Corruption – My Last Straw

Me loading a big roll of HA blankets.

It started off as a perfect morning.  I had some extra time for breakfast and enjoyed a fluffy egg omelet, fresh fruit, and washed it down with some mediocre tasting coffee.  Omid and I loaded the truck with large bags of clothing, blankets, and first aid kits.  In addition, I had some boxes of hygiene items and some other gifts to present to my ANA counterparts as parting gifts.

Our first stop was the Kandak Religious Officer (RO) and Mullah’s office.  We ran into the ANA Sergeant Major and I asked him to boil some water for chai because we would visit his office next.  The Mullah was in the RO’s office and I didn’t have to chase him down.  They were both happy to see me and more so when they saw I had some gifts.  Previously the Mullah was having trouble with his cell phone and asked if I could find one for him.  At my previous camp, the ANA Sergeant Major gave me two cell phones to use, even though I rarely used them.  I suspect he felt guilty about gouging me on the contracts I gave him, he would reciprocate a little.  So instead of giving the phone away to another soldier, I gave this phone to the Mullah.  His eyes really lit up when I presented it to him.  The RO also had a request.  He had a problem with his memory stick, so I replaced it with a new one.  He too, was very happy with his gift.

The Mullah and RO were sad to see me go and thanked me for everything I did in supporting the literacy class and for distributing humanitarian assistance in the villages.  I joked, “I’m not ready to be converted to the Muslim faith and that I was going to remain with my book (Bible).”  The Mullah, a man of few words, “Wished me the best with my travels back to the United States and happiness to my family.  They will be sad to see me go.” Before leaving, we took a picture together and I thanked them for teaching me about Afghanistan and the Koran.

Saying goodbye to Kandak Religious Officer and Mullah.

Our next stop was the ANA Sergeant Major’s office.  We walked into his room and the teapot was boiling water and bubbling over the sides on to the table.  He was still using the same bag of tea leaves that I previously gave him as a gift.  Since the SGM is supporting 12 children, I presented him several boxes of hygiene items for his family to use.  I also gave him an opportunity to pick through some of the clothes that were loaded on the back of the pick-up truck.

While sipping our chai, he revealed some information about the ANA school supply distribution.  Some of his soldiers participated on this mission.  According to his soldiers, after the school supplies were loaded on the back of a truck, they made a detour before arriving at the school.  The truck stopped at the ANA Brigade Surgeon’s house and he had the soldiers off load several boxes of school supplies and a portion of the Beanie Babies.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!  Here was a man I entrusted and to save face and keep our promises, I divided the school supplies and Beanie Babies for distribution to the village school.  This is the same village where the ANA surgeon was born at.  Now I find out he deprived his own people of goods only to enrich himself.  I was livid and still am!!  Interestingly enough, he is not a real doctor either and apparently knew someone to get his position and title of ANA Brigade Surgeon!  Furthermore, we already suspected him of taking medicines from the pharmacy along with some of the other medics.  Coincidentally, they all own pharmacies in Kabul city.  After this school supply thievery, I would not be surprised he is also stealing medicines from the ANA medical warehouse to resupply his privately owned pharmacy.

ANA Brigade surgeon who allegedly had school supplies dropped off at his house.

Note:  I am still contemplating what to do.  I have no real proof and a soldier will not provide testimony against an officer.  Even if he did, there would be little ramifications due to a weak and inadequate justice system.  Somehow I want him to know that I know what he did. I will have to sleep on this one and determine my course of action.

The ANA SGM still wants to give me a gift too.  He wanted to take me to his house and eat a home-cooked Afghan meal together.  But he knew for security reasons this wouldn’t be possible.  Instead, he is going to bring the food and offered to make me lunch tomorrow.  This will be his parting gift to me.  I am not sure if the man knows how to cook, but tomorrow I will find out.  It’s the thought that counts.

Our next stop was at the ANA Family Support Center.  The garrison Religious Officer and his assistant were waiting on me and the truckload of supplies.  I tried to assist with offloading the truck, but the RO insisted the soldiers do it and for Omid and I to come into his office to chat.  This is the officer who formerly served as a Mujahedeen commander under Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance who fought against the Soviets and the Taliban.  To be cont’d…..

Time is Running Out

1Sgt does his “Jarod” impression.

Like an hourglass that has been turned upside down and the sand granules slowly deplete and amass on the bottom, so is the amount of time we have left on our deployment.  But the time is measured in days instead of hours.  Our ETT mission has officially ended and everyone is busy packing their bags and disposing of items they have accumulated throughout the year.  It’s amazing how much stuff and junk you acquire.

I am still tying up some loose ends and tomorrow I plan on delivering my last load of humanitarian assistance to the ANA family support center.  Today Omid, Mir Wais, and I sorted through large bags of clothing, first aid kits, hygiene kits, and blankets.  My plan is

Omid, my interpreter, sorting through bags of clothing.

to give one third of the items to the family support center for distribution to wounded soldiers’ families and widows.  Then the remaining items are going to be turned over to an Army SSG who is responsible for 7 regions.  He works closely with the Afghan National Police and has assured me the items will be distributed to needy villagers.  The demand is so great here that just about any village would qualify for these handouts.

Tomorrow I will also say my final goodbye to the ANA Sergeant Major, Religious Officer, and the Mullah.  I have some surprise gifts to bestow upon them provided they aren’t out on a mission.  I’m also excited about the opportunity to interview a former Mujahedeen fighter who was injured during the war with the Soviets.  So it should be an interesting day.

Teammates playing volleyball.

Meanwhile back at the camp, when we aren’t packing our clothes or preparing for departure, my teammates are taking advantage of the sunny weather.  The other day we played over three hours of volleyball while other teammates shot basketball.  I took an accidental elbow to my jaw while on the volleyball court and had a headache that persisted for two days.  But all is well now.  I will just add that to my extensive list of bumps and bruises …. lol.  This deployment has taken a toll on the body and I look forward to the day I wake up and don’t have to don any heavy body armor or carry a weapon around with me everywhere I go.

AF MSgt rules the basketball court.

I’m also doing some last minute shopping before departing here too.  I can’t pass up an opportunity to purchase some Afghan made goods like scarves, jewelry, and rugs.  I already have a place picked out for the rug in my room in our house and now we are contemplating changing out some of the other rugs as well.  It’s almost like planning a mission, because I have to wire the money to my interpreter, take pictures of the rugs for sale, and most importantly, have to get the wife’s approval on the change of décor.  Then I have to make the purchase and wait for mail day to send the items out.   I still think prints of big lions and tigers are manly and spruce up a room, but Mrs. T says that is not suitable for the dining room area.  So I have to trust her judgment and accept her choices … lol.

In this photo slide show you can see some of the many items available at the bazaar:

In local news:

KABUL – More than two dozens of suspected militants have been arrested on charges of carrying out militant operations in the fortified capital, Kabul, the Afghan intelligence agency said on Saturday. An official at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said at least twenty-six people — in three separate groups — have been detained with some arms over the past three weeks. The militants were linked to the Taliban and the Hezb-e Islami led-by Gulbuddin Hikmatyar — the two leading militants groups in Afghanistan, the NDS spokesman, Saeed Ansari, told a news conference. The Afghan capital was under a number of coordinated attacks over the last one year as groups of suicide bombers, armed with rifles, had attacked key government buildings and guesthouse, favored by foreigners. A dozen of the detained militants were Kabul residents, who were charged for having hands in suicide attacks, providing ammunitions and arms to insurgents, Mr. Ansari said. Ansari added that the detainees confessed during interrogations that they were trained in the Shamshatu refugees’ camp on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. Meanwhile, Kabul police have also arrested 14 other insurgents on charges of planting bombs, launching rocket attacks on the capital and kidnappings over the past three weeks, Kabul Police Chief, Lt Gen Abdul Rahman Rahman, told in the joint conference with the NDS spokesman. (Pajhwok)

Help me give Rex an awesome anniversary present

From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: Rex has no Internet access today – our 4th wedding anniversary. 😦

So I’m using the space to ask for your help. I want to give him a special anniversary present and if you are a regular reader of this blog and like what you see, you can help me. I would like to get Rex nominated for this blog so he can compete for the most prestigious military blogging award there is – the MILBloggies. How to do it is outlined below – Rex is listed under “Afghanistan-My Last Tour on the http://milblogging.com/ website – but you can’t nominate him until tonight Eastern Standard Time (if you are a reader in Afghanistan, maybe you can help nominate him tomorrow your time?).

***

The 2010 MILBloggies Kicked Off this morning (March 31, 2010) and they recognize military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information

Here are the Rules and Instructions

The Milbloggies Award recognizes military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the past year.

Nomination and Voting Overview

1. A military blog can be nominated ONLY once by the same registered user.  However, a user can nominate as many military blogs as they wish and nominating your own blog is allowed.  However, please do not register multiple accounts in order to place more than one nomination for the same blog, as we have the ability to track this information.  If you encounter problems registering/activating your account, just send an email to milblogging@gmail.com and he will activate your account as quickly as possible.  Occasionally, the Activation email gets blocked by your Service Provider.

The nomination phase starts Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 and all nominations must be submitted online through Milblogging.com by 11:59 pm EST on Saturday, April 3rd, 2010.

2.  The top five nominees in each branch category will be announced on Sunday, April 4th, 2010 and those nominees will move into the Voting Phase beginning April 4th, 2010.

This is the type of abuse a military blogger's beloved personal laptop endures during deployment. Rex's busted up laptop was soon replaced after R&R in Germany. (He's on his 2nd camera at this point too.)

3. Nominees may be military blogs that belong to the following branch categories in the Milblogging.com database:

U.S. Military Parent
U.S. Military Supporter
U.S. Air Force (Rex qualifies in this category)
U.S. Army
U.S. Navy
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Military Veteran
U.S. Military Spouse
Foreign National Military
U.S. Reporter

4. To nominate and/or vote for a military blog, you must be signed in to the Milblogging.com website.  Registration is quick and free and you will not receive any SPAM.  This helps maintain the integrity of voting by reducing possible click fraud.  To place your nomination, simply click on the listing in the Milblogging.com database starting the evening of Wednesday, March 31st, 2010, and click the Nominate button that appears at the top of the military blog profile.  Keep in mind, the Nominate button will not be shown on the website until TONIGHT on Wednesday, March 31st (this is Eastern Standard Time).

5.  To vote for a military blog (once the nomination phase is over), a chart will be published that includes the top nominees in each category, along with the ability to vote.

The Voting will close on Wednesday, April 7th at 11:59 PM EST.

6.  Winners will be presented awards at the 2010 MILblog Conference on April 10th.  Winners are not required to attend the conference in order to receive their awards.

Twitter Hashtag:  #milbloggies

Brain Injury Awareness Month = facts about head trauma

From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: While Rex’s is out on a mission, I’m posting this piece in honor of Brain Injury Awareness Month.

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) — Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, has been labeled a “signature injury” of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also occurs in non-combat settings in association with motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, assaults and falls. In 2009, Department of Defense officials reported 20,199 cases of TBI among military service members.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month and representatives at Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center locations will be hosting various activities promoting the Brain Injury Association of America’s current campaign, “A concussion is a brain injury. Get the facts.”

According to DOD guidelines, traumatic brain injury is defined as “a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain.” Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of such an injury may range from “mild,” characterized by a brief change in mental status or consciousness, to “severe,” involving an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. More significant TBI can result in short- or long-term problems with independent function. The vast majority of TBIs fall into the mild category also known as “concussion.”

A concussion is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Most concussions involve a brief period of altered consciousness, characterized as being dazed or confused without a loss of consciousness. Some common signs and symptoms of concussion include headaches, dizziness, memory loss, concentration difficulties, irritability, fatigue and anxiety or depression. These symptoms may be noticeable immediately or within the first few days after the injury and normally resolve rapidly.

Research on TBI in the civilian population suggests that approximately 85 percent of individuals experience resolution of post-concussive symptoms within three to six months after a single concussion.

There are many reasons why symptoms persist. The course of recovery is individual and varies, depending on the cause of injury as well as the environment or setting in which the injury occurred. If symptoms persist or interfere with normal activities, follow-up with a physician is important.

Additional information about traumatic brain injury and Brain Injury Awareness Month can be found at Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center or at Brain Injury Association of America.

(Story by Ken Breaux, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center; Maren Cullen contributed to this article)

Excess Humvees to BAF

My team is still trying to clear up the property book and we have given away or transferred everything possible, but we still have some excess up-armored Humvees to dispose of.  When we merged with the Brigade, our vehicle fleet doubled in size.  We managed to transfer 90% of our vehicle fleet except for two Humvees that aren’t as heavily armored as the other ones.  The closest place to dispose of these Humvees is Bagram Air Field (BAF).  As you already know, BAF is not our favorite place to visit and dealing with the BAF-fites is always an adventure.  Unfortunately, it was a necessary evil to clear the property book and only the BAF-fites could assist us.  We all promised to be on our best behavior, salute the officers, and try not to get upset at the bureaucratic processes in place.

AF Captain and SMSgt secure Humvees for transport.

Since we lacked the proper vehicles to transport the Humvees, we coordinated with our ANA counterparts for a joint mission.  They would provide the tractor and trailer and be integrated into our convoy.  Two of my teammates help secure the vehicles on the  .  The ANA soldier boasted about having more experience and he wanted to chain the vehicles down himself.  That is quite a change for an ANA soldier to step up like that and volunteer his services.

When I walked back to camp, I stopped at the gate to see how Bernie was doing.  The new soldiers who arrived are dog lovers and renamed the puppy, especially after I pointed out the puppy’s anatomy of being a boy… lol.  Bernie was sound asleep taking a

Bernie is taking a puppy nap.

puppy nap between two cement blocks and had his chin propped up on a piece of wood.  He didn’t have a care in the world.

The original plan was for 4 ANA LTVs and the tractor and trailer to join us at 5:20 am to depart for BAF.  I originally tried to go to sleep around 10:30 pm., but my new B-Hut mate has a severe case of sleep apnea and makes choking sounds in his sleep.  If he isn’t bellowing and gasping, then he is talking loudly in his sleep.  I also think he has restless leg syndrome because he constantly crashes into the thin plywood walls.  I last looked at the clock around 1 am and my alarm went off at 4 am.  Fortunately I wasn’t driving and would be the truck commander today.

Afghan men hoping to get hired for the day.

All of my teammates gathered at the MRAPs at 5 am and we prepared for the mission.  The ANA was on time, except they were missing 3 LTVs.  Never did find out what happened with them.  Driving to BAF, we drove through a different part of the city.  In the Pashtun market, the unskilled laborers were crowded at an intersection hoping to get hired for the day.  So

Afghan National Police providing security.

many people migrate to the capital city in hopes of finding a more prosperous life, but quickly find the competition is fierce and the wages are low.  Established Afghan businessmen are keen on maximizing profit by paying low wages to these unskilled workers.  I think they have taken a page from the business models US contractors

Afghan mud-brick house.

are using here in country.  They charge a hefty price, but maximize their profit by exploiting cheap labor.

Security in the city has definitely increased.  The ANP have established more checkpoints and armed policemen are seen throughout the city.  I think as more ANP are trained, this will continue to be the trend.  But the

Tending the sheep.

ANP still has an image problem due to corruption, theft, and bribery.  These issues are constantly being addressed and it will take time to win the people over and for the ANP to modify their behavior.  Hitting passing cars with the butt of their AK-47s only causes resentment among the populace.

After leaving the city, we passed through some smaller towns and more agricultural areas.  The farmers were busy tending to their livestock and the small shops waited on customers to buy their goods or produce.  An

Elderly Afghan man thumbs his prayer beads.

older man sat on a tin box threading his prayer beads through his hand.  I could only wonder if he was a wise tribal elder or just an elderly gentleman who has survived over 30 years of war.

Potholes on road leading to BAF.

It has been quite awhile since our last convoy trip to BAF.  The roads are in much worse shape than I remember and the potholes have spread like a bad disease.  It didn’t help matters that the slack in my seatbelt wasn’t retracting properly.  As a result, I was bounced around the inside of the MRAP like a rag doll.  I’m certain to have some new bruises when this mission ends.  To be cont’d ……..

Camp puppies

Adorable white puppy.

Momma with her puppies.

From Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife: For some reason Rex had terrible Internet connectivity problems today and could not send his blog entry. But he did manage to send the photos of the new camp puppies. Apparently there are nine of them and they are way too cute.

Three puppies playing.

Day 1 Election Patrol

MRAP overlooking destroyed mosque

After numerous delays our convoy was on the road.  We drove to another location and swapped out our HMMVWs for some MRAP vehicles.  The MRAPs would enhance our capabilities.  By mid afternoon, we finally arrived at our staging location.  It still looked the same with the drab color landscape and bombed out buildings.  The sun was blistering hot and we were all hungry because we didn’t have lunch and breakfast was a Pop Tart or some other readily available snack.  Before we could eat we still had to set up the camp site.

Tarps attached to building and MRAPs

On a previous scout mission we found the ideal location to establish our camp.  This site would provide protection, shade, and be large enough to accommodate the team.  We utilized the steel beams of what remained of a bombed out 2 story house to affix our ropes and tarps.  We tied 4 large tarps together and then attached them to the MRAPs.  It wasn’t pretty, but it would suffice.

AF SSgt cooking burgers

While the team was tying off the last ropes and setting up their cots, an AF SSgt and I set up a make shift cooking area.  We fired up the charcoal and he cooked hamburgers for everyone.

Later in the evening a group of ANA soldiers stopped by to visit one of our interpreters.  I used this as an opportunity to learn more about this site and the previous battles that took place.  The entire site is a graveyard of old rusting Soviet tanks.  During the Soviet occupation this was an active base until 1988 when they withdrew.  They left in such a hurry; they didn’t take all of their tanks with them.  During this next period various warlords from the Mujahedeen were dividing the country and establishing their own governmental systems and fighting against the communist established government.

ANA soldiers and interpreter Saleem

Meanwhile the Taliban had their own agenda and was flowing in from Pakistan.  They were educated in the madrasas and were tasked to implement strict Sharia law.  By 1994, the Taliban had enough strength to capture Kandahar from a local warlord, thus the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban.

The Taliban promised security to the people, so the village [we were protecting] gave them a chance.  When they discovered how corrupt the Taliban were they chased the Taliban out.

Bombed out building destroyed by Taliban

The Taliban returned with larger forces and committed cruel atrocities and killed a lot of people.  The people with the help of the Northern Alliance warlord Massoud retaliated against the Taliban.  The town then established their own resistance government and planted thousands of landmines.  The Taliban tried to overrun the camp and their forces fell victim to the landmine fields.

Abandoned Soviet tank from circa 1988

This would only be a temporary setback.  The Taliban herded hundreds of sheep for their next attack.  From the mountains they dropped mortars on this camp site and destroyed many of the buildings.  Then they forced the sheep into the landmine fields.  According to the soldier, a lot of sheep were blown up, but this allowed an opening for the Taliban to retake the town and the opposing forces retreated.  It will take the mine clearers until 2012 to clear this site of all the landmines planted by the Soviets and the former resistance government.

The ANA soldier also told me a funny story about the camel spiders present at the camp.  While another soldier prayed a camel spider approached him.  The soldier kept praying but kept one eye on the spider while performing his daily ritual.  Apparently he was praying fervently and his faith kept the spider away.  The soldiers have fallen prey to the urban legends about camel spiders that spread during the Gulf War by US soldiers and believe the spiders can jump 3 feet in the air and are venomous.

ETT members eating fish meal

After my history lesson of the camp site, the ANA colonel invited our team over for dinner.    In typical fashion, we all sat cross-legged on the floor next to the ANA officers.  The meal consisted of cooked fish rolled inside a piece of Naan bread garnished by platters of sliced tomatoes, onions, and peppers.    Also for his American guests, we were treated to orange soda pop and Coca Cola.  For dessert, we enjoyed locally grown pears and melons.   In between the electricity flickering off and on, it was a fun night of conversation and I joked with the colonel about being on donkey patrol for the elections.

Team leader and ETT with ANA colonel for meal

By now it was pitch dark and everyone was tired.  In a few hours it would be my turn to pull guard duty for the night.  I laid down in my cot for a combat nap and then went on guard duty from 2300 hrs until 0200 hrs.  While on duty and scanning the mountains, I was distracted by the sight of shooting stars streaking across the star lit sky.  I saw 7 shooting stars that night.

AF SSgt enjoying a cigar in front of MRAP

After my shift was up, I returned to my cot for some badly needed sleep.

WUSF radio evening report 5-15-09

Rex talks about preparing for missions

This afternoon Rex was able to call WUSF radio reporter Bobbie O’Brien.

Dedicating a new memorial + Afghan Meal #2

Written on 5-14-09

The sun rises early here and rudely awoke me around 0445 hrs as it peeked through my window and around the cloth window covering.  I used this as an opportunity to walk around the camp and take in my surroundings.  We are surrounded by huge bald faced mountains.  I watched as the sun slowly rose between the mountain peaks in the distance.  By best guess, the peaks reach up about 7-8000 feet.  They appear harmless, yet beyond them the enemy awaits for an opportunity to attack the coalition and Afghan forces.  This is when the reality of war reminds me where I am.
I ate an early breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese accompanied by some polish sausage and an overcooked hash brown.  Nearby I filled a paper bowl with some fresh pineapple, honeydew, and topped it with fresh strawberries.  My choice of coffee was limited to strong and weak coffee.  I learned from Camp Phoenix that strong coffee was really strong.  I wasn’t in the mood for watered-down asphalt, so I opted to mix my cup with half of each flavor.  This seemed to pacify my coffee tooth.  Yes it’s a far cry from my Millstone home brew and it can’t hold a candle to Starbucks either, but hey I’m in combat and the coffee is hot.  No need to complain.
Today we dedicated a special monument commemorating the efforts of the US and Afghan forces.  Previously the plan was to sacrifice a lamb and then allow it bleed it out for a day and then feast on the meat the next day.  Due to logistical challenges, the lamb was purchased and made in advance.  The Afghan Honor Guard surrounded the memorial and several guest speakers spoke.  Meanwhile our small military flight stood at parade rest in 90 degree temperatures and a glaring sun.  The Afghan general spoke in Dari without a translator for almost 40 minutes!   Our arms and shoulders grew weary from trying to maintain this position and our military bearing while everyone spoke.  Eventually the speeches ended and they unveiled the monument epitaph.Oops, someone forgot to spell check it, so “dedicated” was misspelled as “didicated”.
After the ceremony we were treated to another Afghan meal.  This time the main course was lamb, more vegetables and leafy greens with Nan bread.  Once again I forgot my spoon, but it wasn’t required for today’s feast.  The lamb was a bit tough and unsure what spices or marinade was used if any.  I smiled politely as I separated the gristle, fat and meat with my teeth.   I washed it down with some bottled water manufactured locally here.  I’ve included some pics for your viewing. (From Liisa: I’ll post more pictures in a slide show in the coming days!)
Later on in the afternoon a group of AF personnel took on the Army again at beach volleyball.  Yesterday we played for 2 ½ hrs.  The AF lost one game during the entire time.  Our volleyball court is rather unique.  It’s wedged between 2 buildings and surrounded by concrete barricades.  The out of bounds area is only 6 inches from the barracks walls.  It makes really interesting playing, especially with the air-condition units protruding from the walls.  So far nobody has gotten seriously injured as we are all cognizant of the dangerous obstacles.  I also took the opportunity to teach two of my teammates some more advanced fundamentals of playing volleyball.  They are quick learners and have added a jump serve to their weapons arsenal.  The Army won’t stand a chance!!

2-hour wait for phones and Internet

It’s Liisa again as Rex had very limited phone and Internet access today. He called me on my cell when I was out to lunch with a girlfriend for about 6 minutes but it was a horrendous connection where most of the time I had no idea what he was saying. And then we got cut off. Fortunately when I got home I found an e-mail and from it I could publish these parts:

From Rex:

I only have 30 minutes of computer time and I have been waiting for 2 hrs to access.  In the future, I will bring my blog entries, pictures, etc., and make the best use of my time.  We finally arrived at the camp X (for now he can’t publish his location).

I’ m still unpacking my bags, but at least I got a hard billet here and have 3 roommates.  They all scavenged all of the stuff from my side of the room and removed my TV cable and my clothing rack.  I got a new rack, but will have to find another cable.  This place isn’t too bad.  I will be spending more time on the road than I had originally planned.

Today I met with the Afghan Sergeant Major, Colonel and “Maint” commander.  We drank chai and then we were treated to an Afghan meal.  Still not sure what I ate other than the vegetables, Italian parsley, basil, and Nan bread.  One of my teammates took a photo and is going to send it to me.  I have to remember to take my camera in the future.

Rex's vest without the ammo during packing in Tampa

I’m getting used to carrying a weapon around with me everywhere I go.  I bought a cheap shoulder holster so I don’t have to have it attached to my leg.  The vest weighs a lot more with all of the ammunition too.

I’m really tired and sore after playing 2 1/2 hrs of volleyball tonight.  We lost one game to the Army, but after that, we were undefeated.  My team has adopted me as the coach/player.  I got some good spikes and blocks in too.  But now I am feeling extremely sore as the ol’ bones aren’t as young as they used to be.

Well, my time is running out.