Afghanistan My Last Tour

Armored 5-ton truck loaded with supplies

This morning when we awoke, the sky was still illuminated by thousands of stars.  Surely this was a bad dream, but it wasn’t.  The mission for today was to pick up some precious cargo.  One of the FOBs does not have any electricity or water, so we were tasked to pick up a large generator and water tanks along with various vehicle parts.  Even though we haven’t unpacked all of our bags, nobody complained because we have the luxury of having running water and electricity.

Looking at gunner up through the turret

So my 6-man team along with 2 other vehicles formed the convoy.  We would have to travel through the capital city to get to our destination.  In an attempt to avoid traffic and hoping the insurgents were still sleeping or preparing to celebrate Eid (holiday period signifying the end of Ramadan and fasting), we departed early.  Some military personnel mispronounce E-i-d and say E-a-t.  A common joke even among our interpreters is there is some truth to this.  The Muslims no longer have to fast and can eat.  Eid in the Muslim world is like our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year combined into one celebratory period lasting for 3-4 days.

As planned, there was very little traffic

Kabul city life

in Kabul.  Our armored convoy thundered through the city in record time and arrived at Camp Phoenix without incident.  Everything was going as planned until we encountered the antiquated Army supply system.  In the Air Force, a customer generates a request and when the items are pulled from the warehouse shelves, they are segregated into a designated holding area.  The Army system waits until the customer arrives in person and then they take those documents to the warehouse to retrieve the parts.  As such, we waited several hours until all of our vehicle parts were issued.  Meanwhile a 7,000 lb generator was being loaded on to the bed of the 5-ton truck.

Pedestrians in Kabul

After everything was loaded we departed for our camp.  As we drove through the city, I tried to memorize the route and landmarks.  I made several mental notes about this crowded city.  We only passed one traffic light because they rely heavily on round-a-bout circles for traffic flow.  At intersections including 3-4 way, there were no lights and traffic inched out or they pretended there were stop signs even though there aren’t any.  Some of the busy intersections were manned by the Afghan National Police (ANP) armed with AK-47’s.  Most of the time, they sat off to the side and watched the traffic pass by.  As more people purchase vehicles, traffic is going to become a severe nightmare in the near future if not already.

Another street scene in Kabul

We arrived back at camp with our cargo and offloaded it.  The AF Captain from the Brigade asked if we felt like making another trip back to Camp Phoenix to retrieve the water tanks and other supplies.  Since we realized the importance of these supplies, we couldn’t say no.  So after a 30 minute lunch, we put back on our armored vests, helmets, and gloves and drove through the city again.  Many of the roads are spotted with potholes of various sizes and depths.  I joked to my teammates about opening a Midas shop here for shocks and suspensions.

After loading the water tanks and supplies on the 5-ton truck, we headed back into the city.  By now the streets were a little bit more congested.  The citizens were dressed in their finest clothes and the little girls appeared to be showing off their new dresses.  The traffic didn’t seem to mind our convoy as they have in the past.  I suppose if I fasted for several weeks straight, I might become irritable too.

By now it was late afternoon and we just completed a 12-hour day.  The vehicles were parked and the weapons were dismounted and secured until the next mission.

Note:  I am still waiting to download the pictures from the other day.  I also need to find my battery charger tucked away in one of these bags or boxes, because my camera battery is dead and unable to take any new pictures.

Filed under: Missions Tagged: | Afghan National Police, Afghanistan, Camp Phoenix, Deployment, ETT, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, war