On the Soapbox

Not much new really to report, just still going through the reception process here. Believe it or not, it looks like we're all starting to get more acclimated to the excessive heat. I guess when it's 110-120 degrees outside you really don't have a choice but to get used to it. Between the hours of 8pm and 8am it's actually really not bad out, but as soon as that sun starts to make an appearance, it gets nothing but hot. It's been super dusty out, like there's this dust haze everywhere. It wasn't like that the first couple of days, but now there's this dusty haze that just sits on top of the place.

Today we did various types of training out on a site way on the other side of the airfield, right up against the wire. It wasn't until then I think, that some of us realized where we were. On the base you only really see other Americans, Brits, Canadians, Romanians, etc. You see a few local nationals but not a lot, and they're working on the base so you don't really think twice about it. When you're up against the wire, the actual boundaries of the base, you're looking into the real Afghanistan. Mere yards away are Afghani's working in their fields, looking up every now and again to take a look in your direction. An Afghani boy kept coming up to the fence trying to get our attention. In all probability the Taliban is paying him a few bucks to count how many Americans he sees and reports about what were doing. It's not the kind of thing you like to hear, but its the reality of the situation. If you were a kid growing up in an impoverished nation and someone offered you more money then your family makes in a month to just count how many people walk in and out of a certain place during certain hours of the day, you'd do it too. I know I would. That's really what we're up against here.

Really, compare the situation here in Afghanistan during the Taliban to that of 1770's America. Both faced a regime that oppressed their rights. Both faced violent repercussions for actions against the status quo and both had to deal with an insurgency of loyalists. The courses change when one group united behind a cause of national independence, then fought and sacrificed to achieve their goal of creating a new world for themselves. There is a huge amount of national pride American's have in that. It takes events like 9/11 to realize how dedicated people are, even subconsciously, to a cause that is about to enter it's 234th year. In a nationalistic sense, what does an Afghani have to proud of? That major national powers, terrorist groups and religious extremists have used their home like a punching bag for most of modern history? During the American Revolution, you didn't talk to or deal with loyalists, simply because if you did you were a traitor to "the cause" and people came looking for you. Here? The new boss is the same as the old boss and $50 is still $50, no matter if its from us or the Taliban. There are no sides, just opportunities to get through every day life. The bottom line is they can't comprehend the extent of American power, and they couldn't comprehend the extent of Soviet power before that. By the time the war on terror came around, they had widely given in to the fact that they had been beaten and would continue to be beaten into submission as a people. Operation Enduring Freedom, while branded as an operation to free Afghanistan, probably looked to the normal Afghani like the same thing they've been seeing for thousands of years. It's a hard trend to break.

All that being said, don't confuse the difficulty of the mission with a lack of a will to fight on the part of the US. Is it a tough task? Absolutely, but we're the United States of America and that fact alone speaks volumes. One thing you get from coexisting with a multinational force is the respect other nations have for the United States. There's a reason we're here; they know it and we know it. It's because we don't work just 9-5, we work until the mission is completed and we get things done. It's one thing when you represent the military inside the US, it's quite another when you represent the US in a place with nearly 50 foreign nations represented, and though you're new in town, you're immediately top dog. We don't come to sustain, we come to win.

Anyways, off my soapbox. Thanks again to all who visit, read and follow the blog, as well as support the military. There is no amount of home they can bring here that substitutes support from family and friends at home.

-Danny

The aforementioned hockey rink.

NATO on the Boardwalk: Allies Chill Out at Afghan Base

By Peter Graff

Reuters

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Down on the boardwalk, a knot of Romanian soldiers are sitting under the umbrellas at the French patisserie, sipping non-alcoholic Becks beer in the shade. At Tim Hortons, the Canadian doughnut place, U.S. airmen are drinking coffee, surfing on the wireless internet on their laptops and listening to Beyonce on British Forces Radio. The only people sitting in the scorching sun are the bright pink British officers, a dazzling glare shining off one sweaty bald pate. Super-secret special forces guys stroll by, glowering coolly in baggy shorts, T-shirts and floppy sun hats, "under cover" in their tell-tale woolly beards.

Welcome to Kandahar Air Field, or KAF, the most cosmopolitan NATO base ever assembled inside a combat zone, where troops from a host of countries relax after missions on a boardwalk that feels like a multi-national beachside resort. The United States and many of its allies have been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan and, to a lesser degree Iraq, for almost eight years. In both war zones, large bases are usually run by a single country, bringing restaurants, shops and amenities to make the troops feel like home. But the headquarters for NATO forces in southern Afghanistan is a bona fide alliance mish-mash.

Command rotates every nine months between generals from the Netherlands, Britain and Canada. Troops from more than a dozen countries work here full time. The United States is represented of course -- not just by the Army, Air Force and the Marines, but also by Subway, Pizza Hut and Burger King. But Americans are far from the majority on the boardwalk, built in the centre of the base in a square about 90 metres (100 yards) on each side. It is covered by a wooden awning that provides shade. In the sandy centre are two volleyball nets, a beach-style soccer field and the large wooden hockey rink, with bold red Canadian maple leaf emblems, in case anyone might wonder who plays hockey in Afghanistan. Like any good boardwalk, it's cool even in the hot part of the day.

The smells of its various fast food shops waft pleasantly -- except for a few times a day when the wind blows from the direction of the camp's giant septic pit, known as "poo pond". Afghan shops sell rugs and bootleg DVDs, and rent bikes for pedalling around the base. The Kyrgyz shop selling fur hats has few takers in June. Most of the shopping is at the PXs -- the military shops each country maintains separately and which have a not-so-subtle competition for hearts and minds. The American PX is the biggest, with the longest lines and cheapest underwear. The French one is neat and clean, with much trendier clothes and a cafe serving espresso and croissants. The Germans are coming soon. Posters on the boardwalk announce that "Deutscher PX" is opening this month. "The first real military store in KAF!" the signs boast.

Allies: you have been warned.