Afghanistan Notebook

Shindand Dandy

At home on the back porch, Staff Sgt. Joe Nealey, left, visits with Sgt. 1st Class William Shipman, of Summerville.

After three months in Afghanistan, I thought nothing could surprise me.

But then I went Shindand, a proverbial garden spot in the western province of Herat.

A U.S. military camp is there, next to an Afghan army post. Less than a mile away, is a former Soviet air base that’s being built back up for use by coalition forces.

What’s surprising is to see all the lush greenery. After being in Kabul for a stretch and spending time in the desert, I wasn’t sure anything green -- besides pond scum -- grew in Afghanistan.

At Shindand, the U.S. troops – some of then from the S.C. National Guard – are housed in a former Russian officer quarters. The building looks like an old college dorm, with high ceilings and a long, long hallway.

The camp includes a lush lawn with a running trail, rose gardens and a birdhouse that’s under construction. The troops’ gym is a glass-walled building in the middle of the lawn, next to an aviary that’s being rebuilt.

“This is a wonderful place,” said Staff Sgt. Joe Nealey, of Loris. “You’ve got grass. You’ve got a nice back porch to sit out on and you’ve got indoor plumbing. It’s like being at home.”

Nealey is the cook at one of the few bases around here that’s not served by KBR.

And, after tasting Joe’s cooking, I'd say the soldiers at Shindand may be the luckiest guys in Afghanistan.

I first met Joe at Camp Shelby, Miss., when I was covering the 218^th Brigade Combat Team’s preparation for the Afghanistan mission.

At the time, Joe was serving as an aide to Command Sgt. Maj. John Harrelson, of North Myrtle Beach. The kitchen, though, is Joe’s domain.

Joe and Alex check on of her pups.

One night at Camp Shelby, we took a break from the mess hall offerings and were treated Joe’s chicken bog. Another night, Joe grilled steaks. Outstanding.

As luck would have it, our tour of the camp and agriculture center ran long and Joe just happened to have some extra steaks on the grill.

Anyway, getting back to Joe. He certainly has made a home for himself. He has a standard-sized bedroom – no cramped hooch like we have at Camp Phoenix – that’s furnished with a desk, bunk, closet, micro fridge and night stand. There’s even internet and cable.

Joe even has a dog – a white-and-black mixed breed he calls Alex.

Alex just had seven pups, which she keeps under the back porch.

Alex was at the camp when Joe arrived six weeks ago. And, Joe claims Alex is friendly only toward Americans.

“If someone other than an American comes up here, she’ll eat them up,” Joe said.

Well, there isn’t much more to this tale other than I wanted to write something up about Joe and include some pictures of him, Alex and the camp.

Also wanted to show you another side of Afghanistan.

It is, after all, a unique – and sometimes surprising – place.

View this photo

Here's another shot of the grounds.

 

 

 

E-mail to a soldier's mom

 

To say the least, I’m grateful for the e-mails from readers responding to articles about the 218^th and the “Notebook.” While I’m not one to offer an opinion in print and/or Internet, I’d like to share an e-mail from a soldier’s mother and my reply. Hope it will give you some insight on what’s going on here.

Hi, Chuck:

I just read your write up via the internet. Are you still in Afghanistan? Our daughter is stationed at Camp Phoenix. What can you tell me about how the troops are doing there. We only get to hear from her just briefly as she is so busy. We are grateful for ANY messages, because that at least lets us know she is ok. Can you tell me what some of the needs for the troops at Camp Phoenix are. What can we send them that will help them? I appreciate you for being there and for reporting as you do. May God grant you traveling mercies.

Easley, SC

 

Dear Easley,

Right now, the troops are doing great (knock on wood). We'll see how things go this winter when we have to tramp around in the snow. The winters are much colder than South Carolina, but not as nasty as Alaska or Minnesota.

As far as large bases in Afghanistan, Phoenix may be the best. I've been to Bagram and Kandahar, which are six times larger, but those places have plenty of drawbacks like heat, dust, and stink. They also feel crowded. For example, there's usually a long line at the chow hall. Here, you can just walk right in and grab a plate.

As far as needs, they're being cared for reasonably well. The housing is OK and there are amenities like internet and cable for each room, which makes life a little more bearable. Think the command is sensitive to the troops' needs and doing its best to accommodate.

The soldiers are busy and the seven-day workweek can be a grind. It's also tough for them not to have the freedom they had at home like driving to the mall, stopping for a pizza, or going to a movie.

What all troops love is mail from home. Cards, letters and care packages – anything to help them feel like they're still connected to home.

… And there are never enough prayers.

Take care,

Chuck

Got the Kabul by the horns

The sagas of military air transportation
Part 4

The latest installment of flying mil air is almost a dream.
We left Camp Stone at the appointed time, reached the airport in a matter of minutes, sat around for less than an hour and hopped on small passenger plane. Then we flew to Bagram Airfield, said good-bye to a couple of passengers, and took off again for an 8-minute flight to Kabul.
Less than seven hours after leaving Camp Stone, I was back in my room at Camp Phoenix Monday afternoon unpacking the duffel bag. That sure beat the four-day, 19-hour ordeal of getting to Herat.
More important, the aircraft was comfortable. It offered leather seats and plenty of legroom compared to the red nylon netting and cheek-to-jowl seating arrangement of a C-130 transport plane.
But maybe all this comfort and efficiency was due to the fact that the flight back to Kabul had been outsourced.
I perused the laminated card with safety instructions and discovered we were flying on Presidential Airways. Just the name made me feel like I was a VIP.
Then, I noted the two-man crew was wearing uniforms of Blackwater Aviation, a subsidiary of Blackwater USA.
Blackwater is the North Carolina contractor that handles a lot of work once done by the military, such as providing security for U.S. government officials in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Most of us had never heard of the company until March 31, 2004 when insurgents captured and murdered four of the company’s employees in Fallujah, Iraq. You may remember the photo of their corpses hanging from a bridge.
According to various reports the CIA has hired both Presidential and a sister Blackwater company, Aviation World Wide Services, to fly suspected terrorists to torture camps in Europe.
Presidential was criticized by National Transportation Safety Board investigators following a November 2004 plane crash into the side of a mountain in Afghanistan that killed three U.S. soldiers and the three-man crew.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that “the crew deliberately avoided the standard route and took a joy ride in another direction, eventually becoming trapped in a canyon and slamming into a mountainside,” the Virginian Pilot newspaper reported.
I must say, though, that our crew seemed to be seasoned and professional. There was no short-cut through the mountains and, thankfully, no joy-riding.
Presidential provided us with a very decent ride.
Just wondering, though, if they offer frequent flyer miles. I’d like to sign up.

Hooray, we're in Herat

The sagas of military air transportation

Part 3

 

Our “lucky” day was Tuesday.

Maj. John House, the public affairs chief for Task Force Phoenix, and I showed up around 7 a.m. for the three-mile trip to Kabul International Airport.

Two hours later we were there.

This time, though, we were told twe had seats. But we were going to have to wait. The plane wasn’t leaving until 3:30 p.m. That meant sitting around Air Force One lounge for six hours until we checked in around 2:20 p.m. and then another hour in the “waiting” room.

Air Force One, you see, is just a lounge. You don’t have to be stuck at the airport waiting on a flight to enjoy the facilities.

It has fairly comfortable seating, a big-screen TV, coffee shop, snack bar and the greatest invention known to man: Wi-Fi.

So, I caught up on e-mail, read The State online, and checked on various press reports from Afghanistan.

Then for the next six hours I tried to calculate if it would be quicker to walk than fly.

Kabul to Herat is about 400 miles. Figuring I might cover 40 miles a day – at an agreeable amble of about 3.5 mph – I’d get there in 10 days. Then I remembered that I’d also have to lug my computer and duffel bag. Walking no longer was an option.

Mind you, being stuck at the Kabul airport isn’t the end of the world. On the military side, there’s an outstanding dining facility with a menu that leans toward European fare. That’s because the base is home to several contingents from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has joined U.S. efforts here.

But you can only hang around in the dining hall so long enjoying fresh bread and real butter. Other troops have to be served.

The afternoon wait seemed to go a little faster. I spent the time shooting the breeze with a group of Guardsmen from Massachusetts, who also were headed to Herat. We talked about their Boston Red Sox and my Chicago Cubs. Red Sox fans are very understanding of Cubs. After all, they had gone 86 years without winning a World Series until 2004. The Cubs haven't won a world championship since 1908.

Even after we checked in and boarded the Air Force C-130, I still wasn’t convinced we were on our way.

Too many things could happen. The airplane could break. The Herat airport could close. Or we all could be kicked off so the plane reassigned to an emergency airlift mission.

But once the plane rumbled down the runway and the wheels rolled up into the fuselage, I figured that maybe this time would be for real.

The flight went smoothly and about 80 minutes later we were at our destination four days and 14 hours later.

We’re all now at Camp Stone, which is a joint base about 15 miles from the Heart airport, and have had an opportunity to get out and see the country as well as visited with friends.

My experience traveling mil air isn’t out of the ordinary. Everyone in uniform has a similar tale, if not more frustrating. It’s just a fact that traveling around a combat zone is a bit challenging and you have to be ready to deal with delays and disruptions.

In other words, be flexible.

Or, as the troops say, “semper Gumby.”

 

 

 

Jingle truck, jingle truck, jingle all the way

One thing about the Afghans, they have a sense of humor.

Take jingle trucks.

Because most of the roads in Afghanistan are either dirt trails or narrow, twisting gravel paths up the side of a mountain, the mighty 18-wheeler that reigns on U.S. interstates is useless.

So the Afghans use medium-duty, 10-wheel transport trucks. Most of them are made by Mercedes Benz.

Before most trucks hit the roads, the owners paint colorful mosaics of sunrises, roses and birds on the sides, tailgate, and spoiler dome on top of the cab.

I asked an interpreter if the pictures had any historical or religious significance. He assured me they were “just pictures.”

The inside of the cab is usually decorated with Persian rugs and artificial flowers. Tassels and beads hang from the mirror and sun visors.

The truck gets its name because the owners also attach a curtain of small chains to the bumpers and sides. When the truck hits a bump, the chains “jingle.”

What’s amazing about the Afghans is their ability to load stuff into the trucks. I’ve seen stuff piled into beds and then a car strapped on the top. Shoot, they even strap cars on top of buses.

I’ve read some blogs that say posting a picture of a “jingle” truck is gratuitous. But I had never seen one before and figured the same for most readers.

So here you go. Gratuitous pics of jingle trucks:

I spotted this one parked in a lot along Jalalabad Road while out on a foot patrol with SecFor

troops. Below is close-up of the skirts on the side of the bed.

I liked this guy's tailgate.

This dashboard cover is made beads. Look closely and you'll see that the seat cover also is made of the same bead work.