a belgian submariner and afghanistan

last pictures ever...

2008-11-08T02:15:00.001-08:00

...from Afghanistan only though. Didn't think I could give up taking pictures for good now did you?
So our trip out of Afghanistan began on 2 November when we left from Camp Stone in Herat to Camp Phoenix in Kabul. The flight went relatively smoothly, and having a 2-star General on board, the guy in charge of all US forces in Afghanistan actually, made a quick flight even quicker. And after landing at Kabul International Airport (KIA) I was expecting a 2-hour wait for the shuttle to Camp Phoenix, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the shuttle waiting for us.
We ended up sitting around with little to do at Camp Phoenix but enjoy the last of the free Baskin Robbins ice cream with lunch and dinner. We were first told we would have to fly to Bagram, a 10-min flight from KIA, to catch our flight to Kuwait. But then the military does come to its senses at times and we had a flight scheduled directly from KIA to Kuwait. We woke up before the sun on the 7th, shuttled to the airport and checked in for our flight that we boarded a little after 9 am. For some reason, first the plane was to heavy to leave then the weather kept us from taking off, we sat on the plane for close to 4 hours. No food on board, just water as we anxiously awaited our departure. And leaving Afghanistan is the only thing we hoped for regardless of how late and how hungry we might be, and we eventually did take off on our 3.5 hr trip a little after 1 pm
So here I am now in Kuwait waiting for the 14th to come and my flight to Amsterdam at 1:35 am with follow-on to NYC and Norfolk, VA.
Here are my final pictures from Afghanistan, a country I hope never to see again. There are a few from our trip to the Herat airport, my last sunrise from Kabul on the 7th, a happy me, and our plane from Kabul to Kuwait.

Army COM

2008-10-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

My time in Herat is rapidly drawing to an end so I thought I would make one last entry from over here, I might have one or two more before I become a free man again. I will be leaving Herat tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon and spend a few days in Camp Phoenix in Kabul. One day there is one day too many as far as I am concerned, but at least it will be on the way out of here this time. Then we will be flying to Kuwait for 3-4 days to turn in our weapons and equipment and attend a few briefings. After that, it will be on to Norfolk, VA on 13 November. Apparently my flight will be from Kuwait to Baltimore on a charter, then most likely on a commercial flight to New York City before going down to Norfolk. I know, doesn't make sense to me neither to have to fly north to fly south! And after a few days in Norfolk for medical exams and administrative issues I will be a free man again and looking for a home, but I thankfully have friends that will accommodate me so graciously until I find that home. I could use some help from the stock market as well!
Anyway, about my time here, I will say that I would never have volunteered to come over here, and I cannot say I enjoyed most of my time here. I was never really busy or busy enough to make time go by faster, and my duties were fairly benign. I will say that it has been a very interesting experience to say the least, and interacting with Afghan military personnel can be fascinating at times, such a different culture and frame of mind. I will also say that I have enjoyed to a certain extent interacting with US Army personnel but am glad I chose the Navy. These are two different organizations with different mindsets and ways of carrying out business, and I guess they each work. To my benefit, I have noticed that it does not take much to impress the Army, or maybe they were just being polite. And as people who know me, I am never one to look for additional work, and the law of least effort certainly applies to me. Why do more work to get the same job done?
Other than that, I have had to attend many meetings that I will most certainly not miss, have had to prepare briefings and presentations that I will most certainly not miss, and have had to live in a wooden cabin with 20 other people that I will certainly not miss. I have enjoyed working with the Italian military, great espresso, but their work ethic could be better.
So, guess that sums it about up for me, I received an Army Commendation Medal for my time spent over here, looks like I must have done some work to deserve it and I guess I have, but I feel like I really didn't do all that much. It must just be a matter of perspective then, maybe I expect more of myself while being happy doing as little as I can. Contradictory?

road inspection

2008-09-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

I was asked to go on this humanitarian mission to inspect this road that was being improved, essentially just being smoothed out to allow for easier traffic. It still is very much a dirt road, and we drove down this road to inspect the work done on it and talk with local Afghans about any future projects they might want done to their neighborhood.
We almost brought down a mud wall with our humvees when we had to drive around or onto mounds of dirt being used for the road work, but it wasn't anything a little mud could not fix.

more pictures

Khoson

2008-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

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!

my "hard" work did not go unnoticed...

2008-07-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

... or perhaps (and more likely) my time was just up and I was the 224th (out of 224?) to be selected to the next rank of Lieutenant Commander, the equivalent of Major for those of you not up to speed on the Navy rank system. I will not put this rank on and more importantly get paid for it until sometime next year. So I think I will stay in the reserves a little longer, the added income will not hurt as I get ready to buy a home. As far as running the risk of getting sent back to this beautiful country that is Afghanistan, well that should not happen for a period of 5 years once I return in November. And besides, since Obama will become the next president (and one could only hope return some prestige to the position?) the United States of America will be pulling out of Iraq in 2010 (also the will of the Iraqis) and concentrate on Afghanistan (as it should have been all along), so there should not be any further need for me to be bored and waste my time here! But the money I have been able to save will be very handy, thank you GW for that!

return from r&r

2008-07-21T02:05:00.001-07:00

After 6 days of travel and living in tents I am now back in Herat, the whole journey went something like this:
- I left Annapolis last Tuesday and flew from Baltimore (BWI) to Atlanta where I arrived just before lunch
- I and 349 other service members left Atlanta around 8 pm for Leipzig, Germany to refuel and change out crews; flight lasted a little over 8 hours
- On Wednesday and after a one hour layover myself and the same other 349 service members left Leipzig for the cool climate of Kuwait, a 6 hour flight
- That evening we were bussed to a military camp in the north of Kuwait, about an hour bus ride, where we spent the night and waited for our next trip.
- That next trip happened on Thursday late afternoon when myself and 100 or so other people boarded a C-17 for Bagram.
- We arrived in Bagram a little before 11 pm after a four hour flight and forwarding our watches 1.5 hours (don't forget the .5 hour!)
- Because I could only find out at 3 am the following morning if there was a flight from Bagram to Herat I ended up not sleeping much that night, and there was no flight.
- I tried to sleep during the day on friday but the tents get quite hot and the beds were far from comfortable, and that night I went back to the terminal at 3 am to see if I could get on the mail flight to Herat but there was too much mail and nobody would be allowed on that flight.
- In order to avoid spending another day in Bagram and to better our chances to get to Herat I and a handful of others decided to fly to Kabul International Airport and try our luck from there, a whopping 10 min flight!
- As luck would have it there was a flight to Herat from KIA on Saturday but it was reserved for Italians only, and for us to get on it we would have had to contact the US embassy in Rome. No thank you!
- And finally on Sunday we got on the Italian C-130 that flies regularly between KIA and Herat, and we arrived back at Camp Stone, my "home" for the next four months, around dinner time.

Here are some pictures from the Atlanta airport, we were paraded through the terminal to the applause of all the bystanders wishing us well, it was kind of gay actually. But it wasn't as bad as the USO personnel welcoming us home when they saw us heading to the baggage claim to get our luggage. They got a lot quieter when they found out we were actually heading back!

back in kuwait!!!

2008-07-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

So here I am on my way back to Herat for four more months. The journey so far has had me leaving Baltimore International Airport at 0925 on Tuesday (yesterday) for Atlanta, waiting at the Atlanta airport until mid-afternoon when we were paraded through the airport with most bystanders clapping for us to check in for our charter flight to Kuwait, leaving Atlanta an hour late in a jam-packed plane (maybe 1 or 2 free seats at most) for the 8 hour flight to Leipzig, Germany to refuel and change crews, then after an hour wait we took off for the 6 hour flight to Kuwait where we arrived in the early evening hours so the temperature was actually bearable. We then went on a one hour bus ride to a base in the northern part of the country, and this bus ride actually felt longer than the flights!
It looks as if I will only have to spend a night here, we should be leaving for Bagram in shortly after lunch on Thursday. Then once in Bagram I will have to find a flight to Herat where I hope to be back by Friday. As far as going back to work, do I really need to?

going back... reluctantly

2008-07-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

I am heading back shortly for four more months of "fun" in the sun, going to Atlanta first then on to Kuwait via Germany then back to Afghanistan. It should take me a few days, depending on how quickly I get a flight from Bagram to Herat, and then I will pretty much just wait for the next four months to go by! I might get a four day pass to go to a base in Qatar but otherwise I will not get anymore "days off". But I will be able to go through the few pictures I took during my two weeks back in civilization and will share those once I am done. These two weeks were good but made me realize what I miss by being over there, but I will be able to buy me a home when I return, really the only benefit of this whole ordeal.

Going on R&R...

2008-07-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Well, my days of freedom are sadly coming to an end, I must have somehow violated my parole and am being sent back to finish my sentence in my "concentration" camp in western Afghanistan. But I have a feeling my motivation to do anything worthwhile will be very low and I will essentially just be waiting to return for good, and save a little more money while so doing. This past year, most of 2008, will have been a waste for the most part, I will have very little to take away from it. Sure I have experienced some interesting things, seen some interesting things, and done some interesting things, but I could have done without most of it. I will admit that the money I have been able to save will help me in buying a home sooner than I expected, but will it really have been worth it? I don't think so. Besides it's not like they really need me to do what I do over there, whatever that might be, they just need a military officer! That is a comforting thought, to know that you are there just as a warm body!
Anyway, here are some pictures from my journey back to civilization...

leaving Herat

shortly after taking off from Herat

what must have been a raging river a few (hundred?) years ago

afghan landscape

flying over Afghanistan
shortly approaching Bagram

before landing in Bagram (can you spot the 2 helicopters?)

tent city, some base in Kuwait

leaving Leipzig

the sun is rising as we leave Leipzig, Germany following a crew change and more fuel

Atlanta in the distance

Washington, DC in the distance

all the pictures

my journey back to the US

2008-06-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

On Monday I will be commencing my journey back to the US for my 15 day Rest & Relaxation period. This journey entails first of all to catch a flight from Herat to Bagram by a certain date, in my case 26 June when I am slated to fly to Kuwait via Qatar on another military flight. The flight to Kuwait is the one I have to make so I hope the flights on Monday will go as scheduled, military flights are not the most reliable unfortunately. Then once in Kuwait I will have a one to two day wait before catching a charter flight (a real plane, not a military one!) to Atlanta with a pit stop (and beer stop?) in Ireland to refuel. Then from Atlanta I will catch a flight to Baltimore where I will begin my R&R. I will split my time between the DC area and Miami.
It appears to me that illegal immigrants have an easier time entering the US of A no?

awards and tact

2008-06-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Since I will be leaving for my two week vacation on Monday, and when I will return the Army Colonel in charge of the base might have transferred, I was asked by the head Navy officer to provide bullets for an award for my work here. I am not sure where the merit is in putting oneself in for an award, should the award not be... well awarded for doing a good job and not because one asks for it, but I nevertheless reluctantly provide 7-8 bullets listing what I have done over the past four months. I don't care much for awards, and besides I only wear the uniform a week-end a month so should I really care all that much?
Well, the head Navy guy replied to my e-mail asking to be more specific, to which I replied after a careful thought process that the bullets I provided reflected what I have done in Herat so far, that I believe I have contributed to the effort in some capacity and am satisfied about my performance, and that the best award I can ask for is to go home with both arms and legs, but I thanked him for considering me for an additional award.
The head Navy guy found me later in the evening to again ask me to be more specific, but what do I care I am starting my journey back home tomorrow!

when plans go wrong, and not enough underwear!

2008-06-19T02:54:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I was scheduled to go to Kabul for the day to carry out some business before going on my two-week vacation, leaving Herat in the morning and returning in the evening. But as fate would dictate our plans didn't quite go as.... well, planned!
Me and a few others left Herat as scheduled on Sunday morning, around 8 am, on a German military plane. The flight to Kabul normally takes about 1.5 hours, and after sitting inside the plane for close to two hours we were starting to wonder what was going on, and the fact it was quite chilly in the plane did not help either. A few minutes later the crew announced that because of a dust storm we would not be able to land in Kabul and instead were heading to Mazr-e-Sharif, in the northern part of Afghanistan where the Germans are stationed. We knew then that our day-long trip would most likely include a night, but where exactly. And fortunately I had somewhat planned for this eventuality by bringing a second set of undergarments, but would that be enough foresight?
We landed at Mez an hour later, took a bus to the terminal and tried to figure out what the future had in store for us. After grabbing some lunch in a dining hall that would not have been out of place in any IKEA store, we eventually were allowed on a plane to Kabul that afternoon, grateful not to have to spend a night in Mez. And we enjoyed the German efficiency, while we could see our plane from the terminal and would just about knock our heads against it when walking out, we had to board a bus that did a 100 foot loop at the most to get us to said plane. It definitely got a good laugh out of most of us!
We spent Sunday night at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, took care of our business the following morning and returned to the airport to catch a flight on Monday afternoon. While we were waiting in the terminal thankful to be returning to our "home" in Herat (I was wearing my second and only other set of underwear) we were told that the flight had been cancelled at which time I realized I might have to do the unthinkable... wear dirty underwear! And with no flight before Wednesday I would have to wear dirty underwear on two separate days!!! Please forgive me for this transgression but sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do.
In the meantime I had the pleasure of meeting some Belgians, but only those civilized enough to speak French. And I was mesmerized by some of the women from the many foreign militaries that are at Kabul International Airport, mainly the Czechs, Norwegians and Danes. I was wondering what such beautiful women were doing in the military, surely it wasn't the proper place for these ladies, and had a hard time imagining them charging the enemy from the trenches a la WW I and II! And then I realized there must be quite a few "extracurricular" activities going on around here (the airport) that I did not take part of. To clarify a little I did walk into the male bathroom one evening only to open the door and have a French woman walk out followed by two French men... with their pants around their ankles!
Just kidding about that last part!
Anyway, I am now back in Herat, with clean underwear on, and am looking for a flight to Bagram to catch another flight to Kuwait on the 26th to catch a third flight to the US for my two-week vacation.

hot

2008-06-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

So I was asked yesterday if I could assist with a humanitarian mission today (Thursday) as a driver of one of the hummers. The mission entailed us delivering tents to a school in the village of Jabrail to be used as classrooms followed by a stop at the U of Herat to deliver food and other items to the students. Apparently Afghanistan also suffers from the starving college student syndrome. Then again, most of this country is probably very hungry most of the time.
Anyway, after spending over four hours in the driver seat and just as we were about to return to Camp Stone, our home camp, my legs started to feel very warm. Now, the weather outside the hummer was very f-ing hot while with air conditioning it was only f-ing hot inside the hummer, not the best air conditioning on the market and besides there is a big hole in the roof of the vehicle for the gunner, not the best way to keep the cold air inside I reckon. But the warm sensation I was feeling along my virile legs was caused by the engine overheating, as indicated by the temperature gauge being in the red zone along with the red overheat light. I had learned not too long ago that when this happens the remedy is to turn off the air conditioning and turn on the heat to cool down the engine, and this I did. Fortunately we could see Camp Stone by this point and so knew we would not have to endure this condition for too long, and it quickly went from f-ing hot to "holy shit how hot can it possibly get in here" in a matter of seconds.
But then the flatbed truck we were driving with apparently had mechanical issues and had to pull to the side of the road, and so we had to turn around and assist it as best we could... with the heat still on! And did I mention we were literally within spitting distance of Camp Stone. Why could that truck not have waited a couple more minutes to break down!?
Thankfully after a few minutes waiting around the Afghan Army returned to render assistance to their truck (they had practically abandoned their own truck and probably only returned because we had stopped following them) and we resumed our journey to our home away from home, and by this time the engine temperature had returned to normal and I quickly turned the air conditioning back on.
I guess people spend a lot of money to get to use a sauna, I essentially got paid to sit for over 4 hours in one!

TOA

2008-06-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

The Italians had their transfer of authority ceremony, the outgoing group has been here for 6 months and it is time for them to leave. I have enjoyed working with some of them, especially Macari the Scottish-Italian (hearing him speak English is a hoot, he sounds like he comes right out of Braveheart!), and while they could have done more as a whole they sure are fun to be around. But of course maybe not right now as their football team (the real football, the one being played around the world) got the $%(# beat out of them by the Dutch!
Anyways, they will be missed, and I sure hope I will enjoy the new guys as much as I did the ones leaving in the next few days.

village of Jabrail

2008-06-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from my drive to the school for girls in the village of Jabrail to deliver school supplies. To get there we had to drive through Herat, a first for me, and the village was right on the other side. And while I had to stay in the vehicle to maintain security with the gunner, I still had plenty of opportunities to take pictures. The place was essentially overrun with children, and it was a nice sight to see. The girls were ecstatic at getting a backpack and notebook, and it appears most of them were in a hurry to check out their new possessions once outside the school. My vehicle meanwhile was surrounded by gawking boys, I essentially felt like a fish in a bowl. But at our second stop to check out a school for boys, I entertained a few boys, and myself, by waving back at them. They seemed to get a kick out of me mimicking them. Of note, this village is mostly inhabited by Hazaras, the persecuted people. But they all seemed very friendly and appreciative of us.

all the pictures

This morning

2008-06-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

The only part of this ordeal that is better than an 8-5 job back in the States, or anywhere for that matter. But add the heat, the location, the lack of women, and then it's definitely not worth it. But shooting for fun is still fun!

school for girls

2008-06-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

In an effort to leave my base at least once a week, I volunteered my services as chauffeur to drive to a school for girls to deliver school supplies, nothing more than a backpack and a notebook. I think I need these short excursions one day a week to break up the monotony of my week, and this was a great humanitarian mission to be a part of. Granted, I had to stay in the vehicle (HMMWV) along with the gunner to provide for security but I still got to witness many school girls leaving with their new backpack and notebook, and just about all of the ones I saw had a huge smile on their face. It was a sight to see, and very uplifting, to see the joy a simple notebook and backpack can bring to people. Before returning we stopped at a nearby boy school at the request of the Afghan National Army, and while I was once again confined to the HMMWV I entertained myself and a bunch of boys around my vehicle with hand gestures. They seemed to get a kick out of me waving at them and them waving back, and once again a very uplifting moment. There is hope for this country after all!
Of course, with the rather hot temperatures and the very limited air conditioning blowing inside the HMMWV, and add to that body armor and a helmet, I was quite hot and wet after spending 4 hours in the driver's seat, but I enjoyed most of my time on this trip. Sure enough I took some pictures that I will be more than happy to share in a day or two.

taking back the country

2008-05-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

recent events in the province south of where I am...

news story

Tuesday evening sunset

2008-05-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

I think the clouds made it that much better so I had to shoot it. Clouds aren't too frequent around here, and with temperatures approaching and surpassing the century mark already clouds would be very welcome!

and we are still only in May!

2008-05-27T07:27:00.001-07:00

but at least it's dry heat... like that makes it better!

dust tornadoes

2008-05-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

It's pretty neat to see these form up and travel through the camp, nothing harmful but a lot of dust.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T02:07:00.000-07:00

recently married during his two week R&R period, enjoyed his tour he extended 6 months, killed in an ambush on sunday, will be remembered every Memorial Day

Sunday morning

2008-05-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

I was asked if I wanted to go along on a CERP (Civil Engineering Report of Performance I believe) mission this morning, and was even asked whether I would be willing to drive there. Needless to say I was more than willing to oblige, a chance to get off the camp for a few hours and see some of this fascinating countryside, and get to drive a hummer while doing so.
We left camp this morning and headed north along the ring road (paved road circling Afghanistan, a little like a ring) for 15 minutes or so before taking a right to some village. As soon as we left the ring road the way to our destination turned to dust, most roads in this country being dust tracks. We spent another 30 minutes driving through various villages before arriving at our destination. The purpose of this trip was to inspect a wall around a school, and this took a half hour, give or take a few minutes. I had no role in the inspection and instead stayed near the vehicles and met some kids, apparently not privileged to go to school. With all the candy I received I thought my teeth would appreciate if I offered these kids some sweets, and I also had a gatorade bottle to donate.
I hope I will be able to go on one of these every week, a great opportunity to see more of this country and its people!

more pictures

family vacation

2008-05-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

So my mother was born in Cape Town and was adopted by loving Belgian
parents. She grew up in the Belgian Congo next to a lake where she
could water-ski just about every day, and eventually ended up in
Belgium when the Belgian Congo did its thing and became Zaire.
Incidentally it is now again called Congo.
Well, a few years ago my mother found her biological family, and
along with her husband they have been to Cape Town to visit her
family on a couple occasions. We had planned to go together as a
family, my two brothers and I with my mother and her husband, this
year except for one unforeseen event at the time, here I am in
Afghanistan.
So we then planned to go in 2009, and during some of my rare moments
with little to do I thought I would check out flight prices for next
March. Gunter and I expected flights to be in the $2000 price range
what with the rising oil prices and all, but it turns out the cheap
fare was under $1400, and some were already selling out... for March
2009, 10 months away. We then decided that if we wanted that fare we
had to buy our tickets now so we did. I will be leaving on 31 March,
arriving in Cape Town on the evening of 1 April (not exactly a short
hop, with a connection in Johannesburg), and returning on 14 April,
arriving in DC in the wee hours of 15 April. My two brothers will
only stay a week returning the 8th, and my parents will stay until
the 22nd. They will spend a few days at my new "mansion" before and
after their trip.
Well, it might be a few months away but we are most definitely
looking forward to this trip. It has been a while since we were on
vacation as a family and we thought we'd go big by spending a good
15-16 hours together in a steel tube to kick it off!

26 June

2008-05-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

It might still be a little early to look forward to 26 June, but it is never too early when here to look forward to going back to the States, albeit only for 15 days. So on 26 June I will be flying down to Kuwait via Qatar on what will probably be another comfortable military flight. With all the military flights I have been on I should definitely have enough frequent flyer miles for a free round-trip... on a military flight!
From Kuwait I should be getting on a charter flight most likely to Atlanta, not sure if it is stopping anywhere in between but it probably will. Fortunately my leave does not begin until I reach Atlanta since getting there could well take a few days or even a week. Those military flights and schedules are anything but reliable, and flights do get cancelled at the last minute.
Once safely back in the US and after having gotten accustomed to the high gas prices, I will spend a few days in the DC area during which time I will plan on meeting with a real estate agent so that I can hopefully buy me a home with a couple months of my return in November. I will also of course get reacquainted with a "normal" society, hang out with some friends, and catch up with all the beers I haven't been allowed to drink while here. But I have been invited to Italian and Spanish dinners and barbecues, and there was beer and wine present at these functions. I shall leave it at that.
I will also spend about a week in Miami where I plan to do not much but rest and be lazy around the pool at their apartment, and of course enjoy the company of my parents! I also plan on catching a few movies while in the US, there are a few ones coming out soon. Iron Man might no longer be in theaters but Indiana Jones will be, and perhaps a few others.
Then finally I will return to the DC area for 1-2 days before starting the trek back to my current home... Afghanistan!

business trip to kabul

2008-05-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed my second trip to Kabul since settling down in this most hospitable of countries, and I must say it was nice to leave Herat once again, if only for a few days and to spend most of my time away in Camp Phoenix, by far an unexciting place to be.
We flew out last Sunday on ISAF 72, an Italian C-130. All the flights are military, operated by various countries, and they all have the same number attached to them. In this case, ISAF 72 will always be Italian. It did not have a good reputation, it would appear Italian pilots like to "shake" their cargo around for lack of a better term, and occasionally the cargo gets sick. Well, I found my flight with them rather uneventful, not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination as I was in a C-130, but nothing happened that would have caused my stomach to churn. The return flight with the US Air Force was another story. We spent the last 20 minutes of the flight at a low altitude banking left and right in what I understand is a combat approach. Why you might ask a combat approach when we were landing in Herat in the peaceful western part of Afghanistan? Beats me, and I was starting to get annoyed by all these maneuvers after the first 5 minutes. I did not get sick, didn't even come close, but some poor Afghan bodyguard to some Afghan National Police bigwig wasn't so lucky. Fortunately a trash bag was within easy reach.
While in Kabul, I spent most of the time in the aforementioned Camp Phoenix where I took part in a briefing to a bunch of generals, and we went out to Camp Morehead on the other side of Kabul for a graduation ceremony for the commandos that will be stationed out west. This meant that I would get to enjoy another couple drives through the center of Kabul, the weather wasn't the greatest for pictures nor was the vehicle I was riding in, but I still took a few pictures that show the overall extreme poverty and gloominess that is Kabul. Enjoy if you'd like these mediocre pictures...

pictures from kabul

a lucky shot...

2008-05-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

I like this shot. Granted, I took it, but it was taken through the
rather filthy windows (bulletproof, so two windows) of a moving
humvee. I like the scene depicted, the man sitting on the cab and the
other one just standing there. I like this shot. The street is quite
colorless, the cab providing the only piece of color along with the
lights in the background. The picture might be a little grainy due to
the high ISO setting used to try and maximize the shutter speed, and
I just like this shot!

military flights

2008-05-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

This morning (Thursday) I was on yet another military flight from the
booming metropolis that is Kabul to the quieter more serene city of
Herat in the West. I am working on an upgrade to first class with all
the frequent flyer miles I have accumulated so far, but I am not sure
if the different "airlines" operating over here codeshare. So far I
have flown with the US Air Force, the US Marine Corps, the Germans
and the Italians, and none of these flights were particularly
comfortable. And no inflight service whatsoever! They're lucky I
haven't had to pay for any of these flights or they would have
definitely heard from me by now, that is no way to treat a human being!
Well anyway, this morning's flight was a little different as for some
reason the last 20 minutes or so were spent at a low altitude with
the plane banking constantly left and right. Five minutes of that
shit would have been more than sufficient yet it kept going on.
Fortunately I have a pretty strong stomach but there were times when
it felt a little queasy, but it never gave up unlike some poor Afghan
on our flight. But a plastic bag was readily available. I was told
once safely on the ground that this was called a combat approach, not
sure why it is the way it is though!
Today's flight was on a C-130 operated by the USAF, and as I happened
to be next to one of the few windows I naturally thought of taking a
few pictures. It is quite the sight to see us climbing between
mountains.

my little brother

2008-05-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

So my younger brother finally decided to pursue a hobby he might
enjoy, and of all hobbies he chose marathons. My parents have friends
who have run and continue to run marathons, and I believe this is
part of the reason my brother started running them. I have a hard
enough time driving 26.2 miles especially in and around the DC area,
I couldn't fathom running such a distance. Yet there goes Jonathan,
aka Chouchou. He started maybe a little over a year ago, and it
wasn't always pretty. He couldn't run through his first in Miami,
then he went to the City of Angels where our older brother lives to
run his second. When it was time to put on his brand new running
shoes he realized that he had grabbed one new shoe and one older
shoe, and he ran the whole marathon with mismatching shoes. Not sure
if this is recommended by professionals, and he ended the day with a
rather swollen knee.
Well, he then decided to improve his preparation and also started
running shorted races to improve his speed. He even recently finished
first in his age group in a 5k in Miami again. His goal is to run 3-4
marathons each year, a good opportunity also to travel around the US
and to other countries and sightsee. What else is there to do while
running 26.2 miles.
So Sunday, he ran the flying pig marathon in Cincinnati. His goals
where to run the half in 1:30 and finish the whole affair in 3:10,
and incidentally qualify for the highly sought after Boston marathon,
the only race requiring a qualifying time. He did not feel he was
well prepared to accomplish these goals but philosophically stated
that should he fail, life goes on! He did study psychology in college
if my memory serves me right.
Well, to make a long story short (or maybe that is too late now), he
finished the flying pig marathon in an official time (I think) of
3:10:18, and he is now qualified for the Boston Marathon. He also
claims that the distance was an extra 1/4 mile longer due to a house
fire in the morning race officials decided to race around, and this
means he would have finished a couple minutes earlier.
I sure hope he got me some pig shorts!
And of course a job well done to my little brother!

200 days left

2008-05-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

Where does time go? Only 200 days before I am eligible for parole!

the drive back to Camp Stone

2008-05-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot I still had some pictures from my road trip south, these last ones being from the drive back to Herat. A fairly uneventful drive, no kids throwing rocks at us or anything of the sort. And we did it in pretty good time, a little over 4 hours with a stop along the way in Showz. That is a good thing because the hummers are anything but comfortable, but they'll protect us from rock-throwing kids!

pictures

the road to Farah

2008-04-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

From Bala Boluk to Farah we eventually veered off the Ring Road onto HWY 517, another one of the few paved roads. The trip was fairly uneventful except for that kid who threw a good-sized rock at our humvee as we were going through Shewan. This village is surrounded by poppy fields, and while most children seemed friendly towards us (except for the one) and the adults seemed indifferent, I could only think that they were indeed against our presence in the area, poppy cultivation being apparently their main source of income, not quite approved by the International Community or Afghan Government (but some in the government surely get kickbacks, this isn't the model government by any means!) So it was well worth going on this trip just to see the poppies, after all it's a little like going to New York City and not seeing the Empire State, one cannot go to Afghanistan and not see poppies!

pictures

Bala Boluk

2008-04-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Bala Boluk on our way to Farah, talk about hard living, the Americans living there are enclosed in this camp no bigger than a football field inside of an Afghan police compound, right off the highway. They sleep in tents and have very little in the way of amenities. Tent living and crappy food for the most part. Life here at Camp Stone isn't so bad after all!
The landscape around here is just surreal, and the sights make up for being stuck in this country. But I would still not have volunteered to come.

pictures

Shindand

2008-04-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from the road and a few from Shindand, I sort of got carried away with the flowers perhaps!

pictures

the woman at the door

2008-04-21T03:33:00.001-07:00

I was almost going to delete this picture from my camera, i was trying to shoot something else as we were driving back to Herat, but then I noticed the woman at the door and fell in love with this picture!

poppy eradication program

2008-04-21T03:23:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to leave Camp Stone, my assigned base, for the first time since returning from Kabul over a month ago, and I even partook in my first convoy. While sitting in a humvee for a few hours isn't particularly comfortable, what with a bulletproof vest on and a helmet, getting to see some more of western Afghanistan was well worth the discomfort. We drove south from Herat on the ring road, a nice paved road that goes all around Afghanistan, or most of the way around. It is such a nice road (there are very few paved roads) and so convenient for commerce (travelled by many trucks) that the insurgents do not use it for IEDs or the population would quickly turn against their "cause."
Well, we had to branch off the ring road to make it to Farah, this road was also paved and goes through Shewan, a village surrounded by seas of poppies. Most kids along the way would wave at us except in Shewan, this one 10 year old came running out and through a pretty good sized rock at our vehicle (we were in the lead) aiming no doubt for the gunner, the only person to stick out of the vehicle, but hitting the windshield instead. Needless to say other than a loud bang there was no damage done, I would hope it would take more to dent a hummer, but it was still an interesting experience. And if this is the worst that happens to me I will be fine with it!
As far as the poppy eradication program... is it working?

some roses

2008-04-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

If only the Afghans were as proficient at running an army as they are at gardening we (US and NATO) would have been done a long time ago!

the referee

2008-04-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was walking around the Camp Zafar, the Afghan military compound, when I stumbled upon this "high stakes" volleyball match about to get underway between the All Star Italian Team and the Top Notch Afghan Squad. It also turned out that a referee of the utmost integrity was required to officiate this most important of matches, and who better to oblige than yours truly. It might have been a few years since I played volleyball but how difficult is it to watch a ball go back and forth over a net? The match turned out to be a little more heated than I anticipated, but then again the always emotional Italians were on one side and the rather volatile Afghans were on the other, so I guess taking all this into account the intensity of the confrontation should not have been much of a surprise. It turns out the Afghans ended up winning two games out of three with all three games being rather close, and the officiating was superlative I might add!

Jeremiah Ridgeway

2008-04-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Please check out the photostream from Jeremiah Ridgeway on BBC.com, there are some outstanding pictures:

photostream

for my new home

2008-04-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

I thought I would finally check out the Friday bazaar, and since I will be buying a home when I get back to the States I think I found a few carpets for it. Some very nice carpets indeed, and most are under $300 from what I understand. I think I'll get me 5 (dining room, living room, bedrooms and other) but try and spend no ore than $1000. I might have to do some bargaining though.

some much needed rain

2008-04-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

With very little rainfall during this first month of the year 1387, the skies finally opened up the last couple days, delivering some much needed rain. And there were some pretty good downpours between last night and this morning with more rain forecasted for Sunday and Monday. There was of course some minor "flooding" and I almost felt like I could be of some use as a Naval officer, alas the water was not deep enough for a submarine. The Italians were also rejoicing as they could almost use their gondolas to navigate around their end of the camp, and they were looking forward to charging Americans 50 EUR for a gondola ride. It must be a Venice thing I guess.

imminent sugar high!

2008-04-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank my mother, younger brother, and aunt from Belgium for providing me with a "few" sweets: starburst, fruitella, napoleon, sugus, twix, m&ms, as well as some beef jerky and power bars. The gummy bears and milka chocolate I obtained myself. Now who should I send my dentist bill to?
And I would like to especially thank my mother for the Homer Words of Wisdom pillowcase, it certainly applies to me!

Saturday's sunset

2008-04-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

I liked the way the sun looked, so I thought I'd take a couple pictures...

some big white puffy clouds

2008-04-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

following Thursday's rain, big clouds on the horizon on Friday...

training kandak graduation

2008-04-04T02:06:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, the training kandak (battalion) was having its graduation ceremony. As with most things in this country it was well worth sticking around a little to see what would happen, and to break the monotony of my everyday routine. And as it turns out I was quite entertained by this event.

more pictures

and a short video...

witness to a miracle

2008-04-04T01:58:00.000-07:00

So I arrived in Herat on March 2nd or thereabouts and I was starting to wonder if I would ever see any rain around here. Obviously the surrounding landscape was a testimony to the little rain seen in this corner of the world, but surely it must rain some time. I knew California was bad and never thought I would be in a place worse off.
Well, yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, which might have been early morning for some of you, late morning for others, and probably not evening for any of you, it started to rain. I did all I could to keep from ripping my clothes off and running out in this most beautiful of rain, and trust me I was close to doing so (I have also been working out). And it wasn't one of those Californian "downpours" (a few drops falling from the sky qualifies as such there) but a steady rain.
But then it kept raining in the evening, and the temperature had dropped as well, and I started to think... Will it keep on raining forever? Will the sun ever shine again? I was beginning to feel like I was back in Belgium!
And then today happened!

the silly military

2008-04-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Army has a PT uniform (outfit to wear when working out).
The Air Force has a PT uniform.
The Navy does not (yet) have a PT uniform.
Some Army people apparently only care about that third point and are seemingly rather upset about the fact we are free to wear whatever we want while working out, so long as it is in good taste and reflects our Navy pride. So I purchased a couple shorts from the good ol' Naval Academy, one blue, one gray, both do not go below the knees, but I am now under the understanding that I can only wear the blue ones. The reason behind this asinine rule is that, while we still do not have a PT uniform, we were issued these silly looking blue shorts that are just plain ridiculous, so while we are at liberty to deviate somewhat we still have to wear blue shorts.
Well, what are they going to do, keep me in Afghanistan for another 8 months?
And another silly point, the Army people salute each other when in PT uniform. It is the strangest thing and one that takes getting used to as I have been saluted a few times, I first was caught off guard but later simply returned the salute. My question is this, how does the Army private in his Army issued PT gear know that the person approaching him from the other side is an Army general in his Army issued PT gear. Isn't he technically supposed to salute the higher ranking officer as he is in his PT gear?
Just plain silly I tell you!
And no, I refuse to wear our silly looking blue shorts!

my boss's last day

2008-04-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

So the LTC I worked for since I arrived here is on his way back to the States. If you ever end up driving through Jackson, Mississippi, speed up and you might get stopped by a State trooper on a motorbike, and it just might be my now old boss. He was a riot to work for and will be missed, and I only hope the next LTC to come in a few weeks will be just as fun, but probably not.
handing out a "fake" certificate to our interpreter

handing out a real certificate to our interpreter

him and one of the better afghan officers, not the resemblance to Ron Jeremy

1 April

2008-03-31T22:15:00.001-07:00

I love being in Afghanistan, I thoroughly enjoy working for/with the Army, I couldn't be any happier right now.
Did I mention today is 1 April?

friday's lunch

2008-03-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

In honor of the LTC's momentous departure, our interpreter offered to bring lunch on his day off, friday being prayer day, and yes we work every other day, Mr Taliban doesn't take any days off I am afraid.
On the menu was goat, lamb and some camel. It took our interpreter a few hours to stalk a camel and hunt it down over a distance of a few miles, and then he had to drag it back and bring it over! Actually he got everything at a restaurant, and his mom even cooked some potato-lamb patties that were quite tasty. All in all a very tasty meal, and the nan (local bread) is outstanding! I will most definitely have to try out the few Afghan restaurants in Virginia after I get back.

driving through kabul

2008-03-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd get a little bit of footage from our drive through this most unique city. The first half was on the way over with lots of honking, the louder honk coming from the truck that was part of our convoy and immediately behind my humvee, and the clanking is only the windows; the second half was on the way back to the airport and was shot from inside the "Mad Max" bus, an up-armored bus that looks as if it belongs in the Mad Max movie.
Anyway, there isn't anything particularly amazing about this footage other than the fact it is from Kabul and was shot with my digital camera!

return to Herat

2008-03-27T00:07:00.000-07:00

They decided to have us ride back to Kabul airport in the "Mad Max" bus, it almost felt like being on one of those tour buses! And I had a better vantage point to take pictures, and somewhat cleaner windows but they did have a blue hue. Hopefully I got some good street shots, and I tried to find as many burkhas as possible. I think they'd make for a great Halloween costume, they look like real life ghosts! I am definitely getting me one before I leave.
The flight back was on a C-130, my back is still traumatized from having to sit against the wall with a bolt protruding into the right side.

more pictures

more pictures from camp morehead

2008-03-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd walk around the bombed out ruins, climb into vintage soviet tanks, drink beer and wine with the french special forces, and catch the sun rising on our last morning there, among other things. I might have taken a few too many shots but then again there isn't much else to do around here, besides how often will I be in Kabul, or Afghanistan for that matter!

more pictures

Camp Morehead

2008-03-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

About half the pictures I took while at Camp Morehead, on the outskirts of Kabul. A rather interesting place with some old Soviet equipment and buildings that suffered a few years of bombing. The check marks on the walls are to inform that there is no unexploded ordinance left in the vicinity! It truly felt somewhat like a ghost town, and Kabul almost feels like a ghost city, and I thought black & white worked better for some of the shots. Then again there is not much color in this country to begin with!

more pictures

2 hour drive

2008-03-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the 2 hour drive we endured through Kabul...

http://flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/72157604222430640/

slight ringing sound

2008-03-23T01:38:00.000-07:00

No Easter egg hunting this Sunday morning but we did do a little
shooting, and it had been a while. This was more for the benefit of
our interpreters who wanted to shoot an M-4, and the reaction of my
interpreter when I showed him how to load the M-4 was priceless, he
jumped about 10 ft when I slid the bolt forward. He's pretty tough!
The two guys are my body guards! Actually, they're some Afghan
General's body guards.

what i want for my birthday?

2008-03-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

my own plane or a vintage soviet t-55 tank?
getting either to work might prove challenging
then again, i have 8 months left!

32

2008-03-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

As I sit back contemplating 32, let me look back at the previous 31.
0-4 were spent in France (could have been 0-3 but I don't quite
remember), probably all in or near Lyon.
4 (3?)-14 were spent in Belgium, either in Genval or Brussels with a
possible few exceptions. I had yet to discover beer!
15-17 must have been spent in Quito, Ecuador. Not sure if we had
power or not.
18 was celebrated in Caracas, Venezuela. This was well before Hugo!
19-31 were all over the United States, with possibly one or two of
those spent underwater in the vast Pacific Ocean aboard the mighty P!
And now 32, in Herat, Afghanistan!
Isn't life beautiful?

Year 1387

2008-03-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Today is 1 Hamal, the beginning of year 1387!

the flight to Kabul

2008-03-19T03:42:00.001-07:00

We drove to Herat Airport with the Italians, and flew to Kabul with
the Germans. This is indeed if you hadn't noticed yet quite the
international venture! The flight took about 1.5 hours and should
have been the longest portion of the trip, but as you know now it
wasn't, and little did we know at the time what ordeal was waiting
for us after we landed. But here are some pictures from this portion
of the trip, I was fortunate to have access to a window to record the
memorable landscape that is Afghanistan. You might notice some roads
and villages that must be pretty much in the middle of nowhere hidden
somewhere in the mountains.

Hope the link below works but you might have to copy and paste it in
your favorite browser:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/72157604162208125/

hungry? why wait!?

2008-03-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Stuffing myself before my flight to Kabul last Saturday (in case you
couldn't tell!)

12 years later

2008-03-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

I ran into my plebe year first semester platoon commander at the
Naval Academy, first in Kabul and more recently in Herat. I didn't
have my camera handy in Kabul but made sure to have it in Herat. To
help clarify he was a senior while I was a freshman. Goes to show
what a small Navy this is, and we both ended up getting screwed. But
he did for 3 more months!

back in Herat

2008-03-18T04:25:00.001-07:00

I made it back to Herat after a "comfortable" 1.5 hour flight on a
C-130. I don't think my back will ever be the same again!
The drive back to Kabul Airport was nothing like the drive from the
airport last Saturday, and we even rode in the "Mad Max" bus. They
somehow thought that 9 of us were going to the airport when we were
only four, and the whole drive felt sort of like a tour bus ride
through the city, with the exception of the body armor, the helmet
(and not the special bus kind) and the two weapons we were carrying.
Kabul is truly a city that must be seen to be believed, it is rather
unique to say the least. I haven't seen anything like it yet and
don't think I ever will.
Pictures should be coming shortly once I sift through them, and I
even took some video with my camera but haven't figured out how to
share it. I might have to ask my younger brother for some help in the
matter, but he did prove quite incompetent with an earlier request.
This'll be his chance to redeem himself I hope or I shall cut him out
of my will. Not that I am expecting to die anytime soon, just a
figure of speech!

words i don't really need to hear

2008-03-16T01:24:00.001-07:00

I left Herat Saturday for Kabul to attend a two day conference, and what a "business trip" this is turning out to be. We departed Camp Stone in Herat with the Italians, the flight took about 1.5 hours, the drive across Kabul took longer! If you think you've experienced bad driving you haven't, unless perhaps you have had the pleasure of driving in Kabul. There is no order, no discipline, it is pretty much total mayhem. We were driving in three humvees but also had a big truck with us, and we pretty much were leaning on the horn the whole time to get people out of the way which most of them did in fairly rapid fashion. A few drivers were of course visibly upset but we didn't want to loiter in downtown Kabul any more than we had to. Driving through that city felt somewhat surreal, almost as in a movie with the exception that I was right in the middle of it. And hearing my driver utter the words halfway into the drive "I think we are lost" isn't something I particularly want to hear while in downtown Kabul. But lost we ended up not being, we obediently followed the track on the computer and arrived at our assigned destination, Camp Morehead on the outskirts of Kabul. A very nice setting this is, surrounded by mountains, but then again mountains are readily available in this country. I'll have a "few" pictures to load up when I get back to Herat (I didn't want to bring my laptop along) including pictures of the King's Palace and the Queen's Palace (two separate buildings), or actually what is left of them!

blossoming cherry blossoms

2008-03-13T21:28:00.001-07:00

And I thought I was going to miss out on the cherry blossoms
blossoming this year, not being in the DC area!

More here: more cherry blossoms

sunset from camp stone

2008-03-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

more photos

mailing times

2008-03-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

It seems that mail from the US usually takes 1-2 weeks to get to Herat, it all depends on the availability of flights between Kabul and Herat (it appears mail is not the top priority!). Not asking for anything, just thought you'd like to know. Oh, and the address once again is:

LT Eric Betanoff
ARSIC West
Herat
APO, AE 09354

Six Feet Under

2008-03-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

Now that I have a chair to sit on in my luxurious suite I thought I'd start watching the shows I brought with me on DVD, and I watched the first episode of Six Feet Under. I had only watched a couple episodes before and thought I might like it, and since the whole 5 seasons was on sale I thought it would be a good way to spend some of my time over the next 9 months (actually it's more like 8.5 months now!).
Well after watching the pilot I think I will enjoy the series very much. For those who haven't seen it it is a rather unique show about a family that owns a funeral parlor, and it has just about everything for everyone: sex, drugs, dysfunctional families, gays, interracial couples. The first episode starts with the father going to pick up a brand new hearse, and he dies in a car accident with a bus. How is that for a beginning? No wonder the show was picked up by HBO and they made 5 seasons worth of it, all of which I will enjoy over the next several weeks.
So if you get sent to Afghanistan you might consider bringing Six Feet Under with you, it'll keep you busy for a little while.

how do i use this thing!?

2008-03-09T04:25:00.001-07:00

on the road

2008-03-09T04:23:00.001-07:00

I finally got to leave the camp on Saturday to go to the Italian/
Spanish compound next to the airport for a meeting, and we also had
lunch. The drive takes about 15 mins and I did my best Japanese
tourist impersonation as I snapped quite a few pictures, I made the
most of my opportunity to take pictures of something other than the
camps. The humvee wasn't quite as clean as I would have hoped but a
few pictures still turned out nicely I think.

http://flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/72157604079267237/

Sigur Ros

2008-03-08T03:08:00.001-08:00

I'll take advantage of this blog to promote this band from Iceland that you should have heard from by now, and if you haven't you can learn more from them. I personally can't listen enough to their music, it is awesome. And it seems that the documentary they did last year, footage from concerts they gave all around Iceland in the summer of 2006, is available on youtube.
The band is Sigur Ros. Check out their website where you can download some free footage from their concert in Reikjavik. I'd download it but at a speed of 5kB/sec it takes about 4 hrs to download 70MB. I am hoping that my brother can help me out with this and send it to me on DVD.
Here's the link to their site, and check out youtube as well:
http://www.sigurros.com

my roommate

2008-03-08T03:03:00.001-08:00

So my roommate moved out of my room yesterday and now I am all alone in this huge luxurious room but with a bunch of Army guys from South Carolina (and they sound like it, NASCAR is a big topic of discussion) in my barracks. My roommate was, still is, and might be forever a huge nuisance. He is quite possibly the worst person I have been around in the military, quite the selfish person as well. I had to put up with him during training in Kansas so when I found out he was my roommate I was none too pleased. He has that annoying habit of not blowing his nose and sniffles constantly, not 5 seconds go by without hearing him sniffle. I sat next to him for some training class back in Kansas and after hearing him sniffle for a few minutes I offered him one of my tissues. Most of us would take that as a sign to blow our nose, he just dabbed the tissue to his nose and kept on sniffling.
So the first day he was my roommate I told him he better blow his nose, not too unpleasantly, or it would be a long 9 months for him and I, other than that I ignored him and he ignored me which I could live with. But when on the second morning as I was still in my bed I heard him sniffle I threw him a bag of tissues, this apparently upset him and he challenged me to take "it" outside to settle our differences, like I was going to fight over this! He then said he'd go talk to the Colonel, the same person who is in charge of the whole region. Like he has nothing better to do but settle differences between us!
When I asked him what fighting would do he had no answer. Then I told him that not only is sniffling annoying to others, it's also bad for the health. Last I heard all that stuff that collects in the nose, in some noses more stuff than in others, is germs. But he decided to ignore me by that point. At breakfast I saw him sitting down with some senior enlisted people (officers won't eat with him so he imposes himself on the enlisted who can't really refuse), I stopped by his table and told the people he was with that he was the best roommate anyone could ask for, and I then asked him politely how he was doing and if he had slept well. The look on his face was priceless, and the senior enlisted knew I was being sarcastic.
So now I am all alone in my room, I'll probably be getting a roommate eventually but anyone will be better than my former roommate. Good riddance! And anyone he hangs around with gets quickly annoyed by his presence.

more camps stone and zafar

2008-03-07T04:15:00.000-08:00

Yet more pictures from Camps Stone and Zafar. I should have some
opportunities during my 8+ months here to get pictures other than
from Camps Stone or Zafar, but in the meantime they will have to do
although I don't think I can take any more pictures of these places.
But tomorrow is Women's Day in Afghanistan, yes the same Afghanistan
where women were considered inferior to mules not so long ago, and
there should be some official festivities in Camp Zafar in the
morning. I might just be around to take some pictures in my official
duties as PAO.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/collections/72157604001710375/

camp stone

2008-03-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

The day was cooler but clearer so I took a few pictures and had them
stitched together by some program on my computer. Not the best job
but you get an idea of the surrounding area and mountains. Herat is
in the right part of the first picture, about 20 kms away.

a joint team

2008-03-05T03:04:00.000-08:00

This is the team I have been assigned to, and we are truly joint
(Army, Navy, Air Force). Also in the picture is our assigned
interpreter.

added Camp Zafar pictures

2008-03-05T03:03:00.000-08:00

I added a few more pictures from today's trip to Camp Zafar.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/63144911@N00/174834

my room

2008-03-04T04:19:00.001-08:00

Nice accommodations I have for the next 9 months don't you think? I
just might end up buying the first home I buy when I get back to the
States it'll seem so nice comparatively.

camp zafar

2008-03-04T04:12:00.000-08:00

Camp Stone, the US/Italian/Spanish/Slovenian base, is located within
Camp Zafar, the Afghan National Army base. I went over to Camp Zafar
with the Lt Col I will be working for/replacing for a meeting with
the Afghans and it was somewhat entertaining. The funniest part might
be the Afghan colonels that don't wear their rank insignia because
they think they are generals.
We then walked around the base and got to see some new recruits
train, not bad overall. I also witnessed my first of probably
numerous instances of two soldiers holding hands walking down the
street, it is part of their culture. The wind was particularly fierce
though yet we are not yet in what is referred to as the 120 days of
wind. Oh, and I ate with the Afghan interpreters. They live just
outside Camp Stone within Camp Zafar, and the lamb with rice and
raisins and a tomato and eggplant concoction was quite tasty!

More pictures here http://flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/

72157604044726405/

Camp Stone

2008-03-04T04:01:00.000-08:00

My home for the next 9 months.

MASH

2008-03-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

I like this picture, other than because I took it but because it
reminds me a little of the show MASH. I like how it's somewhat
crooked, maybe because I was trying to get away from all the dust
they kicked up while still getting a shot out, and the two
helicopters flying away with the bright sunlight in the right corner.
This was taken on my last day at Camp Phoenix.
Anyway, just wanted to share...

mailing address

2008-03-03T03:20:00.000-08:00

For anyone of you who wants to send me fan mail (and haven't heard of
the internet), my mailing address for the next 9 months is:

LT Eric Betanoff
ARSIC West
Herat
APO, AE 09354

This is somewhere in the US from where all my love mail will be sent
to Kabul to eventually be put on a plane to Herat. The whole process
takes about 6 weeks so please, no perishables!

sunday

2008-03-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Sunday started at KIA (Kabul International Airport) from where we
took a 2 hour flight to Herat and a 15 min ride in a convoy to get to
Camp Stone, my residence for the next 9 months.

hello from Herat

2008-03-02T03:48:00.001-08:00

I made it to Herat a week after departing from Fort Riley, and I now know what my purpose here will be. I will be the liaison with the Spaniards for some office (I did put on my resume that I was fluent in Spanish, we shall see how fluent I really am soon I guess), but it also appears I might have a secondary function as photographer for the PAO (public affairs office). This is a good thing as it would allow me to get out of the base I am at now, Camp Stone, every once in a while. There is extremely little to do on this base for fun, so leaving it and checking out the surrounding area will be quite welcome.
The flight from Kabul was courtesy of the Luftwaffe, not bad all things considered except that for some odd reason our luggage did not make it on the flight even though it appears the plane could have easily accomodated it. We did have a s^&$ton of stuff with us, so much cold weather gear issued to us by the army that it appears we won't need after all. It is already getting quite warm here during the day and I fear it will only be getting warmer until next winter. But I also have some toiletries and clean uniforms in some of the bags that didn't make it, and I could sure use them by now. The uniform I have on now hasn't been washed since I left the US but I do have extra underwear.
Anyway, I'll try to get some pictures out eventually, the internet is not the fastest here. The scenery is different from that in Kabul, it's a lot browner and there is no snow on the peaks, maybe because of the lower altitudes.

on my way to Herat... I think

2008-03-01T20:51:00.001-08:00

I am cuurently at KIA (Kabul International Airport) awaiting my
flight to Herat. It appears we will be flying with the German air
force, not sure if it's any better or any worse. So it looks as if we
are leaving, I say this because some Navy guys from my class were
supposed to leave for Mez, in the north of the country, two days ago
and they are still at the airport awaiting a flight. Our flight to
Herat seems almost guaranteed, we shall see!

more pictures from camp phoenix

2008-03-01T01:23:00.000-08:00

As I sit around with very little to do (and I do mean very little),
what better way to spend time than by taking pictures. While camp
phoenix is not particularly photo material, the surrounding mountains
are. Afghanistan makes Colorado look more like Kansas in comparison,
these mountains are huge.
Otherwise, it still appears as though we are leaving for Herat on
Sunday, and it seems we will be flying with the Spanish or Italian
air force. It should be entertaining.

http://flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/72157604016836901/

Friday morning

2008-02-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

On my way to drop off my laundry, not much else to do right now but
find new pictures to take from around Camp Phoenix, and with the
scenery around here sunrises and sunsets are always good candidates.
I have never felt as close to being an inmate in a correctional
facility as I do now, trapped in a compound with high walls and
concertina wire and guard shacks, very limited activities available,
spending most of my time on my bunk doing what an inmate might do,
listen to music, read, play games, and that's about it. Oh, I could
also spend 1 hour a day working out as an inmate would but I live out
of my seabags right now until we finally make it to Herat (scheduled
for sunday) so I don't want to unpack and get more dirty laundry than
I have to. The only consolation is that the days spent here count
towards my boots on ground counter but if I am as bored as I am now
it'll be a very looooong 9 months!
Anyway, here are some more pictures (another way to spend my quality
time here).

departure for Herat

2008-02-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

Our departure for Herat has been delayed by two days to Sunday 2
March, 2008. This is most likely due to the unavailability of air
assets, not that I mind staying in Camp Phoenix a little longer as I
have nothing to do here yet my days spent here count towards my boots
on ground counter. I added a 270 day countdown to a calendar I have
and Day 270 falls on 20 November, 2008. It's never too early to look
at the end, but as you can imagine the happiness factor right now is
fairly low. What is the happiness factor you ask? You divide the
number of days already spent on deployment by the number of days
remaining on deployment, it starts at 0 and goes to infinity. As it
gets higher, I will be happier until I become ecstatic, not quite the
case right now!

the newspaper that never gets old

2008-02-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

We've been carrying this paper around to take pictures in as many
places as possible (look at the headline)

camp phoenix sunrise

2008-02-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning and was on my way to answer nature's call when
I saw a few people taking pictures of the sky. I looked in the
direction they were shooting and went back to get my camera, nature
could wait a little longer. The problem with nature calls is that
because of the elevation here, if I don't stay hydrated I get this
painful headaches. Luckily there is free bottled water (tap water is
not safe for human consumption) readily available throughout the
camp. The only negative aspect is having to wake up a few times in
the night. Luckily the weather is quite pleasant and I am able to
walk outside in shorts and a t-shirt. And it is even nicer during the
day, sunny with blue skies, temperatures in the 60's.
Link to the sunrise:

http://flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/72157603997801688/

greetings from camp phoenix, kabul, afghanistan

2008-02-27T07:02:00.000-08:00

I arrived here on Tuesday after a comfortable ride in a C-17, a
fairly lengthy length at the airport, and a short ride in a bus right
out of Mad Max. Kabul is surrounded by humongous mountains, and there
is very little vegetation. Other than that, I haven't seen too much
of Kabul and I am leaving on Friday for Herat, near the Iranian border.
I have included a link below to pictures I have uploaded on flickr.
What you'll see are pictures of the sunrise from Manas, our luxurious
plane ride to Kabul International airport (flying in a windowless is
an interesting experience, and as you'll see the lights turned red
when to indicate we entered Afghan airspace and had to remain in our
seats, the landing was also interesting and fun), the bus that took
us to Camp Phoenix from the airport (a 15 min ride), and a few
pictures from Camp Phoenix.
Internet in Herat will be near dial-up speeds so it might be a while
before I can share more pictures. Like I said, you'll want to jump on
the first flight to Afghanistan after seeing the pictures, or you can
join the Navy reserves!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericbeta/sets/72157603998505359/

Note: blog update sent via e-mail, you might have to highlight the
link and paste it in your favorite browser.

Moving on to Kabul

2008-02-25T18:00:00.001-08:00

We woke up around 0430 to load our bags on palettes that will go onto our military flight to Kabul, then offload them to reload them again. Such is the military way I am accustomed to by now. We are scheduled to depart Manas around 1000 and should arrive in Kabul a couple hours later. Manas isn't all that exciting, landscape is fairly impressive though, flat to the north with huge mountains to the south, part of the Himalayas I believe.
Anyway, more to follow from Kabul and/or Herat, where I am scheduled to be.

journey to manas

2008-02-25T07:13:00.001-08:00

The link below includes a few pictures taken between Topeka, Kansas and Manas, Kyrgyzstan, with a layover in Leipzig, Germany for fuel, crew change-out and beers.
What you'll see is us leaving a wintry Kansas, flying over one of the great lakes (Lake Michigan?) with some ice partially covering said lake, spending a few hours in Leipzig sipping the aforementioned beer, having a bad view of the sunrise as it was right in front of us, seeing many mountains and weird landscapes, tracking the shadow of the plane as we landed, and a few shots from the air base and sunset.

pictures

greetings from Leipzig

2008-02-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

We arrived here around midnight local time, about 9 hours after departing Kansas, for some fuel and crew change-out, and beer. I thought we'd be stopping in Ireland but the beer in Germany is just as good no matter what time it is. The flight so far has been pretty smooth, every one of us had two seats to spread out and try and make ourselves as comfortable as possible. I saw a couple movies, the one with The Rock as a quarterback who takes custody of some little girl ( a disney movie so not that great) and one with Juliette Binoche and Steve Carrell, not bad. Food was your typical airline food with plenty of seconds for anyone who desired some, plenty to drink but no alcoholic beverages (but I am having a few at the airport!).
We have another 3000 miles to go before we reach Kyrgystan and we should get there around lunchtime. The plan once we get there is to wait around for a military flight into Kabul, probably a couple days at most.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get another beer!

on our way

2008-02-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

As I finally get to leave Kansas tonight I thought I'd reflect on the past few months. This all started on 17 October, 2007, had it started a couple weeks earlier things could be a little different.
I happened to be on vacation in Europe after quitting my first post-Navy job and before starting my second, so I was technically unemployed and would have hated to find out what would have happened had I reported to my new employer on 10 October with the news that I had to report shortly back to the Navy for a period of one year! Instead, I had been at my new job for one whole week, one I was looking forward to doing (as opposed to my first job) and where my co-workers were young (most around my age, and I am still young!) and fun to be around (as opposed to my first job), when during lunchtime on 17 October I received that ill-fated phone call. It went something like "Is this LT Betanoff? This is PS1 Mammana to inform you you have been tagged for involuntary recall. You must report to NAS Andrews in 4 weeks."
After some confusion (what does tagged mean, was I recalled or not?), it became apparent to me that as the person on the other end of the line was going through a bevy of questions (do you need a will, how about household good storage, medical, dental), yes, I had been recalled.
And so I reported to Andrews the week of Thanksgiving during which time I took care of medical and dental issues. I had four crowns installed in my mouth and let me tell you, worse pain I have yet to feel. I just about jumped out of the chair when the dentist pressed the crowns unto the exposed nerve of my teeth. How I did not faint is beyond me and I will definitely request to be numbed in the future and not try to play it tough.
The week of 26 November I was in San Diego, sunny but rather chilly. Nothing much happened there other than taking care of admin and medical issues, I was almost declared not physically qualified because of some headaches I have on occasion but I figured that I had made all these preparation to be gone for one year and wasn't going to let the Navy send me back after a couple weeks. I was so busy during that week that I had time to go see Shamu, and get wet, and eat at In 'n Out burger on a couple occasions.
I then showed up at Fort Riley, smack dab in the middle of beautiful and exciting Kansas, for our Army training that would prepare us to mentor the Afghan National Army. That was meant to be our mission but things have since changed and what we'll be doing over in Afghanistan is a mystery to all of us. Anyway, we learned to shoot various weapons, drive humvees, learn some basic Dari, identify IEDs, and some other training that wasn't too exciting and pretty much worthless. We also had to endure one of the alleged coldest winters Kansas has experienced in quite some years, to include an ice storm which was quite cold but made for great pictures.
I spent two weeks around Christmas and New Year's thawing out in Miami with my parents and younger brother, and was quite grateful for that time, then back to frigid and boring Kansas for more training. I went back to the DC area for Martin Luther King, Jr week-end and spent President's Day week-end in Austin, TX. We completed training a few days ago, it seems that the 60 days of training could have been compressed into probably 30, and that would have been a lot better because even with only one day off a week there is literally nothing to do for entertainment in Manhattan, KS, the town outside Fort Riley.
So now we are off later tonight, drawing our weapons around midnight then mustering in a building where we'll wait for busses to take us to the airport. The chartered plane (North American airlines) is scheduled to leave Topeka, KS at 0530 on Sunday, possibly stop in Gandor, New Foundland for fuel, definitely stop in Ireland for more fuel (and some beers!) then on to Manas air base, Kyrgystan. After a few day there we'll fly a military plane down to Kabul, spend a few more days there before being sent out to various bases around Afghanistan. I am slated to go to Herat, in the western part, but anything could change at any time.
Anyway, a new exciting part to my life begins. I will be looking to save up as much money as possible to buy me a home when I get back to Virginia, and I should have a few rugs to put in it!

my team

2008-02-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

we trained together while in Kansas, will we remain together in Afghanistan?

packing my bags

2008-02-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

all sea bags look alike so to differentiate them my team came up with our own markings...

i will not miss the weather...

2008-02-20T19:33:00.001-08:00

then again there is very little i will miss from kansas!

that's like -20 degrees Celsius!!!

austin, tx

2008-02-19T14:13:00.000-08:00