, and unless you have goggles on constantly wiping stuff out of your eyes. The weird twilight level of lighting adds to the feeling of something is not quite right.

Hopefully we will not spend too much time here before we move on.

I would like to pass on best Birthday wishes to my Son Graham. I really wish I could be there with you.

Farewell to Funston

2009-06-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post from the USA until my return. Our training area, Camp Funston, is a veritable ghost town, as several of the subsequent classes were downscaled and the training mission is moving from Fort Riley to Fort Polk LA.

Packing is always a chore when you are travelling. It is even more of a chore with all the stuff we are to take with us. It is similiar to the challenge I face daily back in clinic, when patients have a gallons worth of concerning medical issues and I only have a quarts worth of time. Which bag to put the body armor in, where and how many M-4 magazines in a bag? All the usual quandries. Well despite the fact that I have a large medical Blackhawk bag I was able to fit my stuff in the alloted quota. I am taking an astonishing 4 seabags, a rucksack, a day pack, and a gun case.
Contrast this incredible amount of gear to my gear allowance during Desert Sheild/Storm which was 1 Seabag and 1 pack. Wow.
The hills and plains look especially green today. Ours is a country blessed by God with abundant resources and water. It will be cold and bare by the time of my expected return.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-06-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

I bid a farewell until next year to my dear family today. It is a sad occasion since I feel like I will miss so much of their lives during this time. From experience I can tell you that absence does make the heart grow fonder however.

Airplanes. My dear Tricia doesn't like to fly at all, so of course the kids don't care for it as well. We take lots of trains, drive or boats when possible. I have logged a lot of flights in the past few months. To get from home to Port Hueneme to Ft Riley, back and forth to home two times and leaving today adds up to a lot of flights. By the end of today I will have taken off and landed 16 times on this journey so far. I have flown on almost all of the major carriers so far. I estimate it will take 5 to 6 to get me to my ultimate duty station in Afghanistan. Who knows how many it will take to get back?

Time with My Family

2009-06-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

In Afghanistan your family is one if not the most important thing in your life. I dare say it is one thing the Afghan culture and I share.

Thankfully I am guessing due to the influx of soldiers and Marines inbound to Afghanistan, our departure date got pushed back a bit, allowing me to spend more time with my family. We took the opportunity to spend more up close family time while on vacation. In the past we have taken train vacations, but this time we decided to take a short cruise to the Bahamas. There was plenty of up close time as the four of us stayed in a room smaller than any bedroom in our house for four days. It was lots of fun. While we did not make it to any of the late shows, we did go on excursions to snorkel at both ports. The kids did very well on both and had a great time rediscovering the magic of the ocean. My son,Graham, even took some pictures. I just always enjoy getting in the water, but it was even more fun for me to observe Hannah and Graham enjoying the ocean as much as I do.

Only a few days left and then I will have to make due with emails and phone calls to my favorite people until next year.

On the Road with the Family to Discover the Greatness of the USA

2009-06-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Family and I went to do something I have not done for over 25 years or so. We went to visit the Kennedy Space Center.
My son, Graham, is 10 years old and very interested in Science- albeit the type that blows things up. I soon found that while Kennedy is a bit touristy in regards to shameless merchandise, it was educational for the whole family. I consider myself a fairly informed person when it comes to history, but I learned a great deal as well.
While all the technical data and facts were stimulating, the most striking thing was the slant that the Center has on the whole space race, in retrospect. The gist of the commentary was that we as Americans only entered the space race in order to keep up with the Soviets- who launched Sputnik. We did not do very well at first if you look closely at our projects of that time. Our only motivation at that time was fear of a Nuclear Soviet Union and what their dominion of space would mean for us.
It is still very moving to hear the words of President Kennedy as he challenged our United States not only to succeed in the short term but to actually safely put a man on the moon and return him to Earth. This is history to us, but was shockingly bold in a time when math was done by slide rulers and circuits had large vaccuum tubes and big transistors. Despite all the odds we achieved this goal not once but six times! All of this reaffirmed in me that there is nothing that our Great Country with the Support of the Almighty cannot do. I pray that our present leaders can challenge the American people in such an all encompassing and constructive manner.
For those of us who remember the two fatal space shuttle incidents, it was also eye opening to see the records of the over 100 successful missions these revolutionary craft have flown. We actually got to see the Endeavor on pad 39A ready to go on another mission. Godspeed to Americas Great Heroes of space and the many Americans who work to support them every day.

Space Shuttle Launch Schedule - Kennedy Space Center

CAPSTONE Finale and the End of Training

2009-06-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

CAPSTONE is the final exercise in the training here at Ft Riley. It is meant as a final verification of all the things we have learned here. It was technically a 2 day event, but one day was spent in preparation and one on execution of the plan. The key leaders of our team nominated me to continue as tactical commander for this last exercise. We had to meet up with our 'ANA' counterparts, meet them and plan through an interpreter to visit at least 2 villages in order to meet with the elders, police, and mayors of each of these cities. The standard warning order and then Op Order were given the day prior. We left at 0630 after our Pre Combat checks and inspections. My truck commanders came with me to meet the 'ANA' Colonel. I had just time to give frag (fragmentary) orders to modify our plan and how we were to assist the ASA by providing external security of each area.

It was a hectic morning. In the first village I met with 9 leaders of the various surrounding villages in Dari and the obligatory chai. Luckily my interpreter was very good and she could keep up with the conversation. I could pull a little dari out of the conversation myself: Hospitals, schools, taliban, Americans. In short order there was an unruly crowd of 20 agressive locals outside the meeting place; shots were fired. My battle buddy was in the meeting with me. (the URF) was monitoring the radio while I was deflecting most questions to my 'ANA' counterpart as the authority who can address their issues. Soon the 'ANA' Col. said it was time to go right as many more shots rang out. A vehicle born IED had driven up past a checkpoint and my troops had taken care of it with one of our men simulated as injured. He had first aid and we booked out of town as I called a MEDEVAC. We had a good ole time on the roads in our HMMWV's since they were very muddy. In the second village there was to be a death gratuity payment. The father, however, would not accept the money and another ruckus started in the courtyard outside. This time a bomb simulated hitting our medic. The crowd of 20-30 people went berserk. We had just adjourned the meeting with the father and village elder as I walked outside. One of our Army soldiers was tending to the wounded medic. As he reached across to secure the medics weapon he hit the trigger and it went off- pointed right at my right leg. This was personally an eye opener for me. Luckily it was a blank and the rifle had a blank firing adaptor. Another MEDEVAC request and another pickup outside of town. The ANA Col. and I had a last regrouping meeting on the road. He had intel on an Al Qaeda operative in a nearby village and was moving to apprehend him at another village. We expected even more resistance in this last village, but the operation went pretty well. We got the bad guy, none of my team got hurt- although it appeared one of the troops did point a weapon in the direction of one of the ANA. On further review by the referees this was at the request of the 'ANA' play actors- just trying to get us in trouble. The day was finished with an IED hit, with a hasty recovery to tow the vehicle, while one of the truck commanders called in the 9 line IED.

Overall it was very overwhelming and therefore realistic. I learned a lot and I think overall it was a final confidence builder for the team.

Today was the final day of training. Our final ceremony, complete with a rousing acapello chorus of Anchors Aweigh, is over and we leave for a quick stop to our homes late tonight.

I believe the training has prepared us as much as can be expected. My sincere hope is that I will not need to use all of it.

Mounted Combat Patrol Live Fire

2009-06-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

A Mounted Combat Patrol is a group of armed vehicles. We have been doing mock MCP's since our arrival here, but today we actually fired the machine guns on the trucks while patrolling.

Usually I drive or serve as one of the dismount riders in the back of the truck. Today I was the Patrol Leader for this exercise. We ran the course one time with blank ammunition, then we did it with live ammunition. Basically I talked a lot on the radios. We drove a course of 6 checkpoints and engaged pop up targets with the machine guns and at one point with our dismounts during this exercise. We had to call all checkpoints, give contact and situation reports on the enemy. Later we suffered a simulated casualty so I had to call the 9 line MEDEVAC request. Last we had a simulated IED strike and had to perform a hasty recovery (tow one vehicle with another) Not much time for photos today since I had one radio set in each ear, but I was glad to see the team communicate well, cooperate and accomplish the mission well. Our gunners did a good job hitting the targets. The Observing safety NCOs on the range gave us good marks for our efforts. It was especially good that there were no safety issues. A good day of training.

The URF

2009-05-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my URF. Phonetically "ur-f". The actual acronym is "Unit Request of Forces", meaning the Army, which is pretty strapped for people, asked for assistance for each mission and billet to accomplish that mission from other services. Each URF has its own number to track its mission, personnel and status. An URF can be as big as 18 or so, but our URF is

only 2 people. So my bunkmate, Steve, and I are an URF. As a nickname I call him URF a lot. It is good to have a battle buddy you can count on in these types of situations. Thanks URF.

Friday and Saturday were Afghanistan specific big picture medical lectures, with lots of reference material on disc in case we need it later.

Urban Ops, -Room Clearing

2009-05-28T01:40:00.000-07:00

Every one of our instructors started off with "We usually work up to this over several months, but you will do it all today." That should have been a clue.

We had a class on room clearing, then we were split into 4 man teams and 12 man squads. We practiced for about 3o min, then went through two small test houses.

The final 'test' had us operate as a whole squad- which we had yet to do- to clear a 2 story building. Wax/rubber bullets added realism. The results were sobering.

Our 12 man squad took 50% casualties, 2 of which were fratricide. 3 out of 4 leaders became casualties. The actual OPFOR of 2 aggressors and 4 paper targets were subdued.

While the medical care for our many injured was good, there are some things that are best left to the combat arms professionals who do this type of thing all the time.

SRM-Reflex Shooting Range

2009-05-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today was another productive day at the Range. Since most shots are fired at less than 50 meters in our current conflicts, the Army has instituted training to accomplish this Short Range Marksmanship. Since repetition builds reflexes.

To the credit of the Army instructors and safety coaches, there was plenty of explanation and dry drills prior to actually putting rounds in the chambers. All shots were in the double tap- or controlled pair- mode.

The first set of firing was at the ready position with the M-4. On command we fired at targets from 5 to 25 meters away. We fired from facing full on, but started in many different facing positions: facing full- on, facing sideways right, facing sideways left, and facing backwards positions. There was also firing on the move while closing with targets.

The second course of fire had us transitioning from our M-4 Carbine to our M-9 pistol and back (double taps at pop up targets) switching magazines until all of our magazines were empty. I found I did much better with the M-9 doing these transitions, than I did at the regular range. I counted at least 15 transitions.

There was also a short course of fire for fire control. There were different colored shapes on the targets. As the tower called off a shape or color- we were to double tap until our magazines were empty. They called out several combinations at one time.

The stress course of fire was last. From the prone we ran 50 meters with a cleared and safe M-4's into a building. We had to shoot from one window- 2 sets of double taps, then trade with our battle buddies to the other window-where you had to shoot with your other (nondominant) hand. We then jogged to some barriers and had to shoot regular x2 doubles off one side of the barrier, then switch hands again to shoot nondominant. Finally we finished up with a jog to an old vehicle and shot braced from the hood. All the while the staff were setting off flash-bangs, smoke grenades, shouting and running sirens and whistles.

Very good reflex shooting training and great confidence training. 170 rounds downrange per person. No incidents with safety. A good day all around. I know folks who would pay good money for such and experience on a private range.

COIN then Memorial Day

2009-05-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

Last week was spent in many long tedious lectures on CounterInsurgency (COIN) theory and applications to Afghanistan. At the end of the week, we went over personnel recovery as well.

Thankfully we had a 4 day weekend to celebrate Memorial Day. I must say that it increased my morale significantly.

I got to spend time with my favorite people in the whole world. I got to swim, watch movies, nap in the rainy afternoon, play baseball, eat together and I got to see my son get his scouting God and Me award presented in church. It was so good to be home, even if only for a few days.

I also saw some true American patriots in action. The flight crews of several of the flights I took went out of their way to thank those of us who were in the Military for our service. One flight even had a PA announcement and a rousing applause from the passengers. I even observed several citizens give up their first class seats to Military personnel in Uniform. This was a heartwarming gesture that shows just how much the American people appreciate the sacrifices of people like me and my family.

Memorial Day is about the fallen and their families. I distinctly recall the tingly feeling I had one early morning while I visited the American Cemetery in Nettuno Italy. It is the only type of ground we as Americans have ever asked for during all of our Wars and Operations abroad- enough ground to bury the 7,861 war dead from WWII Italian campaign.

Citizens of the USA, we are proudly and humbly your servants. Photo of training team Neptune.

Continued Training

2009-05-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

We spent time in classes on Wednesday- Law of Warfare, generic rules of engagement.

Thursday we spent in classes on Call for Fire and Air support. The photo is a shot of the screen that was our practical exercise trainer. It will be a very bad day indeed when medical folks are needed to call in and direct Close Air Support.

Friday was detainee and site exploitation day. Detainees are pretty self explanatory. Site Exploitation is the collection of contraband and evidence to eventually convict detainees. We had a practical exercise in the full battle rattle with actors playing in various roles as Afghan Army soldiers, suspects to be tactically questioned, and a compound to be searched in very finite period of time. I had a small team to seach and catalogue the contraband in the house. The Observer/controllers were impressed how rapidly and methodically we searched and catalogued the gear in the house. He asked which intelligence group we were with. He was suprised when we revealed that we are Medical. It was good training, and it is possible that I might participate in something similiar downrange, but I would like to think that as Medical folks we will be employed in more the hearts and minds category of work.

Unexpectedly I met up with one of my VMI classmates, Kent Doane, who is in the training class ahead of me. He is in the Guard now. Last night he and I went to a backyard neighborhood social with another Brother Rat, Paul Mele- who is CO of an Apache BN here at Ft Riley. It was good to catch up with them and the goings-on at our 20th reunion.

Thank you to those of you who are leaving comments and feedback. That will be even more critical as I make to transition from training to boots on the ground.

More Range Time- M-9 Pistol, M-4 Carbine day/night and Mk 19 Famfire

2009-05-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

I still remember days long ago at VMI. On Saturday mornings in the fall on the way to classes some upperclassman would inevitably stop a Rat and demand. "What day is Today Rat?" The answer was a scripted and well rehearsed "Game Day, Baby, Game Day- Sir!!!" The more vigor you put into your delivery the less trouble you were likely to recieve.

Well today and yesterday I felt like answering the question with "Range Day, Baby, Range Day!!!"

Yesterday morning we left on our convoy to the Pistol range. This was a very different course of fire from any I have performed in the past. We were given 9 preloaded magazines with between 1 and 7 rounds each. All of the targets were pop-up computer- timed targets which only were up from 3-7 seconds each at varied distances.. The last portion of the M-9 range had us all walking on line down the range and shooting pop-up targets as they presented.

Then our Navy section was off to the M4 range. First was the iron sight zeroing of the weapon at 25 meters. The coaches were not too interested in fine tuning my "dope" on the weapon, since we would be using the M68 optical sight for our qualification with the M-4. Once both of these were zeroed from a supported foxhole position, we were off to the range.

The Army range had targets, pop-up again, from 50 to 30O meters. Once again targets were up for only 3-5 seconds each. Shooting was done from a foxhole, prone and kneeling positions. I am used to a more leisurely precision firing, so I had to change tactics. With the M68 sight it was quite easy to take on the range. In fact I was "robbed" of 2-3 shots since I hit the target while it was still on the way up. The system only recognized a hit after the target was fully in the up position.

Night fire with the M-4 was more of a Star Wars experience than marksmanship. The range was completely black. We had our night vision goggles on and our PEG-2 lasers- which are mounted and bore sited on our M-4's. All night fire was from supported and then unsupported foxhole positions. The laser put out an infrared laser point. With the butt of the M-4 on my chest I just guided the laser point to the popup target and fired. My face was nowhere near a firing position, as we were not looking through sites or a scope. It was odd, but while the targets were a little closer, I did almost as well during the night as I did during the day. It was another late night since we didn't get back to Camp until after midnight.

While I must dime out the Army for not even giving us a period of instruction on the basics, disassembly or cleaning of the M-4, I have lots of confidence in this weapon.

We also completed our Combat lifesaver course with mass casualty drills, carries of live personnel with moulage injury makeup. Since we are Medical folks, we pretty much smoked this event.

Today was the Mark 19 range. The Mark 19 is originally a Navy weapon system adopted by our ground forces. It is an automatic grenade launcher. It fires 40mm grenades up to 1500 meters like a machine gun. It is a fun area target weapon, but is not a precision weapon. It is used alongside 50 cal machineguns to compliment the effects of each. The Mk-19 can also be used to provide short range indirect fire to positions you cannot actually see. It was a fun, but all too short 32 rounds.

Photos are of an UpArmored HMMWV with a Mark 19 mounted.
Photo #2 practice rounds hitting the target.

Range Day, Machine Guns - Day and Night

2009-05-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

- A day at the range is most definitely better than a day in the office. Yesterday was the first of only two days at the firing ranges during our training here. The course of fire was both to familiarize and if possible qualify on the M2 .50 caliber machinegun, and the M240G machinegun both in day and night settings. We also did familiarization fire with the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) during the day. All firing was performed from a stationary HMMWV. Daytime with iron sights, nightime with thermal imaging scopes. Each individual fired about 900 rounds of various types throughout the day and night.

- Like most range days, we arose early (0530 muster). Our Navy teams, Blackbeard and Neptune, are still in the early stages of mastering mounted combat patrols and convoy operations. We did make it to the range all together and in one piece. The first order of business of course was the safety and range briefs. Then I was off with a small group to zero the M240. After we accomplished this we rejoined our group in line for daytime firing of the M2 50 cal.

- The 50 cal has been in service for at least 70 faithful years since before WWII. It is featured in the photos, along with yours truly getting directions from the range coach. The 50 cal is also one of the most popular and photogenic of the defensive mounts on HMMWV's and other armored troop carriers. While the arcane art of maintaining settings of headspace and timing is required to safely and effectively employ this fearsome ordinance, its tremendous shock power, range, and penetration have made it an enduring and powerful symbol of the US.

- Next was the M240 7.62 mm machinegun. It is the successor to the M60(pig) of earlier years. It can be moved onto a target more rapidly at short ranges. It seems heavier than my recollection of the old M60, but is a seemingly reliable light machinegun.

- Last was the SAW, which is slightly modified from the days I knew it in the early 90's. Perhaps because I had fired the SAW more than these other weapons, I did much better with the SAW.

- Daytime firing was OK, but after using the thermal imaging at night, I truly understand why our technology has made us masters of the night. The imaging systems were awesome in their effectiveness. It was ridiculously easy to pick off a target at 1000 meters on a pitch black night with the 50 cal. That is over half a mile away!

- My favorite course of fire was the M240 nightime qualification. Eleven pop up targets in 3 minutes from 100 to 400 meters with 200 rounds to use. I tied with several others for high score on that event. It was fun, but even more fun to watch others as the fireworks from 10 gun positions lit up the sky.

- Thankfully the weather was nice during the day. I would like to especially thank my Dear Love for the ipod, which made the waiting times more tolerable.

- On the challenge side our HMMWV started to smoke on the return to Camp Funston and had to be towed. We did not leave the range until 0430 the next morning after clearing the range. The rain and pillars of lightning from the sky while I was in the open topped HMMWV were less than welcome, as was the 8 hours of weapons cleaning our team performed on the machine guns today.

- I am beat after about 40 hours without sleeping in a bed. As tired as an Intern as they say. Now to sleep.

But a day at the Range beats a day in the office anytime.

Machine Guns and Foreign Weapons

2009-05-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

We were assigned radios, HMMWV's, and crew served weapons this morning.

The afternoon was spent going over the 240G, 249 SAW, and M2(50 cal) machine guns. We had to demonstrate competency in clearing, firing, and assembly/disassembly of these automatic weapons. It has been a long time since I had to set headspace and timing on a 50 cal. We also went over the AK-47, the RPK and PKM machineguns, and the Dragunov sniper rifle with scope. Assembly and disassembly of these were not required, but was so easy I did them a few times each. It is clear why the AK is so ubiquitous and hardy compared to our complex but longer range weapons. Unfortunately no range time with the Russian type weapons. The optics and thermal imaging devices were kind of difficult to follow. More to follow as we shoot the US Machine guns day and night this week