The Eagle Has Landed
I arrived in Bagram via C-130 military transport yesterday morning at 5 a.m. after a frustrating 24 hours attempting to get on a flight out of the airbase at Qatar. I met people who had been there five days waiting to get on a flight, so I guess I should consider myself lucky.
The sun was just rising over the mountains as we descended into Bagram and it was beautiful. Compared to Qatar, the air at Bagram was cool, clear and much easier to breath. The living and working conditions at the air base are rustic and I'm glad I won't be staying there.
I was scooped up from the airfield by a public affairs soldier and taken to the PA office there. I had time to rest before beginning the drive to Kabul. We drove through the bleak countryside, almost totally void of vegetation -- just rock and gravel. The road was busy with "jingle trucks" carry rock and gravel back and forth to the airfield and to the brick factories up the road. Military operations has brought a lot of business opportunities to Afghans, from trash and sewage removal to construction, painting, maintenance and purchasing.
On the other end of the spectrum, the commerce as resulted in giving many Afghans the ability to build or rebuild homes -- or compounds as they appear. As we got closer to Kabul and nearer to the brick factories, I saw Afghans laboring in the hot sun building walls by hand, rock by rock, around what was to become their family compound. They would gather rocks and gravel, whatever weeds they could find and water to make a kind of mud mixture. It is so primitive. I can't imagine the weeks it takes to construct the walls that surround the buildings.
At various points along the roadway were checkpoints manned by Afghan soldiers. I have a lot to learn about what's going on here, but one initiative is to reduce the militias and build the new Afghanistan National Army. Another initiative along these lines involves getting militia men to turn in their arms and leave their militias in return for free education and technical training.
Jingle trucks is the nickname for the dump and tank trucks decorated with painting, elaborate scroll work and chains with bells around the bottom that jingle as they drive along. They are quite elaborate and really interesting to look at.
Me and my 250 pounds of stuff arrive at around noon to the Kabul Compound. I was assigned a very comfortable room with a nice roommate from the Navy. My room is one of several in a building constructed from metal shipping containers or CONEXs. The kind of things you see cranes stacking onto ships. It has been outfitted with plaster walls, vinyl flooring, air conditioning and shared bathrooms. It doesn't sound good, but compared to other rooms I've seen, it's great. I'm just glad to finally be able to call something home.
The compound is a hovel of existing buildings, CONEXs turned into offices and rooms, and shacks. I'm not sure what was here before, but some of the buildings are quite decorative and appear to have been built back in the 60s or 70s. We have a small PX, a large fitness room, a small library, a small laundry, several dining areas, and many work areas. Security is very good.
We work seven days per week and we work very closely with our allies, other government agencies and non-governmental agencies. Today I went to a communications coordinating meeting at the embassy that included Dept of State, USAID, the embassy, and others. I've been told that one of the biggest challenges communicators here face is getting the truth out as rumors and mis-information run rampant.
I've spent as much time as possible getting to know the PA staff members here. I've got a good staff and I'm looking forward to the work.
I think of everyone often, miss home and work (especially my dog), and hope to hear from folks back home. More later...
The sun was just rising over the mountains as we descended into Bagram and it was beautiful. Compared to Qatar, the air at Bagram was cool, clear and much easier to breath. The living and working conditions at the air base are rustic and I'm glad I won't be staying there.
I was scooped up from the airfield by a public affairs soldier and taken to the PA office there. I had time to rest before beginning the drive to Kabul. We drove through the bleak countryside, almost totally void of vegetation -- just rock and gravel. The road was busy with "jingle trucks" carry rock and gravel back and forth to the airfield and to the brick factories up the road. Military operations has brought a lot of business opportunities to Afghans, from trash and sewage removal to construction, painting, maintenance and purchasing.
On the other end of the spectrum, the commerce as resulted in giving many Afghans the ability to build or rebuild homes -- or compounds as they appear. As we got closer to Kabul and nearer to the brick factories, I saw Afghans laboring in the hot sun building walls by hand, rock by rock, around what was to become their family compound. They would gather rocks and gravel, whatever weeds they could find and water to make a kind of mud mixture. It is so primitive. I can't imagine the weeks it takes to construct the walls that surround the buildings.
At various points along the roadway were checkpoints manned by Afghan soldiers. I have a lot to learn about what's going on here, but one initiative is to reduce the militias and build the new Afghanistan National Army. Another initiative along these lines involves getting militia men to turn in their arms and leave their militias in return for free education and technical training.
Jingle trucks is the nickname for the dump and tank trucks decorated with painting, elaborate scroll work and chains with bells around the bottom that jingle as they drive along. They are quite elaborate and really interesting to look at.
Me and my 250 pounds of stuff arrive at around noon to the Kabul Compound. I was assigned a very comfortable room with a nice roommate from the Navy. My room is one of several in a building constructed from metal shipping containers or CONEXs. The kind of things you see cranes stacking onto ships. It has been outfitted with plaster walls, vinyl flooring, air conditioning and shared bathrooms. It doesn't sound good, but compared to other rooms I've seen, it's great. I'm just glad to finally be able to call something home.
The compound is a hovel of existing buildings, CONEXs turned into offices and rooms, and shacks. I'm not sure what was here before, but some of the buildings are quite decorative and appear to have been built back in the 60s or 70s. We have a small PX, a large fitness room, a small library, a small laundry, several dining areas, and many work areas. Security is very good.
We work seven days per week and we work very closely with our allies, other government agencies and non-governmental agencies. Today I went to a communications coordinating meeting at the embassy that included Dept of State, USAID, the embassy, and others. I've been told that one of the biggest challenges communicators here face is getting the truth out as rumors and mis-information run rampant.
I've spent as much time as possible getting to know the PA staff members here. I've got a good staff and I'm looking forward to the work.
I think of everyone often, miss home and work (especially my dog), and hope to hear from folks back home. More later...
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