Great Day in Afghanistan and Other Nuggets

From Afghanistan Without a Clue:

Great day? Funny story there. Hamid came to Phoenix with us to get lunch, and as I walked back to my hut, I said, “Another Great Day.” Hamid looked puzzled, and I explained my little ritual. Every day I walk back alive makes it a great day.

“You should not worry about suicide bombers or the Taliban,” he informed me. “If God wants you dead, you will die. If not, no worries.”

Read the rest of why it is a Great Day in Afghanistan

The Bigger War

People have laughed at the term “War on Terror.” I don’t. It is simply too hard to define the enemy. They move from country to country, and originate from many different nations. This war is far from over. Even if by some miracle Iraq settled down and became a peaceful, united nation, we are not in the clear. Even if we succeed in Afghanistan, and a thriving democracy emerges, the war isn’t over. These are merely battles in a much bigger war. The troops aren’t coming home for good. It is a virtual certainty we’ll be going somewhere else soon. In my humble opinion.

Lifetime of Experiences

As we were driving home, dodging an unusually thick crowd of both people and vehicles, we cut across the media to avoid a traffic jam and head down the main road into on-coming traffic. Normally this might cause the pulse to race a bit, but we had a nice taxi clearing the path for us. I laughed and said, “Only in Afghanistan” as we tored through muddy, rutted roads trying to get back home. I have to admit, the sheer nuttiness of this place has a certain endearing charm of its own. Of course, after spending almost eight months in the Twilight Zone, nothing seems terribly strange or unusual, just different. Yesterday we drove around the end of the runway, and if you remember yesterdays photo, we found a huge set of landing gear lying in the field. You wouldn’t see that in the States. We tried to imagine the poor pilot who was taking off and suddenly realized some of his landing gear had fallen off. That can’t be a good feeling. If nothing else, this year will have provided a lifetime’s worth of unique experiences.

Afghanistan Without A Clue

I would direct you also to Make A Desert and Call It Peace and a round up of blogs called From the Front

High Protector

Meet Alex, our “high protector”, this dog does more for the War on Terror than many of your fellow Americans. Being our third line of defense, her bark will immediately alert us to any Tango presence. She works in tandem with another “high protector”, Daisy.

Hook, Line and Sinker

Instead of honoring the memory of these fine officers, I will divulge the details of their stupidity so that others may learn from their mistakes. Do not EVER walk up to a suspected IED and inspect it with your barehands….which is exactly what three of the ANP did, one of which was their Intel officer.