Khoson

I volunteered my driving services for another humanitarian aid mission, this one had us driving out to Khoson, about 20 kms from the Iranian border. It was about a 1.5 hr drive, most of it on a paved road paid for by the Iranian government. There is a strong Iran presence in this part of the country, they paid for the aforementioned road from the border to the city of Herat, for mosques, they provide the power, and Iranian TV is broadcast. So these HA missions we are involved with not only help the Afghan people but also show them that the US and Afghan armies are also here to help them, not just Iran.
And it was an occasion for me to see more of the country as well as drive a HMMWV, always fun even if the air conditioning is not always working or has to be turned off to prevent the engine from overheating as it would try and do on the way back.
Here are a few pictures, and more can be found on Flickr (linked below)...











more pictures!

gone on a HA mission

It had been over four weeks since I had returned from my vacation and hadn't had the opportunity to leave the camp, so I thought I'd volunteer to drive on a humanitarian mission this past Tuesday, this one was to go to a road opening ceremony about 20 mins away from the camp. Roads are a big thing over here, very few are paved, so any work to improve one of the dirt roads is welcomed with great fanfare. If anything it will allow the insurgents a quicker path to deliver their IEDs and other weapons of destruction.
There isn't too much exciting to add to this mission other than I sat inside the HMMWV (hummer for us not versed in military speak), and the A/C was not quite working but did a stupendous job at blowing hot air inside the vehicle. And I killed the two or so hours I spent inside my rolling oven people watching, I saw young and old, boys and girls, men and burkhas!














more pictures!

my day... very exciting!

It has been a while since I last made an entry, and there is a reason for that. Since I returned from my vacation I haven't done much of anything, not that that is necessarily a bad thing but it makes for very boring days... and very easy money!
So I thought I'd outline a typical day for me:
0640: wake up (unless I am running that morning then I'll wake up at 0540)
0643: tinkle
0648: put on underwear, undershirt, socks, pants, boots, bootstraps, blouse, weapon holster, sunglasses, hat
0659: go to breakfast
0701: decide what crappy food I will have for breakfast, usually stick with fruit and yoghurt except for some odd reason there is usually none for breakfast but it is available for lunch and dinner!
0725: done with my scrumptious breakfast
0730: brush my teeth
0733: time for #2
0740: done with #2
0800: attend the morning update meeting
0900ish: check my work e-mail (never takes more than 5 mins)
1200: decide what crap I will be eating for lunch
afternoon: hope there are no meetings I must endure
1715: attend the Italian National Update brief (takes up to 1 hour depending on how much arguing is ongoing)
1800, or later depending on previous entry: decide what crap I will be eating for dinner
1900: check my personal e-mail (I do so earlier as well based on how much free time I have which is lots)
2000: shower, shave, tinkle again
2030: watch DVDs
2230 or thereabouts: go to bed ready for another exciting day

And I only have another three months or so to go, lucky me!