HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK

A change of scenery

This is what we flew in when they moved us out of Logar. We left because of certain developments between us and the military that I’m not at liberty to discuss. I’m in the city now working as an advisor. Unknown for how long. Right now I assess the Afghan Instructors as they teach classes to recruits and I will be heading to the range to be a range officer. Let me say this about the Afghan Police Recruits. At Logar, when teaching, you could hold their attention for about twenty minutes at a time. Then they would lose interest and drift. Like teaching children. After that, you were just talking to yourself. They’ve already been trained, and are already working. Much like teaching seasoned cops back home that go to in service training because they have to. Know what I mean? Its better here, it’s more like being at an academy, which it is. Should still be interesting with guns though.

Our security here, and at many other places in country, is done by Gurkhas. They are Warriors from Nepal who take their name from the 8th Century Hindu warrior Guru Gorakhnath. A disciple of his, Bappa Rawal actually liberated Afghanistan with his Gurkha Army, driving the invading Muslims out.

They’re well trained and highly devoted. The line goes, when asked by a Queen if the enemy would get to her, the Gurkha replied, “I can not promise that they won’t get to you, but I promise that if they reach you, they will be covered with Gurka blood".

They carry a Kukri, also known as a Gurkha Blade. A formidable weapon that comes in a variety of sizes. They use them as weapons and tools. I’ve actually seen one used to decapitate a goat, with one stroke. (sorry, no video as this is a PG Blog). The one I have is a ceremonial blade, worn with a dress uniform for special occasions. A Nepali boy will have one at the age of five and will be skilled in the use of the weapon before he becomes a man. It’s said that by the time he joins the Army the knife has become a chopping extension of his arm. A very dangerous weapon in close quarters.

Just want to say hello and recognize a couple guys I had the honor to work with in Logar. They worked for an unnamed organization that I can only identify as AF5. Former high speed military operators that were there to help the cause and really participated, if only the military would’ve listened, eh boys. To nights by the flame and the Call to Cigar. Lou and Kevin, nice working with you. Dosvidanya.

Partners

I have to continuously apologize for bad internet service. But this time it was the generators. Our side of the base is, or was powered by a big ass generator that we would shut off during the day to conserve fuel. We had a smaller generator for daytime hours. About a day after the 33rd left, the big one died. So we, the three Dyn guys living in our building, ran the small one during the day until we went to bed. When we got up we ran it. Well two days ago that died, bad fuel pump. So for the last three days, we have been living like the Afghan’s. Actually the Afghans have power, so… We ended up splicing into another generator, (sshhh, don’t tell anybody) and now I’m back on.

So something has been bothering me for a while. I gave a speech at my retirement party and while I guess it wasn’t bad, I realize I really didn’t say the things I should have said. I don’t know if writing it would have helped either because I don’t know if it was in my head then to say. So here goes.

The job for me was about partners.

When I first started out on the department my first partner I rode with was, that’s right you know him, you love him, Jack. He was who I spent my first Christmas and New Years with. He taught how to not take it so seriously. He was a good guy to be my FTO, of course we didn’t call it that, but that’s what he was. And because WPD rode signal cars, when I was put out on my own, he was really my only partner of my time in uniform.

Then I became a Detective and Detective work is all about partners in WPD, (or was anyway). The first partner I had was a guy named Joe Bell. Joe was old school, nose to the grindstone kind of cop. Former BCI guy, who showed me how to process a scene. My first B & E investigation was solved from a print we lifted off a piece of glass.
Then I was on my own for a while working bad checks. After that I worked in a five to six person squad doing B & E’s and Assaults. I was partnered with Bob P. I never laughed so much. Funny guy. We slipped away one day, (saying we were looking for somebody) and ended up on Second Beach in Middletown, sipping a cool drink (virgin of course) and smoking cigars. You would have thought we were at a cocktail party. After that it was SOG and I was working with the Grinch, (Mike T.) we did unorthodox work with good results. Then back out on the floor and Scott M and I were a team. Fun stuff and if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be in Casa De Lillian. Then I went to HIDTA and was paired with the crazy Frenchman from Woonsocket. The first and best thing Guy told me was “small cases, small problems, big cases big problems, no cases…” Well, we had some big cases and the problems that go with em. Towards the end, I came back to regular Detective work and I guess my last official partner on the WPD was Dave V. Hope I didn’t corrupt him too much.

Of course along the way, I worked with a bunch of great people, on shifts, groups, squads, teams, whatever. The men and women in blue, the other Detectives I had the great opportunity to work with, the guys in SOG and the boys in HIDTA, (FBI, RISP, Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, East Providence, CF, Charlestown and Coventry). The Bomb guys from Providence and the Fire Marshalls Office, US Customs people and the BATF. Of course the frogs on the Dive team, and the boys in Black. Ray, the best boss I’ve had, Chris, my Mentor, Dale, Brad, Thomas, Jay, Steve F, Rock, Andrew, Mark, Mini-Me, Steve L, Mike F, Steph, Sean, My brother-in-law, Mike, whose been with a friend since we met in the academy, Beave and BA, Paul W and Stump, Cruz, Mark C and Hutch. My old diving partners, Billy H and Scott H. And anyone else’s name I neglected, (sorry).

Now this wouldn’t be complete without mentioning two people, two partners. One of which has been my partner since High School. Through the years of M.M., 82nd, West Roxbury VA and the WPD. He’s always been there, even now. To borrow a line from Spock, “I have been and always shall be, your friend”, (corny, but what the hell). Last, but by no means least, my lovely Wife. She supports me and Loves me and we will be partners till the end. Yin Yang Baby, Yin Yang.

Sorry, but I had to get that out.

Diversions

So, when the 33rd left, they took the Internet with them. The dish, modem, router, even the wires. Well, not all the wires. I’m back on now, so Hello Everybody. Haven’t been doing much, cause the new teams not ready to roll. So it’s a good thing the building has an extensive DVD collection. About that, how things have changed.

Wavy lines, fade to flashback….
Overview of the woods in North Carolina.
Soldiers, milling around.
Zoom in on a young MP sitting behind the wheel of a Jeep (not HMMV, cause they didn’t exist yet). He’s reading because there’s nothing else to do.
(and no smart ass remarks from any military guys like, why wasn’t he cleaning his weapon, pulling watch, setting up camp or digging a foxhole) it was all done, that’s why.
Point is, there was and still is a lot of down time in the Military. Add to the fact that technically, I’m not in the Military, just attached to them, means I have even more down time.

That’s what I did then, I read. I read a lot. That’s cool, I love to read. Now though its different. I have two computers in my room, mine and the company’s, a TV with cable (only three channels, sports, news and movies, but hey, better than nothing), DVD and more movies than I can watch. Until recently I had an Xbox 360. Yep. Love gaming, most of you know that. Asked the boy if he could send my Xbox from home, but he said “no way”. Basically, “love you Dad, but the Xbox stays home”. So I found one on Ebay and had it sent here. Halo version, so it was all green and military looking. Had Pam, who supports my gaming addiction, send me a bunch of games and got to play a couple weeks until the RED RINGS OF DEATH. When the motherboard gets to hot the system shuts down and freezes and three or four red lights glow around the power button. It’s the worst thing that could happen, especially since there’s no local repair shop. So I had to send it home. By the time it gets fixed, I’ll be home. I’m not the only one either, most guys have games on computers or have systems of their own. One of the guys had a system and put it on a power point projector on the wall. There were four guys playing Call of Duty, life size. It was pretty interesting.
So that’s how things change.
Communications as well. No cell phones back then either. Now, I can call on a computer (with video), Sat phone, IM, or cell. Some can be pricey, but you can't put a price on talking with loved ones.
This is at one of our nightly rituals of sitting around the fire, (till it’s really dark, then its blackout time).

The 33rd

I’d like to extend a Laurel and Hardy handshake to the guys of the 33rd Combat Brigade out of the Illinois National Guard. They were here when I got to Shank and they took me in. They left recently and are headed home and I will miss them. When I was told where I was going, they said that I would be with a regular army unit. A high speed unit. When I got here, I found that I would be living and working with these fine gentlemen. At first I was a little leery, till I rolled out with them. My opinion of the National Guard has changed.

You know, I was full time Army many moons ago and when I got out, I didn’t even consider joining the NG because they were, to be honest, a joke. But that was a long time ago and things have changed, like they often do. With the recent history of the US being involved in several conflicts, the roll of the NG has increased as has their expertise and quality of people. This group of guys have backgrounds to include a railroad engineer, teacher, laborers, farmers, and several Police Officers.

They were overworked and under-appreciated by the regular army. I would roll with these guys anytime and anywhere. True Operators. Thank you my friends, Bama, Beers, Bietz, Bo, Urbies, Rouen, Doc, Corey, Adam, Wes, Col, K, Tank, Mr. T, Brewer, Hays, BJ, Ruge, Jonesy, Evans, Sgt. B, Ehnle, Coss, Pepe, Dirty Villa, Z, Mr. M, George, Sgt. W, and Tink.

Adrenalin

Firing RPG's at the Heavy Weapons Range

Amended....

Not sure if any of you know why I decided to leave the job, some do, but here it is.
I still loved the job, but there was nothing else I wanted to do at WPD. My time was up. I used to see guys bitching about this and that, although I was elsewhere for about six years, so I didn't have to put up with the day to day buffoonery, I was still there more than I had to be. And I enjoyed it. Had a good career and worked with some fantastic people. So I had to exit, stage left and make room for others.
But the bigger reason was this. When I used to go on raids, SWAT or drug or anything else, I always got the rush, that adrenalin rush that cops get and look forward to, when you go through the door, (first, last, it doesn’t matter). I’m sure street Cops get it when they go into that great unknown of stopping a car in the middle of the night, (if you don’t your lying or you should re-evaluate). Most dangerous job in LE, the front line officer, I mean SWAT you’re geared up for it, any other specialized unit too, that’s what you’re trained for, right?

But the rush….

Acceleration of heart and lung action
Paling or flushing, or alternating between both
Inhibition of stomach and upper-intestinal action (digestion slows down or stops)
General effect on the sphincter
Constriction of blood vessels in many parts of the body
Liberation of nutrients for muscular action
Dilation of blood vessels for muscles
Inhibition of lacrimal gland (responsible for tear production) and salivation
Dilation of pupil
Relaxation of bladder
Evacuation of colon
Inhibition of erection
Auditory Exclusion (loss of hearing)
Tunnel Vision (loss of peripheral vision)
Acceleration of instantaneous reflexes

That’s the clinical definition, but you know what I’m getting at.

It wasn’t that we had a ton of SWAT call outs, (WPD Operators, you know what I’m talking about), but when you spend pretty much your whole career wearing black, you’re bound to go on some call outs. Drug raids however, well, I lost count. Towards the end after about three or four years with SOG and six years with HIDTA, my heart rate started staying the same, unless there were stairs. I started thinking that maybe that wasn’t a good thing. I was maybe getting complacent and that’s not good. Bomb calls, yes, but there just weren’t that many. Always got it when we were under a 900 ft ship though, but then they stopped calling.
Oh well. So that’s why I decided to leave, wanted to find the next thing. But you know what? Couldn’t find it. Not that I didn’t try, but there just isn’t a big calling for what I wanted in RI. So after a year of learning about the dark side of RI politics, I flew 7000 miles from home to get that rush again,(uh oh, sounds like an addiction). That might explain the whole jumping out of a perfectly good airplane all those years ago, (right Dave?)

Every time we leave the wire here, ( leave to FOB), there’s that rush, it doesn’t last the whole trip, but certain things you see or hear, perk you up. So, if any of you junkies over there are missing something, there’s plenty of work in this vast wonderland called Afghanistan.

Hey, do you know the difference between a fairy tale and a war story?
a fairy tale starts with "once upon a time" and a war story starts with
"no shit, there I was"

See ya

Details...

I was surprised to see this on one of the local roads. Not the fact that these fine gentlemen were wearing reflector vests, but that they were behaving much like the crews back home. Standing around talking. The only thing missing was the one or two cops standing with them. I guess details are the same the world over. Except instead of laying pipes or lines, they’re probably planting IED’s. Just kidding.

Is this camel loaded or what, and no, that’s not me behind it.

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a lovely Holiday. The bunny didn't make an appearance here, could be because he couldn't hop so well wearing body armor and a kevlar helmet.

We had a local taylor make us some outfits called ManJams, ( that's what we call them). Taylors the short guy in the middle. Very comfortable and breezy. Faces blocked because of OpSec, you all know me, so....

That's me and George, my roommate with the local weapon of choice.

of beards and wake up calls....

Yes, I'm growing my beard, but I don't have squat on this guy. That, in the words of Eddie I., is a Huge F*** Off beard. I don't think I'll let mine get that long, but close.Actually, facial hair is a sign of wisdom to the Afghan's. So it's not just my being lazy and not wanting to shave. This fine Gentleman is the Principle at the local school.

Hey, we've had two more of those Boom in the Night incidents since the last time. Both friendly, but about a week ago at about 0200hrs, (that's 2:00 am) I was jolted out of a nice sound sleep. I got up and went to the radio room just in time to hear that it was Outgoing. Someone opened our front door, right when another went off. Now our base is pretty big and I'm not sure where they shoot them from, but it was pretty frigging loud. Crack then boom. Then two nights ago, again. But, I could hear a lot of guys up and about. Not like last time. The funny thing is, I didn't move, just opened my eyes and listened. Couple seconds later, I heard the Outgoing. How's that for complacency. What can I say, I was very comfy. Six shots that time.

Exercise

Well as most of you know, I had surgery not too long ago, and it’s not an excuse, but I wasn’t working out much before I left for January. I figured, hey, if I wanted it bad enough, then a quarter mile run with gear on shouldn’t be too hard. It was, but I had it in my head that once I did it, that I wouldn’t have to run again. Didn’t matter how much it hurt later, it mattered how important it was. So I did it and the other tests they had, then didn’t do anything else in Virginia.

In my defense, the days were long and we didn't have access to a gym. I know, I know, you don't need a gym to run, there was no time Dammit. That's it about that.

When I got to Kabul and had to walk up the hill on the base to the armory, I was out of breath. Now granted I was at about 6000feet, and my house back home is about 93’ above sea level, but I was walking for Pete’s sake. So I started going to the gym on the base when I got up, mostly focusing on cardio. After about two weeks I was running and breathing, you know getting acclimated. So when I got to my current location, I started working out with the troops. Did I mention that I’m the third oldest guy in my building. Doesn’t matter, pain is a crutch. About two weeks in, I was riding in the back of a Cougar, 36,000 pounds of rolling steal. It was crowded so I didn’t have a harness and the driver, well the driver sucked. First time driving at night, black out conditions. I got thrown around like a rag doll. But hey, pain’s a crutch right. Took it easy for a few and got back into it, then back to working out with kids that were born when I was still wearing cammies.

Anyway, the good friends back home are doing Cross fit to get ready for an upcoming event, or the revolution, whichever comes first. Could be just to stay in the shape they need to be in. They have a Blog too, but its by invite only. I asked the Master of Pain if I should do it here and he said stop whining and start exercising already B****! But if you know anything about Cross Fit, first you need to be in shape before you can do it. I brought it up to the guys I work out with and one guy had done it before and came up with some stuff. We did it and the MOP posted it on his Blog. But like I said, since its closed to the general public, you can’t see it, SWAT excluded of course.

If you care this is what we did;

4 stations1 minute each station;

HMMV wheel drag

Pushups (10), flutter kicks (20), repeat till minutes up

BP bar press, while jumping

Box jumps

Rest for 2 min

Second set of stations

HMMV wheel flip

10lbs each, shoulder fly’s (killed, not sure the titanium’s ready)

Pushups (10), mountain climbers (20), repeat till minutes up

Running, switching feet up on tire? get it?

Rest for 2

Third set of stations

Sprint for 20, rest 5 sprint 20 rest 5, sprint till minutes up

Stand on tire, hitting with sledge hammer

Throw sand bag full of big ass chains

Four corner jump

Rest till heart monitor got back to normal, repeat as needed, ( we did it twice) can barely type.

So anyway, I’m a work in progress and by the time I come home, maybe I can go to NEST with the boys.

This picture is our fire pit/smoking area. Ciao

Let’s talk about food...

I don’t know when MRE’s (meals ready to eat, the military’s way of speaking like Yoda), came around, but back in the day, we had C-rations. Meals packed into cans and used from the Vietnam era till whenever the MRE’s came around. If you got lucky and had some Tabasco, C-rats weren’t that bad. Of, course having a jeep every now and then didn’t hurt either. See, you would take an empty can and lower it into your gas tank, take it out, pour dirt or sand in and put it on the ground. Cut another can to make the sides vented and that would be your stove. It would burn long enough to heat a meal of spaghetti and meatballs, eggs or pork and beans. Good during the day, but if there was any light discipline at night, then it was a cold meal.

MRE’s are ok, a lot more variety with a heating unit that’s activated with water, so you can heat up your meal or coffee, whatever. But the picture is of the newer packages called First Strike Ration. It’s about the size of a football but has about enough for three meals. Here’s what’s included; Honey BBQ Beef Sandwich, Pound cake, cheese spread, two beverages, (just add water), two energy bars, two beef jerky, applesauce, Tuna, Mayo, tortillas, crackers, Choc Banana desert bar, nut mix, accessory pack, (Tabasco, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, hand cleaner, ect.). That’s just one of the menu’s, there’s a pretty big variety.

Nothing really new to report, still doing the room clearing stuff, trying to teach them the difference between Cover and Concealment. Dale, you knew it had to come out sooner or later. For the curious, you see, we were training one day, (WPD SWAT) and well, oh never mind, some other time. Did I mention that our weight room is also our weapons room.

That’s all for now, see ya….

Things that go BOOM in the night

I was in my cave, (my enclosed bunk bed), very comfortable, with a cup of hot chocolate, my headphones on , watching War, Inc. A twisted little movie with John and Joan Cusack in Yemen. A lot of shootouts and explosions. In one scene, there are quite a few explosions, during which, my building shook.

I have a little experience with things that go boom and you can feel it as much as hear it. That wasn’t in the movie.
I take off the headphones and look across the room at my roommate George and at the same time I can hear guys yelling in the hallway and George is saying “get your boots on”.

I wonder how many times that’s been said during conflicts throughout history, (or sandals as it were).

I got up, threw some pants and boots on and grabbed my M4, when the second one went off. Voices ramped up and now everybody’s in the hallway, eyes wide, half dressed, looking for direction. One Sergeant was saying lock the back door, you see our building is a long warehouse looking thing, with doors at each end. No need for bad guys to be able to just walk right in.

Just as someone was going to do that, one of our guys came in and said that it was our guys from the other compound doing target practice with mortars, just outside the wire. Oh well, back to my movie, good practice, right? There were about ten more shots. Walls shook every time.

Community Policing and Kicking Doors

We’ve been working with the local check point and mentoring them on vehicle and personal searches. Slow going, but they’re getting it. In an effort to expand their roll as cops, we came up with a plan to move them into the local villages to interact more with the people.

We obtained a bunch of H.A. (humanitarian aid) and had the guy in charge, we call him the Commandant, but he doesn’t really have any rank, he’s just the most competent, contact the village elders and hand out the items. It’s the first big step in relationship building. See, they have to act more like the PO-PO and less like soldiers. It went well and they got into it. We were there, but just as observers. We still get looks like we’re from another planet, which I guess technically we are.

Reminds me of a story…………………fade to wavy mirage lines and we’re traveling back in time, yes it’s that time again 1980-1981, Journey, Loverboy, Scorpions, you remember, no? Damn kids, anyway. We were convoying from Ft. Bragg to Ft AP Hill, VA and I was in the lead vehicle. In the middle of this backwoods town in Northern N. Carolina and they have me get out by myself for traffic control. Basically, to make sure the rest of the convoy took the right turn, because there were no cars to control as far as traffic. But here I am, in the old woodland camouflage fatigues, carrying an M60 and standing on a corner. The townsfolk, (hillbillies) were looking at me like, well like I was from another planet. Strange.

Yesterday, we started going over building searches and room clearing with the ANP. The first run through was a little comical. They just kind of sauntered up and a couple just walked through the walls that we had marked on the ground. Sometimes one, sometimes two guys made the entry. Well, I jumped in and started showing them the things I used to know and you know,( WPD SWAT), it was right on track with the military way. By the end of the day, they were stacking up, tapping and entering CQB style. They were diggin it too and wanted more. It was the best mentoring day I’ve had so far.

More to come…

Compare and Contrast

The photos are of me and my new hat and my personal movie theater.

It’s funny, many years ago, when I was in the peace time Army, that’s during the end of the Cold War, when our enemy was the Bear and before these current conflicts in the Middle East. Coincidentally (and I wasn’t aware of it then) the Russians were attempting to conquer this Country. Silly Commies. Anyway, I digress…. For the young people in the group, that’s the late 70’s early 80’s (no Kids, not the "black and white" days... Past that). Well, I was in the Mojave Desert on a training mission. It was actually the biggest peace time jump in history, (at the time),and it didn’t go well, high winds and parachutes don’t go together very well. But that’s a story for another time.

We were playing war games, as boys do, and one night I was on top of a dune on guard. I had one of the big Starlight scopes on my weapon,(night vision device, using ambient light, stars or whatever). Just walking... and looking... and anyone who’s ever pulled guard duty knows how long and boring it can be. That’s when the imagination kicks in. Imagination is supposed to be a training tool. Mentally running drills to how you might react to certain things. I imagined what it might be like to be in a combat - desert type - environment . It was spooky and exhilarating...then.

I happened to be out a couple nights ago. We heard in the distance and over the radio that there was a TIC going on between some locals. No US involved. One minute we’re all standing around the vehicles watching the flares and tracers from afar and I’m thinking, wow, it’s @#$%^&* dark. So I put on my NGV 7’s. Newer than the Starlight scope, but not as new as what the military uses. I notice that I should be sitting in my armored up HMMV, so that’s where I went. It ended and we went home and that was that.

Another interesting comparison ; back in that PTA, we were MP’s. The "we" would be Dave and I and at times we had to work Garrison duty. Basically, Police work on Ft Bragg and occasionally liaison in Fayetteville with the F.P.D. We had roll call and Dave and I usually rode together. It was the standing order of the day that we could have a magazine in our sidearm, (.45’s, 1911, that’s right, steel pots and jeeps and we jumped out of Huey’s not Blackhawks... things have changed), sorry, anyway, magazine with real bullets but we were not supposed to chamber a round. I guess they thought it was safer that way. Didn’t make much sense, which is why we always put one in the chamber after roll call. There are a bunch of quotes I could use, suffice it to say, "an empty gun is a paperweight". Right now, while I’m writing this, my pistol is next to me, loaded, my rifle is hanging next to my bed, loaded. They always are.

If I think of more, I’ll let you know…

March10, 2009 - An Eventful Day...

The photos are of...

the landscape...

"Jackie Chan", Me and "the Kid"...

and a grave that’s made out of a bus that was blown up, full of people.

They left it and made a Memorial.

The day started out like the others, except our whole crew was driving HMMV’s.

The two Cougars we usually take were down for repairs. There was a big route clearing operation going on north of the check point we’ve been working.

The RCT (Route Clearing Team) is made up of heavy vehicles, bomb robots and a bomb dog. Basically they clear the route of any IED’s. We knew this would be going on and that it could be a late day. The MP’s that have been rolling with us brought two MRAPS(newer Cougars) and two ASV’s.(tanks with wheels). So we went to the CP and set up.

The RCT was already working and we were there maybe 10 minutes and they called to say they were going to counter charge an IED about 300m on the road heading away from the CP. I filmed the boom because...you know, I like booms.

The question is this, how did the bad guys get so close overnight to plant it. The CP is manned 24/7. I should mention that today is the last day of the three day holiday of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, and there is only a skeleton crew working today. So last night they probably only had a couple on and they might have been checking the inside of their eyelids instead of checking the road, so…

After that the RCT moved on and a little while later they wanted a few ANP,( Afghan National Police) to move up the next village and conduct TCP’s there. I went with the MP’s (Military Police) in one of the Cougars. All together we brought two of our HMMV’s and two Cougars.

These are different MP’s from when I was with the 82nd. All combat experience, no Garrison, appropriate with a war on and all. All young, like I was once, I guess and all looking to get in a fight, on the surface anyway. Might change when they actually get in one.

The dude in charge is a butter bar,(second Lt) who is the size of Logan and the age of Nick, (maybe a tad bigger and a little older, but you get the idea). Their coming in and will eventually replace the Combat team I live with now. So we’re in transition.

After a while of working the CP, the security team that was backing up the RCT got into a TIC, (troops in combat or conflict). We could hear it in the distance. Word is that the bad guys fired a few small arms and our guys return fire, with hell. Sounded pretty awesome. You could make out the distinct sounds of the .50cal, 240, 249 and Mark 19. Read as machine guns of various size and mounted grenade launcher.

After a while the Apache’s and Warthogs started buzzing the area and not surprisingly, the fight was over. Can’t put the rest of what happened but we didn’t get home till well after dark.

Interesting day, more interesting evening……

for another time.

Seriously guys, you tickle me, keep it up

I followed this guys Blog once, he rowed across the Atlantic, solo from Africa to Florida. He tried to do entries every day, unless he was having mechanical, physical or weather problems. But even when nothing happened, he wrote something. I feel like that sometimes, like, nothing to write, so why bore you with my ruminations. But what the hell, it’s my blog and I’ll blog if I want to.

Actually, I do have something to write about.

Yesterday was one of the reasons I wanted to come this part of the world. I got to see a beautiful part of the country and a friendly area. The Chief was very hospitable and lunch went something like this; It was a medium sized room with a carpet in the middle. Around the carpet were big pillows and everyone sat cross-legged. They take off their shoes when they come in but they accept that the Military can't, in case we have to move fast.

Lunch was brought in and the Lt of my Unit, (a nice guy, whose actually a high school history teacher and is teaching me about the country), told the Chief that all his soldiers eat when the Officers eat, at the same time, so the Chief went outside and made sure everybody was fed. First they brought in Nan about the size of two footballs, flattened out and fresh baked. With that they brought a dish of cucumber dip, peaches in sauce, and a yogurt type substance, which I didn't eat . Then a big plate of rice and vegetables and a bowl of stew with some kind of meat in it. Found out it was lamb and not the missing dog.

After that it was oranges for desert and Chai.

Actually it’s Chai all the time. It’s all they drink. DelB told me about the Chai.(same in Iraq, I guess), I will either never drink it again or I'll be hooked when I get home. That’s a picture of the dude I call the Chai Guy.

Also at lunch and at most meetings is the Village Elder, old, wise with a turban and his entourage of two to five guys. We asked them about fighting the Russians in the 70's and 80's, because they have all been there and done that. Very interesting, great stories.If you want to get a basic understanding of this Country see that movie Charlie Wilsons War.

After ,we went up into the mountains to a check point. These are some of the views. Over my shoulder and over those mountains is Pakistan. Wow, that’s close. Really amazing though.

More dribble to follow.

Ironic

I think its very comical that guys that work in the same place and live in the same State have to verbally assault each other using my blog from roughly 7000 miles away. Keep it up Gentlemen, you make me laugh.

Things to Ponder...

Well, I’ve been here "in country" for just over five weeks now and I’ve seen several different parts of the country.


Kabul, where I came in, is the biggest city here. Very crowded, smelly and dirty. If I didn’t mention it, they burn everything there. I mean EVERYTHING...and that’s what the city smells like. Sometimes its worse than others, but it always smells. We have a lot of troops there so that’s what you see. Big military vehicles and little cars.


Then I left Kabul and came out to Logar in the country, actually the mountains. The air is clean and the scenery is truly amazing. I’ve been to the Alps and some of these ranges rival those. Forget where you are and it’s breathtaking.


The people here are different too. Well, some of them. I work in two different areas. Two VERY different areas. One, where I do most of my work, is very much influenced by the Taliban. When we drive through the village, most of the people just stare. Our guys will wave and they seldom get waves back. It’s like when the new Sheriff rode into Rock Ridge in Blazing Saddles…

The Police in that District don’t leave their compound because they’re afraid. They’re supposed to do mounted (in vehicles),and dismounted ( on foot) patrols. They don’t.


At the other village, in Koshi Valley, everyone waves, EVERYONE. Adults and kids.The area is beautiful, you can see in the earlier photo and description from a previous post. Like I said, I look forward to seeing it in spring.


The Police are in charge and doing they’re job. I don’t know about the level of Taliban influence there, but if it’s there, it’s not visible.

That's an M203 Grenade Launcher on the range.

It’s been a quick adjustment to life here. Maybe because of my military background or what the Inspector drilled into my head the last twenty some odd years, improvise, adapt and well...you know.

When we go outside the wire, the briefings are in depth. All the possible dangers are laid out so everyone’s geared for it, if it happens. When we don’t go out, it’s easy to get complacent. You try not to... keep your weapons and armor near your bed. You have to keep in mind where you are.


One of the last things my Mom said to me before I left was "don’t trust any of these people". If you know my Mom, that’s a powerful statement. But it’s a good rule to live by here.


This country is a mess, a lot of problems. Fourth world country, not third world.

The picture above is of kids by the HumV. It is from the day we went to the range. Let me put it this way, there is no policing of the brass. They wait till we’re done then swarm the ground cleaning up. They sell them in town for whatever they can get.


Well, that’s it for now, more to come.

February 28, 2009 - My Room

These pictures are of mine and George’s room.

Standing on a chair in the hallway, looking over the wall.

The bed on the right is mine and the one on the left is George’s.

There’s about six feet between beds.

George has been here for awhile, so he has collected more stuff.

We’ll see how much less room we have after I have been here a couple months.

Not a lot going on right now, some down days here and there, but we definitely keep busy. The puppy, Fat Girl, has disappeared, we’re all concerned.

If she turns up, I’ll let you know.

February 24, 2009

This is a place called Koshi Valley.
Because it is well irrigated they have four seasons with the leaves changing in the fall. Should be beautiful.

Me in our ride.
Can’t really move that well because of all of the gear I wear.

This is one of the two puppies at camp.
Her name is Makhi which roughly translates to "Fat Girl".
Five (the adult dog pictured in the previous post) is pregnant, but this is not one of hers.

This is me with some of the Afghan Police, good guys.

Update February 21, 2009

The first picture is of some of the scenery on the way to the police station where I'll be doing most of my work.

The second is one of the Police vehicles at the PD.

The next is of a school in the compound where the PD is.

The next is a painting on the wall of the PD.

It's a pretty good rendition of the Country.

That should be good for today.

Working everyday, the Army guys I'm with are great, very motivated.

Hey kicking bird, there's a Lt here with your name.

Says he has family in RI. He's from Illinois.

Meet "Five" - February 19, 2009

Coming soon is a picture of one of our vehicles.. Its called a Cougar.
Weighs about 36,000lbs. Very cool.

The next one is the house dog, "Five".

She's a Lab mix.

Good dog, does not like Afghans. Barks when ever she sees one.

The last one is our common room, tv room, kitchen, meeting room ect, ect, ect.

You know the only thing I really don't like is the dirt.

Its everywhere, on everything.

There is snow and mud on the ground, so your boots get caked.

Impossible to clean. So that gets tracked everywhere.

I bought a rug for my room (photo to follow at a later time), for $15.

It helps but it also holds dirt you don't see.

They say summers are worse because they get don't get rain here...

so its dirt and dust for months.

The bed is comfortable and the food is good. The guys keep our common room stocked so if you don't want to walk to the mess hall (literally a quarter mile away) there is plenty here.

More to come...