Afghanistan My Last Tour

It’s hard to believe but we have been at this FOB for one week!  This past week was fast-paced and as you can tell by my blog entries, I’ve been rather busy.  Today I had the opportunity to be an up-armored HMMWV driver.  I had considerable more leg room and didn’t feel as restrained as I did when I was a dismount in the back seat.  Our mission today was to visit 2 different FOBs and take care of some administrative business.  The first half of the trip was on dirt roads.  Previously I described these roads if you can legally call them that.  Erosion and rainfall has carved large potholes and have uprooted rocks to ensure the road is bumpy and bouncy.  Back in the US, I could see 4-wheel vehicles having fun bouncing over the bumps and perhaps getting air borne on a few of the natural humps exposed in the road.  A HMMVW on the other hand enjoys going down into the pothole so everyone can feel the sensation of the big rubber tires maneuvering it.  Despite the tires and suspension, you feel every bump.  Imagine riding a bicycle and loading it down with 300 pounds of additional weight so the tires are bulging.  Then seek out your favorite potholes and try to maneuver them.  If you only have one pothole, you will have to conduct this experiment a thousand times to get the true effect.
Anyhow, I maneuvered the armored beast down the dusty bumpy roads to our first stop.  We took care of business and then proceeded to the next destination.  This time we enjoyed the luxury of hard flat asphalt.  The lead vehicle took care of directing the traffic and ensured they pulled to the side as we passed them in our patrol.  The closer you get to a village or small town, the more the traffic multiplies.  But the vehicle drivers comply with our signals letting us pass.  The whole time, everyone in the vehicle is vigilant looking for potential signs of danger.
I took advantage of this camp’s Post Exchange (PX) and purchased some shampoo and a flashlight since losing mine.  Our little camp store was out of these items.  I even looked at a few rugs and blankets that I might purchase for the wife in the future.  Of course I didn’t have my camera to take any pictures and know better to buy something decorative for the house without the wife’s approval….lol.  We returned to camp without incident and now I am back in my room relaxing and preparing for a new day tomorrow.

Corrections/Additions:

*** Previously I posted an entry and wasn’t certain about the type of nut grown in this country that flooded the world markets and drove down the price.  I incorrectly identified this nut as a pecan.  Instead, the market was flooded with Pistachios nuts.

*** Also omitted from yesterday’s entry was the name of the track winner.  According to my translator, he doesn’t have a name and is referred to as Chai boy #4.  Although they are all soldiers, this particular winner is responsible for making the ANA officers their tea (Chai) and delivering it to their offices.

war

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Afghanistan, ETT, FOB, HMMVW, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, war