WHAT IF YOU THREW A HOLIDAY AND NOBODY KNEW?

(13OCT2008)

Holidays in theater sneak up on me. There’s no anticipation of a day off, a three-day weekend, or travel to see family or friends. There’s no sleeping in or barbecuing. Holidays are work days here as every other day, and though I usually don’t even notice them at first, there are some signs.

For one thing, nobody in the States returns your emails. Weekends and the time difference are bad enough when you’re trying to conduct business from around the world (I’m 8½ hours ahead of the US East Coast where my home station is), but when there’s a day off back home, you’re waiting another entire day to hear back from anyone.

Also, more soldiers are given some time off on holidays so there’s more people milling around the PX and the food court, walking around post and at the MWR. I went to the gym this evening and it was more crowded than I’d ever seen it, no doubt owing to the holiday.

The biggest difference, though, is at the DFAC. God bless them, they try a little harder on holidays. Normally we have steak & seafood only on Fridays, but they treat us on holidays as well. (I don’t care for their version of seafood and I never ate the dry leather that passed for steaks in Iraq, but the steaks here are passably edible.) They also put up streamers and paper ornaments, and the tables are adorned with patriotic plastic tablecloths.


The entryway into the dining room had a streamer overhead reading “WE ♥ THE US!” which reminds you that it’s not Americans running this place and we’re definitely not home.

PX = Post Exchange
MWR = Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
DFAC = Dining FACility

HUZZAH FOR THE BAZAAR!

(10OCT2008)

The bazaar on BAF is held every Friday from 1000-1500 in a corner of the base set aside for it, with covered stalls and a small parking area. The proprietors are Afghan nationals (or LNs) who live off post and come in once a week to sell their wares.

I had missed this every week until now, being either too busy with work or traveling away from Bagram when it was held. I decide to make the time this morning, and I’m far from alone. The bazaar seems busy.

Wanting to simply get the lay of the land, I walk around waving off the pleas of the merchants – Hello, my friend, come see my stuff. They call every man “my friend” and I hear them refer to some older woman as “mother”. These LNs are, by and large, fairly aggressive. This is in contrast to the bazaar we had in Balad, Iraq, where you sometimes had to wake them up to make a purchase.

There is also haggling at this bazaar, something which was not allowed in Iraq. I don’t like haggling. For one, I don’t think I’m very good at it. I talk them down, but always feel as if I could have done better. Also, I find the whole scenario vaguely insulting. If at first you say it’s $45 and then I end up buying it for $20, then were you trying to rob me at first? I realize it’s not insulting, of course, but I’m not used to it and it feels awkward.

I buy a few trinkets, but mostly I just want to see what’s here, as I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time over the next year to do more shopping. The bazaar has only a limited variety of things for sale – the most popular are the rugs and scarves.

There are also several stalls selling gems and jewelry, but I would have a hard time paying hundreds of dollars for something I couldn’t verify as authentic.

Other popular items include weapons. There’s a wide variety of knives for sale, and tables full of old rifles. If you buy one of either, you have to jump through several hoops to ship it home, but there are ways to do it through customs and the Post Office on base.

At one point, I’m taking pictures of the bazaar and a young LN comes out of his little shop and asks me “Do you want a kiss?” I stare at him and say, perhaps a bit strongly, “Excuse me?!” He repeats his question and notes the mix of confusion and aggravation on my face before explaining, all of this in broken English, of course, “For your camera, do you want a kiss? We have hard kiss for your camera.” He’s saying case – but I don’t need a case, or a kiss (not from him, anyway).

I’m very glad to see that another Afghani has brought his camel to the bazaar, and he’s selling pictures and rides. I’d seen camels from a distance in Kuwait, but in all the time I’ve spent in the Middle East (almost 300 days) this is the first time I’ve been close enough to touch one. I watch as a female soldier takes what passes for a ride on the camel, holding on to the back.

She and her husband (both soldiers; you don’t see many married couples deployed together) have a great time with the camel and jokingly offer to buy it form the Afghani to bring back to the States with them. They negotiate a price of $15, though we’re fairly certain the merchant doesn’t understand the proceedings. The couple is very happy with the price until I point out that they’re going to get killed on shipping.

BAF = Bagram Air Field
LN = Local National

I BRAKE FOR CRITTERS

(09OCT2008)
Bagram is set up like many military bases in the Middle East, with a large airfield in the middle and a sprawl of buildings on either side. The runway at Bagram runs more or less North-South and I live on the West side of post. That means I also work on the West side, since I’m currently working out of my quarters.

The group I’m with has been trying to get office space for several months, and when I first arrived (in late August), I was told that a location had been selected on the East Side of post (where the rest of our unit is) and that construction of a B-hut would begin imminently and take about 2 weeks. A B-hut is a small wooden building that can comfortably accommodate an office of ~8 people.

We’re still waiting for them to start. We would be more frustrated with the process if it weren’t so common, if we weren’t so used to it. When we were told “2 weeks” we didn’t believe it for a second.

Since I am still living/working on the other side of post from the rest of my BDE, I drive back and forth most days to attend VTCs and other meetings. Last night, on my way back from a VTC that ran late, I spotted a fox on the side of the road. I slowed down to make sure he wouldn’t dart in front of my vehicle.

You don’t see much wildlife on military bases; some birds and insects, sure, but generally nothing more. I try to keep my eyes peeled for critters, though, and was glad to see the fox, even if he was just taking a crap on the side of the road.


BDE = Brigade
VTC = Video Tele-Conference

GLORIOUSLY CHANGING WEATHER

(07OCT2008)

It’s overcast today, and I love it.

I spent 207 days in Iraq last year and it rained twice: once in the first week I was there, and once in my last week. In between, it was not only devoid of rain, but a cloud was at most a bi-weekly occurrence, and even then it was a small, puffy, white, fleeting. It was invariably hot, and dry, and I longed for weather that changed. I longed for anything to change, really.

My first 39 days in Afghanistan have been similar, in that it’s been hot, but we at least have cloudy days and clear days, dusty days when you can barely see the surrounding mountains and days when they’re crisp and gorgeous. It’s been warm or hot during in the afternoons and lately it’s been cool at night, which I enjoy.

I’m told it snows in the winters here, and I’m very much looking forward to that.

I was working in my room today when it started to rain, softly. It took me a few moments to realize what the noise was, something plinking off the metal roof of my building. It lasted just long enough for me to walk outside and then ceased entirely, leaving just a transitory hint of the smell of rain.

SMALLPOX AND ANTHRAX SHOTS

(06OCT2008)

It’s been 7 weeks since I received my smallpox vaccination at FT BENNING prior to my deployment. The location of the shot in my left shoulder festered and was really quite disgusting for a while (I have a picture, but am withholding it in deference to your appetite). Per the instructions I was given, I kept the area covered with a band-aid at all times except for short spans after showers when I let it air dry.

Finally, the spot has healed enough for me to shed the band-aid altogether, though it’s still red. Seven weeks of wearing an adhesive on my arm has left the surrounding area irritable; it has itched constantly for the last 2 months.

I received the next in the series of Anthrax shots that same day back in August and I still have a knot in my shoulder. It’s unobtrusive, but you can feel it.

WHAT’S NEXT? CAFFEINE-INFUSED UNDERWEAR? (PATENT PENDING)

(04OCT2008)

I saw more of this in Iraq, but even here you needn’t look hard to find a soldier with a lip or cheek full of dip or chew, spitting brown into a water bottle. It’s not a habit I’ve ever found intriguing (my one experiment with it wasn’t enjoyable), but I can understand how one could get into it while deployed. With no beer to be found (part of General Order Number One), tobacco is one of the few chemical releases available us.

Caffeine is another.

Rip-It and Red Bull energy drinks are very popular in theater, and a friend of mine in Iraq brought at least two cans with him into meetings to insure wakefulness. While he was only trying to avoid nodding off in front of our commander, it makes sense that soldiers on missions would have an even more real need for a boost, to stay alert and on guard.

A good friend of mine recently emailed me an article about a couple of Marines who have started to produce tobacco infused with caffeine, to capitalize on the habit that many soldiers already have and to assist in their efforts to stay attentive in a war zone. My buddy seemed to think this was a very novel idea, and it is, but it’s not entirely unique.

I emailed him the following pictures of Wrigley’s STAY ALERT cinnamon flavored caffeine gum.

You’ve got to love a pack of gum that comes with a warning label. It reads:

· CHEW 1 STICK FOR 5 MINUTES

· IF NOT ALERT CHEW A 2^nd STICK

· CHEW A 3^rd STICK IF FATIGUE RETURNS

· DO NOT EXCEED 3 STICKS IN 3 HOURS OR MORE THAN 10 STICKS A DAY

The back also states “made exclusively for the US Military. Not for Retail Sale.”

I haven’t tried it yet, but carry it with me for emergencies.

CURRENT EVENTS

(03OCT2008)

It’s easy for to lose track of what’s going on in the States, and it’s easy to feel disconnected from current events even when I’m aware of them. I have a television in my room, and I get a news channel that I watch at times, but most of my attention is centered on my job out here.

The economic crisis back home feels particularly remote, as money is a very different creature for deployed personnel. I have very few occasions to buy anything; all of my necessities are provided. The price of gasoline is a non-issue; fuel for our shared vehicle is free.

I am perhaps even more isolated from such issues back home than most, not having a wife and family left behind who would relate their experiences. Certainly many of my colleagues are not immune to their houses in the States losing value, and we’re all affected as much as anyone by investment losses, but it never seems to be at the forefront of our conversations. More often than not, and unsurprisingly, we discuss the war going on around us.

I have been watching the debates and I keep up with the Presidential campaigns, and I discuss these with my colleagues and others when I can, but of course politics can be divisive and I try to avoid any topic that may potentially strain a relationship with someone who I will see for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the next several months.

One thing that has surprised me, though, in my few conversations on the topic, is that all political perspectives are represented and there is not, as I would have expected, an overwhelmingly conservative viewpoint.

While many news stories can come and go without my even noticing them, others certainly catch my attention more than they would back home – namely, anything happening in the Middle East.

Last year while I was in Iraq, there was an incident wherein the Iranian Navy boarded a British ship and detained a number of its sailors for allegedly crossing into Iranian waters. There were tense negotiations to free the “prisoners” and eventually the British were released. During that time, we in Iraq kept careful tabs on the situation, and more than one person expressed the concern that if things went poorly, war with Iran could follow and the base we were on in Iraq would be a prime target for the Iranian Air Force. At least one of my friends had his escape planned if worse came to worse. It was certainly something we did not want to see, and there was a palpable relief when the incident was resolved peacefully.

Likewise, last week there was an incident at the Afghan/Pakistan border that saw US and Pakistani forces exchange fire. Knowing that any sort of escalation of this conflict would directly affect my safety and probably my job, I looked for updates on this story whenever I could, and was of course glad that it did not develop into anything further.

It’s definitely something that takes getting used to, and it’s easy to forget, but Pakistan is in my neighborhood right now, and Afghanistan is “home”.