Mark Bromwich - The Captains Blog

“Cows have no Business in Horse Play”              Jamaican Proverb

       Hey … Welcome back everyone. We just clicked over four months of completed time in country. Sweet. We are over a third of the way done, and only thirty four more Steak Days to go until we are home. What is a Steak Day you ask? Well; instead of counting just days, which by the way is somewhere around two hundred thirty eight days, seventeen hours, fourteen minutes, and fifty seven seconds, but who’s counting, we try to count down other events to make things a bit more interesting. Every Friday we have Steak and Lobster night, and every time Friday rolled around we would make a big deal about it being steak night. It’s the perfect day to count because it kind of marks the end of each week, so I got all crazy into the Photoshop one day, and took a cow and divided it up into 41 pieces. When I got the crazy idea that’s all the steak days that were left, and then each week I add another piece back onto the cow. We have a staff meeting everyday, and one Friday I got the crazy notion that it would be funny to unveil the cow slide I created as part of my brief. It’s the picture you saw above. When my bosses first saw it, I wasn’t quite sure what they thought of it, but there were enough giggles from the rest of the staff, that the slide has become a semi-regular part of my Friday brief. We’re always trying to figure out what kind of stuff we cant get away with around here to break up the monotony just a bit, and I am sure you all know who leads the charge on this challenge.

       It’s been business as usual for us here, and we have continued to teach away for the ANA. Let me tell you; business has been good for us. When we first started, we were just teaching the Brigade staff how to use their computers. Somehow word got out that they may actually be able to use these machines for things other than holding their doors open once they have complete the course, and so other groups wanted to get in on the action. We have now included two additional ANA groups to our roster, which is great because it keeps us busy, and it helps them automate their world. I always say we because it takes a group effort to deliver the curriculum. I always have a minimum of three interpreters for about a ten to twelve person class, and SGT Schissel is always right at my side, available to help in any way possible. I should say that he is quite the instructor himself, as he has conducted many a radio class for the US Brigade staff, and just the other day he conducted radio classes for the ANA security force we have here on camp. Needless to say it has been challenging to create a curriculum that meets the specific needs of this particular group of students, but it has also strengthened and reenergized the way I look at instructing. The experience has been pretty cool thus far, which brings me to sad part of this posting. I am slated to be relocated elsewhere in country soon. Yup; moving to another place, and so I have to leave this entire splendor behind. To tell you the truth, I am not happy about the move at all. We have carved quite a niche into this little chuck of Afghanistan we call home, and I am going to hate to leave it behind. When we first stepped foot into the Commo shop it was an utter disaster, but we have put a lot of effort into getting the place running pretty darn smoothly, so it will be pretty tough to hand it off to the next guy. Thankfully; I know who my replacement is, we trained at Camp Shelby together, and I know he will certainly continue the trend. Another reason why I am going dislike leaving is SGT Schissel is remaining here. We have pretty much been inseparable since we started working together, and I absolutely appreciate his work ethic and admire his sense of humor. For not being a school trained commo guy, he would certainly makes the real commo guys quite proud with his mad skills. It’s not all bad though, the good news is that the move I am making is an upward move, and I will be the new Corps Signal Officer. That’s cool.

       Well enough of the sad, let’s see what else has been going on around here. The last couple of weeks have been pretty quiet around here, which is a good thing. For Muslims it is a very holy time of year called Ramadan. Ramadan starts on the ninth lunar month of the Muslim calendar, and goes for one complete lunar cycle, about twenty eight days. It is the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad receiving the holy Qu’ran from Allah (God). During the entire month the Muslims dedicate themselves fully into their faith, and leave behind some of their everyday concerns. During this month the ANA do not like to work throughout the day, and most times quit work in the early after, if they go to work at all, which will explain some of the peacefulness around here. During the days of Ramadan, starting from sun up and finishing at sundown, the Muslims do not eat. As part of the fast they also refrain from drinking anything, smoking, and sex. The idea is the person can take this time to contemplate his relationship with Allah, and the lack of food and drink is to concentrate on their thoughts. During each day they will pray up to five times a day, some of the prayer time lasting over an hour, again part of that reflection.

At the end of the day, as the sun is setting, they perform a long special evening prayer called the Taraweeh, and then they will then eat a large meal called the Iftar. To conclude the evenings a lot of Muslims may spend the time meeting with family and friends, to tighten those family bonds and strengthen relationships. Then they start the practice all over again as the next morning approaches. Other things that a Muslim must observe during this time, more than usual, are the way they act towards each other. They can not treat other Muslims badly, talk or gossip about others, lie, or be greedy. If they do any of these things, then the time they have spent during the day fasting and praying was basically wasted, and they cannot receive any of the good that should come from it. Muslims also believe that on the last night of the month of Ramadan, about the twenty seventh day, marks the actual time that Muhammad received the word form Allah, and in modern day this is when Allah will determine what the world will be like for the next year. That is why is it so important to be reverent to holiday, as it dictates what the next whole year will be like. To finish off the month long observance, Muslims will rejoice in huge fashion with a three day celebration called Eid, where they will eat huge meals, celebrate with family and friends, and some villages even have fairs.

       When Ramadan started, I basically knew nothing of the holiday, and so I went right over to my favorite interpreters to get the scoop on what it was all about. They are always so helpful in trying to give me insight into the new things we experience here. We were told that Ramadan should be a very peaceful time in Afghanistan because it is important that Muslims treat other Muslims with well. Sadly, even the most peaceful of celebrations the bad guys seem to ruin. We thought that maybe they would try and attack us more to make a statement, and leave their own brethren alone, but sadly that hasn’t happen. The bad dudes are still out there hurting people who support stability and progress in Afghanistan, and of course they are sloppy at it, so there have civilians hurt in the process too. It simply goes to show that the bad guys do not hold their Muslim religion in very high esteem as they claim to. Once again they have proven that it is not a holy war, but it is more of a political war. A time when Muslims are supposed to respect and love each other, these guys are out there carrying on business as usual. To me it is incredibly sad to see this happen. However; of course it is time for the upswing, the good news moment. When the bad guys do such things during this very holy time, they tend to lose favor within the communities that may have supported them in the past. Here’s something interesting about this country. There are basically two leaders in each village; the elected official is one, and the religious leader (Mullah) is the other. When the Governor of a village speaks, the people may or may not listen to depending on how they feel about the particular topic. However; when a Mullah speaks, most people listen. His wisdom and religious knowledge are held in very high esteem by the people, and he is a well respected man. Well; when the bad guys decide that during a religious holiday it’s a good time to bad things, this angers the Mullah, and he may denounce the bad group to the villagers. The people will almost always follow suit, and the bad guys no longer have safe haven in that village. This is good news for us, and the people of Afghanistan, who want to rid their country of this evil. The real challenge a lot of the time, because the bad guys use religion as a guise for their war, it is tough to express to the Mullahs that these are bad people. Thankfully they help us on occasion. Anyhoo; as the end of Ramadan draws near, I grow increasingly excited to see what the three day celebration will be like, and I will certainly tell you all about the next time we meet. By the way; below is a picture of a few of my favorite interpreters.

       Another new development here at our slice of heaven, is we now have Internet in our huts. It is fantastic, and those that I have chatted with will attest to this fact, to have this available to us. It is a sweet satellite system from a company out of India, and the cost is pretty reasonable. I have spent the last three weekends video chatting with my family as long as I can. It is great to actually see them, and more importantly, they can see me. My boys so love computer time with dad, I know this will help bridge some of that gap that is between us. The speed is not mega fast by any means, but I have a dedicated line reaching blazing speeds of 128kbs. Plenty enough speed to video conference, and play some online checkers with my six year old. If you see me online, that is me, and don’t hesitate to stop in and say hello. I appreciate the conversations very much, it is nice to catch up on what is going on at the home front. The only real problem with the chatting thing is that we are nine and a half hours ahead of you guys, so synching up out times without either party losing to much sleep can be a bit of a challenge. To tell you the truth, I stay up late sometimes to talk home, and I may show up a couple of minutes late for work. I don’t think my boss minds too much, that simply because he hasn’t caught me yet. Don’t tell anyone.

       Well; that’s about it for now, nothing else significant to report here. Just want to make sure everyone knows that we are doing fine. Everyone is healthy, wealthy, and wise, so nothing to worry about here. I also want to make sure that I give everyone the thumbs up for all the nice things that have been sent, care packages and school supplies, they are truly appreciated. It’s funny; even when I know the box is full of school supplies, I still get excited about receiving something from home. Thanks everyone for participating. Mom Sankot; thanks for the nice words on the Blog, it’s good to hear that it is enjoyed by all. Johnsons; as usual you have me in your prayers, and it must be working, so keep up the good work. I appreciate the emails. Renae; keep the boat afloat, I’ll be home before you know it. I may just let you keep the helm though. Talk to everyone soon, and be good to each other.

Until Next Time,
Mark