Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2007

I hadn't started to write about this adventure yet when I arrived at Kabul last year. So I will do a little description.

Kabul is one step closer to home for me and a number of my fellow soldiers.
Kabul is dirty. The air is foul with burning trash, burning fuel, and whatever else might be tossed into the fire. I recently saw a picture that was painted about one hundred years ago (I saw a print) and it was of the Kabul bazaar. It doesn't look that different now, although there were no hubcaps on walls in the picture I saw.
Kabul smells; In order for that to register, let me tell you I can not smell much of anything good or bad. A lady with perfume or a truck with garbage gets equally ignored by me if I can't see them.... So when I say Kabul smells, it must really be getting with it.

Camp Phoenix is a mostly concrete paved compound that is leased by the Government. Because it is leased, the improvements are sparse. So the buildings are all temporary housing, most made of plywood. Plywood is hard to clean, creates its own dirt, and is a fire hazard. The two other alternatives are Connex housing; Think about the boxes on the back of 18 wheelers; or group tents, where I am currently residing with about 80 or 100 other fine soldiers. Based on the way people overlap in country, we are living about as well as can be expected, unless of course you are in the Air Force or Navy, in which case we are truly suffering. I don't know why, but the Air Force has figured out how to take care of airmen far better then the Army ever will, it is almost a reverse snobbish attitude on the Army's part. I wish it would suck some more....

Anyway. Weather is 75-100, not bad. Rained the other day, that was nice.

The South Carolina Guard is here, they seem like good folks, of course, I / We stay mostly out of there way.

When I got here I had my Cholesterol checked, it was 162, one year later it is 188. That is still doing okay, but not as okay as before I arrived. Based upon plane availability and other logistic considerations we will be here around 4 days by the time we leave. Apparently those same logistic considerations will negatively impact our arrival date in the states as well, which is to be expected.

The hardest part of this again is the infiltration, and the exfiltration, or the coming and going. The doing is the relatively easy part.

Hmmm Okay, I think that is the extent of my information for the day.

Take care

Keith