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Asia » Afghanistan » South » Helmand May 28th 2011

It's been a little while since I've written, but I can't say that much has happened. Easter, Memorial Day, and we killed Osama bin Laden. Otherwise, business as usual. At the end of my last blog, I was getting excited about soon becoming the squadron "on deck" to leave theater. Well, the time has come and gone -- we're now NEXT! I can't even describe the feeling of excitement about that. It's like Christmas, Easter, and your birthday as a little kid all rolled into one. I can barely contain myself. We're right around a month out, and talk everywhere is for preparation for returning. I've already started mailing some of my stuff home. Mom got the footlocker at home and is also getting excited about how close we are! We're in that phase right before ... read more
Paas
Easter Eggs for everyone
Easter Spread

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Helmand March 23rd 2011

I blinked and missed spring. It had been cold here. Not the biting cold of Kyrgyzstan, but chilly nonetheless. The chilly winter broke into bright balmy days with cool nights. For about 2 days last week, it was absolutely beautiful. I daresay breathtaking, if you can ignore the bland barren brown landscape dotted with flies. I even saw a couple of girls in the bathroom who thought it would be a great idea to lay out in the sun from 11-1 in tiny shorts. Needless to say their legs looked like lobsters in the bathroom. A-- it's a desert, B -- they're very white to begin with, and C -- they're taking doxycycline, a medication to prevent malaria, which also happens to make you very sensitive to the sun. Not the brightest stars in the sky. ... read more
Does anyone have a saddle?
Happy St Patty's Day!
Fun Coffee Grinder

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Helmand February 19th 2011

Month 2 is coming up quickly. Not much has changed, but we're all settling into our routines a little more. Mine now includes a panini for lunch pretty regularly. Maggie and I have it down to a science. We do some "shopping" at the DFAC, where we get wraps, ham, pastrami, turkey, swiss and provolone cheese. For hers she gets some other weird stuff she adds (chinese noodles, green apples, raisins, pickles. Weird!) We've found that the secret ingredient is pesto! Once the pesto is on the grill and cooking, the aroma it sends out is like a siren for everyone around us. People come to investigate, and we end up making extra paninis. It's been fun though! The highlight of the deployment, for some of the people. The only limiting factor for a really amazing ... read more
British Medicine
Sea Monkeys!
Awesome Cake!

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Helmand February 9th 2011

First, I have to warn you that this is a long blog entry. This covers the first month of life in Afghanistan, and the current conditions here. I’ve been here a month (as of Jan 30) and have settled into a routine. Life in the ghan is much as it was in Al Asad last year. There are some key differences, but deployment life is slow and relaxed (for medical, anyways) and I have lots of time to attain personal goals. Last deployment, my goals were to get my FMF pin, run a marathon, and get my MCMAP (Marine Corps martial arts) belt. I did 2 out of three (the first two) and had a decent deployment. This time, my goals are to do some research, and not run another marathon (haha). Seriously, there is one ... read more
TOA
Me and Merrilyn
Me and Merrilyn

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar August 12th 2010

It's been quiet enough in Kandahar City for the last few weeks, perhaps a lull before the storm or a "Phony War", but according to reports in fact the time when the Coalition has been tightening the so-called "Ring of Steel" around the City as part of "Operation Hamkari". We've had the occasional "crack and thump". For the non-military, an AK round makes a "crack" as it goes overhead... the "thumps" are usually the Bad Guys getting whacked in return... A bit like a Monty Python sketch - Bad Guy pops off a couple of rounds, then a big THUMP and he's gone. Anyway, yesterday afternoon (first day of Ramadan, Wednesday 11th August) things seemed to change. There was a lot of helo activity (Kiowa gunships) over an outlying district to the South-West of the City ... read more
View towards Panjwayi District

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar August 7th 2010

The shura or meeting is a fundamental part of community life in Afghanistan. In some sense it's democratic. The tribal elders come together to discuss and listen to what their senior members or representatives of the government are saying. In these days the shura is usually attended by members of the ISAF-NATO forces and civilans from USAID. This shura was to discuss a fruit tree sapling planting program under a USAID program (AVIPA-Plus) that aims to stabilize the communities in the Arghandab River valley. Previous posts have discussed the Arghandab which is now also the home of units of the 82nd Airborne Division. We arrive at the District Centre on a beautifully cool morning and wait for the elders to arrive, passing through multiple checkpoints; these people take their lives in their hands to visit a ... read more
Shura in Arghandab
Free saplings

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar July 6th 2010

The following is an article I wrote for www.afghanistan.gc.ca and will appear online later in July... At present, there are about 50 Canadian Civilian Police Officers working in Afghanistan, these officers, known as CIVPOL, hail from municipal and regional police services across the country as well as from the RCMP. Our mission involves improving the capacity of the Afghan National Police (ANP) through training and mentoring. This is accomplished in several ways. The training component refers to good old fashioned classroom instruction in a police academy setting. Young recruits are put through their paces and senior officers are taught leadership skills that will enable them to lead their officers into the future. A few of our CIVPOL officers are also senior mentors. They regularly visit high ranking ANP officers at Police Headquarters to discuss various ... read more
Me with a weird grin
The initial ascent
curious kids

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar June 19th 2010

Forty years ago I was a fit young soldier in the British Army, backed up with the full force of weaponry and, not least by any means, the lads in the squadron. Not much happened apart from the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and one scramble when we thought the Soviets would attack (they did in 1968, but stopped in Prague, ending the so-called Prague Spring). Scroll forwards to June 2010: I'm a civilian, an old(er) man, no weapons (at least, not that I can carry personally), some limited back up from our really excellent force security provided by the Global company, and I'm right in the middle of the "Battle of Kandahar". The irony is pretty funny when you think about it. Our compound is right in the middle of Kandahar City, currently ... read more

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar June 12th 2010

Our mission: to look at the possibilities for agriculture south of Kandahar City. Where we got to: Tarnak Agricultural Research Station, better known as Osama Bin Laden's training centre, famous for the videos of Al Qaeda recruits running over the assault course. Tarnak Farm is where it all started. All this frightful mess and loss of life we've suffered in the last ten years. 9/11 was planned here and the leader, Mohammed Atta, apparently made his will here before he left to attack the Twin Towers. OBL moved to Tarnak in 1998 as a guest of the Taliban government (yes, the Taliban WAS the legitimate Afghan Government between 1996 and late 2001) when his residence near Jallalabad was threatened. There is a suggestion that the Clinton Administration planned to kidnap him at that time which would ... read more
In the Ruins
On Patrol
On top of OBL's Place

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar June 3rd 2010

I've been pretty serious in the last few posts. This one is just photos taken by Andy Burridge who is a colleague of mine working here. What a shame that the insurgency prevents tourism, because this place has some AMAZING landscapes.... read more
Another View
Arghandab Valley looking North
Afghan Colours




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