Afghanistan My Last Tour

Afghans manually loading the truck with soil.

In high school, I received a little bit of teasing about taking a typing course.  Only a handful of guys including me were brave enough to take this class that was dominated by females.  But somewhere in the back of my brain, I knew that those skills would serve me some day.  Since then, it has paid off handsomely.   I can type my own research papers for school and still hack out about 50-60 words a minute too.  Mrs. Lamp would be so proud of me….lol.  But none of my schooling ever prepared me to type on a foreign keyboard or explain how formulas work on an Excel spreadsheet.

For the past few days, I have been working studiously with my ANA counterpart on accountability.  The tool I’m using is an Excel Spreadsheet.  For anyone who has basic knowledge of computers and programs, this program is fairly easy to use once the formulas are created.  Then it’s just a matter of populating the data points.  But for someone who only has a rudimentary knowledge of computers and a high school

Abandoned Soviet APC.

degree (Afghanistan level), it becomes rather challenging to explain basic algebra, formulas, etc.  As such, I have finally made headway and when my counterpart does understand, it’s like a bright light comes on in his head.  For me, it’s just another small victory in mentoring.   The 2^nd half to this challenge is using the Dari/English keyboard.  It becomes really complex when I try to type on the same line that has Dari characters and try to use numerals such as 7 ton truck.  I am still puzzled because it places the number after the Dari characters.  I find myself thinking in reverse (because they read from right to left) to make sense of this and be able to type English words in conjunction with the Dari ones.  I can’t even find the words to explain what I am trying to convey, so I will move on.

Destruction from the civil war.

I drove around a seldom traveled part of ANA land today too.  This time I had my camera handy and took some pictures of the war destruction.  At one time, there was a flourishing army residing here, but during the civil war between the competing war lords, this place was obliterated.  The only thing remaining are the bombed out remains of the structures

Army Lt and interpreter.

and piles of rubble.

An Army Lt rode around with me today too.  In the picture, he is posing with his interpreter.  I bet you would never guess that back in the US, he is a school teacher.  His school recently collected 5 large boxes of school supplies to support my Afghan school supplies program.  He and I will be working closely together on some future humanitarian projects.   The DOD blog guidelines prevent me from mentioning his name, but if you look closely at his name tag, you can figure it out.  It doesn’t make sense, but I have to follow the rules…lol.  It’s not an “Armyism”, but a “DoDism”.

The next picture is the remnants of Osama Bin Laden’s mosque that was being built before he fled from Kabul.  Previously I posted a distant picture, but today I was able to get a clearer and closer shot.  After Bin Laden escaped, the construction ceased on this project.  So now it just sits like the abandoned Soviet tanks, armored personnel carriers,

Unfinished foundation of Bin Laden's mosque.

and destroyed buildings as a historical reminder of the past.   Perhaps someday, the historical landmarks I have featured on my blog will become tourist attractions for foreign and local tourists.  Although some are grim reminders of a horrific past and atrocities committed, they still serve as integral part of Afghanistan’s history and hopefully a symbol of something not to be repeated.

In the interim, I will continue with my mentoring hoping to make a small difference.  I’m still committed to supporting the education platform and watching this country transform into a nation of people who one day will be able to make decisions on their own.  I know it will take time and it’s not going to happen overnight.  Quoting Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace, “The strongest of all warriors are these two—Time and Patience.”  I have to constantly remind myself of this.