As you may have noticed, Blogspot has changed some of the code for the blog sites, so now things look a bit messed up. I'm still trying to get the text in the header back centered properly. It took quite a bit of experimentation to get the entire CIB badge to show again.
Yes, I'm back at KAF for the moment. Many things have transpired, and by getting closer to the action, I've learned even more about what our chances are for successfully engineering long-lasting changes in Afghanistan. I'll talk more about that later, probably.
Friday there's a USO show at KAF. Hopefully I'll be able to go to that. I have a new battery for my digital camera, so I can also take pictures. I'll be sure to take pictures of the mess hall here at Lindsey as well. Oh, and of the dog, Lindsey, too.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Back at Lindsey
I'm back at FOB Lindsey for a few days. We're hanging out here for a few days while the PMT team is on KAF. Things in the Panjawai district kinda went really bad, and we're not sure where we are going to end up. Maybe at Moshem Gar, maybe in downtown Kandahar City, maybe we'll be coming back to Lindsey (although at least 2 of the younger soldiers emphatically DO NOT want to be back at Lindsey, despite the lack of facilities at Sperwhen Gar).
Anyway, today is my first day with internet access since we left for Sperwhen Gar back whenever it was. Sperwhen Gar is a Canadian FOB, manned primarily by French-Canadians, so we don't understand them, and they don't understand us, basically. The TV in the mess hall is tuned to Quebec news television, and all I can ever understand is the Football scores (how about those Baltimore Ravens? They must feel pretty miserable).
Food over at Sperwhen Gar is not terrible, but one day a week hot meals are not served at all, and the rest of the time, you only get 2 hot meals a day. There are plenty of MRE's, both American and Canadian, and there's also usually bread and cold cuts for lunch, so it's not terrible. There's croissants for breakfast almost every day, and they have plenty of hot water so I can make hot tea, which is great.
I've been watching a lot of movies and TV-on-DVD, as well. White has bought 3 seasons of House, MD on DVD, and I've watched some of that, although I've had a lot of trouble the last few days with the images freezing or running in slow-motion. I've downloaded a new DVD player to see if that helps out/works better, but we'll see. I've also checked my email (over 70 emails, only about 5 were personal), and updated the OS on my laptop. Speaking of which, I think I'm going to email the company that made my laptop case and tell them they did a really good job, because my case has been all over the place in the back of my humvee and still is in really good shape.
Hopefully I'll be back around Lindsey for a day or two, so maybe you'll see another update tomorrow.
Anyway, today is my first day with internet access since we left for Sperwhen Gar back whenever it was. Sperwhen Gar is a Canadian FOB, manned primarily by French-Canadians, so we don't understand them, and they don't understand us, basically. The TV in the mess hall is tuned to Quebec news television, and all I can ever understand is the Football scores (how about those Baltimore Ravens? They must feel pretty miserable).
Food over at Sperwhen Gar is not terrible, but one day a week hot meals are not served at all, and the rest of the time, you only get 2 hot meals a day. There are plenty of MRE's, both American and Canadian, and there's also usually bread and cold cuts for lunch, so it's not terrible. There's croissants for breakfast almost every day, and they have plenty of hot water so I can make hot tea, which is great.
I've been watching a lot of movies and TV-on-DVD, as well. White has bought 3 seasons of House, MD on DVD, and I've watched some of that, although I've had a lot of trouble the last few days with the images freezing or running in slow-motion. I've downloaded a new DVD player to see if that helps out/works better, but we'll see. I've also checked my email (over 70 emails, only about 5 were personal), and updated the OS on my laptop. Speaking of which, I think I'm going to email the company that made my laptop case and tell them they did a really good job, because my case has been all over the place in the back of my humvee and still is in really good shape.
Hopefully I'll be back around Lindsey for a day or two, so maybe you'll see another update tomorrow.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Vaccinations
Sgt. Simpson came into the barracks hollering that Capt. Sevilla needed to see us (myself, and Sgt. Knight). Hoping that this was for something important, we hopped up and headed over to the TMC (Troop Medical Clinic).
Turns out, she just wanted to give us vaccinations. Oh, joy! I got FOUR. Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Anthrax, and a flu vaccine. I am quite sure that I will be sick as a dog in the next few days. Just as well, under the circumstances, that we might not leave for Sperwhen Gar until the weekend, or even early next week.
At any rate, I plan on eating as much as I can over the next few days, and staying in bed, since I'm sure I'll feel lousy. I still have some packing up to do, and I finally got the wireless router working, but I'm basically ready to go.
Turns out, she just wanted to give us vaccinations. Oh, joy! I got FOUR. Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Anthrax, and a flu vaccine. I am quite sure that I will be sick as a dog in the next few days. Just as well, under the circumstances, that we might not leave for Sperwhen Gar until the weekend, or even early next week.
At any rate, I plan on eating as much as I can over the next few days, and staying in bed, since I'm sure I'll feel lousy. I still have some packing up to do, and I finally got the wireless router working, but I'm basically ready to go.
The weather in Afghanistan
Here lately it has gotten cold. During the three weeks I was gone for leave, it cooled off considerably. Before, it would be chilly in the early mornings, right before and right after sunrise. Now it can be chilly all day long, and with the wind, it can even be cold. Nights are sometimes quite cold, below freezing even, I think.
We still have fairly clear skies, and on the warmer days, it's beautiful. Almost like a beautiful autumn day at home. It almost makes me look forward to being at Sperwhen Gar, where you're much closer to the "wilderness" of Afghanistan. As I said in my last post, I should have some really breathtaking pictures after this stage of the deployment.
On a subject closer to home, lots of pogues (People Other than Grunts) have taken over our mess hall. I don't know where the heck they come from, or why they all feel the need to be in OUR mess hall, but it's disgusting. I went in OUR mess hall today, and it was FULL. Every table was being used. There were probably 60 people in there. And out of all those people, I recognized TWO of them. I didn't even see any of the Pogues that had been here when we got here, everyone in there was a newbie from KAF.
The worst part about Pogues is that they act like they're better than infantry. They have all their uniforms all neat and pressed and spiffy-looking, and they look at you like you're scum because your uniform is a little dirty. They'll ask you "where is your soft cap?" or "where is your weapon?" or something dumb like that. Because it makes them feel like studs to be on a FOB that's out away from the main post, toting their weapons, and knowing that "outside the wire" is literally just 30 yards away. And most Pogues are E-7's or higher. There's so much brass in that mess tent now, that I expect it to get struck by lightning every time a storm comes up.
In conclusion, pogues make me sick. I wish they would all go back to KAF and stay there.
On the bright side, things are looking up for the internet and networking here on Lindsey. A new chief has shown up with the Navy, and is doing an excellent job of designing a new network for the B-huts. Too bad I won't be here to enjoy it...
We still have fairly clear skies, and on the warmer days, it's beautiful. Almost like a beautiful autumn day at home. It almost makes me look forward to being at Sperwhen Gar, where you're much closer to the "wilderness" of Afghanistan. As I said in my last post, I should have some really breathtaking pictures after this stage of the deployment.
On a subject closer to home, lots of pogues (People Other than Grunts) have taken over our mess hall. I don't know where the heck they come from, or why they all feel the need to be in OUR mess hall, but it's disgusting. I went in OUR mess hall today, and it was FULL. Every table was being used. There were probably 60 people in there. And out of all those people, I recognized TWO of them. I didn't even see any of the Pogues that had been here when we got here, everyone in there was a newbie from KAF.
The worst part about Pogues is that they act like they're better than infantry. They have all their uniforms all neat and pressed and spiffy-looking, and they look at you like you're scum because your uniform is a little dirty. They'll ask you "where is your soft cap?" or "where is your weapon?" or something dumb like that. Because it makes them feel like studs to be on a FOB that's out away from the main post, toting their weapons, and knowing that "outside the wire" is literally just 30 yards away. And most Pogues are E-7's or higher. There's so much brass in that mess tent now, that I expect it to get struck by lightning every time a storm comes up.
In conclusion, pogues make me sick. I wish they would all go back to KAF and stay there.
On the bright side, things are looking up for the internet and networking here on Lindsey. A new chief has shown up with the Navy, and is doing an excellent job of designing a new network for the B-huts. Too bad I won't be here to enjoy it...
Monday, December 3, 2007
Moving to Sperwhen Gar
The move to Sperwhen Gar is either tomorrow, or shortly thereafter. Allegedly I will be able to come back to Lindsey or at least to KAF every now and then and hopefully use the internet, so I should be able to post once in a while.
Meanwhile I've been playing EverQuest and browsing the internet. Oh, and eating ice cream. From what we understand, at Sperwhen Gar and Moshem Gar, breakfast and dinner are hot meals, and lunch is MRE's. I expect I'll lose a lot of weight, and hopefully get in good shape.
Moshem Gar is actually a really cool-looking place, being as it has two mountains inside the compound. So I should end up with some pretty spiffy pictures.
Meanwhile I've been playing EverQuest and browsing the internet. Oh, and eating ice cream. From what we understand, at Sperwhen Gar and Moshem Gar, breakfast and dinner are hot meals, and lunch is MRE's. I expect I'll lose a lot of weight, and hopefully get in good shape.
Moshem Gar is actually a really cool-looking place, being as it has two mountains inside the compound. So I should end up with some pretty spiffy pictures.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
So, how was YOUR Thanksgiving...?
Mine wasn't too bad. The day before, I reported to the airport nearest my home of record and flew to Atlanta. I boarded a flight to Kuwait, via Leipzig Germany, at 1800. We flew about 8.5 hours to Germany, where we had a 1 hour layover, then continued to Kuwait City. That leg of the flight was about 5 or 6 hours in length.
In Kuwait, I stayed up until sunrise, then slept all day and all night Friday (except for required formations and whatnot). We left Kuwait finally at 7pm or so (local time, so 8 hours ahead of East Coast time now) on Saturday evening, and now I'm in Bagram, where I will be delayed for probably at least another day.
Bagram is cold. Kuwait was chilly, overcast, windy, and, believe it or not, rainy. Although not rainy like I know rainy. It kind of sprinkled now and then. The food was good, though. I had ice cream as often as I could stand it. Since I'm recovering from a mild flu, I wasn't able to eat as much as I did the first time I went through Kuwait to Afghanistan.
Anyway, now I'm trying to log into EQ. Wish me luck. Oh, and God Bless the USO!!!
In Kuwait, I stayed up until sunrise, then slept all day and all night Friday (except for required formations and whatnot). We left Kuwait finally at 7pm or so (local time, so 8 hours ahead of East Coast time now) on Saturday evening, and now I'm in Bagram, where I will be delayed for probably at least another day.
Bagram is cold. Kuwait was chilly, overcast, windy, and, believe it or not, rainy. Although not rainy like I know rainy. It kind of sprinkled now and then. The food was good, though. I had ice cream as often as I could stand it. Since I'm recovering from a mild flu, I wasn't able to eat as much as I did the first time I went through Kuwait to Afghanistan.
Anyway, now I'm trying to log into EQ. Wish me luck. Oh, and God Bless the USO!!!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
On leave
I am currently on leave, at home with my family.
I have also heard from Anderson that when I return to Afghanistan, I will be moved to Sperwhen Ghar as an embedded training team member, or ETT. At Sperwhen Ghar there is no internet access, no telephone access, and it's a Canadian facility, so mail will probably be erratic at best. Expect no further updates, and if you want to get in touch with me, try sending snail mail to:
Hendrik Booraem
SECFOR/FOB Lindsey
APO AE 09355
But don't expect miracles. Or a fast response.
I have also heard from Anderson that when I return to Afghanistan, I will be moved to Sperwhen Ghar as an embedded training team member, or ETT. At Sperwhen Ghar there is no internet access, no telephone access, and it's a Canadian facility, so mail will probably be erratic at best. Expect no further updates, and if you want to get in touch with me, try sending snail mail to:
Hendrik Booraem
SECFOR/FOB Lindsey
APO AE 09355
But don't expect miracles. Or a fast response.
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