Garrison Commander's Opus

MG Colt, SGM Busma, MG Townsend, CSM Lewis, BG Kelley, Chief Brown, BG Bridie, BG Inch, BG Reinert, Mr. Booker, Fellow Command Teams, Distinguished Visitors and Guests, and Friends of the Bagram Garrison – Welcome to our Change-of-Command. Today is not so much about the incoming or outgoing commander. Rather, today is a celebration of the Bagram Garrison Team and an opportunity to recognize them for their incredible works in support of all of the Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, Civilians, and Coalition Partners whom they serve daily. For me it has been truly a humbling honor and privilege to serve as the Garrison Commander for the past eleven months, as I have had the good fortune to lead and serve with some of the finest Patriots I’ve known in my entire career. I will always cherish the time we served together. We’ve truly moved mountains since September of last year.

Our military has been repeatedly defined by inspired leadership – the type of galvanizing example that can literally make the difference between victory and defeat. A stirring example of this type of leadership happened exactly 153 years ago today in Virginia near a place called Manassas Junction. On that hot summer day two untested Armies clashed in what became known as the First Battle of Bull Run. BG Barnard Bee was leading his brigade and finding the going extremely tough. Faced with another relentless attack approaching his front and flank, General Bee saw his men begin to panic and run to the rear. With the very outcome of the battle at stake General Bee rode to the commander of the adjacent brigade, which was comprised of Virginians under the command of BG Thomas J. Jackson. Bee exclaimed, “The enemy is driving us!” Jackson replied, “Then, Sir, we will give them the bayonet!” Inspired by Jackson’s steadfast and unwavering example, Bee rode back to his troops and ordered them to reform shouting “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!” The line held. The tide of battle turned. The outcome soon was no longer in doubt. A legend was born – Stonewall Jackson.

But the inspired leadership of our military isn’t always on the battlefield. Bagram Airfield over the past eleven months is a fitting example. When CSM Bianco and I arrived the base had a population of 36,000 personnel – most of whom lived in wooden b-huts. The base perimeter was not fully enclosed. There was no active IDF defense. The base was a product of 12 years of changing priorities that resulted in 42 subcompounds of necessity – none of which seemed mutually supportive. During my inbrief with MG McConville of CJTF-101 I was given very simple instructions – make the base harder, safer, and smaller. RSM – Resolute Support Mission – was a mere whisper at that point. But by the end of September we were moving forward in partnership with Canadian BG Dave Courbold, who provided the galvanizing rallying cry around the base that helped us mobilize the strategic partnerships and spirit of cooperation that was needed to chisel away at Bagram. There had been 12 iterations of Garrison that had gone before us and all of them generally had the same mission – base operations support – integration. We shared that same mission but it was no longer the priority. RSM became our priority and we centered it on four distinct pillars – Force Protection and Safety, Responsible de-scoping of wooden structures, tents, and NTVs, bringing critical infrastructure online for RSM, and effective command oversight of LOGCAP IV and MILCON projects. Working through strong partnerships across the base, we’ve been highly effective. Bagram is not the same enigma it was in September 2013. We have tamed the beast.

Working in close partnerships with CJTF-101, CJTF-10, 455^th AEW, and the various units tasked with Force Protection of the Bagram Security Zone we have vastly improved Bagram Airfield’s safety and security:

-          The entire perimeter of the base is now hardened and secure where there used to be significant gaps

-          Additional guard towers now provide coverage where there was once dead space

-          Multiple passive defense systems are now in place in areas that were once identified as critically vulnerable.

-          An additional PTDS system now peacefully hovers over the West Side of the base keeping watch over vast stretches of Parwan notorious as point-of-origin for IDF

-          Over 350 additional bunkers have been strategically place around the base to provide our personnel ready protection from IDF

-          Over 200 semi-hardened buildings and RLBs have been strengthened with placement of t-walls, barriers and sandbags

-          An active IDF defense in the form of 11 operational CRAM batteries now provides an umbrella of steel

By closely coordinating law enforcement efforts on the base – MP, CID, TF 2010, SIGAR we have effectively put an end to squatting, eradicated numerous illegal activities and practices, eliminated multiple insider and counter-intelligence threats, and in the process have permanently barred over 800 people from the base. The message is clear now on Bagram that if you break the rules you will be caught and pay the consequence.

Safety of personnel on Bagram has also been significantly improved. Garrison Safety staff worked rapidly and effectively with various tenant units to eradicate all 89 DoDIG Life-Health-Safety issues identified during a 2013 audit of the base. In partnership with multiple units there have been numerous steps taken to eliminate potential SHARP environments in living and working spaces. And the Garrison team earned its first ever Safety of Excellence Streamer in the history of Bagram.

Responsible descoping of the base has been an immense success story. Garrison could not have done this on our own. Every tenant on Bagram played a hand in working with us in reallocating space, relocating personnel, and vacating buildings and tents for CMRE to eliminate. This has also been true for the reduction of NTVs on the base as well.

-          Over 1,500 wooden structures have been removed since October 2013, which is over 65% of the structures identified for destruction.

-          Over 300 tents have also been eliminated

-          Working in tandem with the 401^st we were able to stand up the GSA maintenance bay and motor pool. This allowed a comprehensive 100% registration of all vehicles on the base in October 2013 that since has facilitated the turn-in over over 2,500 vehicles – a 40% reduction in the NTV fleet.

We’ve also made huge strides in critical infrastructure for Bagram, which is essential to the RSM footprint. One of the biggest steps was bringing the base onto Prime Power. This eliminated the spot generation that was required previously. The few facilities remaining on spot generation will soon be added to the power grid. The Bagram sewer system is now under contracted repair and expected to be fully operational in time for RSM this October. This is also true for the fresh-water well system, which will be fully energized by the end of this summer to provide reliable and abundant water to all RSM facilities. In the process, the ubiquitous black and gray water trucks will largely disappear.

And finally, under our command oversight of LOGCAP and MILCON we’ve both kept the base running and have accepted several outstanding facilities from our USACE counterparts.

-          Riverside and New Infantry Villages were rapidly brought into use in December and January after completion by USACE. These IDF-resistant billets allowed the relocation of almost 5,000 personnel from wooden b-huts into safe, permanent billeting.

-          The new Law Enforcement building was fully operational and occupied in less than 30 days from acceptance thanks to our friends from TF Signal and their installation of required comms

-          The Resolute Support Facility now provides full operational capability to USFOR-A as they complete their relocation from Kabul to Bagram

-          Just in the past week we’ve seen the opening of the new Coalition Gym and this morning our new MWR opened for business.

-          Two brand new hardened DFACs – New North and New Koehle are in the process of being built out for use and will be in operation in time for RSM.

-          All the LOGCAP and our partners from Fluor have efficiently and effectively served over 22M meals, washed over 1.5M bags of laundry, dispensed over 128M bottles of water, and issued almost 115M gallons of fuel of all types.

I could go on with statistics but, in reality, there are just too many to cover. Needless to say, it isn’t necessarily sexy work but it is vital. The Garrison Team, partnered with so many of you, has and continues to make this base work and bring RSM to a reality. To that end I want to thank every member of my Garrison family. Each of you volunteered to be here. Many of you already served 20-year careers in our military. You are the best of the best and your work ethic, professionalism, and dedication to our mission is unrivaled. I particularly would like to thank two people – CSM Bianco and Mr. Douglas. I could never have asked for a better command team than what you two bring to the fight day in and day out. CSM Bianco is a fearless warrior who embodies the professional NCO in all he does. Mr. Douglas is a determined and spirited fighter who will partner dogged-determination and common sense leadership on every challenge. You are both combat-multipliers in every situation who I consider my battle hardened comrades for eternity.

Having passed the guidon I have the utmost confidence and faith in not only the Garrison Team but in its leadership moving forward. COL Gradford has already proven herself to all of us as a selfless leader, a warrior, and a truly dedicated logistician. COL Gradford you are the right person at exactly the correct time to take command of the Garrison. I know you will rapidly move upon the foundation we’ve built and take Bagram Airfield to RSM and beyond.

Looking back on the guidance provided by MG McConville on that September day last year, I can confidently report back that we have been successful in our mission. Bagram today is much harder, considerably safer, and much smaller. RSM is within sight. And now with the Garrison Team working in tandem with USFOR-A and TF Trailblazer the progress is moving faster than ever. I leave here satisfied and thankful for the journey that has been Bagram Garrison Command. Thank you Garrison Team, thank you to our leadership from CJTF-10 and USFOR-A, and thank you to the Bagram Community for trusting me with this task. Our time together will always be near in my heart. May all of you return safely soon. Climb to Glory! Mission First! Soldiers Always! Landlord Six, OUT!

The Last 24 Hours of Command

I love Command. Once you get it in your blood it is hard to let go of. But one thing that is a constant about the military is that transition is inevitable. Command tours have an expiration date. Mine came on 21 July 2014. But I enjoyed my final 24 hours of command – savored them actually. The Garrison Team made my final countdown enjoyable and went well out of their way to thank me for the past eleven months. On 20 July we held our Garrison Organizational Day. It was an all-afternoon event that was open to the entire Bagram community. We held the event in the Clamshell across the street from the Garrison HQ. There was plenty of food, entertainment, activities, and giveaways. An Asian-Pacific dance troupe performed a Haka and Hula dance. In spite of the heat and lack of working AC in the tent, there was a huge turnout. About every thirty minutes or so there was a drawing to give away more door prizes contributed by AAFES. There was even near-beer, which is an amazingly scarce commodity on Bagram.

Around 1500 the Garrison Team held a Hail and Farewell to honor both the incoming commander and me. I was extremely touched as each of the Directorates came up and shared a few words about me and presented me with a gift. When I had a chance to speak I dedicated my time to thanking each and every one of them for their incredible efforts over the past year and reminded them of all they’ve accomplished. I managed to avoid the emotions I had bottled up inside. I’m proud of all of them. I cannot thank them enough. It has been a difficult, long, arduous, yet rewarding deployment in which our efforts have been to the benefit of everyone who lives and works on Bagram. The base is now harder, safer, and more compact than a year ago. We accomplished our mission.

On the morning of the change-of-command we gathered for one last group photo in front of the Garrison “t-wall” sign. Then our Commanding General hosted an award ceremony for me and presented my third Bronze Star Medal. After sharing a few more words we headed back to the Clamshell to pass the guidon to the incoming commander. At precisely 1000 on 21 July 2014 we proceeded out to the colors. An exceptional crowd was crammed into the tent. It was the largest crowd I’ve seen all year at any of the changes of command. CSM Bianco passed the Garrison Colors to me and I handed them to the CG, which signified my relinquishing of command. He then passed the Colors to the incoming commander. She then returned them to CSM Bianco. Immediately following that we each spoke for a few moments. The CG spoke first and shared a glowing commentary of thanks and praise for the entire Garrison Team and myself. I then had my opportunity to tell the incredible story of our accomplishments since last September. Then the new Commander spoke very briefly to share her thanks for the opportunity. Just like that the ceremony was over. I’m a free agent again. A steady procession of well-wishers came to greet me and share their thanks and coins. It was an excellent ceremony. AFN was on hand to record the entire event. I believe it was a touching tribute to all of the men and women who have served with me so honorably over the past year.

With the ceremony completed I faded away. It is traditional that the outgoing Commander quickly disappears and allows the new Commander to immediately assume the lead. As I write this I am still in Afghanistan but my days are numbered. The only things I have left to do is pack and wait on my flight. Another successful command is under my belt. We really did some amazing things. I can safely say we accomplished our mission and much, much more. And we are forever comrades from our experience together.

Transitioning

My replacement is here. My time is short and getting shorter. Ever since the incoming Garrison Commander arrived we have been inundating her with meetings, overviews, tours of the base, and getting her fully engaged with all the normal “battle rhythm” meetings that occur. Just like I learned early on, there is way more to being a Garrison Commander than one would think. For me it was the steepest learning curve I’ve ever had taking on a command. But when I arrived back at the beginning of September I was never really provided any transition from my predecessor. My learning began in earnest the day after I took command. I vowed that would not be the case for my replacement. So when I learned she was coming I immediately gave strict guidance to my directorates on my expectations for the transition.  Just like the professionals they are, each of them developed thorough briefings and day-long tours to ensure she was as familiarized with their respective sections as possible PRIOR to taking command. I’ve added in every meeting that I normally attend into the transition period. At this point, there is no stone left unturned. She may not know everything she needs to know but she is vastly more prepared than I was from the outset.

There are three days until the Change-of-Command. My ability to influence Bagram is waning. But I am satisfied at what we’ve accomplished under my watch. I’ll save the details for a future entry. But a simple way to put it now is that Bagram Airfield is infinitely more hardened, reduced, and safer now than the enigma of a giant I took over. I won this stare-down. Bagram blinked.

We stand with the Czechs

We have endured a terrible week. It started with IDF and ended the same way. But the worst came the morning of 8 July 2014. Around 0530 that morning we had an IDF strike that interrupted physical training for a lot of people on the base. Fortunately, nobody was injured and nothing was damaged. But this ominous event would lead to something much more devastating. We have an outstanding contingent of Soldiers from the Czech Republic who assist in patrolling the Bagram Security Zone, which is the area of Parwan Province surrounding the base. After the IDF strike, a Czech patrol was dispatched to inspect the point of origin that was plotted for the rockets. Once they arrived on the scene they formed a security perimeter with their MRAPs and then sent forward a dismounted patrol to inspect the launch site. The Afghan police also arrived on the scene to assist. Meanwhile, a crowd began to gather around the Czech MRAPs. These were mostly young boys who like kids anywhere else in the world were simply fascinated by the military vehicles and burly Czech Soldiers. That’s when tragedy struck. As the dismounted patrol returned to the vehicles a man dressed in Afghan uniform stepped into the middle of the gathered crowd and detonated the suicide vest he was wearing. The explosion killed four of the brave Czech heroes. Also among the dead were eight little boys and several other locals. It was the largest single loss of life suffered by our Czech partners in their entire involvement in this conflict.

Back at Bagram I was holding a welcome briefing for my replacement, who had just arrived the previous day. Announcements on the “big voice” started requesting volunteers of various blood types to immediately report to the hospital. We knew immediately something bad had happened. Several of my Garrison staff asked permission to go to the hospital when they heard their blood type announced. I let them proceed without delay. The reports of what had taken place began to trickle in and it became grimmer by the moment. Soon it was apparent that the worst loss of life incident since I have been here had happened. The mood on the base quickly became somber.

The following night there was a memorial ceremony in the Enduring Faith Chapel. I pray it will be the last one I ever attend. It was the saddest one I have ever been to. The entire ceremony was in Czech but it made no difference to the American personnel who were there to pay their respects. Though we may be a language apart we are comrades in this fight. The Czech Soldiers who made comments were deeply shaken by this tragedy. Their voices quivered as they spoke. The tears came freely. Make no mistake about it, these are tough fighters and highly professional Soldiers. We understood their emotions and the love they shared for their fallen heroes. Only those who serve truly understand how close the bonds we form really are. When we lose someone it can be more emotional than even the loss of a blood relative. As the memorial concluded my CSM and I followed the procession of command teams who moved forward to show their respect. We stood at attention looking into the eyes of the four men’s photos looking back at us. We slowly saluted. Then we kneeled forward and left a command coin for each of them. Our hope is that their families will look to the coins we left and know with great pride the appreciation so many have for the sacrifice of their sons. I know from spending the evening with their comrades that they were deeply loved and will be sorely missed. As General George Patton said about the death of one of his Officers during the Battle of El Guettar, “I cannot understand why such brave men have to die. There are so many battles yet to fight.”

The following morning we gathered on the tarmac to see the four heroes begin their journey home. A Czech Air Force plane stood ready to take them onboard. Slowly the procession carried the four heroes to the aircraft. Each of their caskets was proudly adorned with the Czech standard. They have now gone home to their country and their families. I know the grief of their families and nation must be overwhelming and I pray for the healing to come in mending their hearts and leaving the happy memories upon which their love may endure. The Soldiers of their unit have now gone back to their business. They know that the success of their mission will be the proudest legacy they can leave in honor of the brave four who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the morning of 8 July 2014. May God richly bless all of them and may He place His loving arms around them and the families of the brave fallen heroes.

Celebrating Independence Day

Independence Day dawned on Bagram bright and hot. The wind was blowing as usual. Dust was getting kicked up and into the faces of everyone who ventured outdoors. I announced the day before for my Garrison personnel to plan to enjoy all of the festivities that were scheduled. I specifically worked out over lunch just so I could enjoy the celebration without interruption. That afternoon the good folks from the USO and AAFES put on a full slate of fun at the Clamshell tent. It included a cookout, games, giveaways, music, and other craziness. I was very pleased to find it well-attended. In spite of the heat, and the fact that the Clamshell is not air-conditioned, personnel from all over Bagram were enjoying celebrating the birthday of our great nation. I was going to eat a hotdog or two just for tradition’s sake but, unfortunately, the hungry masses had cleaned out the chow by the time I arrived.

When the daytime event ended it was followed by some more formal activities at the giant C130 hanger. At 1800, the U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Commanding General hosted a giant reenlistment for 100 personnel from Bagram. Immediately afterward, AAFES held a drawing for a new car. The winner could choose either a Ford F150 pickup or a Mustang. The winner, an Army Captain, chose the Mustang. He explained that he already had an F150. Once the AAFES stuff was cleared from the stage the next part of the festivities began. The music group Vertical Horizon had come to Bagram just for the evening and enthusiastically took the stage. I personally had never heard of them. I stayed for a couple of songs but realized pretty quickly it wasn’t my vibe for music. So I made a stealthy exit and headed over to the Russian control tower to join my Air Force counterparts for cigars. It was a good call on my part and I quickly settled in to a relaxing conversation with my friends. The old Russian tower has a commanding view of the west side of the base and the flight line. It is a cool place to hang out. But around 45 minutes into my cigar a loud boom sounded very close by to the west of the tower. We jumped up and looked, all the while wondering if it was a controlled detonation and, if so, why no announcement had been made. Then in the distance we saw the flash, followed by the loud report, of a rocket being launched at the base. The IDF alarm sounded. We quickly scurried down the steep ladder down into the protected part of the building. For some reason the C-RAM didn’t engage. The stupid Taliban had brought the “rockets’ red glare” to our Bagram Independence Day celebration. My cigar night was abruptly ended, as was the Vertical Horizon concert.

I headed down to the Joint Emergency Operations Center to read the storyboard on the attack. Nobody was hurt. It was just some superficial damage. After getting a 100% accountability from my Garrison team, I called it a night. My half-smoked cigar was still in my hand. I threw it away.  It was a memorable day spent honoring the birth of the United States. This will be the last time I celebrate this event in a hostile country.

An Early Christmas Present

Something happened that came straight out of left field. I didn’t see it coming, nor did my subordinates. It was met with very mixed feelings that ranged from surprise to disappointment. But in the end I came to regard it with a feeling of relief. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. My replacement, or “backfill” as we call them here, was scheduled to arrive at the end of August. That changed. About a week ago I was in a routine meeting with my Commanding General covering a variety of Garrison-related topics. Towards the end of our discussion we got on the topic of future manning for the Garrison. I was in the process of assuring the CG that although we were going through a period of high turnover (a bunch of my staff have reached completion of their tours), there was a backfill for everyone scheduled to depart over the next few months. Then I even brought up the backfills for CSM and me. That’s when he said, “Well, actually your backfill is coming earlier than planned.” I sat back for a moment in almost shock and said straight up that I found that to be disappointing news. He acknowledged and understood why I would say that but assured me that it was in no way a performance-related issue. Instead, it was simply due to the fact that the new sourcing command for my position got their signals crossed on when my backfill was supposed to be here. Once the orders were cut, my CG elected to let it ride since it was so close to the end of my tour. As it stands, I’ll be at eleven months out of twelve when I hand the guidon to my replacement.  So my early Christmas present is that I’ll be leaving Afghanistan sooner than expected. Towards the end of next month we will hold a change-of-command ceremony and I will exit Bagram stage right. It’s a bittersweet thought, as I love command so much and we have such momentum right now on so many different priorities. But I also understand that these kinds of things happen in the military all the time and that it is just business, never personal. The more I’ve thought about this since I got the news the more at peace I’ve become. I’ve been doing my ‘round-the-world combat tour stuff for years now and, quite frankly, I’m growing as weary as our military is of war. I’ve seen the United States all of seven months over the past three years, with six and a half of those months coming all at one time. I’m cool with going home – finally – and getting on with normalizing my life, living without the gnawing in my gut that the IDF alarm is about to sound or the fear of having to witness another event like what happened last Thanksgiving. I miss my family back in the beautiful mountains of Avery County North Carolina.

Later that day I gathered my primary staff around and told them the news. They were shocked. Every face was very long. I could feel their disappointment and took it for what it genuinely was – a sincere show of their loyalty and love for me as their commander. It is a mutual feeling we all share. I’ll miss my team when I leave. I will have a cold beer for all of them soon and we’ll make that talk of a reunion a reality.

100 Days of Wind

Somebody told me several months ago that I’d know when spring gave way to summer because the rain would stop and the wind would begin. I don’t remember who it was that told me this. He was well informed. It’s aptly referred to as the “100 Days of Wind”. Back in early May when I returned from R&R there were still frequent thunder storms and late night rain. We even had a massive hail storm. But as May transitioned to June the rains tapered off. That’s when the wind started. It has been windy every single day. Sometimes the wind blows in gusts so hard they literally stop me in my tracks. They gusts have even been known to knock me backwards (I’m not a really big guy). What I find amazing is that the wind just keeps on blowing. I think we’ve had a wind for about 40 straight days now. It the count is correct, I can expect the wind to stop blowing about two weeks before I redeploy. It’s not dust storms like what many of us experienced in Iraq. Those terrible things would block out the sun and choke the life out of anyone dumb enough to remain outside. No, the wind here just serves as a nuisance. It blows up grit and garbage and makes outdoor physical training a challenge. But, fortunately, there are no roving clouds of impenetrable dust descending upon Bagram. It’s just windy.

Another big difference from my days in Iraq is the temperature. By this time of summer in Iraq the temperatures would be soaring above 130 degrees. We’ve only been topping out in the 90’s here. It’s actually downright nice at night, with temperatures in the low 60’s. I don’t know if it is going to remain this pleasant but we certainly hope it does. Anyway, I hope it does. Anything that can take the edge off of being at Bagram is always welcome.

Friday the 13th, Full Moon, IDF, and an Earthquake

With the Afghan presidential run-off elections imminent the base has been on heightened alert. All the intel updates have been pointing to something big so we have been on guard. In actuality, the election came and went without much noise here in Bagram. That doesn’t mean everything was quiet. There was some IDF. The rockets didn’t hit anything of significance and no damage was suffered except to a couple of T-walls. A couple of rockets landed in Coyote Creek, which was probably more harmful to the rockets than to the creek. But the day before the election did bring the combination of Friday the 13^th and a full moon to Bagram. It was a clear night and the moon rose early to illuminate everything with its glow. I joined my counterparts from the Air Force as per usual in the Russian Tower for cigars. I’m not superstitious at all so to me it was just another night. We did discuss briefly the coincidence of the full moon and the date. While we were in the tower two rockets came in and impacted harmlessly on the tarmac about 400 meters away. Unfortunately that spelled the end of our cigar night, which had us cursing at the stupid Taliban once again. But in spite of Friday the 13^th and the full moon, that was it for the excitement. There was nothing to even remotely reinforce to me any reason to be superstitious.

Around 0400 the next morning the IDF alarm sounded again. It stirred me from a deep sleep. I hate the Taliban. Fortunately, these were the rockets that fell harmlessly into Coyote Creek. The all-clear sounded very quickly and I was soon back to sleep. A couple of hours later I was up drinking my coffee and getting ready for work when something happened that I’d not experienced here to date. Keep in mind that my billets are made of shipping containers stacked together to form what we call a “relocateable building” (RLB). I was in the bathroom when the building began to shake and sway slightly. At first I thought it was a heavy vehicle driving by outside but there were no accompanying engine noises. The shaking continued and I realized it was a minor earthquake. The area around Bagram does have a high incidence of seismic activity so the trembler wasn’t surprising. It was the first time in my nine months here that Bagram had experienced one. It’s the third time in my life I’ve experienced a minor earthquake. Every time it’s been in a foreign land. The first one was on the Greek Island of Symi. A year ago I experienced one in Queenstown, New Zealand. Now I can chalk up Bagram, Afghanistan to the list.

As for the Afghan election? It seemed to go off without any glitches. Initial reports are that over 60% voter turnout hit the poles. Now we wait for the results.

Crossing the 90 day threshold

Day 275 – I’m now crossing into the final quarter of this deployment. Based upon the 365-day “boots on ground” math, I have exactly 90 days remaining. That’s a milestone among the mental victories that guide a person through these experiences. I’m three flips of my calendar away from the month I redeploy. It just so happens that month will be September, which means for the first time since 2010 I’ll be able to watch football games without having to stay up until after midnight just to see the kickoff. But, unfortunately, I’ll miss another summer. I don’t mean that literally, as it is summer here. But there’s a huge difference between spending summer in Bagram as opposed to summer just about anywhere else. But I think I can hang another 90 days. Taking into account the promise I made to my Mom, the next 90 days will be the last ones I ever spend deployed in harm’s way. Does the time go by fast? Well, amazingly enough, it has already been over a month since I returned from R&R. That means my “days without a beer” counter is back up to 33. The last beer I had was a Carlsburg served on the Fly Emirates Airbus 380 on my return trip to Kuwait. That also represented the last glass of wine I consumed, which was a lovely red I had with my in-flight meal. 90 days to go – I’m in double digits.

But I can’t spend too much time focusing on the number of days remaining. There is so much work to do here. It’s getting hot now too. I was out walking around observing some of our current projects earlier today and found it amazing to see snow still adorning the distant mountain peaks. They are a beautiful sight. But they are a façade that masks the volatility of this place. The war continues. Our next major hurdle is to ensure the Afghan run-off elections are successful. This makes for seriously heightened tension around everything we do. Security and force protection are, as always, major concerns. But they take on even greater priority now. Those Taliban thugs are murdering terrorists who want nothing more than to cause mayhem and death. Their top priority at present is to do anything within their power to disrupt the elections and kill people who are helping the democratic process in Afghanistan. But when I put it in perspective I realize that nothing has changed. That’s always been a priority of the Taliban. We’ll make it through. We always do. And I’ll most certainly get through these last 90 days.

Hailstorms and MILCON

The weather here has been very unpredictable of late. A day might dawn bright and clear but by midday has turned dark and ominous, only to end bright a clear once again. One moment the air is completely still. Then out of nowhere comes gale force winds that whip up huge volumes of dust, trash, and debris. Giant thunderstorms will appear at the edges of the mountains with spectacular streaks of lightning that arch across an endless sky. I’ll think nothing of those storms and only seconds later they’ll be overhead reaping havoc. It is an amazing level of volatility that I wasn’t expecting. I’m used to Iraq, where early summer simply brought scorching hot temperatures. The truth is I’m not complaining. The storms have kept the air cool and the nights have been downright pleasant. But one storm recently was particularly alarming in its intensity. It was around noon one day earlier this week. The normal ominous clouds had been forming but I don’t think anyone thought much of them. I had just returned to my room from Dragon DFAC, my to-go lunch container in my hand as I shut the door. Just then I heard the patter of rain on the aluminum roof of my billeting. I was relieved at making it back to my room just in time. But the lazy drops of rain suddenly turned into a deafening roar that was almost unfathomable. I opened my door and was shocked to see hail the size of golf balls coming down at a rate faster than I had ever seen. What was even more amazing was that the hail continued unabated for almost fifteen minutes. The bunkers and ground below were quickly covered by piles of hailstones. People were scrambling to get under cover while getting painfully pelted. When it was finally over the ground was white with ice. The summer heat melted the evidence within fifteen minutes. Once I finished my lunch I walked back to my office and saw evidence everywhere of the ferocity of nature. Vehicle hoods were perforated with dozens of dent marks. A few windows or windshields were shattered. Limbs and leaves from the trees were scattered about. I even saw damaged plywood on buildings. We haven’t experienced IDF in a while so I chalked this up to nature’s version. It was an impressive display.

Regardless of the weather, our work goes on. Lately our efforts to reduce Bagram to an enduring base have taken on a furious pitch. There has been a sudden uptick in our higher command’s interest in the completion of various Military Construction (MILCON) projects around the base. They include new headquarters buildings, DFACs, a gym, and an MWR. When a project is still considered MILCON it is under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), who manage whatever construction company is contracted to complete the building. USACE provides a date in the future in which they estimate the building will be ready for beneficial occupation. Normally, that date will continually “push to the right” as problems are found that delay the construction. Unfortunately, my Garrison cannot do anything with the building until it is handed over to us by USACE. So we have to wait because it is all we can do. The challenge though is that our higher HQ continually assumes that my Garrison has control of completing MILCON projects. As a result, every time USACE shifts the beneficial occupation date of a MILCON to a later date on the calendar it results in Garrison getting blamed for “dragging our feet” or something similar. Then we have to explain all over again that it is a MILCON project and belongs to USACE alone and that they should be the ones answering why the project isn’t completed yet. It is a seemingly endless cycle. Fortunately, we have accepted a couple of big MILCON recently from USACE and have them ready for use. Victories do come eventually but they really do take a lot of patience around here. They also require a thick skin and a sense of humor. Otherwise we’d all go mad.

100 days and counting down

There are times here when it seems as though time stands still. Then other moments when there isn’t enough time in the day to tackle everything we are attempting to accomplish. Somewhere in the middle of this time contradiction is the methodical march of the calendar. It moves to the steady drumbeat of my routine of meetings, Bagram circulation, phone calls, random IDF, eating, working out, and catching a few precious moments of sleep. Today was my 265th of this tour in Afghanistan. There are 100 days and counting down to go. So long as I keep my promise to my Mom – and I will – the logic states that the next 100 days will be the last I ever spend deployed in harm’s way. Looking back on my adventures of the past eleven years, which have all had a story of their own, I can add the cumulative months and years of running to the sound of the guns. When my Afghanistan journey ends in September I will have spent 61 months on various tours. That’s five years with a month to spare. Put another way, that’s 1,856 days enjoying the lovely scenery of the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, living here in the shadow of the Hindu Kush, experiencing the deep jungles of Liberia, and sizzling in the blistering Kuwaiti sun. What a decade it’s been. Now I just need to make it through these final 100 days. I’ve certainly got enough on my plate to keep me occupied for that time. None of what I’ve said is meant to indicate I’m also leaving the Army – to the contrary. But my body and my mind are telling me day and night that the novelty of this deployment stuff wore off a long time ago. It’s time to admit that I’ve done my part and move on.

Bagram continues to be the preeminent, dominating, all-consuming entity it always has been. But strangely enough, the battlefield lately seems to be within the perimeter walls. Whereas just a couple of months ago my command was almost going it alone in our efforts to reduce this base, nowadays several entities have cast their lot and are clamoring for the credit of taming Bagram. The problem is that none of them want to accept that any work has been done up to now. And to make that assumption is both incorrect and insulting to efforts of so many people who have toiled for so long to bring Bagram to where it is now. The base is only a fraction of what it was back in September when I arrived. It most certainly didn’t happen overnight. But to the late-comers to this race to an enduring Bagram, the work has only just begun. Regardless, the light is at the end of the tunnel. The work is getting done. When all is said and done I’m not really hung up on who gets credit, just so long as we accomplish our mission.

In the midst of all the base reduction we were able to finally give something back to the tenants of Bagram. They’ve been relocated, endured reduced menus in the DFACs, closure of services they are so fond of, and living a much more “expeditionary” existence. Yesterday we were able to open the new main PX, which will serve the base through the end of 2015. I was invited by the AAFES manager to speak at the grand opening and then had the honor of cutting the ribbon signaling the PX was open for business. A huge crowd was eagerly waiting. I kept my words short and provided ample praise to the AAFES personnel. Then I let everyone know that this facility was for them. They poured in as the doors opened. Smiles were abundant. Many people came up to thank me for the occasion. I deferred praise to others and reminded them that the new facility was for them. I believe it was one of the best days I’ve spent on this deployment. For a few short hours I was in a place where everyone was happy and nobody was complaining or making demands. Then I returned to work.

27 Years Ago Today

May 27, 1987. It was a cool, overcast day at West Point. Intermittent rain was falling, which created a lot of consternation. That day, 27 years ago today, I joined my classmates for our final formation as Cadets. It was the day the United States Military Academy’s Class of ’87, “Our Country We Strengthen”, graduated after just over four years together at our “Rock bound Highland Home”. We transitioned that day from Cadet Grey to Army Blue as we raised our right hands and took the commissioning oath as Second Lieutenants in the United States Army. It is amazing to think that it was 27 years ago. Time certainly flies. As I reflect back, I recall that our biggest worry that day was that the rain would force our graduation ceremony indoors. That was something no class had needed to do in many years. The ceremony is traditionally held in Michie Stadium, which is the home of Army Football (we won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy that year). The outdoor football stadium had plenty of room for all of our family and friends who had come from such great distances to be present. If we had to move the ceremony inside Eisenhower Hall it would have limited the seating and forced many to miss the ceremony. So my classmates and I prayed to Odin, the legendary Cadet god of weather, to restrain the rain. The irony being that we had asked Odin so many times in our four years to bring bad weather to cancel parades and other formations. Fortunately, the rain held. We had the ceremony outdoors. General Wickham was the speaker, which was an inside joke for Class of ’87 because he had already spoken to us so many times before. One by one our names were called. We crossed the stage and received our diplomas. Finally, at the end of it all, came the words we had waited so long to hear, “Class of ’87, DISMISSED!” A thousand white uniform hats sailed into the air as we hugged each other, our family members, and friends. We were wearing our Full Dress Grey over White uniforms for the final time. Later that day the sun came out and the temperature warmed greatly. Our family members pinned the Lieutenant bars on our Army Green Class A uniforms. Our chapter at West Point was coming to a close and the next phase of our lives – one of service to country – had begun. No matter what happened from this point on, the West Point Class of ’87 had been forged through the shared experience of what we now always remember as among the best four years of our lives. We are forever brothers and sisters, best friends for life, and bonded in a way few have the opportunity to experience. Our Country We Strengthen! ’87!

I salute all of my classmates today. Many continue to serve our Army. Some have risen to the General Officer ranks. Most have moved on to the private sector. But what I love about my classmates is that they all continue to serve their country, communities, and their families. They are and always have been the best of the best. Like fine wine we have all aged well. We will always remember each other as the raw Cadets we once were.

Today’s anniversary comes at an appropriate time, as it is right on the heels of Memorial Day Weekend.  We had already taken time to honor and remember those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice serving our great Nation. Several members of my class are among those who’ve laid that price down on the altar of Freedom. Their memories will never fade with us. Here in Bagram we had a surprise visit from the President. Around 3,000 of us had gathered in one of the large C130 hangars to hear Country Music star Brad Paisley perform. Some of us, like me, knew what was happening. But a lot of people did not know and it was a huge surprise when the President came out on stage and gave his talk. Afterward, he shook hands with everyone who wanted to meet him. It was a really good event and very fitting tribute to so many of our Nation’s finest who are still making such a sacrifice here in Afghanistan.

I am humbled to serve alongside so many heroes. And I am still incredulous and ever thankful to be a member of West Point’s Class of ’87. 27 years and counting! We’ve got so many good years of service to give.

Side Note:  For those unfamiliar with traditions of West Point I just wanted to explain that Odin in no way is meant to circumvent our true faith. West Point Cadets and Alumni are some of the most spiritual testaments of faith and come from all religions. The “weather god” Odin is a West Point tradition started many years ago – long before Class of ’87. The tradition is that Odin is the Norse God who looks over the weather at West Point. Parades are frequently held at the Academy and while they look great from the stands they are not necessarily fun to be in. Therefore, on parade days Cadets are known to follow tradition and ask Odin to bring bad weather to cancel the parade. It didn’t always work but Cadets will do anything to grab a nap after last class instead of hitting The Plain for a parade.

R&R Zen can only last for so long around here...

Bagram can be compared to the giant planet-eating spacecraft in the classic Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Machine”. It is an unrelenting, unforgiving complexity of challenges that continually find a way to eat at you until it swallows you and spits your remains out the other end. I liken my recent R&R as having charged my deflector shields to the point that I could keep Bagram at a distance. I’ve been calling it my “R&R Zen”. But just like the starships Enterprise and Constellation battling the Doomsday Machine, my deflector shields of R&R Zen can only take so many hits from Bagram before they are depleted. It’s been exactly two weeks since I departed Thailand. My Zen is barely holding on. Just as Thailand has now spiraled into martial law, my R&R aura has been pulled back to Bagram reality. This place is an untamable beast of our own making. The best I can do is keep it caged. Almost everything we do here is reaction to the latest emergency. It’s all we can keep up with at times. But unlike Nigel the farmer tour guide on the banks of Lake Wakatipu, who I met visiting Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand, I cannot simply smirk and avoid answering questions when asked. For reference, Nigel was telling us all about his red deer buck, who had a giant rack of antlers. The buck was constantly dragging his rack along the fence, which was nothing more than chicken wire. I asked Nigel how often he had to repair the fence and rather than answering my question he went off on a tangent about red deer antlers, their new growth each year, and antler nerve endings. All the while the smirk never left his face. I can’t give non-answers like Nigel did for me. When I am asked about the proverbial fence that I use to cage Bagram I have to be prepared to give a straight answer. There are a lot of general officers who take great interest in asking me lots of questions about Bagram. But we keep the place in order. The recent price of doing so has been the destruction of my R&R Zen.

It has now been 14 days since my last beer. There are 110 days until I reach 365 boots on the ground. I can actually see light at the end of the tunnel. We have come a long way since last September and it is really beginning to show on Bagram. To be honest, I think my team and I have smacked Bagram upside the head so many times that it finally blinked. That’s progress. We’re going to make it.

The Taliban pay tribute to The Doors

It’s official. Fighting season has returned. Those crazy Taliban even announced the date it was to begin anew – May 12th. But they took it even one step further. The Taliban used their public relations ploy of announcing the start of fighting season to also pay homage to Jim Morrison and The Doors. Who would’ve ever thought that those bearded guys with their AK47 rifles and RPG-7 rocket launchers were closet 60’s rock fans? Well their secret is out now. They revealed their love for The Doors by actually giving a name to this year’s fighting season – “Khaibar”, which translates to “The End”. Now every time we get an IDF on Bagram I will be thinking of the opening sequence of the movie “Apocalypse Now” and Jim Morrison’s voice will be the earworm playing in my head. Our local Taliban wasted no time either once the official announcement was over. Just that evening we received twelve rockets. One came around 2000. It missed and the “all clear” came very soon afterward. Then at 0300 on the morning of 13 May the alarm sounded again. “Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!” sounded over the warning system repeatedly. Soon after, the C-RAMs began sending their streams of red 20 millimeter tracers arching across the night sky. I wiped the cobwebs from my eyes, muttered a few obscenities at our enemy, and pulled my uniform back on. Just as I stepped outside on my way to my HQ the little shards of C-RAM shrapnel began to rain down on my billets. I yelled at some folks milling about watching the light show to “get the f*&k in the bunker!” I’m irritable when awakened abruptly under these circumstances so early in the morning. Then I sprinted over to my HQ to monitor our emergency response. Eleven rockets had been launched over a ten minute time span. Thank God we all emerged unscathed, albeit cranky and tired due the sleep disruption. The entire time this was going on the haunting voice of Jim Morrison sang “Khaibar” in my head. We’ve got all summer to go. I’ll be completely sick of The Doors by then if the pace is like this for the remainder of my tour. I’m thankful the Taliban didn’t choose a song by Radiohead to immortalize because I’d be really pissed if by the end of summer I was sick of their music.

Fortunately, it’s been very quiet since that night. I’m sure there will be more IDF. It’s as inevitable as sunshine around here. At least those crazy Taliban gave us the official word that the war is back on. I hate those stupid guys.

Returning from R&R

The “days since I last had a beer” count has now been officially reset. The new count is two days. That’s because I had a beer on my flight out of Bangkok at the conclusion of my R&R. My leave was fabulous. The intent of R&R is to allow someone like me to completely unwind, recharge the batteries, forget about work, and come back relaxed and refreshed. Two weeks in Thailand did exactly that for me.  Prior to departing I told my Deputy and CSM that I would be “off the net” and to not contact me unless it was an absolute emergency. I did not think about work at all from the time I departed until the moment I returned to Bagram. As for my thoughts on Thailand? My head is still there. If you haven’t put a trip to Thailand on your bucket list then what are you waiting for?  My trip included three nights in Bangkok, four in Patong, one on Ko Phi Phi, four in Ko Samui, and four in Pattaya City.  I can’t describe the magnificent beauty, the mix of third-world grittiness, or the pure charm of the tropics. You just have to see them for yourself. My only advice is avoid Bangkok altogether. It is a pretty boring city. Everything else is off the hook and each for its own unique way. I’ll go back.

Fortunately, there were no major issues awaiting me upon my return. I did come back to find almost 500 emails in my inboxes. It took me around three straight hours to sort through them all. But my Garrison team did an incredible job while I was away. They never skipped a beat. My complete trust in them paid off handsomely – they got a lot of stuff done and, at the same time, I got to focus on me for two weeks of relaxation. Their hard work while I was away also makes it much easier for me to transition back from leave into my commander mode.

I did have a pleasant surprise waiting me when I got back to Bagram. The Polish Contingent – Task Force White Eagle – presented my CSM and me the Polish Star of Afghanistan. This is an award bestowed to members of the Polish military who served honorably in Afghanistan and the certificate is signed personally by the Polish President, Bronislaw Komorowski. It was an incredible honor and another moment when I reflect on the very unique privilege it is to serve our Nation’s military during wartime. I’ll drink a toast to my Polish counterparts as soon as I can. That would be in four months based on my newly reset “days without a beer” count. But I won’t forget.

Metal Rain

The weather has been warming. Spring has arrived in Bagram. With it has come the return of IDF. Those nasty Taliban pukes have been probing us a lot. They know the C-RAMs are in place so they've been firing rockets at low trajectories or just short of the perimeter wall to gauge the response. The other night they decided to be more bold and go for the gusto. I was in my room around 2200 when the alarm sounded. "Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!" blared over the speakers as I dove to the floor. But what accompanied the alarm was the sound of super badass chainsaws. The C-RAMs were at work. I got up from the floor and ran downstairs to the bunker. As I made my way downstairs the alarm sound again, indicating more rockets inbound. The C-RAMs immediately announced their presence, as at least five of them at once began engaging the rockets. What an incredible sound and light display! The C-RAM's 20mm gatling gun fires almost 2,000 rounds a minute. At night the stream of tracers coming from the gun system is like a bright red fire hose stream of light. The rounds then detonate after traveling a certain distance, making a popping, crackling and flashing show of power. Wait, where was I? Oh yes, I was headed to the bunker when the alarm sounded again. I never actually made it into the bunker though. Instead I became mesmerized by the crisscrossing red streams above and their awesome explosive endings. It was the most fantastic C-RAM display I'd ever seen through multiple deployments. I was still standing there in awe when bits and pieces of the exploded shells started raining down all around me. Silly me, only then did I dart into the bunker. I wish I could've taken a video of the show. Even the Taliban had to have been impressed. Their rockets failed in their deadly mission once again.

Now I find myself on the eve of my R&R. At last I will be able to recharge. And I will do so knowing that the happiest days of my life are ahead of me. I know that now more than ever. Bagram is just a temporary holding cell for what the future has in store. I will not even think of Bagram while I am on R&R. I promised my entire Garrison staff that I will come back refreshed and I meant it. But I will always remember the night in Bagram when we were pelted with the metal rain of multiple C-RAMs in action. It was simply one of those events you have to see to believe. I'm thankful I was there to see it unfold. I'll never look at a 4th of July fireworks show the same again.

Afghanistan Elections meet Captain America

The long anticipated Afghanistan presidential election came and went without incident. By all accounts it was a smashing success. It was a historic event – the first truly democratic election to determine a new president since the war began. President Karzai could not be re-elected. While we prepared for the worst, the actual day of the election was very peaceful. There was a record turnout to vote. It may take a few weeks to tally the votes and a runoff is expected. But, by and large, the people of Afghanistan made a statement for their country’s future. What was more significant is that the Afghan security forces were in the lead for protecting the polling stations. In times past we would have expected that to be a recipe for disaster. But the Taliban were practically nowhere to be seen. This meant the election was not only a resounding success, but it was also a boost of confidence to the stability of the country. There was a lot of work that went into making the election a success. The U.S. Forces, Coalition, and Civilians associated with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) could all take great pride in making this history come true for the people of Afghanistan. While the election process is far from complete, the election was a great first step and clearly demonstrated to all that the past decade has not been in vain. We continue to pray for peace and prosperity in the coming months and years. We were here to not only witness history, but also to make it happen.

As the election day was winding down, many of us here on Bagram gathered for a rewarding evening. The good folks at Marvel had received a letter from some Soldiers who had written to remind them there was still a war going on here. Essentially, the Soldiers were asking for a copy of the new Captain America movie. The folks from Marvel were more than happy to oblige. They provided a copy of the movie to Army Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), who hustled the movie to Bagram for a showing. The Bagram AAFES folks contacted me and arranged to use our large “clamshell” facility to air the movie. We laid on food, music, and prizes to accompany the event and sent out a notice to everyone with the time and location of the showing. There must have been almost 500 people who showed up, including representation from all the Armed Services, Coalition Forces, and civilians on Bagram. The AAFES folks asked me to share a few words before the movie began. I thanked them all for their service, held a moment of silence for our comrades in Fort Hood, praised everyone for playing their part in making the Afghan election a success, and then got off the stage so the movie could roll. It was a great show. Everyone enjoyed the evening and I believe it was one of the best MWR events I’ve been a part of in all of my various deployments. The Afghanistan elections had met Captain America and both turned out to be winners. I wish every day in Afghanistan could be like this one was.

To Kandahar and Back

I finally managed to break out of Bagram for an overnight. It had been in planning for a few weeks. My excursion was rather mundane in appearance but it was definitely refreshing to get away. The last night of March I flew down to Kandahar Airfield (KAF for short). The purpose of my trip was to attend a Transfer-of-Authority (TOA) ceremony for the KAF Garrison. By the time I departed the next day I had seen enough of KAF to know it is very different than Bagram. First of all, it is a NATO base. That means it has much more of an international presence. This includes Germans, Romanians, British, Dutch, among others. KAF is home to a large American presence as well. Overall, the population of KAF is a few thousand less than BAF. It appears like a more orderly base. The center of off-duty life is around an area known as “The Boardwalk”. This is a large shopping square with shops and restaurants on the outside facing into a recreational area that includes basketball courts, picnic areas, a walking track, and an artificial turf athletic field. Among the restaurants you can find Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and even a TGI Friday’s. I would have never believed this had I not seen it in person. It’s true. But everything is short-lived at this point. KAF, like BAF, is in the process of downsizing rapidly. I definitely enjoyed my few hours there. The ceremony was great too. I had no time to loiter afterwards, as my flight was immediately following the TOA. By 1500 I was touching back down in BAF. There is no boardwalk in BAF. There never will be either.

Once back in Bagram, I found that the first few days of April were consumed with a sudden power struggle brought on by the “good idea fairies” from higher command. There’s another unit that has been sent here and as they’ve settled in it has become apparent they think they own some of the Garrison mission. I’ll have none of that. But it appears the fight is just beginning. It has made for an exhausting week so far. If the outcome does not reverse the course the good idea fairies have forced upon BAF there will be hell to pay around here. Dysfunction is sure to follow at a time we need it the least.

My last thought today is of the Soldiers who were killed or wounded yesterday in the tragic shooting at Fort Hood. There were many scenes today of military and civilian personnel in Bagram gathered around televisions watching the news updates. It is such a terrible event, coming just five years after that Islamic terrorist Major Hassan carried out his Jihadist rampage at the same installation. Although it doesn’t sound like yesterday’s event was terror related or connected to Islamic extremism, it is equally as heartbreaking. The prayers of the entire Bagram community are reaching out from Afghanistan to the families of those killed or wounded and for the Soldiers now recovering from their wounds. May God bless all of them and provide them comfort and healing during this time of gut-wrenching loss.

Day 200

I have been here for 200 days now. That’s a big milestone indeed. There was no celebration to mark the occasion. But it is routine for me to count the days since I arrived on Bagram. I do the count every morning as I sip my coffee. This leaves me with at least 164 days and a wakeup to go. I still have my R&R to look forward to as well. That’s coming up pretty fast. I need the break. My life has been so busy that it seems as though the sun is going down every day almost as soon as it came up. We are having a lot of days lately where it would be nice to stop by the local watering hole with friends and knock back a few cold ones. But that luxury will continue to wait. It has now been 204 days since my last real beer. Fortunately, my upcoming R&R will solve that dilemma and reset the “days since last beer” clock. But I need to stay focused on work between now and that time. There are a lot of things going on here with fighting season returning and the Afghan elections rapidly approaching. It could get hot for all of us.

The rains returned for a couple of days to rapidly soak the already saturated ground. It didn’t take long for the massive puddles to reform. Fortunately, there were no more t-wall collapses. However, there were a few more sinkholes around the base. The biggest impact of the rain is the delays it causes to ongoing projects we’re trying to get completed. The ground gets too soft for heavy equipment and work grinds to a halt. It seems like every project we have going continually “slips to the right” on completion date. I have realized that it is pointless to use a specific date in the future when referring to the completion of a project. Instead, I just give a general window of time that we could reasonably expect the project to finish. That kind of reporting can make people in the chain-of-command upset at times but, at least, it saves us from looking like we are continually missing our target. Things get done but they do so according to Bagram time. Bagram is a very stubborn beast who is only reluctantly tamed.

So as I reached my 200^th day on this enigma of a base I could only look ahead at good times to come. I can’t say there is anything from the past 200 days I’d like to rehash or relive. I’m just glad that I’ve come this far and can say I have far fewer days to go than what I’ve already expended here. I never thought I’d be anywhere that would make me miss Iraq. Bagram changed that. I miss Iraq. Where deployments are concerned, Iraq was much less complicated than the intricate web of overlapping levels of commands, authorities, and stakeholders found in Afghanistan. Everyone wants to take credit but few want to assume the responsibility. It’s a crazy place. When this war is over I think I will turn Bagram into a theme park and charge top dollar for folks to experience this place. They will only believe it when they see it. You can’t make this shit up. I have 164 and a wakeup.

Four Days of Rain Until a Sunny Day

Bagram is set in practically the lowest point of a massive valley. It is a giant bowl nestled on all sides between the soaring Hindu Kush. Millions of dollars have been invested in extensive drainage projects that are meant to keep water flowing off the base during the rainy season. All of these projects have been in vain. Just the mere hint of rain or snow melting and puddles form everywhere, mud encases all, and the misery factor increases. This was painfully evident over the past week. It began raining on Friday and the sun never showed itself again until Tuesday. The rain came in all forms – sheets, drizzle, steady downpour, and intermittent. Every time we thought it was going to finally clear up another round of wetness came down on our heads. The rain caused flight operations to ground to a halt, which resulted in a lot of people getting stuck for a few days waiting to leave. Muddy footprints were tracked into every DFAC, HQ, gym, MWR, and billet. Vehicles that could make their way around the base became caked with mud from top to bottom. Giant puddles formed that looked more like bottomless ponds. Coyote Creek, normally a putrid and stagnant mess, took on the appearance of a white rapid creek back in the mountains of Western North Carolina. As day three of rain transitioned into day four, some of us began to joke that we were going to need to build an ark. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that but a significant portion of the base did become completely inundated with free-standing water.

As the rain began to finally taper off towards the end of the fourth day, evidence began to emerge of the extent of water damage the base had sustained. T-walls began to collapse in places. The water had seeped underneath their foundations, causing their weight to shift precariously. Fortunately, nobody was injured (or worse) by falling t-walls. Sinkholes started appearing all around the base. Sometimes, these were so large they would swallow an unsuspecting MRAP. Roads became impassible. Pavement buckled in places. The shoddy soil, coupled with an almost complete lack of vegetation, made just about any area of the base exposed to the elements susceptible to erosion and failure. Even my own HQ suffered significantly. An ongoing project to extend a portion of – ironically – the drainage project became a massive moshpit with collapsing sides threatening the foundation of the building. I really don’t think Bagram could’ve withstood another day of rainfall.

Just when it appeared the entire base would become a big sinkhole the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun returned in full glory. The planes started flying again. People started coming back outside. Life began to return to normal operations and routines. It was four days of rain until a sunny day. But it was amazing how therapeutic the warm sun was for all of us. The only downside is that the return of warm sunshine heralds the snowmelt of spring. With that comes the return of the fighting season. I suspect we’ll soon see rain return in the form of IDF. But we’ll enjoy the warm sun for now.

TGIF

Navigating a deployment means having small victories to look forward to. Fridays for me are a small victory. Programmed into every Friday are weekly events I enjoy. For me those little things are steak night at the DFAC followed by cigars at the old Russian Tower. They are constants in my otherwise mundane week that stand out. Sometimes the steaks even taste reasonable. Once in a blue moon there is also lobster to accompany the steaks. It’s also comforting to know that breaking a 365 day deployment into weeks makes the count only 52 to count down from. Every Friday night I can check the counter down another week. So far I’ve been here for 27 weeks. That leaves 25 to go. That would mean 25 more steak nights followed by cigars in the Russian Tower remain.

The past few days have been a flurry of activity. We still haven’t completely figured out what Bagram’s “Resolute Support Mission” is supposed to look like but we continue to work towards that moving target. I did get to take my Commanding General on a tour around the base. It wasn’t the normal ride. He is an enthusiastic, hands-on person who wanted to stop at various guard towers, C-RAM positions, billets, and just about every other facility where he could find Soldiers to talk to. It was an enlightening trip around the base and the weather was spectacular that day. The view of the mountains that surround the base was stunning and even better so when seen from atop guard towers. The highlight of the trip came at the end. Our last stop was Maholic Range, which is a small weapons qualification range my garrison runs. There was a unit conducting ALT-C M16 qualification on the 25-meter range so we watched for awhile. Next door at the 100-meter range some Special Forces guys were conducting M4 reflexive fire and 9mm competition shooting. The General ran to the sound of the guns. Next thing you know, the General and I were both shooting reflexive fire with SF M4’s. Then we both pulled out our 9mm pistols and blazed away at the competitive targets. It was a blast! Sometimes it really helps morale to just be a Soldier again for a few minutes. The General was all smiles at the conclusion. I was too.

There are seven more days to go until my next Friday. Then the count will be 24 weeks to go. I am definitely going to stop by the range again soon. I won’t be surprised if the General joins me again for that.

Halfway there!

Remember when the catch phrase was “boots on the ground”? That still applies.  But most deployments at this stage of the war are for nine months – not a year like they used to be. However, my tour IS for a year. To put it in the proper terminology, my tour is for 365 boots on ground. Well, with little fanfare involved, I have crossed the halfway point. Today dawned as day 182 of my stay in Afghanistan. High noon represented the moment I crossed the meridian, the midway point, the hump, or whatever else I choose to call it. At precisely that hour I reached 4,380 hours and am now counting back down. As I write, I have 4,372 hours to go. That’s a little less than 182 and a half days remaining. If, in fact, 365 is a precise number with no hiccups then I can expect to be on a big airplane out of here come September 8^th.

Appropriately so, today was very uneventful. Being a Sunday, I was able to sleep in a couple of extra hours and then lounge with some fresh coffee in my room. Sundays, barring any emergencies, are my “reset” days. After some splendid coffee (Café Du Monde courtesy of my Mom), I put in a couple of hours at the gym. The weather has taken on a spring feel with a hint of humidity. With my workout complete I showered up and headed to the office to ensure there were no pressing issues. There weren’t. None came up either so I had no significant stress events that can come out of nowhere on this base.

But the day did not go off without any incidents. Just as I was about to get up and walk to supper the dreaded IDF alarm sounded. “Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!” Damn! My supper would have to wait. Perhaps this was a Taliban sponsored celebration of my deployment milestone? No it was just the Taliban being their normal, awful selves. I hate those guys. Stupid Taliban. Fortunately, their aim was bad as usual and the “All Clear” sounded soon afterward.  I celebrated my special day with a fine selection of Dragon DFAC delectable delights. Tomorrow it will be 181 days and counting down.

sC-RAMbled eggs

And so another month comes to a close. Another month begins. The arrival of March signifies the halfway point for this tour. I’m not quite exactly at the six month milestone but it is only days away. Time is certainly flying by in chunks. It seems odd because some days drag on like an eternity. Sometimes my calendar seems to be on the same month for inordinate stretches. But, inexorably, time does march on. The drumbeat continues in Afghanistan.

I was thinking today about how significantly different my eating habits are here. Last Friday I had a chance to ride out to the giant food distribution warehouse that supplies multiple bases in central and northern Afghanistan. It is a colossal facility that makes a regional Walmart distribution center look puny. While walking through the mammoth cold storage area I saw countless pallets of fresh eggs waiting to be loaded for shipment. That triggered my thoughts that continued into today. I love eggs. But I never eat them here. As a matter of fact, as big of a fan of breakfast as I am I never go to that meal at the DFAC. I know they serve eggs to order, omelets, boiled eggs, and just about all the accompanying breakfast treats. But when I’m deployed I always choose to make coffee in my room and eat cereal. I like to snack between meals. But I don’t snack when I’m deployed. I just eat a big lunch and supper in the DFAC. Strangely enough, I eat way more fresh fruits and vegetables every time I’m deployed and this go-round is no exception. Many people say that deployments are a great place to get in shape. That is a true statement. Even though I’m already a fitness nut, I always walk away from deployments in the best shape I’ve been in since the last deployment. Again, this one is no exception either. Right now I am tipping the scales at about 157 pounds, which is the lightest I’ve been in a decade. Not drinking any beer, of course, is a big part of that. But the combination of my deployment eating habits and workouts have definitely combined to put me in the best shape since – you guessed it – my last deployment. Actually I’m in even better shape.

There’s a new edition to Bagram these days. I’ve described them before on previous deployment blogs. C-RAM (Counter-Rocket Artillery Mortar) batteries are finally on the base. They are only 12 years overdue. The past few days they’ve been announcing their presence by conducting random test fires. The C-RAM is like a big electric Gatlin Gun. When it fires it emits a stream of bullets at a rate of over 1,000 a minute. They sound like the biggest, baddest, and loudest chainsaw you’ve ever heard. I find their music comforting. I’m glad they are finally here.

Groundhog Day

Back in the early ‘90’s a great movie was released – Groundhog Day. Bill Murray portrays a news station weatherman who is tasked to cover the annual ceremony of “Punxsutawney Phil” the groundhog and his winter prediction. But Bill Murray’s character gets caught into a cycle of repeating Groundhog Day continually until he gets it right. In doing so, he finds love and happiness with a few crazy moments along the way. For those of us who’ve deployed, the movie’s reference to Groundhog Day has now become synonymous with the experience of every day seeming exactly the same. In other words, it doesn’t take long into a deployment for every day to be Groundhog Day. I reached that point on this deployment long ago. Every day in Bagram is Groundhog Day. But, unlike Bill Murray’s character in the movie, we don’t all finally get it right and move on to the next day. It’s just doldrums in which every day is a repeat. The routines are the same, the meetings are the same, the people are the same, the scenery never changes, and the clock seems to move in reverse. Since there is little to do during off-duty hours, most of us simply live a pattern of work, eat, sleep, workout, and then work some more. Yes, I do have my cigar night at the old Russian Control Tower. And I do get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday mornings. But those special events only serve as weekly markers for the steady barrage of days in which the day of the week is irrelevant. Sometimes I’m not even sure what day of the week it is unless I refer to the calendar. Have I really been here six months now?

The Winter Olympics in Sochi came and went without little interest around here. I began to suspect I was jinxing the US Hockey Teams. I watched the women’s team lose a heartbreaker in overtime to the Canadians. Then I watched the men also lose to Canada. Thinking they would take the bronze, I tuned into AFN the next night only to see the men get blown out by Finland. That’s when I stopped watching the Olympics altogether. Nobody at work was talking about the games so I assumed everyone here was indifferent. Either that or we are all walking zombies numbed by the continual Bagram Beatdown. In the meantime, the drumbeat continues. Every day seems like the one that preceded it and serves as a harbinger of the day to come. Yes, this is Groundhog Day done Bagram style. In the words of LTC Bob Kilgore from Apocalypse Now, “Someday this war’s gonna end.” That day isn’t today.

In honor of the late, great Mr. Harold Ramis. Thank you for making us laugh for all these years. May you rest in peace.

Warm Spell

We’ve all been so used to the cold that warm weather took us by surprise. It was a pleasant surprise for certain. The warm up was accompanied by spectacularly clear days that allowed remarkable panoramic views of the mountains that surround the base. Practically every detail of these snow-covered formations stood out in vivid clarity. I was kicking myself at continually forgetting to grab my camera. The mountains are very beautiful right now and would be a skier’s dream if we didn’t have to worry about landmines and Taliban. I’ve compared them to the mountains I saw in New Zealand last summer and for good reason.  The mountains around Bagram are part of the Hindu Kush that stretches across Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their formations are very similar to the Southern Alps of New Zealand and remain snow-capped year round. But as beautiful as the Hindu Kush mountains appear, they are also foreboding and with the melting of the snow-bound passes they will allow a return of the fighting season in Afghanistan. It’s around the corner.

For now it’s been very quiet. My OPTEMPO has been steady but not the fever pitch it’s been running at in the past. The past couple of days have been marked by a contractor symposium held here at Bagram. I attended parts of both days in order to hear the major contracting companies lay down their respective plans for either getting out of Afghanistan or shrink their footprints. It would be impossible for us to be successful here without them so it’s critical that we balance the services they provide with our retrograde. I saw it in Iraq too. Now the time has come in Afghanistan. We’ll all be “expeditionary” in no time.

Unfortunately, the warm spell only lasted a couple of days. Just when I thought to remember my camera it cooled back off and clouded over. Now it looks like some cold rain or snow is on the horizon. Oh well, that will hold off the fighting season for a few more days. Quiet is a good thing here.