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.