Dowtown Kabul
Me
My office
Women with children begging in the middle of the highway
My truck
Downtown Gardez
Round About in Gardez
Terra Pass
These kids didn't throw rocks so they got Gummy Bears
We just got back from a four day mission that included stops at five different FOBs, covered three different battle spaces, represented every branch of service except the Marines, and included people from the US and Romania. It was successful as everyone came back safely and the trucks are still in one piece. We did have some issues, but it was really cool to get out and see parts of this country from the ground. It’s hard to wrap your mind around this culture and way of life. It would be neat to explore some of the cities and geographical features, but that won’t happen anytime soon. We got a lot of thumbs up, but there were still people that would spit on our truck as we drove by.
This trip I got to do something I never would have imagined doing six months ago. I was the only one qualified on both weapons systems in our truck so I ended up being the gunner. The longer I’m over here the more my training at Ft Riley gets used. I had an M-2 (.50 cal), a 249 SAW, an M-4, and an M-9 at my disposal with more ammunition than I knew what to do with. My driver was a medic and boy could he wheel that big truck. The streets of Afghanistan really aren’t made for big trucks like that, but he made it look easy and took good care of me.
Our first day was pretty uneventful and we made really good time. Kids would line the streets when they saw us coming and most gave us the thumbs up sign. I did a lot of waving and gave a lot of thumbs up back. A lot of the adults would wave too, and that makes me feel like we are making some kind of progress. I saw literally thousands of goats, a bunch of donkeys and even a few camels. I guess some of the donkeys and goats were special because some of them had varies parts dyed different colors. The best one was a white donkey with a pink mane.
The second day we headed out on a road that made a plowed field seem smooth. I was really surprised I wasn’t peeing blood by the time we made our destination. We had some green passengers, but no activity during our trip there. On the way back it was a different story. We weren’t more than 15 minutes into the ride and someone lost their lunch in the back of our truck. I was really glad I was up top and didn’t see it or have to smell it. I felt bad for my driver so I helped him clean things up at the wash rack when we stopped for the day.
The third day we made a few stops at some really interesting places. One of the FOBs was like a little Italian village that had little court yards and mazes of walk ways between the buildings. They even had a Thai restaurant we ate at. It wasn’t the best, but it was a nice change from the DFAC. After our meetings were done at this location we headed out to a French FOB. Our Romanian friends had some business to attend to and I bought some gummy bears, to be used later, and some chocolate. Day four began with a trip to the education center. I have been doing my course 14 online for Master Sergeant and I needed to take a test. One of the officers that was with me needed to take a test also so we both figured why not since we were there anyway. We both passed and then got ready to head back to our home FOB. I got my “office” ready with all my essentials like water, soda, pop tarts, and my gummy bears. I made good use of the candy by tossing them to the kids that lined the road on the way back. It was the same reaction as I see in my kids’ faces when they open presents at X-mas. If all it takes is some candy and a tattoo here and there it is well worth the effort. We had a few tense moments on the trip home, but managed to make it back safe and not fire a single shot. And I know this place is only temporary, but until the day comes when I rip out there is no place like home.
This trip I got to do something I never would have imagined doing six months ago. I was the only one qualified on both weapons systems in our truck so I ended up being the gunner. The longer I’m over here the more my training at Ft Riley gets used. I had an M-2 (.50 cal), a 249 SAW, an M-4, and an M-9 at my disposal with more ammunition than I knew what to do with. My driver was a medic and boy could he wheel that big truck. The streets of Afghanistan really aren’t made for big trucks like that, but he made it look easy and took good care of me.
Our first day was pretty uneventful and we made really good time. Kids would line the streets when they saw us coming and most gave us the thumbs up sign. I did a lot of waving and gave a lot of thumbs up back. A lot of the adults would wave too, and that makes me feel like we are making some kind of progress. I saw literally thousands of goats, a bunch of donkeys and even a few camels. I guess some of the donkeys and goats were special because some of them had varies parts dyed different colors. The best one was a white donkey with a pink mane.
The second day we headed out on a road that made a plowed field seem smooth. I was really surprised I wasn’t peeing blood by the time we made our destination. We had some green passengers, but no activity during our trip there. On the way back it was a different story. We weren’t more than 15 minutes into the ride and someone lost their lunch in the back of our truck. I was really glad I was up top and didn’t see it or have to smell it. I felt bad for my driver so I helped him clean things up at the wash rack when we stopped for the day.
The third day we made a few stops at some really interesting places. One of the FOBs was like a little Italian village that had little court yards and mazes of walk ways between the buildings. They even had a Thai restaurant we ate at. It wasn’t the best, but it was a nice change from the DFAC. After our meetings were done at this location we headed out to a French FOB. Our Romanian friends had some business to attend to and I bought some gummy bears, to be used later, and some chocolate. Day four began with a trip to the education center. I have been doing my course 14 online for Master Sergeant and I needed to take a test. One of the officers that was with me needed to take a test also so we both figured why not since we were there anyway. We both passed and then got ready to head back to our home FOB. I got my “office” ready with all my essentials like water, soda, pop tarts, and my gummy bears. I made good use of the candy by tossing them to the kids that lined the road on the way back. It was the same reaction as I see in my kids’ faces when they open presents at X-mas. If all it takes is some candy and a tattoo here and there it is well worth the effort. We had a few tense moments on the trip home, but managed to make it back safe and not fire a single shot. And I know this place is only temporary, but until the day comes when I rip out there is no place like home.
