Not much new here. I guess the highlight was going to the embassy the other day for lunch and coffee with one of our 3 letter agency representatives. It was very nice to get away and pretend to be a human being for a while. We had Afghan food which was very good and spent about 2 hours sitting by the embassy pool just eating and relaxing. It was really needed. I realized I had only been out of the walls of this place 2 other times in 8 weeks.
As for the job, I am the officer-in-charge of Regional Command East and Regional Command Capital for my office. Which means I am in charge of keeping track and knowing everything that happens in about 1/3 of the country including Kabul. It is a whole lot of stuff and very active. I am losing almost 1/2 of my team this week so it will be very, very interesting to see what happens. If you would like to know more about ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) which is who I work for, you can go to www.nato.int/isaf This will give you an idea of what we are doing here.
I will write more later.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Addendum to A Day in the life...
I'm sorry, I did not mean to make this out as the worst place in the world! Actually it could be much worse.
1. I get to see the sun every day and have "fresh" air (actually LA on a bad day is better than the air quality on a good day).
2. I get to eat food while some of the people in Northern Afghanistan are starving.
3. I get to work with some great and interesting people.
4. I am not getting shot at every day
5. The problem set is always changing and we are always guessing who the real enemy is.
Unfortunately, we do get the politics and how the world economy is going down the toilet. The worse thing is that Armed Forces Network (AFN) has only one news channel and you cannot choose between Fox, CNN, MSNBC, or any other news source you get what they send.
A few more things about life here.
We have 220Volts electricity here vice 110Volts like in the states. Fortunately most electronics can work on both.
I "stole" a memory foam mattress pad that was not being used in my old room so I have some cushioning on my bed (the mattress is harder than the tile floor!)
I do have access to my personal e-mail at work, but cannot do anything with the blog there.
We do have a small US Exchange here, but I prefer the one the Brits have. All the other exchanges are way overpriced!!
More later, it is almost 11pm and I have to get up in a few hours.
1. I get to see the sun every day and have "fresh" air (actually LA on a bad day is better than the air quality on a good day).
2. I get to eat food while some of the people in Northern Afghanistan are starving.
3. I get to work with some great and interesting people.
4. I am not getting shot at every day
5. The problem set is always changing and we are always guessing who the real enemy is.
Unfortunately, we do get the politics and how the world economy is going down the toilet. The worse thing is that Armed Forces Network (AFN) has only one news channel and you cannot choose between Fox, CNN, MSNBC, or any other news source you get what they send.
A few more things about life here.
We have 220Volts electricity here vice 110Volts like in the states. Fortunately most electronics can work on both.
I "stole" a memory foam mattress pad that was not being used in my old room so I have some cushioning on my bed (the mattress is harder than the tile floor!)
I do have access to my personal e-mail at work, but cannot do anything with the blog there.
We do have a small US Exchange here, but I prefer the one the Brits have. All the other exchanges are way overpriced!!
More later, it is almost 11pm and I have to get up in a few hours.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Things are busy here
Sorry I have not written, it has been very busy! We have moved around some people here and are losing almost half of our people due to rotation in the next 2 weeks or so, that is a whole lot of brain power and knowledge going away!! I am fine and hope everyone is doing well and I will write more very soon!
P.S. Mom, got the robe and slippers, Thanks a whole whole lot!! Snow usually starts here in about late November into December with the mountains earlier.
P.S. Mom, got the robe and slippers, Thanks a whole whole lot!! Snow usually starts here in about late November into December with the mountains earlier.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
A day in the life...
Well, I have now moved into freedom hall and have an American roommate. I have also switched shifts and am now working days. So, other than that, it is the same old, same old. Jen wanted me to write about my daily routine so if you are having trouble sleeping, please read on...
I will start off when I was on nights: I would get up around 5pm and get dressed then go into the office for a meeting from 6pm to 7pm. I would then think about going to dinner and would usually at least go to get a Diet Coke. Dinner here, as with every meal is very hit or miss! On the "curry line", they usually have "Pizza" which is to say it is dough, a human hair width of sauce, some type of meat and veggies, and cheese. Also, they have either "hot dogs", hamburgers, sloppy joes or something else like that. And of course they usually have beef curry on the curry line. The main line usually has a choice of two meats and veggies. It is OK food, but usually very
interesting in the preparation. Any way, I digress... I go back to work for a meeting from 730pm to 830/9pm. I then go through e-mail and messages to find something interesting to write a report on. Around 1100pm is Mid Rats which is usually left overs from the worst thing they served that day and some odds and ends thrown in. I get off work around 9am-11am and either go work out, watch something, or just take a shower and go to bed. Get up and do it all over again.
Now for days: I get up around 6am and get dressed go into work for a 715am meeting. Go to various meetings and write various papers throughout the day. Around 11am I go to lunch (depending on meeting schedules) and go back to work. I have the same daily meetings at 6pm and 7pm. I usually get off work around 9-11pm and go take a shower and go to bed. If I am lucky, I may have time in the day to work out or go browse one of the 7 or 8 shops (venders) on post, but usually I am just doing a whole lot of working.
As a side note for those of you who would like to know, you may notice I did not include any smoke breaks in my day. That is because I have quit smoking and am now 21 days smoke free and not going completely crazy or trying to kill anyone except the insurgents.
Anyway, that is my exciting life here. The days sometimes drag on, but the weeks are just flying by!!! I have already been here at ISAF for 6 weeks. The work is difficult and trying, but I am finding my groove and it is getting better.
Last night we did have a German Reunification Day celebration. It was more like Oktober Fest with lots of German food and free beer (for everyone except the US, Brits, and Aussies who cannot drink.) I went for a while and it was very nice! The ISAF band "Tally-Band" played live music and there was some polkas and umpapa music and a whole lot of people from off post.
Thats all for now, thanks to everyone for all the support and tune in next week for another exciting episode of "Groundhog day"!!!
I will start off when I was on nights: I would get up around 5pm and get dressed then go into the office for a meeting from 6pm to 7pm. I would then think about going to dinner and would usually at least go to get a Diet Coke. Dinner here, as with every meal is very hit or miss! On the "curry line", they usually have "Pizza" which is to say it is dough, a human hair width of sauce, some type of meat and veggies, and cheese. Also, they have either "hot dogs", hamburgers, sloppy joes or something else like that. And of course they usually have beef curry on the curry line. The main line usually has a choice of two meats and veggies. It is OK food, but usually very
interesting in the preparation. Any way, I digress... I go back to work for a meeting from 730pm to 830/9pm. I then go through e-mail and messages to find something interesting to write a report on. Around 1100pm is Mid Rats which is usually left overs from the worst thing they served that day and some odds and ends thrown in. I get off work around 9am-11am and either go work out, watch something, or just take a shower and go to bed. Get up and do it all over again.
Now for days: I get up around 6am and get dressed go into work for a 715am meeting. Go to various meetings and write various papers throughout the day. Around 11am I go to lunch (depending on meeting schedules) and go back to work. I have the same daily meetings at 6pm and 7pm. I usually get off work around 9-11pm and go take a shower and go to bed. If I am lucky, I may have time in the day to work out or go browse one of the 7 or 8 shops (venders) on post, but usually I am just doing a whole lot of working.
As a side note for those of you who would like to know, you may notice I did not include any smoke breaks in my day. That is because I have quit smoking and am now 21 days smoke free and not going completely crazy or trying to kill anyone except the insurgents.
Anyway, that is my exciting life here. The days sometimes drag on, but the weeks are just flying by!!! I have already been here at ISAF for 6 weeks. The work is difficult and trying, but I am finding my groove and it is getting better.
Last night we did have a German Reunification Day celebration. It was more like Oktober Fest with lots of German food and free beer (for everyone except the US, Brits, and Aussies who cannot drink.) I went for a while and it was very nice! The ISAF band "Tally-Band" played live music and there was some polkas and umpapa music and a whole lot of people from off post.
Thats all for now, thanks to everyone for all the support and tune in next week for another exciting episode of "Groundhog day"!!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
An interesting trip
I just got back from Counter Insurgency School at a Forward Operating Base (FOB) on the outskirts of Kabul. The class was interesting and I was able to interact and get to know many people from bases around Afghanistan including some Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan National Army (ANA) members! The base where the class took place is located in between the "Kings Palace" and "Queens Palace". Here are some pictures...
This is the class picture in front of the "Queens Palace". The palace was built in the 1920s and used until the Taliban and the Northern Alliance fought in the mid 90s. It is now very run down and everything that was easily removed has been pilfered. We got to take a tour of it and I am sure it was a very nice palace at one time.
This is a picture of the "Kings Palace" I do not know much about it, but it is now condemned.
This is the Soviet Officer's Club that overlooks the valley. We hiked up to it one morning and got to tour it. It is not as run down as the Palaces, but it is still in major disrepair!
It was used by the Special Forces to direct bombing strikes against the Taliban in 2001. I have pictures of the tours of the Queens Palace and the Officer's Club that I will be sending to Heindrek for him to upload to a photo sharing site.
The Class and tours were both very interesting, but now I am back at ISAF HQ in Kabul.
This is the class picture in front of the "Queens Palace". The palace was built in the 1920s and used until the Taliban and the Northern Alliance fought in the mid 90s. It is now very run down and everything that was easily removed has been pilfered. We got to take a tour of it and I am sure it was a very nice palace at one time.
This is a picture of the "Kings Palace" I do not know much about it, but it is now condemned.
This is the Soviet Officer's Club that overlooks the valley. We hiked up to it one morning and got to tour it. It is not as run down as the Palaces, but it is still in major disrepair!
It was used by the Special Forces to direct bombing strikes against the Taliban in 2001. I have pictures of the tours of the Queens Palace and the Officer's Club that I will be sending to Heindrek for him to upload to a photo sharing site.The Class and tours were both very interesting, but now I am back at ISAF HQ in Kabul.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Fantastic Experience!!!!!
I just had the best experience of my time here! I went with a group of about 35 people to a local school and handed out school supplies, toys, and candy to a class of boys from 6-12 years old. It was a great experience and I will hopefully be able to post some pictures sometime soon. The kids were great and very polite! They taught me some Dahri and I tried to teach them some english although many spoke some words. I even tried to show one kid how to golf (he had received a set of play golf clubs). It was very rewarding, but very short. Unfortunately, we had to be in our body armor other than that everything went off without a problem! It really put a face on the people we are here trying to help!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Not much new in Kabul
There is not much new to report from Kabul. I am slowly getting used to the schedule here and am trying to stay somewhat normal. I was looking through my past posts and I realize that it may appear that I have a whole lot of time on my hands to do a lot of shopping. The truth is that shopping, going to the gym, and watching movies is about the only thing to do on the 1-3 hours I might have off in a given day. I am currently on the night shift working from 6pm to 830am all but Thursday when I work 8pm to 8am. Even with these hours, meetings tend to run long and take place in the middle of the day so I usually only have about 8-9 hours a day to sleep, shower, go to the gym, and relax. I do go and browse usually about 1-2 days a week and look for things that are interesting and cheep. We are discussing changing the way things are done at work since we are losing about 50% of our people in the next 2 months and only about 50% of them are being replaced any time soon. So like many other places, we will need to do more with less.
I am hoping to be able to do some limited traveling here in the near future, but will not be able to post it until after it happens, so stay tuned for those updates and pictures!
One more thing, I did think of a couple of more things I would really appreciate! Ranch and/or blue cheese dressing packets. Please do not send the little plastic tubs of the dressing or bottles, but rather just the packets since I cannot refrigerate them and the tubs would be more prone to opening during shipment.
Love to all!
Jason
I am hoping to be able to do some limited traveling here in the near future, but will not be able to post it until after it happens, so stay tuned for those updates and pictures!
One more thing, I did think of a couple of more things I would really appreciate! Ranch and/or blue cheese dressing packets. Please do not send the little plastic tubs of the dressing or bottles, but rather just the packets since I cannot refrigerate them and the tubs would be more prone to opening during shipment.
Love to all!
Jason
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