Field Latrines

Yesterday I just described some of the mild issues that occur on even most of the most civilized posts and deployments. If you are not at one of those well established locations in time – you may well have dealt with what Ron describes (edited only to remove some personal IDs). Shared with his permission -some memories into words. A little gross for some, but this is the reality of soldiering most never deal with.

I got in the mood of topic and put some memories into print.  Share if you like.  A little gross for some, but this is the reality of soldiering most never deal with.

 Anyone who has ever deployed to an initial phase of a combat theater of operation knows how base the first few weeks of a conflict can make the simple tasks a challenge.  This becomes most clear the first time one feels the need for a toilet.

 The US/NATO operation in Bosnia in 1996, as part of the Implementation Force (IFOR) mission was my first introduction to the joins of the e-tool (entrenching tool aka tactical shovel).  We entered northern Bosnia early January.  In case you did not know, the word “Balkan” means mountains in Serbo-Croatian.  Yes we were in the mountains in January.  The high temp was just above freezing, nights well below freezing.

You also have to factor in our diet, MRE’s or nothing.  Stated another way, an extremely low fiber diet.  Water was difficult to come by on the best of days.  We were buying from local sources and then throwing it away when it failed inspection on delivery.  Everyone was living on about 1.5 liters per day for all functions.  Most troops in the field need 4 times that amount of water to function.  All combined lead to 1800 cavalry troopers who were chronically dehydrated and very constipated. 

I digress:  On the medical side of things, social issues aside, some interesting problems began to occur due to our living conditions.  Of my 1800 troopers, 12 had acute appendicitis from January to mid March.  I made some calls to the experts and this was not a problem the leadership wanted to explore.  Talking to my peers from prior conflicts this is also as old as war.  Chronic constipation is a causative factor in the etiology of the acutely inflamed appendix.  

The unfortunate females that had been “pushed out” to my battalion from our supporting service units, signal, mechanics, supply and medics, all had at least one urinary tract infection per month.  I put a couple of them on chronic macrobid as a prophylactic measure.  I also become far more familiar with their menstrual cycles than I ever wanted.  Without exchange facilities, the medical team becomes the supplier of female sanitary products.  Factor in no bathing facilities from January to March late and you have an interesting challenge.  The scouts found a secondary school with showers, we paid them for regular episodes of 2 hours of hot water and private use… and the UTI’s went away.  This was a “ladies” only contract, so they then had to return and deal with several hundred unwashed men. 

Back to the lack of toilets.  When you felt nature’s call, you had to endure the hunt for a private location, clear the snow, break a hole into the frozen ground with your trusty e-tool, drop and squat, do your business, cover said product and recover garments.  This all to be completed while wearing your “full battle rattle” of weapon, web gear, ammunition, flack jacket and helmet.  Factor in a nice cross wind with drifting light fresh snow and it’s a really good time.  So you can imagine that if you are constipated, as we all were, you really wait until you are sure the mission will be a complete success.  I recall being so focused on what I was trying to do that I did not see the wild life near my selected location.  I looked up after hearing heavy breathing that was not my own and saw a huge 12 point stag eating frozen apples off a tree about 2m away.  He calmly chewed and snorted clouds of steam while looking my way.  This was just the motivation I needed to finish quickly moving slowly so as not to get charged.  He casually turned and walked past as if I was not there. 

After opening a couple of field manuals I got with an old CW4 mechanic and we built some 55gallon drum burnouts.  This is a military version of the hole in the ground outhouse.  In a permanent position with many people making regular deposits the hole in the ground will not remain unfilled for long.  Therefore a more sustainable system that can be emptied must be created.  The burnout latrine is a temporary solution to a long-term problem.  I will spare you all the details, but in summary one must pour a liter of diesel/JP8 into a half drum that has been 3/4 filled with waste, then provide some source of fire ignition such as a thrown burning match and then stir the flaming contents until it has been reduced to ashes.  For political reasons, the boss decided that everyone, including himself, would take a shift once a week and pull burn out duty.  It took about 4 months before I could get that smell out of my nose.  On the technical side, should you find yourself stirring a burn out… stand up wind. 

After about 6 weeks of living with a constant column of smoke marking our positions we finally got the first few port-o-potties.  They were beautiful blue and white fiberglass monuments to civilization.   They were fresh out of the shipping container with some assembly required, and they actually came with instructions for use with illustrations and text in 4 languages.  They had a door that closed with a little plastic latch for uninterrupted use.  The inner wall was imprinted with the manufacturer’s location, South Carolina.    Though unheated it did not matter.  It was a few moments of privacy, out of the elements to clear your system.  They were a little 1x1m slice of heaven.

For those unfamiliar with the actual workings of such devices, there are a few steps of maintenance and service required on a regular basis.  The US Army in its infinite wisdom felt it had closed the loop by delivering the units.  I am sure someone in Tuzla Main had a matrix on a power point slide for MG Nash’s briefing that evening, checking off the delivery and deployment of “field sanitation units”.  Unfortunately, the process of empting the closed system had not been considered. 

This is where the political skills of my boss, then LTC C (now MG).  To empty a port-o-potty requires a high power vacuum system that evacuates semi solid waste materials into a portable reservoir.  In the states you would open the phone book and makes some calls.  A couple of hours later a contract would be signed and your storage vessels would be routinely emptied, seats wiped down and paper replenished.  Not so in the northeastern corner of Bosnia, in February, when the martial to be removed had been produced by American peacekeepers. 

After the third day I open the doors of each unit and they were crowning over.  The fact that it was cold was a blessing, freezing the mound and preventing it from flowing under gravity’s influence.  One unit’s little mountain of stool actually had boot prints from some desperate trooper trying to make room for his deposit.  I pulled out the public health/preventive medicine hat and locked to doors.  Until the holding tanks were emptied the toilets were off limits.  That which had been a huge morale boost, was now a health threat.  We were back to the long walk into the woods searching farther and farther out for unsoiled ground or stirring burnouts.  Some genius had destroyed the burnout drums, so it was back to the e-tool nature walk or hold it in and hope for a solution soon. 

LTC C, Black Knight 6, made the acquisition of waste disposal contracts our mission one for the next week.  Patrolling the Zone of Separation turned to negotiating with the locals, seeking a business agreement for the services needed.  It turns out the only SST’s (not supersonic transports, but shit sucking trucks) in Bosnia were located on the far side of Tuzla, about 70km away on bad unmaintained roads.  The contractor was willing to come, but only for an outrageous fee, and only if armed escort to and from our position was provided.  Brown and Root would eventually assume the management of such functions, but at that time we were on our own. 

So twice a week a mounted patrol of 4 vehicles, 4 crew served weapons, and 12 troopers, would make the long predawn trek to the contractor’s yard, meet his driver and escort the SST on its rounds through our AO.  The SST frequently got stuck in the snow and mud, so the escorts became very good at process of extracting and towing.  More than once the driver was still drunk from the night prior, so I am told he slept while one of our guys would do the actual driving.  The Driver, Drago, had all the classic signs of end stage liver disease.  He had a nice light yellow tint to his eyes, big swollen belly and a tremor.  Probably from the occupational hazard of the combination of decades of chronic hepatitis and slivovitz (plum brandy).  Drago also had to be paid in cash each morning before the contractor would allow the truck to depart.  So the convoy leader would have to meet a finance officer and sign for 200 marks for that day’s service rounds. 

Once we built McGovern Base, Brown and Root delivered a set of prefabricated multi-toilet trailer units.  Heated.  Running water.  Flushing.  Private one seat stalls.  Real American style toilet paper.  Clean.  Shower trailers went the next row over.  It was like we were no longer in the field.  Lines did occasionally form (queue for those from the UK).  After the prior winter I did not care.  The only problem with base camp living was the insane rules.  Otherwise it was like being in summer camp with weapons.  But that is a whole different story. 

So was the lesson learned? No.  Scroll forward to 2003, far Eastern Turkey, Operation Iraqi Freedom, in an old grain storage facility we rented and named Camp Idaho.  The same dumb sequence of events played out.  I was not in a leadership position, just one more surgeon in an FST.  I tried to offer my advice to the guy in command over breakfast on the process of port-o-potty contracting and it was not well received.  The difference was this time it was not freezing and gravity did cause the mountain that formed to flow… into our living area.  Can you imagine a situation where the toilets did not come with a service contract?  Due to inflation and less skill negotiations, the Turkish SST cost 400 Euro per cycle.  Their SST got high jacked by bandits after leaving our camp more than once.  I have to believe the bad guys were after the 400 Euro and not the contents of his tank.  The doc’s in the FST all put in 10 Euro a week and we paid a local to maintain our private facility in spotless condition at all times.   It was the cleanest port-o-potty you have ever seen.  The average local wages was about .75 per day, so he was getting rich off our toilets as well.

Posted in deployment, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

five minutes

A short essay on life, sanitary facilities and the deployed environment.

With rare exception, the chances are very good that you are sitting somewhere rather comfortable while reading this post. You have access to a toilet that flushes, toilet paper is there if you remember and the biggest concerns are working out a cleaning schedule with those others with whom you share home or workspace. Skip the rest of this post if a discussion of sanitary facilities is not to your liking.

Being deployed is a different world. In fact, it is almost like having a toddler: that time of life where you are almost done with potty training but when ever you are out of the house, you have to have the location and accessibility of bathroom facilities firmly fixed in your mind.

Prior to being here and having to cope with strange cleaning schedules, I never worried. I have always been one of those people who could travel just about anywhere and not have an issue. On a cruise ship while everyone around me is suffering from Norwalk Virus, I am just shaking my head. Perhaps it is being Prev Med or female (with hand washing ingrained from an early age) or having a  immune competent GI system. I also spend a lot of time counselling everyone around me that a vegetarian diet and a lot of non-caffeine containing fluids could improve their outlook.

So, here we are on Bagram at a nice normal time in the morning. Wandering out of the BHut – there is a pickup truck blocking the doors of the two nearest port-a-lettes. Ok, I wanted running water and flush toilets anyway. Hiking down to the San Trailer – the doors are blocked open and there is a cleaning crew inside. Looking at my watch, this time does not coincide with the posted cleaning schedule. Hiking down another block, there is a set of portables near the chapel. Two are occupied and the door is broken on the third.

Huh, life is not supposed to be this challenging. Most days the only self support time concern that I have is getting to the laundry for pick up or drop off during duty hours.

My choices are now – stop at the USO for flush toilets or hike toward the office and try one set or another of portables along the way. If I want fancy, there is always the hospital three blocks down the street. The weather is nice, sun shining and not all that cold. Much different than sub-zero temperatures some nights when the thought of leaving the warmth of my room is a real deterrent. Not being one of the guys, a pee bottle or chamber pot doesn’t really appeal.

But then, if I was one of the guys that extra five minutes of sleep wouldn’t have turned into a 20 minute hunt for a functioning sanitary facility.

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emails, meetings and

a migraine the size of Texas.

No really, I don’t have a headache at all, but am probably at risk tomorrow for caffeine withdrawal.

It has been just one of those days where email has flowed in faster than my ability to answer, delete or deal; there have been too many meetings and phone calls leaving little time to think.

The end result is that I have work in progress on all three systems sitting on my desk (plus need to log onto the NATO system on another desk), multiple piles of paper cluttering up the desk and a sense that things are spiraling out of control.

I could come up with several excuses (doing two jobs in addition to my own, staff officers who are trying hard but just don’t get it right the first couple of times, staff in other sections burning out at the 10 month mark) but it isn’t worth it. (Making excuses or complaining too much.) There is nothing any of us can do about self-invited “expert teams” that want to tell us how to manage certain aspects of care in theater (reference previous rants about MRIs) or scheduled VIP senior leadership except make sure that they hear what we have to say.

If you have not seen this site – iCasualties tracks all the fatalities by year, province, country of service member origin. Our (Allies) deaths certainly  don’t match those of the local country, but there is such a high cost.

Meanwhile, there are commands here in theater doing a fantastic job of delivering care, that have more expertise than any civilian facility in the US. No one is particularly happy that our surgeon’s know more about traumatic blast amputations than any trauma center in the US; it is just a fact of war. It is very difficult, but not impossible, to conduct research here. In no case should it compromise care or put additional burdens on an already short system.

I think I am going to take my two cans of Triple Mocha Energy Blend (Shock Ice Coffee) scored from Aviation DFAC home. Probably not for tonight, but one just might be what I need in the morning since their FAQ page reports one can is about = two cups of coffee. Now was that US or European Coffee?

Posted in deployment, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Downloading Disgust

More than once I have mentioned the fact that I am an audiobook junkie. Some audiobooks come out as Podcasts (www.Podiobooks.com ) or iTunes are great ways to get those. Then there are downloads from various commercial enterprises which includes, again, iTunes but also Audible, Amazon, AudiobooksDL and a host of other sites.

What all of these sites require is either enough bandwidth allocation to download said file in something less than a lifetime and sometimes specialized software. The government does not allow us to download MP3 files on gov computers, so that particular option is a non-starter.

Even those people here paying the $100 a month for the high connect satellite feed say that moving large files often requires multiple restarts and a lot of frustration. Without it, the only other option is the WiFi at the USO. The connect speeds there are set so that no one gets a large share at the expense of others. The result is an average of 4 minutes per MEG downloaded. Obviously, they are successful in encouraging people to use the network for basic browsing and email while discouraging the rest of us from hanging out for hours in a vain attempt to get much desired book content.

I am fussing today more than others because one of my favorite Podiobook Authors – Nathan Lowell – has started the release of the last book in his Share series. It took more time than I want to admit over the last week, but I managed to secure Episodes 1-9. 10 will not download. Not from iTunes, and not from Podiobooks; keeps telling me that I don’t have permission. The same thing happens with Episode 12. I did grab Episode 11.

Listen to me whine. Sheesh, you would think that I don’t have enough books here. Of course, this is not including the fact that I can buy on Audible but not download at all (bandwidth at the USO and the software issue on gov computers).

I think tonight after services I am just going to curl up with a real book for a change! 

Posted in computers, deployment, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Viral Videos

I had not planned on stirring up a controversy, but there are multiple sides (maybe) to the current Navy firing of CAPT Honors. Probably the most coherent and even handed discussion is that which I found in USA Today.

Several points – made by Mark (Special Forces), Ron (spent way too much time with Armor and FSTs) is that anyone who is offended at the time needs to say so. PC can be taken too far. I fully agree with them on speaking up, but it assumes that making a complaint at the time implies that the command is going to listen, evaluate and modify inappropriate behaviors.

Honors’ dismissive treatment of the objections says as much as the videos do about his leadership qualities. At the start of one video, he talks about complaints sent “gutlessly through other channels,” and tells the “bleeding hearts” that they’re likely to be offended again. Then the show goes on.

Honestly? In the Army I see a command response more often that not. Senior leadership cares mostly and makes an effort. But a ground force is inherently different than a seagoing force. On land normally there is greater access to communications and different expectations. Walking the plank is neither option or reality. Commanders are always immediately responsible to their chain of command. (Recent change of command in Afghanistan is a case in point).

Army is not perfect.

Back to the Navy – what is clear now is that the Navy, in the form of CNO and others, would like to use Honors as a scapegoat and absolve themselves of all responsibility. Is it worse that they are sacrificing him? Or that they knew about all of this and did not act until forced by the public?

“Contrary to assurances that standards of conduct will remain high, and that ‘leadership’ and sensitivity training can ‘mitigate’ the consequences of human failings, this embarrassing episode demonstrates how discipline can be incrementally redefined downward, lowering standards for all,” Donnelly said. “Adm. Mullen and like-minded allies in the White House, Pentagon and Congress are inviting trouble that cannot be ‘mitigated’ by wishful thinking alone.”

And when Fox news is negative, well. the Navy has lost a lot of support.

There is more at stake here than the career of one officer.

As a country, we are trying to move forward on all fronts. Yes, there are times when PC is used as an excuse. But what is really wrong with treating all your colleagues with dignity and respect? That means not making fun of people, not using offensive language, keeping ones hands and opinions to oneself so that they do not make the workplace an extremely negative experience.

It would be nice if we all had a sense of humor and a bit thicker a skin, but deliberately targeting groups and individuals; demeaning them is not conductive to good morale and discipline.

Frankly, the military culture has changed over the years. There may be too much sensitivity at times, but I will take it any day over the overt discrimination and hostility I lived with my first tour on AD (1981-1984).  I don’t have to put up with being cursed at, sworn at, and told that “you #$%^&* have no business in the Army.

I am concerned that the person next to me does their job. Not their religion, skin color, ethnic background, marriage status, sexual orientation. I want them to do their job. I should not be making fun of them, nor they of me.

We have enough enemies out there, why would we want to create enemies of members of our own forces?

(I took a quick look at the controversial videos. Didn’t find them funny or particularly appropriate. And that is after the worst of the language has been edited out)

Posted in Military, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

it is a wonder

what people will post on You Tube.

We all have heard stories of those less than brilliant people who have recorded themselves doing extremely stupid things while driving and then posted same on the Internet. This is almost always followed, no surprise, with a visit from the local law.

Then there are those videos which are internal to an organization and get loose.

I can give you three examples from the military-

let’s start with the most recent courtesy of the US Navy. I was made aware of this by my friend Barbara followed by a front page article in the Stars and Stripes. The controversy is over video made and shown in 2007 aboard a Navy Ship.

– This whole controversy generated some stirring discussion around the office. Much of it was related to “was it offensive or not.” Just about everyone wanted to see the videos to decide. My point was simple – the Navy is the service that brought us Tail Hook. Senior leaders have been trying hard for a cultural change. The fact that 16 years later some rather senior officer on an aircraft carrier chooses to make/have made videos with sexual references/overtones of any kind to me shows a lack of judgment. Commanders and their staff are not Saturday Night Live. They set the mood and the tone for what is acceptable behavior. Yes, those clips might have been funny, but if people were offended, they had little to no options for recourse. Captain underway is Captain underway.

-Second. While assigned in Baghdad in the 2003-2004 time frame, a particular Military Intelligence Unit put a number of homemade videos on their internal server. Obviously, because I know about them, they did not stay secure all that long. These particular videos caused a lot of problems and resulted in significant number of disciplinary actions. My thought is that if you are stupid enough to video yourselves having sex, you deserve what you get when you post it for others to see. (there is also this small fact that the military actually cares about adultery but is rarely able to prosecute due to evidentiary lack). And no, it is not hard to make an ID given the uniqueness of some tattoos.

Finally, there were those Evangelical Air Force Generals who make tapes/announcements/religious propaganda for the far right. They did it in uniform with their offices in the Pentagon in the background. Surprised they were when accused of misusing their positions. I hope they are enjoying their retirement.

Anyway, we have had some interesting discussions here today, making a nice break from complaining about the cold.

Posted in Military, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Complexity of Cousins

Perhaps there are some people (Southerners by stereotype) who are good at figuring out familial relationships between individuals. So that, when introduced, someone might even be able to say “oh, your mother’s sister’s cousin on the “jones” side, isn’t she married to…..? and even understand the relationship.

Me, I understand first degree relatives (parents, sibs, and children) and the rest of the world. That is probably helped by the fact that I have few relatives and my children have even fewer.

Well, that is not completely true; there are also grandparents, cousins, nieces, and nephews. It is that cousin category where all of this gets me completely confused and that is before I even consider the generational issues. (Actually, the linked Wikipedia article is extremely clear.)

What has this to do with deployment? Very little, except that I am in Afghanistan trying to figure out what I want to send Andrew for his birthday. It is scary when I realized that figuring out a present for a teenage young man was easier than describing the relationship.

Background: my mother (84) was an only child. Ends pretty much all discussions of relatives on that side. My father (84) has one sister (younger than 84) and she had two children. You with me so far? I have two first cousins, one of whom has two children. Technically those two children, essentially contemporaries of Ms Maus (my youngest), are first cousins, once removed. I think. In reality, I think of them in the niece and nephew category because of their ages.

Back to the thought of presents. I finally worked out what I wanted to send him and headed for the door. Just in time to feel the building rattle from a nearby impact. Since there was no prior warning of a planned detonation, we all voted for target practice from the hills. The second impact was barely over when the Apaches launched (since they are just over the back fence it caused more window rattling). Watching the chat might just be interesting, but “donning IBA and sheltering in place” leaves me less than thrilled. It might just wind up forcing me to change choices from iTunes to Amazon!

Posted in deployment, family, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Bringing back memories

Writing about the stars the other night prompted this response from Ron. I am including it in its entirety with his permission. We worked together at Heidelberg MEDDAC; he and his wife provided just about our only local support network while I was in Kuwait. He has since left the service, and is now in Orthopaedic practice in Nevada. Their gain, unfortunately – our loss. He spent a year as an Armor BDE surgeon at the start of IFOR.

I can relate to the night sky while deployed. When we crossed the Sava River on Jan 1996 it was bitterly cold and overcast. Light rain falling and freezing on contact with everything. Our convoy was a tactical movement with a high degree of vigilance maintained by all. We were anticipating land mines, IED’s and snipers that did not materialize until the weather got much warmer. The elements were our biggest enemy that day.

The Serb forces had been celebrating New Year’s Day with random automatic weapon’s fire into the air. They were mostly drunk and appeared not to understand how tense their presence made our people. At about dark someone decided to open up with a 20 mm antiaircraft system about 200 m away from our position. They were wildly firing tracers into the night sky. It sounded like they were firing directly at us. It took a lot of self control for the 18 and 19 years manning 50 cals on top of our vehicles not to return fire. They were on their side of the zone of separation and there was nothing we could do about their stupidity. The decision was made to put a lot of distance between us and them. We started moving and kept moving, pushing for a position on a map. The quality of the maps is a whole other story.

We had be moving all day, 0330 to 2300… just looking for a secure position to lager. We stopped on what was eventually designated “Desolation Blvd”. It was a cluster of villages in the Posavina that had been ethnically cleansed. A house or two would have a main gun round wound in an outer wall, roof collapsed with the windows blown out. The product of using tanks to motivate the locals to leave and be ethnically cleansed. All the homes abandoned and stripped. No power. No people. Ghost towns. Random livestock wondering through mine fields. Unharvested orchards covered in snow. About a foot a packed snow and ice on the ground. It was an apocalyptic scene.

I dismounted my vehicle for the first time in hours. Looked up and the sky had cleared. It was about zero F. I had never seen so many stars. You could see individual stars, planets, constellations, even satellites moving across from horizon to horizon. It was amazing. When I finally looked away everyone was still looking up at the sky. Mouths open with a look of wonder and fascination, as if seeing it for the first time.

With no background light pollution and no clouds, the atmosphere was perfectly crystal clear. I have never see as beautiful a sky as that night. I was not warm or happy. I was grateful to be alive.

I am not complaining. Just relating events that are burned into my memory. The comment on crystal clear sky tripped my recollection. If you have not been in that environment and trying to stay alive, you would not understand.

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In Afghanistan – (Russian Viet Nam?)

Let’s go back and think about where I am for the moment: the wonderful landlocked country of Afghanistan.  Take a look at the map ; note especially all those spectacular mountains and extensive coast line (not).  If you are looking for fun and cheeriness – just skip the rest of this post.

I am going to leave aside the discussion of how the US got involved. If you want to go there – I suggest checking out the following links some which are extremely funny. The US State Department page speaks the commitment of rebuilding after years of way. As if those years just happened without any involvement of anyone – certainly not anyone related to the US… Then there is the Afghani Government page which is pretty blunt about things not being rosy after 20 years of conflict. For a positive spin on those things which are really important – sports competitions and medals… go here. And, of course, if you want your facts, at least as understood by spooks, you can always go to the CIA.

For a slightly westernized version of history – the Wikipedia article is good, especially with reference to the history since 1917. Looking for typical British bluntness? Go to the BBC country background page. If you want to play economics – here is the World Bank’s Fairy tale.

Why am I mentioning all this? I found this site  which provides both running totals and breakdowns of casualties and fatalities in OEF and OIF. It doesn’t speak to the personal cost – of broken families, of children with problems, of suicides.  It brought home to me that spending my days dealing with issues (not patients) does have a significant impact: experienced clinical input to med planning, medical services, behavioral health services means that second and third order negative effects can be minimized or avoided.  Others are doing one on one care; I am looking at the distribution and availability of services. I am doing my best to make sure the proper care is where it is needed.

It does mean that I am justified in trying to kill off the MRI Fairy and her cousin who wants the ability to perform fancy cardiac diagnostic services in theater!

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Stars

Last night was mild, the air was still and the sky crystal clear. Just after midnight, cheers and music was streaming from a concert given at the Clamshell next to the Rock Gym. Celebrating surviving another year, people just happy to be alive, warm, fed and with friends.

Orion glittering as he strode across the sky with his bright belt and glittering sword. The Pleiades gleam blue as I wonder about their stories. There is a smell of charred wood in the air perhaps drifting in from the country side although wood here is so limited.

It is easy to be distracted as I look for other constellations in the night sky, reminding me of a conversation long ago with with a couple members of the Heidelberg congregation. Ben (Romer) was speaking of when he was deployed during DS/DS and telling his children to look up at the night sky and know that they were sharing something so magnificent with their father. They could be connected.

I thought about that again this morning as I sat outside the USO hoping to stay online long enough to finally get “Wait Wait” downloaded before the old episodes fall off their website and iTunes. I heard a SGT talk with her family in New York as they watched the ball drop at Time Square. Outside, the city lights were overwhelming the heavens but she had her peace for sharing with them. Her calls to Atlanta went just as well.

A transportation specialist, she just relocated here from a distant FOB. She loves her new job. Instead of just her children and family at home – she now has four units of soldiers to care for as the LNO. I think they are lucky, these soldiers arriving and leaving at the main base to have such a mom, a good NCO who is meeting the planes, rounding up her people, making sure that they have places to stay, know where to eat, how to call home and ensuring that they are where they need to be for onward movement. Her personnel will never be in the situation as those two young soldiers arriving from Kandahar on Wed morning with no idea where to go and who to see.

We talked about the old days in the Army, of barracks, CQs and always knowing where to find responsible and supportive people. Finishing up quickly, she headed over to the terminal after hearing a flight announcement. It wasn’t one of hers, but she was checking anyway, just to make sure that all the soldiers had assistance.

Thinking back to the sky last night, know that my family can see Orion, the Pleiades, the other stars from our terrace in Heidelberg. Perhaps from a different angle, but then we all look at the world from a differently. I think as long as we look at the same stars, can see our small place in the cosmos and do our share, we can make this a better world in the coming year.

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Year End

Remember at Pesach when we end with “next year in Remember at Pesach when we end with “next year in Jerusalem?”

For me it is “next year” …… and then my thoughts start to spin. I will have a lot of changes in this coming year. Might even be looking forward rather than back. Example – my military career – starting in Jan 1978 when I was commissioned – will be coming to an end this spring. I actually will have control of my life and my work. (yes, I know that you civilians might find that funny. We active duty types don’t really grow up. It seems that we are always changing jobs and locations as a way of life. Rarely do we have complete control over where we are or what we are assigned to do. Doesn’t matter if you like the coworkers – they may be no happier to see you in return. Unlike with the reserves – for the active force you know that there will be 30-50% turnover every year. No, not matter what they say – the military does not function like a business. But I digress…)

For the first time since Jan 2008, I might even get to live in the same house as my husband. Kind of a daunting thought for me as I really have gotten to do things “my way” for quite a while. Of course, my way might just involve a whole lot of cleaning and sorting for months after I am home. Maus (or Ms Pink or Ms Copper) is the only one left in secondary school and she finishes this year.

Then there is the wonderful world of employment (or not).

Can you tell I am ready for a change?

This past year has been full of challenges mostly related to work and paperwork. I have made some wonderful friends, knit some, read a lot, finished a fair number of CME courses. Finally, I will finish the Dari before midnight (altho if I had been on the correct course it would have been done hours ago – nothing like trying to do level 2 before level 1….) All of this means that it should be “next year in Heidelberg!”

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Paper Chase

Thinking that I was used to the wind was a mistake.

Head down to avoid eyes and mouth full of grit, I slogged from Task Force HQ to Craig just in time to make the weekly trauma VTC. The whole day, as a matter of fact had been of that feel – moving against the wind, current and routine to the point where I was getting exhausted just thinking about hiking back to the other end of Disney at meeting end.

But there was another VTC waiting for me and I was trying to be a good kid. Hat on, gloves on hiking along the back fence my mind started to wander. Instead of tucking my notebook into a pants pocket (you remember all those pockets which work wonderfully) I had it in my left hand. With the wind at my back, I rounded the last couner of the transit yard just as a gust of wind almost knocked me flat.

The dust devil did success in distracting me. As I grabbed for my hat, papers flew out of my notebook. Three pages of detailed lists encompasing everything I needed to do for the next week. The first two did not travel far but that third sheet was sailing well over my head and moving rapidly toward the flight line. I watched in amazement as this guy leaped and snagged it just before the fence. Grinning, the AF officer handed it over remarking that it was a bit more challenging than a frisbee but not as much as flying a jet.

Guess I will have to stop my Air Force bashing for a while.

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Flight Delays

Yesterday at KAF I decided to chance the 2100 show time for a return to Bagram. My other choice, 1400 just seemed too early to accomplish seeing everyone on my list. (This is operating on the assumption that you should spend at least as much time at the far end doing work as it takes you to get there and back).

Getting dropped off at the Outbound PAX at 2100 – since there were less than 20 of us for 56 seats – it looked like we were Golden. Ignoring the usual pain of getting through the metal detectors by 2120 I was upstairs and bemoaning the fact that there was no real food – just junk. Never mind we had eaten at Harvest Falcon only a couple of hours prior, it just seemed like a good place and time to snack…

Just before midnight, we load up and hike out to the plane, it is sitting just at the break point where it is easier to hike schlepping gear than it is to get on a bus loaded like a mule to drive 200 meters and struggle back off the bus.

We take off, we fly for over an hour and land. When the back gate on the plane comes down – we all look out. Kandahar. We have just landed in Kandahar.

Off the plane, and dropped off at the inbound PAX terminal. At 0130 in the morning I am not waking up our LNO for a ride. Instead, grabbing my rucksack, I hike back down to the outbound terminal. Flights are listed for 0645 and late afternoon show times. It is blocks across the post to billeting and I am tired.

Just as a number of us are about to head out the door, a TSgt comes in from the small admin space. There is a crew dropping off equipment in a few hours and before going back to Bagram – hang on he will try and get us on the return leg.

0240 – 13/14 are there for the show time. Since the inspection people have gone home, we skip the metal detectors in favor of just going upstairs and crashing. On book #3 for the day, it is all blurring in my mind.

This time, when we load up it is the same lovely NG crew as I fly out with on Monday. They even offer me a cockpit ride, but I am too tired to really appreciate it. Plane is empty except for us and our small pallet of gear. This time, when we touchdown, it is Bagram. After directing a couple of soldiers toward billeting, the hospital and Dragon DFAC and a couple of AF Lts to the outbound scheduling side I head inside the terminal.

Wall to wall people, there are troops on the floor everywhere just crashed.

What happened?

They were outbound to Manas, going home. The weather was too bad for them to land so they came back.

Makes my little delay seem insignificant

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The Poo Pond

Besides the sights and sounds of different places, there are also the smells.

Now, for anyone who has lived on the wrong side of the tracks, gone Volksmarching in Germany, lived on or around farms or been in Preventive Medicine there are odors one just ignores. You know that they are just unpleasant. You understand why they are there and you ignore them.

Not so with certain groups of civilians or military. They are really, really upset at the idea of sewage treatment facilities. Especially ones that are within their sight or olfactory limits.

(the comment about Volksmarching was simple – all of the hikes seemed to go out of town, up and down a number of hills, then come back in through the industrial, water/sewage treatment area)

So it is with Kandahar. At the time that the aireation ponds were set up, the camp had not extended out in that direction. Now, with construction and expansion, there is this lovely circular pond in the middle of many of the life support areas (mostly contractors).

Yes, it smells. On some days more than others depending on the wind. The cold makes things better. When someone was whining today I just looked at them.

Think a minute, I said – you might find it annoying but it is harmless. It could be worse.

How?

One of the inbound rockets could hit it, causing an explosion and fountaining of the contents for blocks……

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Military as family

You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relations

We have all heard that saying. Mostly said in disgust when dealing with something uncomprehenislble with parents or siblings or offspring, but also in those cases where you shake your head at the behavior of some distant aunt, uncle or cousin.

Or, you are leaning back smug in your knowledge that your family is fine, normal and will not cause you major embarresment in front of your friends. Of course, these are famous last words. In contrast – you pick your friends, or perhaps they pick you. In either case, there is a certain amount of choice in the matter.

And then there is the military. More so in the reserve or National Guard, your fellow unit members become family. Working, training and potentially deploying together, the relationships last years.

Deploying with others, you eat, work and live closely for months on end. You see each other at best and worst. As I mentioned yesterday, you may well be sharing a tent with 11 of your “best friends/assigned siblings” for months on end – if not a warehouse or B-hut. If you are Air Force, then it might just be called a dorm, but it all amounts to the same thing. These are team mates who know you perhaps better than you would wish; roomies who you also know quite well.

So well in fact that when you and your family make a visit to one of them and their family it smacks you in the face. There I am, standing in a kitchen in Oslo fixing coffee for the four adults and I draw a blank. Carrying out three cups, I put down mine then hand a cup to my husband and my Norwegian friend. Turning to his wife, I appologize for not knowing how she takes her coffee. She looks at me and asks how I know her husband’s preferences.

Astonished, I look at her. I had breakfast with him almost every morning for six months, of course I know how he takes his coffee….

With having more rank, I don’t usually share living quarters except while on the road, like here in Kandahar. But I am getting to know my office mates more than well. There are several with whom I have deployed before. There maybe one or two who will become family over the long term.

Right now, I am just hoping that none of my “new cousins” snore.

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USO

The USO as an institution has been around for years. Since 1941

The USO was founded in 1941 in response to a request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide morale and recreation services to U.S. uniformed military personnel. Roosevelt was elected as its honorary chairman. This request brought together six civilian organizations: the Salvation ArmyYoung Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), National Catholic Community ServiceNational Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board. They were brought together under one umbrella to support U.S. troops. Roosevelt said he wanted “these private organizations to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces.” According to historian Emily Yellin, “The government was to build the buildings and the USO was to raise private funds to carry out its main mission: boosting the morale of the military.”[3] (this Wikipedia article is worth reading)

(as a matter of fact providing not just “entertainment” but centers around the world supporting troops. Earlier this fall, I mentioned the new building supporting the USO in Kandahar and that the one here in Bagram is across from the PAX terminal.

They have computers, they have phones for stateside morale calls. There are movies running 24 hours a day. Of course, these continually seem to be of the variety that require loud noises and a density of at least 10 swear/cuss words per 60 second interval. Acting is of the “say it louder” method of conveying information.

Did I mention WiFi? It is one of the few places left where you have to manually configure the connection and try different IPs till you find one which no one else is using  What is even more impressive is the number of really neat people as anyone who has figured out how to get on the network helps the next person in line. Army, Air Force, Marines – it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Flight engineers helps grunts, meanwhile talking about what their families have done for the holidays. . I have been able to pull some smaller files.

A reward for me for finishing up all those awards, leaving only the D Dari to complete. (ignoring 3 meetings this afternoon). Holidays are over, at least till New Years.

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No Chinese here …

Or Indian either for that matter.  

Instead, in the tradition of DFACs everywhere – the breakfast service was moved up by 30 to 60 minutes and stopped by 0730 in order to prepare for the main meal which is served at noon. Also, like many other facilities, the senior personnel – officers, first sergeants and command sergeant majors staff the serving line. The only significant variation that I saw is that all of us senior types were in ACUs rather than Dress Blues.  

At Aviation DFAC there are two lines – for this meal both the same. First station is roast carving, followed by choice (more than one ok) of turkey, prime rib, ham, pineapple chicken and corn on the cob. Following that was self serve for mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, collard greens and black eyed peas. There was a separate ham carving station along with a seafood area featuring cold crab legs and shrimp cocktails. In the next room were the salads, fruits and deserts.  

My line, of course, was the most efficient (grin). I spent a bit over an hour before my back said enough. I will attribute all of our ability to serve at double the speed of the other time to both the CSM asking everyone what they wanted and the SPC who was fast and efficient at the roast carving.  

 Seriously, the BDE Commander from 10th Mountain stopped by to say hello later and asked how we managed. His CSM and a good carver. In fact, the only thing that slowed us down at all were people self serving multiple side dishes. Oh, yes, Mac&Cheese, there was Mac & Cheese. I will need to ask Bonnie why, but it did give me something with protein besides ice cream.  

I am now back in the office with the following to finish before the end of the day

1) ABFM Part II Patient Simulation. Since this is open anything (as far as I can tell) I finally located a couple of great review articles to walk me through the two main diagnoses. With luck I will be done today – a bit in advance of 31 Dec….

2) two awards

3) review another award

4) Dari.  

My reward for getting through each section is to be able to stop and listen to an episode of Owner’s Share by Nathan Lowell. The first five episodes are up and I managed to download them last night and today at the USO. Remember those old 56k modems? With the limits on the USO system it takes about an hour to download 35 MEG. I also have the new Rawlins Cross album (Heart Head Hands) which came in the mail this week.

Posted in Books & Tapes, computers, deployment, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Power

As in current, electricity – not lifting or military might. It is amazing how power dependant we have become. A good friend, Pat who has been working emergency response issues as a librarian, and I discussed this a couple of years ago. There is this basic assumption in most plans that since we have power, we will have power. Therefore, hard copy anything is no longer needed. Reference materials? Burn CDs or DvDs. Paper is outmoded.

Right.

Sure.

Not.

Arriving at work this morning, the building was dark. No lights, no air, and …….. no computers. Well, computers as long as the batteries lasted with the UPS on the routers being good for two hours. Did I mention that I work in an “open storage” area? That translates to no outside windows. Makes it quite dark inside around the clock.

Admittedly, the power grid needed to be upgraded and this was scheduled maintenance. Since all but a few of us take Friday mornings off – it should not have been an issue. There was an email about it (see lack of power and batteries above) that went out this morning well after I had arrived at work.

Even more critical than limited computer power till the batteries wore out was the beverage situation. Microwaves and coffee pots don’t run without electricity. By the time this little fact had sunk in, I had five minutes to hustle back to the Aviation DFAC and beg entrance to fill my thermos mugs.

Just as I had decided that it made no sense to hang out, the power came back up. Our signal crew then announced that they were going to be doing router maintenance and that everything should be back up by 1230 or 1300.

Ok, I know when I am beat. One of the Civil Affairs crew met me at the USO and showed me the magic secret of getting on the WiFi. It is not just knowing the manual settings, it is limited ports. The USO is shut between 0900-1100 for cleaning. Few are hardy or brave enough to sit outside (even in the sun) in sub-zero weather to use their laptops. Managing to get both the iPad and Mac online (finally) I got at least some critical updates. Slow going, but I could see progress over the 90 minutes we sat there.

There are definite risks to being a society, a military that is so power dependant. Without computers, we have limited ability to talk to the field, to have situational awareness. Many of the junior crew freak out at the idea of being without Facebook for a couple of days. Think of New York City without power for 3 days. Or Washington DC last winter.

It is still worth having flashlights and candles, games and cards. iPads and Kindles are good – until their battery runs out and there is nowhere to plug them in. As much as I want to save trees and recycle, I don’t think I will ever go completely without paperbacks.

(There were 8 of us for services tonight. Never mind all the interruptions from those who can’t tell the difference between the chapel annex and the Chapel… Do we look like a Protestant Christmas service?)

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Food

In the absence of anything thrilling – i.e. no blinding lights of inspiration or interesting things on the way to the office – I am ceding to Barbara’s request to mention food.

Actually – from a healthy point of view – there isn’t much to mention. From the “fresh” point there is even less.

Dairy?

All milk is UHT. Because of the shipping distances – it is the only thing that makes sense. Getting a dairy through the inspection and certification process is extremely difficult. Especially in a country where TB and brucellosis is common. No one cooks with butter – so that is not an issue. I have not asked about the vats of “melted butter” which are sometimes out in the morning or on those evenings of surf and turf. Yogurt comes in from other Mideast countries. Normally there is only one kind available at a time and unflavored only rarely. Ice Cream comes in from Germany/US in large containers. Single serving sizes are normally German or Scandinavian brands produced and packaged else where in the middle east.

Eggs – fresh eggs – have to ask the vets. Scrambled =powdered which I am sure is also true of whatever is used in cooking and baking.

Fruit and Veggies.

Lettuce and Tomatoes along with onions are normally “fresh.” Serving line/steam table seem to be a combination of canned and frozen.

Veggies – depends on what comes in – apples, oranges, bananas, plums and the occasional nectarine or kiwi. Scored a couple of mangos – but most people don’t have a clue what to do with it.

Meat – all comes in frozen. Same for Fish and Seafood.

Bakery – bread and bagels (rare) come in frozen as do some deserts. Local baking is common.

What you get and the quality depends on the base, the contractor and the current status of shipping.

The smaller the base, the more limited the choices, dependant on delivery and availability. By the time you get down to outposts and checkpoints – it may well be MREs and T-rats. Shack food is good – but it depends on the mail arriving which is not exactly a daily occurrence. The guys also have limited storage area.

What is overwhelmingly loved? Main courses – steak, Philly cheese steaks, lasagna (eggplant, vegie, meat – it all goes rapidly), chicken (baked, fried, BBQ), ribs, (dead pig). The local crew has an oriental night and they do an excellent job with a rotating choice of entrees. Same with Mediterranean   night. 

Most of us carry snacks in the pockets. You never know when you are going to get hung somewhere. The farther forward, the more likely you are going to be missing meals. Jerky, granola bars, power bars, trail mix are common favorites. I will not talk about the nutritional value of any of them.

And, since I am headed to lunch – I will avoid the issue of GI disturbances for the moment. Just leave it with  – some people have a lot of problems. Avoiding fluids due to travel or patrols all too commonly results in constipation. Others who just don’t get the idea of hand-washing can also be miserable.

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Pockets

Let us start with a couple of assumptions. The first is that everyone has one or more things that they carry around with them that they would prefer to not have in their hands at all times. Next, the DFACs do not allow in any kind of bag. Not backpacks, purses, rucks, briefcases or AAFES bags. Nada. Finally, stopping to eat on the way to and from work is easier for many people than adding in either return to billeting or an early stop in the office in the morning and vice versa in the evening.

All of this results in the need for pockets. Lots of pockets in which to tuck things.

What things? Well, ID card is first and foremost at least on this post. Can’t get a meal, onto a computer buy something at the PX or signed in for a flight without. Eagle Cash card is right up there for a lot of people. Wallet if there is some reason why you want to drag around extra junk. Hat, gloves, sniper (oops – reflective belt), notebook, pen, tourniquet, eye protection seem to be the minimum along with cell phone for many. Oh! and keys, we can’t forget the keys.

I am excluding weapons – leg holster, belt holster, shoulder holster – it is not taking up pocket space.

There are those nice to have things – paperbacks, cameras, iPods, tissues, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, eating utensils, snack, flashlights.

The good thing about ACUs is that they have lots of pockets. There are pockets on both upper arms. There is a pen pocket on the left sleeve along with two angled chest pockets. Trousers have two rear pockets with button flaps and two angled front pockets. Then we come to the useful ones – cargo pocket on each thigh and cargo pocket on each lower leg.

In contrast – the PT jacket has two zipper pockets in the front and the pants have two front pockets.

Heading out the door tonight into the teeth of the wind and blowing dust- I pull the damn “shoot me” belt from my fleece jacket pocket where it has been keeping company with my keys. Camera is in the right front pocket along with my laundry claim sheet. Hat and gloves are stuffed into the sleeves. ID card, phone and other misc small cards are in the angled front pockets, notebook and flatware package in one cargo pocket while I have a handkerchief, two paperbacks and my iPod in the other cargo pocket.

Starting to sound like a pack mule? Starting to look like one as well!

I would love to sacrifice the bumpy outline for something a bit more svelte – but where would I put all my stuff?

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