This letter arrived from my mom via the family grapevine (mass e-mail list). I don’t think I’ve met this relative; he was probably the baby of one of my 3rd cousins at a family reunion a couple of decades ago or something. It’s not my brother-in-law, who is also in Afghanistan. Anyway, here’s his description, without any of my snarky comments (and the picture to the left is not him, either):
Well I am finally here and getting settled in. It has been a long trip, but not as bad as it could have been. The final routing was Baltimore to Gander, Newfoundland to Frankfurt, Germany to Turkey to Kyrgistan to Bagram Afghanistan. That was on airplanes. Then we had to convoy from Bagram to Kabul.
Words cannot begin to describe that experience. This place redefines poverty. Its probably 50 times worse than the worst American city. The roads are horrible (built by the Russians many years ago). Mines are still all over the place. The trip took longer than expected. Lots of tense moments occured when the road bottlenecks or cars and trucks are broken down on the side of the road or you hit a “police” checkpoint (most are not actually real police, just warlords trying to get money). Everyone in the vehicle is armed and the weapons are loaded. We also have to have full body armor on for the trip. A buddy got some pictures that I will send later.
As we drive past all of the locals, everyone stares at you. They look directly into your eyes, its kind of freaky. All the kids run to the side of the road and smile and wave or give thumbs up. They love us. The older people are still gunshy. Most of the living places for these people are shacks made of scrap wood and metal. Nothing enclosed. Most have no roofs. There are lots of roadside stands where the people can buy food. Its all sitting out, including meat hanging in the hot sun.
As you get closer to Kabul, the capital, its is more populated. Lots of traffic. There are no traffic signs or lights or rules. Its all who is more aggressive and who can cut in front of who. That part was insane. Its a high speed game of chicken, and the convoys travel fast and get out of the way for no one. If that means running cars off of the road, or bumping into cars – then it happens. There are no lines on the roads, so there are as many lanes as you can fit vehicles. Then mix in the bikes, motorcycles, donkeys with carts, etc and you have sheer chaos. Everyone you pass is a potential good guy – or bad guy. You cannot tell. Thats kind of scary.
Every car on the side of the road is a potential bomb. Takes some getting used to. Once we got near our compund, the security increases dramatically. The rest of those details are the kind we can’t talk about.
Our compound is tiny. Imagine a 1 square city block that we took over and made into a base. Words cannot describe how packed in everything is. But it has everything you need.
I am housed off of the base in a “safe” house. Its a local Afghan house that we took over, made secure, and we live in it. Notice I did not mention that we remodled it or improved it. Its worse than any hotel/motel you can find in the US. 3 or more men in a room. It will take some getting used to. The plumbing/shower system is pretty sketchy. Any time we walk out of our room we have to be armed. When we transit between the house and the base, we are in full body armor (kevlar helmet, kevlar vest with armor plates – very heavy) and armed.
The office is nice, seems like it will be interesting. Lots of scheduling airplanes and helicopters for people who need to get around. The office has Marines, Air Force, Navy, Army all together. The building I work in has Brits, Canadians, French and ANA(Afghan National Army).
So thats the update. By far the biggest culture shock I have ever experienced. TV does not do it justice. Seeing it is a whole new experience. We are near the Embassy and the presidents palace. Its a busy area. It operates 24/7. Constant helos and aircraft overhead. Its weird having to carry a gun everywhere you go and wearing body armor all the time. I am in my flight suit with a black leather shoulder holster like you see police detectives wear. I drink lots of bottled water because you can’t drink the loacl water. The BX has Red Bull so that is good. The safe house has Rolling Rock and St Pauli Girl non-alcoholic beer. Kinda like kissing your sister. My roommates are good guys, but are leaving in a few months. I am going to try and move on base.
I will call you when I can. We have phones to use, but its tough to call people that are not on military bases. I’ll get creative though.
I love you all and miss you guys a bunch. You get an insane appreciation for the US and the freedoms we have. It will be nice to get back to all of that. Take care and I will call soon. Please forward this to anyone you think might want to read it. I do not have a bunch of email addresses.
