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.