What a difference 15 days makes...

Well, in the 15 days since I last posted, I've been rather busy.

I was on guard duty for another 5 days after my last post. Then another day or so of 1 6-hour shift per day, and then I was rotated to missions. I spent the last week going on missions every other day, and have been on 3 missions this week.

We went to FOB Apache, outside of Qalat, and back, twice. Once we were given info that there was a potential IED site along the way, but we made no contact. We've been on the lookout for specific threats that have been mentioned in convoy briefings, but have not seen any of these specific targets.

On Friday we went south a bit to a village named Aliza Kalay, where a Village Medical Outreach was taking place. There were over 20 vehicles, and over 100 personnel participating. We provided security for the mission personnel, and even deployed our mortar in case of dedicated attack by the Taliban. We have heard, from people who allegedly are in the know, that the Taliban are making a big push in the area this summer, and that they would like nothing more than to be able to claim that they have control of Kandahar City.

I've been doing a lot of work on the vehicle, becoming more familiar with the various systems that we have now. I've also pressure-washed the radiator, which has reduced the engine heat a little bit, and made the vehicle run a little smoother, I think.

I've only been gunner on one mission, and that got me into a bit of hot water with the company CO. He disapproved of the TC's method of conveying to bus and jingle truck drivers that we want them to come to a complete halt when our convoy is passing them. Hopefully I'll get to gun again, because your rear end doesn't go to sleep as easily when you are gunning.

We had a big barbeque for the 4th of July. Anderson and I were able to attend and get lots of food. I even managed to acquire half a case of orange soda for my personal use. And, even better, the Supreme meals are actually pretty good (well, except for breakfast). Although, the KBR mess halls are still operational. At least, two of them are. Frequently we go to those chow halls, since take-out is much more readily available from them.

Finally, I have just today finished watching all of Season 3 of Stargate: Atlantis. I was pleased that they focussed so much on Rodney McKay, because that character is by far the most consistent and entertaining in the program. I do hope that the Dr. Weir character is replaced in Season 4, and I miss the Dr. Beckett character already. That character was frequently a really good foil for various other characters in the show, and I think the lack of that variety will be a bad thing for the future.

Not much else to say. Will try to update again more frequently in the future.

Dining Facility - Under New Management

The dining facilities on KAF are now under new management, being run by Supreme, instead of KBR. My first impression is that this is a change that I will NOT appreciate. This mornings breakfast (brought to us on guard duty by the 1st Sgt, God love him) looked like 2 used tampons, a dog turd, and a pile of play-doh-yellow cat vomit, over a serving of baked beans. The bread wasn't terrible, but I only got one slice. The yogurt was also runny, although not terrible.

It was hot and humid overnight, and the skies are still thoroughly overcast. It might well rain again today. It certainly will be another sweat-factory day at the ECP for myself and Anderson. Today will be the second day of 6 on/6 off for us. Or the third, I'm not sure. It's hard to get enough rest in the six hours you get off. However, it's going to work out that we get a week of being on missions, and get to rest when we're not on missions. So that should work out well.

It rained today

It rained A LOT. Anderson and I were on guard duty, and we're both completely soaked. Our uniforms went straight into the dryer when we got off of duty. The river next to the compound is swollen to the size of a flash flood like you see on TLC or Discovery. There was a huge mud puddle 6 inches deep just outside the gate. I know, because I had to stand in it to be able to read ID badges of incoming personnel, because of the water on my glasses.

However, about 1910, there was a rainbow in the southern sky, and the mountains to the east were glowing a brilliant red. I have several pictures of this moment of beauty.

I ask again that, if you read this, you would pray for me. Thank you, and God bless.

Sandstorms and a rough week

So far, we've had sandstorms both today and yesterday. They're really not as bad as in, say "The Scorpion King," but they are very annoying and you don't want to be out in them. Visibility is reduced, and remember that Afghanistan is pretty much a garbage dump everywhere, so every blowing piece of dust probably has some fecal matter particles on it somewhere...

The dust gets in your mouth and everything tastes crunchier. All you can smell is dust, and horse manure. Even the rain (which followed yesterday's dust storm) smelled like horse manure. There was also a thunderstorm last night, which was pretty cool, although we couldn't hear the thunder. We could see lightning in the distance, and that was pretty neat.

This week is kind of rough for me, because my family is on vacation, and I can't communicate with them as much as I have been lately. I know they're having a great time, and I'm glad of that, but I really miss talking to them, and sharing things with them.

I've been getting the Crosswalk daily "clean humor" email, as well as a weekly "things that you might find handy" email. Today's "things you might find handy" included something on Singles and the Christian lifestyle, which I've forwarded on to Anderson. I think it's a good idea for people to start thinking early on in life about whether they are the type of person who can be a strong Christian and be single. If you can't (and I definitely wasn't the type for it), considering marriage is a really smart move. Better to be married than to burn with desire, after all.

Horne's wife sent more care packages full of donated stuff, which was great. I got more baby wipes and some "cracker bites" which are actually pretty good. I also picked up some "espresso candy" from Sgt. Knight, which is helping me stay awake on guard duty, so it's a good thing.

Keep praying for my witness, please. It's the most important thing. Some very challenging circumstances are coming up in the near future, and I really need to be able to respond as a Christian first, and as a soldier second.

Blacked out again!

Yes, we've spent a little more than the last 24 hours blacked out, but the internet is back. Evidently there was an American KIA in the 209th corps area yesterday. I spoke with a soldier with whom I serve a lot of guard duty and he asked me to call his grandparents if anything happened to him, rather than them having to hear it from someone impersonal in the National Guard.

It's funny. Some people accept that a blackout is going to happen, as long as it only lasts for 24 hours. But with apologies to Alan Keyes, it's not how much of your internet they control, it's that you have to justify your access to them at all. The worst part is that, some day soon, we'll move into actual barracks, and have to pay for internet access there, but will still be subject to blackouts. If we had our own satellite internet, it wouldn't be as fast as DSL, but we would have more control over it, ostensibly.

Ah, well. Such are the trials of being a soldier. It could be a LOT worse, obviously, so while I'm griping a little, don't take this as being a life-and-death or even gravely serious situation. It's more of an inconvenience now.

Also, we went to the bazaar yesterday. I'm pretty confident that I'll buy my wife a nice jewelry box next time I go. I didn't want to buy anything yesterday because I wanted to be sure what I was looking for and get a feel for how much I should pay. I'm also looking at possibly buying a large piece of Lapis, especially if I can figure out how (and to whom) to sell it when I get it back in the states. I saw a fairly good quality piece yesterday that weighed about 10lbs (3.7 Kg), and the vendor wanted $220 for it. I think maybe if I got it for about $50, I could make some money off of it, but I'm not entirely sure.

Anderson and I have been talking more about our faith. He is constantly telling me about his girlfriend and how great she is, and I spend hours telling him how fantastic, wonderful, and gorgeous my wife is. It helps pass the time.

Happy Birthday to us!

This evening I ate dinner with the interpreters in their dining facility. The food was eggplant casserole (I think), and some kind of stew beef au jus. We also had their homemade bread and watermelon for dessert. It was all very good food. You would have to have known me through college to know just how astonishing it is that I ate foreign cuisine. Trust me. This is major.

So, then, once I got back to the barracks, I found that someone had sent us 6 ice cream cakes and some ice cream, for everyone who had a birthday in the first 6 months of 2007. So I had a slice of ice cream cake and took a video of 3rd platoons Plt Sgt leading the company in a round of "Happy Birthday."

All good morale building stuff. So far the 6 hour shifts are working out okay, although we've gone to 1 six-hour shift per day, instead of two. Which I think I can handle quite easily, although 0700 to 1300 is a very hot shift...

4 hours on, 8 hours off? Or 6 on, 6 off?

So. Guard duty is changing. Up until now, we had been through several different arrangements. For a while, we served 4 hour shifts 1x a day. That was pretty nice. But some soldiers complained that they didn't get "days off." And besides that, we weren't running many missions during that time frame.

Then, we went to 4 hours on, 8 hours off. So essentially you worked 8 hours a day, broken up into 2 4-hour shifts. That wasn't TERRIBLE, although it does make it hard to get a good night's sleep sometimes. And some soldiers complained that they weren't getting "days off." And when the number of missions increased, there was a set group of soldiers who were always going on missions, meaning that the soldiers who got left behind and pulled guard duty were always the same ones. They didn't like that. And, add to that the fact that someone pointed out, when we start sending soldiers home for their leave, we're going to be even more short-handed, and we'll have some soldiers pulling 3 4-hour shifts per day to make up for the missing soldiers.

So it was suggested that we go to 6-hour shifts. After all, that reduces our headcount requirement by 50%. And if the missions are organized based on which soldiers are NOT on guard duty, then the soldiers going on missions will be more varied. And if we schedule a rest plan, so that the soldiers who just finished 2 days of guard duty (24 hours on, 24 hours off) only have to work 4 hours per day or less, we should be able to meet everyones needs!

Today we make the shift to 6-hour shifts. I hope it works as well as it's proponents claim it will, although I have grave doubts. The biggest worry I have is that the soldiers who SHOULD be on "rest plan," will be asked to go on multi-day missions, leaving the soldiers who are on guard duty to STAY on guard duty indefinitely. While the 6-hour shift may require 50% less personnel, it will also cause at least 50% more strain on the soldiers who work it.

Stay tuned for the results!