Snow!

A few days before Christmas 2007 I was at Camp Liberty, which was part of the massive Victory Base Compound (VBC) just south of Baghdad. A unique thing happened - it snowed. It was significant in that it was the first time Baghdad had seen snow since 1942. We all reacted with excitement at the sight. It was snowing in Baghdad! We were there as witnesses. The snow didn't last long and had changed to rain by noon. But for a few short hours that morning our camp became a winter wonderland. The fact that snowfall was rare in Iraq is just another big difference between that country and Afghanistan. Snowfall is not rare in this country. As a matter of fact, winters here can bring large amounts of snowfall coupled with extreme cold. Six years after being witness to a once-in-a-lifetime snow in Baghdad, I experienced my first snow in Afghanistan. It will be the first of many I expect.

For weeks now we've seen the snow on the mountains that surround Bagram. The snow line along the slopes has been slowly creeping down the mountains. The mountains continually remind me of the Southern Alps on New Zealand's South Island. I saw a similar "snow line creep" last summer while I was visiting Queenstown. The snow line finally reached our base yesterday late afternoon. Around 1700 it began snowing. The ground quickly turned white. As the evening progressed the snow continued at a rapid pace. Soon there was about five inches on the ground. Around 2300 I stepped over to the air passenger (PAX) terminal to get a hot chocolate at Green Beans Coffee. A flight had been cancelled and the Soldiers who were waiting to depart were still loitering. Even though their flight had just been cancelled, they were all happy and enjoying the snowfall. Some of them were having a rousing snowball fight. Others were making snowmen. It touched me to see the effect the snow had on these young men and women. Their flight home had been cancelled for some reason, yet they were all smiles as they became children again frolicking in the new-fallen snow.

The snow had stopped by morning but the scene was a base transformed. Bagram had become a winter wonderland. But unlike Baghdad six years before, this snow did not melt by noon. Winter has arrived and the snow has formed a bridgehead on our base. I'm certain snow follow-on reinforcements will be coming soon.