Volunteer Community Relations...Winning Hearts and Minds

Beyond the mission of building the Afghan National Security Forces, is the greater mission of winning hearts and minds. One way we try to give back to Afghanistan is by helping out those less fortunate. Each Monday night, a group of folks get together to sort donated clothing, school supplies, bedding, etc. as part of the Volunteer Community Relations or VCR which is organized by the local chaplains office. Then, individuals volunteer to lead missions to local schools, refugee camps, or other facilities where we hand out the donated goods and get to interact with the people. Yesterday, I got to go on one of these missions to a School for the Blind.

The day started with a mission brief at 0900 in the rain, then a convoy briefing at 0945 with a planned departure of 1000. Since this mission took us off base, we traveled in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, commonly called MRAPs, and had a Force Protection team with us to secure our perimeter. The trip to the school took us about 30 minutes or so. Once there, the FP team deployed and we all got to dismount and hand out the goods. The students at the school ranged in ages from elementary school aged children to adults.



We handed out over 150 bags of school supplies and then left more than 150 family bags with clothes and other items in them for the parents and guardians of the students. It was fairly interesting to see the school workers get in line too. Anytime you are giving away anything here, the word spreads and everyone lines up.



It was interesting to see some folks get in line twice. It really sends the message of how needy the Afghan people are. After more than 25 years of continuous war, the Afghan people live in a country that looks like it is still stuck in the early 1900’s. I certainly appreciate what we have more than ever now. Well, we spent about an hour and half on the ground before we returned to Camp Eggers. The trip back was quick and we made it with no incidents.
Here are some more photos from our trip.

Sightseeing

Today was a pretty good day to be deployed. My day started with a panic wake up at 0522. I had forgotten to set my alarm for P90X. I contemplated staying in bed, but decided against it and was rewarded with 90 minutes (85 minutes since I was late) of Yoga X. If I sound sarcastic, I don’t mean it. I really did enjoy the Yoga and it got my mind right for the mission I had to run today.

Today, we convoyed out to Camp Julien for some meetings to discuss communication projects and requirements. The meetings were to last 4 hours or so including lunch. Once we arrived at the camp, I decided to opt out of the meetings. As the convoy commander (and due to the fact I am leaving very soon), I decided I should stick with my driver to ensure he had a battle buddy. It turned out to be a great decision. Joined by the other truck commander, driver, and interpreter, we spent the next few hours sightseeing in the Queen’s Palace and at the Russian Officer’s Club. Now, if you are friends or family, I want to tell you that both locations are in areas which are protected, so stop the worrying.

The Queen’s Palace, also known as Tajbeg Palace, was built in the 1920s but has fallen into disrepair after the last 30 years of war and violence.




If you want more information about the palace, just go to Wikipedia and search for Tajbeg Palace.

We spent a good hour and a half exploring and taking pictures in the palace. It was pretty awesome to walk around and imagine what splendor used to exist. The walls are covered in Arabic writings and some English as well along with some drawings. It is also interesting to notice what all is missing…wiring is all gone, handrails are cut off of stairs, marble tiles are missing (some of this might be as souvenirs) from the floors, and much of the roof is gone.

Finally, it was weird to realize that after the Russians invaded, they used the palace as a headquarters, and then after we got here, we used it as a headquarters. It is very strategically located. Here is a picture of the King's Palace from the second or third floor…I can’t remember which it was:


The Russian Officers’ Club has some interesting stories. I have been told that the Russians used to bring prisoners there and torture them for fun. I can’t validate that, but I can say it has been told to me by more than one person. Anyway, here are some pictures of the club.




It was fairly impressive. It seemed like there were a bank of rooms set up for those special activities that might have required a member of the opposite sex. Again, I cannot validate this, but it seemed logical. Here is a picture of an old Russian tank sitting on top of the hill behind the club. I am zoomed in 16X!


All in all it was a good trip. We got to do a little sightseeing, some communication issues got worked (no thanks to me!), and we all made it back safe and sound. Who knows what tomorrow will bring…maybe another adventure!

What A View!

Well, since it has been over 2 months since my last blog, I owe everyone an update! First and foremost, all is well here in Afghanistan and I am fine. I am ready to get home soon and by soon, I mean next month! Yes, I will be home next month if all goes well.

So what have I been up to for the past 2 months? The simple answer is just working. One of the easiest ways to cope with being away from home is to develop a routine and then stick to it. It helps you get through each day and keeps you focused on the mission…which is why we are all here!

All of you should know that we have a new boss over here now, thanks to some very poor judgment by our former Commanding General and his staff. You might also be interested in my take on it. To be honest, I believe General McChrystal was properly held accountable for his poor judgment and for the actions of his staff. You cannot teach and mentor the Afghan leaders on how to be effective leaders, and then not demonstrate accountability at the highest levels. I think President Obama did what he had to do and I think General Petraeus will be a great fit. I guess time will tell.

So, what am I up to now? Today, I got to tag along on a mission to mentor some Afghan National Army (ANA) communicators who belong to the Communications Support Unit (CSU) and it was awesome. On our way to the site, we did a security check of the hill overlooking the part of the city where the ANA CSU compound is located. On our way up the hill as we neared the top, we came across some children. The children swarmed our trucks and ran alongside as we drove to the peak of the hill. One of the little girls actually ran behind one of our trucks for several hundred yards until we stopped at the top. We stopped and dismounted our trucks and completed a security check of the hill. Once we were done with our check, we got to visit with the children. More than toys, they wanted water, which we started handing out. I am amazed and humbled at what is most important to them. Survival is their daily routine.

One of the children was flying a kite he had fashioned out of a couple of sticks and part of an old trash bag. He had it connected to a wad of fishing line which was spooled around an old crushed water bottle. We had interpreters with us and they helped us communicate with the children and the guards at the top of the hill.

We spent about half an hour at the stop and then we geared up and left for the CSU compound. At the compound, I got to see our CJ6 mentors in action. It is very nice to see the relationships that our folks have built over the last year and to see the fruits of their labors. I got to meet the battalion maintenance officer who has a very interesting story. He has been in the ANA for many years. In fact, after the Russians invaded and were in control, he joined the Army and was being trained and mentored by the Russians. Then, he decided to join the Mujaheddin to fight against the Russian occupation. He deserted and drove a Russian truck to a Mujaheddin base and gave them the truck as a gift. He is currently responsible for all the vehicles assigned to the CSU. As such, he is the only one who has keys to the maintenance yard and the tools. While this makes it hard for any maintenance to be done when he is not there, it also makes sense since he must personally pay for any lost tools or missing vehicles. During our visit with him, we of course were offered and accepted chai. We also soon found out that lunch had been ordered for us from a local vendor just outside the compound. After our visit, we had a wonderful lunch comprised of kabobs, spiced meat, bread, and French fries. It was fantastic and really hit the spot. It is the first real local food I have had…and it was awesome!

After lunch, the mentors held an afternoon after action report meeting and discussed their mentoring sessions of the day. Their topics centered on training, equipment configuration or lack of, and the deployment potential for the CSU. It is important to note that the CSU is one of the best trained units in the ANA and our mentoring is certainly paying off. I suspect this will be one of the first units to reach 100% operational capability and will no longer require our mentoring. The fact that I got to witness just a small piece of it is inspiring and reassures me that we are doing some good over here. I hope I get to visit the CSU a few more times before I leave.

Presidential Palace...AWESOME!!!!

Today was a great day to be a communicator in Afghanistan. If you had asked me a year ago or even a month ago if I would ever get to go inside the Afghan Presidential Palace, I would have laughed. But as of 1035 local Afghan time, I can laugh no more.

Going to the Palace requires some pre-approval and some pre-planning. First, just like going to the White House, no weapons are allowed. Yes, leaving the camp without a weapon does feel weird after 2 months of taking my musket everywhere with me, but hey, the Palace is just a short walk from our camp and is still in the Green Zone, so I felt relatively safe. Once we reached the first checkpoint, the fun began. Our pre-approval was not there, so we were held up. The Presidential Palace is guarded by the Afghan Special Forces and they don’t play. If you aren’t on an approved list or don’t have an approved pass, you don’t get in…period! Of course, I don’t mind being held up due to strong security. It makes me feel good that they take it very serious. On the upside, our escort told us not to worry. In fact, only one time has the right list been at the first checkpoint on all of his previous visits. After about 40 minutes of waiting and multiple phone calls, we finally cleared the first checkpoint. Our walk continued down a long shaded path. It was very pretty and peaceful. In fact, it didn’t even feel like a warzone.

After walking about 300 yards or so, we came to the second checkpoint. This one went fairly easy. A check of the list, we are all on it and inside the perimeter wall we go. Once inside, we were able to bypass what I am told is the first strip search. Yeah for us! We then walked up a drive and around a corner. WOW…what a view. Here is the Presidential Palace with the beautiful Afghan Mountains behind it…still capped in snow! Awesome! Another wall surrounds the actual palace, so even though I thought we were done with checkpoints…another one is coming. Evidence of the long standing wars in Afghanistan can be seen in the damage to the buildings that has been repaired or the repair work that is still going on in the compound. So, we hit our final checkpoint and the list is once again verified. 3 ID checks…and I am still not in the actual Palace yet. At this point, we have to wait for our escort. Now, comes the strip search…or so I thought…thank you LtCol Vrable…I was actually expecting a strip search…it wasn’t actually a strip search. We had to empty our pockets of all things, take off our belts, go through a metal detector, get patted down, and have our things checked. They kept cell phones and 3 of 4 ink pens (I got to keep mine for some reason), everything else we got to carry in with us.

After we cleared security, our escort walked us to the building inside the inner Presidential Palace grounds where our meeting was held. We waited in a very nice sitting room until person we were meeting came to get us. He led us to a conference room where we had tea and proceeded to discuss possible options for the comm build out of President Karzai’s Situation Room. WOW again!!!! I was just in awe that I was actually meeting to discuss it...seriously, I never thought when I came to Afghanistan that I would be meeting with one of President Karzai’s IT consultants to discuss the Afghan President’s situation room. Pretty amazing…or as I said in the beginning of this story….AWESOME!!!!

Convoy with a Twist…How Training and Being Lucky Pays Off!

Today started out like every other Sunday has started for me here…a chance to catch up on rest and sleep in just a bit before I got up and headed to work. I arrived at work at my normal time. Now, I say “my normal time” because apparently I have been coming in 30 minutes late for 2 months on Sundays. Of course, when the Ops Senior is “late”, do his people question him? No, they just say good morning and smile. Okay, well I digress, this story isn’t about being late or on time, it is about training and being lucky.

Since, the political uprising in Kyrgyzstan, new arrivals have been a little out of whack and folks have been stuck waiting for flights at different locations in and out of Afghanistan. It means that if a chance to move closer to your destination comes along…you take it. Well, that is exactly what 3 of our newest NTM-A members did. Trying to get to Kabul from some other location in Afghanistan, they were offered a helicopter ride and took it!

Well, soon after they arrive in Kabul, I get a phone call from our Master Chief saying I need to get a convoy together to go pick up our two new CJ6 guys plus 1 at the airport. No problem, it is an easy convoy, one I have done several times as a driver, a Truck Commander, and Convoy Commander, so in the words of the Army…too easy! I get my team together, brief and we move out. As planned, we complete a smooth trip to the airport and begin our search for the new folks. I check all the usual places only to be told by someone who was traveling with them that they weren’t on the flight. At this point, I am beginning to think we just convoyed to the airport for no reason. I call the Master Chief and he informs me that they are still waiting and to keep looking. Aye, Aye Master Chief. The search continues. In our searching, we have now added an AF Col to the convoy. (He was trained with me at Fort Dix and needs a lift back to Eggers. I have offered him the last seat and he has accepted.)

Now for the twist…I receive a phone call and find out that our personnel flew in on an Afghan National Army helicopter and are waiting for pickup at the ANA side of the airport. Great, I don’t know where the ANA side is. And I soon found out nobody at the KAIA terminal knows either. My first stop, a German coalition NCO or Officer (I’m not sure since he never got up to talk to me and never took his foot of the desk) who was clueless as to the location when I asked him where the ANA planes and helicopters land. Glad he works ISAF travel arrangements at the airport! Yeah for us! (Insert sarcasm sign here). Anyway, I was getting nowhere asking around, so I decided to phone a friend and ask my CJ6 embedded training team members for help. After 10 minutes of confusing directions (my fault, not theirs), I think I understand where to go and we brief everyone and move out. We make the left, then the right past the hospital, then we hit the dirt road, another right, then another right…we are headed back in the direction from which we came…no good. Convoy halt, regroup, I use another lifeline and call my phone a friend one more time. Apparently, I didn’t have the directions straight. I had missed the left behind the dining hall…anyway; we find the secret gravel road out the back of the airport and take it. Yes I say out of the airport, because that is where it took us. Looking for the first left, we continue on past the first left since no one was manning the checkpoint and the gate was closed. We are definitely getting closer to our goal, but we don’t really know it yet!

Now for the lucky…we arrive at the second left and find the entrance to the ANA ramp, only to realize it is a fully equipped ANA training base. Apparently, this is where we train the ANA pilots. This is a high security base. This is a base that requires a vehicle pass to get on. Not today my friends. See, if you pull up to the gate and the captain of the guard cannot get through on his radio to ask if you can get on the base for some unknown reason…and you don’t have an interpreter and they don’t have an interpreter… and you look like you should be allowed to get on the base, show your ID card and look just a little confident (or a bit confused), you can get on this particular base. Of course, once you get on the base, you instantly realize that you have zero clues on where to go.

But I tell you this story is about training too and I have been in the AF for over 20 years and if there is one thing I know, I know where helicopters and planes land! Drive towards the flight line! Which we do, only to realize there are too many possible buildings where they could be waiting…we need some more luck…phone rings and it is the new folks. The Master Chief gave them my number and they are going to guide us in…great...if only we had some green or red smoke to pop…it would be so much easier. So, while talking, I see someone in AF PT gear…the first American we have seen on this ANA base…they have to be able to help. I get out of the truck; start to talk to them when I hear the man on the phone say he can see me. I look to my right, and inside a glass door way waving both arms over his head I see our newest CJ6 member. Success, we can pick up our new guys.

After loading up all their gear, we made the trip back to Camp Eggers without any more twists, training, or luck. Everything went smooth and we all made it back safe…which is why we were all trained in the first place!

Happy and Sad...

Well, I really should be sleeping, but I can’t stop thinking that I really I hope the work I do over here pays off in the end. I have been on a few convoys since I arrived and have seen glimpses of how the Afghan people live, work, drive, walk, play, and just get though life. Today, I was the convoy commander on a trip which got two of my folks off on their return trips home. I was happy and sad to see them off. I get the same feeling every time I convoy. I am happy when I see the children going to school, or playing, or giving us a thumbs-up as we drive by, but I am also sad when I see the conditions in which most Afghans have to live. This place has certainly seen its share of hard times and deserves the best we can give to make it better! While I am frustrated with living conditions, I do see some of our successes. I love it when I see the traffic police directing traffic. Yes, I know this seems like a no brainer, but here very few people follow any basic driving rules and when I see the police turning around the cars going the wrong way down a street, I see a little progress. The same is true when I see them controlling traffic at the traffic circles. When I got here it was a 100% free for all. Now, I think it is only 80%...now that is some progress. I love it when I see the Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan National Army (ANA) manning checkpoints together. This is progress since the ANP and the ANA do things differently and don’t tend to get along too well. This little progress tells me that we are inching forward. Of course, I am also frustrated when the ANA or the ANP force their way through traffic blaring their sirens when there really isn’t an emergency for them to get too. While they may be making progress on the drive home or to dinner, it is not the progress they need.

Over the next 120 plus days, I hope I continue to see the inches of progress forward. If I do, then I really think my time here will have been successful. If I don’t, well there is always next tour…

Artoo Potatoo...the Saga Continues

While I didn't blog about Darth Tater in Iraq, many of you have seen the pictures and know what he went through on my tour there. He was a real "trooper" and stormed all over with me on my many travels around beautiful Balad. While he didn't get the chance to see a whole lot of Iraq, he had a great time!

Well, I am pleased to let everyone know that the saga continues here in Afghanistan thanks to Angela. She planned accordingly and surprised me last month with my very own Artoo Potatoo. The good news is that he will not be confined to base. Accomplishing our mission of training, sustaining, and developing leaders means trips outside the camp. In fact, he has already ventured into Kabul and gone to the airport. Below is a picture of him and I getting our convoy briefing from the convoy commander.

The trip was great and went off without a hitch. He kept his spud down and let us focus on our mission. So far, his adventures have been good. As they expand, look for updates here.