Somewhere Back Home

A cool breeze is blowing
Somewhere back home
The green grass is growing
Somewhere back home
A family is waiting
Somewhere back home
Waiting for their Soldier
To return back home
And here he sits
In the dusty desert sand
For this long year
To finally end
So he can follow the sunsets
That lead him back home

Global Personality Test

Took one of these with these results:

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion 43% Stability 76% Orderliness 46% Altruism 76% Interdependence 76% Intellectual 76% Mystical 36% Artistic 23% Religious 90% Hedonism 36% Materialism 16% Narcissism 56% Adventurousness 50% Work ethic 56% Self absorbed 23% Conflict seeking 43% Need to dominate 36% Romantic 56% Avoidant 16% Anti-authority 30% Wealth 10% Dependency 36% Change averse 50% Cautiousness 56% Individuality 50% Sexuality 76% Peter pan complex 30% Physical security 90% Physical Fitness 37% Histrionic 50% Paranoia 23% Vanity 23% Hypersensitivity 63% Female cliche 10%

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Stability results were high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic..
Orderliness results were medium which suggests you are moderately organized, hard working, and reliable while still remaining flexible, efficient, and fun.

Extraversion results were moderately low which suggests you are reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and secretive.

trait snapshot:
rarely irritated, positive, tough, non phobic, fearless, likes the unknown, self reliant, high self control, confident, trusting, strong instincts, prudent, optimistic, willful, likes parties, prefers a specialized career, takes charge, altruistic, strong, high self concept, adventurous, practical, thoughtful

Interesting...don't always put a lot of stock in these things...but this one is fairly accurate.

The View From the Backseat

An endless dun colored panorama drifts by my window as we drive down the rutted track that passes for a highway here in Afghanistan. Khaki-colored hills dusted with tufts of green vegetation roll to the horizon. There, mountains spring forth from the ochre earth, range after range, each higher than the last, fading bit by bit to a shade just lighter than the dusty air. At times, the haze is such that only the tips of the mountains are visible, seemingly painted on the backdrop of the heavens. Black rounded shapes mark the location of nomad encampments, their flocks of goats darker spots on the hills. Now and then, sudden bursts of vibrant green denote the passing of oases and irrigation ditches. Clusters of rounded adobe huts mark the small villages that are sprinkled far across the landscape.

As we pass through villages, tiny bursts of color stream forth to line the roads, children, waving at the large strange men that have come to their country. They wave, shout, and dance as we approach. My heart leaps to see such joy and life in a land so harsh. They will talk of us, in later days. ‘Those strangers, those Americans, I remember when they came through our village.’ We smile and wave in return, if we stop, we bring candy, small toys and balls for them. Some of them may not remember us fondly, but most treat our presence with the joy of a child for something different than the routine of daily life.

The boys dress like miniature adult males, the long tunic and trousers that the Americans have nicknamed man-jamas. The girls are what stand out. When little they dress in bright vibrant colors, blues and pinks and greens. Brightly colored shawls cover their hair. Bright eyes and brighter smiles peek out from below. Before long, they will be covered in the ubiquitous blue burkhas or black cloaks that cover them from head-to-toe.

The children are the sights that I will most treasure from this year, and in my memory I shall always see them smiling back at me, in the back seat.

Brutally hot

It is now officially summer here in Farah, temperatures have not reached last years high of 157F/69C...but it is getting close. Last week it was up to 149F/63C, after that our thermometers are somewhat inaccurate!

Well, at least its a dry heat, eh?

HEH!!!

The heat here is a physical thing, it is like opening the oven after you have pre-heated it...that first pillow of hot dry air slapping you in the face.

Take that feeling and combine it with 20+ mph winds...winds that will hold a 240 pound (with armor and equipment) man up as he leans against the wind....

This wind is no cooling refreshing breeze at all...not only is it just as hot as everything else, it picks up the dust and sand and deposits them everywhere...and I mean EVERYWHERE...

The heat, wind and dust seem to be the most perfect natural moisture leaching system I have ever experienced, it just sucks the water from your body faster than you can drink it...and if you don't finish your bottle of water in a few minutes, it will become too hot to drink.

What do we do to combat the heat? First option, HIDE!!! Stay inside as much as humanly possible; second, drink, all the time, water and/or gatorad; third, well there is no third choice, if you have to go out...you just have to deal with it...
If you deal with it unwisely, the docs are always ready with an IV to replenish your fluids...sometimes you have to do that even when you do everything else you can...its just that hot.

And still, it is only June...the hot months are still ahead of us...

YIPES!!!

Bad habits...

Well, I have pondered this before, but have now finally decided to set fingers to keyboard about it.

Many of you have either taken, or know someone who has taken a defensive driving course. I know I have....once or thrice or thereabouts. Anyhow, you know the rules of defensive driving, be alert, be prepared to yield the right-of-way, maintain distance, yadda yadda yadda.

Well, let me tell you that those rules do not in anyway, shape or form govern the driving habits of American military vehicles, especially our beloved up-armored Humvees. First of all, these are five-ton monsters armed with either a heavy machine gun or automatic grenade launcher...they are not going to be defensive.

You've heard the saying: "As a matter of fact, I do own the road." Here, it is true. Driving in A'stan is somewhat like driving in Rome, only moreso. What I mean is you have to be prepared to gun the engine and pray that everyone else is either smart or lucky enough to clear the road for you. Of course, most people, when they see a lumbering behemoth with a big gun on top roaring at them, and backed by one or more others....the road clears quickly.

Don't worry that we are being arrogant and overbearing to the locals when we do this...they drive the same way, and follow the old rule of "he who has the biggest and baddest vehicle has the right-of-way."

These driving habits are survival traits here, but I wonder...if after a year of driving like this, how will I be in my itty bitty Saturn Ion...I think that I will notice enough of a difference to amend my driving habits; but we got a lot of good ol'boys that drive their big trucks in this unit too...and they might not notice enough of a difference.

So consider this your fair warning, when we redeploy...watch out!!!

Mik

We had nothing to do with this:

Firefight in Farah Province

This happened in the eastern portion of Farah Province. No one from the PRT was involved.

On a different note, it hit 146F/63C here today. Ouch.

Scary though, Summer just started and the HOT months are yet to come.

Daily Life

Well...after our trail rides of a couple of days ago, we are back and settling into a daily routine. About half the day (at the moment) is spent either at the front gate or in a watch tower keeping an eye on the area. This is puctuated by brief periods of excitement as we hunt down the flies that have snuck into the tower. What fun, neh?

Sleep is found in brief 3-4 hours increments about twice a day...which throws your bio-rhythm way outta whack and you quickly lose all track of dates.

I keep a date calendar with info on some of the things I have seen/done just to keep the timeline organized in my mind. It is unreal how quickly the days run into one another and you cannot remember whether you did something yesterday (or was it last week?) or not.

We make it through though. Morale is very high, and everyone is good at keeping each other motivated.

More later,

Mik

Travellin' man

Wow...we have done some travelling around here, and I mean more than just into the city. A couple weeks ago some of us got to fly up to Herat for the NATO led International Stabilization and Assistance Force transfer of authority for all reconstruction efforts in Western Afghanistan. The flight was...interesting. We flew in helicopters (about 3 hours) over terrain that was at times pool-table flat and vertical. It is amazing that anyone can live in this place. What is even more amazing, is that they not only live here, but keep going. To my spoiled eyes I can see nothing, but the people here love their land and work hard to keep it theirs and to make it grow.

More recently we got to drive over some of the same terrain. All I can say, is that I have a renewed appreciation for the Texas Department of Transportation and the road network that they maintain. There is one (ONE!!!!!) paved highway in A'stan, and most of it is run down. (It's nickname is Butt-kicker road). Most of the highways here make the worst county roads back home look like superhighways...as for the rural roads...rutted tracks in the dirt...sometimes it is hard to tell where the road is...at one point the road ran down (the bottom of) a dry canal! That was not a comforting feeling! Thank God that it was dry.

Other than a few small villages and nomad camps we saw nothing living in the country. No wild animals, few animals at all, except for some herds of goats, a few donkies and a handful of camels.

Well...'tis enough for the now...

Y'all take care and God Bless!

Mik

***ADDENDUM***

One thing I forgot to mention...the CASTLES....we must have passed around 4 or 5. Some of them date back to Alexander the Great, almost 2400 years. It is amazing, because these castles are built of mud and hay (and other things that I don't want to think about) and you can still see some of the decorative moldings on the walls.

Can you imagine something you've seen being built near you still standing after a hundred years? And these simple mud brick structures are still here...it is incredible.

Anyhow...that is what I forgot to add earlier.

Ciao

More thoughts (from a sunlit) tower

Was thinking today as I sat in my tower watching the sun bake everything in sight while the dust turned everything to a uniform khaki color; I was thinking about people's personalities.

People have three-dimensional personalities. What I mean by this, is that not all aspects of a person's personality can be seen at the same time. Some people have rather uniform personalities, much like a sphere, where it is almost the same all around. Some people have cubic personalities, with aspects that are diametrically opposed (we usually call these people 'two-faced').

Most people, in my opinion have crystalline personalities, that is they have many facets, none truly in opposition to others, but unable to show all aspects of their personality simultaneously. Much the same way that you cannot see all sides of a diamond at once.

Each person that comes into contact with another will see different facets of that person's personality. Not only that, but they see them refracted through the facets of their own personality that are currently dominant. These facets are further colored by emotions, which act as lenses through which the facets are seen.

Whew...I think that is enough for now...I dunno about y'all reading this, but my head is swimming...

This is what happens to a fertile imagination that spends the day staring out of windows using binoculars.

Thoughts From a Darkened Tower

Ya know, when you sit in a dark guard tower for hours by yourself, many thoughts pass through your head. Many of my thoughts tonight focused on my life...where I've been...where I am...where I will go...not just physically, but mentally, emotionally...

I wonder mostly what changes this year will render in me. I know that depends on what experiences that I face here. Combat frightens me...not the thought of actually being in combat, but afterwards. I am not so scared of being shot at...but at the thought of having to take another's life. It...is an immense burden...I think...I don't know, and hopefully never will.

I have no doubt in my mind that faced with a situation that requires action, that I will take it...and face the consequences later.

That should make my already somewhat fractured personality so much more interesting, neh?

Well...its late, and I have been deliberately obfuscatory enough for tonight.

Take care all, and have a good summer!

Mik