21 August

New road built for base access. The construction is pretty low quality, but it sure looks good.


What do you do when the Americans pay to have your dirt road rebuilt and black topped? Why, hell, you cover it with dirt to protect it!

The view from one of the guard towers...I've been telling them for months they need to cut the trees.

They decided to listen 2 days before elections.

Farming technique. They completely clear the fields and then let the sheep graze for a few hours to get all the scrap grass.

Full week. It wasn’t a long one because I was busy the whole time. I find that staying busy is the key to success during these long times away from home. Additionally, keeping a routine helps the days pass seamlessly. For the past month, my focus has been on election security for my FOB and mentoring the ANA security company. Election day came and went just like any other day for us. Others were not so lucky. I tracked fighting all over the country yesterday. Many FOBs filled with “regular guys” just like me were mortared throughout the day and night. The enemy used intimidation tactics on the public, but for the most part, the polls were not attacked significantly in our area. At the time of this posting, I don’t know of any significant attacks in the country that disrupted the overall election process.
A few notes/quotes on the election from some of the people I talk to daily:
1. “If it came down to one or two votes, I’d vote for the other guy, but I will vote for Karzai b/c he will win.”
2. “I will vote for Karzai b/c he is known.”
3. “I will vote for Karzai b/c he will win.”
It seems that Karzai will get re-elected b/c of the Afghan attitude that picking someone else is like admitting you were wrong 4yrs ago. They want to vote for the winner b/c they want to be right. Some view themselves as no worse than 4 years ago, so electing someone else is seen as a grave risk.
The contractors that are doing construction on the FOB were not allowed on from the 18th through the 21st, so it has been peaceful and quiet around here without the constant rumble of cement mixers and power tools. That will all change again tomorrow, but for now, the silence is nice.
Finished another book this week. This one was a non-fiction look into the Army’s elite Delta Force. Pretty good book about how the counter terrorist tactics of today were dreamed up over the last 30yrs in the minds of some of the fiercest fighting men to ever wear the uniform. It also sheds light on the fact that America is at war constantly. Whether it is 150,000 in Iraq, 60,000 in Afghanistan, or 3 men in a country that most people don’t know we have issues with, American service men are out there killin’ people that need killin’. Still, the politicians and career minded brass tie the hands of our fighting men; thus, terrorism shows up on our door step from time to time.

Note regarding previous post on Muslims imposing their way of life on others:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539864,00.html?test=latestnews

This rule was later repealed because it is stupid.

Last entry before I come home for leave. I start my travels next Thursday and should be home around the 1st.
Looking forward to spending some time at home.
Have a good one. God Bless.
BMP

15 AUG

Only in AF can you get a tire mark on a guard tower 4ft off the ground over a concrete barrier and have no one around to explain how it was physically possible.


Delicious bread. Naan is cooked in this mud oven. You can pretty much see the stages from the round dough balls in the center, to the flat circles of dough on the right, and the finished product on the left. They press the flat dough onto an upside down metal bowl type object and then slam that up against the ceiling of the oven. The dough sticks to the mud and the bread bakes between the mud wall and the bowl. It is 120F outside this building and hotter inside.



M16 Training

16 Aug
Weeks are flying by quicker and quicker…a sign that I am getting busier and busier. I have spent most of this week pushing to finish election security projects and helping the ANA do the same. Didn’t have the day off Friday due to planning a security mission for the elections.
I was given a directive to train the ANA up on the M16A2 weapons system. No, problem. The Afghan Ministry of Defense (MOD) has been given a bunch of these and their plan is to trade them out for the battered AK47s, some of which are 50yrs old. The problem is that I was told to train them and qualify them in less than a week and a half. So, what did I do? Said, “Yes, sir, I’ll make it happen.” NOTICE: Expectation management failure.
Wednesday was a very frustrating morning. I nearly lost my voice trying to hammer too much information into their heads too fast. I realized it mid morning and vowed to get it under control. I went back Thursday with a different/reasonable attitude that they were going to learn at whatever pace they learn, and I was going to have to slow down the teaching to more closely match that pace. Thursday was much better. I will not issue any weapons before the elections because they will not be familiar enough with them to be combat effective. I may take some heat for this, but it is the right answer and it is what is safest.
Other than election security, I haven’t been up to too much. Spend a few minutes a day watching the news. Seems like health care and clunkers have the spotlight right now. We get AFN (American Forces Network), which has one channel of each variety: sports, news, prime time tv, radio station etc. The news is rotated between the major networks and cable news channels throughout the day. So you’ll be sitting listening to O’Reilly bash some bad plan and after the commercial, Rachel Maddow comes on and bashes O’Reilly. I get to see all sides of the story, but never the truth of course. All of these people are paid to talk, and talk they do. If you don’t know who Rachel Maddow is, look her up, and make sure you have a garbage can nearby. As far as I am concerned, she is anti-American and spends more time attacking conservatives than conservative policy or proposing her own ideas. Both sides are guilty of this from the anchors to the politicians.

Check out what the Great Communicator had to say about socialized medicene 48 years ago:

http://www.mikechurch.com/joomla/daily-features/ronald-reagan-predicts-58-years-ago-the-effects-of-socalism.html

Which leads me to ask everyone to look at goooh.com. GOOOH (Get Out Of Our House) is a political idea to replace all 435 members of the House of Representatives with everyday people that will make a decision based on what they believe is right and wrong, not what will get them support in the next election or appease a special interest group. There is only one special interest group that counts, and that is the American people. Just because one group of people decides to exercise a certain right doesn’t make them special, it makes them American. Goooh recently sent out an email that was rather thought provoking. The text went something like this: The federal gvt just took over a portion of the car industry…months later, they develop a program that gives people up to $4500 to give their old car up for a new one, thus incurring a new monthly payment and getting money flowing to the gvt owned auto industry. Hmmm? Sounds like a hidden bail out to me. Additionally, didn’t we just tell everyone to chill out on financing crap they cannot afford.
What about the “turned in vehicles?” They must be drained of vital fluids and have the engines rendered useless on the lot and scrapped entirely. No recycling of any parts…that is really green guys…good job.

Check out these videos of Aghans dancing. Remember, they have parties all the time for weddings and engagements with up to 1000 people. Men and women are kept separate and there is no alcohol…enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5-_5Bga4_s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI53lsAIkWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxPV8IvOSs&NR=1

Counting down the days. God bless and have a great weekend.
BMP

7 Aug 09

Pretty sweet deal, I think I'll call Iran and see if I can get the hikers released.


Mentee and I at the range




Afghan toilet. This is in Osama's Tea House, so Osama himself may have squatted over that hole.


Bucket of a track-hoe attempting to pull several hundred feet of electric cable out of the ground, I told them it wouldn't work, and it didn't. They were just breaking off 15' sections...I asked them if it sold better out in town in 15' sections.


The brain children behind the cable pulling idea.


How do you delicately pull up cable with a 1yard hydraulic bucket on a track-hoe


Homemade air conditioner. the water pump sends water to the top and the water flows over the wood shavings and evaporates. the evaporating action takes heat out of the air and the fan on the inside draws the cooled air into the room.

Well, I was supposed to be gone on leave right now…all that really means is I have the excuse “I am not even supposed to be here right now” at my disposal until I leave. It has been a really busy week. Election security is top priority and there are a few construction projects that I am “consulting” on. One construction project that is starting soon is for a new maintenance facility for the ANA for trucks and heavy equipment. The guy from the previous pics that goes around holding the AF construction companies accountable for less than acceptable work will be leaving in OCT and has designated me as his replacement for all such tasks. After the elections, I will work more on the construction stuff vice security. The security mentoring has been successful for the most part. I have won some big battles there and will just have to ensure we maintain in that respect.
I finished a book this week titled: THE WEST’S LAST CHANCE: WILL WE WIN THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS?. It was a pretty good book; a fast read. The principle theme centers on the fact that radical Islam has spread from Central Asia and the Middle East in every direction, and it doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. The book focuses mostly on the threat that European Muslim extremists pose to our way of life. Europe was struggling to keep its population up and people everywhere decided they were above certain jobs, so the logical explanation was to allow millions of immigrant Muslims into Europe to do the dirty work. For the majority of these immigrants, it was a way to escape an oppressive government or give their families a new start, but some of them and many of their kids preached and spread an extremist version of Islam called Wahabiism. Open borders and a political correct attitude of “We have to be nice to these people” or “That is their culture, we have to respect that” lead to a dire situation of Europe being a launch pad for attacks on the U.S. The book recommends and discusses actions that must be taken in AF, Europe, and in America to secure our civilization.

Did you know that Canada and some European countries are currently or have at some point considered allowing Sharia law to be practiced on their soil.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/islamsadvance/2008/08/a_case_for_sharia_law_in_the_w.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons_why_sharia_is.html

Of course, current laws would still apply, but for example, if your wife disgraces you (in your opinion), you can kill her under Sharia law. There are people in America that want these “rights” as well. How does that make you feel?...go ahead and say it with me, “If you don’t like my country, my way of life, and my laws, get the hell out.”
One part of the book that I have mixed emotions about discusses the governments’ powers during a declared war and precedence set by FDR back in the ‘40s. We have all heard stories of internment camps for Japanese-Americans and “special” attention that some people were given in the name of protecting America. Prior to reading this book, I didn’t know that the Supreme Court actually said that all that was cool during a declared war based on the fact that a person of Japanese decent was more likely to have feelings of support for Japan than someone who was just a plain ole American. What about jailing people for voicing their opinion? 1st Amendment right? Nope, during a declared war, if you don’t agree, you better choose your words wisely. If you cheer when an American soldier dies, you’ll go to jail. You will be arrested for speaking against the war effort. What is different now? We are not in a declared war, just like we were not in Vietnam. Who would we declare war against? The only people we can declare war against are the people who time and time again have declared war on us-Islamic Extremists. Now if we go and do that, it sounds like it is a religious war.
If war was declared against “Islamic Extremists,” the TSA would be protected and free to treat an 80 year old lady different than 3 men of Arab descent who board a plane together acting bit funny, until then, it is racial profiling, and we cannot do that…would want to hurt anyone’s feelings; after all, the 3000 people that died almost 8 years ago and the many that have given their lives since in the defense of our way of life and the freedom of AF and Iraqi people…they didn’t have feelings.
So what are the mixed emotions about? What "new" and expanded rights would the govt have in today's day and age? I am talking about wire tapping and spying on American citizens and U.S. persons. What if your gun purchasing ability was restricted during a time of war b/c the govt was concerned about an angry population? An angry mob like the democrats think they see in town hall meetings regarding health care...surprise guys, it is called democracy. If you don't think the govt infringing on your gun rights during tough times is a realistic possibility, see: http://www.neworleansgungrab.com/ where Nagin and other idiots in the storm affected areas of Katrina authorized the seizure of legal weapons out of the hands of law abiding citizens b/c they didn't think it was safe for the people and the authorities to have guns. So where will the FEDS draw the line, where will they let the line get blurry? The problem I see goes back to career politicians who are so disconnected from real Americans that they will make decisions without regard for how it effects the people they are sworn to serve.

I went to the gun range with the ANA again a few times this week. The shooting has improved a bit, and safety is still “OK.” The most disheartening thing is the condition of their equipment and weapons. They really don’t have enough weapons for everyone and many of them share gear. I am starting to understand the lack of pride that many of them exude. Many of them don’t see what they have to be proud of. They are given bad equipment, food lacking proper nutrition, and some have awful living conditions, but are expected to act like professionals…it is just not going to happen like that. An example of where the ANA stand is some comments from a meeting this morning: 1. Holding hands in uniform is inappropriate. 2. Senior enlisted soldiers are not allowed to have homosexual relations with their soldiers. Yep, that just happened.
Pray for these people. Pray for our troops.
God Bless and take care.

BMP