Latest goings-on

Well, lets see...

Since I last posted, we've had quite a few missions go out. They're not always convoy escort, sometimes they're "drive to here, get out and greet the locals" type missions. One soldier who went on a mission of that type the other day says that we need to get inexpensive sandals to give out to the kids (get them in various sizes, he suggests) when we go on missions like that. "Afghan Care Packages," as they are called by my section Sgt.

However, Sgt. Knight does not approve of us giving stuff like this out on all missions. Only certain missions are appropriate for humanitarian aid items. Since I haven't been on ANY missions since mid-May, I haven't had an opportunity to give stuff away to the local children yet. There are a good many small children staying nearby, and we frequently see them from one day to the next, but I have long since decided that the children who live near KAF are probably the most well-off of all the children I'll see here, and so I save my care packages for the children in the remote villages.

The last couple of days, I discovered something new. The military has a policy of cutting off all internet and telephone access for up to 24 hours if a soldier gets killed. While I think I understand the rationale behind this policy, my personal feeling is that it has a more detrimental than helpful effect. Besides which, if the military doesn't trust us to keep secret a soldiers death, why trust us to keep secret any other important details of our operations here? Maybe I shouldn't ask that question too loudly, though, huh?

We've had another company barbeque here on post. Those are fun, although the meat tends to be overdone. I guess the dry heat of Afghanistan means you have to leave the food on the grill for a bit less time than back home. But, still, the pork loin was fantastic, it's just that the steak was dry and we don't have a real barbeque sauce for the ribs.

After a month in-country, eating 2 and sometimes 3 ice cream bars a day, I discovered that I was adding fat to my belly. "This," I thought "is not acceptable." So, I have started an exercise routine, and cut out the ice cream. I figure cutting out the sugar and fat from the ice cream, and increasing even by a little bit the amount of exercise I do, should allow me to slim back down to my old size in a few months. Maybe I'll even put on some muscle and look intimidating, if that's even possible for a string bean like me. But, regardless, I've started exercising every other day and I'm trimming the old waistline quite nicely.