“ Sometimes you can observe a lot just by watching. ” Berra

Welcome back everyone. I’ll bet given that it has been so long since my posting, you all thought I wasn’t going to come back. Well, here I am back at it, just kind of lost track of time. We have just been so awfully busy lately; I hadn’t taken the time to sit down a write a few lines about what I am up to. I have heard that in Iowa the weather has been absolutely miserable, temperatures below what any living creature should withstand, and I am sorry to hear that. Here in Afghanistan, besides the occasional snowfall, it has been beautiful. The temperatures have been certainly tolerable, and I haven’t worn a jacket in weeks. Sorry to brag, but it’s the only thing I got over on you guys at home, so I thought I’d rub it in a bit. Another positive item for you all, as you can see from the picture below, it depicts me enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich, along with some tomato soup. It is quite possibly the world’s most perfect meal. It has taken months to convince our cooking staff here that these two items belong together, and really should never be served apart. Since the time I have arrived in Gardez, we would have grilled cheese sandwiches, but no tomato soup, and vice versa. Well one day the planets aligned, cats and dogs played together, and the grilled cheese sandwiches were served with tomato soup. I thought this must be some kind of trick, had the cooking staff finally taken to our advice? Yes, just that one day, as we have not had the two served together since. It was just one of those days, like catching a solar eclipse, or seeing a fully arced rainbow; you take the time to enjoy it, because you may never see it again. I did remember to photograph it, because I knew that the moment wouldn’t last forever, but images would. That and I wasn’t sure anyone would believe me when I tell them it actually happened one day, here at Camp Lightning.

I actually just returned from a trip to the Capital city of Kabul, it was a great time, kind of like a little mini vacation away from this place. I was on the mission to help get some of the soldiers from our area to the Capital city, as they were on their way home for good. It was a bit bitter sweet though. Although I was quite happy knowing my friends were to be going home, at the same time I was quite envious, and wanted to go with them. Knowing that they would be back in the US within a couple of days made it hard to smile with them as we sat in the coffee shop trading stories of our deployment. I had worked with some of the guys for moths, and got used to having them around. They were all a bunch of exceptional soldiers, and I will miss my new friends. It was okay though, they had all spent a year here, and it was their turn to go home. I knew that my group is the next to go through the same thing, and I am sure the people who drive us to the airport will feel the same way as I did. The nice thing was I got to spend some last moments with them before they took off, which the people back in Gardez missed out on. We spent one night at the coffee shop, where they were having a Karaoke competition. Minus the beer, it was much like what we do at home. Some were rather good at the singing thing, while other, not so much. It was the others crowd that gave us the really good entertainment. We sat back, and sipped hot mocha lattes, and laughed heartily at those who didn’t sing so well, but kind of thought they did. For a moment there, it was almost like we weren’t in uniform, and in the middle of a war zone. I forgot about everything here for a few brief, and pleasurable, minutes. I really enjoyed my friends, as if we were at a local bar, enjoying the not so good group of singers. It is a moment I will truly remember for a long time. I already miss my friends, and I wish them well as they try to assimilate back into their normal worlds. I will tell you, if any of you guys are out there reading this, the drive back to Gardez was lonely without you. Good luck with all you do.

Right after I returned to lovely Camp Lightning, I hopped right back into an Armored Humvee the very next day. I was off to see the Governor of Gardez. He happened to be hosting a meeting, I wasn’t sure what type yet, but it seemed like an opportunity not to miss. In order to go to the meeting I had to make myself seem useful, so I took the gun turret, and then it seemed like I was needed for the trip. Otherwise, I may not have had a need to go. I may have wanted to think the whole thing through a bit. Remember when I told you it’s been nice around here, except for the occasional snow. Well this day was one of those occasional times, and it was freaking cold. I bundled up as best I could, and off we went to see the Governor. It was actually a good bit of serendipity, as the meeting was really cool, there were a ton of elders, local politicians, Mullahs, and public officers. They were all discussing the economic and industrial development of the Gardez area. I didn’t have my trusty interpreter with me, so some of the details are a bit sketchy, but just sitting in the audience among these community leaders was quite an honor. We tried to strike up a conversation with the Governors private police, and from I was able to piece together, they really liked my uniform. I mean really liked it, and I am sure if I had agreed, the guy would have gone home with it on. Due to the cold, and not to mention the awkwardness of running around in my jockeys, I wasn’t able oblige the officer. Nonetheless, they were pretty good guys, and they made sure to thank us for what we do.

Part of the discussion was also talk about how the US Army will be training the Afghan Police force now. It has just recently become part of our mission here in Afghanistan, along with continued support for the Afghan Army. Thankfully I am not part of the training team, I am probably not the best role model for the police. Maybe it was my extended stay in my college fraternity, but I have spent more time on the other side of the law, and therefore maybe not the best example to model. Actually, the US has decided to take people who have real police training, which makes the most sense to me, and the National Guard soldiers have a lot of people who are peace officers back home. It will be a much better source of training than myself. I think it will be a cool part of our mission, and also lend itself to getting Afghanistan even closer to the point where they will no longer need us. After the meeting was completed we went to the Governors mansion for lunch. As you can see form the picture below, I was pretty focused on my meal. It was a traditional lunch of rice, and in the rice are carrots, raisins, and meat. The meal tasted fantastic, and we had a blast hanging out with the governor and about fifty of his other closest friends. On this trip I also took along my Communications Sergeant, because up until now he hadn’t been allowed to go on a trip such as this. I thought it is about time he get out of the office for a bit, and gather some other memories. He was so amped up, he couldn’t stop talking about his experiences, and I was happy he was able to come along. I would hate for him to leave this country with only the memories of working in our office, and maybe a couple of convoys to go on pass and leave. This place is so different from anything we have ever experienced in the United States, it would be such a waste to travel thousands of miles, and not really witness any of it.

Ahh … so what else is going on around here? Well, I am back in the classroom, teaching computer applications to the ANA here at the Corps, but with a slight twist. The courses the Afghan soldiers are taking are designed purely for the communications soldiers who are already pretty proficient with the machines, and the idea is that they will be the next set of trainers for the Corps. After the CPX, we learned that the soldiers in the Corps could use some help working with their computers, but instead of myself teaching the courses to the Corps, we decided to make trainers out of communications soldiers. I am teaching the Microsoft software suite again, but it is really as a refresher, so I am including all types of teaching strategies for them along the way. It is fun to watch them go through this process, because it is so new for them. They are so used to being trained by us, and now they will be responsible for their own training. I give them opportunities to get in front of the class, and you I can tell that some of them get pretty nervous. I think after they have taught the curriculum a few times, they will get the hang of it. It is a big step though, and it is what we continue to strive for, and that is they being independent. This is that step towards that self-reliance, and once again they have been very receptive to the training. I think my Afghan communications brothers will make great trainers, and I look forward to sitting through a couple of their courses to witness their success.

Speaking of training. Our camp here has been over run by new recruits. The National Training Center in Afghanistan has run out of room, due to the high number of soldiers wanting to join the Army. In response to this over crowding, they have opened the gates to our camp to the newly recruited soldiers, and they will now to their initial basic training here. There are new Afghan dudes everywhere, and they all seem like the happiest bunch of men I have seen. Every time I drive by none of them can hold their smile in, and several of the guys shout a hello to me. It is awesome to see all these young Afghan men want to be part of defending their nation. There must be at least a thousand of these guys running around the camp. They are involved with all types of training, like marching, saluting, and other basic military skills. Later they will also be involved in more difficult military training like rifle marksmanship, land navigations, and personal hygiene. Not kidding about that last one. A lot of these soldiers are coming from a very rural background, and so they will lack a lot of the skills we think should be inherent. They will also be taking classes on literacy, and other social skills that they may not have received while growing up in rustic Afghanistan. Another program we are trying to implement here at the Corps is a vocational training school for the soldiers. Once they are full fledged soldiers, who have graduated from their training, they can even get involved in courses taught here at the camp that will provide them a vocation skill, such as plumbing or electrical wiring. If the soldier decides to leave the army when his enlistment is up, he will at least have a tangible skill that they can use to earn a living. I think it is a brilliant program, and I look to get involved in any way I can.


Well, as you can see, it has been quite busy around here, and there have been a lot of neat changes going on. It also seems as if I have told some of this story already. Weird, but maybe I am having a giant Afghan Deja Vu, like we all have been here before. Anyhoo, I apologize for blabbing on and on, but it’s been so long, and I had a lot to say. Well, here I go again, time to blab some more. To all who have aided in the humanitarian aid, we have together, collected over one hundred boxes of supplies. That is incredible, and twice the goal I set when I first put the little blurb about collecting stuff in this blog. Who would have thought it would have gone this far, and as usual I have no one to thank but all of you for helping me, and the people of Afghanistan. The awesome thing is there are more boxes on the way, and maybe we can hit one hundred and fifty boxes of supplies, that would be awesome, and totally achievable. I am so glad that this deployment has given me an opportunity to do so much more than a typical deployment. When I first received the call to action, I never even fathomed that my experiences would be so vast and significant. I would also to put in a special thank you to Ginny, your coat drive was unbelievable, and I can not wait until the article is published. You should all be very pleased with the success, and I hope the article reflects that. I can’t believe that this journey is coming close to end. I will be going on leave within a week or so, and then I will gone for about a month. When I return from leave, I will have a mere sixty days left here. I think after my last days, it will time. Time to come home, time to let others take my place, and time to get back to what I consider my normal life. This vacation has been fantastic, but with all good things, they must come to end. Talk to all real soon, and for some of you, I’ll see you real soon. Again I thank all of you who have done anything to make this deployment remarkable.

Until Next Time,
Mark


This picture was taken on our way to Kabul. I couldn’t resist taking the picture of the frost on the trees, at times it didn’t look real. It was like someone had used that fake snowy Christmas tree spray stuff. This place never ceases to surprise me with moments like this.