Crazy Afghan Kids and their Crazy Burros

On a recent visit to the village of Tormai, we had the chance to play around with the local kids and their beloved donkeys. While lacking many basic necesities, such as bicycles, powerwheels, and tricycles, there seemed to be no shortage of these four-legged beasts. I was amazed at how patient these donkeys were with the kids, who were piling on to them three and four at a time! I passed out handfulls of gum and pens to the kids, which I suspect they are feeding to the donkeys, thus maintaining their loyalty. Maybe I'm wrong in this assumption...but I challenge you come up with a better theory.

One Truck, One Hole

On a recent mission to the Taliban-infested village of Qarabagh our truck driver had a little mishap. As we were attempting to turn the convoy around in a sandy field off the road, our driver managed to find the only hole in an otherwise flat and level area. The hole was hardly bigger than the tire, but he figured out how to get it done. Two towing trucks and two towing cables later, we were back on our way. Our driver's new call sign is "Gopher".

Sultan Dam

One of our recent site visits was to Sultan Dam, way up in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains. Originally built by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980's, the dam partially failed in 2005, flooding the provincial capitol of Ghazni Province, Ghazni City. My assignment was to assess the repairs to the dam which were nearly complete. Unfortunately, the repairs are terrible, and as the new section currently stands, is sure to fail when the reservoir fills in the Spring. Behind the dam is an ancient one, built nearly 1000 years ago. The area around the dam is mountainous, but breath-taking. It's sad that this country has been in a near-continuous state of war throughout it's existence, as the natural beauty of Afghanistan is monumental.

Currahee

All of you "Band of Brothers" fans will hopefully appreciate this post. A few weeks before I arrived at FOB Ghazni, the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment shipped out. This is the same unit that "Easy Company", made famous by their acts of valor in WWII, is a part of. Their motto "Currahee" is painted on the wall of the flight line, along with their division symbol. For anyone who cares, Currahee is the name of a steep hill outside Camp Toccoa in Georgia. During WWII the members of the 506th would train by running up and down this hill almost daily, to push them to their physical limits.

IEDs = No Fun

The biggest threats to Coalition forces here in A-stan are the IEDs (improvised explosive devises) that the Taliban jerks mine the roads with. Taliban fighters generally suck due to their terrible aim and lack of appropriate training, but they've become proficient with bomb making, unfortunately. Because the standard HUMVEEs that are common in the military tend to get ripped apart during IED explosions, the military has forbidden their use during PRT missions. Thankfully the MRAPs that we have (see previous post) are excellent against IEDs. The HUMVEE in the pictures above hit an IED which nearly blew the entire front end off, not to mention injuring the two soldiers in the front seat. They survived, but only miraculously.

My Second Job - Arms Dealing

In my free time here at FOB Ghazni, I like to visit the bazaar. Lately I've been buying up British rifles sold by some of the vendors, left over from the British occupation circa 1890. My associate here, a construction representative also with the Corps of Engineers, Mark Smith, is a veteran gunsmith. With his help, we've amassed a small army's worth of antique rifles and restored them to working order and original beauty. If there is ever a sudden shortage of weaponry among the soldiers here, they know who to see for replacements...now if only I had some antique ammo to use with these rifles....

Ghazni City Orphanage

I had the opportunity to visit a local orphanage in Ghazni City to help pass out goodies to the kids and to deliver school supplies and new desks for the classrooms. It was a nice change of pace from the day to day life of an engineer. Special thanks to Dave Ramsay for the box of treats that I was able to pass out to the kids. It's nice to feel like we're making a difference in these kids' lives while here.