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Normal Days; 2: The Work Of The Day
The Germans won’t allow your interpreters, or “Language Assistants,” sometimes referred to as “LA’s” for short, stay on the base you live on. There are several methods for meeting up with and...
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Normal Days; 1: The Ritual Of Movement
The life of an advisor can hardly be called “normal.” However, as anyone in Afghanistan can attest, there is a sameness that settles in, a point at which there is a sense of “Groundhog Day.” It’s...
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Badakhshan VI: Success!
The average day of the 5th Zone ABP Mentor Team (the SFAT, or Security Force Assistance Team) is comprised of making our way to the 5th Zone Headquarters, near Mazar-e Sharif (MeS), and working to...
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It’s About That Time
Each deployment is a marathon, and this is my third in five years. I recognize the cycle. We were even briefed on it. Each deployment has its phases, and there is a phase of irritability,...
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Memorial Day In Afghanistan
This is Jon Stiles‘ fourth Memorial Day. I’ve already told how I feel about Jon’s passing… being taken from us on November 13, 2008. Many of us know someone who has offered their all and have paid...
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Badakhshan 5: The Wrath Of Khan
It had been a brutal winter in Badakhshan. One of the hardest winters in years had descended upon northern Afghanistan, and the farthest northeastern province had taken the worst of it. Rugged and...
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The Red In The Center Of The Patch
This is the post that I’ve been dreading, but I knew it would come. For the first time since WW-II, Ohio’s 37th (then a division, now a Brigade Combat Team that includes many soldiers from...
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Smuggled In A Blanket Of Sand
As mentors, we go where our counterparts go and we do their missions with them. Sometimes we are teaching, sometimes we are recommending, and sometimes we are being supportive. We are also sharing...
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Checking The Checkpoint
Mentoring can be a hoot. The incidents of the past few weeks, little helpful things done by my fellow Soldiers, have made life a bit more… interesting. I mean that in the Confucian sense. That being...
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The Streets Of An Afghan City
This was shot days after the Quran burning at Bagram. For us, it was a normal day of commuting to work with our Afghan counterparts. I’ve been trying to upload this video for about a week, and I...
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Random Pictures
I’ve had numerous requests for more pictures, so let’s see what we can do… For some reason, this version of WordPress only allows three sizes of pictures, and the largest winds up cutting the picture...
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