Tuesday...Interestingly Non-Explosive

Had to look at the calendar to see what day it was, since we don't have Saturday and Sunday off it messes with your head.

First thing this morning, I drove my overloaded truck to the logistics depot so they could get started on the fence.  I pulled up to the depot and for the first time since I've been here, the ANA Colonel met me at my vehicle to ask me to take the concertina wire out to the work site...he really wants this fence done.  I didn't realize how exciting it could be to install a fence...see later.  We had an unskilled forklift driver trying to get the bundles of wire out of the bed of the truck...dangerous, so watch out!  I thought for sure he was going to tear the tailgate right off the truck.  He managed to get'em offloaded with very little damage to the truck...I was surprised!

Here's a pic of the offload and the precarious nature of the forklift driver.  The guy sitting on the truck doesn't seem to be bothered!  Don't know how they can sit like that without their knees hurting?

Once it was unloaded they used a pair of what they translated to me as scissors, which is too funny, to cut the large wire holding the bundle together.  This guy was so excited to use the bolt cutters, he could barely hold still.

Everything was going well with the wire.  We provided direction and they caught on fairly quick with a few minor corrections.

Then it happened.  Just when I was comfortable and not really paying attention!!! There was a live 82mm Mortar Round laying in the dirt about 10 feet from me.  I was a little concerned, I guess you could say.  It was right behind the ANA soldiers, so I told my interpreter to tell them to move away and not to touch it.  This was a mistake on my part.  As we, interpreter and myself, moved quickly to a safe distance, when one of the ANA soldiers COMES AROUND THE CORNER CARRYING THE FREAKING THING!!!!  WHAT THE HECK IS HE THINKING???  I yelled to my interpreter to tell him to put it down and leave the area...he finally relented and did it.  I called my munitions Master Sgt and asked him to call EOD, which he did immediately.  I tried to keep everyone out of the blast range while we waited.  I then just sent them to the other end to work on the fence, because I couldn't trust them not to play catch with the freaking thing.  Next thing I know, the ANA munitions officer with three fingers shows up; he's crazy and missing fingers for a reason.  He pulled his truck next to the mortar, picked it up and put it in the back of the truck.  THEN HE DROVE OVER TO SHOW ME HOW THERE WASN'T A FUSE IN IT.  I told my interpreter to tell him I didn't want or need to see it, but he kept coming.  I was in the vehicle, so I put it in reverse and started moving backwards away from him.  He finally stopped walking and and started laughing.  I really like him, but he's crazy!!!  We don't know if it was launched and was just laying there for days, weeks, or years, or if someone just dropped it there.  It's all funny now, but at the time, it was not. :)  Here's a pic of it...does it look stable to you? doesn't to me.  These guys are going to kill me yet.

Okay, so they didn't exactly finish the fence today, but tomorrow they will for sure...I just know it.  Here is what it should look like with a few minor adjustments.  They don't do trash pickup for the most part, so the ground is the trash can.  It's a little annoying, but I can't change that.  I could tell them to put it in a trash can, but they don't have one.

I was driving out to review the convoy and these guys were taking their bath and doing laundry in the river. You can see the splash in the water...it was guy who ran and jumped in for fun.  Good to see them having fun.

Last of today's current pics is a puppy I saw when we went to visit a contractor at his compound.  Cute pup.

Here are the 40 year old pics of the day:

Making bread...called 'nan'

Some type of dye process.

This is a market place in Kandahar City.