Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving
We had all 5 kids and 11 grand kids here for Thanksgiving. We also had DeAnn and Roger Stapley (Gayla's sister and Brother in Law) here as well. See some of the pictures we took.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I Made it Home
Made it home to Spokane, Washington. Wow what a culture shock. It would have taken 35 hours to get home but luckily the flight from Washington DC to Seattle was 1 hour early. So when I got off the plane I checked for flights to Spokane and luclily there was one leaving on 15 minutes. So I hopped onto that flight. I wasn't able to call ahead and let them know I was coming early. So when I got home there was no one at the airport. I called and no one home either so I took a cab home. I couldn't remember the gate code to Saddle Mountain so I called and got in touch with Roger Stapley. Thankfully he knew the code and was home. I go in the house ok and then called Suzanne at work to let her know she didn't need to pick her up.
I couldn't believe all the stuff at the store I could buy. I went on a spending spree to gayla's dismay.
Enjoying having all my kids and grandkids here for Thanksgiving. Thanksfully the house is big enough where we aren't stepping on everyone.
I couldn't believe all the stuff at the store I could buy. I went on a spending spree to gayla's dismay.
Enjoying having all my kids and grandkids here for Thanksgiving. Thanksfully the house is big enough where we aren't stepping on everyone.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Earth Moved Again and Taliban Attacks
Woke up around 10:15 pm last night (Saturday, 29 Oct 09) to another earth quake. Supposedly around 6.0 magnitude. I just looked around and went back to sleep. They are getting more frequesnt. Hadn't seen any till a few weeks ago. Since I am living in a shipping container -- no problem. The room just sways, and puts me back to sleep. When I woke up I thought I had drempt it. But someone else asked me if I felt the earth quake so it must have happened.
On Wednesday the Taliban attacked a supposed "safe" house where some of the UN employees reside. A total of 11 people were killed. There were suicide bombers with suicide vests on that attacked with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades. I am glad I don't live outside the wire. Several people in our branch live on that street. Our new Relief Society President lives across the street. She has only been here two weeks.
It's nuts -- they keep the military on base (armed) and they put the civilians off base (unarmed). If they want me to go and live outside I'll tell them to give me a gun.
CBS News Report:
Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing 11 people including five U.N. workers.
The two-hour attack, which began shortly before 6 a.m., sent people jumping out of windows or hopping from roof to roof to escape a fire that engulfed part of the three-story building. A man from Kansas City, Mo., said he held off gunmen with a Kalashnikov until a group of guests escaped through the laundry room.
It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election. At least 25 U.N. staff were staying at the guest house, most of them advisers for the Nov. 7 balloting.
In a phone call Wednesday to CBS News' Sami Yousafzai, Taliban commander for Kabul city Qari Talha claimed responsibility for the attack and said more violence in the Afghan capital could be expected before the planned Nov. 7 vote.
The Taliban has warned Afghans to stay away from the polls or risk attacks.
The chief of the United Nations' mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the attack "will not deter the U.N. from continuing all its work" in the country.
"We will not be deterred from this noble mission," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York.
One of the U.N. dead was an American, the U.S. Embassy said.
John Christopher "Chris" Turner, a trucker from Kansas City, said the attackers appeared well organized and were able to penetrate the building, located on a residential street.
Flushed and with black stains on his hands and face, Turner said 40 people were staying at the guest house, of whom about 25 took refuge in the laundry room at the back of the building under his protection.
"I am armed. I carry an AK-47 and I kept firing it to keep the attackers away from the group I was guarding," he said. The group later jumped over a back wall to take refuge in a house behind the guest house, he said.
It was not possible to reach others who had been staying at the guest house to verify Turner's account. They were being evacuated to Dubai for counseling, the U.N. said. Turner did not have a weapon when he spoke with an Associated Press reporter.
Miles Robertson, an Australian working as an election adviser, said he and his wife fled to a closet in their bedroom when they heard gunfire.
"We made sure the door was locked. I actually put my wife in the cupboard to hide, and made the room look as if it wasn't occupied," Robertson said as he retrieved belongings from the burned-out guest house in the afternoon.
But then came the fire, which Robertson said appeared to be in the room next door.
"We realized that there was no way for us to go out under the stairs or any way for us to come outside," said Robertson, a lanky middle-aged man wearing a sweat shirt. "I opened the window and stepped out to the landing out front, and had a volley of shots fired at me."
So he ducked back into the bedroom, but it had filled with smoke. He worried about dying of smoke inhalation.
"I went bathroom, wet a towel and kept it over the face of my wife and myself as we crouched beside the window," he said.
Meanwhile, outside, "there was a lot of indistinguishable yelling and calling." Robertson said he made four phone calls to people saying they had about 10 minutes to get them out "because obviously the place was on fire."
He was too exhausted to finish the account, but a colleague said the Robertsons eventually climbed out a window as the fire raged and scrambled over the roofs of neighboring houses to a friend's home nearby.
A security guard, Noor Allah, said he saw a woman screaming for help in English from a second-story window and watched as terrified guests leapt from windows. Afghan police using ladders rescued at least one wounded foreigner.
Police were later seen pulling the charred body of what appeared to be a woman from a second-floor bedroom. One officer carried an injured German man by piggyback away from the scene.
About a mile away from the guest house, one rocket struck the "outer limit" of the presidential palace but caused no casualties, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said.
Thirty minutes after the U.N. attack there was another coordinated strike, reports CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark. This time rockets were fired at Kabul's luxury Serena hotel, forcing 100 guests to flee into an underground bunker.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack as "an inhuman act" and called on the army and police to strengthen security around all international institutions.
(CBS)Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks in a telephone call to the AP, saying three militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the guest house assault.
He said three days ago that the Taliban issued a statement threatening anyone working on the Nov. 7 runoff election between Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah.
"This is our first attack," he said.
An official with the U.N. election team said that the Bakhtar guest house was home to the largest concentration of U.N. election workers in the city.
U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards initially said six U.N. staff were killed and nine other U.N. employees were wounded. Later, he revised the figure to five, indicating one body may have been counted twice.
Afghan police and U.N. officials said 11 people in all were killed, including the U.N. staff, three attackers, two security guards and an Afghan civilian. It was not clear whether there were any other attackers besides the three killed.
The dead included the brother-in-law of one of Afghanistan's most powerful governors, Gul Agha Sherzai. The man was killed by a stray bullet as he watched the gunfight from a nearby house, according to provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai.
Edwards said the U.N. would have to evaluate "what this means for our work in Afghanistan."
"This has clearly been a very serious incident for us," Edwards said. "We've not had an incident like this in the past."
The Aug. 19, 2003, truck bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people, prompted the U.N. to pull out of Iraq for several years.
Afghans are to vote Nov. 7 in a second-round election after U.N.-backed auditors threw out nearly a third of Karzai's votes from the Aug. 20 ballot, determining widespread fraud. That pushed Karzai's totals below the 50 percent threshold needed for a first-round victory in the 36-candidate field.
Dozens of people were killed in Taliban attacks during the August balloting, helping drive down turnout.
On Wednesday the Taliban attacked a supposed "safe" house where some of the UN employees reside. A total of 11 people were killed. There were suicide bombers with suicide vests on that attacked with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades. I am glad I don't live outside the wire. Several people in our branch live on that street. Our new Relief Society President lives across the street. She has only been here two weeks.
It's nuts -- they keep the military on base (armed) and they put the civilians off base (unarmed). If they want me to go and live outside I'll tell them to give me a gun.
CBS News Report:
Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing 11 people including five U.N. workers.
The two-hour attack, which began shortly before 6 a.m., sent people jumping out of windows or hopping from roof to roof to escape a fire that engulfed part of the three-story building. A man from Kansas City, Mo., said he held off gunmen with a Kalashnikov until a group of guests escaped through the laundry room.
It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election. At least 25 U.N. staff were staying at the guest house, most of them advisers for the Nov. 7 balloting.
In a phone call Wednesday to CBS News' Sami Yousafzai, Taliban commander for Kabul city Qari Talha claimed responsibility for the attack and said more violence in the Afghan capital could be expected before the planned Nov. 7 vote.
The Taliban has warned Afghans to stay away from the polls or risk attacks.
The chief of the United Nations' mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the attack "will not deter the U.N. from continuing all its work" in the country.
"We will not be deterred from this noble mission," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York.
One of the U.N. dead was an American, the U.S. Embassy said.
John Christopher "Chris" Turner, a trucker from Kansas City, said the attackers appeared well organized and were able to penetrate the building, located on a residential street.
Flushed and with black stains on his hands and face, Turner said 40 people were staying at the guest house, of whom about 25 took refuge in the laundry room at the back of the building under his protection.
"I am armed. I carry an AK-47 and I kept firing it to keep the attackers away from the group I was guarding," he said. The group later jumped over a back wall to take refuge in a house behind the guest house, he said.
It was not possible to reach others who had been staying at the guest house to verify Turner's account. They were being evacuated to Dubai for counseling, the U.N. said. Turner did not have a weapon when he spoke with an Associated Press reporter.
Miles Robertson, an Australian working as an election adviser, said he and his wife fled to a closet in their bedroom when they heard gunfire.
"We made sure the door was locked. I actually put my wife in the cupboard to hide, and made the room look as if it wasn't occupied," Robertson said as he retrieved belongings from the burned-out guest house in the afternoon.
But then came the fire, which Robertson said appeared to be in the room next door.
"We realized that there was no way for us to go out under the stairs or any way for us to come outside," said Robertson, a lanky middle-aged man wearing a sweat shirt. "I opened the window and stepped out to the landing out front, and had a volley of shots fired at me."
So he ducked back into the bedroom, but it had filled with smoke. He worried about dying of smoke inhalation.
"I went bathroom, wet a towel and kept it over the face of my wife and myself as we crouched beside the window," he said.
Meanwhile, outside, "there was a lot of indistinguishable yelling and calling." Robertson said he made four phone calls to people saying they had about 10 minutes to get them out "because obviously the place was on fire."
He was too exhausted to finish the account, but a colleague said the Robertsons eventually climbed out a window as the fire raged and scrambled over the roofs of neighboring houses to a friend's home nearby.
A security guard, Noor Allah, said he saw a woman screaming for help in English from a second-story window and watched as terrified guests leapt from windows. Afghan police using ladders rescued at least one wounded foreigner.
Police were later seen pulling the charred body of what appeared to be a woman from a second-floor bedroom. One officer carried an injured German man by piggyback away from the scene.
About a mile away from the guest house, one rocket struck the "outer limit" of the presidential palace but caused no casualties, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said.
Thirty minutes after the U.N. attack there was another coordinated strike, reports CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark. This time rockets were fired at Kabul's luxury Serena hotel, forcing 100 guests to flee into an underground bunker.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack as "an inhuman act" and called on the army and police to strengthen security around all international institutions.
(CBS)Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks in a telephone call to the AP, saying three militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the guest house assault.
He said three days ago that the Taliban issued a statement threatening anyone working on the Nov. 7 runoff election between Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah.
"This is our first attack," he said.
An official with the U.N. election team said that the Bakhtar guest house was home to the largest concentration of U.N. election workers in the city.
U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards initially said six U.N. staff were killed and nine other U.N. employees were wounded. Later, he revised the figure to five, indicating one body may have been counted twice.
Afghan police and U.N. officials said 11 people in all were killed, including the U.N. staff, three attackers, two security guards and an Afghan civilian. It was not clear whether there were any other attackers besides the three killed.
The dead included the brother-in-law of one of Afghanistan's most powerful governors, Gul Agha Sherzai. The man was killed by a stray bullet as he watched the gunfight from a nearby house, according to provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai.
Edwards said the U.N. would have to evaluate "what this means for our work in Afghanistan."
"This has clearly been a very serious incident for us," Edwards said. "We've not had an incident like this in the past."
The Aug. 19, 2003, truck bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people, prompted the U.N. to pull out of Iraq for several years.
Afghans are to vote Nov. 7 in a second-round election after U.N.-backed auditors threw out nearly a third of Karzai's votes from the Aug. 20 ballot, determining widespread fraud. That pushed Karzai's totals below the 50 percent threshold needed for a first-round victory in the 36-candidate field.
Dozens of people were killed in Taliban attacks during the August balloting, helping drive down turnout.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Enjoying Life
I am enjoying life here in Afghanistan. Seems kind of strange to say. Other people hate it. I have gotten into a routine and time goes by fast when you work 10 hour days -- 6 days a week. Friday's -- my day off, come around quickly. I spend my free time watching movies and reading books. Would like to get into my genealogy more, but don't have a lot of my resources that I have a home. Still can search the internet and work on my lines. Don't have much space to store things though.
My closet measures 18 inches wide. So everything I wear must fit into that space. I have to send things home that I don't wear becuase there isn't room to store it.
The Bazaars they have Friday afternoon are interesting. You can get pirated movies from China for $2 each. Some are very poor quality. You can tell they were taped by a guy sitting in the theater. Especially when you hear people talking and coughing around him and when the movie is over the people stand up in front of him. Kind of funny though.
You can get a custom made suit for $75, $100 if you want two pair of pants. You can also buy jewelry and marble things for very cheap.
Will hope to see veryone soon -- for Thanksgiving.
My closet measures 18 inches wide. So everything I wear must fit into that space. I have to send things home that I don't wear becuase there isn't room to store it.
The Bazaars they have Friday afternoon are interesting. You can get pirated movies from China for $2 each. Some are very poor quality. You can tell they were taped by a guy sitting in the theater. Especially when you hear people talking and coughing around him and when the movie is over the people stand up in front of him. Kind of funny though.
You can get a custom made suit for $75, $100 if you want two pair of pants. You can also buy jewelry and marble things for very cheap.
Will hope to see veryone soon -- for Thanksgiving.
Earth Quake Hits Afghanistan -- I Felt the Earth Move
Strong Quake Strikes Afghanistan, Pakistan
Thursday , October 22, 2009
KABUL —
A strong earthquake centered in the towering Hindu Kush mountains shook a wide area of eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan early Friday, swaying buildings in the Afghan and Pakistani capitals.
There were no initial reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck about 12:21 a.m. Afghan time.
However, the temblor was centered in a remote mountain area where communications are poor and reports of casualties take time to reach the capital.
The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and was centered in the mountains about 167 miles northeast of Kabul and 140 miles west of Mingaora, Pakistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Buildings shook in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and the capital Islamabad, and the quake was felt as far east as Lahore near the Indian border, Pakistani television stations reported.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said it had no immediate reports of deaths or damage.
Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that even though the quake was centered in a remote area, casualties were still possible given the size of the temblor. Caruso said Friday's quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital.
Caruso said the area is capable of producing large earthquakes because of the compression created when what is now India slammed against the Asian continent millions of years ago.
He said the largest quake recorded in that area was 7.8 on March 14, 1965.
I had just gone to the bathroom and had gotten into bed and the room started shaking. I wasn't worried since I live in a storage container. The after shocks, however,kept me awake.
Thursday , October 22, 2009
KABUL —
A strong earthquake centered in the towering Hindu Kush mountains shook a wide area of eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan early Friday, swaying buildings in the Afghan and Pakistani capitals.
There were no initial reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck about 12:21 a.m. Afghan time.
However, the temblor was centered in a remote mountain area where communications are poor and reports of casualties take time to reach the capital.
The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and was centered in the mountains about 167 miles northeast of Kabul and 140 miles west of Mingaora, Pakistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Buildings shook in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and the capital Islamabad, and the quake was felt as far east as Lahore near the Indian border, Pakistani television stations reported.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said it had no immediate reports of deaths or damage.
Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that even though the quake was centered in a remote area, casualties were still possible given the size of the temblor. Caruso said Friday's quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital.
Caruso said the area is capable of producing large earthquakes because of the compression created when what is now India slammed against the Asian continent millions of years ago.
He said the largest quake recorded in that area was 7.8 on March 14, 1965.
I had just gone to the bathroom and had gotten into bed and the room started shaking. I wasn't worried since I live in a storage container. The after shocks, however,kept me awake.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Been Busy
I've been really busy lately and haven't been able to post anything on my blog. The District Clerk went on vacation for three weeks and the District President asked me to fill in for him. A job keeping track of about 600 members in Afghanistan. Quite a job since they come and go and move around a lot.
I have also been going outside the wire a lot to attend District Presidency Meetings at the ISAF HQ. It is mainly at night so the danger level is lower. However, there are still threats out there.
I have tried to maintain a low profile here so don't go outside that much.
The weather here has cooled off -- 70s during the day and 40s at night. Will be dropping to the 60s during the day and 30s at night this next week. Winter can't be that far away.
I'll be coming home for Thanksgiving so am looking forward to that. See you all then.
I have also been going outside the wire a lot to attend District Presidency Meetings at the ISAF HQ. It is mainly at night so the danger level is lower. However, there are still threats out there.
I have tried to maintain a low profile here so don't go outside that much.
The weather here has cooled off -- 70s during the day and 40s at night. Will be dropping to the 60s during the day and 30s at night this next week. Winter can't be that far away.
I'll be coming home for Thanksgiving so am looking forward to that. See you all then.
Bomb Blast at Indian Embassy/MOI
On the 8th of October 2009, a suicide bomber blew up a bomb at the Indian Embassy and Ministry of Interior here in Kabul, Afghanistan.
KABUL — A powerful car bomb exploded outside the Indian Embassy in the busy center of Afghanistan's capital early Thursday, killing at least 12 civilians, destroying vehicles and blowing off the walls of shops, officials said.
At least 84 people, including members of Afghan security forces, were wounded in the attack, which struck a shop-lined road between the Indian Embassy and the Interior Ministry, said Health Ministry spokesman Ahmad Farid Raaid, spokesman for the Health Ministry.
The blast hit shortly after 8:30 a.m., just as residents were arriving to work. It shattered glass and rattled buildings more than a mile away. A huge brown plume of smoke was visible in the air as ambulances raced to the scene and carried away the wounded.
In New Delhi, India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the Indian embassy was the target.
"I believe the suicide bomb was directed at the embassy since the suicide bomber came up to the outer perimeter wall of the embassy in a car loaded with explosives," Rao told reporters.
Three Indian paramilitary soldiers on guard duty at the embassy's watchtower were wounded by shrapnel, Rao said.
She said the intensity of the blast was similar to the one that occurred outside the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008 which killed dozens of civilians. The road in front of the embassy has been barricaded since then. The Afghan Interior Ministry is just across from Indian Embassy.
The explosion hit a day after the Afghanistan war reached its eighth anniversary and as President Barack Obama considered a request for between 10,000 and 40,000 additional troops prepared by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal.
The Afghan capital has been hit numerous times by suicide bombers and roadside bombs, several since the run-up to the country's disputed Aug. 20 election. The attacks usually target international military forces or government installations, but Afghan businesses and civilians are also often killed or injured.
In the most recent attack in mid-September, a suicide car bomber rammed into an Italian military convoy on a road leading to the airport. That blast killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians.
Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said Thursday's explosion was also a homicide car bomb, but he had no details and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The Indian news channel CNN-IBN cited Jayant Prasad, Indian ambassador in Kabul, as saying there has been "extensive damage to the chancery." He said that the vehicle-borne bomb was so powerful that it blew off the some doors and windows of the embassy.
President Hamid Karzai's office condemned the attack.
AP Television News footage from Kabul on Thursday showed local residents and soldiers pulling a charred, severed leg out of a destroyed vehicle. Others carried an apparently lifeless body on a stretcher to an ambulance.
On another stretcher, a man lay face down, one arm hanging downward, his back left leg covered in blood.
One 21-year-old man named Najibullah said he had just opened his shop when the explosion went off, knocking him unconscious.
When he awoke, he said, he couldn't see anything.
"Dust was everywhere. People were shouting," said Najibullah, who like many Afghans uses only one name. "You couldn't see their faces because there was so much dust."
His white clothes were covered in blood after helping load four injured onto ambulances.
Two sport utility vehicles nearby were badly damaged, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. One of them had U.N. markings on its side.
U.N. spokesman Dan McNorton confirmed two of the world body's vehicles were near the blast and one was damaged. Both vehicles had only a driver inside, and neither was wounded. The United Nations typically uses armored vehicles in Kabul that are designed to withstand such attacks.
The blast could be heard miles away. Windows in dozens of surrounding shops at the scene of the blast were shattered, and walls of buildings were badly damaged in the blast, though none of the multistory buildings along the commercial thoroughfare had collapsed.
One injured man said the force of the explosion threw him into the air. Mohammad Arif said he was leaving the Indian Embassy when the blast tossed him against a concrete barrier. The left side of his head was bleeding as he spoke.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Travel in Kabul
I have only been outside the wire twice since I have been here. They keep asking me to go to meetings outside the wire and I decline. The bombers have hit the airport that I came into and will leave from. They also have hit places along the way to the airport.
When I went out I went to the New Kabul Compound and the Corps of Engineers Building.
The military that go on convoys almost daily shrug off the danger. They say if it's their time to go so be it. An interesting perspective.
I'll keep my head down and only go out as needed.
When I went out I went to the New Kabul Compound and the Corps of Engineers Building.
The military that go on convoys almost daily shrug off the danger. They say if it's their time to go so be it. An interesting perspective.
I'll keep my head down and only go out as needed.
Map of Kabul Afghanistan
The bomb exploded around the intersection between New Kabul Compound and the US Embassy. They were trying to get to the US Embassy. We have several members of the church that work at the US Embassy.
Another Bomb Blast
At Least 16 Killed in Car Bomb in Afghan Capital
Thursday, September 17, 2009
AP
Sept. 17: Damaged military vehicles are seen at the site where a suicide car bomber attacked an Italian military convoy on a road in Kabul.
KABUL — A homicide car bomber attacked an Italian military convoy on a road in Afghanistan's capital Thursday, killing six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians, officials said.
The homicide bomber rammed his explosives-filled car into two Italian military vehicles about midday, Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said in Rome. He said six of those aboard were killed and four wounded.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility, saying in a text message that they had ordered had carried out the homicide attack against foreign forces.
The explosion shattered windows in buildings about half a mile away and shook offices and homes throughout the central Afghan neighborhood that houses a number of embassies and military bases.
Charred vehicles littered the area around the blast site -- a road just off a main traffic circle that leads to the airport. An Associated Press reporter saw at least six vehicles burned, including an Italian Humvee, and two burned bodies that were later covered with plastic sheets.
Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said at least 10 Afghan civilians were killed and 52 wounded.
Shopkeeper Feraudin Ansari said he felt the blast in his store about 50 yards from the site. Windows were broken in all the shops on the street. He said he was angry at NATO forces for patrolling in downtown areas.
"Why are you patrolling inside the city? There is no Al Qaeda, no Taliban here," 25-year-old Ansari said. "My shop is destroyed and my head hurts from the blast."
The explosion was the fourth major attack in the capital in five weeks.
In the latest, a car bomb exploded Sept. 8 near the entrance to the military airport in Kabul in an attack on a NATO convoy, killing three civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.
The bomb went off at 12:10 pm on Thursday. We had warnings that something was about to happen. Yesterday was one of their holiest days during Ramadan. So they wanted to take advantage of it by killing someone.
Spent about 30 minutes in the bunker till the gave the all clear. Maybe I should set up a desk out there.
My supervisor for CALIBRE Corp. works at New Kabul Compound (NKC) close to the blast. He was outside in the dining tent when it went off -- he said luckily he had the administration building between him and the blast. So he didn't feel the entire effect of the blast. They sent out a notice shortly after the blast to not pick up pieces of the wreckage that was blown onto the compound property, but mark it and report it to authorities to aid in the investigation.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Car Blast at Kabul Airport
Taliban Car Bomber Kills 5 in Afghan Capital
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Sept. 8: Afghan policemen carry a casualty away from the blast site outside a NATO military base in Kabul.
KABUL — A car bomb exploded near the entrance to the military airport in Kabul early Tuesday in an apparent attack on a NATO convoy, killing at least five and wounding seven others, Afghan officials told FOX News.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, the third major attack by insurgents in the capital in four weeks.
U.S. and NATO forces said they did not yet have details on the incident or casualties, but the chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, confirmed fatalities.
Sayadzada said he was briefed by NATO forces, who said at least one international soldier was wounded.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility and said a homicide car bomber rammed into a NATO convoy and destroyed three Land Cruisers.
The early morning blast rattled windows more than a mile away, and vehicles still burned more than an hour later as fire trucks ringed the area. Small blasts could be heard, likely from ammunition exploding inside the vehicles.
A police official for the area, Rohullah, said the attack appeared to be against a NATO convoy. Like many Afghans, the official goes by one name.
A witness said he saw the car ram into a line of SUVs.
"I saw three or four Land Cruisers for the foreigners just in front of the gate ... then there was a car and it hit them, then blew up," said Humayun, who watched the attack from his nearby shop.
U.S. forces spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician confirmed an explosion south of the airport, but said he did not have details. The military airport used by U.S. and other international forces is right next to Kabul's civilian airport, but they have separate entrances.
Insurgent attacks, often deadly, occur in Kabul despite tight security and blast walls. Homicide bombers have hit government buildings and gunmen have overrun ministries.
In the run-up to Aug. 20 elections, a suicide attack near the main gate of NATO headquarters killed seven people and injured scores, gunmen briefly took over a bank in the city, and insurgents fired on the presidential palace on the same day that they unleashed a homicide car bombers on a NATO convoy.
Late Monday, two militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the rear gate of Camp Phoenix outside Kabul, NATO said, but said there were no injuries to anyone inside and no damage to the base. Afghan police said the two militants were killed.
Taliban insurgents ambushed a police convoy in the village of Dahna Ghori in Baghlan province Monday evening, Gov. Mohammad Akbar Barakzai said Tuesday, and police killed 12 Taliban in the resulting firefight.
No police were killed in the ambush, he said.
But as the convoy was returning to Pul-e-Khumri, the provincial capital, it was hit by a bomb that killed one policeman and wounded 17, two seriously, Barakzai said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Happy Days Are Here Again
It's been great here in Afghanistan. Violence has eased a little. Work is going good, and the weather is cooling off. So eerything is right with the world.
The church is keeping me somewhat busy. I have three callinga, Home Teacher, Branch Clark, and District Councilman -- with 6 units to work with. Since most of them are in remote locations most of my contact is by email.
I also have been busy working on some family History. I am doing research on my dead end lines and people that need temple work, so that fills some of my spare time.
I also watch a lot of movies. Since they sell "hodgy" movies here -- pirated from China ($2) I have most of the latest movies to watch.
I am having so much fun I may stay another year -- If they let me.
I am also looking forward to going home for a visit to WA to see my wife/kids during the holidays.
The church is keeping me somewhat busy. I have three callinga, Home Teacher, Branch Clark, and District Councilman -- with 6 units to work with. Since most of them are in remote locations most of my contact is by email.
I also have been busy working on some family History. I am doing research on my dead end lines and people that need temple work, so that fills some of my spare time.
I also watch a lot of movies. Since they sell "hodgy" movies here -- pirated from China ($2) I have most of the latest movies to watch.
I am having so much fun I may stay another year -- If they let me.
I am also looking forward to going home for a visit to WA to see my wife/kids during the holidays.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
All Quiet on the Eastern Front
Life has turned rather boring after the elections. No bombs, rockets, and very little small arms fire. So basically it's all work and no play.
Work is very interesting. I work with the costing of buildings and equipment. I also sit on a board that approves purchases for the theater. The hours are long and very little to do after work except watch a movie, read or sleep.
I am looking forward to the up coming BYU football season. They play Oklahoma on the 5th of September 2009. That is the 6th of September here (3:30am game time). Me and another guy plan on getting up and watching the game Sunday morning. Most games will be in the wee hours of the morning here -- so I guess I will be getting a little less sleep for a few months.
I have a couple of callings here in the branch. I am the branch cletrk and am on the District High Council. Plus I think I may be drafted into leading the music in church -- who knows -- they may be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The weather has cooled a bit. It's 50s at night and upper 70s and low 80s during the day. There is very little humidity because of the altitude (6,000 ft). So its beautiful. It rained at night this past week. Only the second time in two months it has rained.
I am looking forward to going home for a visit in November/December 2009. Will have all my kids there for Thanksgiving.
Work is very interesting. I work with the costing of buildings and equipment. I also sit on a board that approves purchases for the theater. The hours are long and very little to do after work except watch a movie, read or sleep.
I am looking forward to the up coming BYU football season. They play Oklahoma on the 5th of September 2009. That is the 6th of September here (3:30am game time). Me and another guy plan on getting up and watching the game Sunday morning. Most games will be in the wee hours of the morning here -- so I guess I will be getting a little less sleep for a few months.
I have a couple of callings here in the branch. I am the branch cletrk and am on the District High Council. Plus I think I may be drafted into leading the music in church -- who knows -- they may be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The weather has cooled a bit. It's 50s at night and upper 70s and low 80s during the day. There is very little humidity because of the altitude (6,000 ft). So its beautiful. It rained at night this past week. Only the second time in two months it has rained.
I am looking forward to going home for a visit in November/December 2009. Will have all my kids there for Thanksgiving.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Another Car Bomb in Kabul, Afghanistan
Bomb attack kills 7 in Kabul; UN staff among dead
AP – Injured Afghan men leave the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday … By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Fisnik Abrashi, Associated Press Writer – 25 mins ago
KABUL – A suicide car bomb attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding more than 50 people, officials said. Afghans working for the United Nations were among the dead and wounded.
The attack occurred two days before national elections in which Afghans are to select a new president. The Taliban have denounced the election and warned people they would be at risk if they go to polling stations. Hours before the suicide blast, two mortar rounds struck near the presidential palace in Kabul, the U.S. military said.
NATO announced Tuesday that its forces would refrain from offensive military operations on election day and would undertake missions only if they were "deemed necessary to protect the population."
The suicide attack on the road, close to a British military base, killed seven civilians and wounded 50, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said.
NATO said "reports indicate" that both Afghan civilians and NATO troops "were killed and wounded in the blast" near a NATO convoy. The statement did not elaborate.
The head of the U.N. mission to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said in a statement that two U.N. staff members were killed and one was wounded. All were Afghans, he said. It was not clear if the U.N. dead were included in the ministry's toll.
British troops were guarding the site of the explosion as rescuers rushed the wounded to hospitals. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw British soldiers collecting what appeared to be body parts from the roof of an Afghan home.
About a dozen private vehicles were destroyed near the road where the attack happened. People used their hands to dig through the rubble of damaged buildings. Families carried the wounded away from the scene.
U.S., NATO and Afghan security forces are on high alert this week because of the Thursday vote. President Hamid Karzai is favored to win but faces a stiff challenge from former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. About three dozen candidates are in the race.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber struck the gates of an Afghan army base in the southern province of Uruzgan, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians, provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat said.
U.S. military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias had no details of damage or casualties from the attack on the presidential compound.
Neither Karzai or anyone else was wounded in the attack, said deputy presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi. He said the rounds probably hit "somewhere around the compound," but he had no further details.
Attacks in Afghanistan have risen steadily the last three years. In a speech Monday in Phoenix, President Barack Obama said U.S. troops would help secure polling places so that the elections can go forward and Afghans can choose their own future.
Obama said peace in Afghanistan "will not be quick" and "will not be easy." He added that the United States still has a deep interest in the long-term outcome.
"This is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people," Obama said.
AP – Injured Afghan men leave the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday … By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Fisnik Abrashi, Associated Press Writer – 25 mins ago
KABUL – A suicide car bomb attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding more than 50 people, officials said. Afghans working for the United Nations were among the dead and wounded.
The attack occurred two days before national elections in which Afghans are to select a new president. The Taliban have denounced the election and warned people they would be at risk if they go to polling stations. Hours before the suicide blast, two mortar rounds struck near the presidential palace in Kabul, the U.S. military said.
NATO announced Tuesday that its forces would refrain from offensive military operations on election day and would undertake missions only if they were "deemed necessary to protect the population."
The suicide attack on the road, close to a British military base, killed seven civilians and wounded 50, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said.
NATO said "reports indicate" that both Afghan civilians and NATO troops "were killed and wounded in the blast" near a NATO convoy. The statement did not elaborate.
The head of the U.N. mission to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said in a statement that two U.N. staff members were killed and one was wounded. All were Afghans, he said. It was not clear if the U.N. dead were included in the ministry's toll.
British troops were guarding the site of the explosion as rescuers rushed the wounded to hospitals. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw British soldiers collecting what appeared to be body parts from the roof of an Afghan home.
About a dozen private vehicles were destroyed near the road where the attack happened. People used their hands to dig through the rubble of damaged buildings. Families carried the wounded away from the scene.
U.S., NATO and Afghan security forces are on high alert this week because of the Thursday vote. President Hamid Karzai is favored to win but faces a stiff challenge from former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. About three dozen candidates are in the race.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber struck the gates of an Afghan army base in the southern province of Uruzgan, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians, provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat said.
U.S. military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias had no details of damage or casualties from the attack on the presidential compound.
Neither Karzai or anyone else was wounded in the attack, said deputy presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi. He said the rounds probably hit "somewhere around the compound," but he had no further details.
Attacks in Afghanistan have risen steadily the last three years. In a speech Monday in Phoenix, President Barack Obama said U.S. troops would help secure polling places so that the elections can go forward and Afghans can choose their own future.
Obama said peace in Afghanistan "will not be quick" and "will not be easy." He added that the United States still has a deep interest in the long-term outcome.
"This is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people," Obama said.
Rockets in the Morning
At 7 am this morning I heard 2 explosions and went to the bunker. A few minutes later they gave us the all clear. See the attached news article:
Kabul, Aug 18: Just two days before the presidential elections, a rocket hit the presidential palace in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul on Tuesday, Aug 18. However, no on were hurt in the attack, say the police.
Two rockets were fired into the Afghan capital. While the first strike caused heavy damage to the presidential palace, the second strike was aimed at the main police headquarters near the palace.
Kabul, Aug 18: Just two days before the presidential elections, a rocket hit the presidential palace in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul on Tuesday, Aug 18. However, no on were hurt in the attack, say the police.
Two rockets were fired into the Afghan capital. While the first strike caused heavy damage to the presidential palace, the second strike was aimed at the main police headquarters near the palace.
Monday, August 17, 2009
All Quiet on the Eastern Front
It has been quiet here the past few days but the word out is that it is about to change. Tha Taliban wants to disrupt the elections. I am keeping my head low and making sure I know where all the bunkers are so if I need to make a dash for one I'll know where it is.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Life in the Bunker
When the bomb went off this morning at 8:35 am, everyone looked at each other and we all agreed we should head for the bunker outside our building. The walls and windows shook from the blast. The alarm didn't go off till we were already in the bunker. we stayed there for around 40 minutes till they gave the all clear. You could look outside our bathroom and see the plumb from the bomb. Reports say the bomb was either 600 or 1,100 lbs.
Several of the guys in my office live in the safe houses near the US Embassy and ISAF headquarters. One guy's windows were all blown out from the blast. He lives around 1 block away from the ISAF Building.
I must say the Taliban are making my stay here interesting.
Bombing in Kabul at ISAF
Bomb kills 7, hurts 91 at NATO HQ in Kabul
Militant evades several rings of Afghan police to reach heavily guarded site
Aug. 15, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomb exploded outside the main gate of the NATO-led military mission Saturday, killing seven Afghans and wounding 91 in an attack that penetrated a heavily guarded neighborhood five days before the country's presidential election.
The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives at the doorstep to the international military headquarters, an assault possibly aimed at sending the message that the Taliban can attack anywhere as Afghans gear up for their second-ever direct presidential election. Militants have warned Afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack voting sites.
The NATO headquarters — where top commander U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is based — sits beside the U.S. Embassy and shares the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.
Afganistan has braced for attacks ahead of the election. International workers in the country were planning on working from home over the next week or had been encouraged to leave the country. U.S., NATO and Afghan troops were working to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.
Children wounded Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after Saturday's blast, which rattled the capital and sent a black plume of smoke skyward. Children — many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners — were among the wounded. Windows of nearby antique shops were shattered and blood smeared the ground.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy some 150 yards down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.
Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the 8:35 a.m. blast. He did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30 yards from NATO's front gate, he said. Pointing to the civilian casualties, Tremblay said the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians."
Afghan security forces stopped the vehicle in front of NATO headquarters, and then the bomber detonated the explosives, Tremblay said.
"The security measures in place have stopped cold the bombers as planned," he said, calling the latest attack an example of the "residual risk" that remains despite the safety measures taken. "It's very difficult to stop a suicide bomber."
The blast killed seven Afghans and wounded 91, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.
Four Afghan soldiers and Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager for women, were among the wounded, the ministry said.
"I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened," said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who sustained leg injuries. "I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians."
Al-Qaida link?
The chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 600 pounds of explosives were used, and that because of the amount he suspected al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the blast and said the bomb contained 1,100 pounds of explosives. Mujahid at first said the bomber was on foot, then later called back and said it was a suicide car bomb attack.
The attack falls in line with increasingly spectacular and sophisticated strikes carried out by Afghanistan militants. The Taliban have carried out several coordinated attacks in the last several months with multiple teams of insurgents assaulting government sites. Military analysts have said the increased sophistication comes from training by al-Qaida operatives.
NATO headquarters has several large, cement blocks and steel gates that prevent anyone from reaching the entrance, and the bomber was not able to breach those barriers. Afghanistan's Transportation Ministry lies across the street from NATO headquarters.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out Saturday's attack.
A driver from the nearby Defense Ministry said he took at least 12 people to the hospital. Most were seriously wounded, said the driver, who spoke to an Associated Press reporter at the scene but didn't want to give his name because of safety concerns.
Kabul has been relatively quiet over the last half year, though militants have launched a barrage of rockets into the capital this month, most of which landed harmlessly in open spaces.
Security has increased over the last several weeks in preparation for Thursday's vote.
Militant evades several rings of Afghan police to reach heavily guarded site
Aug. 15, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomb exploded outside the main gate of the NATO-led military mission Saturday, killing seven Afghans and wounding 91 in an attack that penetrated a heavily guarded neighborhood five days before the country's presidential election.
The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives at the doorstep to the international military headquarters, an assault possibly aimed at sending the message that the Taliban can attack anywhere as Afghans gear up for their second-ever direct presidential election. Militants have warned Afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack voting sites.
The NATO headquarters — where top commander U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is based — sits beside the U.S. Embassy and shares the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.
Afganistan has braced for attacks ahead of the election. International workers in the country were planning on working from home over the next week or had been encouraged to leave the country. U.S., NATO and Afghan troops were working to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.
Children wounded Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after Saturday's blast, which rattled the capital and sent a black plume of smoke skyward. Children — many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners — were among the wounded. Windows of nearby antique shops were shattered and blood smeared the ground.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy some 150 yards down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.
Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the 8:35 a.m. blast. He did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30 yards from NATO's front gate, he said. Pointing to the civilian casualties, Tremblay said the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians."
Afghan security forces stopped the vehicle in front of NATO headquarters, and then the bomber detonated the explosives, Tremblay said.
"The security measures in place have stopped cold the bombers as planned," he said, calling the latest attack an example of the "residual risk" that remains despite the safety measures taken. "It's very difficult to stop a suicide bomber."
The blast killed seven Afghans and wounded 91, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.
Four Afghan soldiers and Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager for women, were among the wounded, the ministry said.
"I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened," said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who sustained leg injuries. "I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians."
Al-Qaida link?
The chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 600 pounds of explosives were used, and that because of the amount he suspected al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the blast and said the bomb contained 1,100 pounds of explosives. Mujahid at first said the bomber was on foot, then later called back and said it was a suicide car bomb attack.
The attack falls in line with increasingly spectacular and sophisticated strikes carried out by Afghanistan militants. The Taliban have carried out several coordinated attacks in the last several months with multiple teams of insurgents assaulting government sites. Military analysts have said the increased sophistication comes from training by al-Qaida operatives.
NATO headquarters has several large, cement blocks and steel gates that prevent anyone from reaching the entrance, and the bomber was not able to breach those barriers. Afghanistan's Transportation Ministry lies across the street from NATO headquarters.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out Saturday's attack.
A driver from the nearby Defense Ministry said he took at least 12 people to the hospital. Most were seriously wounded, said the driver, who spoke to an Associated Press reporter at the scene but didn't want to give his name because of safety concerns.
Kabul has been relatively quiet over the last half year, though militants have launched a barrage of rockets into the capital this month, most of which landed harmlessly in open spaces.
Security has increased over the last several weeks in preparation for Thursday's vote.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Life on Camp Eggers
I've been able to settle into a routine here on Camp Eggers. I get up at 5 am, ahower, get dressed and eat by 5:45 am. Walk to work -- takes all of 2 minutes. So I am at work before 6 am. Work 10 hours then go home at 4 pm. I drop by the apartment to drop my notebook off. Check emails and then go to dinner at 4:30 pm or 5 pm. Pick up my laundry next door to the DFAC on the way back to the apartment. Go home and watch a movie, do church work, or read a book. Go to bed at 8/9 pm and then start it all over the next day. I have Friday's off -- today. Go to church at 11:30 am. They have Priesthood first then sacrament meeting next at 12:30 pm. Done by 1:30 pm.
They have a Bazaar on Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm where the locals can come and sell their wares. You can get anything you want from antique guns, jewelry, have a suit made for $65 or buy carpets, and bootleg movies. You can also buy swords, and knives of all sizes and shapes. So very interesting stuff to look at. You can also buy clothes like the locals wear. I have bought a long robe and turbin and a burka for gayla. However, she said no thanks. Guess I have some additions to my Halloween collection.
The weather here has been heating up. It was 99 degrees yesterday. It should start cooling down to the low 90s after today.
My roommate got back from leave yesterday -- Commander Brown. He is a colorful guy. He is also 60 years old and I think we should get along fine. However, I was getting used to no roommate.
The food here is great -- good selection and all you want to eat. That's the problem. When you first get here you are like a kid in a candy store. After you are here a while you learn to pace yourself. Last night I had crab stir fry. It was good. Other things on the menu were rotissiere chicken and meat loaf. You can also do the hot bar where there is chinese food and mexican food. Then there is cookies and ice cream for deseret.
I like the work that I am doing here. We do title 22 funding. That is funding to train, mentor and man the National Afghan Army and National Afghan Police force. I also set on boards that discuss funding for wartime requirements for title 10 funding. I make sure they are costed properly and they are not over spending. So I feel I am contributing to help the Afghans and American people.
The pay is good and if Gayla can make it all right I may stay another year -- we will see how it goes. I will be home for leave the 21st of November 2009, through the 5th of December 2009, to visit my wife and kids. They are all scheduled to come to Spokane for Thanksgiving.
They have a Bazaar on Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm where the locals can come and sell their wares. You can get anything you want from antique guns, jewelry, have a suit made for $65 or buy carpets, and bootleg movies. You can also buy swords, and knives of all sizes and shapes. So very interesting stuff to look at. You can also buy clothes like the locals wear. I have bought a long robe and turbin and a burka for gayla. However, she said no thanks. Guess I have some additions to my Halloween collection.
The weather here has been heating up. It was 99 degrees yesterday. It should start cooling down to the low 90s after today.
My roommate got back from leave yesterday -- Commander Brown. He is a colorful guy. He is also 60 years old and I think we should get along fine. However, I was getting used to no roommate.
The food here is great -- good selection and all you want to eat. That's the problem. When you first get here you are like a kid in a candy store. After you are here a while you learn to pace yourself. Last night I had crab stir fry. It was good. Other things on the menu were rotissiere chicken and meat loaf. You can also do the hot bar where there is chinese food and mexican food. Then there is cookies and ice cream for deseret.
I like the work that I am doing here. We do title 22 funding. That is funding to train, mentor and man the National Afghan Army and National Afghan Police force. I also set on boards that discuss funding for wartime requirements for title 10 funding. I make sure they are costed properly and they are not over spending. So I feel I am contributing to help the Afghans and American people.
The pay is good and if Gayla can make it all right I may stay another year -- we will see how it goes. I will be home for leave the 21st of November 2009, through the 5th of December 2009, to visit my wife and kids. They are all scheduled to come to Spokane for Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Church
I received a calling last Friday as Branch Clerk and was sustained in Sacrament meeting. Was set apart after the meeting. During the meeeting I was able to bless the sacrament -- something I haven't been asked to do for decades. It was a nice experience. A couple of days later the District President asked me to also be the Assistant District Clerk. So I have two callings in addition to being a Home Teacher -- I have 3 families. I am also speaking in Sacrament Meeting next Friday. By the way our meetings are on Friday. Most everyone takes that day off so it is easier to come to church that way. We have an hour Priesthood/RS meeting then an hour Sacrament Meeting. All done in 2 hours. There are 5 branches and 27 servicemen groups in Afghanistan. As the Assistant District Clerk I get to try to keep track of every member that comes into Afghanistan, including the Kabul Military Branch that I am the clerk for. There are about 450 members of the church in Afghanistan. We should have around 500 by next month.
New Apartment
Last Wednesday I was notified by Billeting that my name had reached the top of the list for an apartment -- CHU (Containerized Housing Unit). Yes it is what it says. It is a Shipping Container that has been converted into an apartment for two people. It has two beds and two armours -- that's it. My roommate supposedly is on vacation so I have been without one for a week. How sweet it is. My egg crate pad arrived the same day so I was able to cover the bed springs so it isn't too bad sleeping. Maybe I'll catch up on my sleep and my sleep depravation will go away.
Monday, July 27, 2009
New Bed (Mattress)
Got a new mattress the other day. If the government paid more than $25 for it they got taken. It is hard as a board but collapses like a deck of cards if you sit on the edge. Then you find yourself sitting on the floor. Luckily I am on the bottom bunk. Some of the guys have fallen out of bed when they roll over in the night. However, this mattress is an improvement over the one I got rid of. You would sink into it and you could feel the metal springs on your back. Needless to say I have had back aches since I have been here.
Yhe weather is heating up here. Ninety-Nine degrees yesterday. Still beats the 115s in Kuwait.
I am in my 4th week here and am still in temporary housing. They have an influx of people here in Afghanistan and we have very little leaving. So they put people up where they can. They have taken over the library and the MWR movie room to house new people. So I guess I should be glad I'm not sleeping on the floor or in an un-air conditioned tent. Augh the pleasures of life!!!!!
Yhe weather is heating up here. Ninety-Nine degrees yesterday. Still beats the 115s in Kuwait.
I am in my 4th week here and am still in temporary housing. They have an influx of people here in Afghanistan and we have very little leaving. So they put people up where they can. They have taken over the library and the MWR movie room to house new people. So I guess I should be glad I'm not sleeping on the floor or in an un-air conditioned tent. Augh the pleasures of life!!!!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
GI Papa Smurf Goes Outside the Wire
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Pictures of Kuwait
Here are pictures I took while in Kuwait but didn't have a cord to download the pictures.
Pictures of Camp Eggers
I have included pictures of Camp Eggers to show you where I live (Douglas House), I eat (Goat House) and Worship (Chapel House). Also, note the bunkers for when there are incoming !!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Maps of Kabul Afghanistan and Camp Eggers
Here are maps of Kabul, Afghanistan and Camp Eggers. I work in the right bottom corner of the map -- corner house. I sleep on the left bottom corner of the map in Douglas House. Takes 5 minutes to walk to work.
Dining at Camp Eggers
Above is a menu for what we had to eat today at Camp Eggers. There is always plenty of food.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Family Home Evening
The Camp Eggers Branch has FHE on Monday nights at 6 pm. I will be going again tonight for the second time. They have someone teach a lesson. We meet in a small room on the second floor of a small building. The room maybe holds 30 people. It is where a lot of churches hold their services. The larger congregations meet in what is called the clam shell. It is a large tent in the shape of -- you guessed it a "Clam".
The District President ran into me on Sunday afternoon and he said he planned on getting me more involved in the branch -- Yikes I come half way around the world for some down time. Maybe a Home teacher assignment. That would work for me. However, I don't know how anyone could HT me in my current situation. One room with 18 of my new closest friends, no place to sit let alone stand. Maybe out on the patio -- for the Green Bean Coffee Shop across the way.
The District President ran into me on Sunday afternoon and he said he planned on getting me more involved in the branch -- Yikes I come half way around the world for some down time. Maybe a Home teacher assignment. That would work for me. However, I don't know how anyone could HT me in my current situation. One room with 18 of my new closest friends, no place to sit let alone stand. Maybe out on the patio -- for the Green Bean Coffee Shop across the way.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Church
Went to church today at 11:30 am, after spending 5 hours at work. We had Priesthood/Relief Society together. It lasted 1 hour. A guy gave the lesson. No Sunday School. Took a 10 minute break and then 50 minutes for Sacrament meeting. Two talks and we were done. It was interesting having two guys in Desert Combat Uniforms with side arms blessing the sacrament. The bread we got from the dinning hall. The water had to be poured out of bottled water. No water on Post can be consumed. Not Potable. Got to stand and introduce myself again today. I would imagine I will be speaking in Sacrament meeting shortly as there were about 23 people attending today. You get a lot of opportunities when there are only a few to pick on.
They gave me the Middle Eastern Coin for Church members and a District Conference Video to view. We have FHE on Monday nights at 6 pm. I went last week and enjoyed the time there.
They gave me the Middle Eastern Coin for Church members and a District Conference Video to view. We have FHE on Monday nights at 6 pm. I went last week and enjoyed the time there.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Camp Eggers -- Or My Camping Trip
Arrived at Camp Eggers on 3 July 2009. I flew in from Bagram AFB (30 Miles north of Kabul, Afghanistan). It's all of a 12 minutes flight. We fly everywhere because of the chance of IEDs on convoys. However, still required to wear full individual body armor (IBAs), including helmet for the flight.
Camp Eggers is about 400 yards in diameter. I am staying temporarily in the Douglas House (men on the first floor and women upstairs (separate entrances)) -- a small room where they house around 30 guys temporarily until they can step up to a semi-private room the size of a jail cell that you share with a total stranger (new close friend). The apartment opens into a public area where you must walk through to get to the public restroom where you shower. We have a sink and toilet in our room but no shower. Across from my room is a "Green bean" shop (Coffee Shop), and the MWR (Internet cafe and Movie room). So all the amenities all within walking distance.
The DFAC (Dining facility) is a short 50 feet the other way and the PX is further up the street from there.
My office is in the Corner House -- a small house on the corner of the base -- aptly named. I work on the second floor in one of the two rooms. I share the room with a total of 5 other people (5 men and one woman). Not much room for anything else. It takes around 5/10 minutes to walk to work -- depending on how fast I walk.
I found the church faster than at Camp Arifjan. It so happens the guy that works for CALIBRE Corp here is a member too. So he told me all about it. They meet on Friday's from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Priesthood/RS first hour and sacrament meeting the second hour. Either the RS or Priesthood teach the lesson in RS/PH. They have around 50 members that attend. They are a branch, with their own branch president. The employee with CALIBRE is the Branch Clerk.
Since I work 7 days a week I only get two afternoons off. Today being one of them so I am trying to get caught up on my Blog.
I promise I will send some pictures as soon as I get them downloaded.
It seems like everywhere I go the power systems/cords are different. I now have to find some power converters/cords to fit the new place here so I can plug my computer into the outlet. The PX is out of the adapters so I have to wait for the next shipment to come in.
The weather here is nice. It's been in the 70s/80s during the day and 50s/60s during the night. It also has rained here -- something it didn't do in Kuwait.
The altitude is around 6,000 feet a little higher than Denver (5,200) and SLC (4,500). So I have been huffing and puffing around getting used to the altitude.
I must say they feed me well. Last night we had T-Bone steak and Prons. Today for lunch we had Chicken Cordon Bleu. Well you get the idea. Good food and lots of it.
When we drove in from KIA (Kabul International Airport) I couldn't believe the squalor. I had never seen anything that primitive. It's really sad.
Camp Eggers is about 400 yards in diameter. I am staying temporarily in the Douglas House (men on the first floor and women upstairs (separate entrances)) -- a small room where they house around 30 guys temporarily until they can step up to a semi-private room the size of a jail cell that you share with a total stranger (new close friend). The apartment opens into a public area where you must walk through to get to the public restroom where you shower. We have a sink and toilet in our room but no shower. Across from my room is a "Green bean" shop (Coffee Shop), and the MWR (Internet cafe and Movie room). So all the amenities all within walking distance.
The DFAC (Dining facility) is a short 50 feet the other way and the PX is further up the street from there.
My office is in the Corner House -- a small house on the corner of the base -- aptly named. I work on the second floor in one of the two rooms. I share the room with a total of 5 other people (5 men and one woman). Not much room for anything else. It takes around 5/10 minutes to walk to work -- depending on how fast I walk.
I found the church faster than at Camp Arifjan. It so happens the guy that works for CALIBRE Corp here is a member too. So he told me all about it. They meet on Friday's from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Priesthood/RS first hour and sacrament meeting the second hour. Either the RS or Priesthood teach the lesson in RS/PH. They have around 50 members that attend. They are a branch, with their own branch president. The employee with CALIBRE is the Branch Clerk.
Since I work 7 days a week I only get two afternoons off. Today being one of them so I am trying to get caught up on my Blog.
I promise I will send some pictures as soon as I get them downloaded.
It seems like everywhere I go the power systems/cords are different. I now have to find some power converters/cords to fit the new place here so I can plug my computer into the outlet. The PX is out of the adapters so I have to wait for the next shipment to come in.
The weather here is nice. It's been in the 70s/80s during the day and 50s/60s during the night. It also has rained here -- something it didn't do in Kuwait.
The altitude is around 6,000 feet a little higher than Denver (5,200) and SLC (4,500). So I have been huffing and puffing around getting used to the altitude.
I must say they feed me well. Last night we had T-Bone steak and Prons. Today for lunch we had Chicken Cordon Bleu. Well you get the idea. Good food and lots of it.
When we drove in from KIA (Kabul International Airport) I couldn't believe the squalor. I had never seen anything that primitive. It's really sad.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Arrived Safely in Afghanistan
Arrived safely in Bagram AFB, Afghanistan. Flew over on a C-130. Dropped out of the sky and landed -- what an experience. Had to wear my body armor for the trip. For security reasons we left at 2:45 am local time. Was an all night flight. I hope to leave tomorrow for Camp Eggers around 30 minutes away. We fly everywhere here. No driving because of the IEDs.
The weather in Ali Al Salem was horrid. The whole time I was there it was 120-125 degrees with blowing sand -- around 50 mile an hour winds. The heat was so bad that when you went out your skin felt like it was burning. It is as close to hell on earth as you can get.
I have been up for around 3 days straight so I could get a flight out of dodge. I missed my first flight because I think I fell asleep and didn't hear the announcement to get in line for the flight. My luggage came a day early because I missed my flight, but the luggage made the flight. So not only did I have no sleep but no shower and no clothes. I finally broke down and bought a pair shorts/t-shirt and some toiletries so I could clean myself up.
I will be working 7 days a week here. Ten hour days every day except Friday/Sunday -- 5 hours days those days.
Worked 6 days a weeks and 10 hour days at the last place.
I finally got a cord for my computer so I can download pictures. So when I get to my personal computer I will download the pictures.
The weather in Ali Al Salem was horrid. The whole time I was there it was 120-125 degrees with blowing sand -- around 50 mile an hour winds. The heat was so bad that when you went out your skin felt like it was burning. It is as close to hell on earth as you can get.
I have been up for around 3 days straight so I could get a flight out of dodge. I missed my first flight because I think I fell asleep and didn't hear the announcement to get in line for the flight. My luggage came a day early because I missed my flight, but the luggage made the flight. So not only did I have no sleep but no shower and no clothes. I finally broke down and bought a pair shorts/t-shirt and some toiletries so I could clean myself up.
I will be working 7 days a week here. Ten hour days every day except Friday/Sunday -- 5 hours days those days.
Worked 6 days a weeks and 10 hour days at the last place.
I finally got a cord for my computer so I can download pictures. So when I get to my personal computer I will download the pictures.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Father's Day & Moving
Yesterday was Father's Day. It started by talking to Gayla on Skype. We talked at 6 am (Sunday) my time and 8 pm Saturday her time. She called early so I was just getting ready to jump in the shower so I declined her call. It was good to hear from all my kids on Father's Day.
I was able to go to chruch on base yesterday at 4:30 pm. Sacrament meeting last about 50 minutes (1 speaker) and then a 10 minute break and Sunday School lasted 1 hour. There were 23 in attendance -- 19 men and 4 women. After church we all went to dinner together at the DFAC (Dining Facility) on post.
Just got the word this morning that I am being transfered to Kabul, Afghanistan (Camp Eggers), which is in downtown Kabul.
The weather there should be better (80-50s) vs. 1120-90s). It is close to some mountains.
I was able to go to chruch on base yesterday at 4:30 pm. Sacrament meeting last about 50 minutes (1 speaker) and then a 10 minute break and Sunday School lasted 1 hour. There were 23 in attendance -- 19 men and 4 women. After church we all went to dinner together at the DFAC (Dining Facility) on post.
Just got the word this morning that I am being transfered to Kabul, Afghanistan (Camp Eggers), which is in downtown Kabul.
The weather there should be better (80-50s) vs. 1120-90s). It is close to some mountains.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Dust storm hits Kuwait oil exports, air traffic
KUWAIT CITY, Jun 16, 2009 (AFP) - A blinding dust storm hit Kuwait on Tuesday, forcing a halt in oil exports and closure of the Gulf emirate's three ports as well as disrupting air traffic, officials said.
Winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour (50 mph) reduced visibility to less than 150 metres (yards) at Kuwait airport and to almost zero at ports.
A spokesman for Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said oil exports were completely halted and would resume when weather conditions improve.
OPEC's fourth-largest producer pumps around 2.2 million barrels of crude oil daily through KNPC export facilities in oil-rich southern Kuwait.
Issam al-Zamel, head of operations at the civil aviation authority, told the official KUNA news agency that a number of aircraft scheduled to land in Kuwait were being diverted to neighbouring Gulf countries.
Kuwait has had virtually no rain for the third winter in a row, making the desert sand loose and easily carried aloft by strong northwesterly winds.
Dust storms are rare in winter but common in summer when the temperature hits 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
Winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour (50 mph) reduced visibility to less than 150 metres (yards) at Kuwait airport and to almost zero at ports.
A spokesman for Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said oil exports were completely halted and would resume when weather conditions improve.
OPEC's fourth-largest producer pumps around 2.2 million barrels of crude oil daily through KNPC export facilities in oil-rich southern Kuwait.
Issam al-Zamel, head of operations at the civil aviation authority, told the official KUNA news agency that a number of aircraft scheduled to land in Kuwait were being diverted to neighbouring Gulf countries.
Kuwait has had virtually no rain for the third winter in a row, making the desert sand loose and easily carried aloft by strong northwesterly winds.
Dust storms are rare in winter but common in summer when the temperature hits 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
Map of Area/Apartment
This should give you an idea of where I live and work. (Click on the picture to make it bigger)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Kuwait Report 6/13/09
My time in Kuwait has been going along quickly. On 15 June 2009 I will have been gone for 1 month. Three weeks in Kuwait. Despite working 10 hour days -- 6 days a week it hasn't been that bad.
The food has been real good. Every day I eat in the DFAC (Dining Facility) for lunch. We have had things like Cornish game hens, Roast Beef, Prime Rib, Bar-B-Que ribs, Steak and Lobster and Shrimp. Not too bad -- I like the deserts too. They have pecan and cherry pie every day. I usually try to eat a big lunch and a light breakfast and dinner.
Sunday's -- my only day off -- we go to the DFAC for a brunch. You can get eggs and way you want them, biscuits and gravy and any other breakfast food you can imagine. Needless to say I don't eat anything else the rest of the day. They don't have pork here in Kuwait so if you want it you have to get it at the DFAC.
I found a place that I can get a pedicure (spa on base), so I have been saved. I got a pedicure and hair cut today. So I am set for another month. I was worried I would have to go a year without a pedicure.
Gayla is sending me a care package with things I can't get over here. It takes about a week to get mail Sometimes less.
My CALIBRE employer took everyone out to dinner on Wednesday evening. He took us to Jonny Carlinos. A nice Italian restaurant. I was stuffed when I left. They took our maids too and they were very appreciative for the gesture. They couldn't get over how much the meal cost. They all got steaks and took 2/3 of it home to eat the next day.
Who knows there may be an opportunity to work for one of the companies that I am employed with after the year is up. The pay is great and the working conditions aren't that bad -- other than the heat (112-115 daily). Needless to say I don't go out much.
I would like to take some pictures and post them on my blog but the new camera I got -- the cable to the computer doesn't match my computer so I need to find a different cable.
The food has been real good. Every day I eat in the DFAC (Dining Facility) for lunch. We have had things like Cornish game hens, Roast Beef, Prime Rib, Bar-B-Que ribs, Steak and Lobster and Shrimp. Not too bad -- I like the deserts too. They have pecan and cherry pie every day. I usually try to eat a big lunch and a light breakfast and dinner.
Sunday's -- my only day off -- we go to the DFAC for a brunch. You can get eggs and way you want them, biscuits and gravy and any other breakfast food you can imagine. Needless to say I don't eat anything else the rest of the day. They don't have pork here in Kuwait so if you want it you have to get it at the DFAC.
I found a place that I can get a pedicure (spa on base), so I have been saved. I got a pedicure and hair cut today. So I am set for another month. I was worried I would have to go a year without a pedicure.
Gayla is sending me a care package with things I can't get over here. It takes about a week to get mail Sometimes less.
My CALIBRE employer took everyone out to dinner on Wednesday evening. He took us to Jonny Carlinos. A nice Italian restaurant. I was stuffed when I left. They took our maids too and they were very appreciative for the gesture. They couldn't get over how much the meal cost. They all got steaks and took 2/3 of it home to eat the next day.
Who knows there may be an opportunity to work for one of the companies that I am employed with after the year is up. The pay is great and the working conditions aren't that bad -- other than the heat (112-115 daily). Needless to say I don't go out much.
I would like to take some pictures and post them on my blog but the new camera I got -- the cable to the computer doesn't match my computer so I need to find a different cable.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
I'm Back! (online that is)
I have tried to update my blog but found all the buttons to update it are in Arabic, so I am asking Stephanie to update it for me from an email to her.
The weather here is HOT!!!!!!! It gets up to 115 degrees every day and only drops to the mid-80s at night. They say it isn't hot here until it's still triple digits at night too.
Work days are long -- usually 10-12 hours long but seems to go quickly. My commute takes about 30 minutes and it takes about 30 minutes to get through security on post.
I work behind a barbed wire fence with razor wire. There is added security there as well.
I like what I am doing and will aid in reducing the cost of the war. I will be working on the costs for the LOGCAP contract that people hear a lot about.
The apartment I live in is nice. The maid keeps everything real nice and clean and my clothes are laundered daily. I've never had my jeans pressed before. They are Filipino women that are working as our maids.
The Vice-President of CALIBRE Corp. The prime contractor I work for flew in yesterday and he is taking the entire group of Contractors/Sub-Contractors out to dinner tomorrow.
I usually go out to dinner a few times a week and eat in my apartment the other nights. There is a furnished kitchen in our apartment.
I am really grateful that I was not sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. That is where I was originally supposed to go. I have been out among the Kuwaitis and feel safe here. I took a shopping trip with some other guys the other day and bought a cell phone that works over here -- has a SIM card.
The drivers are nuts over here. There are accidents every day. We count our selves lucky if we get home without getting in an accident.
My room mate has a Filipino girl friend. He is not married. I understand other people have not been able to live with him. He is kind of set in his ways. I'll see how it works out.
I may need to ask Gayla to send me a care package to send me things they don't have over here. The PX has a few things and the grocery stores here are a little expensive. Plus they are in Arabic/English so it's hard to read some things. May have to learn Arabic before I leave.
The weather here is HOT!!!!!!! It gets up to 115 degrees every day and only drops to the mid-80s at night. They say it isn't hot here until it's still triple digits at night too.
Work days are long -- usually 10-12 hours long but seems to go quickly. My commute takes about 30 minutes and it takes about 30 minutes to get through security on post.
I work behind a barbed wire fence with razor wire. There is added security there as well.
I like what I am doing and will aid in reducing the cost of the war. I will be working on the costs for the LOGCAP contract that people hear a lot about.
The apartment I live in is nice. The maid keeps everything real nice and clean and my clothes are laundered daily. I've never had my jeans pressed before. They are Filipino women that are working as our maids.
The Vice-President of CALIBRE Corp. The prime contractor I work for flew in yesterday and he is taking the entire group of Contractors/Sub-Contractors out to dinner tomorrow.
I usually go out to dinner a few times a week and eat in my apartment the other nights. There is a furnished kitchen in our apartment.
I am really grateful that I was not sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. That is where I was originally supposed to go. I have been out among the Kuwaitis and feel safe here. I took a shopping trip with some other guys the other day and bought a cell phone that works over here -- has a SIM card.
The drivers are nuts over here. There are accidents every day. We count our selves lucky if we get home without getting in an accident.
My room mate has a Filipino girl friend. He is not married. I understand other people have not been able to live with him. He is kind of set in his ways. I'll see how it works out.
I may need to ask Gayla to send me a care package to send me things they don't have over here. The PX has a few things and the grocery stores here are a little expensive. Plus they are in Arabic/English so it's hard to read some things. May have to learn Arabic before I leave.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Life in Kuwait
Life in Kuwait is very interesting. The homes are all stucco, and mortor, with a boxy look, and a flat roof. They are all some form of sand color. I'll try to take some pictures and up-load them.
I was without air conditioning the first night here. The air conditioner in my room was broken. I couldn't sleep so I went out and slept on the couch in the living room. The apartment has three bedrooms with two guys in each apartment -- so we have one room open for transients. It gets about 85-87 degrees here at night down from 115-122 (50 degrees celcius) they say it isn't warm here yet -- not until it's triple digits temperature at night. The humidity here is about 4-5%. The apartment is on a scale somewhere between a motel 6 and holiday inn.
There is very little grass here -- mostly sand and trash. A few trees that they plant along the highways etc.
When I went to the Airbase Ali Al Salem (1 hr away) this morning it was blowing and drifting sand across the road. We took a guy (my roommate) up there that was flying to Iraq.
I eat lunch on base with the troops/other employees. I guess I could eat breakfast and dinner there if I wanted. They pay me $71 a day for per diem (food/etc). I went shopping the other day for groceries -- most of the shopping etc is in two languages (arabic and english).
I've been out to eat at night quite a bit. Tried some Indian food last night. Little too much curry for my taste.
My roommate is kind of quiet. He is from Maryland. He doesn't like AC that much so he wears a coat a lot. So he wears his coat out in 100 degree weather -- kind of nutty. My boss and his roomate are from VA, so I have a lot in common with them.
I was without internet in my home till last night -- wasn't working. I also couldn't log on my computer at work until I got all my clearances/badges etc. Took till Friday. So basically incognito -- Everyone probably thought I had dropped off the edge of the earth. I am going to try to get a cell phone today so I can call. Requies a cell phone with a sim card here not just a serial number.
We are building up a group of contractors to do cost analyst work for the Army. Basically justifying costs/budgets etc.
Both the Prime and Sub-Contractor that I work for said they may have work for me when I get back from Kuwait. Hope so, the pay is sweet.
Where I work on Camp Arifjan is bascially a converted warehouse. But they have fixed it up. At least there is AC. It is in a secure area behind a fence with barbed wire. Takes about 30 minutes to get on post and into my office because of all the security.
The maid service is great. They wash and iron your clothes daily and put them in your drawer. They even iron my jeans -- unbelieveable. It is so dusty here they have the security guys wash the cars daily for about $10 Dinar monthly ($34.50), basically a little over a $1 a day.
I was without air conditioning the first night here. The air conditioner in my room was broken. I couldn't sleep so I went out and slept on the couch in the living room. The apartment has three bedrooms with two guys in each apartment -- so we have one room open for transients. It gets about 85-87 degrees here at night down from 115-122 (50 degrees celcius) they say it isn't warm here yet -- not until it's triple digits temperature at night. The humidity here is about 4-5%. The apartment is on a scale somewhere between a motel 6 and holiday inn.
There is very little grass here -- mostly sand and trash. A few trees that they plant along the highways etc.
When I went to the Airbase Ali Al Salem (1 hr away) this morning it was blowing and drifting sand across the road. We took a guy (my roommate) up there that was flying to Iraq.
I eat lunch on base with the troops/other employees. I guess I could eat breakfast and dinner there if I wanted. They pay me $71 a day for per diem (food/etc). I went shopping the other day for groceries -- most of the shopping etc is in two languages (arabic and english).
I've been out to eat at night quite a bit. Tried some Indian food last night. Little too much curry for my taste.
My roommate is kind of quiet. He is from Maryland. He doesn't like AC that much so he wears a coat a lot. So he wears his coat out in 100 degree weather -- kind of nutty. My boss and his roomate are from VA, so I have a lot in common with them.
I was without internet in my home till last night -- wasn't working. I also couldn't log on my computer at work until I got all my clearances/badges etc. Took till Friday. So basically incognito -- Everyone probably thought I had dropped off the edge of the earth. I am going to try to get a cell phone today so I can call. Requies a cell phone with a sim card here not just a serial number.
We are building up a group of contractors to do cost analyst work for the Army. Basically justifying costs/budgets etc.
Both the Prime and Sub-Contractor that I work for said they may have work for me when I get back from Kuwait. Hope so, the pay is sweet.
Where I work on Camp Arifjan is bascially a converted warehouse. But they have fixed it up. At least there is AC. It is in a secure area behind a fence with barbed wire. Takes about 30 minutes to get on post and into my office because of all the security.
The maid service is great. They wash and iron your clothes daily and put them in your drawer. They even iron my jeans -- unbelieveable. It is so dusty here they have the security guys wash the cars daily for about $10 Dinar monthly ($34.50), basically a little over a $1 a day.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
I've Arrived in Kuwait
Arrived in Kuwait at 5 pm local time (10 hrs ahead of Pacific Time), Monday, 25 May 2009. It was a 12 and 1/2 hr flight. Had to go through medical screening for swine flu (H1N1). Then get a Visa. That was an experience -- Organized Chaos. Then went through customs. One and 1/2 hours later went to the other side of security and my boss was waiting for me. He took me to my apartment where I settled in. I live in a high rise apartment overlooking the Persian Gulf. The company I work for rents the apartment and it has maid service and a car. They wash our clothes and iron them daily and wash the car daily.
I work about 30 minutes south at Camp Arifjan. It is very interesting getting through all the security -- takes about 30 minutes to get on post. Work from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm (10 hrs). Get home around 6/6:30 pm.
The only thing dangerous around here is the Kuwaitee drivers. They drive anyway they want. On the freeway -- miss an exit -- no problem. Stop and back up. Needless to say there are a lot of accidents around here.
I am driving up north to take my room mate to catch a helecopter to Iraq. So I will be without a roommate for 3 days.
I understand there are LDS services at 4:30 pm at the Zone 1 Chapel. Will try to get there if I can today. Have tried to get in touch with the Branch President/Bishop. Haven't connected yet.
The currency here in Kuwait is the Dinar (3.45 US Dolars). More later got to go.
I work about 30 minutes south at Camp Arifjan. It is very interesting getting through all the security -- takes about 30 minutes to get on post. Work from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm (10 hrs). Get home around 6/6:30 pm.
The only thing dangerous around here is the Kuwaitee drivers. They drive anyway they want. On the freeway -- miss an exit -- no problem. Stop and back up. Needless to say there are a lot of accidents around here.
I am driving up north to take my room mate to catch a helecopter to Iraq. So I will be without a roommate for 3 days.
I understand there are LDS services at 4:30 pm at the Zone 1 Chapel. Will try to get there if I can today. Have tried to get in touch with the Branch President/Bishop. Haven't connected yet.
The currency here in Kuwait is the Dinar (3.45 US Dolars). More later got to go.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Weather in Kuwait
Just checked the weather in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The average high for the next 10 days in 109-113 degrees and the average low is 87 degrees. Its a dry heat I ubderstand -- hopefully!
Meeting with Boss/Renters
Had a meeting with my new boss from LSI (Logistic Systems Inc). He indicated there may be more work after the year in Kuwait. I asked if it was all in Washington DC area and he said most is but there is work in other areas of the country -- so may have continued employmnet after I finish this year.
I also talked to a guy that was there in Afghanistan and he said they send you on some R&R every 90 days so you don't burn out or go postal!
The meeting with the renters went well. They are taking good care of the house and yard. The dog was there but was in the basement. No damage was seen to the home. He seemed to have it decorated nicely and in good repair. He said he would rent for another year -- then we can see what the economy/home prices are and see if we want to sell to him then.
I also talked to a guy that was there in Afghanistan and he said they send you on some R&R every 90 days so you don't burn out or go postal!
The meeting with the renters went well. They are taking good care of the house and yard. The dog was there but was in the basement. No damage was seen to the home. He seemed to have it decorated nicely and in good repair. He said he would rent for another year -- then we can see what the economy/home prices are and see if we want to sell to him then.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Take Me Back to Old Virginnie
Arrived in VA at 9:30 pm Friday, 22 May 2009. On Saturday, 23 May 2009, woke the Deckers up at 8:30 am and visited with them for a while. Then had a meeting with our renters at 10 am. Met with my new boss with LSI (Logistics Systems Inc) for lunch. Then visited with Sister Costello a lady I used to Home teach. Met with Bruce Pearce, the Chamberlins and a guy Warren Cordes (couple) from Ashburn stake that went to Afghanistan. Got a lot of good information about what to expect in theater.
Leave tomorrow for Kuwait at 9:48 pm from Dulles airport. Arrive in Kuwait at 5:15 pm Monday 25 May 2009.
Leave tomorrow for Kuwait at 9:48 pm from Dulles airport. Arrive in Kuwait at 5:15 pm Monday 25 May 2009.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Papa Smurf Goes to Boot Camp -- Part VI
Thursday was a day from hell. Everything that could go wrong did. I arrived at camp at 9:30 am and found out I couldn't check out -- I was a medical no-go. I needed a physical and blood type. Both of which I did before I left, but the physical wasn't on the form they wanted even though it was provided on the website, and the blood type didn't have the RH factor. It only showed A type blood not A+. So off to a local doctors office to wait for 3 hours to get a physical and blood work. I was stressed so my blood pressure was up and they had to walk the blood work through the system. Got back to camp and waited. The medical people showed up at 4 pm and hadn't received the physical and blood work yet so I called the Doctors office and they said they had faxed it to the medical office but they had already left so I had them Fax it to the B co office. Finally got signed out at 4:30 pm. Didn't mention I also was stuck in two traffic jams going to and from the camp. Plus the internet didn't work at the hotel.
I tried MREs one day -- nothing to write home about. I should have looked at everything in the bag before I ate the beef enchilada. The Picate sauce and cheese would have gone great on the enchilada.
I am now in Sterling, VA (Friday, 22 May 2009) waiting to deploy on Sunday night. I flew from Columbus, GA today. I got in at 9:30 pm and got the rental car and settled into the hotel -- now 11 pm. I will arrive in Kuwait on 25 May 2009 at 5:15 pm.
I'll try to take some pictures now that I am off post.
I tried MREs one day -- nothing to write home about. I should have looked at everything in the bag before I ate the beef enchilada. The Picate sauce and cheese would have gone great on the enchilada.
I am now in Sterling, VA (Friday, 22 May 2009) waiting to deploy on Sunday night. I flew from Columbus, GA today. I got in at 9:30 pm and got the rental car and settled into the hotel -- now 11 pm. I will arrive in Kuwait on 25 May 2009 at 5:15 pm.
I'll try to take some pictures now that I am off post.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Papa Smurf Goes to Boot Camp -- Part V
Yesterday was a long day (13 hrs). We learned a lot about field first aid and IEDs. For the field first aid we learned how to treat sucking chest wounds and gun shot and head wounds (including brain surgery -- just kidding). We also learned how to spot IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). All in all a very informative day.
Today I need to finish up any left over issues. I am on the medical issue list, because I forgot to pick up my blood work/blood type information. I called the Deer Park Clinic on Tuesday and they faxed the informaton, but they haven't posted the info yet.
Today should be a shorter day. Some have to meet at 5:30 am to go through CIF (equipment) that I did the other day. I have to meet today at 9:30 am.
I have been in contact with my supervisor in Kuwait and he will pick me up at the airport on Sunday. I have also been told I will live off post in a high rise apartment over looking the Persian Gulf. Will also have maid/laundry service included.
Today I need to finish up any left over issues. I am on the medical issue list, because I forgot to pick up my blood work/blood type information. I called the Deer Park Clinic on Tuesday and they faxed the informaton, but they haven't posted the info yet.
Today should be a shorter day. Some have to meet at 5:30 am to go through CIF (equipment) that I did the other day. I have to meet today at 9:30 am.
I have been in contact with my supervisor in Kuwait and he will pick me up at the airport on Sunday. I have also been told I will live off post in a high rise apartment over looking the Persian Gulf. Will also have maid/laundry service included.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Papa Smurf Goes to Boot Camp -- Part IV
Today spent 4 hours in medical clearance -- probed, prodded, blood drawn, examined. Then went and picked up personal equipment -- a Duffel bag full of boby armor, and helmet, duffel bags etc. About 60 pounds worth -- ugh it is heavy. Then went to UCMJ training. Missed lunch -- was there 13 hours. Made up for the day before.
Goods news I will be living in a high rise apartment off post over-looking the Persian Gulf. Will have maid/laundry service daily. Oh well, it will be a tough life.
Goods news I will be living in a high rise apartment off post over-looking the Persian Gulf. Will have maid/laundry service daily. Oh well, it will be a tough life.
Papa Smurf Goes to Boot Camp -- Part III
Today we have our medical screening and receive our government issued equipment. I arrive at 9 am. Met at 4:45 pm yesterday -- to tell us to meet at 9 am today. What a waste of time. Only about an hour of useful time yesterday. Oh well getting paid to do this.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Papa Smurf Goes to Boot Camp -- Part II
We'll yesterday I got fitted for Body Armor. We will also get a helmet, but no uniform. A uniform would make us more of a target.
Today we did the admin. processing. Had to be there at 6:45 am. Finished by 9 am. Had to wait for the bus -- arrived at 10 am. Back to the pick up point by 10:30 am. Released till 4:45 pm. Such is my life hurry up and wait. More briefings tonight. Yesterday got briefings on what to do if we are held hostage. Certainly not something you normally would get as a preliminary job in-processing.
Have medical processing tomorrow. Already on my malaria pills. Makes me nauseated. Will take at night so I will be nausteated at night.
It is 103-108 degrees in Kuwait City now. From what I ubderstand I may live off post in an apartment. I am not looking forward to living in an 8 man tent. More to follow.
Today we did the admin. processing. Had to be there at 6:45 am. Finished by 9 am. Had to wait for the bus -- arrived at 10 am. Back to the pick up point by 10:30 am. Released till 4:45 pm. Such is my life hurry up and wait. More briefings tonight. Yesterday got briefings on what to do if we are held hostage. Certainly not something you normally would get as a preliminary job in-processing.
Have medical processing tomorrow. Already on my malaria pills. Makes me nauseated. Will take at night so I will be nausteated at night.
It is 103-108 degrees in Kuwait City now. From what I ubderstand I may live off post in an apartment. I am not looking forward to living in an 8 man tent. More to follow.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Papa Smurf Goes to Boot Camp (Ft Benning GA)
Took a flight to Columbus, GA (Ft Benning) at 5:15 am (2:15 am wake up call)on 15 May 2009. Got to Columbus, GA at 4:45 pm. The flight to Columbus, GA was full of military (lean, mean fighting machines), and I thought -- what am I doing here!!!
Got the rental car, checked in to the hotel, and registered my rental car at Ft Benning. Tried to find the CRC (CONUS Redeployment Center), and got lost. An hour later found the CRC and then got lost going back to the hotel. Bought a map the next day.
Ran into several other Calibre employees at training on Saturday. They have been a wealth of information. They flew into CRC from Kuwait where they have been for the past two weeks. Also, one of the Calibre employees is a local from Columbus. He took us to a Bar-B-Que place for lunch.
I felt a lot better when I showed up for training -- there were a lot of other senior citizens (contractors) at the CRC. As a matter of fact there are a lot more contractors here than military or government civilian employees.
The CRC Training process is typicall government -- hurry up and wait. Show up, stand in line and then go stand in another line. I brought a book to read the second day.
Today (Sunday) got there at 8 am to be fitted for my body armor. Then they released us till 11:15 am. We will go back today and finish some training and then do some medical processing.
The weather is typical south -- hot and muggy (Reminds me why I moved to the Pacific NW). Been in the high 80s and low 90s. It is so humid it is hazzy. Every afternoon we have thunder showers -- some severe (nickel sized hail). They had to move the training site because a few weeks ago a tornado blew through and destroyed the site.
I understand it is between 98 and 104 degrees in Kuwait. But it is a dry heat!!!!
Got the rental car, checked in to the hotel, and registered my rental car at Ft Benning. Tried to find the CRC (CONUS Redeployment Center), and got lost. An hour later found the CRC and then got lost going back to the hotel. Bought a map the next day.
Ran into several other Calibre employees at training on Saturday. They have been a wealth of information. They flew into CRC from Kuwait where they have been for the past two weeks. Also, one of the Calibre employees is a local from Columbus. He took us to a Bar-B-Que place for lunch.
I felt a lot better when I showed up for training -- there were a lot of other senior citizens (contractors) at the CRC. As a matter of fact there are a lot more contractors here than military or government civilian employees.
The CRC Training process is typicall government -- hurry up and wait. Show up, stand in line and then go stand in another line. I brought a book to read the second day.
Today (Sunday) got there at 8 am to be fitted for my body armor. Then they released us till 11:15 am. We will go back today and finish some training and then do some medical processing.
The weather is typical south -- hot and muggy (Reminds me why I moved to the Pacific NW). Been in the high 80s and low 90s. It is so humid it is hazzy. Every afternoon we have thunder showers -- some severe (nickel sized hail). They had to move the training site because a few weeks ago a tornado blew through and destroyed the site.
I understand it is between 98 and 104 degrees in Kuwait. But it is a dry heat!!!!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Spring Time on Saddle Mountain
It is now Spring time on Saddle Mountain. Attached are a few pictures of the sites.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)