Waiting to Push Out Again

I'm still here, waiting to push out further to do my thing. Not much going on, just briefings and drawing supplies. It's hot and getting hotter... yes it is a dry heat.

Hello From KAF and Some More Pictures...

Well... I've been in Kandahar for a few days now. It a lot like Kuwait as far as the temperature and humidity goes. It's way nicer here than at Phoenix. We're still getting acclimated and waiting for decisions to be made regarding where we will get pushed out to. There's really not much to report at this time. Kandahar Air Field is pretty nice for what it is. There's a lot of Canadians and Brits here. Ok here are some photos from the trip The flight from Kuwait to Kabul: Let me explain what this is and why I am posting it... You see, I am constantly being told that I am scowling. Sometimes, people ask me if I'm alright. Most of the time I am. Here's an example. I did not intend to put myself in this photo. I knew tractor was in the seat behind m, so I thought that I'd just shoot a photo over my head. Well, I was concentrating on keeping it steady, and there you have it... concentration = scowl. Same Flight: Babboo, Doc, Jersey, and Mr. Hilarious are all zonked out in the green slime light provided by the Air Force. Welcome to Afghanistan... more later.

Some Photos from the Trip

I am currently on a slow wireless connection while I am waiting for a flight to another part of Afghanistan. We didn't make it out yesterday. this photo is from our trip over from the states. We stopped in Germany to refuel on the way over. We got to get off the plane and stretch our legs. They had a little store for us and they even took greenbacks. I used to eat these things when I was in the 8th ID, back in the late 80's and early 90's. Good German junk food. I also had a beer... hey, it was Germany and we can't drink beer over here. Ok... I want to add more photos, but the connection is not really allowing it. So, I guess this will be it until I get to a better connection.

Da Plane... Da Plane... Where is it?

The past couple of days have been somewhat boring. Right now I am waiting for a flight to take me somewhere. We missed our flight, or it broke down, or an old friend came in from out of town, or there were locusts... Anyway, I had heard that getting anywhere in Afghanistan is difficult... I heard right. One nice surprise about being close to the flag pole is that I had a freaking massage last night, for $20.00. Who would have thought that there would be massage therapist in theater. It must be the NATO influence. Speaking of NATO... I've been waiting around fro a flight and there are at least a dozen different countries represented here. I've seen Czech, Turkish, Italian, British, Australian, Canadian and Italian troops and some others. I've notice a few things about these soldiers. They can do whatever they like with their hair, and none of them are fat. The only pudgy Soldiers are the US Soldiers (myself included). As far as the grooming goes, I saw an Italian guy who could be in ZZ Top, and A female Czech Soldier with a ring in her lip. Lots of good people watching here. I will get some pictures uploaded at some point.

Made it to Afghanistan

I am now in Afghanistan. The mountains are beautiful, but the FOB I am at is not as aesthetically pleasing as the base in Kuwait... and it wasn't really pretty in Kuwait. I saw Erika and Chris there. That was cool to cross paths with some of my buddies from home. I'll post some pictures later if I have time. The convoy to the FOBwas interesting. I saw kids playing (one gave us the finger)we saw some men with beards who looked pleased to see us, and others who looked not so pleased. I saw a few jingle trucks and I even saw a woman in one of those blue burkas, like on TV. Doc said she was wearing high heels. I didn't notice, but he swears she was wearing high heels. The United States Military or State department need to get some civil engineers and some landscape architects here ASAP. There's a lot to do. Some of the buildings (remaining portions) that weren't just shacks made from old conexes were sort of in that brutalist style that I like so much. Paul Rudolph would aprove. I noticed a brick "factory" on the way. There was no kiln, just mud bricks drying in the sun. I would have taken pictures along the way, but they told us not to take our hands off of our weapons. We're not in Kansas any more.

Still on the Move

Well... I'm not actually inAfghanistan yet, but I am no longer in America. I'm in a very hot place. I am super freaking tired. I haven't slept in a couple of days and I'm pretty grungy too. Not much else to report.

I'm Very Sad Right Now.

I just hugged and kissed my wife and daughter about 100 times. They got on a plane back to GA and I won't see them again for a long time. That was tough to do. I can't adequately describe how hard that was.

Just A Few Days Left in Kansastan...

Well... The time has come for me to travel to a foreign land. Training in Kansas is over. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update the blog. It all depends on where I go and what I'm going to do. I have a general idea, but I don't know any specifics... and even if I did, I wouldn't post it. I know that Osama is reading my blog. and then there's this... I may get a chance to post something over the next few days. Stay tuned...