Afghanistan My Last Tour

While riding in the Rhino, I attempted to capture the sights with my camera.  This was a challenge in itself because I was constantly being bounced up and down, sideways, etc.  So it made it difficult to steady my camera and capture these images.  However, I did manage to take about 30 photographs.
By now an hour had passed and my spinal cord felt like it was compressed by an inch.  My sensory receptacles were in overdrive.  We drove past several hundred if not thousands of acres of houses embedded into the hill side.  They appeared to be constructed by rudimentary standards and made of brick and mud or perhaps a cement mixture.  I’m uncertain, but I didn’t observe any electricity being fed to these primitive structures.  Air flow was accomplished by opening the windows and many of the homes only had open ports where a window might be installed some day.
The inner city presented a different perspective of the people, especially the attire being worn by the local dwellers. I spotted several ladies adorned in their air-restricting burqas being escorted by their husbands.  Some people sported cheap suits or traditional garb and head dress.  Many of the men had long scraggly beards while others were clean shaven.  The children seemed to have better quality clothing and hundreds of them crowded the streets because the schools just let out.

As we departed the city, the roads become noticeably rougher and crude in construction.  My posterior was being strategically bruised as I attempted to anticipate the next bump.  This effort was fruitless and so I focused my energy on shutterbug abilities.  I found myself pinning my elbows against my IBA vest; I could steady my camera better and record the images.  We drove past a huge palace that was full of large holes – evidence of a previous bombing or destruction.  According to a local soldier, these palaces (King and Queen) were purposely destroyed by the Russians during their occupation.  As a history buff, I intend to conduct additional research on these archeological structures destroyed by man and will include them in a future entry.
Eventually we stopped at another FOB to load an additional passenger.  At the front gate a large stray dog lay sleeping and we were informed not to disturb him because he might bite.  A majority of the dogs here are rabid and we are prohibited from petting or feeding them.  Being a dog lover, I will have to exercise restraint and follow the general order.
Our final segment back into town was just as colorful and bumpy as the first segment.  This time I tried to focus more on the people, industries, and local shops.  In the middle of the sidewalk a cow was being butchered, whole carcasses of raw goat and lamb were strung on a meat hook and swayed openly in the air.  The fruit stands were filled with neatly arranged melons, various fruits and vegetables.    Old men sat in chairs outside under awnings and were playing some sort of board game, while children and women mingled about.
We finally arrived at Camp Phoenix to start our inprocessing.  This will take several days before we can depart for our FOB and begin our embedded training team mission.

Camp Phoenix

Filed under: Food and living conditions, Uncategorized Tagged: | Afghanistan, Air Force, Army, burqa, Camp Phoenix, Deployment, ETT, FOB, history, IBA, media, multimedia, photography, photos, pictures, poverty, writing