Another wonderful picture of my BEAUTIFUL wife. She is my strength to get through this year. How *she* does it is beyond me. Anyway, here she is!

Two Year Olds Know More Than We Give Credit For

My wife recently sent me an e-mail that brought me close to tears. Here is an excerpt:

Riss does love you...

walking to
class this morning she points and says "Look. A daddy on a bicycle. MY Daddy in
Ananagastan. ... I want my Daddy."

Thought I was going to
cry.

I sat down with both she and Kira before leaving, trying to explain why Daddy was going to be gone. Kira grasped it, but never sensed that Rissa understood. I guess she did. Can't put much past the two year old, eh? She's amazing. Miss her...

Attention C-17 Crews

Hey guys... if you ever would like to give an Army grunt a thrill... I'd love to go fly with you... Each time one of you comes and goes from KAF, I'm transfixed, watching with eagerness and awe.

Drop me a line... I'd like to come fly with you!

Nancy Pelosi

Ok, I'm getting sick of this. To those of you reading, regardless of your political persuasion, please try to understand where we troops are coming from.

Rep. Dick Durbin has called us Nazis.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (a leader of the Democrats) has said:
"I assume that the war in Afghanistan is over, or is the contention that you have that it continues?" she said to a reporter.
A few moments later, she said: "This isn't about the duration of the war. The war in Afghanistan is over."

The war is over. Right. I've watched mission after mission launch from here as we battle the Taliban and al-Qaeda here. In church, each Sunday, we get our "brief" of the Soldiers who aren't going home as planned.

We're Nazis... the war is over.

Gee folks, thanks for the support. Please, please remember these statements when you see them up for election next time.

("Support the Troops" - It's more than just a bumper sticker.)

Gag Order

We got put under a gag order last week. Happens when a bird goes down. I was out working on one of our birds when a maintainer breezed by and said, "We just lost a bird." That was all he said. We hoped for more info, but of course, it was just happening so there was none.

I've looked in the news reports, and it's not there. Amazing, since they report everything else that goes wrong.

One of our Apaches was lost in an accident. No enemy fire. It just went down. Reports had it hitting the ground at 70 knots. She rolled several times, the tail boom coming completely off. In her last acts, the bird saved those pilots. Everything in her that was designed for the last saving act worked. The landing gear struts compressed, absorbing some of the energy of the crash. The seats cushioned, further abosrbing. The glass spiderwebbed, the canopies popped out, the fuel tanks didn't explode, the computers aborbed impact... She saved them.

The pilots should not have made it out. They walked away.

They brought the bird back. She's now stored in the hangar next to mine. It's sealed, pending investigation, under 24 hour guard. But, I got to see her when she was brought in and when the hangar was first set up. She came in three pieces... three separate Chinooks slingloaded her home; three separate flatbeds hauled her to the hangar. Looking at her was sad. Just the other day, we'd worked on her. When we perform work, everything must be just so. Very precise and neat. Now to see the mangled mess.... sad.

She's good for nothing but scrap and borrowed parts now...

Sad.

Did I mention it's hot?

Ok, ok... I know I'm beating a dead horse.

BUT.

It's truly difficult for me to fathom the heat here - both how hot it IS, and that we're doomed to get hotter.

It topped out at 147 today.

We were in our max heat advisory condition by 0400Z. It's like sticking your face next to a BBQ grill.

"It's not a REAL war..."

I heard and read that (or variations on a theme) quite a bit before I left. Seems since Afghanistan was going so well, and Iraq not so much, that people figured all was done here. We had a large coalition (that hasn't cut and run), the Afghan government (such as it is) looks stable, etc... "It's not a REAL war...."

Well, last night, one of our birds got shot up pretty bad. Made it home, but with more than the original manufacturer recommended number of holes. Nose to tail.
(Incredible maintainers note - it's almost fixed as I write this... and you can't tell.)

We have some of the perforated parts spread out on a table... looks like a real war to me.

The littlest thing...

Today's big event was...

... a cloud.

Yes, there was a cloud today. I was out on the aircraft... sweatin' away. Suddenly, it got dark and the temperature dropped by what felt like 30 degrees. A cloud had moved in front of the sun.

Ok, no biggie? Well, it was a topic of conversation for the rest of the day...

Today, we also did CTT training. CTT = Common Task Training. Basic Soldier skills. Was exciting as always...

No other news? Take care, y'all.

Copied from an E-mail I received

I received this from an old friend of mine, and enjoyed it so much, I thought I'd pass it along...

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense.

Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how

old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic

red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as

knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the

worm and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple,

sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable

parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but

overbearing regulations were set in place. - Reports of a six-year-old

boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens

suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher

fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get

parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but could not

inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have

an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments

became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received

better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize

that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled it in her lap, and

was awarded a huge financial settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust,

his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son,

Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If

you still remember him, pass this on; if not, join the majority and do

nothing.

Hot

117 today... before the heat index. Was a busy day, especially since we're working longer shifts. We had to work with a powered on aircraft today. Gun problem. I got to play! Had to use the gun for a good 20 minutes just to get it ready to test. So, turned on all the fancy-dancy sighting systems, and connected the gun to it, and then just spent 20 minutes looking around and making sure the gun follows. A good part of the job.

Downside? The bird was having other problems, including the A/C not working. Soooo, sat in a HOT bird, basically a giant oven. Blech. Just drained the energy...

Anyways, that was today. Looking forward to Wednesday... Day off.

Take care, y'all.

A Change in Schedules

Well, it was bound to happen... just as I started to settle into a comfortable routine, things get shaken up a bit. As anyone in the Army will tell you, that's par for the course. It seems about a 1/3 of our shop is scheduled to go on R&R leave over the next two weeks. Therefore, we cannot maintain our three-shift rotation of schedules... So, new schedule for me starting tomorrow is:

2315Z (plus a few minutes of Snooze Button) - Awaken

0000Z - PT

0100Z - Quick shower, change to uniform, grab a morsel, and hustle the 3/4 mile over to work.

0200Z - Begin shift.

1400Z - End shift.

Repeat. Sleep when possible.

Today was Father's Day. Third one in a row I've spent away from my kidlets. Out of a possible 3, therefore, I'm batting zero. Sigh... that's getting old. First Daddy Day was spent in Army training. Second, waiting for Army paperwork to bring family over. Third, on vacation in Afghanistan.

Anyway, the DFAC (chow hall) prepared a nice Daddy Day dinner - T-bone steak (modified shoe leather), fish, turkey, roast pork, dressing, veggies, pie, etc., etc., etc. Nice of them.

Lots of Daddies over here. As the Chaplain put it in church today... "We hope your children understand the sacrifice you're making... that other children can grow up free." Well, we hope so. I'm lucky, mine are young enough to not know the difference. But, I do. Miss them.

Called home. My oldest got on a plane today to spend mandatory summer custody vacation in the states. Is still over the Atlantic as I write this. So, left me with two. M (2) and T (2.5 months). Needless to say, my conversation hopes weren't necessarily high. Thomas was asleep, probably dreaming blessed milk dreams. M, who has N*E*V*E*R spoken a word, grunted a sound, or given any sign of life on the phone was going to be the lucky winner. And you know what? She talked to me!!!! :) Ok, it wasn't english. It was more of... well, I don't know exactly what it is... but if she's still doing it 18 years from now, her career hopes in Radio/TV broadcast or as a receptionist are doomed. But, she was excited, and by all witness accounts, eager to be on the phone. She begged for the phone (real words... apparently not for use when actually on the phone.) Dancing, big smile, all about talking to Daddy. She doesn't know it yet, but she's got me wrapped. I am SO going to be in trouble when she's older.

Oh, one last thing of note... now, this is going to be full of jargon and so forth... Any words you don't understand can be replaced with "thingamajig", "whatchamacallit", "whatzit", and "doo-dad".

I fixed a helicopter today.

Not a big deal? Well, I've got 3 1/2 weeks cumulative knowledge. The bird in question was having problems with it's transducer (pronounced "thingamajig") failing. Basically, it tells the pilots the temperature of the transmission oil. Important stuff. It kept showing a temperature of -32 degrees Celsius, at engine start, on hot days. Not possible. Obviously, we all came to the learned decision that it was broken.

It had been replaced FOUR times. All four replacements failed. Same cause. So, today, my partner and I moseyed out there to fix that daggum bird... no matter what. At this point, it became more intense problem solving. If the part wasn't bad (could all four be bad? Not likely.), then the fault lay elsewhere. This is the part of the job where we chase wires. This is NOT fun and is generally avoided as the various checkpoints of the huge wiring bundles can be all over the aircraft, usually not in accessible locations. So it was to be here. I ended up, upside down in the birds' catwalk (a narrow place along the top of the tail boom) holding test leads while the partner was outside on the other end of the aircraft. Everything checked out. The wires were working. At least, the wires from the rest of the bird to the plug in point to the transducer. So, it's not the wires, and all the transducers can't be bad... what is it?

We sat there brainstorming. Maybe some pins were bad... possible. Wires in wrong holes.... possible. Then it dawned on me. -32 degrees is impossible. But, 32 degrees Celsius is akin to 90-95 degreesFahrenheit . Exactly what it should be before the engine gets warmed up. So, I spoke up... something is reversed.

Fast forward about five hours (and four people working) to get to the base wires involved. And would you believe? The two tiny wires providing power to the transducer were reversed. (Electricians and mechanics out there will recognize the "reverse polarity".) So, we swapped the wires. Put everything back together. And it worked.

And, to mark my success, I had a cookie. That's our phrase for doing something right... you get a cookie.

Well, I'm off to bed. I get up in about 6 hours for the beginning of a long day. PT is a run day, so I should be well and truly exhausted.

Take care, and thank you ALL for the messages, letters, and packages...

It means a great deal.

And to all the fathers, especially... my father, whom I love dearly... Happy Father's Day.

Picture of the Day

This was taken by another Apache pilot. Beautiful... Just beautiful. You can clearly see the two pilots. You can also see the BIG GUN hanging under the nose. That's what puts the fear of Allah into our lovely friends the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. :)

Random Thoughts

Just some random thoughts I've noted today...

 

No particular order.

 

Port-a-potties should be called Mini-bake Ovens.  It's sad when you have to take a bottle of water with you just to survive the sauna...  Or, worse... the heat you've been complaining about feels refreshing when you come out of the oven.

 

Sounds I've become accustomed to: Distant exchanges of rifle fire.  Explosions.  Aircraft coming and going (ok, I love those).

 

I'm pleased with how comfortable I've become with my weapon.  We take it wherever we go... always (exception - shower/latrine).  It really does become a part of you.  And you miss it when it's not there.  I now understand tales of guys who come back and the first week or so, they don't feel right because their weapon isn't there.

 

Saw a shooting star... Still here.  Oh well, one wish down.  :) Hahaha

 

Aircraft get hot.  116 the other day according the thermometer we put on the bird.  That included the direct sunlight and the heat radiating from the concrete and metal.  Have to use gloves to pick up tools or climb on the bird.

 

It's getting hotter.

 

Dust devils are cool.  See about 3 a day on average.  These are mini-tornadoes of dust... some reach hundreds of feet in the air.  Had one go by, but haven't been in one yet like some guys have.  Should be cool.

 

Some genius scheduled a third of our shop to go on R&R leave at the same time... great.  Our shifts are being extended to compensate.  What little free time I've had will soon be gone.  Oh goody.

 

Time blurs when you're here... need a calendar to determine day of the week.  Nothing separates the days...  Sure, Tuesday and Thursday are laundry days.  Sunday is church.  Otherwise, all the same.  Weird feeling.

 

Settling into the work.  Actually like it.  Is extremely satisfying to be a direct link of helping put "rounds downrange".  This is what I signed up for and I'm doing it.  And, I'll come back with better stories than if I'd just worked in the office... I'm splitting time about 50/50 now.  Works for me (especially since I've finagled the office time to be during the hot time of day... for now anyway.)  And that doesn't mean the morning isn't hot, it's just that the heat saps your energy, and after lunch, I have no urge to work on aircraft anymore.

 

I'm thankful for my Angels... y'all brighten my day with e-mails.  Wanna be an Angel to a Soldier (they'd love to have you)?  www.soldiersangels.org.  Make a Soldier's Day!

 

Till next post...  please keep checking back (and feel free to check out the archives to see what you've missed.)  And if you have any questions, please ask.

This is Scanner. Isn't he adorable? That face of his saves his tail a lot. I hear he misses me terribly. In the background, you can see his shy sister, Mri... or at lest, her tail.

Afghanistan... Why this isn't a tourist mecca is beyond me.

A helicopter loading in progress at a FOB. (I was not involved with this.) Shows the starkness of the bases and countryside. And being at a FOB, this bird is going hunting!

Did I mention the gravel? This is what we walk and run on... fun.

Answers to Questions

Some of you have sent in a few questions. Instead of answering individually, and allowing those special few to hog the response all to themselves, I've decided to take the equitable and charitable route.

(Full of it, aren't I?)

1: The bathrooms are a long way away... what do you do... you know, when you have... diarrhea? (Montezuma, from Mexico)
Well, Monty, you do what anyone does... run. Or a quick shuffle. Legitimate question. You do plan your potty breaks here. If the nearest porta-potty isn't for a good distance, or... if you know you're going to be on the flightline working on birds for while, you plan ahead.

2: Why are all the other countries there? I thought it was an American base. (Kofi from NYC)
Well, remember, Kofi... this is a coalition. So, we have lots of friends here. Eventually, once we have the base all built up nice and pretty, we'll turn it over to someone else. I hear-tell it's going to be the Canadians. We'll then move our forces out to one of the smaller, out-lying bases. Yay.

3: But, you let Afghans on the base...? (Fred the Afghan)
Yes... it is their country. Actually, it's the Afghan National Army. I'll just stop there for now.

4: Do you wear earplugs around the aircraft? (Judy from Miracle-Ear)
Yes. We have boxes of them. Either that, or we have headsets on so we can communicate with each other. Otherwise, it's hand-signals. The aircraft are VERY loud. And the Harriers are even louder. Noisy planes...

Keep sending in questions, folks, and maybe your question will make it here...

My rant, today...

Except for those living under rocks, we all remember the brou-haha that Newsweek caused when it published a story about the US desecrating the Q'uran, Islam's holy text. Further media sources continue to print allegations along these lines. The general gist is that we are violating the Geneva Convention.

Maybe we are, maybe we're not.

But, one thing I do know for certain is what's not being reported. For you see, if WE have to follow the rules (and have any errors aired in the open), shouldn't the other side follow as well? And should they decide to forgo such niceties as the Geneva Convention (while complaining that we're violating it - which is a cute trick), should that not be reported as well?

So, where are the reporters and photographers and stern-faced anchormen to report such violations?

Is no one going to tsk, tsk the other side?

In a briefing, we were told, and from anecdotal evidence from those who work on the birds, it seems our Medevac helicopters often come under fire. Medevacs are the ambulances of the battlefield. By treaty (you know which one), they are unarmed and labeled as noncombatants. It is illegal to fire upon them. However, militarily, they are quite the juicy target. And they're easy to spot - they have HUGE red crosses painted all over them. Can't miss them. And their brave pilots must often hold position while loading wounded, while taking fire.

So, next time you read about a book being soaked in urine, or flushed down a commode (which I haven't figured out how that happened)... compare notes with say, firing rifles, rocket propelled grenades, and missiles at unarmed medical helicopters.

On the satisfying note, though... the Medevacs are usually escorted by our babies, the Apaches. He who fires, will receive fire... and it is quite satisfying to load those rounds onto those birds so they can provide protective fire.

That's my rant...

One of our birds... You can see a C-17 in the background.

Birthday

Birthday today... 32. Wow. Third consecutive birthday away from the family, courtesy US Army. Sigh.

But, as I was talking with someone yesterday, we are blessed. I cannot imagine what it was like for the guys in previous wars (WWII comes to mind) who may have been on 5 year tours, mail might take 6 months, if at all... and phone calls were... well, just didn't happen.

Here, I've already talked to my wife 3 times, heard my children, seen a videoteleconference and a webcam, plus the daily e-mails...

Makes it easier, and harder... but thankful for it.

To all of you writing in, thanks. It's something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Of all the places...

Was walking back from work today, and I heard... of all things, and in all places...

A Car alarm.

And, just like always, does anyone shut it off? Nope.

What's it like here?

Well, I've been here awhile, and I'm sure everyone is curious what it's like.

How to describe life here? Well, the first challenge when you arrive here is adjusting to the time. I work the "Day" shift. That means my schedule is as follows (adjust it as needed to your time zone):

2315Z - Wake Up
0000Z - PT
0100Z - Personal Time for Hygiene (Shower)
0330Z - Breakfast
0400Z - Work
Lunch is anytime between 0730 and 1000Z.
I usually get off work around 1300Z. Can work until 1500Z.
Usually in bed by about 1600Z or 1700Z.

So, what makes the time interesting is the Zulu part. For example, PT is at the equivalent of dawn, but the watch says midnight. Going to bed at 4 in the afternoon gets a little disconcerting.


Temperature. It's above 100 most days. 0% Humidity. Very, very dry. Not a cloud, not a wisp in the sky. Can see for miles. At night, it gets downright chilly. It's very windy here, especially during the summer months.

Dust. It's everywhere. It gets into everything, and there's no avoiding it. Had the start of my first dust storm today. Normally, I can see mountains that are miles away, and even see the flight line, which is half a mile away. Walked outside today and could barely see half way to the flight line.

So, what's it like? We keep very busy here. Kandahar is a large base. It is multi-national. So far, I've spotted Brits, Afghans, Canadians, Dutch, and Romanians. Rumor has it that there are others, but... haven't seen them.

I get to work on our AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters. Thus, I'm right out on the flight line. When I say that, I mean that it is not at all unusual for me to be working with a helicopter's blades turning directly overhead, or for birds to be passing by (very windy), or even for jets to pass by on the runway a few feet away.

It's quite a collection, too. We get to see C-17's, Predator (UAV), Chinooks, P-3s, A-10s, British Harriers, BlackHawks, PaveHawks, and of course, my baby, the Apache. Those Harriers are LOUD. Blast your eardrums everytime. The C-17 is always a joy to see, especially the ones with the Carolina Palmetto tree on the tail... those are from Charleston... home.

There's also one plane daily that everyone looks for... the bright yellow DHL plane. It's arrival means Mail's Here!


We live nicely. We have modular barracks, 7 rooms, 4 persons to a room. One wall locker and nightstand, and bed per person. If it doesn't fit there, then we just don't need it. We DO have Air Conditioner, though it often fails. In our room, we actually have three refrigerators, all full with .5 liter bottles of water.

Bathrooms ("latrines") come in two varieties - Port-a-lets (those wonderful things everyone avoids at public places everywhere) and shipping containers converted to bathrooms (real porceline-like plastic that flush!). None are especially close by, so anytime that nature calls, it's often long-distance.

Showers are a bit of a hike, too. Also, converted shipping container. But, showers are semi-private, and hot... so, not too bad. Also, there is something to be said for showering, and then hiking back with a bit of a breeze...

Chow. Chow is great. Food is top-notch here. The military goes through great lengths to give us absolutely great chow. Every few weeks, we even get steak and lobster. However, believe it or not, you do get tired of it after awhile...

Getting around... well, there's gravel everywhere. It takes a lot to get used to walking on it. Many people seem to twist or sprain ankles. By the way, this is not gravel like you're used to. These are HUGE rocks sometimes... Barracks to work is about 1/2 mile. To the PX is about a mile... mile and a half. Small PX, so... once you've been, it's just not worth the hike.

There's no humidity here, so usually the sky is crystal clear. Not even wisps of clouds.

It gets VERY hot. Even by breakfast (0330Z), it is already warm... And work continues through the heat of the day. It's really exciting to be working out on the aircraft, concrete aprons, metal airplanes... we get bonus points when it's spewing hot exhaust out onto us and we have to stand in it because that's where the part is. You just keep drinking water...

Every place on post, wherever you go, has refrigerators. All are stocked with water. Bottles upon bottles... Can't get enough of it.

Coming soon, more about life here in Kandahar.

Calling all Web Techies

Anyone out there have a solid HTML background? (If that sentence leaves you with a "Huh?" feeling, you can skip this post. Nothing interestin here.)

I'm not completely up to speed on my web knowledge, and would like this blog to be... well, if not first-rate, at least half-way decent.

So, if you have some skills, and would like to volunteer, please drop me a line with your e-mail address. Thanks!

First - A Primer

Ok, before we get too far into this, I think a primer is going to be necessary.

First, times. Here, we go by Zulu time. Zulu time is also known as Greenwich Mean Time. This is the time on our watches. Now, the Afghans go by Lima time, or local time. It is 4.5 hours ahead of Zulu time. For those of you playing the home game, you each have your own time zones. Germany is two hours ahead of Zulu (and 2.5 behind Lima), Eastern is 4 hours behind Zulu, and so forth.

All times I mention (unless otherwise noted) will be the Zulu kind. For example, if I write 1300Z (Z for Zulu), then that means that it's 1730L (or the sun is setting), it's 1500 in Germany, and 0900 on the east coast of America. Straight so far?

Now, some terms.

"The Wire". The wire is the boundary of the base. Comes from the heavy use of concertina wire (it slices, it dices, it ruins your day) on top of the barriers. Used in context of, "I'm going outside the wire..." meaning leaving post and going out to the badlands.

"SF". Special Forces. Sssssshhhh, they're not here. These are the creme de la creme of the US (and allies) forces. Serious guys. Tip of the point of the spear. But, sssshhh, they're not really here.

"Birds". Aircraft. Used in "I worked on the birds today."

"FOB". Forward Operating Base. Kandahar is a main base for the troops. However, there are small, forward bases out in the hinterlands. They are bare-boned, minimalistic, and in the middle of nowhere. Used to launch missions against the bad-guys.

"Fobbit". Someone who never goes outside the wire and stays only on bases.

I'll add other terms as needed, but here's a good start.

So, that's times and terms. Don't worry, no test.