Do you know the way to ..... Denver...doesn't Rhyme does it?

R&R - finally - woohooo!! I'm going home for a blessed short time..

So - how does one get home from a place like Kandahar? Not many ways - but luckily - There is a twice weekly flight from KDH to Kuwait City - with a stop in Muscat, Oman for refueling. Then on to Kuwait - Washington D.C. - Denver.

I'm sitting in the Kuwait City Airport right now - waiting for a 12:40am Non-stop from her to Dulles in Washington. I left Kandahar at about 4pm Local time on Saturday the 26th, and will arrive home at 10:20am on Sunday the 27th. So - really only lose a half a day going home, even though it takes more than 24 hours to do it.

Anyway - I'm excited to be home - with my family. I hope they are as excited to see me.

Kristmas in Kandahar

Now - this is a Jolly Old Elf.....or almost a Jolly Old Yard Gnome...

Christmas Day in Kandahar - really not all that much different from any other day - only there's just that something about Christmas. It seems softer, slower, and oddly enough - except for the occasional interruption - somehow quieter. But all in all - another work day - so that's what the day consisted of. Although I must confess - I used the opportunity to work from my billet and try to work down some of the 850 emails in my inbox. I'm down to under 200 right now, so It's been a yeomans effort for sure.

I think this Santa was a little Over stuffed....!

I had 'brunch' as best as it could be described at the British restraunt called Heroes.....great atmosphere, but I gotta tell you, the food is somewhat less than desireable. But for a couple of bucks it's hard to complain. I've convinced myself that the American Revolution had less to do with political and economic issues than just wanting to have a decent tasting meal. They did have Elves though....

So all day long I've been waiting with baited breath for the Bar-B-Que we are having at our LSA - Camp Hicks. Our building is almost complete - and the project Management Office in Fort Worth sent us 200 pounds of brisket and 600 pounds of ribs for Christmas. All week long we've been scrounging up grills, paper and plastic ware, soft drinks, any kind of chip or condiment, etc.. and best of all, one of our staff found a bunch of guys on base that play in a band together, and they came to provide the music.

Haircut Day at the tent.....Christmas is A great day for a high and tight cut...

Talk about a way to salvage Christmas. It really made all the difference in the world. My extreme gratitude goes to the DynCorp leadership in Fort Worth for providing that Bar-B-Que, and for the staff here who went to extraordinary measures to pull Christmas together for all of us. If you've not watched the video above yet, you have to, because one of our staff, a Property Manager named Sam Stidwell sang a song that just brought Christmas home. What an incredible talent - and what a relief and spirit he brought with his voice.

I must say - that I firmly believe that the Christmas Spirit touches all - in all places - despite circumstance. It's like trying to describe how salt tastes.....I know what it tastes like - but couldn't put it in words if I wanted too...And that is how today ended -

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be tased , everyone into his own city.. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the City of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the City of David, which is called Bethlehem, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

Merry Christmas

Twas Kristmas Eve in Kandahar....

I have to admit that it is a struggle to feel like it is Christmas Eve - No "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with the kids, no "Luke 2" next to the fire place. No Hot Chocolate and treats, and the only Christmas Carols are the ones on my computer playing in the background as I type. For the most part, it is another day at work. That's unfortunate - and I'm sure that will change - but in the middle of starting up a program of this magnitude - nothing seems to wait - and the war doesn't stop.

I did get a chance to meet Santa tonight...and boy let me tell you - it must be rough to be the Jolly Old Elf in the middle of a war zone.

Rough enough that even St. Nick was packin' heat! Makes it tough on him, because Rudolph just hates staying out of the No-fly Zones...

Twas Christmas Even in Kandahar
and all throughout the base,
Helicopters, Jets and UAV's prowled
all vieing for Airspace,

There is no "Peace On Earth" right here,
And there will be no "Silent Night",
somewhere out on the tip of the spear
A homesick soldier will have to fight

I wander to and fro tonight,
and see warriors gathered from many lands,
Some solemn, some happy but gathered they are;
For a moment to join hearts and hands,

All thinking of loved ones, and dreaming of home
wishing they could be there,
Mothers, Fathers, sons and daughters;
Somehow it just can't be fair..

So strange it seems, that some could be;
so careless about what's right;
That men and women should gather together;
in such a place, on such a night.

I think I'll curl up with the King James Version of the Good Book, and read Luke 2 by myself, and wish I were home.

Merry Christmas to all.....and to all - a good night!

Where'd December Go?

First December I've ever had that Christmas is just not on every corner, every message and everywhere. I don't have a TV - so the blessing I guess is that I haven't had to suffer through the endless Christmas commercials. We don't have radio stations here, they're here, but the radios in our vehicles don't go that high on the band (they stop at 90mhz). There's some - but not much of any Christmas Decor anywhere.

I did however, get a wonderful - huge package from my wife and children. It had so much stuff in it - candy, toys, gag gifts, small items I've asked for.....like glade air fresheners that plug into the wall, kleenex, wet wipes....Crystal Lite individual packets....etc...and most of all it was filled with love! They sent me one of those singing fish....that hangs on the wall - and you squeeze it's tail and it sings.....kinda funny...I'm sure driving my neighbors crazy.

They sent me a Denver Broncos Santa hat....and Jonah - bless his little heart sent me a Jelly Belly Dinosaur..... The cards from Karen and the boys were too sweet, and melt my heart. I can't wait to see my family. I'll be home on December 27 - and am so looking forward to being with my family. Thank you so much Family! Made me feel at home.

So - what's happened in the past 2 weeks:

• Got arrested by the International MP's



• Bailed out one of our 3rd Country Nationals (TCN's) who got arrested by the International MP's



• Had a gun drawn on me....with a round chambered..



• Got woken up in the middle of the night by the International Red Cross trying to find one of our staff.

Those are just a few highlights.....

The rules on Kandahar Airfield are extremely strict when it comes to having the proper badges disployed on your person, or being escorted if you do not have them. I have the appropriate badges, and I'm also a badged escort on base, so occasionally I find myself escorting TCN's.

One day I took three Expat's and one TCN down to the Kandahar Command Operations Center (COMKAF) to begin the badging process. The TCN individual from Bosnia wanted to ask a question about getting his previous NATO security clearance forwarded to Kandahar. When he stepped up to ask his question, he was immeditely asked about his badge, and how long he'd been on base. When the communication broke down, a Royal Air Force Sgt came storming out of the office to arrest the man, and his escort....which was me. This Brit got spun up so quickly over such a stupid little thing as not answering a question precisely he wanted it was ridiculous. The poor gent from Bosnia in an attempt to communicate in a kind way - smiled when he talked which only made the RAF angrier. Needless to say - he carted us off to the IMP office at KAF and turned us over to the MP's.

Luckily the MP"s were more calm - and actually answered the man's question, and released us. Much ado about nothing.

About a week later, I came back to Camp Hicks (our Life support area or LSA) about 10:30 at night, and noticed a soldier standing in our Security Office. I knew something was up, but walked on past hoping to "avoid" whatever it was. No such luck. My phone range 5 minutes later. Apparently this soldier - a Major in the 82nd Airborne detained one of our TCN's for smoking what this soldier thought was marijuana. This gentleman was from an African nation, and was obviously scared. The good Major had removed all of this man's possessions and placed them out on a desk. While standing there, the man's phone range, and he reached for it, the Major freaked out, and pushed him back into his chair thinking he was reaching for "the evidence". I stepped in between the two and held the gentleman down - not knowing what his intentions were.

As I'm standing between the Major and this man sitting in a chair - in our security office - I hear the Major draw his sidearm and the distinct sound of him chambering a round. Not Cool!

Now the good Major has just elevated his status in my mind to "Captain America", saving humanity one African national at a time...

The IMP's come, and take the individual into custody (they are joking around about it) - and I follow them down to the US MP office. It's after midnight now. I'm beat. Wait an hour or so, then get called back into the back by the MP's. This US MP is great - he says "I'm a copy back in the real world - I don't think this is pot....I'm releasing him back to you..." Again - much ado about nothing - which could have been disastrous had Captain America gone that one last step in the security office.

Being the Operations Manager for an operation that has now grown to over 2,1oo staff in Afghanistan - I never stop being amazed about all of the different situations I get called into. We've med-evac'd people, we've tracked them down for family emergencies....we've transitioned one third of our staff from one company to another company all while delivering our service. It's non-stop all day everyday.

It's Christmas Eve in Afghanistan - it's hard to believe it.....I'm listening to "What Child is This..." as performed by Andrea Bocelli -

NOEL - Merry Christmas - Hosannah to the Most High!

Afghanistan Cliffs Notes

A friend/employee of mine sent an email to a person asking him about a job over here - so he used the text of a conversation he and I had with another job seeker last week, only he captured it in text - so I thought I'd share with you how he says "I" described working in Afghanistan.

From Bob Zook;

"Hi Dave

Yesterday I had a friend of mine send me an e-mail asking if there might be a way that she could contribute to our effort here in Afghanistan. In my response below I reflected upon what I heard you describe to the phone interviewee last week. In a message this morning my friend thought that maybe this was not such a good fit for her:

This is not a place for the squeamish, delicate or fragile.

Live in an 8 by 10 room made out of a conex box with very thin walls and a toilet and shower outside down the row and around the corner.

Extremely dusty environment (khaki is the favorite color because everything is coated with dust and anything dark will have multiple smudges on it).

People with allergies or respiratory problems have problems.

DFAC cafeteria food that is prepared for the military that we wait in line to eat next to them.

Working 12 hour days, 7 days a week. No days off and a too short vacation everything three or four months.

Using a Porta-Pottie because the closest flush toilet is a 10 minute drive away, if you can find a vehicle

Walking to or from work once a week or so, over dark roads and rough gravel because your work schedule does not necessarily align with a ride to catch.

Working with, living with, eating with, everything with, the same people all of the time every day after day.

Staking out a desk to work from and then claiming squatters rights when somebody else sits down and tries to claim it.

Working less than a quarter mile from an open sewage lagoon that has a bad smell (and multiple signs around it that say no swimming).

Working in a changing environment where responsibilities, roles and procedures can vary from day to day.

Working with hard working, hard living, hard driving people who would just as soon step on you as step around you.

Working with people where probably 90% have either been in the military and/or worked in Iraq.

Working on a military base and having to go by military rules every day.

and finally the kicker....

Spending a half an hour in a bunker a couple times a week because there are bad guys shooting missiles at us.

My boss emphasized that if you are a seasoned professional that feels that after x number of years you have earned the right to a certain level of comfort, respect and privilege...then this is not the place for you.

It is not unlike camping out every day and slogging through the multiples obstacles to get the job done. We are all in it together and we are all making the best of it together.

The interviewee was anxious to describe how he had worked for 11 months in Alaska last year. When later he acknowledged that he had to fly back home 9 times during that period to manage problems at home...both my boss and I shook our heads."

So there you have it. It's a pretty decent summary. Last night we did have an incoming rocket attack at 3am. I actually did not hear it or the "big voice", and wasn't woken up until I started receiving phone calls on my cell phone from staff checking in with me and reporting "all ok". As the Operations Manager, that is my responsibility to know where and how everybody is. Guess I must have been tired to sleep through that.

The Big Announcement

Most of the world, and certainly everyone here in Afghanistan waited with some anticipation for the US President's announcement on what if any additional troops he would deploy here to continue to fight the Taliban Insurgency. For those of us on this program, we recognized that an increase in troops is going to mean alot more work for us in one way or another.

As it is, the announcement came - 30,000 additional troops - and where are they going? The following is an excerpt from the New York Times...

"An American military official said Wednesday that the bulk of new combat forces approved by President Obama would be sent to southern Afghanistan, an area including Helmand and Kandahar Provinces that is the financial and spiritual base of the Taliban as well as the deadliest part of the country for American troops."

Yep - that's home for yours truly - and the Taliban, as well as the lions share of 30,000 more American Troops. Now from my experience in Baghdad during the US Military Surge in 2007, that mean that insurgent attacks on US military installations increased during that period. Afghanistan is not a metropolitan area like Baghdad, and its not easy to run and hide here, so I don't know that the same will be the case.

Neverthless - If by comparison I hadn't been busy up until now (which I have), it's going to get down right sporting here soon. There are 2 main runways these new troops can land on going to these main areas - Kandahar and Bastion (Leatherneck). It's only about an hours helicopter flight to Leatherneck from here - and with the majority of those troops parked in between these two locale's - its gonna get crowded quick.

Last night I was startled awake, when what I believe was an A-10 Warthog cut loose with several bursts of fire from its cannon right outside the base. It had to be very close - because it woke me out of a dead sleep.

God bless our troops, and I'm glad to see 'em come - I hope with every fiber of my being we can break the back of this evil movement, and have peace for this country as well as our own.

Unexpected conversations...

You ever have those chance meetings that result in conversations that catch you out of left field? I had one of those today. I went out to our RSOI tents to do a new arrival orientation -- rather I gave a ride to someone going out to this session - and because our HR representatives were half hour late, being the operations manager - I took over and started without them.

When I was done with my "Welcome to Afghanistan....." schpeil....I stepped to the side and let some of the subject matter experts take over and do their thing. That's when a fellow walked up to me and says...."hey - your the guy with the blog right? You know - that 7th son of Mort thing...Good stuff man...keep writing"

Needless to say I was stunned - never figuring anyone outside of those I told about the blog would ever read it, never mind - I'd meet someone by chance who'd read it...

He then goes on to ask me..."How's your wife doing? Over the Pneumonia yet?"

Gotta admit, took me way off guard and made me do a big double take about this blogging thing.

Anyway - it was a blogworthy conversation...and he's probably reading this right now.....He's an HR Manager for DynCorp here in Kandahar, so I'm sure I'll be seeing alot more of him.