Kabul - Arrival Day

What a day. I have been up since 0700 yesterday….going on 36 hour straight. I am finally in Kabul. The Brits picked us up this morning at the airport.....what an adrenaline rush! The drivers that picked us up have to drive very agressively in order to maintain control of everything/one around us.

Kabul….people are so poor. What I saw of it, it is even more rundown that Tijuana or Montego Bay. I knew there were goats….but I didn’t expect to see a small herd the second we pulled out of the airport gate. I had recently heard someone say the goats ate the garbage on the streets and then I actually saw it today…that was another herd.

There were very slight kids playing along the side of the road. Some women dressed conservatively and some women worn the full blue burka. The buildings are rundown, no sidewalks…just dirt on the sides of the roads. There were many people on the streets, debris on the sides of the roads.

There are mountains nearby….but the air quality is so poor there is a constant haze in the view. Today on the base was amazing. There are so many different countries here. The chowhall was like an international fashion show for military uniforms. Italy, Macedonia, Canada, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Greece, …to name a few.

My room is basically a pod. There are two of us in a 6’ X 18” room. The walls are metal (magnets work great). There is a fine black dust on the wall that you almost wouldn’t notice except someone tried to clean the walls and now there are smudge marks.

So far I love the chowhall food. Others complain, but I love the diversity…curry chicken or spaghetti tonight and humus too. While it is not restaurant quality, it is dishes that would never be made in a US military chowhall. Also, they offer cheese at every meal….like cubes of Swiss cheese or tonight it was Brie! And there are roasted vegetables. Possibly others complain due to the menu repeats itself every two weeks…..but it is all still new to me.

Ft. Jackson, SC

This blog should keep you all informed of my life on the road to Afghanistan. It started back in San Diego at NMPS. NMPS San Diego does a medical check and some paperwork to ready us for deployment.


Next stop was Ft. Jackson, SC. This is where we learned to shoot and be Army like. The Army lives a very outdoorsy life. If you like to shoot big guns, go four wheeling (think Humvee) and camp out.....this might be the life for you. Most Sailors like a/c and hot showers....hence joining the Navy. I am sure the Drill Sergeants must shake their heads in despair :) We are definitely not Army Recruits, at times I am sure that amuses them and other times it must scare them.


Our next stop will be Kuwait for further training. We will be spending a few days on the Udairi Range. I believe that will be the same type of training we received here in SC, however it is the same type of environment we will funtion in at our various destinations (and much more minimalistic). My group here at Ft. Jackson (Camp McCrady) is ~150 and we are going to Iraq, Afghanistan, HOA, Djibouti, Tampa, FL (tough break) and other misc. locations.

I have attached a picture of myself and my new “Battle Buddy”, Anne, who will be going to Afghanistan with me. In the Navy we call them shipmates…..in the Army, friends are Battle Buddies.