In the field

living in tents – is not the place to be when the wind blows. Certainly, I am not sure how those in the transient tents here are faring. My friend Ron (the ortho doc, not the flight surgeon) wrote back to me –

I remember the joins of subtle weather changes in the field. Life was always the best when the temp was right at the freezing point… mud froze and dust went away, walking become a simple task again. Air is usually pretty still when things are evenly cooled and the sky is overcast. Looks gloomy but makes life very simple.

Wind in the field is a huge problem. The 212th was set up at Bedrock and taken off line for 2 days due to a wind storm early in the Bosnia mission. Entire GP mediums lost and a couple of fires almost took out the entire tent complex. I was with a Cav unit and still living in lagers of tract vehicles… Move during the day and circle the wagons at night… wind is not a problem for a M113 or M577, just close the hatches.

Glad you are living in fixed buildings. That way you don’t have to deal with tent sides flapping all night long in the gusts.

I am in early this morning, 0500 in fact. Wooden B-huts groaning and shaking compounded by idiots who think it is cute to lob things at the base in the middle of the night meant that I was awake early. Multiple sirens and loud speaker announcements meant I was not getting back to sleep. Going to work, checking email and having a cup of tea started sounding pretty appealing.

And before any of you panic – the aim and equipment of the idiots around here is not that good. In spite of perimeter fences and runways with huge lights (read well lit targets) – they don’t seem to be able to get close enough to do any serious damage.

The three of us who were trying to get to Sharana have given it up as a lost cause for the moment. Too many ahead of us on the list and now the people with whom we need to work are not going to be there.

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the Wind came up

The wind came up.

Doesn’t that sound like such an innocous statement? After all it is October and, north of the equater, late summer should start sliding into fall. Temperatures drop,the leaves turn, and the rains start.

Well, this is Afghanistan. A base camp at 5000+ ft. It might just be a bit different here, not like a reoutine autumn in Europe, the US, Canada. Certainly nothing like the Pacific Northwest.

That is where the wind comes in. Not just a mild breeze but strong enough to lift the dust and swirl it to meters in the air. Eddies and whorls obscure my vision and leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Stinging skin and eyes are now an issue for anyone without enough sense to wear eye protection. To the east the mountains are still visible but west and south the brown haze extends almost to the highest peaks obscuring the plains, craigs and lower snow covered slopes.

According to the local weather det and windsocks – this isn’t bad – 15mph (24kph) winds. Certainly no where near sandstorm level, just enough to be completely agravating and giving you dirty hair between the showers and the hut.

I have started watching the weather here as the people who seem to be getting it right. Unfortunately, that means that freezing temperatures and snow flurries might just be in my future. Certainly rain seems to be out of the question.

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Cargo Only

I knew it was a mistake last evening. With a 0015 show time, I have a tendency to stay awake rather than take a nap for fear that I am going to miss the flight announcement.

Air Force is easy, and clear. They do a one time announcement for a flight to see how many they have who need the flight. After accomodating all those with “reservations” the rest of the seats are filled by Space-A. And there in lies the rub. You have no way of knowing how many seats are actually available, nor how many on the waiting list. And if you miss the call – you have missed the call. You are skipped over and they go on to the next person in line.

If, as happened to us, there is excess cargo, then seats will suddenly vanish and the flight will be updated to read “cargo only” as happened to us at both the earlier time and 0345.

My resulting sleep deprivation could have been worse. Stumbling home with body armor, kevlar and duffle I didn’t even bother to set an alarm.

So here I sit, back in the office for a couple of hours since my body clock is set to get up early. We will try again for one of the flights later today and reconsider if we can’t hitch that ride.

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Laundry

Another one of those “blinding flash of the obvious” items in a deployment setting is laundry. No one has their own home – or washers and dryers. Certainly, it would be close to insane to set up enough launderettes to accommodate 30,000 people. (Well, ok, the number of AD, Civilians, and US origin contractors is a bit less than that). Thus we go to alternative solution, the Centralized laundry facility.

Back in the Cold War era, there were bath/laundry units in the Army with the responsibility of providing not just clean clothes, but hot showers for field units. In fact, I can remember activating one of those back in 1990 when I was the Division Surgeon for 10th Mountain. Like the traditions with cooks and mechanics – not always the sharpest crayons in the box.

With the modernization and downsizing, almost if not all of the units have left the inventory. In the field, that means another solution has to be found. Centralized laundry under contract seems to be the method of preference on most of the bases and FOBs (forward operating bases).

When I was at Blue Factory, the laundry was contracted by the Norwegians. The laundry provided mesh bags which you had to use and turn around was usually 3 days. I strongly suscept that the reason for the mesh was in order to be able to “wash in the bag” making effective use of the machines.

I never learned much about the central laundry on Doha since, as permanent party, we had a laundry trailer in our housing area. The biggest challenge was to chase out all the temp people and prevent idiots from washing TA-50 in the machines and ruining them. MAJ G – the DPW (Director of Public Works) said the life expectancy of those washers/dryers was about 7 months because they effectively were running 24/7.

Here there is a central laundry with multiple pick-up points. I am familiar with two of them. Albert is on the office side of Disney about half-way back to the PAX Terminal. Dragon is located right in my B-Hut area and certainly convenient. Last night I went to pick up laundry dropped off on the 12th. Turnaround has been running 4-6 days.

After inventorying and dropping off a new bag of laundry, I move to the pick-up line. The LN (local national) dudes behind the counter bring me a bag – not mine. They look for some more, then start trying to explain about the 15th and 16th. One of the guys who was with me at CRC walks in the door. They can’t find his bag either, but hand him one that he dropped off two days ago.

We look at each other, and the penny drops. Apparently whoever is running the laundry mistakenly got all the inventory in the wrong order. The more recently dropped off bags were done before the earlier. All the laundry dropped off on the 15th and 16th is done and back. That which dates from the 12th, 13th and 14th is still in the que.

And here I am, plenty of socks, t-shirts and underwear but out of PTs.

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privacy

[prahy-vuh-see; Brit. also priv-uh-see]
–noun, plural -cies.
1. the state of being private; retirement or seclusion.
2. the state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one’s private life or affairs: the right to privacy.
3. secrecy.
4. Archaic . a private place.

Simple concept really. But the implications are far reaching.

Look at the court cases about FBI placing wires on cars without a warrant on the premise that “travel on public roads” should not contain an expectation of privacy. (Side question – does that GPS bug disappear everytime anyone drives a car onto private property? IMHO, I think citizens have the right to privacy and the assumption they are not being spied upon without due process being observed.)

Or – all the attention that the papparazzi places on entertainers, the wealthy and badly behaved, sports figures. Anything and everything they do is fodder for people with too much time on their hands and purient interest in the affairs of others.

Now, let us look at deployments. Privacy becomes a luxury for the average troop. Note, I am saying troop, but I mean soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors (excepting sub-mariners). The last time most adults shared sleeping space with someone who is neither their spouse or partner is probably at home (siblings) or school (roommates).

The particular definition of concern is the second – being free from intrusion or disturbance in one’s private life or affairs. Privacy is not an inherent right in the military.

Now here we are on a post with thousands of others. Sleeping space is at a premiium. Sleeping space = personal space = where you keep your stuff. Sleeping space, for most, does not even carry an expectation of privacy. To have one’s own space – even size of a cell with barely enough room to turn around – is a priveldge. To not have to worry about someone else in your gear, your things getting, even accidently over the line into another person’s personal space, to be able to shut out the world for a few minutes/hours a day and rejuvinate is a priceless treasure.

One of our MSG came in this morning almost dancing. In his forties, he is married with five children. Peace and quiet at home, he reports has never been reality. Now that the oldest two are in professional school, a daughter at the Air Force Academy and a son at West Point, home is a bit less crowded. None of that was important today. He had just given up a room (shared room) in the hardstand barracks complete with hard wired internet and showers down the hall and was joyous. He is now the proud occupant of a B-Hut cell. All his own, no sharing.

It is worth it, he says. Worth being farther from work and the DFAC. Even worth having to walk outside in the coming cold to the latrines and showers. Doors and walls to keep out everyone else for a bit of time every day. Not having to share a bedroom/sleeping space no matter how good a colleague.

Because of rank, I rarely have to face this issue. It is an artifical societal rule of the military. Rank hath priviledge. Even so, I am more than grateful every evening when can close my door and shut out the rest of the world.

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No shoes, no shirt

No service.

Don’t you remember seeing those signs when growning up? Especially prevelant in resort areas and beaches, diners and food locations made an effort to hold up a minimum sanitation standard.

There is a version of that here at the DFAC (Dining Facitities)-

No ID, No Weapon
No Service.

Leaving aside the longer lists posted outside each DFAC which remind everyone that totally filthy uniforms, sweaty PTs, rags, tank tops, flip-flops and short-shorts (yes, an attempt to keep the contractors and DOD civilians under control), it makes you think.

The fact is, none of the bases are completely secure. All of the control and check points do the absolutely best that they can. But the amount of chaos created should thousands of people need their weapons all at once makes me shudder.

Whether or not there is a clip in the weapon while inside the wire is a local command call. Yes is more likely than no on US bases and otherwise on NATO/ISAF bases. There does not seem to be any arguement at all about cip in weapon, round in chamber when outside the wire.

At least this way we are not falling over clearing barrels all the time.

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Ruhetag

Everyone needs a down day. A quiet day in which work obligations fall by the wayside.

Since I am neither a regimented person or particularly observant, I am chosing my own set of rules.

1) Work – I am taking a day a week in which I don’t do work unless it is an emergency. Work is what I define as work. I don’t have problems with electricity. I live in a B-hut which will be pitch black inside unless I turn off and on lights. I don’t consider computer games, knitting, reading, watching videos or listening to audio books work.

2) people – I am living on a base with vast numbers of other people. While it is true that I do not interact with each and everyone of them on a daily basis – there are a lot of them around. On my quiet day – I am not dealing with other people without important provication.

3) food – eating what I want?

So, my day was spent reading, knitting, a few computer games, and hearing audio books. I got take-out from the Dragon DFAC for supper. I didn’t go shopping, to the post office or finance. I ran no errands or did any major cleaning.

And tomorrow I might just be up for being back and work refreshed. Or at least as muich so as one can with the discovery that 20+C outside does not guarentee warm water in the shower after a significant number of those strangers beat you to the shower in the morning…..

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If you ask a guy

You know the challenge of sending your favorite guy, the one you love, the one you married, to the grocery store? You give him a list of the items that are needed for the next time period. You ask him not to bring home junk. You try and make your elf not think about him lose with all those temptations. And, finally, you hope that dinner tonight will be something other than beer and crisps.

He comes home. Unloads the car and carries in his trophies like he had gotten all the food from scratch with his bare hands. As the bags mount up, your tensions rise.

He starts unloading the bags and you start to shake. Out come all these interesting items, most of which are only marginally food. Of those food items, unfavorite vegetables and fruits are conspicuously absent. Oh well, you think, I can probably do something with three bags of apples.

At the end, he is pleased with his trophies while you are only marginally holding on to your sanity. No cereal, no eggs, no milk, no bread. But three kinds of olives, four salsas and other condiments in gleaming jars proudly stand on the counter.

There is a parallel in the deployment world. Do not ask your spouse, your loving, kind-hearted non-military spouse to mail you critical military items. Instructions in writing which would make perfect sense to a service member are thicker than a brick to a civilian.

Please – go into the studio. Look in my green flight bag. I need the socks, t-shirts and sports bras. There is also a pair of tan desert boots that look expensive and are close to brand new. I think they are in the studio or bedroom. Can you mail those to me?

Wednesday I received two packages in the mail, both mailed on Saturday. Delivery time from Germany via MPS is quite good. One box was the one I had packed and left in the dining room to be sent the week I left for Ft Benning (that was 12 Sept). The other was huge. More than 24x24x24. In it was the green flight bag.

I pulled out the clothing items I needed and the bag of toiletries I had requested. I found another box and packed in all the ACUs, trash and the MRE which had made the trip. The ACUs are not friend/foe tagged nor are they fire resistant and can’t be worn in this theater.

And then there are the boots. My Norwegian Army boots from 1998, which I have been intending to get re-soled since ½ of one heel is missing. Since the soles are black, they don’t look anything like US desert boots.

Two boxes here, three boxes to return so that none are uncomfortably heavy. Total weight staying in theater? Under 2 kg and immeasureable love.

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Curtains

I have mentioned the sanitation trailers a number of times. One might be set between several other containers, affording easy access to people living in that location. They may be out in the middle of an area. Or, what is prevelant around here is that they are stacked with the shower facilties reached by an outside stair while the toilet trailers are located underneath.

In any of these cases, the trailers are either hard plumbed into the water and sewer system or have water storage areas inside which are filled daily by truck.

What does all this have to do with curtains? you ask.

Well, I am not sure why (other than white plastic curtains are easy to maintain and cheep to replace) there are no doors inside any of these facilities. Just overhead rods and sliding shower curtains.  I think the idea is to provide a modicum of privacy without allowing anyone to lock themselves in.

The downside is that everyone seems to like leaving the curtains closed making it a bit challenging to find either an empty stall or shower. Go figure.

I was thinking about bringing in markers and drawing on the curtains…..

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how long? Till I get home!

Back in 2003 we started to laugh about discussions of BOG (Boots On Ground) which turned out to be not very funny when applied to Reserve and Guard personnel who were tied up so long at mobilization stations that their terms of service were practically over the day they arrived in theater.  

Then the policy changed in Aug 2003 and shifted many people from their planned six month to 12. It was not fun. Predictability is critical to families, employers, individuasls which = everyone’s sanity.  

Since then, all the services have tried to be as clear as possible: the clock starts running when your boots hit dirt in theater – Kuwait being the port of entry for most. Those coming as unit members are normally here for the duration and we speak of tour lengths. Right now that seems to be about 12 months for this theater.  

For individual augmentees, it depends on their particular TCS (temporary change of station) orders. Active duty medical corps clinical positions are usually six months deployments. It avoids both burn out and skill degradation. RC/NG are 90 days. (the UK in contrast seems to do 6 weeks to 3 months for their clinical folks).  

Me? I am on 180 days orders. Means I am out of theater toward the end of March. Unless, of course, things change. No changes known at the present.

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Sights and Sounds – Night Noise

And no, I do not mean any of the wonderful albums put out by the group of that name.

Rather, those noises in the night that might just fall into the bump in the night category. I am sure that they vary by deployed base and location on the base.

First, there are those camp wide noises, i.e. a public address system. Have not heard one here, but it was obvious in Kandahar. Along with the echose which rendered all announcements entirely incomprensible. I was reassured that as long as there were words prior to sirens, not to worry. For that matter, why worry when you are soaking wet in the shower with shampoo streaming down your face? Ignoring the siren means that you are taking a chance on getting rinsed and dressed. And that whatever is inbound will be intercepted rather than land in your area.

Last night there were large thumps and booms. I have no clue and did not check any of the secure systems before writing this note to ensure that I did not say anything stupid. And then there were all the airplane noises. Lots of cargo, a few fighters, trucks on the road as well at tach vehicles rolling by at the end of the housing area. 

Obviously there are still going to be nights where headphones are needed.

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Early, late, makes no nevermind

Here it is, not quite 0800 in the morning and my day is well started. Officially we start at 0800. I am finding that I can acheive quite a bit in those quite couple of hours before everyone else gets here.

I sit with my iPod on – music playing – if anyone else is in the office. Headphone block out the worst of it. When sharing an office with a lot of other people, you really do not want to be listening to potentially six different phone converstations.

All of this takes me to the what are you doing there anyway question.

There is both a short and a long answer.

The short answer says that I am the Preventive Medicine Consultant for the Theater. In US speak, it means that I am the senior person with techinical oversight for the field. We have only one named consultant at a time for anything. It has nothing to do per se with credentials or certifications.

The long answer, well I guess I started that above. I have responsibilities for PM for the theater. In the case of deployments the field includes Occupational & Environmental Medicine as well as Public Health and Preventive Medicine. US forces, I need to caveat that with “responsibility for US Forces.” All of those fancy words translates to: sanitation, disease surveillance, immunization programs, entomology, radiation physics, environmental surveillance, occ health programs, hearing protection….. you name it, I probabaly own it from the technical side.

It is not just me. I have a public health nurse, a health physicist, enotomologist and an environmental enginer here and a senior tech in another region. There are PM assests in the combat brigades and the division. There are teams that fall under our command and control in each of the RCs (Regional Commands).

Right now there are a number of large issues on the plate – the kind that never seem to go away. Malaria and Leishmaniasis come immediately to mind followed by the standard fall push for flu vaccine.

There is certainly enough to keep me busy for the tour.

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Billetting

Before I get to the “what did you do in Afghanistan?” I thought I would mention living conditions. Ok, I have mentioned something about living conditions a few times in my whole, wow-ey two weeks in theater.

For my first 10+ days, I was living in the DVQ (Distinguised Visitors Quarters) opposite the baggage claim. Small dinky place with bed, night stand, shrank (cupboard), and folding chair. I could barely turn around unless the door was shut, but it was mine. Including the A/C unit in the wall direcly above my bed which provided the air ciculation for all three cells in our area.

I returned yesterday from Kandahar. On my door was a note from billeting. They had permanent quarters for me. Now, the senior folks from our task force have been in the DVQ since last spring. Now here I am, less than 2 weeks in theater and I am getting evicted?

Always friendly, I suspciously ask where?

Dragon B huts. My predecessor lived there and complained that it was really far from the office. So my attitude on the all of 200 meter hike is – right – plywood city rooms. Trying to maintain a sense of humor (tell you about the Kandahar housing challenge at the end) I went over to Dragon Billeting Office. I was helped by this lovely woman named Michelle.

She walks me down a couple of rows and in a hootch or two. Undoes the padlock on the door and points me toward the room on the left. This particular B hut is divided into two 1/4 units and a 1/2 unit. I have one of the quarters. Me, myself. All to myself. Turns out that Michelle has the other 1/4. We share an entry way complete with rug and hooks, a light switch and the ventilation unit.

The room itself is almost triple the size of the cell over in the DVQ. Three shranks, a desk, night stand, bed. THe previous tenant left me a number of useful items including lamps, power strips, wall hangings, rugs and a kettle. Obviously, I will add to and pass along to the next person.

It took me around an hour to pack, move and unload. Haven’t been able to accomplish a move in such a short time since it all fit in my VW Beetle.

The walk to the san trailers is a bit further as is the trek to work. 200 meters. Balancing that is the significant reduction in noise and the front covered entry way which will protect against the wind and dust.

AND! I can furnish my own lock – which means that everyone and their TCN can’t just wander in whenever they want. There is also this nice sliding bolt on the inside to secure my room when I am there.

Not bad, I have lived a lot worse on deployments.

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Back to Bagram

yes, over the next couple of days I will make an attempt to explain what I am doing. Or supposed to be doing. Or others think I am doing (grin). One of the people with whom I work has said she will let me use her computer to upload a photo or three….

meanwhile –
Flying with the Air Force on a C-130 has no relation to flying with a commercial airline. Trust me on this. The commercial airlines may run you through some hoops, but the flights normally leave on time, the number of seats is a known quantity, and you can wear (within reasonable limits) what you want on the plane.

The three flights yesterday back were all either canceled or changed from passenger to cargo flights. At least this information was known by 1500 so I didn’t have to show up for all three show times.

Instead I toodled around on post, attending services at the CMC and hit the rack early.

But where was I? Oh, the Air Force. Show time 0545. This time there were actually enough seats for everyone. Flight of course leaving three hours give or take from the show time and baggage palletization. The only difference between flying at night and during the morning is that you might just be able to see the mountains out of one of the few porthole shaped windows.

We, the nice big target, fly through the mountains. This is not commercial airlines at 35,000 ft, this is up valleys with mountains still capped by snow. Take offs and landings are regulated by whatever defensive decisions have been made in order to make the smallest profile target for the least amount of time. Did I mention that our plateau is Denver high above sea level?

And then there is the wonderful security at Kandahar. For whatever reason, we run every thing through a metal detector.

Yes, a metal detector. Weapons, IBA, Kevlar, ammo, Gerbers, all on the conveyor belt. Cell phones and iPods are ignored. I have a feeling that some idiot or other either brought grenades or a rocket launcher to the party at some point…..

Then, you get to wear your IBA on the flight while maintaining a grip on your kevlar, weapon and whatever back pack you have managed to keep out of the hands of the load master.

Good challenge and all of that – I am glad to be back.

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Sights and Sounds – Moon Dust and Mods

They call it moon dust. Swirling around my ankles with every step, soemtimes sinking in over the tops of my feet. Everyone here assures me that the overal road situation has improved over the last several months. Tons of gravel have been laid on all the main, non-paved routes. Never the less, Kandahar trumps Bagram on dust and dirt.

Situated on a long lost lakebed, there are mountains rising on two sides of the case visible in sharp detail against the early morning sky. By 1000 they have disappeared in the tons of dust and dirt raised by all the traffic. The haze from tactical, NTVs, foot traffic all contribute their share to the air laden with particulates.

I mentioned that MODS are the relatively new modular housing units made up of containers that replaced many of the old tent cities on this NATO base. Mostly they are permanent party. Laid out in columns and rows, it is easy to get lost at night, oh let us say about 200o when walking back from the wonderful new USO tent that has only been open since mid Sept. The numbers run from one end to the other; then starting again at the beginning of the next row. This might just explain why, when I was counting from 5822, I walked right past my location simply because it was on the other side of this particular row. Add in the challenge of absolutely no local street lights (why give the mortars an easier ability to target living locations?) and one can barely see the building numbers over the top of the Alaska barriers.

(you remember Alaska and Texas barriers? – I can cut and past from seven years ago if need be).

And yes, I am schlepping around my weapon. Not always loaded, but always with ammo.

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Sights and Sounds – Kandahar

At night you can not tell one PAX terminal from the other. Leaving side the fact that there is this huge sign that says Kandahar on the side of the terminal.

I will skip the early morning STOL that was canceled, the mid-afternoon flight that was designated cargo only and just dwell on the C-130 winding its way over mountains and valleys after dark. Not having luggage that was palletized, it was an easy hike to the terminal, swiping in and getting the briefing. (take the warnings seriously and go to ground, bunker, hardened building appropriately)

This morning the sun is shining brightly and there is the ubiquitous dust over everything. The nearest DFAC is NATO. There is no skim milk, there is no soy milk, but there is hot water that is actually hot and a good choice of tea bags. I guess one can not have everything.

Billeting here is row upon column of huts composed of UN type containers. Rooms in a row all facing a long haul with the Loo at the end safely secured behind a number lock. From above, finding anything would be problematic. From the ground, it is a grid. Numbers on the buildings, numbers on the cement barriers signifying rows and columns. Since we are only here last night and maybe tonight, I am not even going to figure out where I am, just trust my CPT not to lead me into danger or get me lost.

Pix

As soon as I find a friend who has access, I will try to load some photos. I don’t have a clue why anyone wants to see me in either full battle rattle or with the ever present weapon, but I will give it a shot.

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The well dressed

Soldier/Officer on BAF in the latest style sports ACUs (Army Combat Uniform), sturdy boots, and a choice of cover (head gear). There is the patrol hat – what most would consider a standard cap fitted reasonably close to the head with a bill in front and the Boonie hat – a round hat with floppy brim on all sides and a string with which to secure it.

On the uniform, of course, is the proper flag worn on the right sleeve above whatever combat patch the individual may have. If in possession of more than one, you can chose in most circumstances. There is a relative value to patches: line division patches rate higher than support units rate higher than “x” army rate higher than medical rate higher than reserve/guard. The last is simply because most people don’t recognize them. It might mean that reserve medical brigades are in the bottom tier, but I can’t confirm or deny that fact.

On the left sleeve one finds velcro’d on the current patch. Other than that, name is on the right, Service affliation on the left and rank on a tab in the center.

Of course, I have not mentioned the most important accessory – M16, M4 or 9MM worn holstered or slung.

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Sights and Sounds – Baggage Yard

Please, remember that I am sharing, not whining. I have a lovely bed, space to myself, and a decent set of headphones which serve both to keep me entertained and to block noise.  

The baggage yard is where all the palletized personal gear from inbound flights is dropped off. It is not hard stand, rather crushed gravel with the usual amount of dust and dirt for filler.  

This obviously means forklifts – the large kind with operator perched high above us mortals wearing hearing protection, goggles, and some days a dust mask. The engines growl only when the load is heavy. A two meter tall pallet of duffel bags is really not all that much from the point of view of the forklift.  

Beep.   Beep.   Beep.   Beep.   Beep.  

Yep, another one backing up to turn around and exit this 50×50 ft space.   Shortly, the noise changes to grumbles and loud voices. This is not a regular airport – there are no baggage handlers who sling your bags onto a conveyor belt. There is no belt – there is the pallet. If you want your gear, you get to help unload the pallet. Off come the tie downs and smart groups get organized, laying the bags out in lines so that everyone can find their gear. Other disparet passanger groups just toss stuff around making it that much harder for everyone else.  

SUVs, 4x4s, trucks, small buses and other vehicles are pulling up along the road continuosly to claim their inbound pax. During the day, the chaos is actually kind of interesting to watch.  

At night, right across the street from my door? I am finding my headphones a quite useful bit of equipment.

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Sights and Sounds of Bagram Air Base – Jets

Remember those CNN commericals? Sights and Sounds of “xxxx” followed by glamorus shots of beaches, temples and beauties interspered with five start cuisine and superbly furnished hotel rooms? Made you want to instantly pick up the phone and call your travel agent?

Here is one of the sights and sounds of BAF.

As you might guess, Bagram, at least the airfield, is not the quietest place in the world.  There are fighter jets, always traveling in pairs. They take off and land at whatever time and interval, known only to themselves and the air traffic controlers, suits their mission.

You hear them first, engines running up to a deafing shriek before one goes blasting by on runways that feel right next both work and living locations. Shortly the second screams by heading for the mountains, climbing at a tremendous pitch before being out of site with only a small vapor trail marking their passing.

They land the same way, one after another, engines running down as they taxi back, pointy noses looking sleek and deadly aimed at the hangar.

That is not to say that there are not other aircraft taking off and landing on a regular basis – it is just the fighters seem the loudest as I watch them pass, afterburners red hot on landing.

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Ah, computers

I had a lovely, quiet day and thank you all for the birthday greetings. I enjoy getting to the office well before anyone else arrives. And if the attendence so far is any indication, I might well be the only one here today!

Computers

The “blog won’t let me leave comments” issue.  From what I can tell, there are two issues:

I am GMT:+4:30. A few reading this are GMT:+1 or GMT:0. The problem comes when you are GMT:-5-8 or so. WordPress does not allow comments to be posted at a date/time prior to when the post was written. Never mind that it is a technical issue of time zones and reality and has absolutely nothing to do what I would want.

The second issue is post naming. Apparently using a number to name the post is fine in the permalinks-but messes up the calls. I have changed the name on yesterday’s post and it is now possible to leave comments.

The archive function is also not functioning; getting to old posts is not an option without paging back. I ask your indulgence. Getting things fixed from here is going to be difficult a best. I am loathe to have any access to HOSTDE from here and risk hackers.

Services

Current routine attendance at Friday night services here seems to be about a dozen, give or take. Civilains, Army and Air Force made up the crew this past Friday. There is a cupboard full of goodies, different shuls and synagogues have been more than generous with their care packages. If I need any munchies, I know where to go.

Posted in computers, Jewish Life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment