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Our Narmy Chief in Afghanistan

5 Posts authored by: mbaum
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Happy Afghan New Year!

Posted by mbaum Mar 22, 2010

Today I was invited to celebrate the New Year (1389) with my local hosts and interpreters. A good time had by all. The celebration is pretty simple: we ate some delicious rice and lamb, some very small grilled chicken, potato, naan,  and meatballs that I'm pretty sure were made from ground beef. The sauce for the meatballs was different but tasted good. Better than the food I've been eating in the DFAC (Dining FACility) at least.

Of course, alcohol is a no-no so we drank Diet Pepsi.

The evening progressed with lively conversation around a bonfire of shipping pallets, followed by the Afghen men dancing. In slow, semi-spastic circles. With each other, more or less. Definite departure from the western norms. Apparently it's not OK for the women to dance with or in front of the men, so this is the alternative to keep the party hopping. But everyone seemed happy so I guess no harm no foul.

I was asking about New Year’s Resolutions, but they don't do that.

So there you have it.

New Year’s Party. Small talk. Good food. No coed dancing. No resolutions. No booze. No hangovers. In bed by 10.

That's all for now, until the next big bash.

/mike

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mbaum
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I have arrived at my Forward Operating Base. It took a couple of weeks to get here, having left the USA on a chartered commercial flight. There is a certain pleasure in bypassing TSA altogether and boarding a plane armed to the teeth! I brought an automatic rifle, a grenade launcher, a bayonet, screwdriver, leatherman and a FULLSIZE bottle of shampoo on my flight...that's a felony stop at BOS!

 

Had a brief stay at an airbase where I lived in a huge open barracks in a tent. We have one of those tents here at the FOB. They park helicopters in it, so you can get a sense of the scale of it. Just you and ~300 other folks crammed together in bunks. They didn't give me any Marriott points either. Major downer.

 

From there we crossed into Afghanistan and stayed in Kandahar. HUGE airbase in the southwest. Rocket attack on the first night I was there but apparently they miss the base almost every time. Even if they did, it's so spread out and sparse they still have trouble threatening the troops...

 

Saw a little bit of everything at Kandahar. Canadian, British, French, Belgian, Italian, Romanian, Dutch and Afghan troops. A virtual airshow of the worlds aircraft. A hockey game (no skates). TGIFridays (no free refrills!). Want asian style food for lunch? They had a DFAC (Dining Facility) to satisfy that hankering. Jonesin' for a croissant? Head to the Parisian style cafe. KAF is quite the place.

 

Oh, and that base smells. Bad. The prevailing winds cross over the cesspools and sewage and deliver a serious stank. I was happy to leave.

 

I am now happily ensconced at a very very small base in a desert area. Top temp last year, in the shade, was 147. Accomodations are spartan but livable (I definitely have it better than the Infantry at the moment). The showers DO have water, most of the time, and are dangerously close to being warm. We have a PX here but it's been closed for months. The terrain looks a lot like Nevada, believe it or not.

 

Food is unexceptional but tolerable. If you're not picky that is. Thought it was great when a local dignitary presented us with a goat in thanks for all the work the previous team had accomplished with him. It was OK barbecued.

 

It's a pretty rustic lifestyle here at the FOB.

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Training Complete

Posted by mbaum Feb 19, 2010

Training is now complete. Our tribe is formed and we are ready to perform our mission. Over these first few months of active duty, I have received specialized training on how to perform my specific job, as well as more 'general' training that allows me to work with the rest of the team when we are outside the wire. Now I'm itching to get to work.

 

I can best describe that training time as building an airplane while we flew it. Seemed like every week, new people joined the team from somewhere else, and had to integrate with the rest of the group. Of course, the group was already running at a fast pace, so the noobs had to work hard to catch up! This is where we learned what to do and what NOT to do. Or in Rumsey-speak, we learned a little about the 'known unknowns'.

 

From previous posts, it should be obvious that I've become very fond of my team. It's a special group, with people from various commands, different parts of the US (and some parts not in the USA too!), active and reserve military services, even different cultures. We got it together quickly and rocked this training from start to finish. I LIKE these people. We work hard, we play hard and when the times comes, we'll fight hard. These are the kind of people, when thrown together by random circumstance, become lifelong friends. That doesn't always happen. I'm glad it happened here.

 

We can't finish our mission until we start. Fortunately, we've got the right people, in the right place, with the right gear and the right attitude, to make it a great start.

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mbaum
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Hello everyone, sorry for the huge delay but it couldn't be avoided. I'm at a training site that emulates a base in Afghanistan, and they take the limited bandwidth situation to the extreme. Both in terms of available downtime for me, as well as in terms of throughput to the InterWeb!

 

Since my lasdt update I have visited Fort Gordon where I completed the Brigade S-6 Communications Officers course. An interesting course, it taught me the ins and outs of the role I will play while downrange in Afghanistan and what will be expected of me and my staff while were are there. It was challenging, as I learned more about Antenna and RF theory then I care to admit, and the boring minutae of virtualized servers. Glad I did it of course, but happier still to graduate and move one step closer to starting my mission.

 

I arrived at an Army Camp in Indiana at the beginning of December. Here I joined the main element of my team and began training as a whole unit, rather than developing individual skill sets. The people have been great and I'm excited to be working with them. Safe to say that all walks of life are covered by this group, and they come from every corner of the US and its Territories worldwide.

 

In fact, I feel bad for some of the folks from the warmer climes, since we've had some shockingly cold and damp weather since getting here. It's almost a cliche about 'Army' training, but as it turns out, this base has the facilities and staff we need, but the terrain and weather couldn't be further from what we'll experienience in-country!

 

So far I've spent time training on driving and maintaining various vehicles, crew served weapons, combat lifesaver medical techniques and plenty of language training. To be honest, the language stuff is taking me a bit longer than I had hoped. We won't even talk about learning to read and write Dari at this point! I'll get there, hopefully sooner than later...

 

Probably worth mentioning this one observation: I am so impressed by my Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen. They have such positive attitudes, endure the rigors of road marches in the bitter cold, miss no opportunity to laugh and in general make me see what a privilege it is to be an American. If someone doubts if the coming generations have any promise, I'm here to tell you with absolute certainty; They Do. Great people, and I'm glad to be rolling with them on this mission.

 

I've been in contact with a few of my Netezza friends, and I'll be sure to call them at least one more time before I board the plane. I hope to make more frequent updates to the blog, and of course, everyone should feel free to ping me at narmychief@gmail.com if they so inclined.

 

Best of luck for a strong close to FY2010 and for a great start on FY2011! I'm looking forward to surfing the wave when I get back!

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Deployment

Posted by mbaum Nov 20, 2009

I'll be on an extended leave of absence, as most folks already know. In a unique twist, this Navy Chief will deploy with an Army unit just about 500 miles from the nearest significant body of water. And I'll be working for NATO too! I'll be serving as a Communications Officer for a Provincial Reconstruction Team. The goal is to deliver infrastructure improvements (roads, schools, hospitals etc) that make everyday life for everyday citizen better. A happy citizenry is toxic to the bad guys!

 

In early October, I reported for active duty at the Naval Station in Newport RI. From there, I went to Gulfport MS (Home of the Seabees!) for a week of administrative 'stuff'. Had my records checked, got a bunch of nasty shots, issued Army uniforms etc. It's where I began my transformation from a Navy Chief, to a Narmy Chief. Next step is about a month at Fort Gordon for Radio, Antenna and Computer training. With that almost out of the way, I've got a few months of combat skills training here in the USA before I go 'downrange.' Should be good, wholesome, sweaty fun!

 

On a more serious note: I'd like to thank everyone who has shown me so much positive support. For all the beers I've waived off, the lunches I've rain-checked and the rounds of golf I've deferred...THANK YOU! It means a lot to me knowing that when I look left or I look right, I'm surrounded by such great people. I'll work HARD to be worthy of all those positive vibes, and shout from the rooftops just how special this company really is. I'm looking forward to my mission, but I cannot wait to return and get back to work!

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