Well, hello to all you fans out there. I know it has been a while since I have updated. I am sorry for that. Things have been busy here, and we lost our Internet connections for a while. Yeah, it sucks not being able to just call customer service or have a repair guy come out. Anyway, we are up and running again. Well, let me tell you about the photos. On the top left is a pic of me and "doc" my medic. He is from the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He is a great guy and a stellar medic. We have a lot in common, as he was at Ft. Lewis before he went to Germany. So we know a lot of the same areas. Next two pics are of me when I was at one of my stations and had a meeting with some tribal elders. Let me explain. Each town or village is made up of numerous tribes, which can be upwards of 1,000 people, some related, some not. Each tribe has a few elders like a counsel, and then the elders pick one or two to represent them at meetings with the government. I met with like 27 elders from just one of my districts. I have 5 districts, each with dozens of villages and tribes. My smallest district has around 35,000 residents and my largest is near 85,000. Yeah, that is a lot to keep track of. We put some serious miles on when we are out and about. The ANP (Afghan National Police) and us have a good relationship and they help facilitate meetings like this one. It is good to meet with the elders because it puts a human face on the coalition forces in the area. The elders talk about security concerns in the area and different issues. I try to reassure them and tell them that this is their country, we are just here to help teach and guide the government and security forces. They elders and government officials run the show. Oh yeah, each district also has a sub-governor who is in charge overall, and he reports to the provincial governor. The whole process is starting to go good. They country is making some income, the people's trust in their government and security forces is building, and they enjoy having us around. We continue to do projects for the villages such as building schools, clinics, wells, and improving agricultural projects. We do humanitarian aid drops (h-aid). We also will be conducting med-caps, which is go to a village and treat the sick and immunize people. The pic on the right of me eating is at one of my stations and we had a light lunch with the chief. The food is pretty good here. They eat a lot of beans, rice, bread and usually some kind of meat like goat or chicken. We also like these little fried potato things they make in some markets. They have fries like we have, but these are thin round pieces of the potato that they bread with something and they are so good. We get about 2 pounds for a dollar or so. As good as the food is though, I do miss my wife's cooking very much. I can not wait to get home on R&R and indulge in some of her great cooking. Well, thanks to all of you for reading my blog and supporting us over here. It means a lot when we get mail. When the choppers land everyone rushes out to unload them because there is always some mail on board. It reminds some of us of the MASH intro, but without the wounded. I do need to wrap it up for now, nut I will update more soon. "Violence is not always the only option, but it is still an option."
