November in Kandahar

So I promised to keep my post updated; guess I broke that again. I have no excuses.
I have been here in Kandahar for four months now and we are now over half way through. We had our "over the hump" party yesterday consisting of BBQ steak, pig roast, sport activities and music. Everyone seemed to be having a great time blowing off steam and relaxing and some even danced. I threw the softball around for a long while and my arm is paying for it today.

A few things have changed since my last blog. I was promoted to Leading Petty Officer (LPO) for Delta Company, giving me even more responsibility as supervisor to 20 some Seabees. It has been quite the learning experience but has given me more confidence in myself and has challenged my leadership skills as well as improved them. We have been busy building SWAHUTS (Southwest Asian Huts) that are basically regular wood buildings to house our administrative department, Commanding Officer and the rest of the upper leadership. Our current construction project is a two story SWAHUT. I have been the lead electrician on both of those projects and it has been quite a challenge as I am once again the only electrician recruiting the plumbers and cross training them for help. It has been a lot of fun seeing the progression of our projects and the satisfaction of the finished product is worth all of the hard work. I don’t get the opportunity to work as much in the actual building portion due to having to supervise, but everyone has put their sweat into it in one way or another.

Things here on this base have been fairly quiet lately. We have had only one rocket attack alarm in the past month. I was told we did receive an incoming rocket a few days before that but the alarm was never triggered.

I was telling a friend of mine the other day as we were walking down the dusty road that I was finally starting to get used to this place. I guess after a while you don’t notice the smell, the dust and the same roads as much. I told her that it will seem odd to not be trapped behind a fence where on the other side you dare not cross without fear of death or injury. It is such a foreign land. If the enemy does not get you, the terrain and barren landscape will. A land without clean, fresh water; land mines from past wars; small arms fire coming at you from deep within the rocky hills. I complain at times of how I hate this place but it is this place that is keeping me from all of the above. I am as close as I can be to the front lines without actually being on them and I am contented and happy for that.

I have seen the faces of those that have been out there, those who have feared for their lives, who have wondered if they would ever get back to this place. Most are very young, fresh out of high school and they look so tired and they are quiet, no doubt reliving those terrifying moments over in their minds, forever scared at such a young age. Our doctor, Cpt. Bittner, has been working at the trauma center here on base where they bring the wounded straight from the field. I have seen a change in him over the past months. He said he is burned out from having to see so many young soldiers come in with such horrible injuries. He says they are the worst trauma injuries he has ever seen and it is starting to get to him a bit. I can only imagine. He has showed me photos and told me stories. Those alone are disturbing and sad. To read the list of the fallen, the ages and the amount, is sickening. Flags fly at half-mast almost every day here. I stopped noticing and only notice now when the flag is flying at full mast.

For me here it is like an everyday job but with more drama and politics. I will not be scared from this war; just understand it a bit better and what the soldiers and sailors are going through. We have a group from our battalion going out to build a combat outpost (COP) from the ground up. That is where the real danger and action is. I had to help decide who we were going to send out there from Delta company. We didn’t want to send anyone but we didn’t have a choice. One of my guys told me the other day that he is scared. I told him that he would be just fine. He asked me in a joking way "why are you sending me out there to be killed?" He says he was joking and I am sure he was but then it gave me cause to think. If something did happen, God forbid, how horrible it would make me feel. So I pray for him and for everyone out there every day.

So I am more than ready to get home, to take some time off to relax and just enjoy my family and loved ones. To see the ocean and trees and mountains and crystal clear streams and lakes and enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass, driving over 20 mph. We are all ready, we are all tired but we keep pushing on and work as hard as ever because we know that our job here is still not complete until we board that C-17 and wheels go up. How excited will I be? Beyond excited!