Afghanistan My Last Tour

Traffic gridlock.

A decision was made after pulling into the camp parking lot that we roll out in the morning and drive to FOB Airborne to swap out these refurbished MRAPs with the Marines.  In addition, we would be accompanied by the ANA General along with his security detail.  Personally I like traveling with the ANA because they know how to get through the traffic and when traffic is gridlocked, they will dismount from their trucks and direct traffic so our convoys can get through.

As we anticipated, traffic was pretty heavy through the western side of Kabul, specifically in the market area.  Our ANA brothers jumped out of their trucks and started waving traffic

Amputee on crudely-made crutches.

off to the side and we squeezed our MRAPs in between cars, trucks, livestock, and throngs of people shopping in the crowded market place.

Once we departed the city and drove west, the traffic was minimal and we made good time.  We pulled into FOB Airborne and the Marines were waiting for their upgraded MRAPs.  When I dismounted from the

Slightly overloaded truck.

truck I managed to bang the back part of my hand and it swelled rather quickly.  So our medic bandaged me up and I visited the TMC as a precautionary measure.  He gave me some mild pain killers and sent me on my way.

While at Airborne I examined a small crater caused by an insurgent rocket that managed to hit the camp a few days ago.  One of my teammates was outside when it exploded but the Hesco barriers did their job and fortunately nobody was injured.  Also while we were there, the Army fired off several 155mm rounds.  Despite all of the barriers, these guns produce a small shock wave when they are fired and the vibrations can be felt at a long distance.  I would hate to be on the receiving end when the shell hits its target.

Marines driving off with MRAPs.

We swapped out MRAPs with the Marines and they quickly departed and headed back to the front lines to actively engage and seek out the enemy.  In turn, we got 3 of their well-used MRAPs in return.  I feel much safer traveling in the MRAP then I do in a HMMVW.  Now I just need to get used to crawling in and out of these vehicles.  They sit much higher than a HMMVW and are a bit cumbersome to get into with all of the gear on.

Stubborn cow blocking the road.

On the return trip we encountered a stubborn cow who decided to stand in the middle of the road and block traffic.   This cow wasn’t budging and I thought our ANA escort was going to shoot it so we could have some sirloin steaks for dinner.  The owner managed to pull hard enough and clear a path for our convoy and back into the city we went.

Family in back of truck.

Traffic was gridlocked again.  I took some pictures of my surroundings while we waited for the ANA to clear a path.  A family was in the back of a jingle truck and looked like they were moving.  A peddler was repairing the soles on flip-flops and one store had pots stacked 10 feet tall.  You just never know what you will see when you travel

Repairing soles of flip-flops.

through the market area.

We returned to camp without incident.  Since tomorrow was Juma, our ETT leader told us to take a well-deserved day off.

Store selling pots.

Filed under: Missions Tagged: | Afghan National Army, ANA, Camp Airborne, Deployment, ETT, HMMVW, MRAP, photography