Firstly, my apologies.
Life has been crazy here, to say the least. We arrived here the day after Christmas due to sand storms delaying our arrival. Shortly after that, we were on our way to fixing and equipping our vehicles to get them mission ready. Then we were off on missions. I have heard of OJT (On the Job Training), but this has defined OJT. It is situations like these that lead to those wanting more knowledge faster access to that knowledge, thus gaining more experience.
I never expected the tempo to be this high. Missions after missions and very little down time. We are on deployment so this is what we train for, but it was a bit of a surprise for me.
Also, there is no "off season" for the Taliban. That was/is a bad rumor. They are still around and still present. Granted, not as many as the warm months, but they are still around and constantly reminding us of their presence through pop-shots and short engagements.
Life on the COP is OK. It's cold so it is tough to wash laundry as the lines freeze, and we have a power problem thanks to generators running constantly for upwards of 3 years. Those add frustrations, but at least the food is decent which is unexpected.
The people of Afghanistan are interesting. The country is definitely Third World, and yet that doesn't really even seem to accurately describe it. It seems there is an identity crisis here. A country that wants to move forward into the 21st Century (that may be a BIG reach) or at least somewhat modern society and a country that is still a few years removed from the stone age it seems. The currency in most parts (the majority of the countries population resides OUTSIDE of the major cities) is still goats and other animals - no joke. Additionally, dowries still exist. Not that any of this is wrong, it is just different. There are cars magically running that are 5th hand at best. Markets (like flee markets) sell oily parts, wheat, seed, hashish (hasheesh), hemp, meat, animals, etc. Then you have cell phones. Very strange. I forgot to mention the driving. The driving is unreal here. They would make NYC cabbies blush. Buses passing 18-wheelers on a two lane highway into on-coming traffic. Cars stopped in a moving lane forcing others to drive into on-coming traffic. I recently saw a "newish" Toyota Forerunner type vehicle strapped on top of moving natural gas 18-wheeler. The car was not strapped with chains, simply multiple tow straps. Crazy.
The local food (sampled from accompanying ANA/ANP and local contractors) is great. Ghoat, foot-bread (flattened bread via feet (no joke it's delicious) and of course Chai Tea. The tea, drank often and with sugar, is incredible. Starbucks (hey baby ;) ) ain't got nothing on this stuff. Wow.
More to follow later and when the internet connection is decent, I'll post photos.
