Happy Thanksgiving Friends,
Or, as one of our day workers said, “Turkey Day Mobarak.” Mobarak (pronounced “mubarik”) is Pashto for holy or congratulations and Dari for blessed. You will be receiving a photo album link to pictures from our festivities today. I won’t bother with a separate narrative as this update covers everything pretty well.
I thought I would send out a special update for Thanksgiving. For anyone worried that we wouldn’t eat as well as we probably would at home with our families, you can put your worries aside. We had – as expected at Thanksgiving – way more food than we could eat and it was all excellent. Our menu included:
Turkey (of course, deep fried in peanut oil and done to perfection)
Baked Ham with and without Pineapple
Turkey Patties (I think someone was afraid there wouldn’t be enough of everything else so prepared these to be on the safe side)
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Macaroni & Cheese with Pork Sausage
Corn Bread (mild and spicy) and Corn Bread Muffins w/Honey Butter
Jellied Cranberries
Green Bean Casserole topped with Chow Mein Noodles – one with bacon and one without
Corn on the Cob
Deviled Eggs
Dinner Rolls
Egg Nog
Spiced Apple Cider
Apple, Cherry, and Pecan Pies
Pear Tarts
The only thing missing was lefse – and since I was probably the only Norwegian there, I don’t think anyone else noticed. Food preparation actually began a couple days ago for some of the items and continued this morning with different people working on their specialties. The piece de resistance of course, was the turkey. There were some worried moments as the original plan for lowering the turkey into the hot oil on the grill proved to be unworkable. American military ingenuity came through, however, and the results were spectacular – a moist, flavorful, golden brown bird.
Once everything was ready, we gathered to say grace. Joining us for our Thanksgiving Dinner were several of the Afghan National Army soldiers from the base on which we are collocated. They seemed to really enjoy the food but had to be told which items were pork or contained pork as Muslims are not allowed to eat pork.
The food was great as was the weather. It was sunny and probably close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. After dinner had settled a little, a bunch of us played volleyball – including some of the terps (volleyball is very popular in Afghanistan). It was a good group of people with whom to spend the day – not the same as being with our regular families, but while we are here this is our family. Of course, most people would think a holiday like this would make one homesick. It’s possible some of the people were homesick, but it wasn’t evident. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me the time difference is one thing that helps.
As we were sitting down to eat, it was the middle of the night at home – or, at least, very early in the morning. So as we were having Thanksgiving Dinner here, I knew I was not – at that moment – missing the gathering of family at home. By the time my family is sitting down to eat, I will probably be going to bed or close to it. So at that point, I may be thinking that it would be nice to be with them, but I will also be heading off to sleep. One thing of which I am pretty sure is that my family misses me more than I miss them. I don’t know if that’s true for all soldiers, but I believe it is for me.
It’s not because my life is better than theirs, because that is certainly not the case. However, I have really one primary mission on which to focus and my position keeps me very busy. So I don’t have a lot of time to dwell on my family and home and the things I’m missing (except as I’m writing this, I suppose, but this seems rather cathartic). On the other hand, my family is doing all the things they did when I was home – which means all the things we used to do together. So each routine thing they do is a reminder – at least to some degree – that I am not there. And of course, for my wife, she is responsible for all the things that that we used to share.
I am fortunate that my wife has many people reaching out to help with things, but there are many things that simply can’t be done by anyone else, and the stresses she experiences cannot be shared. Also, no one can step in and be a father for our two sons. While several people have taken our sons on outings and served as a male role model and friend of sorts, I sometimes think even that provides a reminder to the boys that Dad isn’t there to do this or that with them. I firmly believe that we will all be better people for this experience, but in the meantime it will be a real struggle.
So on this Thanksgiving day, I am thankful for my incredibly strong wife Katherine, our two very special sons Samuel and Matthew, my Mom and Dad who instilled in me the values that keep me centered (most of the time), my sister Roxanne who – along with her husband Kirk – showed what real strength is during their son Dan’s too short life, his medical conditions, and his eventual passing and for their daughter Megan and the time we did get to spend with Dan.
I am also thankful for my wife’s family. Though at times they can drive each other crazy (just as my family can drive each other crazy), they have provided great support and assistance, friendship and love while also working through their own challenges. And I am thankful for all the other family members and friends who have shown support in so many ways. I have truly been blessed in my life and hope I never take any of these many blessings for granted.
Finally, I am thankful that I live in a country that is truly free and provides the opportunities that we have. I am thankful that I have the ability and privilege to serve in the military in Afghanistan to help fulfill one of the responsibilities that comes with the freedom and opportunities – to help those in another country build their own democracy and develop similar opportunities. Of course, one of the most important aspects of the United States is the freedom we each have as individuals; so I am thankful that I can freely and openly express my faith in the God who has provided these many blessings.
In closing this special Thanksgiving Update, I ask for God’s blessings for each of you.
Thanksgiving Mobarak!!
Kevin
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Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Greetings Again Friends,
I’m going to see if I can share a few things of more substance and do so fairly quickly. Of course, I always start out with good intentions, but suddenly I find myself wondering, “Where am I going and what am I doing in this hand basket?” As it’s been a while since I discussed our mission and actual experiences, I’ll begin there.
I’ll start by drawing some contrasts between Nangarhar Province – where I was for my first two and a half months – and Kunar Province where I am now. From a mission standpoint, things are very different. Whereas in Nangarhar our team was working exclusively with the Provincial Police Headquarters (PHQ); in Kunar we are working with the PHQ and all the Districts – of which there are 14. The reason for the difference has to do with the number of police mentors available and the number of provinces and districts in need of mentors.
Anyone who has been following the news about Afghanistan knows there is a push to get as many as 20,000 more U.S. military personnel here. One of the areas to be addressed by this increase would be Police Mentor Teams (PMT’s). Certain reform efforts for the police have proven to be very effective. However, those reform efforts require PMT’s for every district that goes through reform. PMT’s are typically around a dozen people – a combination of mentors and Security Forces (or SECFOR) – and there are hundreds of districts in Afghanistan. The PMT’s come from the U.S. and other countries, but the U.S. is the primary force provider.
So until more forces are directed here, only select districts go through the reform process. In some cases, such as Kunar Province, none of the districts have gone through the reform process. Consequently, these provinces only have one PMT for the entire province. Now, the PMT’s are not the only police trainers. There are MP units, groups called the Police Training Assistance Team (PTAT), and the DynCorp contractors who do police training and mentoring. We are working closely with all these groups to train and mentor the police in Kunar.
In my third update, I talked about what we actually do as mentors. In Kunar we are trying to do the same basic things as we were in Nangarhar, but in a different way and with a different degree of emphasis in each area.
The Nangarhar PHQ – in part because some of the districts have gone through the reform process and in part for other reasons – seems to function much better with most of its systems than does the Kunar PHQ. While the mentors there are still working to make the systems function even better, they can focus more on the values and leadership aspects of mentoring. In Kunar, we spend a lot more time working on the systems and helping the police with the systems. In addition, we spend a lot of time going to the individual districts in order to help them. That has helped me better understand the full spectrum of how the ANP operate within the province. Since arriving in Kunar just over two weeks ago, I have been to Mara Wara, Sarkoni, Asmar, Mongai, and Watapor (AKA Dara Noor) districts and been to the PHQ several times.
Our visits to the district typically consist of meeting with the Chief of Police and sometimes with one or more of his staff. In some cases, I have time to just talk to the Chief and get to know him. In Watapor, I had chai with the chief and learned that he had 10 children – the oldest 24 years old and the youngest five. While there, the “Company Commander” – sort of the operations officer for a district – from another district came in. He was in the district for a meeting but wanted to stop and see his friend the chief. He sat and had chai with us and joined the conversation. While I was talking with them, one of the other mentors was visiting some of the staff to gather information on personnel, logistics, security, equipment, and other concerns.
We had chai at each of the other districts along with cake in Mara Wara (like that served by the Construction Officer in Nangarhar) and bananas in Asmar. At least three of the chiefs asked us to stay for lunch, but in each case we didn’t have time. A couple days ago I visited and had chai with the Deputy Governor of Kunar Province after having had chai and some snacks with the “Techniques” Officer; he is in charge of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and similar equipment.
So you can see we are definitely running at a high OPTEMPO (Operational Tempo). At the same time, we are seeing progress. Our entire team definitely seems to prefer this mode of operation compared to sitting around doing little or nothing. And there is no doubt it’s making the time go fast.
As for the people we have met, they are really incredible. Which means, in large part, they are very much like us. That shouldn’t be a surprise, but I think most of us wonder – when we meet someone from another country and culture – how different are they? Of course there are differences, many of which are based on the Islamic religion and some on culture. But by and large, once you spend a little time with most Afghans, it is pretty easy to relate to them and get along with them.
It’s time for another story. One day last week we were in one of the PHQ offices when a boy came in who looked to be around seven or eight. He was wearing nice clothes with an NBA athletic type jacket (like a high school or college “Letter” jacket). He saw me and came right up to shake my hand and say hello. There seemed to be a lot of ANP sort of hovering around him. One of the officers – who I guess is Russian and speaks pretty good English – walked up to the boy and with great drama stood at attention and saluted him. Then he leaned forward to say hello and shake his hand. He was clearly playing around with the boy. It turned out the boy was one of the Governor’s sons. He seemed to clearly relish his stature and the way the ANP treated him, but it was also kind of cute.
Back to working with the Afghans. One of the biggest differences from working with people in the U.S. comes from having almost no female Afghans around except for children. We see a lot of women out and about in the province – many more so than in ABAD the city – but they are almost all in burkas or otherwise covered except for the eyes, hands, and feet. They are not, however, around when we meet with the ANP. To some degree this isn’t that different than the military in general as the number of women, especially in combat zones, is significantly less than the men. But with the Afghans you really won’t see any women. And, as I think I’ve mentioned previously, you don’t talk about women with the Afghans unless they bring it up. At times, however, the subject does seem fine as we will talk about our wives and kids much like we would talk with an American. Almost all of them with whom I have met have made statements along the lines of, “We are so grateful and fortunate to have you here helping us. We know what a sacrifice it is for you to leave your beautiful country and your families in order to be here.” And I believe they really mean it.
Something else that comes up in some of the conversations is Pakistan. There are some ANP who have strong feelings against Pakistan. They believe that Pakistan wants Afghanistan to be unstable so Pakistan is doing everything they can to help make that happen. Others believe that Pakistan has the same goal as Afghanistan which is to get rid of the Taliban. One thing that we do know is that there are a lot of refugees in Kunar who came from Pakistan. Most of these are people originally from Afghanistan who escaped as refugees to Pakistan when the Taliban was in power here. Now they are trying to escape the violence in Pakistan caused by the Taliban.
With Thanksgiving only a couple days away, I want to talk a little about the holidays here. The first American “holiday” for which I really noticed any effort being taken was Halloween. I was at Camp Dubs in Kabul on Halloween. The Dining Facility (DFAC) was decorated for Halloween and on Halloween they had a number of activities going on. We were at meetings all day so I don’t even remember what they had going on, but we were around in the evening when they had a costume party in the DFAC. I didn’t go, but some others from our group did and took pictures, which I saw. Several of the people stationed at Dubs did have costumes – some pretty elaborate – and there were a number of games and a drawing for door prizes. It was probably a nice distraction for the people at Dubs.
Now, of course, we are approaching Thanksgiving. Most of the bases of any type with a DFAC will have a fairly traditional Thanksgiving meal. At FOB Fiaz, we will be preparing our own meal – as usual. We could go to Camp Wright which is very close, but the consensus was to do our own. Part of the reason was that we have a couple guys who plan to deep fry a turkey. They even managed to come up with peanut oil in which to fry it. So it should be very good.
As for people missing being home for this traditional family holiday, I don’t think it’s too bad; at least as we get close. One thing that I believe helps is the ease with which we can talk to, e-mail, and even video chat with our families. While we are still far from home, we are connected and able to stay somewhat involved with many of the day-to-day things there. So while it will be hard to not be with our families, most of us will likely at least talk to everyone we want to. And since we will be able to have a good meal with our “family” here – and since we aren’t living in horrible conditions like the soldiers in Vietnam, Korea, and the many places of previous wars – we probably won’t miss home quite like those brave souls.
Even so, on Thursday I do hope you will give thanks for the blessings all of us have in the United States – especially for the opportunities that our country affords. We are able to help countries like Afghanistan – and even have an obligation to do so in many respects – because there were people with a vision of democracy and freedom and millions more people willing to sacrifice everything to pursue and protect that vision over the past 200 plus years.
Now, go enjoy a turkey leg, some stuffing, and a piece of pumpkin pie for me!
Kevin
I’m going to see if I can share a few things of more substance and do so fairly quickly. Of course, I always start out with good intentions, but suddenly I find myself wondering, “Where am I going and what am I doing in this hand basket?” As it’s been a while since I discussed our mission and actual experiences, I’ll begin there.
I’ll start by drawing some contrasts between Nangarhar Province – where I was for my first two and a half months – and Kunar Province where I am now. From a mission standpoint, things are very different. Whereas in Nangarhar our team was working exclusively with the Provincial Police Headquarters (PHQ); in Kunar we are working with the PHQ and all the Districts – of which there are 14. The reason for the difference has to do with the number of police mentors available and the number of provinces and districts in need of mentors.
Anyone who has been following the news about Afghanistan knows there is a push to get as many as 20,000 more U.S. military personnel here. One of the areas to be addressed by this increase would be Police Mentor Teams (PMT’s). Certain reform efforts for the police have proven to be very effective. However, those reform efforts require PMT’s for every district that goes through reform. PMT’s are typically around a dozen people – a combination of mentors and Security Forces (or SECFOR) – and there are hundreds of districts in Afghanistan. The PMT’s come from the U.S. and other countries, but the U.S. is the primary force provider.
So until more forces are directed here, only select districts go through the reform process. In some cases, such as Kunar Province, none of the districts have gone through the reform process. Consequently, these provinces only have one PMT for the entire province. Now, the PMT’s are not the only police trainers. There are MP units, groups called the Police Training Assistance Team (PTAT), and the DynCorp contractors who do police training and mentoring. We are working closely with all these groups to train and mentor the police in Kunar.
In my third update, I talked about what we actually do as mentors. In Kunar we are trying to do the same basic things as we were in Nangarhar, but in a different way and with a different degree of emphasis in each area.
The Nangarhar PHQ – in part because some of the districts have gone through the reform process and in part for other reasons – seems to function much better with most of its systems than does the Kunar PHQ. While the mentors there are still working to make the systems function even better, they can focus more on the values and leadership aspects of mentoring. In Kunar, we spend a lot more time working on the systems and helping the police with the systems. In addition, we spend a lot of time going to the individual districts in order to help them. That has helped me better understand the full spectrum of how the ANP operate within the province. Since arriving in Kunar just over two weeks ago, I have been to Mara Wara, Sarkoni, Asmar, Mongai, and Watapor (AKA Dara Noor) districts and been to the PHQ several times.
Our visits to the district typically consist of meeting with the Chief of Police and sometimes with one or more of his staff. In some cases, I have time to just talk to the Chief and get to know him. In Watapor, I had chai with the chief and learned that he had 10 children – the oldest 24 years old and the youngest five. While there, the “Company Commander” – sort of the operations officer for a district – from another district came in. He was in the district for a meeting but wanted to stop and see his friend the chief. He sat and had chai with us and joined the conversation. While I was talking with them, one of the other mentors was visiting some of the staff to gather information on personnel, logistics, security, equipment, and other concerns.
We had chai at each of the other districts along with cake in Mara Wara (like that served by the Construction Officer in Nangarhar) and bananas in Asmar. At least three of the chiefs asked us to stay for lunch, but in each case we didn’t have time. A couple days ago I visited and had chai with the Deputy Governor of Kunar Province after having had chai and some snacks with the “Techniques” Officer; he is in charge of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and similar equipment.
So you can see we are definitely running at a high OPTEMPO (Operational Tempo). At the same time, we are seeing progress. Our entire team definitely seems to prefer this mode of operation compared to sitting around doing little or nothing. And there is no doubt it’s making the time go fast.
As for the people we have met, they are really incredible. Which means, in large part, they are very much like us. That shouldn’t be a surprise, but I think most of us wonder – when we meet someone from another country and culture – how different are they? Of course there are differences, many of which are based on the Islamic religion and some on culture. But by and large, once you spend a little time with most Afghans, it is pretty easy to relate to them and get along with them.
It’s time for another story. One day last week we were in one of the PHQ offices when a boy came in who looked to be around seven or eight. He was wearing nice clothes with an NBA athletic type jacket (like a high school or college “Letter” jacket). He saw me and came right up to shake my hand and say hello. There seemed to be a lot of ANP sort of hovering around him. One of the officers – who I guess is Russian and speaks pretty good English – walked up to the boy and with great drama stood at attention and saluted him. Then he leaned forward to say hello and shake his hand. He was clearly playing around with the boy. It turned out the boy was one of the Governor’s sons. He seemed to clearly relish his stature and the way the ANP treated him, but it was also kind of cute.
Back to working with the Afghans. One of the biggest differences from working with people in the U.S. comes from having almost no female Afghans around except for children. We see a lot of women out and about in the province – many more so than in ABAD the city – but they are almost all in burkas or otherwise covered except for the eyes, hands, and feet. They are not, however, around when we meet with the ANP. To some degree this isn’t that different than the military in general as the number of women, especially in combat zones, is significantly less than the men. But with the Afghans you really won’t see any women. And, as I think I’ve mentioned previously, you don’t talk about women with the Afghans unless they bring it up. At times, however, the subject does seem fine as we will talk about our wives and kids much like we would talk with an American. Almost all of them with whom I have met have made statements along the lines of, “We are so grateful and fortunate to have you here helping us. We know what a sacrifice it is for you to leave your beautiful country and your families in order to be here.” And I believe they really mean it.
Something else that comes up in some of the conversations is Pakistan. There are some ANP who have strong feelings against Pakistan. They believe that Pakistan wants Afghanistan to be unstable so Pakistan is doing everything they can to help make that happen. Others believe that Pakistan has the same goal as Afghanistan which is to get rid of the Taliban. One thing that we do know is that there are a lot of refugees in Kunar who came from Pakistan. Most of these are people originally from Afghanistan who escaped as refugees to Pakistan when the Taliban was in power here. Now they are trying to escape the violence in Pakistan caused by the Taliban.
With Thanksgiving only a couple days away, I want to talk a little about the holidays here. The first American “holiday” for which I really noticed any effort being taken was Halloween. I was at Camp Dubs in Kabul on Halloween. The Dining Facility (DFAC) was decorated for Halloween and on Halloween they had a number of activities going on. We were at meetings all day so I don’t even remember what they had going on, but we were around in the evening when they had a costume party in the DFAC. I didn’t go, but some others from our group did and took pictures, which I saw. Several of the people stationed at Dubs did have costumes – some pretty elaborate – and there were a number of games and a drawing for door prizes. It was probably a nice distraction for the people at Dubs.
Now, of course, we are approaching Thanksgiving. Most of the bases of any type with a DFAC will have a fairly traditional Thanksgiving meal. At FOB Fiaz, we will be preparing our own meal – as usual. We could go to Camp Wright which is very close, but the consensus was to do our own. Part of the reason was that we have a couple guys who plan to deep fry a turkey. They even managed to come up with peanut oil in which to fry it. So it should be very good.
As for people missing being home for this traditional family holiday, I don’t think it’s too bad; at least as we get close. One thing that I believe helps is the ease with which we can talk to, e-mail, and even video chat with our families. While we are still far from home, we are connected and able to stay somewhat involved with many of the day-to-day things there. So while it will be hard to not be with our families, most of us will likely at least talk to everyone we want to. And since we will be able to have a good meal with our “family” here – and since we aren’t living in horrible conditions like the soldiers in Vietnam, Korea, and the many places of previous wars – we probably won’t miss home quite like those brave souls.
Even so, on Thursday I do hope you will give thanks for the blessings all of us have in the United States – especially for the opportunities that our country affords. We are able to help countries like Afghanistan – and even have an obligation to do so in many respects – because there were people with a vision of democracy and freedom and millions more people willing to sacrifice everything to pursue and protect that vision over the past 200 plus years.
Now, go enjoy a turkey leg, some stuffing, and a piece of pumpkin pie for me!
Kevin
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Care Packages
Greetings Friends,
I’m not sure how long this update will be. There are a couple care package requests I want to get out right away but also a lot of information I want to share about our mission and experiences here. I’ll start with the “right away” topic and we’ll go from there.
The weather here has definitely turned. Compared to Wisconsin and nearby places at home, our weather is still pretty nice, but most of the people here do not have the collection of clothes nor the nice homes in which to take shelter as it gets cold and rainy. On our trips around the province we are seeing many children who could really use hats, mittens, gloves, coats, and sweaters. There are large-scale Humanitarian Assistance programs that address some of the need, but they can’t hit everyone. So, for anyone still looking for care package ideas, any of the above would be a great idea. School supplies are also great as would any of the other items previously mentioned. So if you’re already on track for those items – or have already sent some – they won’t go to waste.
If anyone wants to send treats to the troops here, I have noticed a few things that seem popular and that do not come with our Class 1 (food) draw. Hostess and Little Debbie type snack items seem popular and I haven’t seen them sit around uneaten for very long when they arrive. Also, there are several people who seem to really like Peanut M&M’s. Actually, I am one of those people and hadn’t even thought about them until I saw others with them. And sweatshirts and blankets would also still be welcome.
One other thing I could use in smaller quantities would be candy or other treats for someone diabetic – which is to say, sugar free. There is a person with whom we work who is diabetic and the markets here don’t have too many of these things from which to choose so it’s a real treat when we get some for him. On a sadder note relative to the care package ideas previously shared, the bulb in our projector died yesterday; so the Wii probably won’t get much play for a while. We still have a small regular TV on which to watch AFN and movies, but it doesn’t work as well for the games.
Once again, here is the mailing address should anyone need it:
Kevin Miller
Konar PMT/Fiaz
C/O Asadabad PRT
APO AE 09354
Since I started this update about a week ago and haven’t had a chance to finish it, I will go ahead and send it now. Hopefully I will get a more substantial update done very soon and get it out.
Oh, and thanks to everyone who has already sent a care package, card, letter, or anything else. It’s great just to get mail and know someone is thinking about me and even better to read the notes and letters and see what cool things have been sent.
With Thanks,
Kevin
=
I’m not sure how long this update will be. There are a couple care package requests I want to get out right away but also a lot of information I want to share about our mission and experiences here. I’ll start with the “right away” topic and we’ll go from there.
The weather here has definitely turned. Compared to Wisconsin and nearby places at home, our weather is still pretty nice, but most of the people here do not have the collection of clothes nor the nice homes in which to take shelter as it gets cold and rainy. On our trips around the province we are seeing many children who could really use hats, mittens, gloves, coats, and sweaters. There are large-scale Humanitarian Assistance programs that address some of the need, but they can’t hit everyone. So, for anyone still looking for care package ideas, any of the above would be a great idea. School supplies are also great as would any of the other items previously mentioned. So if you’re already on track for those items – or have already sent some – they won’t go to waste.
If anyone wants to send treats to the troops here, I have noticed a few things that seem popular and that do not come with our Class 1 (food) draw. Hostess and Little Debbie type snack items seem popular and I haven’t seen them sit around uneaten for very long when they arrive. Also, there are several people who seem to really like Peanut M&M’s. Actually, I am one of those people and hadn’t even thought about them until I saw others with them. And sweatshirts and blankets would also still be welcome.
One other thing I could use in smaller quantities would be candy or other treats for someone diabetic – which is to say, sugar free. There is a person with whom we work who is diabetic and the markets here don’t have too many of these things from which to choose so it’s a real treat when we get some for him. On a sadder note relative to the care package ideas previously shared, the bulb in our projector died yesterday; so the Wii probably won’t get much play for a while. We still have a small regular TV on which to watch AFN and movies, but it doesn’t work as well for the games.
Once again, here is the mailing address should anyone need it:
Kevin Miller
Konar PMT/Fiaz
C/O Asadabad PRT
APO AE 09354
Since I started this update about a week ago and haven’t had a chance to finish it, I will go ahead and send it now. Hopefully I will get a more substantial update done very soon and get it out.
Oh, and thanks to everyone who has already sent a care package, card, letter, or anything else. It’s great just to get mail and know someone is thinking about me and even better to read the notes and letters and see what cool things have been sent.
With Thanks,
Kevin
=
Friday, November 14, 2008
Greetings Again Friends,
It seems like a long time since my last update. Maybe it’s just that a lot has happened in a short amount of time. First I can tell you that what I gave up in creature comforts with my move has been made up for – at least to some degree – with ambiance.
My new home in Kunar Province is located near Asadabad and is surrounded on all sides by mountains. They are beautiful during the day as well as in the moonlight. Though it’s possible that time will lessen the deep feeling of awe that comes from looking at these wonders, for now I can simply gaze upon them and – for a moment at least – be transported to a different place and time. If Afghanistan ever becomes truly stable and safe, I believe there could be a huge tourism industry ready to unfold.
With the beautiful scenery, however, comes a change in climate. Apparently it will still not get too cold in Asadabad (ABAD for short) because it is in the Kunar River valley so the elevation is not much more than JBAD – and I have been told by one of the locals who works on our FOB that there won’t even be snow accumulation. But we have had substantial rain for two of the past three days – often times a hard rain with thunder storms. The entire time I was in JBAD we had two rain storms neither of which lasted more than an hour or so. Of course, what was rain here was something else in the higher elevations; yesterday morning’s sunshine and blue skies revealed snow covered peaks to our north – and I am pretty certain they will remain snow covered from now until next summer.
The rain also turned the Kunar River into a muddy brown. One of the worst results of the wars, droughts, and poverty in Afghanistan over the past few decades has been the destruction of some of its greatest natural resources. This includes the vast forests in this part of the country. Apparently the wood from Kunar is prized because of its quality. But between the need for firewood to cook and stay warm, cutting of trees for legitimate sales, and cutting of trees for smuggling, the ground has lost much of its means of avoiding erosion. So the rainstorms wash a great deal of dirt into the river. And given the rocky terrain, there’s not much topsoil to be lost.
Given the many other challenges being faced in Afghanistan, teaching about environmentalism – and the need to apply conservation principles to the forestry industry – isn’t a high priority right now. There are both military and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) who are filling some of these niches. For example, I understand a team of soldiers – National Guard I believe and with a background in agriculture – went to one area of the country to help the farmers improve their productivity in crops that are legal. This, as opposed to raising poppies, which grow very well here and are very lucrative but, unfortunately, are used mostly for making illegal narcotics (and which the government is trying to eradicate). I think we need some people from Wisconsin to come and help them with their dairy industry.
Now the rain has been accompanied by a drop in temperatures. It is getting rather chilly in the evenings and at night and will likely get more so. This has provided me with some ideas for those who have been asking what to send in care packages. Later – in this update or another – I’ll try to tell you a bit more about our FOB; for now, I can tell you that we really have most everything we need – at least from the standpoint of things that can be sent through the mail. There are a couple things, however, that I think would be appreciated.
While we wear uniforms most of the time and these include cold weather gear (“snivel gear” as we affectionately refer to it), there are times when we throw on civilian clothes such as at night when sleeping or needing to use the latrine. With the drop in temperatures, sweatshirts and sweaters could come in very handy. Similarly, the Army has given us sleeping “systems” that are great for a wide range of temperatures – including very cold – but we do have beds and most of us have sheets and light-weight blankets we use. Here again, with colder weather coming, extra blankets would be rather welcome so people don’t have to buy them.
So if anyone is looking for care package ideas, good condition sweat-shirts (L, XL, XXL) and blankets would be a really good possibility. I know these are bulkier items so not as cost-effective to ship, but there are literally shelves filled with hygiene items, candy, magazines, puzzle books, games, playing cards, and a lot of other things that are regularly shipped in care packages.
Within the realm of easier to ship items, my suggestions would be jerky, beef/sausage sticks (ones that don’t need to be refrigerated), nuts such as peanuts, cashews (my personal favorite), pistachios (favored by many Afghans), mixed nuts, etc., candy bars (now that it’s cooler these won’t melt), and Wii games. Yes, there is a Wii system here. It’s hooked into a projector so there is a big-screen effect, though it’s not great quality. It appears there are only a few games, so if anyone has Wii games they no longer want, I am sure they would be a welcome addition to the collection here.
Although I did send it previously, here is my address if you should want to send something:
Kevin Miller
Kunar PMT/Fiaz
C/O Asadabad PRT
APO AE 09354
There are a few things people have asked about that I want to try and address. Then, if I have time, I’ll touch on what I’m doing here in Kunar compared to in Nangarhar. One thing I’ll note right away is the spelling of various cities, districts, and provinces. Because the Afghans use a completely different alphabet then we do for English, names are translated in a way that should help us pronounce them as they sound in Dari and Pashto. That means there are variations in the spelling when looking at different sources. Kunar is often found spelled as Konar, so you will see me spell it both ways. In English, Kunar is probably closer to the phonetic spelling.
As for addressing questions I’ve been asked, there are some I got early on that I think I’ve touched on such as climate, terrain, time difference, and food – both our Army chow and that served by the Afghans. I should note that the time difference between Wisconsin and Afghanistan – since the day-light savings time change a couple weeks ago – is now ten and a half hours. I’ve actually gotten very good at doing the conversion to know if it’s a good time to call home.
There has also been a rather large change in regular meals (that is, Army chow) for me with the move to Konar. At Site 2 (where I was in JBAD), we had a Dining Facility with three meals every day prepared by a contractor. Here we have no contracted cooking. We get food weekly from another base that is sort of the support base for all the units in the immediate area. That includes prepared foods that just need to be heated, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, eggs, beverages, and a mix of other items. These are stored in a cooler, chest freezers, and a large pantry of sorts. We have a kitchen that is minimally equipped with a small stove/oven combination, some counter space, a sink, cupboards with spices, sauces, etc. and plenty of pots, pans, and utensils. The primary means of “cooking” food is over a large gas grill or a fire/coal grill.
Individuals are welcome to prepare whatever they want whenever they want (depending on mission schedules and such) with the supper meal being prepared for everyone every day. We actually have a schedule that dictates whose turn it is to cook. Our FOB population is small enough for this to work, though we are still cooking in pretty large quantities when it’s our turn. It’s kind of cool as people pitch in to help the person cooking and whenever the food is ready, someone goes around to our quarters and makes an announcement; then everyone comes out and dishes up. So, for the most part, we all eat supper together every day.
I have been asked several questions about the people here. One was about the ratio of men to women. In Kabul, you will see a lot more women than the other areas of the country in which I’ve been (which is, granted, pretty limited). The women in Kabul are also much more likely to be wearing western clothes (this is true of the men, too) and/or to have their faces exposed. In Jalalabad, the men outnumber the women in public by a substantial margin; and while we would occasionally see a women with her face exposed, it was rare. Most of the women in public still wear the light blue burkhas and, if they are not wearing a burkha, they will have a scarf covering their face. In ABAD I have seen far fewer women and I’m not sure I’ve seen any whose face was exposed.
I was asked whether or not we could talk to Afghan women. It would generally not be acceptable for us to talk to women here. Women are not supposed to talk to or be with men to whom they are not related. However, we would sometimes talk to the women police officers who worked at the PHQ. And, in fact, the Nangarhar Police Chief is pretty progressive when it comes to equal rights – at least relative to many Afghans. He has actually started a recruiting program to get more women police officers in the province. They only had six out of over 2,000 police. Part of this effort was probably prompted by some of the challenges faced by the police with the cultural norms for women. All civilians entering the PHQ are subject to search. This is not an intrusive search by American standards, but by Afghan standards there is really no choice but to have women searched by women, so the police need females to do this. The country is currently going through voter registration. At each voter registration site, the people have to be searched, and there has to be a separate place for women to be searched by a female police officer. Therefore, more female police will be needed.
Related to this question was one about men and women seeing each other socially. This really doesn’t happen throughout most of the country – again, Kabul being the primary exception. Men and women don’t date or even go out as friends. Marriages tend to be between relatives and, at least to some degree, are often arranged. Of course, much of Afghanistan is still very tribal. Consequently, people tend to live close to many relatives and those are the people with whom they grow up. Once they get to the age where they are thinking about marriage, they consider the women they know who are, of course, their relatives. Then they work through their immediate families to explore the interest by the woman’s family of a possible marriage – and, yes, often the woman’s own opinion is not a big factor.
Interestingly, in discussing this with my former interpreter, he noted that one of the benefits of marrying a relative was that the man could know he was marrying a virgin. This is an important consideration for many Afghan men. I’m sure there is a double-standard as the women’s families are unlikely to be concerned about the virgin status of potential husbands, though the more devout Muslims would avoid any intimacy with a woman before getting married.
On another related note, there are U.S. military members who are women and who work directly with the Afghans in various roles. So far as I’ve seen and heard, the Afghan men don’t have a problem with this. Their issue – as I see it – is with Muslim women in certain roles and/or interacting with unrelated men.
Something else I was asked about was the feeling of the soldiers here to the presidential election outcome. There was a generally mixed reaction from what I could see. Although the military population in general tends to be more conservative – and some polls of military members I saw in Army Times a few weeks back showed strong bias toward McCain – I think most military people are going to wait and see what happens. There was certainly no collective groan as if the Obama victory would be disastrous for the military or our operations here in Afghanistan. I did hear a few people comment that we would get smaller pay raises under a Democrat or that taxes would go up, but those were not very common sentiments.
I would like to write more but have a lot of other things I must get to, and I don’t want to wait any longer to send this out. So I will end here and hope I can get to another update faster than I did this one. I think I also have another photo album link and narrative that can go out in the next day or so. Thanks to everyone who has sent a note of any kind. I truly enjoy hearing from you and getting updates on individuals, families, friends, and just general goings on.
Take care until next time.
Kevin
=
It seems like a long time since my last update. Maybe it’s just that a lot has happened in a short amount of time. First I can tell you that what I gave up in creature comforts with my move has been made up for – at least to some degree – with ambiance.
My new home in Kunar Province is located near Asadabad and is surrounded on all sides by mountains. They are beautiful during the day as well as in the moonlight. Though it’s possible that time will lessen the deep feeling of awe that comes from looking at these wonders, for now I can simply gaze upon them and – for a moment at least – be transported to a different place and time. If Afghanistan ever becomes truly stable and safe, I believe there could be a huge tourism industry ready to unfold.
With the beautiful scenery, however, comes a change in climate. Apparently it will still not get too cold in Asadabad (ABAD for short) because it is in the Kunar River valley so the elevation is not much more than JBAD – and I have been told by one of the locals who works on our FOB that there won’t even be snow accumulation. But we have had substantial rain for two of the past three days – often times a hard rain with thunder storms. The entire time I was in JBAD we had two rain storms neither of which lasted more than an hour or so. Of course, what was rain here was something else in the higher elevations; yesterday morning’s sunshine and blue skies revealed snow covered peaks to our north – and I am pretty certain they will remain snow covered from now until next summer.
The rain also turned the Kunar River into a muddy brown. One of the worst results of the wars, droughts, and poverty in Afghanistan over the past few decades has been the destruction of some of its greatest natural resources. This includes the vast forests in this part of the country. Apparently the wood from Kunar is prized because of its quality. But between the need for firewood to cook and stay warm, cutting of trees for legitimate sales, and cutting of trees for smuggling, the ground has lost much of its means of avoiding erosion. So the rainstorms wash a great deal of dirt into the river. And given the rocky terrain, there’s not much topsoil to be lost.
Given the many other challenges being faced in Afghanistan, teaching about environmentalism – and the need to apply conservation principles to the forestry industry – isn’t a high priority right now. There are both military and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) who are filling some of these niches. For example, I understand a team of soldiers – National Guard I believe and with a background in agriculture – went to one area of the country to help the farmers improve their productivity in crops that are legal. This, as opposed to raising poppies, which grow very well here and are very lucrative but, unfortunately, are used mostly for making illegal narcotics (and which the government is trying to eradicate). I think we need some people from Wisconsin to come and help them with their dairy industry.
Now the rain has been accompanied by a drop in temperatures. It is getting rather chilly in the evenings and at night and will likely get more so. This has provided me with some ideas for those who have been asking what to send in care packages. Later – in this update or another – I’ll try to tell you a bit more about our FOB; for now, I can tell you that we really have most everything we need – at least from the standpoint of things that can be sent through the mail. There are a couple things, however, that I think would be appreciated.
While we wear uniforms most of the time and these include cold weather gear (“snivel gear” as we affectionately refer to it), there are times when we throw on civilian clothes such as at night when sleeping or needing to use the latrine. With the drop in temperatures, sweatshirts and sweaters could come in very handy. Similarly, the Army has given us sleeping “systems” that are great for a wide range of temperatures – including very cold – but we do have beds and most of us have sheets and light-weight blankets we use. Here again, with colder weather coming, extra blankets would be rather welcome so people don’t have to buy them.
So if anyone is looking for care package ideas, good condition sweat-shirts (L, XL, XXL) and blankets would be a really good possibility. I know these are bulkier items so not as cost-effective to ship, but there are literally shelves filled with hygiene items, candy, magazines, puzzle books, games, playing cards, and a lot of other things that are regularly shipped in care packages.
Within the realm of easier to ship items, my suggestions would be jerky, beef/sausage sticks (ones that don’t need to be refrigerated), nuts such as peanuts, cashews (my personal favorite), pistachios (favored by many Afghans), mixed nuts, etc., candy bars (now that it’s cooler these won’t melt), and Wii games. Yes, there is a Wii system here. It’s hooked into a projector so there is a big-screen effect, though it’s not great quality. It appears there are only a few games, so if anyone has Wii games they no longer want, I am sure they would be a welcome addition to the collection here.
Although I did send it previously, here is my address if you should want to send something:
Kevin Miller
Kunar PMT/Fiaz
C/O Asadabad PRT
APO AE 09354
There are a few things people have asked about that I want to try and address. Then, if I have time, I’ll touch on what I’m doing here in Kunar compared to in Nangarhar. One thing I’ll note right away is the spelling of various cities, districts, and provinces. Because the Afghans use a completely different alphabet then we do for English, names are translated in a way that should help us pronounce them as they sound in Dari and Pashto. That means there are variations in the spelling when looking at different sources. Kunar is often found spelled as Konar, so you will see me spell it both ways. In English, Kunar is probably closer to the phonetic spelling.
As for addressing questions I’ve been asked, there are some I got early on that I think I’ve touched on such as climate, terrain, time difference, and food – both our Army chow and that served by the Afghans. I should note that the time difference between Wisconsin and Afghanistan – since the day-light savings time change a couple weeks ago – is now ten and a half hours. I’ve actually gotten very good at doing the conversion to know if it’s a good time to call home.
There has also been a rather large change in regular meals (that is, Army chow) for me with the move to Konar. At Site 2 (where I was in JBAD), we had a Dining Facility with three meals every day prepared by a contractor. Here we have no contracted cooking. We get food weekly from another base that is sort of the support base for all the units in the immediate area. That includes prepared foods that just need to be heated, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, eggs, beverages, and a mix of other items. These are stored in a cooler, chest freezers, and a large pantry of sorts. We have a kitchen that is minimally equipped with a small stove/oven combination, some counter space, a sink, cupboards with spices, sauces, etc. and plenty of pots, pans, and utensils. The primary means of “cooking” food is over a large gas grill or a fire/coal grill.
Individuals are welcome to prepare whatever they want whenever they want (depending on mission schedules and such) with the supper meal being prepared for everyone every day. We actually have a schedule that dictates whose turn it is to cook. Our FOB population is small enough for this to work, though we are still cooking in pretty large quantities when it’s our turn. It’s kind of cool as people pitch in to help the person cooking and whenever the food is ready, someone goes around to our quarters and makes an announcement; then everyone comes out and dishes up. So, for the most part, we all eat supper together every day.
I have been asked several questions about the people here. One was about the ratio of men to women. In Kabul, you will see a lot more women than the other areas of the country in which I’ve been (which is, granted, pretty limited). The women in Kabul are also much more likely to be wearing western clothes (this is true of the men, too) and/or to have their faces exposed. In Jalalabad, the men outnumber the women in public by a substantial margin; and while we would occasionally see a women with her face exposed, it was rare. Most of the women in public still wear the light blue burkhas and, if they are not wearing a burkha, they will have a scarf covering their face. In ABAD I have seen far fewer women and I’m not sure I’ve seen any whose face was exposed.
I was asked whether or not we could talk to Afghan women. It would generally not be acceptable for us to talk to women here. Women are not supposed to talk to or be with men to whom they are not related. However, we would sometimes talk to the women police officers who worked at the PHQ. And, in fact, the Nangarhar Police Chief is pretty progressive when it comes to equal rights – at least relative to many Afghans. He has actually started a recruiting program to get more women police officers in the province. They only had six out of over 2,000 police. Part of this effort was probably prompted by some of the challenges faced by the police with the cultural norms for women. All civilians entering the PHQ are subject to search. This is not an intrusive search by American standards, but by Afghan standards there is really no choice but to have women searched by women, so the police need females to do this. The country is currently going through voter registration. At each voter registration site, the people have to be searched, and there has to be a separate place for women to be searched by a female police officer. Therefore, more female police will be needed.
Related to this question was one about men and women seeing each other socially. This really doesn’t happen throughout most of the country – again, Kabul being the primary exception. Men and women don’t date or even go out as friends. Marriages tend to be between relatives and, at least to some degree, are often arranged. Of course, much of Afghanistan is still very tribal. Consequently, people tend to live close to many relatives and those are the people with whom they grow up. Once they get to the age where they are thinking about marriage, they consider the women they know who are, of course, their relatives. Then they work through their immediate families to explore the interest by the woman’s family of a possible marriage – and, yes, often the woman’s own opinion is not a big factor.
Interestingly, in discussing this with my former interpreter, he noted that one of the benefits of marrying a relative was that the man could know he was marrying a virgin. This is an important consideration for many Afghan men. I’m sure there is a double-standard as the women’s families are unlikely to be concerned about the virgin status of potential husbands, though the more devout Muslims would avoid any intimacy with a woman before getting married.
On another related note, there are U.S. military members who are women and who work directly with the Afghans in various roles. So far as I’ve seen and heard, the Afghan men don’t have a problem with this. Their issue – as I see it – is with Muslim women in certain roles and/or interacting with unrelated men.
Something else I was asked about was the feeling of the soldiers here to the presidential election outcome. There was a generally mixed reaction from what I could see. Although the military population in general tends to be more conservative – and some polls of military members I saw in Army Times a few weeks back showed strong bias toward McCain – I think most military people are going to wait and see what happens. There was certainly no collective groan as if the Obama victory would be disastrous for the military or our operations here in Afghanistan. I did hear a few people comment that we would get smaller pay raises under a Democrat or that taxes would go up, but those were not very common sentiments.
I would like to write more but have a lot of other things I must get to, and I don’t want to wait any longer to send this out. So I will end here and hope I can get to another update faster than I did this one. I think I also have another photo album link and narrative that can go out in the next day or so. Thanks to everyone who has sent a note of any kind. I truly enjoy hearing from you and getting updates on individuals, families, friends, and just general goings on.
Take care until next time.
Kevin
=
Monday, November 10, 2008
October 31, 2008
Greetings Friends,
This update will be rather brief, but hopefully I’ll be able to send another pretty soon – or I’ll send out another photo album link and narrative.
As most of you are well aware – especially where the military is concerned – the only constant is change. So if you ever start to feel comfortable it probably means change is looming. That is the case for me. I was getting very comfortable in the things I was doing with the PHQ and the police in Jalalabad. I had also settled in nicely in our quarters at Site 2. So clearly that meant change was just around the corner.
Fairly soon I will be moving to a new location and position. I can’t go into the details right now, but can tell you I have a new mailing address and will provide that below (technically, I don’t have the new address yet, but given the time it takes mail to get here, the new address is the one to use). If anyone has already sent something to the address I previously provided (not in an update, but to some individuals), those items should find me fairly easily. I was planning to provide the address anyway, as several people have asked for it, so the timing isn’t too bad.
Now, here’s the bad part of this, I really don’t know what I’ll need when I get to the new location. I do know it’s much more remote than where I’m at now and there are significantly less services – including no laundry or food service as I understand it. Once I get there and settled in I’ll provide what details I can about the place and what I’ll be doing.
So here’s my new mailing address for those who are interested (but please don’t feel that just because I’m sending the address I’m expecting people to send stuff):
Kevin Miller
Konar PMT/Fiaz
C/O Asadabad PRT
APO AE 09354
I do want to say thank you to all who have written notes, given me updates, and/or sent good wishes my way. I can’t always respond to individuals, but will try to do so when I have time and Internet access (something else I don’t know about where I’ll be going). If I don’t get back to you directly, please know that I am still very appreciative hearing from you.
I’ll sign off for now but will try to send a photo link and narrative in the next day or so. Thanks for keeping me and my family in your thoughts!
Kevin
=
This update will be rather brief, but hopefully I’ll be able to send another pretty soon – or I’ll send out another photo album link and narrative.
As most of you are well aware – especially where the military is concerned – the only constant is change. So if you ever start to feel comfortable it probably means change is looming. That is the case for me. I was getting very comfortable in the things I was doing with the PHQ and the police in Jalalabad. I had also settled in nicely in our quarters at Site 2. So clearly that meant change was just around the corner.
Fairly soon I will be moving to a new location and position. I can’t go into the details right now, but can tell you I have a new mailing address and will provide that below (technically, I don’t have the new address yet, but given the time it takes mail to get here, the new address is the one to use). If anyone has already sent something to the address I previously provided (not in an update, but to some individuals), those items should find me fairly easily. I was planning to provide the address anyway, as several people have asked for it, so the timing isn’t too bad.
Now, here’s the bad part of this, I really don’t know what I’ll need when I get to the new location. I do know it’s much more remote than where I’m at now and there are significantly less services – including no laundry or food service as I understand it. Once I get there and settled in I’ll provide what details I can about the place and what I’ll be doing.
So here’s my new mailing address for those who are interested (but please don’t feel that just because I’m sending the address I’m expecting people to send stuff):
Kevin Miller
Konar PMT/Fiaz
C/O Asadabad PRT
APO AE 09354
I do want to say thank you to all who have written notes, given me updates, and/or sent good wishes my way. I can’t always respond to individuals, but will try to do so when I have time and Internet access (something else I don’t know about where I’ll be going). If I don’t get back to you directly, please know that I am still very appreciative hearing from you.
I’ll sign off for now but will try to send a photo link and narrative in the next day or so. Thanks for keeping me and my family in your thoughts!
Kevin
=
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