Afghanistan My Last Tour

A little bit of traffic congestion in Kabul

Alas!  Our academic training on crew serve weapons had come to an end and we were scheduled to return to camp.  The original plan was to meet up with another convoy at 7 am.  This meant we had to start preparing vehicles at 6:30 am and further it meant waking at 5:30 am to shave, dress, eat, etc.  Like clockwork we were on time and then the

Afghan traffic control officer

Captain received a phone call.  The convoy would be delayed an hour.  Also before returning to camp, we would escort my fellow teammates back to their camp.

While driving to my former camp, my armored HMMVW experienced a mechanical problem.  It wouldn’t shift out of second gear into drive.

Justice and Liberty staring at my Pop Tart

[Later on we would discover the mechanics added too much transmission fluid].  The convoy speed would be lowered to accommodate my vehicle so we wouldn’t blow an engine.  We arrived at our former camp and it was like a family reunion seeing all of my geographically separated teammates.  We planned only an hour on the ground, but this was also changed to several hours.  This provided me plenty of time to visit with some friends and teammates along with some furry ones too.  Liberty and Justice sensed my presence or perhaps it was the Blueberry Pop Tart I was snacking on.  Darn it if that Pop Tart didn’t crumble and strategically land in their mouths.  The camp

Precious, the new camp puppy

puppies weren’t alone and a much smaller puppy was hiding under a bench by the guard gate.  Apparently the French have been transporting this little girl around.  Supposedly she was at another FOB several miles up the highway and managed to find her way back to the U.S. FOB.  Maybe she doesn’t like French cuisine.  Everybody was unsure of her name, so for now I am going to nickname her “Precious.”

We departed our former camp and headed back through the capital city.  The traffic had multiplied but seemed cognizant of our presence and gave us the right-of-way.  A traffic cop was directing traffic at one of those unmarked 4 way intersections.  We also passed a butcher shop and the fresh

Fresh meat for sale

carcasses of meat were being displayed for sale.  We weaved our vehicles through traffic and made it to the other side of the city.  Next stop would be our small camp.

It was almost exciting to see the tall Hesco barriers and concertina wire surrounding our encampment.  The only task left was to unpack our gear and return to our small cubicles.

That looks like a Coca Cola sign

Another successful mission and I can’t wait to sleep on my rock hard mattress.