FOB Ghazni Bazaar

Finally feeling like I am getting settled in. This place, which lays on a plateau along a mountain range, is really what you imagine a FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Afghanistan to be. Rugged in every way without lots of lavish comfort. The buildings we live in are hardened structures which resemble a long warehouse. Inside the buildings, the ADT 1 guys, who were the first ADT in Afghanistan (GO TEXAS), built plywood rooms. The size of your room is largely determined by your rank. The lower enlisted get a 8' by 10' plywood room and senior enlisted and officers get a little bit larger room. I lucked out and I think mine was built to be about 10' by 10'. The main goal when we arrived was to make the room our own. Two years of ADT's have built some of the rooms into palaces! The guys are so creative. They use lumber to raise their beds to about 5' off the ground so that they can reclaim the majority of their room for daily activities. Your bed is much less used than your desk/laptop area. This allows them some space to call their own and to have a space to get away from all of their fellow soldiers.
Where do you get fine furnishings for for your plywood room? Well you go to both of the local bazaars. One is open 6 days a week and one is only open Wednesday and Saturday. These bazaars are like an open air flea market. The one open two days a week is all Afghan locals and it is located about 25 feet from the front gate. They have pirated DVD's and Folex watches as well as Foakley sunglasses. The bartering is universal kind found worldwide. They ask $40 for a big blanket and I say WOW! way to much. They say in broken english that business is slow today so just for me they will sell it for $34 which cuts their profit. I finally talked the guy down to $25 which he claims is a loss of money for him. I personally feel guilty when I open my wallet and pull out 2 $20's and ask for change. I feel guilty because the average Afghan lives on $1 a day and I am bartering away over two weeks worth of wages!
The bazaar holds many things for many people, for me a new blanket and for the Afghan blanket seller a small profit that would otherwise not be in his pocket if not for our presence here trying to help.

The USO

SO I am sitting in the barracks, half packing and half feeling homesick. Just being bored mainly when as it always happens in the Army someone comes in and says that the Sgt Major wants everyone out in the street for some information. We are told we have to be at the USO building at 1800. The soldiers who are napping suddenly start moaning and groaning about "mandatory fun" and about how they just want to be left alone BUT when the Sgt Major says fall out then everybody better fall out! Like good soldiers we walk down to the USO office and are greeted right away with free snacks and that cold Dr Pepper I was craving. With the free snacks come the warm and friendly smiles of the USO volunteers. Mostly older folks from the Atterbury area but some imports from Indianapolis I imagine. The little building is warm inside and smells of the popcorn machine which is mostly empty and it has multiple internet terminals which only require that you sign in to use. We are then told that there is a USO concert planned for 1900 out at one of the training areas and that we have been assembled to go watch it. Now the grumbling really starts, why do we have to go, who is singing, how long will it last??? We board the bus and they transport us to an area where we did some of our training. Once there we walk in and see Ruby Tuesdays is catering the event and the band is in full set up mode. The mood starts to lighten when the USO volunteers show up and start mingling. We are told that the band is called Blue Suede Shoes and they are a Johnny Cash and Elvis impersonator band. Wow they are impressive! The Johnny Cash is dead on and Elvis gave a great concert. Soldiers are dancing with USO girls, dinner is served and everyone is now happy to not be in the barracks including me.
I will not lie to ya, I was feeling pretty down earlier. I was in my area packing and was mainly bored. When you get bored you have time to think about how the world at home goes on without you. My wife and daughter in Canton buying ducks and enjoying dinner, My best friends at a Stars game, Northpark and then a great dinner and here I sit in the barracks. I guess that is where the USO finds their place and always has. The event coordinator told us that this is the first live USO concert at Camp Atterbury since Bob Hope appeared in 1942 during the train up for WWII! How cool is that? How cool is it that you find people willing to volunteer their time and money, the Ruby Tuesday crowd was on their day off, to come and support a bunch of guys and gals they have no connection to. I guess in a way they do have a connection, the American spirit and love for the men and women who are willing to go where most won't. It is so refreshing to see that spirit, to feel the support and the love from strangers who just want to do their part. I made sure to shake every employees hand from Ruby Tuesdays, I wanted them to know what it meant to us that they were there. The USO group were just totally amazing and the band was great! Overall it was a big morale booster and I am glad the Sgt Major made us all get out and go.
I can't go into details but I will be sending my next blog update from the mountains of Afghanistan. Talk at ya'll soon!

Almost Time

Wow, Where to start?? It has been a very hectic month here at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. My internet connection is crappy at best. The Morale Welfare and Recreation people charge $24.95 a week.......yes you read right! $24 Freshing dollars and 95 cents a week and the service has gone down once already since I started typing this.

The training here at Camp Atterbury has been very good. Some of the best I have been through. Seems the Army has finally figured out how to condense the training to what we need in the shortest possible time frame. My first train up in 2004 was 6 months at Fort Hood. My friends who went back to Iraq in 2007 did 3 months at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and this trip in 2009 is 25 or so days at Camp Atterbury.

Our advanced party is already on the ground in Afghanistan. Some have made it to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) where we will live for the next year or so. I recieved word that in true Texas fashion the unit we are replacing, also Texas National Guard, are in the process of moving into the transient tents so that we can move into the rooms that they have for us on the FOB. I am told that each senior NCO gets a 8' by 10' plywood room inside a hardened building. The lower enlisted get 8' bt 8' rooms. As small as that sounds just any area with a door that you can call your own is an amazing thing. We have been living in what we call "Open Bay" barracks here which means we have about 12 guys to one big room and we all share the showers and latrines with three other 12 man bays. The best way to describe it is imagine that you work all day with all your co-workers, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with them, see them on the toliet, in the shower and brushing their teeth every day!! Makes even that 8' by 8' with a door seem like a mansion of privacy.

The next few days will be filled MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle training for our drivers and mechanics. We are basically just waiting for our fly date to get underway to Afghanistan, seems like we need to get there already.............

Todays picture really brings out just how hot it is out here. This picture was taken in the land navigation course at 10:30 am. Spec. S. is plotting his points on his map and already feeling the effects of a Texas Summer.

My re-direction today!

I think for many people you go through life sometimes wondering why you put yourself through what you do. For most people they would say that they work hard to provide for their families. So that their kids will have a better life or not have to work as hard as they did. I too work hard for these reasons but I also find myself drawn to a calling that takes more from my family and from my loved ones than it gives to them. I serve because I have an inner desire to serve. Was it put there by my parents, friends, the reverence with which I looked upon my Grandfathers WWII service? I may never know. It is there and I am glad I have it. The fact that some have this strong desire and some don't doesn't make one a hero and one not it is just being wired different I guess.
This desire to serve has tested me many times in the past and I have had some really low spots during my military service. One of the lowest points being when I wasn't in the service for 5 years before coming back. Anyway.....I have felt myself tested emotionally and physically the past three weeks and I was really feeling tired today. I was running around trying to get a few last minute things completed before leaving Camp Swift tomorrow for a week off. I found myself in Walmart surrounded by what I feel is the real America. The people who work hard everyday, who raise their kids, go to church and unashamedly drink cold beer on the weekends. I guess I could say "My People". While in line at Walmart I saw a couple in front of me, middle aged, dressed for the weekend and gathering a few things for around the house. The woman turns to me and says "Are you out at Camp Swift?" I told her that I was and that I was going home after 20 days of training. She went on to explain how they live right outside the base and that they hear the training going on everyday at the ranges. I immediately thought to myself how I would be annoyed by the constant gunfire, helicopters and explosions till all hours of the night. I apologized to her for Camp Swift being so loud and for the machine gun fire. She looked me in the eyes and said that wouldn't want it any other way, she went on to say that she sleeps well at night knowing we are there. She then caught me by complete surprise and said that the sounds she hears coming from Camp Swift are the "Sounds of freedom" and that she appreciated what the Texas National Guard does for our country and state.
That was what I needed after 20 days of hard training in 100 degree weather with minimal sleep and away from my family and friends. Not the usual thanks for serving but an honest explanation, from the heart, about what our military means to the everyday American. It put me back on track, back to not questioning why I do what I do. I am sorry I didn't get her name but I will never forget her words.

Day 10,

What a whoop. The early mornings and late nights have finally taken their toll on me. I am beat down and in need of sleep. The picture to the left is my required "battle rattle". My gas mask, Camelbak, Assault pack, Kevlar(complete with fun meter arrow patch, pointed down/none!) and IBA (Individual Body Armor). The IBA comes with ceramic plates which at an additional 20 or so lbs to the vest. The morning starts with the 1 mile walk to class in full Battle rattle. Then you spend all day in a non air conditioned warehouse sitting through classes fighting to stay awake. At some time during the class you pick at your MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) or as some call it the Meals Rarely Edible. Anyway....you make it through the classes and head out to where you gear is staged. If you get to class early enough you can get lucky and find a place to stage your units gear in the shade. If not your battle rattle sits in the 104 degree heat all day. We have a special name for those ceramic armor plates after they sit in the sun. We call them "George Foremans" because when you put them on you feel like you are wedged in a George Forman grill! Major Jason said today that after class he put on his George Foremans and stood in the sun waiting to leave the warehouse area and that he stood there counting how many sweat drops fell off the end of his nose in one minute. 12 was his count. 10 More days to go! Coming up is 9mm qualification, M4 rifle qualification and a few other classes that I already did in May, THANK GOODNESS! I went to the medical clinic tonight, after the training day ended not during, and they said I have the "barracks crud". That is what you get from living with 60 other people in two rooms. I was given some tylenol and robitussin then told to go to sleep. So thats where I leave you all. Good night!

Day 6, 15 more to go

Day 5 was interesting for many. It was a day where a lot of soldiers learned about themselves and what I call intestinal fortitude. Do they have what it takes to finish the job, to tough it out, to push up to the end? Are they disciplined enough to drink the required amount of water? To eat the MRE and not snack foods? Some found out yesterday that they couldn't! That their best found them falling just a little short. Those that have ever done PT with me know that at the end of my run or end of hitting the heavy bag I do a mad minute. That last minute, when you get to the end and need it. We had several "heat casualties" yesterday. They didn't hydrate or didn't have their physical fitness where it needs to be. Granted the heat index was 108 yesterday with no wind but they should have prepared for this 3 weeks of fun in the sun. The way it works is you become a heat casualty, get an IV bag of fluids stuck in your arm and off you go to the TMC (Troop Medical Clinic) which is like a redicare clinic. Not really a hospital but not your school nurse's office either. Anyway...You get to the TMC and they evaluate you for heat stroke then they give you 12 hours quarters (sleeping quarters/barracks) so you can get your temperature down. The next day you are up and running again.
Today is the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) defeat class. They will do a mounted (Humvee) portion and dismounted (on Foot) portion. They will also be shown what we call a "petting zoo" of various ordinance. Old Russian mortar rounds, rockets, flares, artillery rounds and the like. This is to help the soldier later in country when they encounter something on the side of the road or sticking out of the sand. Hopefully give them an idea of what type of munition the item is. The main thing to remember is.....IF YOU DIDN"T PUT IT THERE DON'T TOUCH IT! :)

PMT again

I find myself back at Camp Swift for PMT (Pre Mobilization Training). Showing up and moving in was quite a chore which had us working about 18 hours. The speed with which the Army can move in and take over a space is amazing. Back up the truck and 18 hours later you have a fully operational TOC (Tactical Operation Center) complete with printers, internet, and the required coffee maker.

Moving into the barracks was also an experience. The AC doesn't work in one area of the barracks and of course it has to be the area where the hardest working Infantry kids sleep. The hardest working also means the strongest smelling :)

going to bed at 0030 and waking up at 0430 I thought was rough. I was shocked to find the 34 man security (Infantry) team had already showered, dressed, prepped their gear for training and were in the process of giving the latrine area a good cleaning. This was all complete before their breakfast. To think they volunteered for this mission, they do it for the chance to serve their country. It really is an amazing thing and it makes me proud. There is also the humor that surrounds everything they do. While shaving I heard this conversation between a young Sgt and a Private

Sgt...This is what I am talking about, you have to wipe all of the water off of the toilet seat Private, did you think this was complete??

Private...but Sgt when I scrub the toilet it gets it wet and I don't have gloves to wear while I wipe the seats

Sgt...Thats why they make hand soap Private, and for Gods sake wipe out and dry the sink after you wash your toilet hands!

I sometimes feel sorry for myself that I only got four solid hours of sleep and then I am shocked back to reality. These kids are the backbone and will carry the brunt of our work during this deployment. I felt a little guilty about shaving in the clean sink but since I was once a private also I am very well versed in cleaning so I left it like I found it, sparkling!